Face of Mankind

History and important changes

Closed Beta testing began in April 2004, with the first Open Beta phase in February 2005. The second Open Beta phase ran from 9 December 2005 to 23 March 2006, leading to launch on 27 March 2006. The game shipped for retail on 31 August 2006, available both downloadable and in stores. In May 2007, the official portal suffered DDoS attacks, making it unavailable for the month; these attacks were cited as contributing to the game's eventual financial closure.

The perpetrators were arrested by the Scotland Yard Computer Crime Unit. On 2 November 2007, publisher Ojom ceased support, and Duplex announced an attempt to continue without a publisher. On 14 November 2007, Duplex detailed plans to rework game mechanics to fund the game, later scrapping it for a new title called Face of Mankind Rebirth. In June 2008, Marko Dieckmann declared development of Rebirth cancelled.

On 1 December 2008, www.faceofmankind.com and forums launched, with development between Duplex Systems and Nexeon Technologies. On 20 February 2009, Closed Beta launched. On 29 December 2009, the game released with free and premium accounts; free accounts had restrictions including limited storage, market items, inability to exceed rank 4, and no access to Apartments or Civilian clothing (later patched to allow free accounts in premium-owned apartments). Premium cost US$9.99 per month.

On 11 November 2010, development transferred to NeXeon Technologies. On 7 May 2013, NeXeon launched a successful Kickstarter for Face of Mankind: Fall of the Dominion. Open beta for Fall of the Dominion began on 10 April 2014. On 13 July 2015, NeXeon announced the game would cease operations on 31 August 2015.

Character creation

Players control a character avatar in third or first person view, exploring worlds, engaging in PVP combat, completing objectives, and interacting with NPCs or other players. To create a character, players choose one of eight factions, select from several sets of starting clothing, and choose between male and female. Characters from different factions can communicate via nearby chat or in-game mail, while same-faction players use a faction-only chat from anywhere.

Each faction has unique perks and roles, such as EuroCore receiving production discounts and serving as one of three corporations. New characters may complete an in-game tutorial covering movement, combat, and other basics. After the tutorial, ten new player objectives encourage exploration of popular worlds and chatting with other players.

New players are Trainees until they earn 10,000 experience and are automatically promoted to Rank 1. No in-game new player protection exists, but early suggested worlds are well patrolled by the Law Enforcement Department, deterring griefing. Players are advised to always wear weapons and armor, with most factions stocking gear for new players.

Ongoing gameplay

In Face of Mankind, players spend most of their time completing objectives, either on their own or as part of a group. When playing solo, objectives appear automatically; in a group, they are created when the group forms. Completing these tasks grants experience points and Faction Credits.

Typical objectives include eliminating other players, collecting resources, patrolling a world, or guarding specific spots. Faction Credits can be exchanged for Universal Credits four times each day, with the rate depending on the faction’s payout rules and how many Faction Credits all members have earned. Experience points let players climb the ranks, but only if higher-ranking faction members decide to promote them. Political tensions can lead to war between factions, allowing players to fight opponents with fewer restrictions and even seize their worlds.

Taking over a world requires several hours of combat and hacking, ending in a final battle lasting about an hour where hundreds may clash. Characters can die permanently if they exhaust both their clones and the Universal Credits needed to buy new ones. The game’s economy is entirely closed, with all money coming from player subscriptions, and weekly statistics revealed which faction earned the most.

Did You Know?

• Major roleplaying-based storylines were started and run by Duplex staff.
• Players in a position of power could set a faction's agenda, creating long-term political, economic, or military goals broken into player-generated missions.
• PC Gamer gave the game a score of 58 out of 100, noting that making players responsible for creating content could bond them to the game but might lead to boredom due to few players.