The little independent MMOG that could just debuted its latest State of the Game address. You can read it here before diving into my thoughts.
The address started off exactly where it needed to, with Lee Hammock’s departure from the Lead Game Designer position. To my knowledge, his replacement has not been named. The official address made no mention to a successor, interim or permanent. That was fairly shocking to me. Many players view Lee Hammock as the heart and soul of Fallen Earth, reasonable or not. Without “The Beard Man,” the company has no public face – shrouded behind a thick face mane, mind you – and subscribers may start to get worried.
No Fallen Earth, LLC, my fears have not been assuaged. The pathetic attempt to distract me with information on the upcoming patch will not work! I am strong. Stop dangling those shiny things in front of me! Wait, Clan Wars you say?
Hit the jump to see if iTZKooPA can regain his train of thought.
/me shakes head.
The bulk of the State of the Game revolves around the v1.4, which is still on schedule for Q2. There’s no new information on the patch’s content that wasn’t covered in our PAX East coverage, but I did find out something interesting. Apparently, the team-based PvP aspects that are coming in v1.4 were originally scheduled to be patch v1.5. For an unspecified reason the decision was made to merge the content patches together, like some mutated two-headed dog.
Clan Wars, well, they sound right up this player’s alley:
“Clans will be able to declare war with each other based upon a start date and time, set duration (or point value), and a war roster. Players will also be able to wager on the winner for some additional chips. Once wars are declared, members of each clan’s War Party will be able to kill each other at will through the entire world. No PvP zones can contain these conflicts. Several challenge-based mechanics will up the ante and give each side the chance to make things personal.”
Okay, fine. Fallen Earth isn’t ending. In fact, the game continues to explode, as evidenced by a “double-digit percentage growth in subscriptions and an increase in sales” for last month. The continued success must be tied to the ability to deliver content, game optimizations, updates and tools (that ever MMOG needs) on an incredibly speedy schedule.
I would have liked to hear more about Hammock’s replacement – I have a beard, am I qualified? – but April’s State of the Game let us know that the title remains on track. Even Sector 4.
