I may come across as a fanboi but I thought I would list some highlight points and why this game is my new MMO favourite.

* One massive open, seamless and no loading screen world. I am going to find it hard to play another MMO with loading screens. Its pretty amazing having one massive territory and its entirely open. You even have to open doors to enter a building and you can see people running around outside through the windows and even fire out of them.

* Crafting - its meaningful, useful and I have made pretty good money on the auction house with the items I have made. Its huge, semi complex but easy to understand.

* Vehicles at the start!! So many games launch with the promise of mounts or vehicles. You can have a vehicle at the very start of the game and even at low levels you can jump on a horse or ATV and go burning off into the desert. It also takes the pain out of slow traveling.

* Atmosphere and overall detail - The game really has a Firefly, Madmax, Fallout feel. Your avatar can be wearing 10 pieces of unmatched clothing with 6 weapons hanging off your back, arms, waist etc. You feel like a survivalist and a hardened fighter. Your avatar will curse, make funny comments and come to life when fighting, harvesting or other actions. Lots of adult themes and I even saw a firing squad in one of the towns acting out executions. Overall feel is excellent

* One global server! Like EVE this game has one global server and its a treat. No selection of which server to go with, its packed 24/7 and lots of nationalities playing. This is perfect for the Auction House and feeling of a living world.

* Performance - there has been some lag issues on occassion and rubber banding. However these are dealt with almost immediately and for a brand new launch with this population its amazing. I am playing on maximum settings and still getting 60 FPS outside towns and 25 FPS inside. Yes some people still have issues but on a whole most don't.

* GM's abound - in the global chat channel 'help' GMs are on all day and visible. They are always there answering questions and squashing the juveniles trying to slag off in chat. Some people have said they are too tough but all I see is them being fair and measured.

* Community - For some reason I have found it easy to group in this game. You can solo most of it but at hard points people just team up and help each other and then move on after the deed. A lot of missions require you to defend your position and I have seen strangers just pull up in their ATV and give me a hand and then drive off again. I like this a lot and people are always answering questions non stop in Help.

* Combat - Its free aiming, no auto lock and it feels real. Aim at the head and you can normally do a critical hit or even kill with one shot. Hit the arm or leg and you will score a glacing blow or less damage. The animation imo is good and little things such as seeing your opponent reload their gun makes the game that much more realistic. Once you get a decent weapon likea rifle or nice pistol you cant help but love the game. Having a scope today for the first time is a treat, you can easily use it and it even shows the exact distance. All these little features makes it so much better. In most games if you get asked to kill 100 mobs I tend to groan. For the latest promotion you have to kill 100 infected and I had a freaking ball. Automatic Rifle in hand I sat on a roof and took pot shots at the infected heads. I killed 100 before I knew it.

This game is not for everyone but for the Sci-fi fans who love this type of world and free roaming element will love this no end. I have waited for a fantasy game to come out with the same features (vanguard came close except the bugs killed it for me) but still waiting, just glad FE came along.
 

 Agree 100% :)

I really love how there's not even loading screens for instances. You just walk in and out. You can still see the outside world and everything.

sounds like somthing ive been looking for , for a while. Thanks alot of good info. I got the buddy key and ive been downloading since this morning like 13 hours lol almost done cant wait!

Cant help but agree here. Now that Ive "gotten going" the game is a blast!

(AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH Raises plunger in Salute to Fallen Earth!)

I agree with the OP about EVERY point except the combat.  It still feels clunky and poorly coded and the animations need a lot more work to engross the player in the fight.

Well first i have toi say gratz you found a game to enjoy and i also like to say you at least proved many points,wtich most FANBOIS of games just come off with BS like "polish"  or "fun" .

I have to comment on your topics because you got them down pat,but i looked at a few of the points differently or on a larger scale than you did.

first off yes it is a MASSIVE open world.However i found it to be sort of lack lustre in objects/filler.An example would be Vanguard an equally large world if not bigger ,but mush more full of action.I must also add,i did not see much action at all other than being very close to the main towns.Even in the main towns there i not a lot of life,the majority of NPC's are static waiting to hand out that quest or sell stuff.

Crafting is VERY meaningful,however i felt the entire system was done low end both tech wise and implementation.The ONLY place you get things is from nodes,nothing in the world outside of those nodes is usable nor can it be moved nor can it be picked up,so it is a very unrealistic world and unrealistic crafting system.The system is done like EVE,there is zero interaction,you just enter the items and let time craft the item.With no interaction and no way to fail,it gives zero immersion,no fun and no realism,therefor no satisfaction from doing it.I play games for a challenge,i do not want to harvest nodes shown clearly on mini map,i do not want a failproof crafting system,nor do i want a simplistic one either.

