That are very good ideas however there is one drawback to more intelligent AI's and that is the computational requirements. You should think that with the computers we have today that shouldnt be a problem, but if you multiply with the amount of entities that lives on a server, both players, grass, orcs and so on, it becomes a significant problem and has been the reason why MMOs so far has not attempted this.
Another reason is that qualified AI programmers are not available, there just isnt many people who can figure out how to make a good AI, even though it seems simple, it is a complicated task in a 3D world. Yes simple things as if the sun is up, the grass grows, but developers think of AI as being a little more challenging and it is going to take some time before anyone improves on the "15 year" old stand-around-till-i-get-shot AI.
Not just picking on this feature, but I have wondered, how much of these features is actually written by the staff member of the MMO’s who puts their name to it? You can find more honesty in this one actually than most. But it still seems to have been poured over and edited by a PR team, either that of every member of staff on every MMO is a PR guru.
I think its truly admirable that they have stayed indie. Alot of devs would have, by now, sold out to EA or some larger company (cough, Mythic)... I work for an indie game company and its true that the filters the large publishers place can majorly interrupt your original vision of the game your making. That being said, I hope Icarus stays true to the indie realm and does not sell out to the corporate machine. I know they need money to keep the game going, but, from what they are doing (bug killing, patching almost daily etc.) I dont think they need the iron hand "help" of ANY large company, considering most of them only care about their overhead and how many CEOs have a Mercedes.
And he is spot on about fansites, blogs, etc. being a huge ad campaign for them. Keep up the good work fellaz.
I didn't have any expectations when I bought this game but I must say I have been very pleased with it.
Yes it does have some kinks and problems but overall you really feel you are in a living gameworld that is HUGE where you don't have to quest but that being said there are like 5 - 8 times as many quests out there that you need to lvl up so generally you select one group of people to work for and then do those quests and don't bother with others.
Game simply is soo much larger and complete compared to most other released games these days that its amazing.
And I love that you actually have to use your brain to play the game and that you have the freedom to make stupid choices and then have to live with it. The game does not treat its customers like idiots that have to be spoon feed everything and I respect that.
"You are the hero our legends have foretold will save our tribe, therefore please go kill 10 pigs."
As the proj mgr says its not looking to become anything major - slow and steady - however he also fails to mention all the stability issues.
Yeah sure its just released but ill list why i dislike the game.
Im an open sandbox game fanatic but this doesnt tick any boxes for me.
1. Performance - right now CTDS and 1FPS is the norm - if you go near any form of civilisation.
2. The melee First person combat - is clunky at best, sometimes you'll hit sometimes you'll miss and 50%, its a struggle to get the hang of it and definitely not ideal for pvp. Not that anyone PVP until high lvl.
3. Kill Stealing and other such stuff - its rife in here, spawn camping anything you can think of its at it peak ingame - reason for this is all the nodes that you may want have a big fat X waypoint over it and as everyones on one server you simply dont get a look in - then add the high lvlers who are farming low lvl nodes and selling them for profit - its horrible.
4. One server = its like buying a mini and then inviting half of london for a lift.
5. Crafting - you better like crafting - this is a crafting game with other bit like oh yeah pve/pvp attached onto it.
Slow burning - its like EVE - if your looking for fun and smiles from the get go - go look elsewhere. I am.
going off other interviews and dev comments, they plan expansions every 3-4 months, each adding a new 15 level sector to the game. the final plan is supposedly 10 sectors total, each covering a 15 level range. max level cap is 150. rumor is the game will expand up to ruined Las Vegas. not unlike the upcoming Fallout 3 stand-alone expansion. also read a comment a couple weeks back that sector 4 is nearly done, and they are busy working on sector 5. plus early work on sector 6. they have a smaller team so it will take a while to get all that done. but at least now you know they ARE working on new content and have it planned for a long time to come.
after following fallen earth for so long I can tell you I would be suprised if they got more than 1 new zone out per year and even then the zones feel generic Im not saying this game couldnt be totally awesome, but what I am saying is that it isnt right now it feels more like a developer student cut and paste project and the use of a virus instead of major nukes leaves the world feeling rather unremarkable most places you cant tell that its an aftermath universe except fot the occasional over sized creature or zombie.
