Firefall interview with Red 5 boss Mark Kern
Red 5 Studios founder and CEO Mark Kern comes to the Shacknews offices to discuss Firefall, revealing details on armies and the business model behind the game.
Firefall features content for both PvP and PvE aficionados
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Shacknews
replyXav de Matos posted a new article, Firefall interview with Red 5 boss Mark Kern.
Red 5 Studios founder and CEO Mark Kern comes to the Shacknews offices to discuss Firefall, revealing details on armies and the business model behind the game.-
Thumbs up for this business model. Lets people dip their toes in the water, invite their friends without having to convince them to spend $60, and lets people pay as much or as little as they want, but ultimately if you can't buy power then everything still remains pretty level.
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It IS a pay wall, and I agree for sure--retail makes ZERO sense now. So stoked to see everything I've been looking for in a single game (and game studio!).
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All games? Not just online games?
How do you think this would work with a game like Mass Effect, for example? Some games just don't seem like they'd make money if they were F2P completely.-
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Maybe that'll be BioWare's next project after they're done SWTOR...
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I think ALL games should be download-only, and a mailed disk be optional if you don't have a net connection. Right now it's the other way around.
Online shops like Steam have it going on. It's truly a success.-
One thing to keep in mind there is DRM. What happens if the digital download service goes out of business (or something different, but that makes the games unavailable)? Do I not get to play my games anymore or do I have to obtain them from "other" sources?
I wonder if Red5 has any thoughts on this matter, especially how it relates to Firefall.-
Well, you are starting to get into my beliefs about how I feel games need to move into the cloud, online. At least for the game logic. We have so much more computing power for AI, dynamic content, and storage for cool features that a console would never have. PCs too. For this to work, the games have to reside on the servers, then you don't need DRM. Even if they client still renders the graphics. I'm not OnLive convert, for example, since the tech is not QUITE ready and graphics don't scale across a datacenter as efficiently as AI or game content does in terms of serving multiple players.
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I can think of some very interesting things one could do with lots of the game logic online, especially with AI and highly interactive environments. Of course, it would take massive amounts of computer power to do well, which is well suited to sitting in a datacenter. Especially with regards to MMO games, and scaling player numbers above the standard-for-a-normal-game of 64 players or so.
While I personally like having a local copy of a game (and I do have the local storage and processing power to do some crazy things), I do realize that many people don't.
Do you have any idea why graphics aren't scaling well across datacenters? Is it the current videocard paradigm in hardware?
Or is it something different, like treating the problem like a normal gaming problem versus treating it like a "normal", albeit very latency sensitive, distributed computing issue?
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Except digital distribution has made it far easier for publishers to practice price gouging.
Look at EA. On Origin, BF3 is £40. At retail it is £28 - £35
Activision want £40 for MW3 on Steam, but in stores its £34
Whatever happened to DD being a good way to get games cheaper? They cost less to ship, so the publishers are just being greedy. If retail goes away, then consumers are fucked.
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i like how its actual free,no hidden fees or arias to unlock. thank you red5 for doing it right.
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Thats what i love about the game to and i'm definitely gonna support them :)
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Firefallw ill change the world of games. Let it be known.
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The logo says "FireFall", but all I see is "StarCraft"...
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I dont see it man really dont ??
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You might want to go talk to an optometrist then. There is something seriously wrong with you eyes, methinks.
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actually they are very different
startcraft 2
http://sc2campaignguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/starcraft-2-logo-02182010.jpg
firefall
http://www.officialpsds.com/images/thumbs/FireFall-Logo-psd57266.png
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BEST GAME EVER!!!
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Speaking of not liking being on the camera, are we going to get to see some more developer diary videos? Or is more stuff like this video to be expected?
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Yes mor Dev diary's thats great! it was prity quiet in the video department can't wait to see mor
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Right, the fancy Red camera. Enjoy those.
I'll be looking forward to seeing some more.-
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Did you get lighting and sound gear as well (and all the other stuff that goes along with video production)?
Do you have a person on staff whose job it is to do these sorts of things?
