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fresh from gdc!
We're back from GDC and, oddly enough, this year the annual plague struck folks in the office while we were gone instead of the attendees bringing it home with us. It's still lurking around the office, but it looks like the worst of it has passed for now.
GDC was again a whirlwind of activity; we did twenty-some-odd interviews, including several audio and video interviews, so hopefully those will be making it online sometime soon. I'm afraid a lot of them won't be that interesting for our long-term fans, since we got a lot of folks who hadn't seen the game before and thus got the “ground up” spiel as opposed to the “what's new” spiel. We did have several folks who also saw us last year at the Austin GDC (MMORPG.com, Ten Ton Hammer, The San Diego Daily Transcript, etc) who should have some of the more interesting, newer bits. Sadly I doubt we'll have the sort of large-scale video that the MOGArmy guys did last year since they seem to be MIA.
I'll leave most of the new bits we introduced at GDC to come out in the interviews so as to not steal their thunder, but the important bit I do want people to see is that we're roughly 70-75% content complete and 50-60% feature complete. We want those to hit 100% before we go to widespread beta, but to give you an idea of our progress, we were around 20% in both this time last year. Complete doesn't mean all polished and nice-like, but it does mean functional. Everything needs a good layer of polish and spit shine, but the core is moving along nicely. This week we're doing some experimental revamp work on some of the starter towns, in addition to working on Irondowns, Bountiful, and Shackleton.
So. On to the Questions!
1. Is it possible to be a Vista spy and pretend to be a Tech, and if so, how would this work?
There are Stealth abilities and Telepathy mutations that allow you to alter your faction ratings temporarily so you can sneak into enemy towns, but these may also be removed by other characters using their own abilities if they think you're up to no good. If you get your faction deception abilities removed in the middle of an enemy town, you're going to be accosted by the locals pretty quickly.
2. Is it possible to use vehicles in combat as Phenix asked?
This is a big question we're still working on answering. If you can run someone over with a car, it makes investing points in the rifle skill sort of pointless, so we're trying to figure out what role we want vehicles to play in our game. Transportation and storage? Combat? Some combination of both? We don't want Fallen Earth to become a driving game with some personal elements; instead we want it to remain a personal game with some driving elements.
3. Off the last fiction, will there be combat pets or was that just creative license? I so want an attack parrot – I mean, I'll settle for a big cat, but the parrot would rule.
While attack parrots are unlikely, we will have a wide variety of pets that can be used for combat, from creepers and other mutants to old classics like wolves and large cats.
4. Any plans on making a site or adding to this site helpful information about Fallen Earth when it comes out? Like the recipes it would take to make a car – not necessarily where to find them, but something that gets the player started on the right path. Helpful paths that beginning players could take with AP use.
We're working on incorporating some of the ideas you mention into the game itself currently, such as providing direction for crafting-oriented characters so they start with some recipes, tool kits, and an idea of where to find more. Basically we've found our new-player experience to be a little too open, so we're working on adding more hints as to where to go and what to do. Some examples of this are towns geared toward a specific playstyle and some options for players to let the system automatically assign their AP towards a certain chosen goal (such as the system automatically spending your AP so you can be the best pistoleer if you select that option).
5. 3D Glasses...Useful item or just random bling?
3D glasses may not be the most useful items in terms of stopping bullets or boosting your Perception, but they do have damage resistance against certain types of unusual damage. While in many situations they may not be useful, in the right ones they can be VERY useful.
the latest qotw from www.fallenearth.com
Comments
"we're roughly 70-75% content complete and 50-60% feature complete. We want those to hit 100% before we go to widespread beta"
I wonder what that equates to in time? Anyway, not as far along as I was hoping...is 2008 likely? I'm guessing no. Well some news is better then none, at least we know where they stand now.
From 20% to 70-75% in a years time for content and features is pretty good, actually. While this means more than likely no release in 2008, it is entirely possible that beta testing could begin by the end of the year if they stay at that rate.
They should hit 100% content in about 6 months then. It is the feauture that drags the game into 2009. Some time, but a time worth waiting. Looking forward to play a post-apocalypse mmorpg.
I will be one happy gamer if they can release a character creator we can toy around with in the meanwhile while waiting for beta. That one looked pretty complete.
I think the car problem is interesting
They could make most of the terrain rocky and uneven, so cars can't go most places
Or make fuel scarce so you can't use them much
Or since cars will be put together from diferrent pieces, make the cars slow with bad handling.
Or have them break down a lot. Just imagine your car breaks down in the middle of enemy territory
I think the car problem is interesting
They could make most of the terrain rocky and uneven, so cars can't go most places
Or make fuel scarce so you can't use them much
Or since cars will be put together from diferrent pieces, make the cars slow with bad handling.
Or have them break down a lot. Just imagine your car breaks down in the middle of enemy territory
i like how they are looking at the situation, they are taking their time and trying to figure out what the best decision is. I am glad this game is under the radar, too much publicity might make them rush.
Playing: EVE Online
Favorite MMOs: WoW, SWG Pre-cu, Lineage 2, UO, EQ, EVE online
Looking forward to: Archeage, Kingdom Under Fire 2
KUF2's Official Website - http://www.kufii.com/ENG/ -
I also like the car "problem". But why not use the same features as we do in real life? A car is great for transportation.....on a road. They broke down regulary. And they can be damaged by careless driving or getting to close a careless driver. If they add collision detection with cars, so they become damaged if you run into something...the problem is solved.