Fallen Earth has piqued our interest with the upcoming introduction of Progress Towns. As a result, we sent off a number of questions to the team in the hopes of getting some more details – they didn’t disappoint! Lead Scripter Doug Goodall was kind enough to answer my questions below:
The buildings are crafted, but are they destroyable as well? If they are destroyable does the player or players who contributed to building them receive any sort of compensation of materials back? Can the buildings be destroyed on purpose with a refund?
The player who created the building (or anyone on their team) can choose to destroy it. The buildings can also be attacked and destroyed by the NPC enemies who attack the town. There is currently no refund when a building is destroyed, however a refund if the building is destroyed in about one minute may be added to let players recover from placement errors.
Is there a limit the size of the town (ie plot limits for buildings), also are the buildings meant to be placed in a set location within the building area? In regards to building placement, are there set plots that the buildings need to be placed (ie does the Merchant Building go in a Merchant Building spot)?
Each of the towns is partially surrounded by a ring of large rocks. Buildings can only be placed inside this ring. Defenses can only be placed in the named area which includes both the ring and a named area that extends past the entrance of the town. There are no pre-defined positions. The layout of the town is entirely up to the players. When you use a building construction item, it checks to see if a position in front of you (how far depends on the size of the building) is clear of obstructions. If it is clear, you begin constructing the building (a very short process). There’s a second check to make sure there are no obstructions and then the building appears in front of you and facing towards you. In terms of defenses, some appear in front of the player and some can appear anywhere in a circle around the player. Defenses also do not have any pre-defined positions.
Will there be any sort of NPC life besides vendors?
There are only two natural NPCs in the town. There is a Town Crier who is always present and can tell players the status of the town. When the town is under player control, there is also a merchant who sells the recipes players need to craft the buildings. Several of the buildings players can create include NPCs. For example, the Mission Building contains a mission giver, the Merchant Building contains two merchants, etc.
Can towns be completely dominated by a certain faction or guild?
When players control the town, all players can participate in placing buildings and defenses and fighting the enemies when they attack.
Finally I took the opportunity to mention my own preoccupation with player controlled housing, and how excited I was to see that a developer was taking a step in my direction. Doug’s response:
I’m a fan of dynamic content myself and have been beating the same drum for over a decade working in the game industry. Fallen Earth is the first place I’ve been able to do some of the things I’ve always wanted to try to do.
Thanks to Doug for taking the time to give us some more details on what is hopefully only the start of a great player controlled housing and building system in Fallen Earth!