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First off looks great and the players working together to acquire game content should be awesome. How large does Red 5 plan to make the beta? Expecting that you'll do some sort of server stress testing. I'm personally hoping that test is sooner rather than later (Really want to jump in-game and experience it all).
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Can you have seasonal mini-games like protect the polar-bear mini pet pvp for winter. Winners get in game coins so they can buy the seasonal minipets for a short time and also make them available through the store :)
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I can't wait to hear about the army logo editor....grummz! are there any more details about just HOW custom they can be that you can share right now?
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I'd like to hear more about this as well. And if Red5 is looking for a Flash developer... I might come a knockin' ;)
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I would love to hear about that as well. I have to know just how close to my clan logo I can actually get in-game.
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i've asked about this a few times now in a few different places...never seems to get noticed...maybe if we all start doing a ritualistic chant grummz will come!
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I bet it's probably too hard to moderate and censor a simple "upload" feature (plus it'd probably be ugly overall),
and on the other hand, looking at games like Halo, the logos feel a little bit constricting...
maybe you can have a construction set of pens and shapes to somewhat build/draw the logo you want. as much creativity as you can allow...i guess it's another tough game of balancing-
Another thing that they're going to have to be careful of is the copyright of user uploaded content. Not just an original work from a user, but also them uploading other people's images. In the current US copyright climate, that could get Red5 in some trouble.
Maybe moderators/GMs (or even a panel of trusted normal players) who could vote whether an image should be allowed or not.
I do think some tools to allow for custom logos would be worthwhile.
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It would make sense to have stock images that we can buy in the shop and place them "intelligently".. as in, not have it look like it really was copy-pasted together.
Maybe a template system that makes it easier to place art pieces? Templates can be portraits (Stellar Pony style), tribal (as in Tribes.. or abstract I guess), etc that we can also buy. This all kinda sounds like it could be an extension of the crafting system heh.. buy blueprints to craft your emblem with pieces you bought or found ingame. -
You need to talk to my Brother Soulie about this kind of stuff.. He is very much invested in customization. Me personally would be happy with some good primitive shapes that we could slide around and put colors and effects on a la Forza 3. Perhaps not as complicated, also there is a major issue with the immaturity of the internet at large who like to make phallic images anywhere possible.... not that wouldn't happen anyways.
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It is this level of commitment and innovation that games lack now a days. Too many companies are settling for mediocrity instead of trying to raise the bar.
I'd say good luck, but with such an awesome game and community, you guys don't need luck. :)
PS: 1 more week till the brew is done fermenting :)-
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Anything big you guys learned at your tour?
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Zappos is a company with a good reputation for exceptional customer service. To the point that they sell training/consulting on how to make customer service better.
My assumption is that Red5 went to talk to them to learn what makes them so great in the hopes that Red5 can bring that magic to their own customer service team, and make for a great experience for their customers (whether paying or not).-
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It's always good to try to take care of these issues before they actually become issues. Having worked at companies with similar issues, I know how hard they are to take care of somewhere else along the line.
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Im really looking forward to hearing about and seeing what is going to be offered in the cash shop. It isnt a question about wanting to supprt Red5 or not, it is more a question of is there going to be stuff I want to buy. "Exp boosts" only last so long, Im normally not a big fan of a lot of aesthetic options in F2P games (up to this point), and Im not a pet hoarder so buying a ton of pets doesnt interest me. Really looking forward to seeing the cash shop offerings.
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Well what i would really want is to make the character mine and different guns how guns look thats a start i'm u guys got more ideas
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different color flame for jump jet boots (even today you can get green flame with butane, etc)
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are we talking fart-jet instead of boots? :p
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Oh hey that would be neat!
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I would buy paint and pets and whatnot if they look good, Mark. I want to be clear that it is simply up to this point a lot of that hasnt interested me. I have played Dungeon Fighter Online for example... I didnt buy the avatars for the looks I bought them for the stats, something you all probably arent going to do. I have played Dragon's Nest ... I havent bought anything on their cash shop because the stuff they have looks terrible to me.
I would buy paint.
