MMORPG.com's Vitaliy Dikker writes this preview of the soon upcoming MMO from Icarus Studios, Fallen Earth which launches on Sept 22nd.

Fallen Earth is an MMO with a post apocalyptic setting on the planet Earth. A large scale global nuclear war has broken out after a virus has infected majority of a population somewhere in Asia. Because it caused unusual muscle contractions that made people dance, it was named after the Hindu goddess Shiva. Only 1 in 100,000 people have managed to survive this event. Now the land is desolated, death is in the air and mutants roam free.

You enter the world of Fallen Earth as a clone that was brought back from the dead by a LifeNet scientist. She is the one who is helping you escape the Hoover Dam complex, which incidentally is a cleverly disguised tutorial in the shape of your very first quest. Unfortunately the original functional facilities have been destroyed by Alec Masters, who was later hanged by one of six game factions named CHOTA (Children of The Apocalypse). And so you are actually a clone without the customary given gift of immortality, since your DNA is damaged. From the very beginning you learn that you are actually dying. As you manage to escape the Hoover Dam, the next active mission given to you is all about stopping your demise. The entire game plot and the storyline unfold from here on.

Read Previewing After the Plague

I just want to add, this game respects peoples playtime very much, from the goods on merchants to the crafting system (That works online, or while you quest) to how you get a horse. You can have a horse at any point, even right out of the tube if you can afford it.

Just waiting to see how long it takes for the ever insightful comment "Graphics suck, look like late 90's"  to be made.  Graphics are nice, but not the only aspect of a game.  Gameplay is a big deal, and I have been digging the game for quite awhile now.  The lag has been off and on for me, but the latest fix for Nvidia cards really helped me out. 

So before we just take shots at the graphics being less then great, how bout we talk about the game itself.  Of course this preview did that, just an early response to the all to common remarks made about this game based off visual first impressions.

Originally posted by biophazer242

So before we just take shots at the graphics being less then great, how bout we talk about the game itself. 

Okay - why isn't there realistic water in the game, and why can't you respec?

How many characters can you have, and will you have to repeat the tutorial for each one?

Pretty accurate preview. I've been playing for a long time and through beta and have to say this game is awesome.

It's got a deep storyline which has me reading all the quest dialogue, even after progressing through the game a few times already. I appreciate the "mad max" style humour which you'll find throughout the game and attached to in-game equipment and items.

There's nothing quite like finding a set of old football shoulder pads in-game to use as armour, with an item description: "Good for a friendly game of ball and/or wholesale slaughter". This kind of thing and the other references keeps me well amused :D

Anyway, as was said in the preview the only problem I have atm with the game are the lag in high-stress areas. Think Jita in EVE pre the optimizations.  Once they have these issues sorted out there wont really be too much to fault the game on as it's pretty solid and has very few bugs.

Definately my kind of niche game :D

i may try this out next year if or when they decide to make vehicles more fun instead of 'Trains on rails' they have at the moment.

oh and a EU server they said in beta, but went back on.

I have a "duh" moment every night (this is where i figure out something about the game I should have picked up on a long time ago.) Last night I realized that I could jack up the resolution and graphics (never concerned me before.) I must say that the graphics are actually very impressive. This is especially the case on the interior areas like the mines and underground structures.

I'm maxed out still running 50fps (lightly populated areas) with a SLI dual Nvidia 8800 setup. I'm not sure if the SLI is helping as much as I would expect.

My only concern right now is that I went "all-in" on pistols and am spending 1-2 chips per bullet. I can dump about 1000 rounds a night easily.

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by biophazer242

So before we just take shots at the graphics being less then great, how bout we talk about the game itself. 

Okay - why isn't there realistic water in the game, and why can't you respec?

How many characters can you have, and will you have to repeat the tutorial for each one?

 

Water, still a work in progress but low on priorities.

Respec, very complicated considering all the Skills and Abilities that have been learned and how they interact with each other. I believe a Respec ability will be implimented at some time in the future.

