Post Apocalypse - Part 1

Now I ran through all the games that hold this genre and the only one I could find that I haven't played yet was Exodus (and I'm working on that).

So what I'll do here is look through 2 games that cover this subject and fill the rest in later. In the following posts I'll talk about some more games and I might do a bit about what I want from a PA game.

My hope is that Fallen Earth learns from this, that there's a game out there I missed and for the Fallout MMO (if it ever comes out) to be as good as Fallout 3 was. So .. Lets start off shall we.

Fallen Earth
Official site

Well. Unlike the other games its the only MMO and its still in Beta-Test so it can still change.

Look and feel:

This game doesn't feel too bad in the tutorial and that is afterall what should get you hooked. The character build system is really massive in the looks department and it really makes a solid statement of wanting to be something. Although that pretty much falls flat on its face straight after you jumped out of the tutorial into the actual game.

The story is good too. The whole Clone-technology kinda gives a good reason for you to be able to respawn. Afterall normally dead would be dead and thats the end.

Now comes the part where all the bad stuff comes up. The graphics for this age and time are So So. They're not bad but they're not perfect either. As I said the character building is massive and looks great, but passed that the graphics slowly start to become less and less impressive. Its all kinda clunky. There's a lot of free MMO's out there that use the same kind of graphics. It definatly needs an improvement before release. The world looks a bit like a wasteland, but its far from it.

Combat:

Its overcomplicated. You got 6 weapon slots on your character (yes 6, 2 on your back, 2 on your legs, 2 on your belt) Now this makes for an interresting concept. However in a fight this becomes a bit overdone. There's no reason to switch firearms since you'll always use the one packing the biggest punch. So you can sell everything else to get ammo for you gun in favour. Then there's the fact most of the time you'll be fighting in Melee, cause the enemys feel the need to stand in your face most of the time.

Now I'm all for the ability of shooting stuff, but they really need to figure this out. There's 2 modes in the game, Fight mode and loot mode. This is done by using Tab to actually go from the shooting thingy to the looting thingy. When you switch however your way of movement changes too. This actually brings more annoyance then ease. Either make it a shooter with a leveling system or make it an rpg with no 3d shooter aspects.

Area's and Questing:

I know its an MMO so yeh there have to be a lot of quests or there isn't a single thing to do. However when you enter the starting area you hardly feel like being in a post-apocalyptic warzone. Not that there's too many players around. Thats fine by me. There's just too many people in the city / village where you start.

It feels like everything is fine and dandy and this army can take on pretty much everything that will hit it. So as far as the story goes I don't see a real reason for me to go out there and wonder the wastes for anything.

The first quest I picked up required me to kill a bunch of warriors in an area the size of a small village, but the area was to small for the amount of spawns in it. Now if the area was bigger and the warriors where packed in small groups over a wide spread area I'd feel a lot more at home plus the quest would make more sense. Because than you'd actually go out there and find them.

Character development:

Then there's the fact that a character has loads of equipment slots for all his clothing and armor. Honestly this isn't a fantasy game. Just suit and helm would be enought. Ok, maybe split the pants and chest.

Besides that you can already get equipment for every slot in the first area aswell and there's different kinds too. So either you end up wasting a lot of money on things you can't use or you're lucky enough to figure out in time you only need the cheapest stuff for now.

Just being able to buy 1 set would be enough in the starting area. That would at least make things a lot clearer. Plus the fact ITS AFTER A BOMB DROPPED. Where did all these supplies come from??

Professions:

You get all these professions that you are able to learn. However unlike WoW (for example) you get a starter kit for all of them. Then comes the question which one do I pick and how?! Now this is done by upgrading certain abilities, but there's a lot to keep in mind and afterall you don't want your combat to slack under your ability to make armor. So you'll probably end up making a lot of mistakes for testing everything first and then knowing what works and what doesn't.

However I don't think anyone is dumb enough not to be able to salvage. You actually need to skill up to be able to salvage in the first quest area. Honestly all you need as professions are Medic, Repair and Crafting. Crafting can even be split up between Armor, Tech and Weapons. Scavanging should be something standard everyone can do.

Conclusion:

The game doesn't look too well and theres way too much to get a hold on before you actually get it all. The combat makes you want to cry and the learning curve is rediculous. The creators really expect everyone to understand everything as they intended it instantly, without ever thinking of people who might never have touched the game. I rather go "Yeh Yeh, I know this shit where's the action" then not being able to even understand how everything works. Besides that, for a PA-game the start area has way too much filling.

Its trying to be too much at the same time. My tips to the development team is this:

1. Make a FPS with the ability to go to 3rd person.
2. Stick to the combat mode.
3. Abilities and such done by mouse click confirms with crosshair changes.
4. Make cities less populated and feel abandonned or fortified.
5. Work on the world graphics (honestly use a better engine)
6. Clear set for leveling

I'll get back to it once the servers are back up to see if I can find some possitive news on the game, cause the concept does attract my attention and I would definatly love to see a better finished product then whats out now.