I would buy matching pets.
I would DEFINATELY buy good looking battleframe skins.
I would DEFINATELY buy enhanced particles and emitters for guns and backpacks (like the outstanding flames from jumppacks, hyper-active beam effects for my healing gun, etc)
I will buy exp boost stuff, you just get to a point where you no longer need the boost, obviously.
I would be very interested in sound packs if they were interesting to me.
I would even consider buying things like titles and special graphics like that.
All of it is just a matter of "does it match the rest of the game?" So far I am very impressed with your asset and design teams' work so Im betting I will be buying the looksie stuff.
I hope you see what I am saying.-
Variations of particle effects could be cool for various things... Take the Healing Gun as the biggest example. I think lots of people would love to buy different looking stream effects for it.
Some awesome alternatives I can think of are ones that make the stream spin like a vortex, one that makes the stream look like liquid instead of gas (really could have fun making Fireman jokes with a liquid stream and a blue tint), one that makes the stream glow brightly, ect. Have the ability to combine a lot of these different particle effects and you might see some truly interesting Medic gun streams.
A lot of these variations on particle effects can also be applied to other things too, like jet pack/boot streams or "aura" effects people can apply to themselves (some people would -love- to make themselves look cloudy, glowy, or like they're burning). Tons of things they could do with this alone.
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What about custom voices? If it's like the voice system in Tribes (and in several other games now), where you just choose a preset voice (Male1, Male2/Female1, Female2) for the things your character says, maybe you could also sell different voices in the shop. That's something lots of people would pay for.
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I think you are able to collect resources and level up by solely focusing on PvP but you may get better results by doing the PvE content. They said they wanted the game to fit a bunch of different play styles. I wouldn't rule out the PvE aspect of the game though.
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Heh, I've already replied on the previous article, but since red 5 "goofed", I'll post again.
Not the same thing though. That's kinda spammy.
In any case, a pet system in an FPS is indeed quite strange. I have to wonder how it will work. Will pets take an active part in battle or will they just be there for show?
Oh, also, will we be able to personalize pets as well (I.E using warpaint on them? Dibs on camo mustache!) -
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I'm curious now... Do you have any ideas about sectioning off certain parts of the world into different channels? Say keeping it in 10 mile increments "states" where you go through a loading section or something to be able to transfer to the other 10 miles and those 10 miles are there own series of channels each with more people within those channels. I think that might be interesting to see where people spread too as well as take some of the server strain off without making people feel -too- instanced off so long as each of those channels still allows hundreds of people in them.
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Hmmm... Maybe the transition can be made decently smooth somehow? How do you guys have it set up to look when you transfer channels as is? Does it go to a loading screen like in Champions Online, or does it just switch maps and slowly load in people's characters over time like in Vindictus? Cause I've seen both system before and if yeh can make the switch smooth you'll still have that open world feel while keeping the low server strain. Might be a good idea to check into how Vindictus made that work.
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Maybe connection information would be a good idea to post?
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Maybe it would be cause the thread keeps getting buried in the general chat
Here is the link to the thread http://www.firefallthegame.com/community/threads/how-to-connect-to-irc.6072/
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Firefall is now appearing on the right rail in the news section as one of the Shack Community's "Top Games."
http://chattypics.com/files/firefallPNG_rlc5s42oa7.png
Congrats, Red 5 Studios. -
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Any chance of a Mac version post open Launch? Im sure I read something about it somewhere but I think it was from a while ago. I just spent a good 10 minutes telling a person I know riding home on the bus (captive audience WOOOH!) and they seemed interested yet unexcited. Then they tell me "This is for PC right?", Well yes, "I use Mac", what, "You thought I WAS A PC :V ".
So yeah, you have one interested party right there if it ever comes to Mac or Xbawks.
Also, do the pets actually attack anything or do they just follow you around? -
Pretty good interview mark.
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On the website in Flash? Or ingame?
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Unless the game uses a browser.. which it will since at least some of the army tools have been confirmed to be web-based.
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Does this mean there might be an ongoing beta to test out new features that haven't made it into the main game in place sometime after the game opens to the public/leaves the beta phase?
