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The tie that binds the two gameplay elements together is the faction wheel, which represents the varying degrees of animosity between the game’s six distinct factions and their numerous sub-factions. Throughout the course of gameplay, players will be introduced to each of the main factions gradually at first, but by the time you reach the zones in Sector 2 you should have a pretty clear understanding of what makes each one tick. Lead Game Designer Lee Hammock also pointed out that while players will be able to remain neutral it’s typically in their best interest to ally themselves with one of the six core factions. Neutrality in the face of the major conflict between opposing factions will be somewhat difficult to manage, thanks in part to the way faction is tracked based on which content you choose to pursue. Do a favor for the Techs and you’re bound to piss off the Vistas and their allies in other words.

Siding with a given faction will ultimately open up content unique to that specific faction, such as storyline quests that will also provide a fairly high degree of replay value, as following different paths on separate characters will culminate in two distinct experiences with the higher level quests in the game. Faction selection can also give players access to skills and crafting recipes that can’t be obtained in any other way, but the system will truly begin to shine once PvP comes into play.

A main focal point for PvP in Fallen Earth will be the Conflict Towns. These towns will begin as neutral areas complete with shops, quests and trainers, with faction-specific camps set up outside the towns themselves where players can pick up missions to help destabilize the town, eventually taking it over for their faction. Lee Hammock explained that there will be some Conflict Towns that will take perhaps an hour for a given faction to take over, with others designed to be a much larger challenge that might take a few hours to take over depending on how large of an opposition you face once the process begins.

Killing other players (which nets you points for your chosen faction) is only one way of gaining control over an area, as each will have a series of objectives you’ll be tasked with completing that will tally points for your side. Once a certain threshold is met, the town will be under your faction’s control so long as there are players on your side who actively work to maintain control. In the meantime, controlling a Conflict Town will open up new content options for whichever faction is in control. This can take the form of new missions, equipment, abilities, mutations, resources or crafting books unique to that specific town.

Providing this type of framework for PvP while still keeping it linked to the much broader overall PvE aspects of the game could very well be an elegant solution to the many design challenges developers face when tasked with creating an MMO that can appeal to a broader spectrum of players. While I wasn’t able to witness any large-scale PvP in the Conflict Towns during my time at Icarus Studios, the core concepts behind Fallen Earth’s gameplay in these areas certainly left me itching to experience the game first hand.

From what I was able to gather, Fallen Earth is in a “content complete” state, with the current emphasis of the closed beta on bug squashing and adding a solid amount of polish rather than attempting to squeeze in too many more major gameplay elements. Hopefully we’ll be hearing an announcement about the timeframe for open beta and launch soon, but in the meantime Fallen Earth is certainly one sci-fi MMO that will remain locked on my radar.