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Fallen Earth launches national tour
The team at Fallen Earth are trying something a bit different to promote their post-apocalyptic MMO this year. They're actually taking the game on a national tour across key cities in the US to get the word out and let potential players get a better look at what their game has to offer.This tour kicked off at the Triangle International Game Developers Association (IGDA) meeting at Ess Lounge in Raleigh, NC on February 19th. The tour will continue to hit cities such as Baltimore, San Francisco and Houston throughout the spring and summer months. "IGDA is a very important organization in the gaming community, and it was really great to hear and answer questions that our fans had about the game," said Lee Hammock, lead game designer for Fallen Earth. "Player feedback is a critical component to closed beta testing, and we hope fans across the U.S. can join us at our future events."
Fallen Earth lead designer Lee Hammock on game's approach to genre
The post-apocalyptic massively multiplayer online game Fallen Earth has been getting more frequent mentions in the gaming press, earlier this month at Worlds in Motion and now at Italian gaming site Gamesource. Nolvadex from Gamesource recently caught up with Fallen Earth's lead designer Lee Hammock, who shared a bit about the inspiration that Icarus Studios has drawn from post-apocalyptic games and films. Their aim was to incorporate the best of these elements into a game that can stand on its own. In addition to discussing how Fallen Earth will balance content between PvE and PvP, Hammock addresses the competition the title is likely to get from the other post-apocalyptic MMO on the horizon, Earthrise. The two games are differentiated in ways beyond backstory Hammock says, such as Fallen Earth's 'use what works' approach to found objects and combat, specifically using "non-traditional weapons -- a parking meter or a baker's rolling pin for instance -- to provide more innovative combat and the sense of using whatever means necessary to stay alive." See the Gamesource interview with Lee Hammock for more on what Icarus Studios is doing with Fallen Earth.
Fallen Earth dev chat transcript a glimpse into the game
As the post-apocalyptic massively multiplayer online game Fallen Earth has now entered closed beta and gets closer to its launch, Icarus Studios is sharing more info about the title. Tiggs, the Fallen Earth Community Director, has posted the latest Stratics HoC Chat Transcript. Quite a number of the Fallen Earth devs were on hand for the chat, not limited to the game's writer and content designer, lead scripter, lead game designer, and the art director. They fielded questions from the Fallen Earth community about the game, hitting upon everything from their choice to create an MMO without classes to the goal-oriented PvP style of the game, where territorial control is key. If you missed this as it was happening, have a look at what the devs and players are saying about Fallen Earth.
The Daily Grind: What beta are you dying to get into?
With all the games in beta right now, there's a huge list going here at the Massively offices of what betas everyone wants in on. There's Jumpgate Evolution, Champions Online, Darkfall, Fallen Earth, and more coming into beta all the time - almost all of which have our interest right now. The coin-tosses in the virtual massively offices to see who lands which invites will be fast and furious, but to bring us to our question today... With so many interesting titles coming up, we know we can't be the only ones excited about all the new games coming. What beta - or betas - are you really hoping to get in to?
Fallen Earth Valentine's Day cards offer closed beta keys
Have a special someone in your life this Valentine's Day who just isn't into the conventional pink candy hearts, stuffed animals and chocolates? Someone who would enjoy some good old-fashioned post-apocalyptic humor above all else? Well you're in luck because the folks at Fallen Earth have created a Valentine's Day card creator themed for their upcoming MMO.Simply head on over to their forums and fill out the simple form. You'll need to be registered on their forums first, but it will all be worth it when the love of your life reads those special words, "Love means never having to say 'That's Gross'." In addition to the lovely sentiment, one in ten cards will be chosen for the closed beta program, and any forum member who sends ten or more valentines will receive a special "SuperFan" forum award. Feel free to send away as many as you like, but only one per recipient.
Top 10 ways Fallen Earth is different from all other MMOs
According to a recent interview at Worlds in Motion, Fallen Earth's lead designer Lee Hammock discusses everything we know about the game, and more. It could be considered a summary of features, all in one interview, yet there are still a few small exclusive tidbits of info. We get a brief summary of how the faction system will work, based on reputation quests instead of a choice you make at character creation. We also get word of a launch date in Q2 of this year, with an open beta coming just before.But you came here for the top 10 list, didn't you? Follow along after the cut for one of the most nonsensical (but funny) top 10 lists of design features for Fallen Earth that set it apart from other MMOs, according to Mr. Hammock.
Fallen Earth shows its humorous side with dance emote video
Who would have thought you could have so much fun in a post-apocalyptic wasteland? Apparently the devs at Fallen Earth are having tons of fun with their new MMO, as they've recently released a short video showing off their in-game dance emotes.This video shows some of the fluid animations and character art from this upcoming post-apocalyptic MMO, currently entering closed beta stage. Some of the dances include the Carlton, the Charleston, the Pee Wee Herman dance, the obligatory Thriller dance and more! We also get a look at the animation team responsible for these character dances and their own characters.
