Face of Mankind ENG

So what's your story guys, as well as Face of Mankind?

Our story? Well our story is about a small dev team, that wanted to make the best MMORPG ever created. But, with time and progress, we had to rethink our idea and starded to aim more for the "best available MMORPG" ;)

The story of Face of Mankind is a bit different:

"By the end of the 22nd century, the overcrowding of Earth’s cities, the growing drain on natural resources, and the memories of recent violence caused mankind to search for new and remote locations to start their lives over again. The International Space Administration’s colonization efforts provided the perfect solution – distant havens for hundreds of thousands of Earth’s citizens to take up residence. However, as colonization efforts spread and the Vortex-Net brought humanity to the stars in ever-greater numbers, mankind’s footprint became more noticeable on a galactic scale. By the mid-24th century Earth’s spreading population had become obvious, attracting the attention of a very hostile and aggressive alien race."

Lately the MMORPG genre is evolving fast and become more popular, but we hear from time to time, that one or more MMORPG projects has been canceled because of the lack of funds. What exactly drives you forward and keeps you motivated?

Well, that isn’t only a question of motivation, but also a question of funds, as you have already said. I guess those other MMORPG Developpers didn’t cancel their projects because of lack of motivation, but because of the bad market situation for Games that just look the same like tons of others. Now that we have the luck to have a secure publisher and a very unique game, we are sure to finish this product, and that’s what keeps us motivated. And of course the fact that we all love the game we are currently working on.

Lets make the number talks. How many people are involved in the project, how long and when it will be ready?

The game has been in development since 2001 when the first things came toghether. First there were only 5 people working on it, but soon we were numbered over 15 and now we have even a few more. Open Beta started on 28th January 2005. We are not sure when exactly we are going retail, because we want to make sure to make a bug free game which is enjoyable without downloading tons of patches everyday.

What's the most remarkable feature of Face of Mankind?

The first thing people familiar to the game usually answer to this question is something like "the lack of the level treadmill/ skill systems" but in fact I think it’s much more. Face of Mankind uses the first ever player-generated mission system, and combines it with sophisticated economics and complex player politics for a new kind of online experience. Only your ability to shoot, bargain, manipulate and otherwise duck and deal will advance your character’s private or corporate agenda. The success of each and every mission will determine your rise to the top, or your fall into obscurity. Whatever path you take in this astonishing world, plan well: one day, one minute or a single second could bring you to your destiny as the true Face of Mankind.

Face Of Mankind will have a dynamic storyline, in which way can a single player influence the main storyline?

The first and most obvious way to influence the main storyline is to participate in missions, which really affect the story. Mission results will not only affect the faction’s wealth, but also the balance of power and therefore the world order. Missions can also have influence on key frames of the main story line, meaning the story will take another direction if a specific mission has a specific result.

Another way to influence the storyline is to rise in your faction’s rank and to use the power you get. You can set up your own missions which your subordinates will fulfil and which will have effects on your faction’s income and strategy.

There are several other ways to influence the world of Face of Mankind, and therefore to influence its story but I want you to try them yourself, so sign up for the Open Beta J

We know that in FoM aren’t any races or skills to choose from. How can a player develop his character? What about distribution of experience points? Will only bio-implants and some of the gear influence on character?

If you mean by "influence on character" your character’s stats, then yes that’s true. But a character in FoM will be influenced by so much more, meaning, his power when he/she rises in rank, by the main story, and by his/her very own way to find his destiny.

Every single player must enroll into one of the estabilished organization. What about those player(s) who refuse to accomplish the mission within the organization? Is there a possibility to gain a higher rank without fulfilling some of the missions? Who will be in charge to elevate the players after the launch?

If one refuses to accomplish missions for his faction, he cannot rise in ranks, which doesn’t mean he can’t get any power. If you choose to be your own master, you may start producing, start dealing with drugs or you may start to become a bandit and by time you will make your way and find fellows which will help you with your very own idea of what your character’s destiny may be.

Please tell us something about creating the missions and a little bit about the sophistication of the economical and political system.

The mission system is based on Agendas, Campaigns and Missions. Agendas define a faction's basic path and will be changed by faction leaders only. Players of rank 6 or higher can create campaigns linked to an agenda. A campaign is a collection of missions based on a certain campaign type and strategy. Now, each campaign type has a predefined set of missions to complete and only if all of these missions are completed, the campaign can be successful. To go more into the details would really take too much time for this interview, it’s an extremely advanced system!

The world is in permanent development as well as the dynamic storyline and the increasing number of missions. Will you intefere in the game when the world in FoM will take the wrong path? What exactly is the main goal of FoM? Is it about seeking the characters destiny?

Let’s split up this question:

It may occure that the player behave in a way that we din’t expect. If they do so, and the world of FoM gets to far away from the original storyline we will probably interfere to keep the fun in the game.

The objective of the game is to evolve your character to its ultimate potential, whether that is the accumulation of wealth, power, social status or all three. It’s your decision!

FoM is set in an urbanistic enviroment. Aren't you affraid that one teritorry will be empty and the other overcrowded? Will we able to meet on the streets classical NPC?

We tried to make the areas as balanced as possible, but we will probably have to tweak a bit on the layout, in open beta.

Classical NPCs, yes, but non of them will give you any "kill mob xy " missions. They are able to chat with you and even are able to spread rumors about what’s happening in the world.

What can you tell us about the enemies? Will there be only rival organizations and its members (players)?

There will be an hostile alien race. But this is part of the story and i don’t want to spoil anything...save to say they will be unlike any force seen before in an MMO, or even science fiction.

What will happen when a character is killed by another player?

If he has bought a clone or a clone insurance, he will wake up in a cloning center again, and will be able to continue his journey. If he doesn’t have a clone he will be truly dead. As dead as a mmorpg character can be, i.e. permadeathed.

Is there a penalty system for killing other players by no mean?

Yes there is. If you are not on a mission and kill other player’s you will get penalty points. If the LED detects you and is able to catch you, you will be put in jail where you have to stay for some time, or where you can craft to get out of it faster.

Can a less experienced player kill a well experienced player?

Yes. It comes down to actual player skill so, although it will be harder seeing as the more experienced player will be better equipped, it will certainly be possible if the newer player is good enough.

What will be the most important thing in combat? Expercience with the first-person shooters for example?

Tactical moving, reaction, communication and good teammates.

Do you planning to release after the launch of FoM some additional expansion packs?

I can’t tell you anything about this yet.

Is there anything else you want to say and we didnt ask?

Thank you for giving us the chance to bring our project a bit closer to the readers of your site, and i hope to find some of you in open beta.