It's been awhile since I've been here - Firefall, any questions?

**Grummz** · 2012-09-04, 09:19 PM

So, its been some time since I was a guest here. I thought I'd stop by to see if anyone wanted to ask me anything about Firefall.

Been playing PS2 and enjoying its scale. Already posted elsewhere that my KD ratio is pretty bad. Gonna have to practice more. TTK throws me off after playing so much Firefall.

Ask away.

Gugabalog · 2012-09-04, 10:16 PM

I've heard about firefall but haven't really looked at it much. What is it's selling point/appeal?

**Grummz** · 2012-09-04, 11:04 PM

Ah, good question. Firefall is a class based shooter in a sci-fi setting on a future earth. A huge energy storm, caused by a freak accident on man's first faster than light attempt, covers much of the Earth. Only a small pocket around Fortaleza, Brazil remains. Meanwhile, a hostile invading force known as "The Chosen" come forth out of the Melding (what they call the storm) and starts to invade humanity.

For more on the story, we have a Manga and some intro videos:

http://www.firefallthegame.com/manga

Firefall features hundreds of players at a time in a co-op shooter persistent world. The world runs more like a simulation or sandbox environment. Players don Battleframes (small mech suits) and fight against the Chosen invasion while mining precious resources to build and customize their gear.

Chosen Invasion:
We aren't really quest based. Its more like a go anywhere, explore anywhere world driven largely by dynamic events that occur around the world, like Chosen incursions, Melding tornados, and thumping (the dangerous activity of mining in the game which is like a mini-game) The crafting system is very rich, similar in many ways to the old SWG crafting system.

Latest Trailer:
There is also PvP, but its focused more on 5v5 or 15v15 instanced maps with an eSports focus. We have replays and one of the best spectator modes of any shooter built into the game.

But what is probably of most interest to people on this forum, is that Firefall has also been working on a massive open world PvP environment between three factions and 1000+ players. We actually had this working, but decided to concentrate on getting the classes right and the PvE aspects before opening up open world PvP. Firefall's open world PvP was very much inspired by PS1, except we are much more focused on a rich resource and crafting system metagame where you can craft your gear and armies can band together to gain group perks on an Army tech tree. We'll be releasing more information about this mode in the Fall.

wasdie · 2012-09-05, 12:29 AM

So I first have to start out by saying that I've been extremely excited for Firefall since it was announced. I love how it's an absolutely direct contrast to what we find with Planetside 2 (100% PvP compared to a heavy PvE/co-op focus) and it looks spectacular in its own right.

I remember awhile back a video your team released on how you were crafting the world. Basically you were taking real world terrain and modeling around that in an almost 1:1 scale. Is it really a 1:1 scale or did I miss something? I do understand that you would be heavily modifying it for the game purpose, but the tech behind it all sounds very interesting and could open up a lot of very awesome stuff for the future.

Also, while that massive PvP element sounds interesting, I have to give your team kudos for sticking with the PvE element. There is no other game on the market that offers such a unique mix of FPS/TPS action in a persistent environment. I know Guild Wars 2 and Planetside 2 are kind of putting the pressure on the massive PvP for MMOs right now, but I still think the PvE element of MMOs has a lot of meat and should never be abandoned.

Now that Guild Wars 2 is out, I can't help feeling that you share a lot of the same ideas. Lots of group events, less individual quests. It works very well there. I'm not going to accuse you of copying or anything, but I will ask you this, have you been in any way influenced by the decisions they have made? Is your team taking a good look at what Guild Wars 2 is doing with its world events and looking on ways to improve them? While I find them really enjoyable in Guild Wars 2, I feel the world events could have a bigger impact on the world as a whole. Something where I would want to drop what I'm doing and help out the world in whatever way possible. GW2 doesn't seem to capture that as much as I would like. Maybe I'm weird, or maybe the game just falls flat right before the finish line.

Anyways, enough from me. Keep plugging away at a great looking game. I know I'll be investing some serious time into Firefall the second it releases.

**Grummz** · 2012-09-05, 02:16 AM

Originally Posted by wasdie

Now that Guild Wars 2 is out, I can't help feeling that you share a lot of the same ideas. Lots of group events, less individual quests. It works very well there. I'm not going to accuse you of copying or anything, but I will ask you this, have you been in any way influenced by the decisions they have made? Is your team taking a good look at what Guild Wars 2 is doing with its world events and looking on ways to improve them? While I find them really enjoyable in Guild Wars 2, I feel the world events could have a bigger impact on the world as a whole. Something where I would want to drop what I'm doing and help out the world in whatever way possible. GW2 doesn't seem to capture that as much as I would like. Maybe I'm weird, or maybe the game just falls flat right before the finish line.

