OK, this one I can answer.  I played FE since mid-beta.  It's a very good game, and has much of the "flavor" of the old SWG.  By that, I mean the feeling you got when you played SWG was one that kept you coming back.  It also has the crafted-gear model, not loot drop, so in that respect it's got much in common.  It's skill-based, not class-based so, again, we're on familiar SWG ground.  It's also a lot of fun.

But...

It's going through an interminably long Combat Revamp right now to try and fix up the PvP, and content has been stagnant since they lost their primary backers 6-8 months ago.  It's a very good small Indie company that's stretched to the limit at the moment.  A shame, really, as this game had the potential to be a monster.  I'm not sure how active the server is anymore, since I haven't played in a few months (still have an active sub though).  Check out the FE forums for more up-to-date on community size.  The community itself was excellent, again, reminiscent of the old days of SWG.  The developers and team are more responsive than most too, and they really ARE trying to get a handle on the combat before launching into new content, level cap raising, etc.

The crafting is good, but, of course, nowhere near what we had in pre-CU SWG.  Nothing is.  The combat is a bit of a hybrid between RPG and FPS styles, and works, though there are balance issues, especially in PvP.  The content to lvl 50 (current cap) is substantial, so you'll get a good few months of enjoyment getting there.  But then, it's PvP and, while potentially a good time, has many problems for the "average" player.

If you can afford to take a shot at Fallen Earth, I'd highly recommend trying it.  It deserves far more than it's gotten in terms of support, both from gamers and investors.  If any game has the potential to bring back the old SWG feeling, this is the one I've played to date that does.

Originally posted by mcmfire
Like many people I left SWG after the NGE hit and have yet to find a MMO that remotely has some of what made SWG great. The exploration, crafting, skill tree and custom builds to name a few. I've played most everything else out there from EVE, EQII, Ryzom, DAoC, WHO, LOTRO, etc etc, and have just recently stumbled across Fallen Earth. Unfortunately my current situation (deployed) has kept me from trying anything out first hand so I'm left to reviews and word of mouth. From what I've read it seems to have a lot of the same characteristics as SWG once did, including the three tiered Health / Endurance / Mind bars. There is harvesting and crafting which is apparently complex and a member driven economy. There are PVP elements which seem to be as close to the old GCW as I can find and it isn't a forced situation. And since each toon can have a unique build I'm thinking that skill is more important than gear. Like I said I'm strictly going off of what is available on a limited internet connection but I'd like to get into something as soon as I return home in a few weeks.

 Agree with the poster above me entirely. I would only add:

Regarding skill trees - there basically are trees but you can pick powers from any of them. You are limited to types of buffs that can be active and type of weapon you have equipped (though you can switch weapons). This makes it really hard to balance, but you can really make a character you imagine.

Exploration? I doubt it is nearly as large as SWG, but it is plenty large for the setting. Its actually a 1/4? scale model of the grand canyon in the U.S. It can take a lot of time to cross a 'zone.' Note that there are very few instances in the regular game. There is blood sports i.e. like a battleground, but that is optional.

The economy is not as good as EVE, but very different from WOW or EQ. Its is mostly about raw materials and mostly really clan based economies. For e.g. the last clan I was in, we were encouraged to pick a type of crafting position and drop materials for the other professions and we could take mats for our crafts.

Fallen Earth is a wow-clone.  You grind, wack at rocks, and make stuff to sell at the AH.

Originally posted by Nerf09

Fallen Earth is a wow-clone.  You grind, wack at rocks, and make stuff to sell at the AH.

Or it's the complete opposite of WoW ...   Put down the crack pipe.

It's a skill based system with FPS style combat.  Economy relies on crafting instead of drops.  It actually has a unique story and background.

Originally posted by nerrollus

Originally posted by Nerf09

Fallen Earth is a wow-clone.  You grind, wack at rocks, and make stuff to sell at the AH.

 

Or it's the complete opposite of WoW ...   Put down the crack pipe.

 

It's a skill based system with FPS style combat.  Wow has skills too Economy relies on crafting instead of drops.  So does WOW  It actually has a unique story and background.   So does WOW

 

 

There are superficial differences like instead of a dwarf character you have a midget human, or instead of killing a boar you kill a radiated boar, you are still going through the exact same motions and grind you would do on WOW.

FE is an MMO, like EQ, WoW and others, but that's really where the similarities end. I'm sure Nerf09 is just trolling, because what he's spouting is the opposite of truth. FE has more immersion in it's little finger than every other MMO i've played in the past 14 years has all together...except maybe EVE. Anyways, to each his own.

It's not a WoW clone, but neither anywhere near Pre CU.

Those who claim the game is a mere copy of Wow are blind. The map is bigger and exploration is a much, much, much bigger part of FE than WoW. Graphic-wise FE is way more realistic, combat system is completely different, Skill-system is entirely different, mounts are different, even fluff are not something stupid that breaks immersion. There are similarities but to claim that FE is just a clone is beyond me...

The only thing it has in common, is they are both an unfinished broken mess.  Pre-cu was sandbox, fallen earth is a open themepark.

I don't understand people who say FE is totally open and has a very good exploration component. The only thing you can do while exploring is to gather materials (of course if you go to far they will outlevel you). Other than that, it is a simple themepark - you are restricted by levels so much that it hurts.

Last time I went exploring in sector 2 i ended up on some station with guys giving quests for a nearby ruin (3 levels above me). I could easily kill the quest monsters, but I could not accept the quest as I was too low level!!! For me this killed the game. Such restrictions do not allow for exploration.

