[Megathread] Firefall

[The Pro]

Hey guys. I've been signed up for beta for a while with no luck..
Anyone have an extra key? Thanks so much in advance

[Endus]

If nobody else has a beta key (mine are all gone), open beta starts in only a couple days, at least.

[RoninaThorstone]

The new zones are amazing for thumping.
And the events in the melding? Holy crap. I got stacks and stacks of epic materials while farming my key.

[Rooflesstoofless]

If anyone is interested, I am looking to trade my account

I have:
-All frames unlocked, most are progressed to stage 6 or better. Rhino, Mammoth, and Nighthawk have S3 main weapons.
-392 Red Beans.
-300,000+ resources of various qualities/quantities.
-Red LGV.
-Chopper LGV.
-Personal Glider Pad.
-Too many other calldowns to list.

Just looking to trade for a sandbox or strategy game. I can change the email to whatever you want and hand the password over to you (which you can then change yourselfself).

[RoninaThorstone]

BWA is fun.

I hope their next instance is a bit harder though.

[Deleted]

EXZI9-ARKQK-UDEHV-CYUYR

J02KH-VK77I-P6SY9-8B74V

4N5KX-9WDUN-AGWTO-5PSX4

Q54HT-UQMVD-OMA52-V7OX1

L6QDD-4S9PS-RAJOF-W3W6M

For those that want a little headstart before open beta

Enjoy

[Razael]

If anyone is interested, I am looking to trade my account

I have:
-All frames unlocked, most are progressed to stage 6 or better. Rhino, Mammoth, and Nighthawk have S3 main weapons.
-392 Red Beans.
-300,000+ resources of various qualities/quantities.
-Red LGV.
-Chopper LGV.
-Personal Glider Pad.
-Too many other calldowns to list.

Just looking to trade for a sandbox or strategy game. I can change the email to whatever you want and hand the password over to you (which you can then change yourselfself).

Could you name a few games that would interest you?

[Rooflesstoofless]

Could you name a few games that would interest you?

Given the choice I'd trade for 'Edge of Space'...I'm a sucker for 2D sandbox adventure games.

But also:
Total War: Shogun 2
World in Conflict

(...trying to think of others but my brain is a little slow today)

[Razael]

Given the choice I'd trade for 'Edge of Space'...I'm a sucker for 2D sandbox adventure games.

But also:
Total War: Shogun 2
World in Conflict

(...trying to think of others but my brain is a little slow today)

KK next time you see me online PM me and we'll sort out the details.

[RoninaThorstone]

Question: Will 5 man content be a FORM of end game? I usually run with about 6-8 people. If you guys end up making 50 man Titan raid bosses the "end game" will we end up content starved due to easy 5 mans?
AmnDragon's Response:

What endgame is has yet to be determined exactly, but having a breadth of content of different types (which can include 5 man activities, solo activities, and multisquad activities) that contributes to endgame would likely be ideal as everyone, regardless of player type, could participate.

Would be good, if true. I like the idea of having "end game" for all types of players. It's very similar to what wildstar is promising.

[Kelimbror]

Would be good, if true. I like the idea of having "end game" for all types of players. It's very similar to what wildstar is promising.

Ironic though, seing as the head of FF just wrote that article saying MMOs are too easy because of accessibility and all that. I'm thinking this is one of those put your money where your mouth is situations and I think they realize everything he said is a load of crap.

Love the game, love their standpoint on pretty much everything as a company, but completely disagree with his Op-Ed. Seems like his game won't run by his viewpoint either, which is good as it is a road to dismal failure for an MMO.

This rambling brought to you by end of day boredom.

[Endus]

Question: Will 5 man content be a FORM of end game? I usually run with about 6-8 people. If you guys end up making 50 man Titan raid bosses the "end game" will we end up content starved due to easy 5 mans?
AmnDragon's Response:


Would be good, if true. I like the idea of having "end game" for all types of players. It's very similar to what wildstar is promising.

