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Fallen Earth's newest patch aimed at improving a life of crafting
Crafting has always been one of the major elements of Fallen Earth, and with good cause, really: you're in a post-apocalyptic wasteland and you can't just buy all your supplies down at the S-Mart. But that doesn't mean crafting is all roses and happy thoughts; some items are far rarer than necessary and others present in useless abundance. It's ripe for some revisions, and that's exactly what the game's newest patch, set for release on October 4th, is meant to address. Several recipes have been streamlined, with unnecessary parts removed from the equation to make a crafter's life easier. At the same time, craftable items are being removed from merchant inventories, encouraging players to seek out other players or assemble the items themselves. If you're feeling a bit leery of the changes, though, fret not -- you still have a couple of days left to stock up on materials.
Proposed Fallen Earth F2P chart separates the scavengers from the commanders
While we didn't get much out of GamersFirst at PAX this past week about Fallen Earth's plans for this fall and the free-to-play conversion, it looks like news will find a way nevertheless. Creep the Prophet posted a proposed (please note that word) membership matrix for Fallen Earth when the F2P switch is triggered. Similar to other F2P charts we've seen, this boasts a variety of subscription levels, from the F2P "Scavenger" to the ultra-deluxe "Commander." The good news is that a majority of the game would, under this matrix, become simply free to all, including all zones, all levels, and skills. Free players will face a few restrictions, including crafting limitations, no access to global chat, only one character slot, and a slower rate of gaining XP and AP. The better subscription levels offer discounts to the game's store, faster progress in the game, monthly gifts, and a full range of features. Subscribers will also receive an in-game "aura," that will allow them to share some of these bonuses with their less-fortunate F2P brothers and sisters. No prices have been attached to this chart, and it could be subject to change between now and the F2P conversion, which should happen sometime between October and December.
Fallen Earth store goes all the way with a 100% rebate event
You know what's better than spending a bunch of money on buying in-game items for your character in the soon-to-be free-to-play Fallen Earth? Spending a bunch of money on buying in-game items for your character and then getting all of that money back. Sounds too good to be true? It's not. From August 18th to August 23rd, GamersFirst is holding a 100% rebate promotion for the game, where every purchase will come with a nice big rebate of every credit used in the purchase. Now, before you ask, it's not quite free -- the rebate comes after the end of the promotion, meaning that if you spend $20 during the promotion, you will be credited with $20 after the promotion ends. Still, it's a chance to pick up all sorts of fun accessories, several of which are deeply discounted during the promotion. Fallen Earth players would be well advised to browse the market and decide if there's anything worth buying -- after all, it all comes back to you in the end.
The Perfect Ten: Best in-game maps
I love me a good map. Seriously. When I was a boy and we'd go on vacations, I think I spent more time flipping through the detailed atlas in the car than looking out of the windows (and how sad is that?). Even today, I'm fascinated with a good map, as it allows my imagination to roam across lands quickly and imagine what they must be like. In MMOs, maps are one of the most important tools in your user interface. They help orient you, direct you to your next quest objective, allow you to plan a journey in the safest possible manner, and tantalize you with the potentials of unexplored areas. I started to think about how much we rely on a good in-game map when I was reading the Star Wars: The Old Republic dev diary on how that team is implementing their map system. I've found that in-game maps can be a mixed bag, depending on the game you visit. Some may look great but be functionally useless. Some may be uglier than dirt but hit the spot nevertheless. But the best are the ones that marry good aesthetics with practicality, and those are the ones I want to spotlight today. So without further ado, my favorite in-game maps from MMOs!
Fallen Earth launches Alpha County expansion [Updated]
Welcome to Alpha County, wasteland wanderers! That's right, the big day is here, as GamersFirst has finally launched (see below) the newest expansion to Fallen Earth. What does this new addition bring to Fallen Earth players? Well... (deep breath!) the largest addition is the eponymous Alpha County zone, which provides endgame-level players with a wealth of new content. The expansion brings the level cap to 55 and introduces a brand-new conflict town called Blockade. Also included are new areas known as Progress Towns. These towns are PvP-centric areas that players can fight over, command, defend, and hopefully, hold. The expansion also brings a wealth of combat balance changes and new skill lines. The new system "allows for wider varieties of player builds and roles in combat." In addition, skills will no longer increase alongside the character's base statistics, thereby requiring more specialized skill investment in order to receive the most powerful abilities. New players aren't getting left in the dust either, as they will now begin the game with 30 Advancement Points from the get-go, allowing them to take steps toward customizing and defining their characters much earlier in the game. For more information, and to jump into the post-apocalyptic wasteland of Fallen Earth for yourself, head on over to the game's official site. [Update: And it's just been announced that the Alpha County update is delayed until tomorrow. So there's that.]