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Hi Grummz, a few questions if you don't mind answering:
1. Has there ever been debates about whether Firefall is going to be a niche/mainstream game? Planetside and Tribes are great, but we can only dream about >5 million folks playing the game.
2. What's red5's internal projection on the number of players 1 quarter/ 1 year after launch?
3. If there's one thing Red5 will definitely do and one thing that Red5 will definitely not do, what will they be?
4. How do you plan to build Red5 such that the studio can grow healthily while maintain its current culture? Or, better phrased, what kind of studio/firm are you trying to create?
If you may answer these questions, I will be immensely grateful. Thanks!-
Wow! Lots of questions. Let me try:
1. Yes, we debated many, many times about who would play our game. In the end, we decided we were going for shooter fans first, but that we wanted to create a range of Battleframes that had different levels of twitch to accommodate more players. We also wanted to be sure we had online Open World co-op, because everybody can "win" that if they put the time into it. In short, we want to have a wide base and teach people how cool shooters can be.
2. I can't reveal internal projections. They are very modest right now, but we also don't see why we can't grow to be as large one days as other top free2play games. We think we're brining the best F2P shooter to the market in quality and scope, so why not?
3. We will definitely engage our customers directly, not through a wall of PR and doublespeak, good and the inevitable bad. We will definitely not lose our culture and focus on creating fun.
4. Again, we visited Zappos to gain some clues. We are currently asking ourselves what makes our culture a great one to have, and are implementing widespread training and orientation for new hires. This program has just started the planning stages. Oh, and we'll always have free beer and a Tiki bar. :)-
Thanks Grummz, really appreciate it. I hope that Firefall will indeed become the best f2p shooter ever made, like you described.
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Here is a question I didnt think about before... If lets say... I have that Pet shooting ammo equipped. Would the Pet actually be able to block an shot that would have normally hit the player?
I know they will likely be positioned in a way so that it would be completely minimal, but I think it might be dangerous to have this sort of shield up, particularly if it was capable of blocking sniper rounds. -
Wow I really like the video :) The game looks so amazing for a f2p game normally you need 2 buy a subscription for a game like this.
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Nice a Guild System like on world of warcraft thats just an amazing idea 2 bring it in this shooter
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Don't forget that JDHarris wants to unlock booby physics too ;)
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Will pets be able to use small minor special abilities in PvE (no PvP please?)
Will pets be able to pick up items?
How many pets can each player/account have?
What do you feel will be the best thing about pets?
Will you have a robotic dog, and will you have a walking auto turret like Bietols avatar?
Sorry just a few questions. -
Yeh the devs in this game always listen! Firefall has the best devs/nicest i've ever seen!
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Truly a fantastic game and the direct developer relations to the community is awesome. I like the idea of the guild support system, not only will we be able to gain a common point to gather with or friends and compete yet we will also unlock bonuses over time :D I am a happy panda... now for the 5th frame :)
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Truly astounding. This game is going to be one of a kind and take the world by storm (a melding storm?). Red 5 will go very far, and will hopefully use this game to change the future of Free-2-play mmo's forever!
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Firefall is so amazing! :)
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Firefall is so amazing! :)
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Its shaping up to be great but i check my mail today for a beta key and i found this instead.....:(
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6KOEMJKdEI -
grummz, in exchange for never complaining about the super-bright blue light that was at your PAX booth and constantly shined in my eyes while working my booth right next to yours, can I have a beta invite?
That light was very blue. And bright!-
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You truly are a miracle worker!
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no... then your blinded by a purple light....pimptastic.
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Did you see the fog machine running the one afternoon (I think it was Saturday)? That whole end of the expo hall had way too much fog in it. But it did make for cool lighting effects.
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Haha yes that was in the same place. The 2K Games booth (which I worked) was right next to it.
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I always like demoing games at standing stations that have good carpet. Maybe that's why there were so many people playing Firefall...
...Or maybe it's because it was awesome.
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This game is going to be AMAZING! REVOLUTIONARY! IT WILL CHANGE THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT.
