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The Game Archaeologist: Kingdom of Drakkar
You'd think that by now I would be running out of older MMOs and their kin to cover, but I just keep discovering more. Some of those discoveries are helped by Massively readers, who have urged me from time to time to investigate certain games. One such commenter, Space Cobra, has been after me for quite a while (as in years) to do a write-up about Kingdom of Drakkar, and I finally caved. Here you go, good buddy! Kingdom of Drakkar, also known as Drakkar or Kingdom of Drakkar II, is a really odd duck in the MMO history books. While being very small potatoes for the industry as a whole throughout its entire lifespan, it's notable for an extraordinary long run (it began in the 1980s, people!) that's traversed through several format changes and handlers. I've seen it described, somewhat unkindly, as a "shoddier Ultima Online," but I think that is a surface judgment that doesn't take the effort to get to know the game or its legacy. There must be something to this game if it's been around for three decades, yes? Let's find out!
Valentine's Day around the virtual world
Do you hear the chirping of songbirds in love? Do you see the flirtacious glance that cute Orc is giving you from across the battlefiend? Do you smell the flowers of romance in bloom all around you? If so, man, you've got it bad. Fortunately for those suffering from VDAS -- Valentine's Day Addiction Syndrome -- plenty of MMOs are on hand to provide you with a temporary fix until you get proper medication and are carted away to a professional love care facility. It may not be the biggest of holidays in the virtual world, but when love arrives in February, it cannot be denied. And who knows for you single folk? The man, woman, or one-eyed Gnome of your dreams might just stumble over you on this fine day! Read on as we sum up some of the larger Valentine's events in MMOs today.
Why I Play: Fallen Earth
I'm going to start my Fallen Earth testimony by echoing the same sentiment that Shawn shared last week with WURM Online: I really didn't get it the first couple of times I tried it. I had heard great things about this post-apocalyptic title from Massively and elsewhere at the time, but it felt so different and kind of raw when I logged in that I didn't stay for long. In fact, it wasn't until I forced myself to sit down and devote an entire evening to Fallen Earth that I got past my initial objections and it clicked for me. It clicked hard. Since that time, I've been an ardent fan of Fallen Earth, using it as Exhibit A whenever people complain that all MMOs are too much alike and boring. Well, here you go, I say. An MMO in a contemporary setting that also happens to embrace apocalyptic themes. An MMO that revels in dark humor and edgy themes. An MMO where 95% of the gear in the game can be crafted and used by you. An MMO with free-form character growth and -- this is important -- motorcycles. An MMO with a world that's genuinely fun to explore (and might I add, huge). It's not perfect, it's not my main MMO squeeze, but it is a title I've carried a torch for since my first days in the wasteland. I've got no shortage of words when it comes to this game, especially if there's a chance that my verbosity will get you to take a closer look at Fallen Earth (which is easier than ever since its free-to-play conversion).
The Daily Grind: What game do you wish you had time for?
There's no shortage of MMOs, and whether your tastes include big budget titles like The Secret World or EverQuest II or small-scale niche products like Glitch or Darkfall, these are the salad days in terms of choice. While you probably won't find many folks complaining about the genre explosion we've witnessed over the past few years, it is becoming harder to see it all, even though the free-to-play movement has removed many of the financial obstacles inherent in the game-hopping lifestyle. There's always one game (or two, or seven) that you never seem to have time for, despite the fact that it looks really cool and dammit you're going to make time for that starting... sometime. For me, that game is Fallen Earth, and I'm bummed out by the fact that I'm still saying that two years after its launch. What about you, Massively folk? Is there a game (or games) that you keep meaning to play? 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!