Fallen Earth announces closed beta
As announced in a recent press release, Fallen Earth, LLC will begin closed beta sign-ups for their post-apocalyptic MMO Fallen Earth. Anyone interested in signing up for this closed beta is encouraged to apply at their forums and website. With the recent addition of a comprehensive tutorial and more content added or improved daily, the team feels it's ready to take on more testers to "better observe overall game play, perform system stress tests, and ultimately perfect the Fallen Earth game experience."The game is set in the Grand Canyon, circa 2156, after a plague of disease destroyed most of mankind. It features a classless advancement system, six factions and a powerful crafting system where players create 95 percent of the items for other players. An exact launch date has not been announced, but they're aiming for Q2 of this year.
Chat with the Fallen Earth devs on February 12th
Next month's usual dev chat with the Fallen Earth devs will take place on Thursday, February 12th, 2009. This is an ongoing schedule of chats that have been going on for a few months now, where Alpha participants get to interact through in-game events, and other fans of the game get to chat live with the devs through Stratics.This time around, the in-game event will take place at 1pm EST and involve a team-based takeover of New Gallows, one of the conflict towns in Sector Two. Later that day, at 9pm EST, anyone can join in a live dev chat where the topic will be anything goes with Fallen Earth. The devs attending this one will be Alec Masters, RandomTask, Funslayer, Dst3d, Circatrix, Tiggs, Morgana and Quisno. If you've been following along on their "Meet the Team" features, you probably have a good sense of who these people are already. If not, this would be the perfect opportunity to get to know them (and the game) better.
The Daily Grind: What do you want to see in a post-apocalyptic MMO?
Sure, you could point to my heavy Fallout 3 playing lately, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't think the genre was long overdue for a post-apocalyptic MMO. The good news is that there are companies working towards that end, like Icarus Studios' Fallen Earth, for example. This got me to wondering - with so many different spins on what a post-apocalyptic future would be like (the only thing they seem to agree on is that there's a lot of rubble strewn about) what kind of things would you want to see in a post-apocalyptic MMO? Would you like to see interesting mutations to irradiated humans? Perhaps you're looking for civilzation to be more Thunderdome and less Megaton? Would there be high-tech weapons to scavenge in underground vaults, or would everything be put together from scraps and creativity? How about transportation?
Fallen Earth dev interviews continue with "Funslayer"
As we reported on their first dev interview, the Fallen Earth team is doing a great job at keeping us excited and informed on the progression of the game and the team involved. In this fourth dev interview, we hear from "Funslayer", Lead Scripter on the Fallen Earth MMO project.As with the previous dev interviews, we hear about the basic essentials, like favorite color and underwear preference. These are certainly the types of questions every player needs to know about their game's developers. Yet the important part comes after the introduction, when forum-goers get to ask the real questions. We learn quite a bit about the game's tutorial, NPC AI, and where he got that awesome nickname. Check out the entire 3-page thread in the Fallen Earth forums for more on this Q&A, and be sure to check out the previous and upcoming dev interviews as well.
Fallen Earth state of the game details, well, everything
Fallen Earth -- a post-apocalyptic MMO -- went through a lot of changes in 2008, but it seems as though it was all for the better. Now with the 'State of the Game' post for January 2009, the game is in the spit 'n shine stage and teams are going back over things that need to look as good as their more recent work. Here's what the game is touting as of right now: 75,000+ text strings Almost 5,500 missions 6,000+ items 14,000+ unique characters/creatures 143,000+ in game objects 70 towns 600+ hrs of content Wow, our eyes required bulging at the last item on that list. Granted, we're assuming that's an assertion of both questing, killing and various free-form styles of gameplay like PvP.But that's not all, Icarus Studios has also hired a PR firm to start getting the game's name out on both the web (hello!) and at gaming conventions as well. We're excited for the game to move from alpha and into beta in the coming months so we can finally get our perfectly sanitized hands on it. Yes, we promise -- lots of disinfectant.
New Fallen Earth teaser trailer released
The developers at Fallen Earth have recently released the first video trailer in a series they're aiming to release to help educate fans on the game's story line, factions and missions.This teaser trailer introduces us to the six rival factions in the game. This is not new info to those who have been following along, but it's always nice to get a bit of info in video form. We also get a view of the Hoover Dam, which is described as the last bastion of civilization in the game's post-apocalyptic setting. Check out the full trailer just after the cut below.
