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Firefly Online shows off the AFAS fighter
The titular ship class in Firefly Online won't be the only spacecraft players will encounter when the game goes live this summer. The arrogant Alliance have their own spiffy line-up of ships, and today Quantum Mechanix revealed the faction's first one: the Alliance Fast Attack Ship. The AFAS, also known as Shinigami, was created to counter gunboats such as the Firefly Series 3 military variant in the Unification War. It's a short-range attack ship that might not be as powerful as some of the other hardware in the Alliance's arsenal, but it's cheap and effective enough that they flourished even so. The AFAS is small, quick, has a decent armament of turrets and cannons, and operates in three-ship wolf packs. While the AFAS was mostly retired in favor of the follow-up ASREV, there are still a few in operation in the 'Verse even today.
First Firefly Online details revealed
Browncoats everywhere will be pleased to know that the first look at the upcoming Firefly Online is now here for all to see. Andy Gore, CEO of Quantum Mechanix, has revealed a number of tasty details about the upcoming game based on everyone's favorite short-lived TV show. Firefly Online will utilize a "Free Flight Engine," which gives players a "reactive 3D interface" of the 'verse to assist in their interstellar travels. Gore also unveiled the game's "job" system, which gives players a number of sidequests outside of the main storyline and even lets them create jobs for other players to undertake. The full piece at io9 also shows off a number of screenshots, demo animations, and concept art from the game, so click on through the link below for your fix of Firefly goodness.
Wasteland Diaries: Choose your clan
If you are playing Fallen Earth and you are not in a clan, you are doing it wrong. The importance of clan membership cannot be overstated. There are simply too many benefits to not find one that suits you. There is safety in numbers if you are a PvPer. It's nice to team up on that nasty boss with your PvE buddies. And roleplaying by yourself isn't roleplaying at all; it's just being weird. We need to interact with other people to get the most out of an MMO game. Hence: clans. Finding a clan to join is easy. Finding the best clan for you is a bit more complicated. In order to make it a little bit easier for you to choose the clan that's best for you, I have compiled a list of Fallen Earth clans for you to check out. I've supplied their requirements, playstyle focus, and website when available -- some clans are more secretive than others (or maybe less formal). So click past the cut and start your search for your new BFFs.
Firefly: Streaming to iTunes with DAAP
Make blog recently posted about how to run an iTunes DAAP server in Linux with Firefly. Firefly (né mt-daapd) provides an open-source digital audio server that supports iTunes-compatible streaming. With it, you can stream your media from a Linux platform to any other computer that's running iTunes. Best of all, it transcodes in real time. This allows you to stream file formats not normally supported by iTunes, such as OGG and FLAC. Full disclosure: I occasionally write for Make.
Firefly returns as MMORPG
Half of coding an MMORPG is hiding the statistics. Wired News reports that the criminally unappreciated Firefly is set to return as a massive, online role-playing game, thanks to an agreement between Multiverse and Fox Licensing. A charming collision between Western settings and futuristic technology (think live-action Cowboy Bebop), Firefly was a show marked with witty writing and memorable characters, but marred with abysmal ratings and a quick cancellation. Fox Licensing's Adam Kline believes that "Multiverse can deliver an experience that will remain true to the original series, while enabling a whole new level of personal involvement for fans."Though hardcore Whedon fans are sure to be overcome with seizures of delight upon hearing this news, two crucial points need to be taken into consideration. The first -- Multiverse only develops the technology and tools necessary to create an MMORPG. For Firefly, they'll be hiring a team of seperate developers to realize their vision and not just do, as they say, "a reskin of World of Warcraft or Star Wars Galaxies." The second -- the massively multiplayer aspect of the genre implies that each player will have a unique character, with the show's core cast making celebrity-like appearances at best. Is Firefly's universe alone compelling enough for its own game? Looks like we'll have to wait until gorram 2008 before we can answer that one.[Thanks PapaZeb, adg1034]