Fallen Earth partners with MAINGEAR for Play2Win contest
Are you in the market for a spankin'-new gaming rig? Of course you are. Well, GamersFirst wants to help you out. The company has partnered with MAINGEAR to run a contest that will reward one lucky winner with a shiny new MAINGEAR F131 gaming PC. But there's a catch, of course. In order to win the custom Fallen Earth computer, players must venture into the wastelands of Fallen Earth to collect MAINGEAR computer parts from unique resource nodes scattered about the world. Whoever has the most parts when the contest ends on December 14th will be declared the winner. Head over to MAINGEAR's website for the full contest rules, and then sign up to play at the Fallen Earth official site and get to scavengin'. [Source: GamersFirst press release]
Fallen Earth's Halloween sale refunds all G1 Credits spent
Who amongst Fallen Earth's wasteland wanderers doesn't love saving money? No one, that's who. In light of that fact (and in celebration of Halloween), GamersFirst is providing a 100% rebate on every G1 Credit spent in the Fallen Earth cash shop from now until November 3rd. That mount you've always wanted? Snag it! Not satisfied with your character name? Change it! Those deliciously steampunk brass goggles you've always wanted? Rock 'em! Not only will you receive a complete rebate on all G1 Credits spent (that means everything is free, for the economically disinclined), but many everyday items have had their prices slashed as well. For the full details on what's on sale, head on over to the Fallen Earth official site.
Two years after the fall of the world: Fallen Earth's second anniversary
It's no secret that Fallen Earth is somewhat of a staff favorite here at Massively. While its combat system may not hold the same polish of other titles, it more than makes up for it in sheer exploration, incredibly deep crafting, an engagingly different game world, and the dark humor that seeps into every aspect of the game. In fact, Massively is what convinced me to give Fallen Earth a shot when it came out two years ago. At the time, I was just a regular gamer looking for something a little different than the elves-'n'-fantasy fare that 99% of MMOs were dishing my way. Fallen Earth's semi-familiar setting -- modern guns, post office boxes, motorcycles, sunglasses, giant mutated ants -- was at once familiar and foreign. It took me two solid tries to get into the game, but once I did, I was hooked. I've always felt bad that Fallen Earth never got more popular than it already is, although I can understand why. The post-apocalypse setting is enough to weird players out, and the paradigm shift from getting your gear via looting to building your own gear via crafting takes some getting used to. Plus, the troubles that Icarus Studios ran into early on didn't help matters any. Fortunately, the future looks bright for Fallen Earth, and as it celebrates its second anniversary, we should look back at this past year to see just how far this cult MMO has come. Clones, assemble!
Fallen Earth dev diary talks economic changes, world events, and more
Earlier today we told you about the Fallen Earth devs answering a few of your free-to-play questions. Now it's time to dive a bit further down the rabbit hole courtesy of this month's state of the game update. Producer Marie Croall checks in with us to talk about the game's two-year anniversary celebration, which includes "PvP, PvE, and RP components." She also says that the event will be run at EU- and US-friendly times (though said times aren't specified as of yet). In terms of game updates, the major portion of the September recap concerns the ongoing economic changes. Inconsistencies dealing with recipe and component rarity have been dealt with, and the dev team has "redone the placement of most of the nodes in the game" to make the rarer nodes more of an incentive to enter PvP-enabled areas. Finally, Croall says that the release of the new world event system has been bumped back to coincide with the free-to-play conversion on October 12th. Grab your favorite wasteland beverage and read all the details at the official Fallen Earth dev blog.
Fallen Earth devs answer your F2P questions
You've got questions about Fallen Earth's free-to-play conversion, and the dev team's got answers. The latest Fallen Earth blog entry spills the beans on everything from what happens to existing subscriptions to character slots to various functionality limitations. Surprisingly, GamersFirst is allowing free-to-play customers to make use of the auction house, mail, and trading systems, but this may change "if gold farmers get totally out of control." There's also good news for pre-existing Fallen Earth subscribers who would like to convert to a free-to-play account but are worried about losing access to their alts. "If you had ever bought the game or paid for a subscription, those character slots were included with your game, so they belong to you regardless of the change in business model," writes Joseph "Linus" Willmon. Head to the official Fallen Earth dev blog for more.