Meet the Fallen Earth dev team
The developers at Fallen Earth are certainly doing the whole community relations thing the right way, it seems. In addition to special events like Day with the Devs, their forums are bursting with activity. The game's community manager, know as Tiggs, has arranged a series of interviews with the developers where fans of the upcoming post-apocalyptic MMO can ask questions of a certain dev when it's their turn.For the inaugural interview, we hear from PirateEye, a 3D Animator on the game. While some of the questions are simply a fun way to be silly with the forum members and fans, this seems a great way for people to become more involved with who is making the game. Long gone are the days of unnamed artists and programmers working behind the scenes on our favorite games. This is the age of the developer rock star![via WarCry]
Join Fallen Earth creators during their monthly "Day with the Devs"
Today marks yet another "Day with the Devs" for Fallen Earth, where players have an opportunity to interact with the upcoming post-apocalytic MMO's creators. The first one of these was last month during a Stractics House of Commons chat, but today's will double the effort. At 9pm EST tonight, you can head over to the Stratics HoC chat to talk with the devs about Crafting and PvP. All questions will need to be submitted on the Fallen Earth forums ahead of time.Plus, at 4pm EST this afternoon, all registered Alpha participants will have the chance to fight alongside the devs for control of New Gallows, one of the conflict towns in Sector Two. Not in the Alpha testing program? No problem! The team is currently accepting clans, while individuals will soon be able to sign up through forum membership. You can check out the main website for the individual Alpha sign-up info coming soon. If you're not in Alpha now, you certainly won't make it for this afternoon's event, but the Fallen Earth folks promise to have these "Day with the Devs" on the second Thursday of each month. Check out this post by Community Director Tiggs for more information on today's happenings.
The Digital Continuum: Let's talk about the Fallout MMO
Fallout 3 is out this week and I've spent a whole lot of time exploring and fighting in Bethesda's singleplayer MMO world. I've always wondered whether a post-apocalyptic MMO would work well or not, which is part of the reason I've kept a close eye on Fallen Earth in the past. But what's always been in the back-burner of my mind is whether or not the Fallout license would be necessary for a post-apocalyptic to flourish. While endlessly exploring our own personal post-apocalypticia is incredible fun, do we want a massive one?
Fallen Earth hits content complete development goal
While the fantasy MMO genre still has years of life left in it and millions of fans, there's an upcoming crop of new titles in the sci-fi and post-apocalyptic genres. Of that latter category, Fallen Earth is one of the most anticipated titles that's nearing test phases.Tiggs, the Community Director at the official Fallen Earth forums, said, "After a nine-month schedule of intensive content development, we are happy to announce that we have reached the development landmark 'content complete.' The Fallen Earth team has met two critical development milestones on time within the past six months, including 'feature complete' in June." Her announcement to the Fallen Earth community breaks down the major accomplishments linked to the game's content complete status. Highlights include 50,000 lines of dialogue, well over 1000 new and motion-captured animations and emotes, and over 1000 square kilometers of explorable territory, but there's much more. See Tiggs' announcement at the Fallen Earth forums for more details on where the game is, although it seems that Beta testing is still some months away. [Via WorthPlaying]
Icarus Studios demos iPhone MMO software this week
Icarus Studios -- developer of Fallen Earth and the associated Icarus Platform virtual world development tools --announced via press release that this week it is demonstrating its 3D MMO platform running on Apple's iPhone at the Austin Game Developers Conference.The demo is modest -- a "360-degree panoramic tour of a sample virtual world location." Users control the camera with the phone's accelerometer. Apple recently threw down the gauntlet, saying that the iPhone and the iPod Touch platforms are "the best portable device for playing games." No reason that future can't include MMOs, right?The iPhone client is scheduled to launch in Q1 of 2009. Does this mean that within months everyone on the New York subway, the Chicago El, and the London Underground will be immersed in a never-ending, time-sinking quest for teh phat lewtz?
News from the Wider MMO World: September 2, 2008
The MMO genre is more than World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, and Warhammer Online. Here's what's going on in the rest of the world.Dreamlords the Reawakening makes deal to move to RussiaLockpick Entertainment has signed an agreement with Akella Games, Russian distributors of Planetside, Everquest 2, and Pirates of the Burning Sea, to localize and distribute Dreamlords the Reawakening. "Our goal is to reach out to new audiences and the Russian market is fast growing and with Akella's expertise we're able to do just that," said David Rosén, CEO of Lockpick Entertainment. "We hope that collaboration between our two companies will benefit both parties and that such an interesting genre will draw gamer's attention" said Alexander Trifonov, Managing Director of Akella Online. Closed beta testing is expected to begin in early September. Pet Evolution Manuals debut on Grand ChaseThree different Pet Evolution Manuals are available at the shop in Grand Chase, allowing knights to evolve their pets at levels 0, 20, and 40. There will also be prizes for each knight that evolves and raises their pet to level 10. Prizes for winning pets include nutrient shots, pet food, gacha coins, and pet skills. Additionally, players who log on between the hours of 4 and 8 PM every day will receive double xp and double gp, in the Afterschool Adventure Hour.
New Fallen Earth vehicles revealed
The latest update to the Fallen Earth website is all about vehicles; it features pictures of five never-before-seen cars and bikes from the game, four of which are actual in-game models.The article describes what players can use vehicles for. They can, of course, be used for rapid transportation. But they can also be used for item storage -- a portable vault, if you will. Unfortunately, vehicles with more storage capacity will use more fuel, which can be quite costly. Vehicles can also be used in combat, although apparently repairing them will also be very expensive. Visit the site for more details.Fallen Earth is a post-apocalyptic MMORPG developed by a studio also called Fallen Earth, which is associated with North Carolina-based Icarus Studios. We've been following the game for a while, but most of what we've seen so far has been info pages just like this one. [Via MMORPG]
