Lessons of boring "realism" from Fallen Earth

[mindtrigger]

Initially I liked Fallen Earth, though it needed more sandbox features to remain interesting. The main thing that made me leave the game soon after joining was that it was too "real" and boring as far as the game map itself, especially the starting areas in the desert. I found myself not caring to strike out and explore the landscape because it was more or less all the same and there were no particularly beautiful or anomalous areas to visit. Nothing made me want to strike out and put myself in much danger except for quests, which were held in equally boring areas.

Ultimately a game that will encourage people to strike out and explore should not only have awesome places to visit, but can offer related risks and rewards. Those who played Star Wars Galaxies probably remember all of the strange and beautiful places you could visit on the planets, along with the the exploration badge mini-game where you collected a badge each time you visited one of these points of interest the first time.

The people and Tribes in this game will end up building some amazing places, including some stuff none of us can even think of today. I saw this happen in SWG with the way people themed, decorated and/or role played their homes, shops, and cantinas thanks to a very detailed decorating system. Terraforming will result in some great stuff to see over time. The game map itself should be interesting as well though.

Many times I thought the developers of Fallen Earth missed some great opportunities to create sections of the map that had been effected by some strange and wonderful forces. Since Xsyon seems to have plans to be well outside the 'normal' with things like magic and the religion system, there should be plenty of room for us to stumble across exotic locations and anomalies in the game world.

A few ideas off the top of my head:


A meteor striking an area and muting all life and terrain there.
Changes to the planet unearth ancient ruins and other anomalies
Government experiments gone wrong
Mystical/Magical areas where standard "rules" of the world may not apply.


I realize these are things that can come later on, and that the devs have more important things to work on now, but we should not underestimate the need to keep the game interesting through creative ideas. Exploration should be a big one in Xsyon, in my opinion.

Thoughts or Ideas?

[Marcolo]

I agree.

Exploration has always been an important aspect of any game I have played. It gives me purpose, and gives me something to do and of which to be in "awe".

Already I have done that in this game, moving around different quadrants and seeing what types of valleys, rivers, and forests can be found. And it is a beautiful world.

I would echo the encouragement that this is a simple way to heighten the interest world. The impact of individual imagination is often overlooked and/or ignored for the sake of game mechanics.

Please keep evolving the world/terrain in new and interesting ways!

(Edit) Another thought ...

It could be very interesting to allow water environments to be explored at some point. With the introduction with the right gear, the lake itself (and the larger rivers) offers a radically different environment for exploration. Additionally, it could be an area that offers completely different opportunities for scavenging materials/equipment, or harpooning larger fish, or even creatures?

[NexAnima]

http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/8531/crater.jpg

[baka77]

Hehe, I was actually going to post that I had come across a giant meteor crater in my travels south. I also remember seeing some very interesting rock formations on the island.

That said, I second Marcolo's idea of water expansion. FLOATING TOWNS!!! HOUSE BOATS!!! WATERWORLD!!!

Also, I don't necessarily agree that FE's problem was with the landscape. They just needed better PvP in my opinion. I still remember the "cool exploration" feeling in FE when finding the vampire forest, redstone bunker, monkey town, etc. They could have boosted the cool factor in T1 a little, but most respectable players blow through that content in less than a week. Discovery highs are a good thing though, I'll give you that.

[Tandarie]

Maybe im silly or this is wishful thinking but im hoping they put in little old world artifacts here and there to keep us exploring. Maybe find pieces to the mystery of what happened to our planet.

Like in the photos from beta of the cars. How cool would it be to find a hippie van in the middle of no where. Retrieve it with 5 or so of your people and bring it back to your tribe. Maybe it has no point and can't be used for anything.. but if it's the only hippie van that survived I WANT IT. Even better, you can load it and push it around with a ton of your tribes things for a move to better hunting grounds.. but since many of your neighbors know you have it, you better watch your ass and have 15 guys covering the van as you make your way to your knew home.

Sorry I got carried away =)

[baka77]

Maybe im silly or this is wishful thinking but im hoping they put in little old world artifacts here and there to keep us exploring. Maybe find pieces to the mystery of what happened to our planet.

Like in the photos from beta of the cars. How cool would it be to find a hippie van in the middle of no where. Retrieve it with 5 or so of your people and bring it back to your tribe. Maybe it has no point and can't be used for anything.. but if it's the only hippie van that survived I WANT IT. Even better, you can load it and push it around with a ton of your tribes things for a move to better hunting grounds.. but since many of your neighbors know you have it, you better watch your ass and have 15 guys covering the van as you make your way to your knew home.