The concept of "end game" shouldn't exist in an ongoing MMO environment. It's usually used to describe the final hurdle, but there shouldn't be a final hurdle. Most MMOs deal with the problems the concept creates by entering into a neverending development cycle, with multiple content patches leading to expansions, with their own additional content patches. This creates a long-term form of player "inertia", where players who are somewhat bored or have cleared the existing content will stick around, because new content will eventually be released. This is particularly true of subscription games, since they have a guaranteed income stream from those sub fees, and players who've paid for the next three weeks/months are more likely to stick around that extra time.

This is not a good model, IMO. It relies on player apathy for continued success, as much or more than player enjoyment. It's not so much about giving them a game that's fun to play, it's about leading them along with a promise of future glory. And once that glory's been achieved, lo and behold, you haven't achieved the final glory.

Imagine if a restaurant ran this way. You'd go there for your meal, order your burger, and you'd see "Next week; BACON" on the menu. Want bacon this week? Sorry, that's coming up. You really want bacon, though, so you go back the next week, and sure enough, they have bacon burgers. But the menu now reads "Next week: CHEESE". Damn, a bacon cheeseburger sounds awesome. But no, next week. And that next week, your bacon cheeseburger IS awesome, but the menu now says "Next week: WAFFLE FRIES."

And so the process goes. You're always left wanting, never fully satisfied with the product you have, because they keep dangling that promise of a better product, eventually. You keep going back, and realizing that what they've given you still isn't the ideal. You're seeking the "ultimate burger", the "endgame". But you can't get there; they keep improving it, piece by piece, and you're always striving to get there.

Wouldn't it be better if you could just order the fully-awesome burger from Day 1? You're gonna keep coming back; the burgers are awesome. You don't need constant promise of a better burger, if the burgers are great already. That's the kind of gameplay model that's better, long-term; gameplay that's fun. In and of itself. You'll play, not because you want to get to the endgame so you can have fun, but because what you're doing right now is fun. There may be some challenges you need to improve yourself to be ready for, like that 64oz porterhouse they have on the menu, but it's there and available from Day 1.

This doesn't mean they can't add more stuff, but adding new content becomes more about "new menu items", new sidegrades from existing content. Consider League of Legends; their entire progression model is essentially adding new heroes to the game. Not a new tier of heroes, followed by an expansion with even more heroes, forcing people to grind through the "bad" heroes to get to the "endgame". There's some introductory period stuff, in both cases, but the "endgame" is, more or less, the whole game. You can get better at it, but the game itself is the thing. All of it is "endgame". And that's a good thing.

- - - Updated - - -

Ironic though, seing as the head of FF just wrote that article saying MMOs are too easy because of accessibility and all that. I'm thinking this is one of those put your money where your mouth is situations and I think they realize everything he said is a load of crap.

There's two things to keep in mind, in this case, both of which can be framed as "accessibility".

The first, which the FF dev was speaking of, was the barrier of skill. Many MMOs have removed "player skill" as a major factor in unlocking content; you can hit level 90 in WoW and enter LFR without being very good at all. That's 95% of the game. That extra 5% may be really important to a lot of people, but player skill doesn't lock you out of raiding or PvP, just the competitive bleeding edge. This is "bad", because it doesn't reward good gameplay; it rewards laziness.

The second, which is what I was talking about up there, is the never-ending cycle of "progression", where future content is gated by character level or time or the like, artificially excluding content for a later time. Firefall doesn't really have that; you can access most things from Day 1, or at least start working to build the keys for it (with the new stuff that was just included). It's not "get 4 frames fully developed before you can begin working on this part of the game" or something. That means FF is highly "accessible", in that the content isn't heavily gated, though there are difficulty curves to things that will lead to most people needing to improve their skills/gear to be successful at those things. This is good, because it rewards playing well and improving your character, rather than being so easy doing so is irrelevant.

[RoninaThorstone]

All of it is "endgame". And that's a good thing.

Which I totally agree with and part of why I love firefall.