Characters, total of 4 per account can be made.

Tutorial, the Terminal that you first interact with has an option to skip the Tutorial.

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by biophazer242

So before we just take shots at the graphics being less then great, how bout we talk about the game itself. 

Okay - why isn't there realistic water in the game,

No realistic water in game? Just because you can't swim in it? Juat don't be saying that a permament mirror like water is the only realistic option :S

and why can't you respec?

Icarus seemed to decide that they don't want to have that in their game. But there is some indication that it will change. You'd be better of asking them.

How many characters can you have,

4.

and will you have to repeat the tutorial for each one?

No.

Just want to add that you actually have two choices for pre-ordering. Just go to the official website for both choices. Basically, you can order through Direct2Drive and receive a special horse mount or you can order directly through the developer and opt for a nice ATV vehicle. I liked the idea of going directly through the developer, so went with that. Same price.

Also the game seems to allow for leveling up without fighting. Each time I harvest materials, I gain experience, for example. I think this was also an intentionally developed and supported playstyle. I'm not sure how far I can go like that, but seems pretty hopeful.

For those of you saying the graphics aren't bad, please show me some screenshots. I have the graphics maxxed out with a 8800GT and the latest drivers, and I think the game looks like crap. Mostly the terrain. Character models, indoors, weapons, armor, and structures look decent. It's the vegetation, the soil, the hills, and anything living that isn't human or humanoid that looks really bad. I'll try to remember to take a screenshot the next time I log in.

People are right, in that graphics aren't the end all be all in making a game, but it does enhance the immersion factor and enjoyability. Really bad graphics can be just as bad as really bad gameplay. Why else would people complain about there not being sandbox games, when there are 6-10 year old sandbox games out there. It's because graphics are important. I'm willing to give it the benefit of doubt though. Maybe it's just my graphics card, so if any fans want to post some screenshots of what the game looks like on their computer, I'd be grateful.

As for the rest of the game, it's different. Not different bad, or different good, just different. It'll definitely fill a niche, and I'm still playing trying to figure out if I'm in that niche.The combat is fun, and crafting/harvesting is nice. Having bank vaults for Clan and Personal right away is nice. Having mounts as low as lvl 3 is nice. Being able to weild all weapons, and them all show on your body is also nice. However, having a truck load of missions every step of the way, so many that your log is full constantly after level 4, and having to pass up missions because of this, sucks. Having to do an endless amount of missions is bad enough, without having the stress of passing up missions to add to it. Missions are required, because many of them give AP, which is the skill points the preview speaks of. It's not something I haven't figured out how to work around, because the solution is simple: Buckle down and do the missions, pick up those you missed as space becomes available. However, this sort of gaming sucks, because I'd much rather have very few, really long missions, than very many, short missions. It's a gameplay preference. Again, not a bad different, or a good different, just different.

nate1980, I do know there are some level of detail settings which directly affect the terrain. I think terrain is typically an area that is highly optimized for performance in many MMOs. There are lots of screenshots on this site for the game. Looking at user-submitted and official ones, I can deduce that terrain is, by default, given a pretty aggressive setting for level of detail which will cause some texture blurring at your character location and even more in the distance. I don't have the game in front of me now, but I know the settings are in there, or were during the beta.

It looks like the official screenshots use settings where that affect is toned down, so the ground looks more detailed. I can see finer details.

But anyway, I really like the graphics. They used high quality textures. I love the details on all of the buildings,  characters, and all of the objects you find out in the terrain. The graphics are not going to jump out at you since they went for a realistic atmosphere. No bright colors, etc. Some of the plants in the terrain look kind of crude, but that's probably an optimization again and I've seen much worse.

I don't think they should allow respecs, the problem with that would be that everyone would level up as crafter type and when they cap out at max level switch to whatever pvp/combat spec they like with all their gears made, may be an unfair advantage, or if they do allow respecs maybe allow one at level 20 or make it very difficult to get.

