The Best and The Rest

Naota has made a great post on what makes FAS, FAS as well as what makes it unique from other games out now. In summarization, FAS stands out from the rest because of:

Guns... copious amounts of guns
A Genuinely Balanced Skill System
A Unique Loadout System
Reinforcement-based Victory Conditions
Reloading that makes logical sense
The Firearms Menkey
Ludicrous amounts of other interesting mechanics

To find out more, you can view Naota's post in the FAS Forums.

FAS Skills Revealed

As show in the FAS Manual

1. Marksmanship I
• 25% Accuracy Increase
• Recoil Reduction
2. Marksmanship II
• +25% Accuracy Increase
• Further Recoil Reduction
3. Field Medic I
• Diagnose teammates via HUD
• Bandage bleeding teammates
• Apply sulfur to self for +10 HP, once
• Apply sulfur to teammates for +20 HP, continuously
• Two free bandages upon respawn
4. Field Medic II
• Suture yourself for +25 HP, once
• Suture teammates wounds for +50 HP, continously
• Four free bandages upon respawn
5. Weapon Handling
• 25% Faster Reloads
• 25% Faster Magazine Merges
6. Battlefield Agility
• 9% Faster Movement
• Faster Stamina Regeneration
• Stamina Drain Decrease while Sprinting
• 50% Fall Damage Decrease
7. Leadership
• 9% Faster Movement for Nearby Teammates
• 10% Less Damage for Nearby Teammates
• 50% Accuracy Increase for Nearby Teammates
8. Stealth
• 75% Quieter Footsteps
• 200% Knife Damage
• Frags with silenced weapons are hidden from the enemy
9. Artillery Support I
• Place Artillery Markers
• Request Artillery Fire
10. Artillery Support II
• Assemble Mortars
• Fire Mortars & Select Markers using TAC Map

Derailed Update

Shinobi has greatly updated ps_derailed in terms of gameplay and texture work. The map's progressive spawns - which make you spawn closer to the enemy depending on what flag you hold - have been updated with the most notable change is that they are farther away from the middle cap point.


In addition to the spawn changes, the number of upper level areas has doubled and the texture work has been refined to give the map or more uniform theme, making the map much more industrial looking than before.

Finally, HRD in the map has been reduced but still keeping the areas that need to be light, light.

You can find more screen shots in Shinobi's developer's blog.

Crossfire Updates

Shinobi has updated some aspects of ps_crossfire, detailed in his personal developer blog. The map before had some problems with the placement of some of the flags. One flag was hard to defend with "270 degrees of overwatches focused on it" and has been moved into a warehouse for safe keeping.

In addition, "the ghetto" flag will mostly likely be updated in this same fashion, making its defense easier.
Finally, beside the flag updates, Shinobi has also added "a sewer system under the park area, hopefully this will make it easier for blue to hold as well as make it easier for red to cap."

FAS NEWS (9 JANUARY 2010)

FAS has released two wallpapers and an online manual for FAS to help new players become familiar with the game before it's release.

The first wallpaper is the new FAS logo designed by undertone with a release date show as "2010". The FAS team is still working on a few aspects of the mod to ensure that it is ready for the public which is why the release date is vague at "2010". Some coding issues still have to be worked out as well as more polish applied to the maps. However, all the art aspects of the mod are complete which has allowed the art team to go ahead and start working on content for after FAS's release.

As you can see, the new logo is more modern instead of the almost 10 year old stencil font that was previously used.

The second wallpaper is the same logo applied to an in game screen shot of FAS.

In addition to the wallpapers, there is now an online manual for FAS which is still being updated. The manual outlines the basic features of FAS, such as how to install the game, descriptions for each categories of weapons, list of skills and what benefits they provide, as well as a section for "pro tips and hits" which explain game play features in depth.

Some areas of the manual aren't finished, most notably the HUD section, but these will be updated soon.

Detailed

DysPatch has released a couple of new screenshots of ps_snowblast in his developer's journal. In addition, he invites everyone to check FAS's twitter feed and his personal twitter feed for additional screenshots.

Forest Reborn

Shinobi has been working on creating a convincing outdoor scene using the source engine for FAS. Currently he has been working blending the terrain as well as creating convincing tree models. You can view Shinobi's FAS work, as well as his other project as his game design blog.

High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle

StealthSilver has been updated his developer journal, showing his HMMWV model that will be used as a map prop. This is a work in progress.

FAS NEWS (12 NOVEMBER 2009)

FAS has released a video, showcasing the M14 as well as ps_sand and some screen shots of sd_mine. Not only do you see the effectiveness of the M14, but also the amount of people play testing FA, as well as some other features that are new for FAS.



As you can see near the end of the video, Lustymuffins increases his rank as show by the HUD indicator in the lower right. Also, there is a new cause of death symbol in the upper right which is hazmat symbol for explosives.


In addition, you may notice that there is a audible "moo" in parts of the video. This sound is a placeholder for the M79 which has yet to be replaced.

Finally, this updated also includes a few screenshots of sd_mine. The FAS Team also regretfully announces that not every feature they want included in FAS will make it into the first release candidate. They do say they will continue to patch, update, and support the mod for years to come.

Red Barron

In a FAS Input Forum Thread, it was asked if FAS would have a similar jump mechanic to the HL version of Firearms where people were able to jump around and still and be able to fire effective. "The only penalties we have for jumping are a stamina decrease, and a slight disorientation of the screen similar to that of FA," DysPatch said. This goes along with other comments in the past about FAS having a more arcade like experience, not a tactical shooter.