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One Shots: Truth in advertising
Life in Fallen Earth for a clone is easy come, easy go. Sure, you suffer a slight penalty, but unlike many of the NPCs you meet, a clone's connection to LifeNet ensures that if one gets in over their head, they'll just wake up in an underground bunker somewhere. Download those memories into a fresh clone, and off you go; ready to become Mutated Prarie Chicken chow once again. Today's One Shots comes to us from Mirin, who calls himself a "Fallen Earth newbie." He captured this shot and is beginning to understand what it means: Indeed...Learning this the hard way. Welcome to the apocalypse! MMOs from big to small - we want to see them all, but we need your help. Send us your screenshots to oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing in the image. We'll post it out here and give you the credit. Almost as easy as being a Fallen Earth clone! %Gallery-9798%
Choose my Adventure: Passing Chris
In this week's Fallen Earth adventure, The Rolling Clones rolled their way into Pass Chris and Watchtower, pretty much devastating every quest they encountered. This was certainly a welcome change from last week's PvP shenanigans. We rebuilt our egos this time by killing non-intelligent NPCs and monsters. Go us! This week we're actually beginning to see Sector 2 on the horizon, but it's all up to you! Keep reading after the jump for this week's poll, Gator's in-character journal and my thoughts on our progress so far.
Wasteland Diaries: What you did wrong with your first Fallen Earth character
Any time a new game comes out, many players feel the obligation to be the first to explore new areas, conquer new bosses or get their character to max level. This may not be everyone's play style, but it's usually important to note that these players do this with little or no guidance from guides or wikis, and they often end up doing something wrong along the way. Fallen Earth is a game that is set up to trickle information to you slowly as you progress. Since the tutorial area was revamped just before launch, it's been easier to learn the right way to do things... that is, if you've read the pop-up tips. Even at 5 months after launch, there is still very little information out there about the specifics of the game. There are wikis and informational fansites, but in most cases, their owners seem to have caught a case of the Shiva virus themselves. So in this week's Wasteland Diaries, I'm going to take a fun look at the top 5 things you probably did wrong on your first character. It might be too late for many of you, but that's why there are four character slots. Spoken like a true alt-a-holic.
Designing the apocalypse: behind the scenes of Fallen Earth
We know that the development teams at our favorite MMOs work hard at game creation, but we're equally aware of how much they love their jobs. It's a dream job, and while development of a new game can be tough and stressful, more often than not it's lots of fun. Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes in the studio? What mishaps do the developers run across during the process, and what great ideas never make it to launch day? We talked to the team at Fallen Earth, and they generously shared some of their greatest bloopers and favorite ideas. Read along after the cut, and enjoy!
One Shots: A moment to rest
It's a hard life in Fallen Earth. If those mutated prairie chicken packs don't get you, there's probably some psychopathic NPC just ready to blow your head off and make off with any chips you might have had in your pocket. That is, of course, assuming they don't make off with whatever piece of clothing your pockets were in! It's a gritty world, but there are still places you can pause and catch your breath, like the one we see in today's One Shots, sent in to us by Michael B. He writes: [This is] my character, Cole Ryder, atop the satellite dish outside of Trumbull. I'm moments away from destroying the utility box at the base of the complex to disrupt the Enforcers plans in the area. Cole [was] level 16 [at the time this was taken]. I'm enjoying this game more than any MMORPG I've played in a long time. With the weekend rolling, it's a great time to get your MMO on! While you're out, grab a screenshot or two for us? We love to see what players are doing. Just email them in to us at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post them out here and give you the credit. Easy! %Gallery-9798%
Wasteland Diaries: Community guide to Fallen Earth
With community being as important as it is in any MMO, accessibility to that community might sometimes be daunting. You want to learn more, but maybe you don't want to look like a noob by asking in-game. Maybe you want to start crafting, but you don't even know where to start. In keeping with our influx of community guides that have kicked off our new game-specific columns, we bring you Wasteland Diaries for all fans of Fallen Earth. While the game is still in its infant stages, the community has established itself quite nicely so far. There are wikis, podcasts, fansites and social media hubs to help you get started on your way. If you're a high-level player, you might find yourself starving for complete information at this point, but that's why this guide will be continuously updated as the resources grow. Follow along for our guide to Fallen Earth's community.
Choose my Adventure: Casta Gaunt must die
Things are moving along quite smoothly in our Fallen Earth Choose my Adventure group lately, and this week we conquered one of the greatest facilities in Sector 1: Kingman Prison. As voted upon last week, you sent us in there and we didn't disappoint. Follow along after the jump for more info on the prison, this week's polls to vote where we will go next, and the continuing in-character saga of Mr. Gator Boudreaux.