Wasteland Diaries: Scavenger's guide
The economy in Fallen Earth is due to get a major overhaul in the next month. The devs have been pretty tight-lipped about what exactly is going to change. They may do something as bold as doing away with NPC vendors altogether (unlikely) or maybe just tweaking the rarity of materials (confirmed). Since we aren't exactly sure what is going to change, we can't really prepare ourselves properly, can we? We can guess which materials are going to become rarer with the revamp by looking at the recipes, but they will be undergoing changes as well. So trying to figure out what to hoard for the new economy is purely a guessing game. I don't want to get into theorycrafting on what may or may not change economy-wise. I'll leave it up to your best guess as to what materials you think you'll need to stock up on. My purpose in this post will be to help you get said materials. I can't think of a single material in the entire gameworld of Fallen Earth that is out of my grasp. I'm pretty sure I can find anything. I have compiled a list of useful materials and the best places that I know of to find them. There are some things that I will not divulge, but I'm going to be very generous considering most of the loot tables will be drastically altered very soon. Click past the cut and have a look at the list.
Wasteland Diaries: F2P -- What to expect
Fallen Earth is going free-to-play on October 12th. That's the plan, anyway. Four different subscriber levels will be available. The free accounts will actually have quite a bit of freedom with in the game (in fact, I'm shocked at how few restrictions they will have). The highest tier is a bit pricey for what you get, but we don't want a pay-to-win system, right? There's a fine line between giving paying customers something worthwhile and upsetting the balance of the entire universe. I'll discuss each subscription level later on in the post. There are still a few concerns that many in the Fallen Earth community (including me) have about the F2P transition, and not all of them are technical concerns. I'm really not sure what to expect exactly as far as numbers of players, but I'm sure we'll see a huge influx of players both new and returning. How many exactly? I don't have a clue. I'll cover the sub levels first and then discuss my fears about what's to come afterward. So click past the cut and let's get started.
One Shots: Function over form
Today's screenshot comes to us from Fallen Earth, courtesy of our very own Justin Olivetti: While being able to craft 95% of the armor you'll wear in Fallen Earth is a major attraction of the game, early on you'll have to suffer through outfit pieces that don't quite go well together (although some may argue that's in step with the game's setting). Probably the worst aspect of the armor system is that there's no way to turn off helmet graphics unless you simply take it off. It's ugly armor week all week on One Shots, so whether you have an eye-searing color scheme, a set of armor pieces that clash like crazy, or something that you just put together for a laugh, we want to see. Next week we'll be revisiting starting zones, so if you want to get a jump on things, grab a screenshot of your favorite starting zone and send it in to oneshots@massively.com and we'll feature it in next week's One Shots! %Gallery-112285%
Fallen Earth set to go free-to-play on October 12th
It's been two and a half months since we heard the news that GamersFirst acquired Fallen Earth and planned to implement a free-to-play business model. In those months, the question on everyone's lips was "When?" Tonight we finally get our answer: GamersFirst has released a new dev blog announcing an October 12th free-to-play conversion date, details of a "mostly-finalized structure of free accounts and Premium Subscriptions," and appreciation gifts for veterans. While the date and details are exciting, the Fallen Earth team is bringing more to the table for players. There is a new world event system coming as well as some celebratory events for Fallen Earth's second birthday. You can check out all the details on the Fallen Earth dev blog.
Wasteland Diaries: The old vs. the new
When it was first introduced, the new combat system seemed pretty awkward and cumbersome. As with all new game systems, you just have to get used to it. Luckily, due to the extreme familiarity I have with Fallen Earth, I adapted fairly quickly. But I didn't like it much at first. It was too healer-centric in PvP, and it was nearly impossible to die in PvE with such a large health pool and awesome self-heals. Instead of grinning and bearing it, I complained and hoped for a fix. It got fixed, and though it's not perfect, it's pretty close. In this post, I will take a look at the new system and how it differs from the old one, now that I've had some time to think it over. I'm still not sure whether I like it better than the old system yet, but it's growing on me. There's a lot of stuff that I miss from the old system and a lot of stuff I'll never miss. Knockdown and stuns are two of those things. A lot of players were worried that the new combat system would take ages to tweak, but it seems like it's pretty close to the mark already. A few minor adjustments might be needed, but it's already close to a finished product from what I see. After the cut, I'll tell you why I think that.