Wasteland Diaries: Playstyles
Most MMOs have three playstyles. Well, that's incorrect; they actually have any number of play-styles with varying degrees of three types of play. PvE (player vs. environment) is the style of play in which the antagonists are a part of the gameworld itself. PvP (player vs. player) pits the players against each other. And RP (roleplaying) has the players vying for... whatever they decide they need to vie for. Most players engage Fallen Earth (or any MMO, for that matter) with a mix of the three. Fallen Earth is a great setting for the RPers. Its vastness and its interesting-looking locales make for a variety of backdrops. The interesting locales usually make for some great locations for open world PvP. And there are hundreds and hundreds of PvE missions here, there, and everywhere. All three types of players can get a lot out of Fallen Earth if they approach the game properly. The purpose of this post is to help you along with getting what you can out of the game with your preferred playstyle. So without any further ado, click past the cut and read on.
Fallen Earth announces cash shop sale
Even after the apocalypse, price-slashing still appears to be a running tradition. GamersFirst announced today that everything in the Fallen Earth cash shop must go! Or something like that, anyway. Many Fallen Earth cash shop items have had their prices lowered drastically, with the sale lasting until the launch of Alpha County on July 6th. The selection of items on sale is extensive, with extra character slots -- usually $30 -- dropping to a comparatively dirt-cheap $11. Faction resets drop from $15 to $9, and many other items, such as a fashionable pair of brass goggles and a terrifyingly fowl (ha ha) prairie chicken mount, have had their prices lowered by 50% or more. So if you're a Fallen Earth player looking to part with your hard-earned cash, head on over to the official site for the full sale listings.
Global Chat: Follow the money edition
Welcome to this week's Global Chat! We love hearing what you have to say at Massively, and we love it even more when we can share the best comments with all of our readers. Massively staffers will be contributing some of their favorite comments every week, so keep an eye out every Sunday for more Global Chat! This week's Global Chat is all about paying for things, not paying for other things, and giving even more things multiple chances. Follow along after the jump to see some of the best of what our readers had to say!
Wasteland Diaries: Weapon balance
Rock, scissors, paper. It's not quite that simple when referring to the three weapon classes in Fallen Earth. You have the two ranged disciplines: rifles and pistols. And then you have melee weapons. They all have distinct advantages in combat, and they are all viable in PvP and PvE when played properly. There is a lot of debate about weapon balance on the forums and in the game (gotta love global chat) about weapon balance. I come from the school of thought that believes the weapons are currently as balanced as they have ever been. Many people will disagree with me on that point. But the vast majority of people who agree that the combat is well-balanced in Fallen Earth's current system are my contemporaries who have been PvPing since alpha, beta or launch. Many newer, less experienced players feel that certain weapon classes are overpowered or useless. I say that is not the case. Continue past the cut and I'll explain why I feel that way.
GamersFirst announces acquisition of Fallen Earth with new F2P business model
After last month's announcement by GamersFirst that the company is taking over the hardware side of Fallen Earth, most of us made the obvious connection that the post-apocalyptic MMO would be heading into free-to-play territory. Even while hinting at it in a recent E3 interview, GamersFirst never really came out and said anything definitively. Well, it has now. Today, GamersFirst has given us the exclusive news that it will be taking over the operations of Fallen Earth immediately. Of course, following all other games in the GamersFirst library, Fallen Earth will also adopt a F2P business model. But what does this mean for the development of Fallen Earth? Will GamersFirst take over production and content design? Just how free will the game be? Follow along after the jump for answers to those questions and more.