ATV at start,yes i agree,i would hate to have to walk that game world,since there is so much barren space,and nothing to do outside of town hubs,you need that travel option of mounts.

Atmosphere,yes it holds the theme atmosphere well,but detail?? no way it lacks detail in a HUGE way.I am talking detail in every aspect,that dead car is just a paste on texture ,it doesn't move ,nothing has destructive qualities,it really is a dead world.

One global server.I can see many liking that but why does it matter?i have played hundreds of the normal games with servers,and it never crossed my mind at all.The only thing that comes to mind is when a server is low population,that is the games fault not the design.When servers are low pop you need instant merges or at least offer free server transfers from over populated ones.Too many games wait too long to make moves out of fear of looking bad,server merges give bad impressions,but are still the proper thing to do.

Few quickies now,performance,i had no problems what so ever,performance is very good.

GM's and community ,i really never noticed or dealt with either.I chose to hide chat,i did not want it to distract my experience in the game and GM's have never helped anything in any game ever,so why even bother.

Combat...I felt bored with it,but as you said ,it's not for everyone.I guess i am too attached with Fantasy combat,there seems like more action and effects and animations going on.This game uses a more realistic approach to weaponry ,so for the most part it is never going to be over the top exciting.I guess to use a comparison it is sort of like playing a hunting game,witch as people have noticed has never made it big for any developer.The reason is as i eluded to ,the combat is just too boring like that.Not everyone gets excited about playing a post apocalyptic Ted Nugent out in the wild lol.

So although i agree with pretty much everything in the OP ,i did not get the same immersion or the same quality from it.The game as i would sum it up is just too bland,more of a VERY laid back type of game.

I must admit at the start I felt like I missed the fantasy scenary etc.  However as I drove around there are various terrains and it was never going to be green since its post apoc.  I figure I will sub to Jumpgate Evo for the bright colours and space feel and then jump into FE when I want to run around.  Combat has improved a lot for me since I have obtained a good rifle.  Maybe if they had wrecked cars that can explode etc that would be a nice touch but one thing I appreciate is that even wrecked houses in the middle of no where can be entered and have decoration inside.  Even the other day I found a place where I could open the fridge.  This does help realism.

On the crafting side I do agree with you on the fail thing but its still a massive part to the game and resource based like EVE.  Vanguard was the pinnacle of crafting for me and if I managed to make a special item which I almost failed on, then it was a huge moment.  However FE is the second best crafting system I have played due to the integration into the AH and real life use.  I cant believe how much stuff I have made for myself. 

Last point - Flashlight!  How freaking cool is that at night! 

Originally posted by Oyjord

I agree with the OP about EVERY point except the combat.  It still feels clunky and poorly coded and the animations need a lot more work to engross the player in the fight.

Honestly, I felt that way at first, and I would probably agree entirely if we're talking about melee (the double fisted ice cream cone stance for dual wielding is terrible =p) but rifles are pretty awesome as is (with the exception of crossbow which I wish they would sync the reload animation with the delay). 

Originally posted by Kordesh

Originally posted by Oyjord

I agree with the OP about EVERY point except the combat.  It still feels clunky and poorly coded and the animations need a lot more work to engross the player in the fight.

Honestly, I felt that way at first, and I would probably agree entirely if we're talking about melee (the double fisted ice cream cone stance for dual wielding is terrible =p) but rifles are pretty awesome as is (with the exception of crossbow which I wish they would sync the reload animation with the delay). 

all in due time. Once half a year has passed since release, then you can get anal about it, but given the nature of the company (its size and budget), they did very well. They have a list of priorities and sadly, sometimes the visual fixes such as you mentioned are often low on that list.

I'm really loving the game too.  I find myself playing way too much. 

Originally posted by Rabenwolf

Originally posted by Kordesh

Originally posted by Oyjord

I agree with the OP about EVERY point except the combat.  It still feels clunky and poorly coded and the animations need a lot more work to engross the player in the fight.

Honestly, I felt that way at first, and I would probably agree entirely if we're talking about melee (the double fisted ice cream cone stance for dual wielding is terrible =p) but rifles are pretty awesome as is (with the exception of crossbow which I wish they would sync the reload animation with the delay). 

 

all in due time. Once half a year has passed since release, then you can get anal about it, but given the nature of the company (its size and budget), they did very well. They have a list of priorities and sadly, sometimes the visual fixes such as you mentioned are often low on that list.

Oh I'm by no means complaining, but it was worth mentioning in response. The crossbow thing is somewhat on the more important side though because that's actually a bit broken. Not being able to fire a shot upwards of 3 seconds after reloading sometimes is just not right. It's manageable though and there are more important things to work on.