It's just that I want harder content. I am totally okay with a lateral expansion of the game (in fact, you could go so far as to say I am OPPOSED to vertical progression). It's just that within the existing content, there needs to be some stuff that is nearly impossible, something that you and a few friends aspire to one day being able to beat. It should be accessible, you should be able to make you account and be able to try this nearly impossible content pretty quick... But it should kick you in the nuts for daring to wander into its path.

- - - Updated - - -

Anyone else feel like the plot has gotten very Evagelion?

Nostromo = Gendo

[Kelimbror]

The second, which is what I was talking about up there, is the never-ending cycle of "progression", where future content is gated by character level or time or the like, artificially excluding content for a later time. Firefall doesn't really have that; you can access most things from Day 1, or at least start working to build the keys for it (with the new stuff that was just included). It's not "get 4 frames fully developed before you can begin working on this part of the game" or something. That means FF is highly "accessible", in that the content isn't heavily gated, though there are difficulty curves to things that will lead to most people needing to improve their skills/gear to be successful at those things. This is good, because it rewards playing well and improving your character, rather than being so easy doing so is irrelevant.

Actually, a friend reminded me they are doing things just like this. They have attunements and all kinds of stuff now. So it actually is exactly like he says in one respect. However, the response regarding providing an end game 'for everybody' is completely counter intuitive to his rant that basically only served to blast World of Warcraft.

It really takes a balance of both ideologies...which I think they are doing a nice job of.

[RoninaThorstone]

Actually, a friend reminded me they are doing things just like this. They have attunements and all kinds of stuff now. So it actually is exactly like he says in one respect. However, the response regarding providing an end game 'for everybody' is completely counter intuitive to his rant that basically only served to blast World of Warcraft.

It really takes a balance of both ideologies...which I think they are doing a nice job of.

I also suspect that R5 has multiple definitions of end game depending on who you talk to.

The CEO described guild's whose end game is crafting or gathering or fighting (elite small squads or large armies) ect. I don't think most people would think of getting 20 people together and having them all specialize in different areas of crafting and cornering the market on expert crafting as endgame... unless they play Eve.

[Razael]

I also suspect that R5 has multiple definitions of end game depending on who you talk to.

The CEO described guild's whose end game is crafting or gathering or fighting (elite small squads or large armies) ect. I don't think most people would think of getting 20 people together and having them all specialize in different areas of crafting and cornering the market on expert crafting as endgame... unless they play Eve.

They probably consider the tutorial end game too.

[gegalfo]

so what do i do in this game? im somewhat lost as i started playing about a year ago but not really all that much so right now im just running around not knowing what to do, is there a tutorial i can enable or something like that?

[RoninaThorstone]

so what do i do in this game? im somewhat lost as i started playing about a year ago but not really all that much so right now im just running around not knowing what to do, is there a tutorial i can enable or something like that?

Solo:
Crashed thumper
Broken LGV
Holmegang tech assault
Relay signal
Personal thumper (stock, I, II, III)
Solo ARES (Yellow, Orange)
Defend / Take back watchtowers
(There was also bounty hunting for a while)
Chosen strike teams

Small group:
Group ARES (Yellow, Orange)
Squad thumpers (stock, I, II, III)
Chosen incursions
Black water anomaly (5 man instance)

Large group:
Antarctica event (10)
Diamondhead event (10)
Sargosa sea event (10)
Baneclaw raid boss (25)
Chosen invasion of Thump dump or South harbor (40)
(There were raid thumpers for a while called "elite" thumpers for 15 players, don't know when they'll be back)

[Terahertz]

Really enjoying this game. Got a beta key 2-3 days ago so I'm pretty darn lucky I got the time to get all the closed beta perks (Cheaper LGV, Perm Glider on 2 min CD and 5% resource boost. And a pet for the lolz). Made 2 new friends in the game aswell and we've been doing a lot of missions.

If you want to look for a group, just type in "LFG ares missions" in zone chat (/z). And be sure to say 'Hi" when you're in a new "squad" (group).

[Frizzlewits]

well after a year waiting to be able to try out this game, and....


i did not like it.
the grafics are cool, and thats about it. i quit playing after 15 min.
currently the game is being deleted from my pc