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Fallen Earth dev journal focuses on weapon balance
The upcoming post-apocalyptic MMO Fallen Earth has the potential to bring a very different kind of setting to the fantasy-dominated landscape in massively multiplayer titles. One of the interesting aspects of Fallen Earth is the variety of weaponry players can obtain. In true Mad Max fashion, the game's weaponry can can often be found and modified objects, bringing a 'use what works' approach to inflicting harm upon your fellow survivors in the wasteland. Then again, other weapon choices will be decidedly high tech. Could this create a disparity between the haves and have-nots in terms of improvised vs. manufactured weaponry? Fallen Earth's system designer Brandes Stoddard has written a developer journal for MMORPG.com that's focused on how the dev team is balancing the game's weapons. Hopefully, he relates, they're creating weapons that fill the right niches -- no one weapon should be the best for every task, but should really be the ideal choice for certain situations. Check out his dev journal over at MMORPG.com for images of some of the weapons players will be able to use in Fallen Earth, and read about why shotguns probably won't be an i-win button once the game's ready for release.
Fallen Earth dev interview with designer Brandes Stoddard
We're keeping our eyes open for information dealing with the post-apocalyptic MMO title Fallen Earth in development at Icarus Studios. Netherlands-based gaming site MMOZONE got a hold of Fallen Earth systems designer Brandes Stoddard, asking questions ranging from the game's PvP system to design decisions as they relate to the title's ESRB rating. Since there will be no classes in Fallen Earth, Stoddard explains what a typical group will look like -- a mix of melee and ranged combatants, he says, with others using their mutations to heal and buff. Stoddard also goes into how gear specialization will impart advantages tempered with drawbacks specific to those items in question. Mounts will also be a key aspect of Fallen Earth's gameplay. Since teleportation of any sort won't exist, characters will actually have to travel to visit other locations in the game's world. Despite the importance of these means of transportation (or perhaps because of it), it looks like it won't be possible to steal them from other players. Mounts, whether vehicles or animals, will be bound to their owners, and will require either energy or food to maintain. Fallen Earth's vehicles, in general, will only be available through player-crafting efforts. If you're interested in hearing what else Fallen Earth's system designer has to say about the game, check out the MMOZONE interview with Brandes Stoddard.