Anyways, enough from me. Keep plugging away at a great looking game. I know I'll be investing some serious time into Firefall the second it releases.

We do share many similarities. We started work on Firefall long before GW2 announced its manifesto. Our approach to dynamic events is a bit different. Our dynamic events are not tied to a location, and in fact, some even move (tornados).

But yes, we can't help but look at GW2 and see what worked well for them and it has given us ideas on how we can improve our own systems.

PvE is our main focus right now. We want to fully realize the world before we dive into massive PvP.

Originally Posted by Tribesman

so far, what really turned me off was I spent like 10 hours farming azurite, made a deployable invo station, and it turned out it was a one time use. I was sad lol

But. to my question: Can we look forward to more things to do in Firefall, other than thumping and PVP in the near future? Something like some sort of dungeon, or does thumping fill that gap? Thanks!

Our next milestone is focused on PvE. You'll see more "on-demand" encounters like the thumper, which are dynamic, but instigated by players. You'll also see a lot more dynamic events in the world including the Chosen invasion system.

PvE instances are also coming online. Not quite dungeons, but more like match-made co-op sessions in particular scenarios.

Originally Posted by Bittermen

I will have to give this game a try. I've been looking at Firefall for a good year now( Before I even knew about PS2).

Reminds me of Global Agenda, except 10x better.

Thanks. I can assure you it feels nothing like GA.

Well, it appears that John Smedley is very unhappy that I am posting here.

He has sent me an e-mail demanding that I stop. And so I shall. I would not want the staff of this forum to be put in a bad situation by having me here.

Please feel free to lock the thread and delete my account.

Tribesman · 2012-09-05, 12:32 AM

Good to see you Grummz. I was wondering when we would be able to see more content coming. So far, I have spent dozens of hours since the new update, and found nothing to do other than PVP (which is fun, do not get me wrong) and thumping, which does get boring after a while.

so far, what really turned me off was I spent like 10 hours farming azurite, made a deployable invo station, and it turned out it was a one time use. I was sad lol

But. to my question: Can we look forward to more things to do in Firefall, other than thumping and PVP in the near future? Something like some sort of dungeon, or does thumping fill that gap? Thanks!

I enjoy both PS2 and Firefall, but I like them for different reasons. PS2 is more Battlefield, squad combat and the overall feel. Firefall, is more like Tribes 1 without skiing, and as you can tell by my name, I love Tribes

Thanks for coming on and answering questions!

Bittermen · 2012-09-05, 12:57 AM

I will have to give this game a try. I've been looking at Firefall for a good year now( Before I even knew about PS2).

Reminds me of Global Agenda, except 10x better.

Tribesman · 2012-09-05, 01:07 AM

Also, I have 2 beta keys for Firefall.

Msg me if interested.

ArchangeI · 2012-09-05, 03:56 AM

Originally Posted by Grummz

Well, it appears that John Smedley is very unhappy that I am posting here.

He has sent me an e-mail demanding that I stop. And so I shall. I would not want the staff of this forum to be put in a bad situation by having me here.

Please feel free to lock the thread and delete my account.

How lame, sure the Community is dedicated to planetside but not exclusive. I guess someone felt threatend by your pressence

**Smed** · 2012-09-05, 04:37 AM

Please don't stop answering questions Mark. Sorry if you felt that's what I was asking. Firefall is a great game. Played it myself. Recommend it to any Planetside Fans. My email was of a deeper nature .feel free to comment publicly on what you think of Planetside 2. many of the early comments you sent me were good. I'll be honest and say I like having a dedicated fan page our devs go to about Planetside that's all. I'd love to see a Firefall Universe too. I follow Firefall closely as a fan... but if PSU fans want to hear about firefall then they should.

Smed

basti · 2012-09-05, 05:10 AM

I would love to see actual instances and even full scale raids in Firefall.

Emperor Newt · 2012-09-05, 05:49 AM

Just to note: I put two Firefall keys into the PSU Keyexchange yesterday. If anyone is interested, go grab em!

Bittermen · 2012-09-05, 10:54 AM

Awww shit totally knew something like this was going to happen!

Anyway thanks Tribesman! And I will be checking out Firefall later today!

Captain1nsaneo · 2012-09-05, 11:49 AM

I'd like to say thank you for posting here and while I don't have any intent of playing FireFall your answering questions here has definitely improved my opinion of the game. I've seen a few old videos of PvP, PvE, and a trailer or 3 and it doesn't seem to scratch any of my particular itches. I've got friends who will probably enjoy it though, best of luck to you and yours.