Fallen Earth: Waking you up to put you back to sleep

[UnSub]

Some new info about Fallen Earth came out from GDC 08. The interview itself reads like on the Questions of the Week that you can find on the FE forums, but here's the interesting bit:

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.

FE is 6 years into development, give or take. They're currently redoing all the graphics / zones as well as designing some of their other systems. As such, expect to hear that FE finally limps into beta around mid-2009.

Should it even launch. I'm almost certain that their parent company, Icarus Studios, is just using FE as a big test case / showcase for their middleware, which is where they see the money. If FE never got off the ground but sold middleware licenses across the world, FE would have been money well spent for Icarus.

Oh, and that's middleware that is meant to save development time. 

[Typhon]

Building the tools to make other people's jobs easier is the harder job and should take longer (certainly longer then just wiring shit together).  6-years-long is... just not right.

[UnSub]

Just as an addition to this, from the most recent Question of the Week (QOTW):

1. QOTW has been going for a year now.. Most basic questions have been answered...but have any of the previous answers changed?

Some things have changed, but mostly minor ones. For example, we're looking at dropping the Evade skill from the basic 10 active skills, combining its functionality into the Melee skill, and adding Animal Training to the active skills list. We're also adding a general mutation path that players get right off the bat to get them used to mutations earlier. We haven't done any real major changes, just small changes here and there.

There are also a number of things (like cars in combat) that get a "we're still thinking about that" response.

The forums, however, are full of FFA PvP-with-full-looting devotees who are sure that FE is finally going to get PvP right and they will have the pwnage that they deserve. I am looking forward to the wailing and gnashing of teeth when (if) FE launches and they find that FE isn't everything they ever dreamed of.

[DarkSign]

Well they should realize that the Shadowrun FPS assumed all the risk of market testing for them when it failed. FE has "mutations" which are pretty much just like magic powers - from the Rrrrrrrr-YOOOKEN! fireball to the magic earth barricades players can call forth.

Most post-apoc people want realism...not magic.

[Xerapis]

I prefer mutant psionics 

[DarkSign]

That's what they're calling the Street Fighter fireballs...so looks like the game is for you :)

[Nevermore]

Well they should realize that the Shadowrun FPS assumed all the risk of market testing for them when it failed. FE has "mutations" which are pretty much just like magic powers - from the Rrrrrrrr-YOOOKEN! fireball to the magic earth barricades players can call forth.

Most post-apoc people want realism...not magic.

Bah, screw the magic and screw the realism.  Where's Gamma World Online?

[UnSub]

Well they should realize that the Shadowrun FPS assumed all the risk of market testing for them when it failed. FE has "mutations" which are pretty much just like magic powers - from the Rrrrrrrr-YOOOKEN! fireball to the magic earth barricades players can call forth.

Most post-apoc people want realism...not magic.

On this point, I can definitely see the division on the forums. A certain group wants realistic* combat where guns > melee, while another group wants to play mutant martial artist monks. When (if) FE ever launches, it will be fun to see these groups go head to head.

* i.e. where they win all the time because they're awesome, just like in RL

[DarkSign]

Well they should realize that the Shadowrun FPS assumed all the risk of market testing for them when it failed. FE has "mutations" which are pretty much just like magic powers - from the Rrrrrrrr-YOOOKEN! fireball to the magic earth barricades players can call forth.

Most post-apoc people want realism...not magic.

Bah, screw the magic and screw the realism.  Where's Gamma World Online?

True. Loved that. Also loved Aftermath! as far as PnP post-apoc goes.

[naum]

Wow, I thought this was a necropost…

[UnSub]

Some new stuff up:

A detailed list of skills (since FE is meant to be a skill-oriented MMO)

Combat overview

A recent video (the top one)... but it was done under the 'old' graphics engine

Still not dead. Still no official beta timetable or proposed launch date.

[UnSub]

Vehicles have been showcased.

The lead dev sez:

Some folks seem concerned about now the interceptor doesn't look that beat up. Three things to bring up on that point:

1. These are the models, but the textures may change.

2. The Interceptor is the highest end vehicle only craftable by someone who maxes out their Science skill all the way. For the price of an basic Interceptor you could build a few dozen top of the line assault rifles. It takes three weeks of non stop crafting without a minute wasted to make an Interceptor (basic version, runs on gas, no built in weaponry). You're not going to be seeing a lot of these, and for that we figure a little shine ain't such a bad thing.

Most people are going to be sticking with bikes, dune buggies, and ATVs, especially when they see the horrendous gas mileage of the Tornado and Interceptor.

3. You can research different vehicles with different stats, such as a Nomad Bike that has good gas mileage and storage vs. a Wasteland Rider which as more hit points, or a cargo ATV vs. a combat ATV.

It takes three weeks of non stop crafting without a minute wasted to make an Interceptor

 

[Mrbloodworth]

I assume hes talking about one person making an entire car, in a post apocalyptic setting.

Whats the issue again? I bet, throw a few more people in the the process, and it wont take a s long. Subcomponents and all that.

Besides, look at the thing:

[HaemishM]

Three weeks. To build something in a game. Bwaaaa wha?

[UnSub]

Three weeks is a long, long time.

Only to run out of gas in the middle of the desert and have to leg it back.

[Sir T]

Three weeks. To build something in a game. Bwaaaa wha?

3 weeks to have some bot do it you mean.

[HaemishM]

Unless it's like Eve's offline training and you can do other things while you are online instead of watching your car crafting progress bar not move, these guys are on serious crack.

[TripleDES]

Three man weeks of hands on crafting? What in the fuck! It's no surprise that MMO developers don't really get the idea behind the word "fun", but this takes the cake. Grinding all crafting professions to master in SWG takes way less time than that. Well, took.

[Mrbloodworth]

There is offline crafting. There is  also experimentations ETC..to change stats of final objects. (Somewhat like SWG)

[Falconeer]

I was seriously hoping for this game to be any good, but what's with that car? It's crap!

This is what it should be like:




A rugged, motherfucking powerful muscle beast. Not a shitty BMW clone.
That reeks of Need for Speed 2009, not of Wasteland, not of Fallout, not of Mad Max.

[schild]

Looks more like a 350z. Just sayin.

[Falconeer]

Yeah definitely. Or this, a shity post-apocalyptic Smart!

[Surlyboi]

Three weeks? To build that? Tony Stark laughs at your wastefulness...

[Mrbloodworth]

Yeah, but how long did it take him? lol. And did he do it while sleeping (offline)?