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.
Wasteland Diaries: Why do I PvP?
Lately I've been asking myself, "Why do I PvP in Fallen Earth?" The game isn't designed around PvP combat; it's more of a sideshow. The factional conflict was what made me decide to try it out in the first place. But after getting to max level, I realized that there wasn't a true faction conflict. There were just sporadic skirmishes arranged by the same core of players. So what is it that motivates me to do it? What is it that motivates other PvPers to do it? I can think of a few possibilities, but even if I look at my best reasons as objectively as possible, they aren't even remotely good reasons. Yet I keep doing it. In this post I will take a look at what drives one to PvP in Fallen Earth. What are the benefits? What are the risk vs. reward factors? Are there objectives or goals? When I look at the cold, hard facts, I'm still not quite sure what motivates me (or the others who still hang around). After the cut, I'll go over all the potential reasons to PvP in FE (that I can imagine) and possibly narrow it down.
New Fallen Earth dev blog talks fixing the economy
What does the Fallen Earth dev team mean when it says "fixing the economy?" The latest dev blog has your answer, and there's nary a tax cut, stimulus plan, or partisan political argument in sight. Instead, producer Marie Croall waxes on about what's wrong with wasteland supply and demand, with a specific focus on crafting component drops and rarity. The end goal is to "give value to basic, improved, and advanced recipes," and Croall hopes this will happen as a result of the team's manipulation of the market. "We had to, in some cases, actually create rarity where there was none or -- in the case of cooking components -- create common items where there were only rare and uncommon," she explains. Fallen Earth's cooking mechanic is also receiving special attention, due in part to the large number of required components and the lack of rare ingredients in the current game build. The dev team is also taking a hard look at consumable buffs, and Croall states that more details on the upcoming fixes will be available as the patch nears release.
Wasteland Diaries: Mutations 2.0
We have a new skills and abilities system in Fallen Earth. I wrote a short guide about the new skills a couple of weeks ago, so this week I'd like to cover the new mutations. If you haven't played Fallen Earth in the past few months, you will log into a very empty hot-key bar and have a very messed-up build. You will have a lot more AP than you did, though. But that AP is useless if you don't know how to spend it. There are no more capstones to plan builds around; you'll have to build a clone that will suit your particular play-style. My skills post and this post will give you a pretty good idea of what each line does and what abilities or mutations they offer. All clones still have alpha mutations, but they are only low-level mutations and are intended to introduce new players to the mutation system. These mutations are based soley on Charisma now rather than Willpower. Every mutation line also has a primary stat attached to it, which determines 75% of the maximum attainable skill level. The other 25% is determined by Willpower. Total gamma (gamma is the mutation stamina pool that you deplete when you use mutations) is now determined by Charisma and Intelligence. Willpower is not nearly as important to mutation-heavy characters as it used to be. Those are the fundamental changes to mutations, and after the cut I'll describe what each line has in its arsenal.
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.
Wasteland Diaries: It's fixed
During the past couple of weeks, I haven't been playing Fallen Earth too much. I have been waiting for some changes to come along. I found the new combat system to be a bit too slow-paced and dull. It was very centered around healing. He who healed the best generally won the fights. I prefer a system in which he who deals the most damage is more likely to win. There are, of course, other tactical considerations involved in both types of combat, but the overall feel was just plain wrong in the healer-centric combat system. I'm happy to report that some changes have been made to the system. There are still a few things I don't like about the 1.9 patch, but 1.9.2 fixed almost all of these issues. I won't say it was a perfect patch, but it was very close. There are still some minor issues I'd like to see addressed, but these are probably conscious design choices that are working as intended. In this post, I'd like to cover what has changed, why it's so great, and what we will see in the coming months. The urge to log into Fallen Earth is coming back to me, and it is all due to this new patch. After the cut, I'll explain why.