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Why am I posting this not sure.. The Quality of the graphics does not make a game. The game play is what does it.. Yeah you can see there not maybe AoC quality but guess what? How is AoC doing??? OHHHHHHHH Right yeah that is funny.. I guess sometimes making it pretty does not make it good..

Anyways them screenshots from sector one at the bottom so I have not been able explore much yet or see forests and such yet.

I play this game on high graphics and the graphics look really good, it may not be state of the art best graphics out there, but good quality nonetheless, and the gameplay is what sucks you into this game, not the graphics.  This world is so absolutely huge and there are so many things to to its gonna take forever to even accomplish half of it.  It is very addictive, haven't been able to steer away since early access opened and it's only gonna get better with the expansion they have coming.

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by biophazer242

So before we just take shots at the graphics being less then great, how bout we talk about the game itself. 

Okay - why isn't there realistic water in the game, and why can't you respec?

How many characters can you have, and will you have to repeat the tutorial for each one?

 

you are really hung up on this very minor detail about realistic water. *lol*

Originally posted by KcissemD

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by biophazer242

So before we just take shots at the graphics being less then great, how bout we talk about the game itself. 

Okay - why isn't there realistic water in the game, and why can't you respec?

How many characters can you have, and will you have to repeat the tutorial for each one?

 

 

you are really hung up on this very minor detail about realistic water. *lol*

It happens lots of kids out there are all about pretty looking stuff and not about gameplay anymore,. I would consider them the cause of the downfall of most MMORPG's now..

Originally posted by vixen2

I don't think they should allow respecs, the problem with that would be that everyone would level up as crafter type and when they cap out at max level switch to whatever pvp/combat spec they like with all their gears made, may be an unfair advantage, or if they do allow respecs maybe allow one at level 20 or make it very difficult to get.

Crafting is "real time"...

So not only do you have to wait for crafts to be done, but also have to go harvest a crapload of resources to build what you need to level up.

So it would be very time consuming to level up with crafting compared to regular play. Fine for a crafter type, but a combat type that tried to level up by crafting to "exploit" respeccing? He'd be going back to combat before he had gained 3 levels :p

As far as respec goes, i don't think there should be one to respec, i know people like to min max their characters but who cares if one is slightly less powerful than another.  There are character planners out there that will help you plan you build level by level if you are that worried about gimping a character.   if a respec option is added it needs to be some long drawn out process to do so and can only do it once.

Originally posted by KcissemD

As far as respec goes, i don't think there should be one to respec, i know people like to min max their characters but who cares if one is slightly less powerful than another.  There are character planners out there that will help you plan you build level by level if you are that worried about gimping a character.   if a respec option is added it needs to be some long drawn out process to do so and can only do it once.

People said the same about SWG, yet it was one of the most loved features of SWG.

It wasn't the min maxers that used it the most, but the regular players. The ability to keep your character throughout a games lifetime, rebuilding him to your playstyle as you change or explore other playstyles, is way stronger than playing the "alt" game.

Yes, min maxers and "FOTM" people will be using it, but, why punish everyone to play the alt game, because the few would be trying to be the FOTM?

Originally posted by wolfmann

Originally posted by KcissemD

As far as respec goes, i don't think there should be one to respec, i know people like to min max their characters but who cares if one is slightly less powerful than another.  There are character planners out there that will help you plan you build level by level if you are that worried about gimping a character.   if a respec option is added it needs to be some long drawn out process to do so and can only do it once.

 

People said the same about SWG, yet it was one of the most loved features of SWG.

It wasn't the min maxers that used it the most, but the regular players. The ability to keep your character throughout a games lifetime, rebuilding him to your playstyle as you change or explore other playstyles, is way stronger than playing the "alt" game.

Yes, min maxers and "FOTM" people will be using it, but, why punish everyone to play the alt game, because the few would be trying to be the FOTM?

"Few"?

Try "Most".