'Major' Fallen Earth announcement coming May 31st
Maintenance breaks may typically be frustrating, boring patches of non-activity for MMO gamers, but next Tuesday promises to be different for Fallen Earth. According to the official site, the team has a "major" announcement scheduled during the May 31st downtime -- one you won't want to miss. The announcement will take place during two live podcasts with Senior Game Designer Marie Croall. During the podcasts, Croall will discuss the game's present and future to the dedicated wastelanders out there. You can catch the podcast and announcement on Fallen Earth's Ustream channel on May 31st at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. EDT. Alternatively, players may use Ventrilo to catch the action and even submit their own questions. What will this announcement be? We're not sure, but it looks to be a long weekend wait until we find out!
Fallen Earth lets players take a stroll through Alpha County
Long-awaited and heavily anticipated, Fallen Earth's Alpha County has long been the game's promised land, an environment that's at once near and far. But the release is just around the corner, and the developers are giving players a chance to peek behind the walls just a little bit early. Starting tomorrow, May 17th, Alpha County is going live on the public test server, giving all of the game's players the chance to wander around in a strange new territory. For players who want to dive into the story on the actual release and no sooner, fear not -- the announcement promises that the test server won't offer any spoilers as to storyline. But players will be able to explore a new environment and get a feel for the lay of the land, even if they can't get a feel for every new piece of content right out of the gate. Fallen Earth players had best prepare for the test server sneak peek, as it's only a day away.
The Daily Grind: Has Massively ever inspired you to try out an MMO?
One of the joys of being part of the online gaming community is hearing recommendations and testimonies of players who are trying out titles that you don't have time (or the inclination) to sample. Sometimes those testimonials can lead you into trying out a game you wouldn't have on your own. About six months or so before I joined Massively, Shawn's repeated love notes posts about Fallen Earth finally penetrated my brain to the point that I was curious enough to give it a go myself. After sampling it, I was hooked and spent many wonderful months crafting ATVs and exploring the wilderness of the apocalypse. I know that if it weren't for this site, I probably wouldn't have done so. So today we want to know: Has Massively ever inspired you to try out an MMO that you wouldn't have otherwise? How did it go? Did you stick with it or find yourself at odds with the testimony of the writers here? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
A sneak peek at Fallen Earth's Progress Towns
Coming soon to a public test server near Fallen Earth is one of the more exciting pieces of content the game has seen: Progress Towns! Icarus Studios wanted to take the concept of a player-built town and make it something truly special. Progress Towns are the next iteration of Fallen Earth's attempt to include player housing, which started with patch 1.2's camps. With the this new system, players will be able to build up their own towns from the ruins of old ones. Three such towns will be in place for testing: Progress in Sector 2, Stronghold in Sector 3, and Citadel in Deadfall. Before players can move in and start performing stunning makeovers, they'll have to fight enemy mobs who've declared squatter's rights. Once the battle is won, the area becomes player-controlled and can be improved upon by using the construction skillset. Progress Towns can be built up to house many useful features, such as merchants, mailboxes, and defensive structures. Once enough construction takes place, special merchants will appear and offer unique crafting components in exchange for a new form of currency. Don't get too comfortable, however. These towns will always be under the threat of enemy raiders looking to take back what once was theirs! This slice of player-generated content will appear on the test servers next week, but you can get a sneak peek at Progress Towns in the gallery below right now! %Gallery-48606%
Fallen Earth shows off Alpha County in the newest State of the Game
If you were hoping to find out that Alpha County in Fallen Earth was a last bastion of uncorrupted civilization... well, we have some bad news for you. But in all likelihood you expected nothing of the sort, and thus the previews of the new region included in April's State of the Game letter will come as no surprise. Since the release seems to be just around the corner, this month's update is all about the surreal landscape and wasted environment players will be exploring in this newest region. Accompanied by a surfeit of screenshots, the letter talks once more about the technical challenge involved with bringing this newest region into the game. A new style of terrain means checking extensively to make sure that critters are behaving correctly when engaged by players, and the variety of new weapons and items available means that there's a lot of testing to make sure that nothing breaks the game's structure. Fallen Earth players will want to take a look at the full preview for all the details and several pictures of the latest part of the wasteland.