Fallen Earth client now available via torrent
Icarus Studios and Fallen Earth have announced a nice surprise for fans frustrated with slow downloads. As a convenience to their users, there is now a Fallen Earth torrent file for faster downloads of their game client. If you're unfamiliar with how it works, it's pretty simple. Just download the torrent file, provided in this handy link or in the announcement on the official site, then double-click the icon on your PC to begin the full download. Once everything is downloaded, you'll start the installation process. Again, pretty simple, and the Fallen Earth team has kindly provided step by step instructions with the announcement. One last reminder from the Fallen Earth guys: "This is new, so if you encounter any issues, just let us know and we will try to respond quickly!"
Choose my Adventure: Toppling a fortress of junk
Another week, another adventure chosen. This week's Choose my Adventure group in Fallen Earth turned out to be a blast as more of you showed up to help crush the Junk Fortress just outside of Embry Crossroads. As we begin to level our characters into the double digits, we start setting out sights on the middle of Sector 1 in cities like Kingman, Oilville and Linewood Facility. But how did we do in Embry Crossroads this week? Keep reading below for the complete story.
Icarus Studios hosting Triangle Global Game Jam
Aspiring game developers in the Triangle have an exciting opportunity coming up. January 29-31 is the annual Global Game Jam, an event for participants to "band together to design one or more video games from scratch-from concept art to scripting to animating". At the end of the event, they will have designed one or more games from start to finish. (We know, they are probably not the most polished games ever to be created, but will serve as a great learning experience.) While Global Game Jam is a worldwide event, Icarus Studios and Fallen Earth will be the hosts for the event in this particular region. The event begins at 4 p.m. January 29 and continues for 48 hours straight. Participants are invited to stay at the studios for the full 48 hours. The first Triangle Global Game Jam had over 20 developers and students participating, who created four games in the 48-hour period, so expect to be busy if you attend.
One Shots: Home on the range
Feeling a little burned up with either snow or crazy summer heat? You can escape to post-apocalyptic lands of Fallen Earth from the comfort of your comfy chair, and maybe even join our very own fearless leader in his reader-chosen adventures! Today we have a great screenshot of one of the new camps from Vendayn, who writes in: Hello Massively and its readers! Its TheExplorer, also commonly known as Vendayn. I bring you a shot of a bonfire, the first of many camps that you can set up. This is the primitive camp, with no tents or anything. Later, you can create large enough camps to attract merchants. This is my most favorite feature in Fallen Earth, as I love camping and being in the outdoors. Camps serve many purposes, from role-playing reasons, to logging out in the camp instead of the middle of nowhere to get eaten, to providing buffs. Plus as I mentioned, you can attract merchants to your camp. Are you part of the post-apocalyptic clans of Fallen Earth? We'd love to see some screenshots from you. Just email those to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what's going on in the screenshot. We'll post it here and give you the credit! %Gallery-9798%
Fallen Earth rolls out the second part of their graphical enhancements
When the entire world has come crashing down around your ears, and you're doing your best to survive in the Grand Canyon with only your wits, your skills, and a bucket of shotgun shells... well, you'd like things to at least look pretty. Fallen Earth has been working hard on its graphical engine recently, having just rolled out a shiny new update to improve clouds, textures, and the general state of vegetation in the area. Now they've completed a second pass, with the newest updates improving light and shadow as well as several shader effects. Aside from going through and improving existing player shadows, the designers have tightened up all of the shadows in the game, giving things a far more crisp and realistic look. According to project manager Colin Dwan, the result has both improved the look of the environments and actually boosted its performance slightly. If you have Shader 3.0 hardware and the Advanced Post FX setting on, the new shadows should be immediately visible upon entrance to the game. While it's not a sweeping change, it's a subtle and thorough one, and should make the life of a clone a bit more vibrant.
Fallen Earth gets extensive graphical update today
If you haven't logged in to Fallen Earth for a few days, that's something you may want to rectify pretty quickly. As you may have heard from Lead Game Designer Lee Hammock on yesterday's Massively Speaking, the newest Fallen Earth patch was pretty huge and there is even more to come. The patch notes were a long list of small fixes and tweaks -- things like "moved a tire that was sticking out of a wall," and changes to recipes, creatures, and mechanics. But these few hundred little changes weren't what made everyone sit up and take notice. The graphics were given a significant overhaul resulting in a completely new look for the game; specifically the terrain and skies. Along with cloud movement, players will notice much more detailed and realistic surroundings both far and near. You can find some great before and after comparisons at Ten Ton Hammer from FE Graphics Programmer Kevin Coyle The full patch notes are worth a read (you'll need to be registered on the forums to view them), but this extensive update isn't the only thing the Fallen Earth developers have up their collective sleeve. If you haven't yet checked out our interview on Massively Speaking, take a listen to see what else is coming up.
Choose my Adventure: Newly-cloned in Fallen Earth
The votes are in and we're very excited to begin our latest version of Choose my Adventure by introducing you to our shiny new character: Gator Boudreaux. He's a rifle-wielding (eventually) assassin traveling the Grand Canyon wasteland in search of his next meal, a few extra chips and the perfect headshot. We start our Fallen Earth story this week with a bit of an in-character journal. Then, of course, we get right into the poll for next week and an explanation of those polls. Finally, we'll list the play session times so you can come in game and play along with me for the next six weeks. Follow along after the jump to learn more.
