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Massively Exclusive: Red 5 talks pay-to-win and Firefall's open beta
If you haven't yet noticed, Red 5's open-world, MMOFPS, action-adventure, jet-boot-featuring Firefall is now in open beta. The sci-fi shooter saw an extended closed beta period marked by major overhauls to core systems and a slow-but-steady trickle of new content, and last week's open beta launch is the next big step in pushing Firefall toward its eventual release. We posed a few questions to Red 5 about the nature of beta testing, the complications brought on by monetizing a game in progress, and the future of Firefall.
Firefall extrapolates on its new progression system
Hot on the heals of its blog post about dynamic events, Red 5 Studios now hopes to change up the whole progression system in its third-person shooter Firefall. The development team revamped the existing mostly linear advancement system to a more dynamic (there's that word again) skill-tree system. And now, Lead Class Designer Dave Williams has posted that the team that the team wanted to "increase the number of choices that were available to players within their progression." Williams explains that players generally pick a battleframe based on their individual playstyles. With the skill trees, a player can break that playstyle down even further. He gives the example of a Mammoth Dreadnaught vs. a Rhino Dreadnaught. The Mammoth builds heavier defenses, whereas the Rhino packs a heavier punch. MMOs and other online games are trending away from the linear progression style to a more horizontal progression style. Firefall is heading in that direction, too. Will this be enough push Firefall toward being the next great online shooter? Red 5 hopes so.
Firefall video diary talks Medics, Assaults, and that dreaded balance word
Mmm, Firefall. Red 5 Studios is starting the Thanksgiving week off right with a delicious helping of video. The entree consists of David Williams talking a bit about class design and the balance challenges inherent in the title's battleframes (for the uninitiated, battleframes are the suits of power armor worn by Firefall's soldiers, and in gameplay terms they determine your class and combat role). When it comes to the dreaded "B" word, Williams uses the game's Medic class as an example, and he says that Red 5 wants combat docs to be able to deal damage and fulfill the primary support role. This poses a problem, of course, because other classes (like the Assault) aren't able to do both. The Medic "needed to be fun, it needed to be threatening, but it also needed to be just below the offensive capabilities of an Assault," Williams explains. See what else he has to say, and get a good look at Firefall in action, via the video after the break.
Firefall art lead builds battleframes
Firefall isn't being marketed as a traditional MMO, and in fact there aren't many traditional MMO staples in this Red 5 Studios creation. For instance, the class system is series of battleframes. These are armor sets that any player can wear, and they define what role he plays in a group. Another way Firefall is attempting to carve its own gaming niche is found in the art style behind this third-person shooter. Art Lead Adam McMahon takes a few moments in the latest Firefall dev blog to talk about the evolution of the battleframe design. Some of the original designs for the battleframes conjured up scenes from Alien or Starship Troopers. But the art team quickly realized that it was "making a game for the global market," and therefore, as McMahon explains, "the art needs to be special and it needs to appeal to that broad audience." At that point, the design took a totally different direction and eventually became the look you see in the promo art now and you will see in the game. If you'd like to read more about how McMahon and the Firefall team inspired the look of the game, be sure to read the whole developer diary. While you're there, take a moment to sign up for the beta. %Gallery-126195%
