It's in closed beta, but it came out years ago...I don't get it.

a new company ( duplex entertainment) took over this game made it free to play and totally redid the graphics ( among other things)

Face of mankind did go gold/ retail  but than got closed down. The most recent data it was reopened reworked Dec. 2008  It is in the closed beta phase July 2009 Yes it is a bit confusing someone needs to clear out all the stuff before dec 2008 off the listing here on mmorg. The most recent data is at the face od mankind fourms.

http://forum.fomportal.com/showthread.php?t=2 <--- no signup info link about the reopening

 Duplex Systems is   the face of mankind game developer.  Nexeon Technologies is the publisher

I can see how it can be confusing if you haven't followed the game before.  Duplex Systems (AKA Marko Dieckmann) announced development of Face of Mankind in 2002.  Here is a link to his interview with IGN.  The first beta registration period began in April of 2003 as was reported on Gamespot.  However, closed beta testing didn't actually start until a year later, April 2004.  Though there was slow development and poor communication with the community surrounding FoM, there was actually quite a lot of interest and activity occurring in the official forums at that time.

Feb 2005 is when open beta finally hit.  The influx of thousands of new players into such a raw and open world was rather chaotic, but at the same time it was a lot of fun for those who experienced it.  The downside was that most of the closed beta testers eventually left during the first few weeks of open beta because the game had wholly changed in that short amount of time.  There were a lot of great people who contributed much to the foundations of FoM that felt turned off by the attitudes of the new players.  In a game that is so driven by player activity, the change in the size and mood of the population drastically changes the way the game is played.  The game changed from being centered around a tight-knight community which enjoyed role playing to a game dominated by hackers, e-thugs, roving gank-squads, and generally the scum of the online gaming world.

In any case, open beta continued until summer 2006.  The retail (pay-to-play) release was published alongside Ojom, a mobile phone games publisher.  I could expound the subsequent series of events which ensued from the incompetance and poor business practices of Ojom, but that would take too long.  Let's just say they are now out of business.

In its current form, Face of Mankind is a lot like the pay-to-play version which was available during 2006-2007.  The size of the game-world hs been cut down drastically in order to make it feel more populated, the game mechanics continue to be "improved," and there is a new publisher called Nexeon (which is run by former FoM players).

So, to answer your question... FoM did come out years ago.  And, yes, it is in closed beta (again).  Take from that what you will.  My suggestion is that you stay away.  ;)

Originally posted by ze789

a new company ( duplex entertainment) took over this game made it free to play and totally redid the graphics ( among other things)

Wrong.

Originally posted by Tester003

 Yes it is a bit confusing someone needs to clear out all the stuff before dec 2008 off the listing here on mmorg.

No.  I hope mmorpg.com keeps the archives of past interviews so that people can see for themselves how not to develop a "sand-box" mmo.  If anything good comes from this game it is that it serves as a test case for competent developers to learn from.

I think the closed beta testers back in 2004 failed on one part of fom.  It took 1 real time week to get paid for missons.  Know what that sounds like ? yes a job and i pay for fun not a second job heeh And yes that was fixed in open beta back in 2005.

as there are new posts here can someone tell  me where i can sign up i played fom a real long time ago and would like to give it another try where can i download?

Originally posted by Tester003

I think the closed beta testers back in 2004 failed on one part of fom.  It took 1 real time week to get paid for missons.  Know what that sounds like ? yes a job and i pay for fun not a second job heeh And yes that was fixed in open beta back in 2005.

The mission system has always been one of the worst parts of the game.  And the sad thing is that it's the one part Marko has spent the most time working on.  There have been so many changes to the way missions work but none of them really address the fact that missions have absolutely nothing to do with what actually happens in the game.  That can't be blamed on beta testers.  That's Marko's fault.