Fallen Earth: QotW#25: Omnibus Overload!

With the promised Gen*Con movie still missing with Captain Pouches until September 5th, the FE crew unloaded this omnibus of QotW feature! A double post full of answers and information edited by Mycroft:

This week things are a bit...odd around the office. We're recovering from GenCon, getting ready for Dragon*Con and Austin GDC with lots on our plate for those shows. Unfortunately in all of this hullaballoo things have gotten mixed up. Foremost among these is the video. There were some aspects we wanted to add to make it flow better, then another tweak came up, then some other concerns, and soon we have a major league snafu on our hands. The video is now scheduled to be released on Wednesday, September the 5th and you have our sincerest apologies for the delay.

This weekend is Dragon*Con in Atlanta, and our booth there will be headed up by Wes who some of you saw in the MOG Army videos from GDC. Along with Wes will be a plethora of Fallen Earth folk as many of us called Atlanta home in the past and have been going to Dragon*Con for years. We have a booth in the exhibitor's hall where folks will see demos of the game similar to what was seen at GenCon, plus we've got t-shirts and other swag we're giving away at the booth. If you're going to be there please stop by and say hello; it's always nice to talk to people who already know what the game is about so we can delve into more than a surface level discussion of Fallen Earth. As a matter of fact, the first person who comes to the booth and says the magic word (Captain Pouches) gets a Fallen Earth t-shirt.

Since we're so busy prepping for conventions this week we'll be replacing our normally scheduled picture of the week with a super-sized question of the week. Next week we may have to skip a week since we'll be in Austin from Tuesday to Friday, but we'll try to get something up for you guys. Maybe another cake versus pie debate...or monkeys versus robots? The Adventures of Captain Pouches?

On a related note, there are several topics that people have asked about many times in the Question of the Week topic but which we've never answered. The big ones are: Guilds, Social Interaction, Housing, Weather. We are working on these and we don't want people to think we don't see the questions; we're just waiting to get everything straightened out before we go public. We have had some major breakthroughs on player housing recently that look to have sped up its development. Players won't have access to it at launch due to the in-game resource requirements involved in the system as it will take a LOT of resources to build a structure, but the technology is moving forward quickly.

Also I'd like to talk on the topic of weather briefly. In defining our weather system we're designing a system that provides interesting situations to play in and to create more of a dynamic environment, but not to create something that will have a real affect on character mechanics. We're very wary of making mechanical effects based on weather, such as penalizing Perception in heavy rain or inflicting extra cold damage during the winter, because these can have a very negative affect on player enjoyment. If we included such mechanical effects of weather, players would avoid playing when unfavorable weather is in effect, and creating a mechanical effect that encourages your players not to play except during specific times is not a good design strategy (especially for those folks who are in a time zone where they'll be getting the short end of the stick more often than not). If we attach enough cold damage to make it matter in any way, that damage would be enough to be an impediment to new players, and frustrating new players is the last thing want to do. We'd end up with a game where players feel like they should only log in on clear, sunny days, and that's no good. So the snow on the ground is going to look neat and make snow noises when you step on it, but it won't impede your movement since then we'll just have a lot of people who won't play in winter.

And now on to the actual Questions of the Week:

1. Can you give us more information on the various subfactions? How do their beliefs differ from those of the main faction? What's their history?

Some of the subfactions are already listed on the webpage, such as all the different subsets of the CHOTA. Most of the others are somewhat secretive and are to be discovered in play. Most subfactions embody a certain facet or element of a faction's overall philosophy, while others serve specific story elements such as showing dissension within a faction's ranks. Subfactions allow players to say "I'm a member of such-and-such faction, but the part of their philosophy I'm really into is represented by this subfaction I'm in." Each of the major six factions has at least two subfactions, though some have more.

Subfactions are joined by finding representatives of the subfactions and doing specific tasks for them. As players do more to help the subfactions they favor, they'll get access to special subfaction titles, equipment, and abilities. Some subfactions are mutually exclusive, but not all are. Generally speaking, the more special story and content elements a subfaction has, the more exclusive and harder to find it will be.