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or at the very least your world as you knew it.. :)
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I'm wondering how well the pets will work with the visual style of the game. Are they going to float over your shoulder like Mags from PSO? Or perhaps you'll drag around a little floating hologram projector?
I am slightly concerned about this turning into TF2, as this could be hugely immersion-breaking (for people like me who enjoy a good setting and a good story), but I'll have to hope that Red5 can do it right. Or alternatively, to make it a end-user option to turn all pets into a generic robot drone, like disabling helms in WoW.-
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Cool, just as long as it stays under consideration (and considering Red5's already stellar work in listening to the community's feedback, I am not overly concerned =D )
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if i can have a pet wolf with a turret on its back ill be happy... even without the turret.
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They said November.
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December.
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How strong will these army wide perks be? Im just picturing an army that you have to pay (outside of firefall) to be a part of, and then those people having better stuff...I guarantee that stuff like that will happen. Still sounds like a cool idea, but maybe have each person in the army having to collect so many resources or something like that. Where you cant get around the in game work rather than just buying your way into an army for better perks.
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I like this idea of the army "gathering" resources in order to "fuel" the army wide perks.
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Exactly, they will have to work for their army to be successful
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They have also talked about a design strategy, though, where armies don't have to be homogeneously resource-gathering. That is, you can have people who love farming for crystite, and then you can have hardcore PvPers who can take advantage of that.
Their other main design concept, that you can't buy power and that skill is the most important factor, will probably be in effect with armies too.-
Yea, but they cant control paying outside of the game. If they dont implement some sort of "fuel" or something and give the army their perk(s) then they could just charge to be able to be in the army....people do this in TF2 with servers and such
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Yeah, thats true...just trying to help the cause
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I was talking more about the army perks and armies charging people to be a part of the army in order to get the perks that they have. Having to fuel the army perks would make everyone have to do something in game rather than just pay real money to the army outside of the game.
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Awesome info ....is it wednesday yet.
Can't wait for the this game. -
great Interview gave me more info about ff that i did no know. i look forward to part 2.
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I was a bit hesitant hearing about the free to play model for this game. But after jumping into World of Tanks (granted, there are a few issues with that game), I was surprised how much enjoyment I got out of a 'free' game. I found out with WoT spending $5 or so a month in a cash shop is frugal, but allows me to get a lot of enjoyment out of the game. I think it'll work well with Firefall too.
This is looking pretty amazing, and I think the move to make the nuts and bolts gameplay free a sound move by Red 5. -
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One of the thing that excites me the most about this business model is that it keeps devs really closely connected to the gamer community. This company, in particular, appears to be checking the pulse constantly and looking to quickly iterate off their launch. Excited to see it grow, and see how the game evolves around the community that joins it.
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You're kidding right? Have you ever followed a games development before?
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Yes I have. Many other game studios promise that kind of attention, none of them actually deliver.
All of Red5's developers actively post in the official forum, answering questions and commenting about members' opinions. They even hang out at our IRC channel, and openly chat with people about whatever. Give me one big game studio (they have over 60 people) that I can chat with its CEO on IRC about waffles. Give me one that I its entire sound team comments on a fan music, and its entire art team on fan art. One that its executive designer will ask you to tell what you, personally, think about a possible issue you raised in a forum thread.
It doesn't exist.-
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Right... but Red5 hasn't gotten to the same position that Riot has. Given time, I think it will have to be mandatory that they will stop being so open and up front with the community. It's mostly because the communities start turning sour, and start to overanalyze everything they say. That's what happened with both WoW and LoL
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You only post in Firefall threads.
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It doesn't. Go look at Riot, though they started off like that, the more popular the game became, the more they HAD to distance themselves from the community. The gamers would catch every little mistake that was made, and then just throw it back in thier face. It was a sad sight to see. Anyways, Riot now doesn't seem to let thier 'Reds' post anymore because of it.
