Fallen Earth: QotW#36: Screenshots, Videos, PVP, Achievements and Missions

Our weekly QotW feature is here, and delivered by Fallen Earth's newly titled Community Manager "Moonshadow", who joins the ranks of Icarus Studios in brining the apocalypse to every PC:

This week we're still plowing through Northfields, though some of our teams are getting ready to move on to Kaibab Forest. The Dump, Last Stop, New Flagstaff, Blaine, Tinkersdam, Devon Township, and Aesterly are all getting some love this week along with some work on treasure tables and faction ranks and equipment. We've also brought on our last full time writer/designer, bringing the content department's writing staff to full strength.

1. I noticed there haven't been any screen shots or videos for quite some time due to the graphics overhaul (or at least that's what I thought). Could you give us any idea when we should expect some?

The video process is on hold for the time being. We looked at the resources we had and the deadlines we need to work within, and we decided to focus our resources on producing more game content rather than advertising content currently. Doing videos well is a very labor intensive process that can tie up ten to twenty people for hours playing all the roles necessary, meaning when we're working hard to get the game out the door, videos aren't the best use of our time. When we begin working more on tweaks and testing than implementing, we should have more time for such things.

We hope to have some new screen shots in a few weeks after the art revamp is complete. For those curious about the art revamp, this isn't a large scale change of style, it's a refinement of what we already had, including adding normal maps, specular, improving critter models, etc. We're also getting new models like the subterranean underdwellers and the skunkbear.

2. How large is the PvP zone in the game? I'm coming from Eve Online, where the entire game is basically open-PvP, but unless you want to get owned by police, you don't fight in high-security systems. What is there to do in the PvP zones besides killing (i.e. regular grinding and whatnot)?

About a 25-35% of the game territory is zoned for PvP conflict. Outside of these areas the LifeNet collars worn by the characters will not allow them to harm each other. The main point of interest in these areas are conflict towns, the heart of our PvP experience. Players can complete missions to take control of these towns for their faction. Players can't take control of a town just by killing other factions, but instead must accomplish specific goals; however, these goals will often lead players into conflict with each other. Once players have achieved enough goals to claim the town for their faction, the NPCs in the town ally with that faction. Guards will then attack members of enemy factions, merchants will only sell to characters with sufficient faction rating with the controlling faction, etc. By completing additional missions for the town, players of the controlling faction can upgrade guards, merchants, trainers, and other NPCs. These upgrades can boost the abilities of the guards, the selection the merchants offer, the knowledges available at trainers, etc. Through this upgrade process, characters can gain access to knowledges and equipment not normally available to them, such as knowledges for skills their faction is not well versed in. Also, each town has a number of special items and knowledges that can only be gained by the controlling faction. Players from other factions can complete goals to undermine the controlling faction and steal control for their own faction, so the town's allegiance is not static.

3. Unlocking achievements seems to be a big thing in gaming these days. Will we be able to earn badges or notes of achievement in Fallen Earth?

We're hoping to have an achievement system in for launch, but it's a lower priority issue currently.

4. Does FE have the markers always stay around once you can get the mission, so even when your level 100 and you go back to a lower level village you had missed will the mission markers still be on the NPCs? Also will there be any other ways to help us find the NPCs with missions, like indicators on the mini map?

NPCs who have a mission available that you can accept have a yellow biohazard symbol over their heads. If you cannot accept the mission because you do not meet the level, faction, stat, skill, or other requirements, you will not see the biohazard symbol. When you accept the mission, the biohazard symbol changes to red, and when you fulfill the requirements to complete the mission, the symbol turns green. Also, mission giver NPCs show up on your min-map as yellow dots, while merchants are blue, and hostile creatures are red.