Software:Face of Mankind

From HandWiki
Short description: 2006 video game
Face of Mankind
Developer(s)
  • Duplex Systems[1]
  • Nexeon Technologies[2]
Publisher(s)Nexeon Technologies
Designer(s)Marko Dieckmann
EngineLithtech Jupiter
Platform(s)Windows
Release27 March 2006
Genre(s)MMO/Action RPG
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Face of Mankind is a discontinued first and third-person massively multiplayer online action role playing game (MMOARPG) set in a futuristic persistent world. The game is played from a variety of points of view. It was designed to emphasize roleplay and community, using a faction system and player-driven politics. It was developed by German studio Duplex Systems.

Gameplay

Players interact with each other in a freeform universe, consisting in a series of locations spread across various planets. Major roleplaying-based storylines, purely optional, are started and run by Duplex staff. Players in a position of power may also affect gameplay by setting a faction's agenda, creating long-term political, economic, or military goals, which are broken up into missions handed down through a faction's hierarchy in the form of player generated and driven missions.[3]

Character creation

As with other MMORPGs, players control a character avatar within a game world in third or first person view, exploring the worlds, participating in PVP combat, completing objectives, and interacting with non-player characters (NPCs) or other players.

To create a new character, players must choose between one of the eight factions. Players may choose from several sets of starting clothing as well as between male and female in addition to choosing their faction. Characters from each faction can communicate with others nearby or use the in-game mail, but players in the same faction can use a faction only chat to communicate with each other from anywhere. Each faction also has its own perks and play a different role in the game, such as EuroCore getting discounts on production of items and serving the role of one of the game's three corporations.[4]

New characters may choose to go through the in-game tutorial and learn the basics of the game, such as movement, combat, and other important concepts. After the player finishes the tutorial there are 10 new player objectives that are designed to get the player to learn more about the game through exploring some of its more popular worlds and chatting with other players. New players are considered Trainees until they finish enough of these starter objectives to get 10,000 experience and be automatically promoted to Rank 1.[4]

Although there is no in-game new player protection in place, the worlds that they are suggested to visit early on are usually well patrolled by the Law Enforcement Department resulting in stiff penalties for players attempting to grief newer players. New players are encouraged to stay safe by having weapons and armor on at all times, with most factions having armor and weapon stocks specifically for arming newer players.

Factions

  • Law Enforcement Department (Global Dominion: Police)
  • Freedom Defense Corps (Global Dominion: Military)
  • Galactic Intelligence Service (Global Dominion: Secret Service)
  • Colonization and Mining Guild (Corporation: Mining)
  • Eurocore (Corporation: Production)
  • Vortex Inc. (Corporation: Transport)
  • The Brotherhood of the Shadows (Clan: Gangs)
  • Mercenaries of the Blood (Clan: Mercenaries)
  • Guardians of Mankind (Clan: Freedom Fighters and Diplomats)
  • Civilian Faction (Normal Players)

Ongoing gameplay

Much of Face of Mankind play involves performing objectives, either alone or through the group system. These objectives are automatically generated when playing alone, or generated by way of starting the group when in a group. Objectives reward the player with some experience points and Faction Credits. Objectives commonly involve killing a number of other players, gathering a certain number of resources, patrolling a world, guarding specific locations, and many other objectives.[5]

Faction Credits are traded in for Universal Credits four times a day depending on faction payout standards and the amount of Faction Credits earned by all players in the faction.[6] Experience points earned allow players to gain higher ranks in their faction when appropriately ranked members of the faction see fit to promote them.[7]

Depending on the current political situations, some factions may be at war with each other allowing players of opposing factions to fight each other with fewer penalties and even take over opposing factions' worlds. World occupation consists of several hours of combat and hacking that eventually leads to a roughly hour-long final battle for the world, where hundreds of players can be fighting for control.[8] Characters can be permanently killed off if they both run out of clones and Universal Credits to buy new clones.[9]

The game also has a completely closed economy. All revenues earned come from players paying for it. Game statistics were able to show which faction had the best income, per week.