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LMIRL
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we want to convince YOU to check out this awsome game. ;)
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Well, I don't honestly know the numbers, but generally a community is populated by only about 15% of forum users. Now that is built on my experience with video games, so this website may be wildly different. Anyways, if these events allowed Firefall to achieve some frontpage banter, as it has been recently achieved the 3rd space on your most anticipated games, then it is likely worth it. Even if you have 75% of the participants in this forum, hating what has happened, then it still exposed a large market that may not have even heard of the game given it's lack of advertisement until recently. Those who DO participate in the forums, aren't all going to be pissed off as some of you are.
This event exposes more people to the existence of the game, and will probably end up having a net gain from the event, even with some backlash.
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I am intrigued by this crystite challenge. Some of us have already dragged everyone we know into the beta invite pool, so I hope it isn't just "send more people to the beta signup page!"
The Merch character is second only to the fruit... juicing robot from penny arcade. Though I think merch would make a better pet. -
Any1 who has heard of firefall by now is thinking the same thing.....
WHEN can i play this
It's amazing how the idea of red 5 just connects tot he people and makes them wanna see more of it
I'm loving how the game looks so far
Wish i could add my 2 cents in the beta though
But i'm sure there will be much to help out with after release :)
thanks to red5 for a great game-
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I hope, for the sake of them, these are just their post to get their free shit, if not, god help the community of weirdos this game will spawn.
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Its called good business. Red5 gets its name out there, and ShackNews gets a crap load of new people registering as users. This helps out both companies. It boosts ShackNew's numbers which allows them to charge their advertisers more and makes them a more desirable site to advertise on, and It boosts the interest in FireFall. Hell you read the article, the posts, and posted yourself.... I say Red5 did a good job...
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Hmmmm... Its pretty much self explanatory. Maybe if you pointed out what confused you I could break it down for you.
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Keep up the fake posts, maybe Red 5 will take pity on you and let you into the beta, but I doubt it.
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wow so negative. they are just trying to show they support the game. ya i am sure some are doing it just in hope they get pity beta invite but i think we all know as stated that’s not going to happen. not every ones native langue is English so there’s bound to be grammar errors and bad spelling. but i get you
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I would say the vast majority of them are doing it not to support the game but because they feel like they might get something in return whether it be some sort of weird online friendship from the developer or some cheap poster, t-shirt, or mouse pad.
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I'de just like to add that we post only in Firefall threads possibly becuase its the only game covered here we're that excited about?
hell I dont ever read shacknews otherwise. No point for me really i get my MMO/game news elsewhere. My posting here on Firefall stories is just me, supporting the company. Which i will continue to do as its the only developer out there where the majority of thier staff interacts with the community in game, on the forums and via multiple external communication mediums.-
"Woah firefall just looks better and better evry day. Damn im glad there will finally be a new game that actually praises the competitive scene. Thank you Red 5"
That is not part of a discussion, it is an advertisement and a cry for attention to get credit from the Red5 staff.
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Also you only post in Firefall threads.
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I loved the interview! Can't wait to see what that crystite collecting starting from wednesday means and who the 'special guest' was. By the way, do the monsters still just "sink" into the ground after you've killed them like a monster did at 3:21 because in my opinion, that looks pretty... Well, stupid. I guess I can't complain too much about it though since I haven't got any better suggestions.
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i am looking forward to it to and I like the way monsters diaper like that, its better than just disappearing.
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I dislike Free to Play. I end up paying more then if it was subscription based. The game looks awesome, I just hope I don't spend too much money on it.
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cough league of legends!!!
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Oh I wish that won't happen. I hope the pets will be fully aesthetic so you aren't required to have a pet. But hey, that's just my opinion.
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Great information , oh Mark , good job!
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Great information , oh Mark , good job!
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some nice info there. keep em coming.
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I want to play this.
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My only fear is that they make stuff like good weapons/gear purchase-able. That always hurts F2P systems, in the way that you are REALLY gimped if you're not Paying.
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Grummz, here is an idea about pets that would make them even more shooter based. follow the link if you're interested, its on the firefall forums. --> http://www.firefallthegame.com/community/threads/critter-hunting-pets-idea-that-is-fun-and-makes-real-money.10020/
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