This post right here exposes you for the troll you are, your so full of crap through your posts in this thread it's not funny. Have you even read the story to The Fall? All you're doing here is blabbing your opinion with intent to troll. I very much doubt you even have an active sub and just played briefly in the open beta with a POS for a computer.
going off other interviews and dev comments, they plan expansions every 3-4 months, each adding a new 15 level sector to the game. the final plan is supposedly 10 sectors total, each covering a 15 level range. max level cap is 150. rumor is the game will expand up to ruined Las Vegas. not unlike the upcoming Fallout 3 stand-alone expansion. also read a comment a couple weeks back that sector 4 is nearly done, and they are busy working on sector 5. plus early work on sector 6. they have a smaller team so it will take a while to get all that done. but at least now you know they ARE working on new content and have it planned for a long time to come.
after following fallen earth for so long I can tell you I would be suprised if they got more than 1 new zone out per year and even then the zones feel generic Im not saying this game couldnt be totally awesome, but what I am saying is that it isnt right now it feels more like a developer student cut and paste project and the use of a virus instead of major nukes leaves the world feeling rather unremarkable most places you cant tell that its an aftermath universe except fot the occasional over sized creature or zombie.
This post right here exposes you for the troll you are, your so full of crap through your posts in this thread it's not funny. Have you even read the story to The Fall? All you're doing here is blabbing your opinion with intent to troll. I very much doubt you even have an active sub and just played briefly in the open beta with a POS for a computer.
I agree.
Agreed too. "Following" the game, and playing it in-depth (or any depth) are two different things. And its not a virus moron. Its a mutation. Can't tell its an aftermath universe? Are you smoking crack? The entire fucking world looks post-apoc. Unless you think broken telephone booths and abandoned dams were in abundance in the wild west....
going off other interviews and dev comments, they plan expansions every 3-4 months, each adding a new 15 level sector to the game. the final plan is supposedly 10 sectors total, each covering a 15 level range. max level cap is 150. rumor is the game will expand up to ruined Las Vegas. not unlike the upcoming Fallout 3 stand-alone expansion. also read a comment a couple weeks back that sector 4 is nearly done, and they are busy working on sector 5. plus early work on sector 6. they have a smaller team so it will take a while to get all that done. but at least now you know they ARE working on new content and have it planned for a long time to come.
after following fallen earth for so long I can tell you I would be suprised if they got more than 1 new zone out per year and even then the zones feel generic Im not saying this game couldnt be totally awesome, but what I am saying is that it isnt right now it feels more like a developer student cut and paste project and the use of a virus instead of major nukes leaves the world feeling rather unremarkable most places you cant tell that its an aftermath universe except fot the occasional over sized creature or zombie.
For the bit in yellow...... For someone who's been "following fallen earth for so long", I find it remarkable that you never bothered to read the storyline - or at least never learned the gist of it. I found it out within the first 5 minutes of going to the site to check the game out.
Fact of the matter is a virus *and* nukes played a role. It's mentioned right in the first paragraph. Here's the story for ya... direct from the Official Site... I highlighted the relevant part in orange for you.
"We know it started in Asia, somewhere in India or Pakistan. A bunch of locals came down with some sort of virus that killed just about everyone who came into contact with it. Unfortunately, during the early stages, the virus was highly contagious and the infection was all but undetectable, so it spread fast. The later stages of it caused some sort of muscle contractions that looked like dancing, which reminded someone of a multi-armed Hindu god, and so it got named the Shiva Virus. Despite all the technology and wealth available, people died by the thousands. Then the nukes started going off. Not sure who started it or how, but within a few days, a good chunk of Southern Asia was irradiated wasteland. A couple of invasions and some more nukes later, and the whole world pretty much got screwed.
The beginning of the Fall is somewhat up for debate, but 2055 is the most common year cited. By the time the virus actually reached North America in 2056, war had broken out on the east coast between the United States Government and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, (which was supported by the United States military). By most accounts, the Fall was over by 2062, around the time of the death of the last President of the United States. At that point, every human being was locked away in some sealed bunker, an immune carrier of the Shiva Virus, or dead. It’s estimated that less than one out of one-hundred people survived the Fall, and even that sounds generous.