This game was designed as all other quest hub themepark games and the more you play it, the more obvious it becomes.

Originally posted by remyburke

FE is an MMO, like EQ, WoW and others, but that's really where the similarities end. I'm sure Nerf09 is just trolling, because what he's spouting is the opposite of truth. FE has more immersion in it's little finger than every other MMO i've played in the past 14 years has all together...except maybe EVE. Anyways, to each his own.

Superficial differences.  The essense is exactly the same as WOW.  Heck, you're even mashing the same keys as WOW.

---

Originally posted by Nerf09

---

Originally posted by remyburke
FE is an MMO, like EQ, WoW and others, but that's really where the similarities end. I'm sure Nerf09 is just trolling, because what he's spouting is the opposite of truth. FE has more immersion in it's little finger than every other MMO i've played in the past 14 years has all together...except maybe EVE. Anyways, to each his own.

---

Superficial differences.  The essense is exactly the same as WOW.  Heck, you're even mashing the same keys as WOW.

---

Originally posted by Nerf09

Originally posted by remyburke

FE is an MMO, like EQ, WoW and others, but that's really where the similarities end. I'm sure Nerf09 is just trolling, because what he's spouting is the opposite of truth. FE has more immersion in it's little finger than every other MMO i've played in the past 14 years has all together...except maybe EVE. Anyways, to each his own.

Superficial differences.  The essense is exactly the same as WOW.  Heck, you're even mashing the same keys as WOW.

That is the stupidest thing i ever read in my life...

Originally posted by madnagash

This game was designed as all other quest hub themepark games and the more you play it, the more obvious it becomes.

Yeah, the comparison to pre-CU and calling it a sandbox just seems odd. It's a fun game, but it's as tiered and linear as any other themepark style MMO.

Certainly inspired by it, in that you craft most of your stuff.  Unfortunately, crafting(back when I played it) didn't allow for varying levels of success or different properties based on the quality of components, the main things I liked about SWG.

Another similarity is the random flora, and how it tends to pop into view.  My understanding is that it fades better, these days, though.

For me, that's where the similarities end.  But you should trial it anyway.  Maybe you'll have a different opinion.

Originally posted by Robsolf

Certainly inspired by it, in that you craft most of your stuff.  Unfortunately, crafting(back when I played it) didn't allow for varying levels of success or different properties based on the quality of components, the main things I liked about SWG.

Another similarity is the random flora, and how it tends to pop into view.  My understanding is that it fades better, these days, though.

For me, that's where the similarities end.  But you should trial it anyway.  Maybe you'll have a different opinion.

This is pretty much how I feel.

For some reason, you hear alot that FE has good crafting.... but don't listen to those people. The crafting in FE is terrible. It's essentially the same as WoW's crafting, but you have a few more ingrediants and it takes time to craft things rather than instantly. Just because everything in the world is crafted, doesn't make crafting itself good. You go around, harvest nodes, make static pieces of equipment. 

Not only is the crafting boring, but there is no economy either. None. Nadda. Zilch.

Originally posted by cyress8

 

---

Originally posted by Nerf09

---

Originally posted by remyburke
FE is an MMO, like EQ, WoW and others, but that's really where the similarities end. I'm sure Nerf09 is just trolling, because what he's spouting is the opposite of truth. FE has more immersion in it's little finger than every other MMO i've played in the past 14 years has all together...except maybe EVE. Anyways, to each his own.

---

Superficial differences.  The essense is exactly the same as WOW.  Heck, you're even mashing the same keys as WOW.

---

I was pressing the same keys in NWN, does that make it WOW clone?

 

Don't go simple on me.

Here is a Chinese Planetside-knockoff or clone:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJyY2vdQ3PE

Should be fairly obvious to anyone that's played Planetside.  Sure they are mechs not wearing body suits, and the galaxy ship doesn't look exactly the same, and the graphics are better, but essentially it's a Planetside-Clone just like Fallen Earth is a Wow clone.

Man, China has absolutely no regard for patent or copyright law.

I tried FE when it first launched based on rumors that it was very similar to SWG in terms of crafting and "sandboxiness". I was sorely disappointed to discover the crafting and resource collection was nothing like SWG. You can pretty much make any class character you like with the AP system, but being forced to quest to earn APs was not fun at all for me.

The game is pretty much your standard themepark MMO without the rigid class system. PvP has no real impact on the world. Factions had no real impact on the world. Everyone is a crafter so the items you make have no real impact on the world.

They offer a free trial and they just announced they are going F2P so there really is no reason not to try it for yourself.

Originally posted by Murashu

They offer a free trial and they just announced they are going F2P so there really is no reason not to try it for yourself.

 The downloader still takes several days, so be prepared for that if you are gonna do the free trial and download the game from the launcher.

Originally posted by Nerf09 

Man, China has absolutely no regard for patent or copyright law.

Nor other country's labor laws, according to an NPR piece this morning on a Chinese company operating in a Greek port. 8-hour shifts without meal or restroom breaks, workers ordered to just urinate in their seats instead. No set shifts for some jobs, workers being on-call 24-hours-a-day instead. One guy getting his schedule changed 14 times in a month. Another guy getting fired for daring to demand overtime pay for overtime work. And a Greek government minister doing the "Sgt. Shultz" routine when asked about violations (they're getting a few hundred million out of the deal).