2. Are there any plans for more storyline / lore information like the newsletters?

If people want that info, yes. So far most of the questions seem to be skewing more towards the game mechanics side of the game than the lore side of the game.

3. How does the item upgrade system work? Is it fully customizable, ala something like in KOTOR II where you had multiple crystals and parts to use to build your uber lightsaber? Or do you get a recipe for a better version of the gun? Or both?

A bit of both. Say I get a Ballistics Knowledge for M16. It includes in it recipes for the AR15 (the civilian version of the M16) and the M16 in addition to two upgraded versions of each gun using different scopes. The AR15 is the basic version of the weapon, and it can be upgraded using the scope upgrade recipes once the player finds or makes the appropriate type of scope. Eventually, the player will want to upgrade to the M16 due to its superior rate of fire, but the M16 is a whole other gun and must be built from the ground up. Once the player has the M16, he can add scopes to it, upgrading its performance. The player can break down the AR15 for spare parts after he's done using it.

4. Will there be grues?

No, but it will be pitch black outside sometimes.

5. Just a very quick question, yes or no would do, is there still genetic engineering and mixing animal DNA with your own to gain super abilities, finding cannisters which you'd use at the genetic modification machine which was covered in old interviews, or has it been redeveloped/toned down like mutations?

Yes, but the form it will take has changed over time so it won't be as blatant as some of the earlier conversations about the game. You won't be getting grasshopper legs, for example. They will be more low-key and toned down as opposed to huge and obvious.

6. Will there be any normal wildlife? Like nice and quiet animals? A small mutant bird singing and so on?

We have a large number of normal animals in the game with rabbits and armadillos being shockingly common on the lower plateau. Crows can be seen circling in some areas. In some sectors you can even catch sight of the rare and elusive jackalope. (Confuse any of these with the Blood Rabbits at your extreme peril. I'm serious. Ever see Monty Python and the Holy Grail? It's not pretty.)

7. I've been wondering if there will be any flying vehicles you can pilot?

Not for launch and based on discussions thus far probably not in expansions. A large part of the travel elements in our game are based on terrain, such as huge canyons making the trip between two points three hundred yards away take a few hours instead of a few minutes. While we want people to be able to get where the fun is, adding the capacity to fly would make a humongous change to the overall flavor of the game and one we don't think would be a change for the better.

8. Are there humans who aren't cloned? Yes.

9. Are there humans who aren't cloned but who wear collars? Maybe.

10. Are there humans who are cloned but who don't wear collars? Maybe.

11. Are there animals who wear collars? Maybe.

12. Are there humans who have removed their collars? Maybe.

13. Could you add a collar dye? Errr...maybe. It's something we have no concept of in our technology currently but it may be possible eventually.

14. The game controls are very important. I use a mouse with programmable buttons, and am wondering if you are looking at going full "wads" with mouse aiming, or are you going to allow for a good deal of configuration in the controls area?

The default is a "wads" set up but you can reset your keymap to whatever you want it to be.

15. Will the game be optimized for dual core?

It runs real pretty on a dual core or quad core.

16. Do you plan on having any complete zones, or sections of zones dedicated to player-owned structures/settlements? Not necessarily player-owned housing, but I think it would be nice if players/clans could develop their own outposts/strongholds.

Player structures will only be allowed in specific areas to prevent the endless suburbs seen in some other games.

17. Will you have the ability to set up NPCs or kiosks as shops, or will the auction house be the only manner of automated commerce for players? In SWG having the ability to place vendors to run businesses from was awesome.

We are currently working on a system where merchants will buy goods from the auction house and sell them to players. So if you walk up to a merchant, he checks the auction house to see what is available as buyouts for the types of goods he sells, and offers you those goods at the buyout prices plus some profit, delivery charges, etc. So effectively any merchant using this tech will sell your goods for you and the prices at which the merchant buys and sells goods are determined dynamically. We're going to build in a number of controls into this system to limit abuse of this mechanic and to keep the market from fluctuating too wildly.

We also have a new feature where players can rent shacks or stores-so players can rent a store to sell their goods in if they want to do people-to-people deals. For the period of time that the store is being rented by a player, the store sign reflects the name of the player renting it.