Premium subscription

Face of Mankind was free to play, offering a premium subscription as well as some items available as bonuses for purchasing certain subscriptions. Some of the premium bonuses include faster spawning, increased item storage, and ability to get the highest ranks in factions and even become faction leaders.[10]

History and important changes

  • Closed Beta testing started in April 2004, and the first phase of Open Beta started in February 2005. The second phase of Open Beta testing ran from 9 December 2005 to March 23, 2006, ready for the launch on March 27, 2006.
  • Face of Mankind was shipped for retail sale on 31 August 2006; both downloadable and retail versions were available.
  • The Face of Mankind official portal was hit by a series of DDoS attacks during the month of May 2007; The attacks made the official portal unavailable throughout the month. These attacks were cited as playing a part in the eventual closure of Face of Mankind as a financial venture. The perpetrators were eventually arrested after an investigation by the Scotland Yard Computer Crime Unit.[11]
  • November 2, 2007, Face of Mankind publisher Ojom ceased support for the development and operation of the game. Duplex announced an attempt to continue the game without a publisher; further news and developments were announced on November 14, 2007, detailing how Duplex is going to be reworking the game mechanics in order to be able to fund it.[12] The game would later be scrapped and reworked into a new game titled Face of Mankind Rebirth.
  • June, 2008, Marko Dieckmann declared on the official website that development of Face of Mankind Rebirth has been cancelled.
  • December 1, 2008, www.faceofmankind.com was launched as well as forums. Face of Mankind will be developed in cooperation between Duplex Systems and Nexeon Technologies, the same company that would have provided hosting for the ill-fated emulation.[13]
  • On February 20, 2009, Duplex and NeXeon launch the Closed Beta version of the game.[14]
  • On December 29, 2009, Face of Mankind is released, introducing both free and premium accounts. Free accounts have multiple restrictions; such as limited storage, amount of items simultaneously on the market, the inability to gain higher than rank 4, and the inability to use Apartments and Civilian clothing (a later patch allowed free accounts to access apartments owned by premium accounts). The Premium account cost is US$9.99 per month.[15]
  • On November 11, 2010, Face of Mankind development was transferred from Duplex Systems to NeXeon Technologies inc.
  • On May 7, 2013, NeXeon Technologies inc. launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund development of a new iteration of the game called Face of Mankind: Fall of the Dominion.[16]
  • On April 10, 2014, NeXeon Technologies inc. opened Fall of the Dominion open beta
  • On July 13, 2015, NeXeon Technologies inc. announced that Face of Mankind will cease operations and close down on August 31, 2015.
  • On September 3, 2015, Face of Mankind Fall of the Dominion was shut down.

Reception

PC Gamer gave the game a score of 58 out of 100 and wrote: "It's debatable whether making players responsible for creating content is genius of laziness [sic]--doing so helps bond players to the game, but since Faces as few players to being with, you'll likely end up bored".[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Projects - Face of Mankind". http://www.duplex-systems.com/projects.php. 
  2. ↑ "Featured Projects - Face of Mankind (Video Game)". http://www.nexeontech.com/index.php?page=projects&id=faceofmankind. 
  3. ↑ "FoM Overview". http://wiki.fomportal.com/w/FoM_Overview. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Character Creation". http://wiki.fomportal.com/w/Character_creation. 
  5. ↑ "Groups". http://wiki.fomportal.com/w/Groups. 
  6. ↑ "Faction Credits". http://wiki.fomportal.com/w/Faction_Credits. 
  7. ↑ "Experience Points". http://wiki.fomportal.com/w/Experience_Points. 
  8. ↑ "World Takeover System". http://wiki.fomportal.com/w/World_Takeover_System. 
  9. ↑ "Perma-Death". http://wiki.fomportal.com/w/Perma-death. 
  10. ↑ "Premium". http://wiki.fomportal.com/w/Premium. 
  11. ↑ Leyden, John (17 January 2008). "Face of Mankind DoS teen perp reprimanded". The Register. https://www.theregister.com/2008/01/17/face_of_mankind/. Retrieved 6 June 2021. 
  12. ↑ Face of Mankind: Rebirth : Face of Mankind: Rebirth for PC News at MMORPG.COM
  13. ↑ "Face of Mankind - The Search for the Face of Mankind continues". http://www.fomportal.com/announcement.php. 
  14. ↑ "Official Face of Mankind Forums - Closed Beta - How To". http://forum.fomportal.com/showthread.php?t=3747. 
  15. ↑ "Face of Manind Premium Accounts Available Now". http://www.fomportal.com/announcement.php. 
  16. ↑ "Face of Mankind: Fall of the Dominion". http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nexeon/face-of-mankind-fall-of-the-dominion. 
  17. ↑ "Face of Mankind". Fandom. https://www.metacritic.com/game/face-of-mankind/. 
  • Official website (archived)
  • Face of Mankind Wiki (archived)
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.

Template:Atari



Warning: Default sort key "Face Of Mankind" overrides earlier default sort key "Mobygames".



Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Face_of_Mankind&oldid=3951809"