Patch 1.8 live for Fallen Earth
It's always a nice time for a pleasant stroll through the woods. Admittedly, when the woods in question are the rather ominously named Terminal Woods and you're in the midst of Fallen Earth, that pleasant stroll might involve shooting a few bandits and mutated animals. But with all of the new toys and content added with the latest patch, it's probable you'll find at least one or two things within the forest to keep your attention. The patch has just gone live today, and it features 50 new missions, a PvP area, and a wide variety of new gear and crafting recipes. It's about half the size of a full sector, leading up to the next update that will advance the storyline of the post-apocalyptic setting even further. Fallen Earth players can log in immediately and start enjoying all of the new content -- but all things considered, you may also want to make sure you're full on ammo.
Through the woods to Alpha County: Fallen Earth issues the March state of the game
February is a quick month for everyone, but it seems to have been even busier than normal for the Fallen Earth team. There are some major content updates in the wings for the game, several of which are being discussed in the most recent State of the Game address. Obviously, the biggest issue on the minds of players is the promised Sector Four and Alpha County, both of which are going to be rolled out in a staggered fashion starting with the Terminal Woods (which Edward Marshall toured just last week). That will include a surfeit of new missions, achievements, PvP objectives, and special new Scavenger bosses. Alpha County itself, meanwhile, will be getting rolled out sometime in the following months, an update that will see a level cap increase to 55 and new expansions to crafting among other improvements. The letter also states that the team is moving forward on player-crafted housing, as it's long been on the agenda for the team to handle with detail. Fallen Earth players are encouraged to read the full letter on the future of the game, sure to make any clone happy about the content just around the corner.
Gear up for the apocalypse with a Fallen Earth giveaway
When the world as we know it ends, future generations will most likely discover what we were like and cared about through the junk we left behind. So if you really want to impress your great-great-great-great-great-nephew Zodak, it might be a good idea to get in on Fallen Earth's Epic Gear Giveaway and score some sweet loot. By filling out a multiple-choice questionairre, contestants have a shot at winning one of two packages. The grand prize bundles together an iPad, Alienware headphones, an LTD guitar and a bunch of other goodies. The 20 runners-up will be treated to a set of decals and mousepad as well as an Alienware backpack and drink Koozie. What's a Koozie? I dunno, what's a Koozie with you? And even if all of the real-world gear isn't enough to tempt you into participating, Icarus is promising all winners a special (but unnamed) in-game item as an additional prize. Head on over to the Fallen Earth Epic Gear Giveaway page for more info.
Wasteland Diaries: Terminal Woods
To say that the Fallen Earth 1.8 patch is going to have some massive changes coming along with it might be a bit of an understatement. It's going to come fully equipped with major skills, abilities and mutations re-writes. Much will be changed. So much so, in fact, that I don't think anyone's quite sure what to expect, the devs included. The game will still be recognizable, but the flow of combat will be different. After more than a year of adjusting to the gradual changes that have been made to the game mechanics, I had settled into my comfort zone only to be ousted by significant changes. It still remains to be seen whether Fallen Earth's new changes will be good or bad. Of course, "good" and "bad" are subjective terms, and one person's good might be another's bad. The great thing about major changes like these is this: We get to test them out before they go live. This latest round of testing on the PTS comes complete with new content, including an entirely new area called Terminal Woods, which looks to be about the same size as Deadfall. So it's not quite a sector, but it's pretty big. The devs have put a bit of this area up on the test server for us to "test." Test it I did... if by testing you mean "exploring and shooting at stuff." After the cut, I'll discuss some of the new stuff I found while I was "testing." Consider that a spoiler alert.
Fallen Earth offers a look into the upcoming 1.8 patch
While Sector 4 is shining on the horizon for Fallen Earth players, there are still hurdles to be faced between now and when we reach those storied lands. First up is the enormous patch 1.8, which will contain new content that leads to this area and scavenger bosses. Players already well-enmeshed in life in the post-apocalyptic Grand Canyon will also notice a huge overhaul to some core systems, such as skills and mutations, as outlined in the recent State of the Game posting from Marie "Aro Sei" Croall. We've managed to snag some screenshots showing off these upcoming areas that will pave the way for players to get to Sector 4. Unlike the overwhelmingly brown locales that some immediately associate with a post-apocalyptic setting, lush landscapes dominate these new images -- as do bits of wreckage and NPCs intent on killing any player crazy enough to cross their path. Civilization has collapsed, after all! If you're curious, check out the new eye-candy in the gallery below, then head over to the Fallen Earth forums for all the patch note news. %Gallery-48606%