Keeping the gold farmers at bay: An interview with Fallen Earth's Colin Dwan
Gold farming and gold spamming is a very real problem in our current MMOs. While some games are spending a good chunk of their resources to battle the farmers and save their game's economy, other games are enjoying a relatively spam-free existence. One such game is Fallen Earth. So what's their secret? Have they designed an actual farm-proof game, or is it just that they're doing an amazing job of clean-up behind the scenes? We talked with Project Manager Colin Dwan for some insight into their proven methods. Follow along after the cut below for the complete interview.
One Shots: Not so chilly holidays
When it comes to the aftermath of the apocalypse, one thing can be inferred: these worlds don't seem to get terribly chilly. Think about it - most of the ones portrayed are deserts or other areas that appear to be warm enough for women to run around in scanty nothings all the time. Today's Fallen Earth One Shots seems to continue that pattern as this extremely toned CHOTA lass struggles to balance between covering herself and not overheating in too much armor. Blakavar caught this image while out roaming in Fallen Earth and writes in: This is Ursula, a CHOTA about to head out to collect blood and weapons from the Human League for the horde. It's a hot summer day up in Fracture. If you're playing an MMO we don't see often (or even one we see regularly) we want to see your screenshots. Who knows -- you may recruit some new players to check out your game! Just email those screens to us at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the game, and whatever you'd like to say about the screenshot. We'll post it out here and give you the credit for sending it in.%Gallery-9798%
Fallen Earth free trials are back in time for the holidays
Just last week on our Fallen Earth/Wild West MMO article, many of the commenters were looking for a Fallen Earth free trial. Now we're happy to announce that the Fallen Earth team is offering a 10-day free trial straight from their main site. In addition, they're also offering a 20% discount (now $39.99 USD) on all purchases of the game through their online store. Of course the timing on this promotion is well-timed with their newest Social patch and holiday event. "We've made the process of accessing Fallen Earth much easier for players," said Jessica Orr, marketing manager for Fallen Earth. "With the addition of the free trial, we'd like to invite everyone to join in the Fallen Earth holiday festivities!" So if you're interesting in sampling the wasteland excitement, head on over to their free trial page and try it out for yourself!
Fallen Earth drops preview patch notes for new tradeskill, gambling and more
Even though most Fallen Earth fans knew these features were coming, it's still great to see them in writing. In a patch note preview post in the forums yesterday, the Fallen Earth team announced that their much-anticipated Construction tradeskill and gambling taverns will be entering the game this Monday, December 14th. Construction will bring the ability for players to build camps in the wasteland, complete with their own vaults, merchant NPCs, mailboxes and more. The new gambling system will introduce slot machines, Blackjack tables and more to taverns throughout the Grand Canyon Province. In addition to these major features, the First Night preparations will be added, including special quests and rewards for the winter event celebrations. Pages of bug fixes also accompany this patch, so head on over to the forums to check out the preview of this Monday's patch notes and check out some extensive developer diaries and video on the update over at IGN for more information.
Is Fallen Earth our answer to a Wild West MMO?
I grew up on Clint Eastwood movies. I grew up on Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings songs about cowboy career prevention. Gunsmoke, A Fistful of Dollars and anything else by Sergio Leone are what helped mold my appreciation for what we refer to as the American Wild West. Even in modern day, I find myself drawn to those settings that mimic the Wild West. Stephen King's Dark Tower series is one of my all-time favorites, and I fly my Browncoat flag high. But this setting is not often the most popular in gaming culture. Sure, we have single-player games like GUN and Red Dead Revolver, but the massively multiplayer side is left primarily unexplored in that genre. Wild West Online is a recent example of an indie game set in that era, but its popularity is minimal, at best. Enter Fallen Earth. This recently-released post-apocalyptic MMO has been hailed for its gritty environments, extensive crafting system and its unique implementation of skills and combat. The game is praised by many who try it more than a few hours, and its notoriety is spreading like... well, like a plague.
Fallen Earth adds another distribution point with RealGames
When it comes to creating your own MMO, there are tons of things to think about: storyline, coding the project, what engine to use, writing out all the game's text, play-testing, bug testing, supporting a community and so much more. That's why we're really not surprised to see Icarus Studios & Fallen Earth, LLC embracing the heavy use of digital distribution as a method of getting Fallen Earth out to the public. Add to that their connection to partners like Steam, Direct2Drive and now RealGaming -- part of the RealNetworks group. It's not only cost-effective, but it additionally gets their game out in front of people who may not have seen their indie post-apocalyptic MMO otherwise. Along with their connection to RealNetworks comes a tie to 650 partner sites such as GameStop, PC Gamer, and GameRiot. While it's unlikely we'll ever see Fallen Earth trial CDs roaming counter-tops in the wild, it's nice to know that if they ever get the urge to do so, the partnership that could help make that happen is now there. There's always more room in the apocalypse for fresh new clones!