Around here, we had some additional problems, seeing as how a few nukes had hit the region (not sure who sent them) and a lot of the old Rothium kegs that were being used by GlobalTech to generate power were busted. The way the Techs tell it, the kegs were supposed to use heavy water to provide power; when rainwater got in them, they just spewed radioactive nanites. Few folks have a clue what all that means, but it’s obvious that radiation is still common throughout the region, and it does a good job of keeping people from reaching the outside world. There’re all sorts of nasty critters and radioactive storms just outside the Province, and they’re a good way to get yourself dead. For now, we’re stuck in the Grand Canyon Province. It could be worse… somehow…"
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Comments
That are very good ideas however there is one drawback to more intelligent AI's and that is the computational requirements. You should think that with the computers we have today that shouldnt be a problem, but if you multiply with the amount of entities that lives on a server, both players, grass, orcs and so on, it becomes a significant problem and has been the reason why MMOs so far has not attempted this.
Another reason is that qualified AI programmers are not available, there just isnt many people who can figure out how to make a good AI, even though it seems simple, it is a complicated task in a 3D world. Yes simple things as if the sun is up, the grass grows, but developers think of AI as being a little more challenging and it is going to take some time before anyone improves on the "15 year" old stand-around-till-i-get-shot AI.
Not just picking on this feature, but I have wondered, how much of these features is actually written by the staff member of the MMO’s who puts their name to it? You can find more honesty in this one actually than most. But it still seems to have been poured over and edited by a PR team, either that of every member of staff on every MMO is a PR guru.
I think its truly admirable that they have stayed indie. Alot of devs would have, by now, sold out to EA or some larger company (cough, Mythic)... I work for an indie game company and its true that the filters the large publishers place can majorly interrupt your original vision of the game your making. That being said, I hope Icarus stays true to the indie realm and does not sell out to the corporate machine. I know they need money to keep the game going, but, from what they are doing (bug killing, patching almost daily etc.) I dont think they need the iron hand "help" of ANY large company, considering most of them only care about their overhead and how many CEOs have a Mercedes.
And he is spot on about fansites, blogs, etc. being a huge ad campaign for them. Keep up the good work fellaz.
I'm totally agree with you !!!
I didn't have any expectations when I bought this game but I must say I have been very pleased with it.
Yes it does have some kinks and problems but overall you really feel you are in a living gameworld that is HUGE where you don't have to quest but that being said there are like 5 - 8 times as many quests out there that you need to lvl up so generally you select one group of people to work for and then do those quests and don't bother with others.
Game simply is soo much larger and complete compared to most other released games these days that its amazing.
And I love that you actually have to use your brain to play the game and that you have the freedom to make stupid choices and then have to live with it. The game does not treat its customers like idiots that have to be spoon feed everything and I respect that.
"You are the hero our legends have foretold will save our tribe, therefore please go kill 10 pigs."
I'll pick this game back up when they add vehicle physics/customisation/multi-manned vehicles.
As the proj mgr says its not looking to become anything major - slow and steady - however he also fails to mention all the stability issues.
Yeah sure its just released but ill list why i dislike the game.
Im an open sandbox game fanatic but this doesnt tick any boxes for me.
1. Performance - right now CTDS and 1FPS is the norm - if you go near any form of civilisation.
2. The melee First person combat - is clunky at best, sometimes you'll hit sometimes you'll miss and 50%, its a struggle to get the hang of it and definitely not ideal for pvp. Not that anyone PVP until high lvl.
3. Kill Stealing and other such stuff - its rife in here, spawn camping anything you can think of its at it peak ingame - reason for this is all the nodes that you may want have a big fat X waypoint over it and as everyones on one server you simply dont get a look in - then add the high lvlers who are farming low lvl nodes and selling them for profit - its horrible.
