A few minutes ago I logged into Fallen Earth to grab my complimentary gas mask before I cancelled my account. Cancelling a subscription is always a bit sad, especially when it’s for a game I really like, but I don’t play Fallen Earth nearly enough to warrant paying for it. If my monthly income was a bit more stable and if I felt like Icarus could use my support, I might have kept it up – they seem to be doing fine, and freelancing is always a bit up and down, so the cancellation came pretty naturally.
As mentioned above, it’s not that I don’t like the game. Quite the opposite, Fallen Earth is a small wonder of a MMO. It deserves a lot of attention, even though Icarus seems a bit confused at times, and the constant stream of updates coming from the developers is impressive. Other small MMO studios, like Winch Gate and Aventurine, would do well to take inspiration from the flurry of patches that Fallen Earth has seen since launch.
Come to think of it, larger MMO studios would also have a lot to gain from taking a closer look at how things seem to work at Icarus. I guess it comes down to the bureaucracy of larger studios, where bugs and priority lists have to be passed from office to office, from department to department, before they end up being patched into the game – if the issue gets addressed at all. Icarus has shown the world that it can be done, that we can expect a developer to take our subscription money and put it to good use almost every week.
A couple of times, Fallen Earth has been patched several days in a row. That’s fast. I can’t help thinking that it comes down to how the studio is structured and the development philosophy it has adapted. A strong belief in the game, a strong belief that the customers should be kept happy, that a game can evolve.
For now, for me, Fallen Earth will be put on the back burner. I didn’t get as far into the game as I might have liked, but there will always be the option to resub in the future. At some point I know I will have return to my own personal MMO apocalypse. I can’t wait to see how far the game has come at that point.
:’ (
I haven’t played in about 2 weeks (thanks to the wonderful offline titles on the street, and my computer dying), but to me, FE is like Vanguard was at launch: something I REALLY enjoyed, despite the issues, and therefor something I felt that I wanted to support, as opposed to just a game I wanted to pay for.
I’m sad to hear that you’re taking time off, although what must be done…must be done O.O. I’m also glad to hear that you enjoy the game, and that this isn’t a ragequit
I just got a trial key for FE, so I’m hoping to check it out soon. Have gear nothing but good on it.
It’s funny you said “and if I felt like Icarus could use my support” because when I quit that’s how I felt too. Early on even though I was sidelined from MMO playing due to injury, I kept my sub active just to support a small, indie dev. But not that Fallen Earth is becoming something of a blogger darling I figure they don’t need my $15/month more than I do.
Like you, I really enjoyed the game, but frankly I’m having too much fun with all the great single player games to spend much time in MMOs. I’ll probably go back to Fallen Earth in the spring.
Torchlight and Borderlands (not in the mood for a true RPG at the moment, otherwise Dragon Age would be on the list) eat up all of my free time. Especially Borderlands, since I want to play through all the characters at least once (finished Mordecai, currently on Lilith and loving it). I might end up canceling my FE subscription for now, but I feel so bad doing so
Then again, if Ryzom manages to catch my attention…