Firefall (video game)
A free-to-play shooter with jetpack combat and dynamic events.
Firefall was a science fiction free-to-play massively multiplayer online open world shooter video game developed and released by Red 5 Studios in 2014. It combined elements from the shooter genre with role-playing aspects from the massive multiplayer online genre. The game was officially announced in 2010, entered closed beta in 2011 and open beta in 2013, and was shut down in 2017.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Red 5 Studios
- Publisher
- Red 5 Studios; Garena
- Designer
- Scott Youngblood; Scott Rudi
- Writer
- Scott Burgess
- Mark Kern
- Orson Scott Card
- Richard Pearsey
- James B. Jones
- Composer
- Michael Bross; Boon Sim
- Programmer
- Eric Le Saux (AI)
- Lutz Justen (Graphics)
- David Nikdel (Gameplay)
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows
- Released
- July 29, 2014 (WW)
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Players wear power armor called Battleframes, which grant health regeneration, jump jets, and a retractable pair of wings for gliding. Each Battleframe has a unique main weapon, a standard secondary weapon, three unique abilities, and a fourth special ability that charges during combat. There are five main types of Battleframes; the player begins with a standard issue version of each and can switch between them freely. Players level up by completing missions and collect equipment from downed enemies to enhance their Battleframe's attributes or add new features to weapons and abilities. Fully leveling a Battleframe awards a token to unlock an Advanced Battleframe with specialized weapons and abilities. Combat is influenced by Tribes, emphasizing jump jets to add a third dimension, allowing players to remain airborne for long periods and quickly reach building tops. The wings enable dive-bombing enemy positions or escaping hazards. In PvE zones, players engage in dynamically generated missions and events at fixed locations, procedurally generated encounters, on-demand missions, and world events that bring players together to fight the antagonist or participate in group activities. Friendly fire and PvP are disabled by default, but players can declare duels.
Synopsis
The Firefall is an event in 2178 when an asteroid predicted to be a near miss is caught by the Moon's gravity and crashes into Earth, plunging mankind into a dark age called the Nine Year Winter. Many large governments, including that of the United States, collapse. Scientists discover a new substance called Crystite from the asteroid fragments, which becomes a powerful energy source fueling reconstruction and a new golden age. Mankind follows the asteroid's trajectory to Alpha Prime in Alpha Centauri. The Arclight's purpose is to prevent a potential revolt on Alpha Prime. In 2233, during its first faster-than-light attempt, the Arclight's engines rip a hole in space, allowing the Melding, an extra-dimensional energy storm, to emerge. The Arclight crashes outside Fortaleza, Brazil. The Melding engulfs most of Earth except areas near the wreckage, where the Accord uses the engines to keep the Melding at bay. The playable story takes place four years after M-Day. The Melding has mutated wildlife and reshaped the landscape; it is lethal to the player, constraining them to the playable area. The player is a mercenary working for The Accord. Crystite acts as in-game currency. The main antagonist is the Chosen, humans transformed by the Melding. Secondary antagonists include Bandits, Aranhas (invasive spider-like insectoids from Alpha Prime), and mutated wildlife. The player's objective is to aid mankind's survival and defeat the Chosen.
Development history
Firefall used a custom server and graphics engine with its renderer based on Offset Engine by Offset Software, sold to Intel in February 2008. Offset Engine was built for Project Offset, cancelled in 2010 by Intel due to the failure of Larrabee. Red 5 Studios' relationship with Project Offset gave them full source code access, which they heavily modified. Modifications include a custom texture streaming engine, a character and terrain system for hundreds of players in a large open world, a vegetation and prop system, custom lighting and FX, and server-side integration of Havok Physics. The server code was built in-house. Development lasted over five years; the title underwent several internal name changes before official announcement on September 3, 2010, at PAX Prime in Seattle, where it received high praise. The game debuted publicly at PAX East 2011 with a live multiplayer tournament. Closed beta began September 2, 2011, with continuous 24/7 testing from April 2, 2012, and the NDA dropped April 6 at PAX East 2012. Monetization started August 24, 2012, allowing purchase of cosmetic items and time compression bonuses. A founders pack for closed beta access was offered August 28, 2012. The game announced $1 million in prize money for its PvP tournament in 2013 to stimulate eSports, but after limited success, instanced PvP was removed and none of the prize money was paid out. Open beta began July 9, 2013, and ended July 29, 2014, with release on Steam or through an in-house installer.
Developer
Red 5 Studios was an American video game company known for its high proportion of former Blizzard Entertainment employees. The founders previously worked on World of Warcraft: Mark Kern was a team lead, William Petras was art director, and Taewon Yun was part of the company's Korean operation overseeing World of Warcraft's launch in Asia. The company's only game release was Firefall. In early 2007, Red 5 launched a campaign to recruit top developers, using San Francisco-based Pool and Orange County-based Airbag Industries to send personalized recruiting pitches to 100 prospective hires. Each received a package with five nested art boxes and an iPod Shuffle containing a personalized message. By June 2007, three candidates had joined, with a fourth being interviewed. On April 23, 2009, Red 5 closed its Shanghai office. In January 2010, it laid off about 30 people. In March 2010, Chinese company The9 acquired a majority stake in Red 5. On September 8, 2010, Firefall was revealed at PAX Prime. In July 2011, Red 5 announced a collaboration with Orson Scott Card as writer of the Firefall story and a manga novel co-written by his daughter Emily Janice Card and drawn by Joe Ng. On September 30, 2011, Red 5 Singapore, a wholly owned subsidiary of The9, was announced as publisher for all countries except the United States, Canada, and European countries. Red 5 pulled support from 2012 E3 in protest of the ESA's support of SOPA and PIPA; Mark Kern created League for Gamers with the $50,000 intended for E3. Red 5 announced it would open a 30-man office in Cork, Ireland, for European support and localization.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who published Firefall (video game)?
Firefall was published by Red 5 Studios and Garena.
What platforms is Firefall (video game) available on?
Firefall was released for Microsoft Windows.
Who designed Firefall (video game)?
Firefall was designed by Scott Youngblood and Scott Rudi.
Who composed the music for Firefall (video game)?
The music for Firefall was composed by Michael Bross and Boon Sim.
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