4. One server = its like buying a mini and then inviting half of london for a lift.
5. Crafting - you better like crafting - this is a crafting game with other bit like oh yeah pve/pvp attached onto it.
Slow burning - its like EVE - if your looking for fun and smiles from the get go - go look elsewhere. I am.
after following fallen earth for so long I can tell you I would be suprised if they got more than 1 new zone out per year and even then the zones feel generic Im not saying this game couldnt be totally awesome, but what I am saying is that it isnt right now it feels more like a developer student cut and paste project and the use of a virus instead of major nukes leaves the world feeling rather unremarkable most places you cant tell that its an aftermath universe except fot the occasional over sized creature or zombie.
This post right here exposes you for the troll you are, your so full of crap through your posts in this thread it's not funny. Have you even read the story to The Fall? All you're doing here is blabbing your opinion with intent to troll. I very much doubt you even have an active sub and just played briefly in the open beta with a POS for a computer.
I agree.
after following fallen earth for so long I can tell you I would be suprised if they got more than 1 new zone out per year and even then the zones feel generic Im not saying this game couldnt be totally awesome, but what I am saying is that it isnt right now it feels more like a developer student cut and paste project and the use of a virus instead of major nukes leaves the world feeling rather unremarkable most places you cant tell that its an aftermath universe except fot the occasional over sized creature or zombie.
This post right here exposes you for the troll you are, your so full of crap through your posts in this thread it's not funny. Have you even read the story to The Fall? All you're doing here is blabbing your opinion with intent to troll. I very much doubt you even have an active sub and just played briefly in the open beta with a POS for a computer.
I agree.
Agreed too. "Following" the game, and playing it in-depth (or any depth) are two different things. And its not a virus moron. Its a mutation. Can't tell its an aftermath universe? Are you smoking crack? The entire fucking world looks post-apoc. Unless you think broken telephone booths and abandoned dams were in abundance in the wild west....
after following fallen earth for so long I can tell you I would be suprised if they got more than 1 new zone out per year and even then the zones feel generic Im not saying this game couldnt be totally awesome, but what I am saying is that it isnt right now it feels more like a developer student cut and paste project and the use of a virus instead of major nukes leaves the world feeling rather unremarkable most places you cant tell that its an aftermath universe except fot the occasional over sized creature or zombie.
For the bit in yellow...... For someone who's been "following fallen earth for so long", I find it remarkable that you never bothered to read the storyline - or at least never learned the gist of it. I found it out within the first 5 minutes of going to the site to check the game out.
Fact of the matter is a virus *and* nukes played a role. It's mentioned right in the first paragraph. Here's the story for ya... direct from the Official Site... I highlighted the relevant part in orange for you.
"We know it started in Asia, somewhere in India or Pakistan. A bunch of locals came down with some sort of virus that killed just about everyone who came into contact with it. Unfortunately, during the early stages, the virus was highly contagious and the infection was all but undetectable, so it spread fast. The later stages of it caused some sort of muscle contractions that looked like dancing, which reminded someone of a multi-armed Hindu god, and so it got named the Shiva Virus. Despite all the technology and wealth available, people died by the thousands. Then the nukes started going off. Not sure who started it or how, but within a few days, a good chunk of Southern Asia was irradiated wasteland. A couple of invasions and some more nukes later, and the whole world pretty much got screwed.
The beginning of the Fall is somewhat up for debate, but 2055 is the most common year cited. By the time the virus actually reached North America in 2056, war had broken out on the east coast between the United States Government and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, (which was supported by the United States military). By most accounts, the Fall was over by 2062, around the time of the death of the last President of the United States. At that point, every human being was locked away in some sealed bunker, an immune carrier of the Shiva Virus, or dead. It’s estimated that less than one out of one-hundred people survived the Fall, and even that sounds generous.
Around here, we had some additional problems, seeing as how a few nukes had hit the region (not sure who sent them) and a lot of the old Rothium kegs that were being used by GlobalTech to generate power were busted. The way the Techs tell it, the kegs were supposed to use heavy water to provide power; when rainwater got in them, they just spewed radioactive nanites. Few folks have a clue what all that means, but it’s obvious that radiation is still common throughout the region, and it does a good job of keeping people from reaching the outside world. There’re all sorts of nasty critters and radioactive storms just outside the Province, and they’re a good way to get yourself dead. For now, we’re stuck in the Grand Canyon Province. It could be worse… somehow…"
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops