Fallen Earth Lead Game Designer Lee Hammock continues our series of Fallen Earth developer journals with this sneak peek at Vista and Tecs faction gear in the upcoming post-apocalyptic MMO.

Hey all, I’m Lee Hammock, the lead game designer on Fallen Earth taking over for Circatrix this week on our dev journal. Last week we posted screen shots of some of the faction gear for the Children of the Apocalypse and the Enforcers, so this week we move on to the Vistas and the Techs.

The Vistas are masters of the natural world in Fallen Earth. The Vistas work to protect what remains of the environment from any harm that may befall it while working to restore what they can of the ecologies of the old world. They are experts in hunting, farming, ranching, animal training and camouflage. They are the leading agricultural power in the Grand Canyon Province. Many enemies underestimate them due to their interest in non-combat matters, but such enemies rarely last past the first Vista ambush. Mobile, quiet, and determined, the Vistas rarely fight in the open, preferring guerilla warfare tactics that play to their strengths. They avoid heavy armor and weapons, preferring mobility and stealth over protection. Their equipment is made of wool, cotton, and other natural materials with most of the metal parts coming from salvage.

Check out the Dev Journal

This looks awesome !!  Wasteland Online !! I used to love that game back when I played it on Commodore 64 and this game looks like a nice take on the game. 

Hope it works out well, I"ll be keeping an eye out.

Looking at the last peek and this one...

Stats be darned! I'll be mixing me some kick arse uniform for sure.

Just too much awesomeness here, in a world of "leather armor, robes, plate and swords'n majic"... I finally see the light!

Didn't think the techs could look so cool...having a tough time deciding what faction I would like the most.

Can you use gear of another faction? There's no logical reason why you couldn't. But sometimes games have exclusive gear for no reason outside of game balance.

Very cool... but i am still going CHOTA!

Vistas for me. But I need to see the Travelers. They sound interesting but I want to see how they look.

---

Originally posted by Alverant - Can you use gear of another faction? There's no logical reason why you couldn't. But sometimes games have exclusive gear for no reason outside of game balance.

---

As far as selecting a faction, I'm going with Traveler. I can't wait to see what they'll look like though I have an idea already.
 

I am going to Techs! Considering I am Biotech in Neocron.

Finally a game that isnt fantasy! THX GOD 

Everyone keep an eye out for clan SXR 

Go Fallen Earth Go!!!

Originally posted by Alverant

Can you use gear of another faction? There's no logical reason why you couldn't. But sometimes games have exclusive gear for no reason outside of game balance.

I don't believe that you can wear CHOTA armor as an Enforcer.  That isn't to say an Enforcer cannot wear armor that a CHOTA made. 

Once you have aligned with a faction, I am guessing it is after you have been aligned a while, you can make armor that has the "look" of your specific faction.  I don't think it is so much a balancing thing, but a "What self-respecting Enforcer would put on Vista or COTA rags when they have kevlar" kind of thing.

Anyone who has a quote regarding this, jump on in...I'm too lazy to thumb through QoTWs to find it.

Lookin' good.  I like the screenshots.  Based on strictly appearances it's hard to say what I'd pick. 

Wonder if Microsoft slipped them some cash to name the faction Vistas?

Still trying to figure out which faction im going to be.  I just want to look like an old west bad ass with a brown duster and always with a smoke in my hand.  Im really loving the post-nuclear setting, im so tired of Fantasy games in general.  Playing Fallout 3 right now and loving it.

Can't wait till this game releases.

this game looks horrible lol

some of the worste graphics i've seen yet

Originally posted by TenSpotting

this game looks horrible lol

some of the worste graphics i've seen yet

Graphics does not determine how good a game is, content and gameplay are the most important factors.  Graphics can help, but not hinder a MMO.

Originally posted by TenSpotting

this game looks horrible lol

some of the worste graphics i've seen yet

Graphics mean jack, I'd play Ultima Online if they put in a classic server.  You know that saying, location , location, location. Well its gameplay, gameplay, gameplay.   (not graphics, graphics, graphics)

So you know Graphics DO mean a bit to me.I tire of old looking games,there is MILLIONS of them out there.I don't need a complete world of hi res textures,but at least throw some in there especially on the characters.I want leather to look like leather and steel to look like steel.I also want the armor to look like it is armor and not a texture pasted onto the model.

Other than that ,i prefer a good game with GREAT mechanics....TONS of thinking and developing.I really don't want to see another ancient game engine with mobs spotted around a few trees and weapons that merely ping each other to death,[that plays into the mechanics part].

I would also like to see a game that makes the players develope EVERYTHING,you have to hunt around for metal to make a gun per say and also you need to develope your skills to actually make the gun.Basically an in depth crafting system that makes players work for everything.I don't like anything just handed to me and say "Here go kill 10 bears with that gun we gave you and turn them in to that NPC",done enough of that,i'll get bored in 5 minutes.

Originally posted by TenSpotting

this game looks horrible lol

some of the worste graphics i've seen yet

Who cares about graphics when it is game content that matters? For all I care they could make it 2D if it meant more resources going in developing game content.

Your comment seems fitting well with fans of the countless theme-park MMO's out there. Maybe try one of those?

Looking forward to this game so much! Hard to tell how something will look animated vers static image. Graphics have a definite place in a game, but the gameplay wins out, have to see. I definitely have high hopes on this though!

Many of the games out today are superficially designed as if that is the most important quality in an MMO. The MMO industry is not as advanced as we think. It is still very young and has much to learn about what Gamers really want. FE looks like a fresh new concept even if the graphics aren’t glorified like in other MMO’s. To say I won’t play because the graphics aren’t crystalline says more about the person stating the comment than of the game it self. I think some of us have greater standards and understand the industry more than others to see where this new generation of developers will be taking us. One can actually see it if we look beyond the front-page hyped MMO.

---

Originally posted by Alverant
Can you use gear of another faction? There's no logical reason why you couldn't. But sometimes games have exclusive gear for no reason outside of game balance.

---

I tried to aswered this question before but I didn't have an accurate reply and it bothered me that I didn't. So, I started reading up the Q&A and here is what I found:

2. Will there be Faction-specific armor for top-level players, or just in-general pieces that can only be worn by a certain alignment?

Each faction has numerous pieces of clothing and armor that are specific to their faction, from Lightbearer robes to CHOTA bone armor to Enforcer ballistic plate. Some of these outfits will simply function as armor, such as the aforementioned Enforcer ballistic plate, while others may have different functions. Each Faction has pieces for a variety slots, with each Faction having at least its own chest, foot, glove, belt, and head pieces. Most of these slots have 3-5 different pieces for each Faction, denoting different ranks or membership in subfactions. Faction-specific clothing and armor can only be worn by members of the appropriate faction, so if you're a Traveler trying to disguise yourself as a Vista, best not wear your Traveler-specific gear into a Vista town. Players can learn to make Faction-specific clothing and armor if they have the appropriate Armorcraft skill and a really high Faction rating.

That is an official Dev. Quote... you can find the full article here

Originally posted by Seiren

Many of the games out today are superficially designed as if that is the most important quality in an MMO. The MMO industry is not as advanced as we think. It is still very young and has much to learn about what Gamers really want. FE looks like a fresh new concept even if the graphics aren’t glorified like in other MMO’s. To say I won’t play because the graphics aren’t crystalline says more about the person stating the comment than of the game it self. I think some of us have greater standards and understand the industry more than others to see where this new generation of developers will be taking us. One can actually see it if we look beyond the front-page hyped MMO.

You said the KEYWORD >>UNDERSTAND.

I think most of us don't need a complete hi res world but we do expect advancement beyond FFXI/Everquest witch were made prolly 8-10 years ago.FFXI was VERY limited by a console engine so you have to for sure outdo there CONTENT and there Graphics.Everquest showed us that realistic looking armour was capable back when peeps only had pentium2/3/4 PC's,so YES we HAVE come a VERY long way,the TOTAL bandwidth these average PC's can handle is at least 5-10x what they could when Everquest was designed.

You are also correct when saying some of us have greater standards,that is because i know what it takes to make these games,maybe not the whole financial side of it ,but the gaming engine and effort i do understand.I am also sure some of these newer gaming engines have some advanced physics capabilities,but again i nor others expect a full dx10 game with shader 4/5 ,we just want what is FAIR and EXPECTED from modern day coders and graphic artists.I should also mention we expect a complete game design by the horrid modern day managers of these games.

To tell the truth i was not too sure what you meant by SUPERFICIALLY designed,you mean like crappy WOW graphics that could fool the average gamer?games that are too lazy to make meaningful spells per level,so they just turn to these nowaday SKILL trees players seem to love ..lol.FFXI managed to combine meaningful spells per level AND incorporated skills for each to go along with it.Kind of obvious why i always praise FFXi,since most games are half the game that is and designed for PC lol.

Since i have seen the best out there it will of course be very hard to please me,by heck why would i play something that is inferior? because it is new? pfft not me.I can however move to and play something UNIQUE that shows quality was put into the effort.Look no further than the two youngsters who started CRASH BANDICOOT years ago,they didn't need some large staff,they made such a great game ,SOE purchased the rights from them and made them millionaires.Quality is achievable by all who are capable.

Technology has come a long way yes, but not everyone who plays MMO’s has the top PC or to support the demand of some MMO’s today. I stopped updating my PC for new MMO’s four years ago and I don’t think I’m missing much from where graphics are concerned. The point I was trying to make (perhaps I didn’t do so well), is that graphics isn’t that important when the game it self is good. Of course we are talking here about a new MMO that isn’t available yet, so it is a bit hard to determine how good the game will actually be.

My self, I don’t, have the knowledge you say to have in game development. I speak from a gamer’s point of view, and one that has tried many of the games out today, only to be disappointed and completely disgusted with what some companies keep developing. Ironically my turn-off from these games has nothing to do with the graphics. Some games today are designed to be art first and a large amount of time is employed on that. Also another factor is that many of the games designed today are based or derived on themes with already established fans. SWG, AoC, LOTRO, D&D, and many others…Original games are often overshadowed, especially by big budgeted companies with millions to spend on marketing, and the small budget companies that make unique and interesting games are left behind.

Personally I want to play FE for its storyline content, crafting system, and other interesting facts about the game that have captured my interest. It is what I look for in an MMO, my standard, graphics play a very little part. I’ve never played FFXI and I’ve heard great things about it. I’m sure I would like it. But I already have a favorite fantasy theme game, one I’ve loved for four years, and continue to play today, which don’t allow room for FFXI.

Alas, there are many factors that we can agree and disagree in regards to why graphics are important or not important. The core point we both have is that it is a personal choice and based on our experiences as gamers, and technical knowledge of the industry (however small in my case), that our expectations are set. True the industry has come a long way in the graphics department, there is great technology out there, but the industry still needs to learn that there is a large demographic of elder gamers that prefer original concepts, hybrid characters, skill levels instead of class levels, smart AI worlds, and questless grind over cloned and artful graphic MMO's.

Originally posted by TenSpotting

this game looks horrible lol

some of the worste graphics i've seen yet

The graphics arn't all that bad,The game is still in Alpha mind you.it has a nice lighting system with real time shadows.   While I do like eyecandy Im willing to sacrifice some of that for awesome gameplay.

Im more concerned about the combat. Im no fan of fps or 3rd person shooters. Still this game looks pretty amazing. Its got two things going for it...

sandbox

crafted goods better than drops

thats enough for me to buy it