This is the problem with skill based systems. Everyone wants to respec. Which is odd because of the "freedom" the skill system lets you have suddenly is too restrictive and you need to change....

This is why most games just go with classes. If you want to play a damage dealer, make a damage dealer. If you want to be a medic, make a medic. Doing SWG or UO macro skill grinds is a silly and stupid way to make a character advancement system.

Heaven forbid you have an alt...

Originally posted by wolfmann

Originally posted by KcissemD

As far as respec goes, i don't think there should be one to respec, i know people like to min max their characters but who cares if one is slightly less powerful than another.  There are character planners out there that will help you plan you build level by level if you are that worried about gimping a character.   if a respec option is added it needs to be some long drawn out process to do so and can only do it once.

 

People said the same about SWG, yet it was one of the most loved features of SWG.

It wasn't the min maxers that used it the most, but the regular players. The ability to keep your character throughout a games lifetime, rebuilding him to your playstyle as you change or explore other playstyles, is way stronger than playing the "alt" game.

Yes, min maxers and "FOTM" people will be using it, but, why punish everyone to play the alt game, because the few would be trying to be the FOTM?

see that is my point, respecs just cater to the i want it now crowd, something i'd rather not have around IMO.  If one wants to change their playstyle around they should roll it not respec to it and have everything handed to them,   The more of those you get the more certain dumbing down of features are screamed for and most devs i noticed gives in no matter how hard they try to stick to their original vision.  This has been proven in almost every mmo since 2004,  In this case Icarus is not aiming at those people, so here's hoping they continue NOT doing so the same way CCP for eve online has done.

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Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

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Originally posted by biophazer242

So before we just take shots at the graphics being less then great, how bout we talk about the game itself. 

---

Okay - why isn't there realistic water in the game, and why can't you respec?
How many characters can you have, and will you have to repeat the tutorial for each one?
 

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Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Okay - why isn't there realistic water in the game, and why can't you respec?

How many characters can you have, and will you have to repeat the tutorial for each one?

 

You can have four characters, and you can skip the tutorial after the first one.  You can't respec because there's no reason to.  You can't gimp your character in a skill-based system with as much freedom as FE's advancement system has.  Sure there are so-called optimal builds that the min-max crowd will gravitate towards, but frankly those types of players are the ones that research their builds before spending any of their AP.

If you're too lazy to do that, roll another character.  Respecs aren't necessary.

As to the water, I can't answer that.  Maybe the same reason water kills you in Aion: it's an afterthought.

Originally posted by kanechart

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Why am I posting this not sure.. The Quality of the graphics does not make a game. The game play is what does it.. Yeah you can see there not maybe AoC quality but guess what? How is AoC doing??? OHHHHHHHH Right yeah that is funny.. I guess sometimes making it pretty does not make it good..

 

Anyways them screenshots from sector one at the bottom so I have not been able explore much yet or see forests and such yet.

While I agree that graphics don't make a game, they do however add to a game. In this case they detract from it. Gameplay and performance aside, I just couldn't appreciate the graphics enough to enjoy the setting. I felt as if they were bland and without detail. Just because it's a post-apocalyptic world doesn't mean that there shouldn't be any detail. I just never found that "wow, look at that" moment like I have had in every other MMO that I've enjoyed.

My biggest grip with the graphics was with the textures and more so with the scrubs. First of all, the scrubs look horrific. Secondly, the max distance on them is way too short. Looking at screenshot #2 you can see that the scrubs just stop roughly 50 feet from the character. This made it so that they always "drew" 50 feet out as I traveled. I felt like a bug scrub crayon that was used to draw the scrubs while I moved. The ground details were the same (compare the LOD at your feet to how bland they are 50 feet out). Lastly, they stopped us from removing them completely and forced us into having them set to a minimum of 25 in the options. This is what did it for me. There is no reason that someone shouldn't be allowed to turn a graphics feature completely off if they so choose.

Again, this is with gameplay and performance aside so please don't call me a little child that only likes "shiny" things when I pay for a game upfront and monthly.