Sorry I got carried away =)

I just got a flashback to Lost. LOL

[Tandarie]

I just got a flashback to Lost. LOL

HELL YES!!! Best show ever :) I wanna find some Dharma beer in there too :)

[Zephyr]

How cool would it be to find a hippie van in the middle of no where. Retrieve it with 5 or so of your people and bring it back to your tribe. Maybe it has no point and can't be used for anything.. but if it's the only hippie van that survived I WANT IT.

You mean like this?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEjPryaIDaA

(My favorite moment from the series, by the way.)

[Tandarie]

You mean like this?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEjPryaIDaA

(My favorite moment from the series, by the way.)

Yes that's in my top 5 episodes

On a side note.. I forgot how hot Sawyer is. <3

[Zarin]

Yes I totally agree, exploring is one of the great features of any game - especially a sandbox. I think that the developers should work on expanding the decoration, furnishing, and terraform tools as much as possible, so that as you said, we can see amazing and original creations from the community.

And I agree that magic and religion will be a very interesting part of the game. I bet that they will implement it into the game in a way that it isn't the traditional "wizardry" and high-fantasy magic, but more Native American inspired religious, shaman magic that is tied in with nature - feeling a bit more realistic.

[Lerxst]

There was a show in Discovery channel a little while ago called "Life After People". I think it would do the devs some good to watch this series. It's extremely interesting and could also provide some good lessons in making the Xsyon world. (Available on Netflix online if anyone wants to look it over)

For instance, what if the map exposed a defunct nuclear plant that had a catastrophe hit it shortly after we went into hiding?

What if there was a zoo in an area that housed large exotic beasts that survived in the world without us around?

What about an oil refinery or pipeline?

There would be lots of relics left over by civilization that could very well change the landscape and environment around them without humanity around to keep things in check.

[orious13]

Since there is both a sun and moon cycle I can bet that you'll eventually see some crazy things happen during an eclipse...

[Tandarie]

There was a show in Discovery channel a little while ago called "Life After People". I think it would do the devs some good to watch this series. It's extremely interesting and could also provide some good lessons in making the Xsyon world. (Available on Netflix online if anyone wants to look it over)

For instance, what if the map exposed a defunct nuclear plant that had a catastrophe hit it shortly after we went into hiding?

What if there was a zoo in an area that housed large exotic beasts that survived in the world without us around?

What about an oil refinery or pipeline?

There would be lots of relics left over by civilization that could very well change the landscape and environment around them without humanity around to keep things in check.

Ohh I forgot about that show! Soo many cool ideas, I just hope some of them make it in game.

[unclean666]

Fallen Earth was boring? FE is in my top 3 fav mmos but to each his own i guess.
But if you stopped playing right after you started I think you missed out.

[Kroom]

I have to disagree... I think you left to early. The game is FILLED with dark humor centered on modern pop culture references and landmarks. I never found riding my bike through a bleak wasteland stumbling upon a settlement of zombies that have taken refuge in an abandoned factory boring.

The PVE and exploration were the only things that kept my subscription going. The failure in maturing PVP/factions/clan functions is why I left.

[orious13]

Dude.... having oil refineries be the "valuable" resource for high end factory buildings that can be built would be good. That and nuc plants for uranium..lol.. some realisticness with acquiring it aside.
.

[Kroom]

Isn’t the take away that most of this stuff would be gone shortly after us?

If they add to much this becomes more like STALKER and doesn’t fit the story. BTW, I am a fan of the series but the ruins and timeline don’t fit here.

[unclean666]

yes but over time wouldent we re-discover that kind of stuff.

[Kroom]

Depends on when "year zero" is... We maybe discovering just junk piles.

Life After People makes it sound like building will be around for 100+ years. I've seen similar shows were the experts claim much shorter.

[mindtrigger]

Fallen Earth was boring? FE is in my top 3 fav mmos but to each his own i guess.
But if you stopped playing right after you started I think you missed out.

I played through most of S1, and it was ok. Exploration was boring, and that is a big deal to me. Also, that game is screaming to be a sandbox, and they stop just short of it in a lot of ways. I guess if I had to explain why it bored me, it would be to say that it was too much of one thing, and not enough of the other. Seems like they are trying to strike a balance as a hybrid theme park / sandbox and I found it lacking.

I can understand why other people like it though. Xsyon (or the original vision of Mortal Online) is a much closer approximation to what I wanted FE to be.

[unclean666]

I think with FE atleast the way i felt is that they started off with BIG ideas and as time went on and money and deadlines came up they had cut back a lot of what they where going for.
And i see what your saying if FE had a lot more sand I dont think i would have left after maxing my toon.

[orious13]

Isn’t the take away that most of this stuff would be gone shortly after us?

If they add to much this becomes more like STALKER and doesn’t fit the story. BTW, I am a fan of the series but the ruins and timeline don’t fit here.

Well.. it's not going to be the current reality. The entire balance of the world is supposed to be different now as in mythical creatures and other things of the like.