UPDATE: The Fallen Earth team has officially announced the game's launch and stated that while the MMO may be accessed today via digital download, "the game is scheduled to reach retailers nationwide by September 30." Also, it looks like the maintenance has been extended to 5 p.m. EDT.

Aion may have had the biggest MMO launch today, but players who prefer post-apocalyptic mayhem over celestial gameplay also have reason to celebrate as the Fallen Earth servers are scheduled to go live between 3-4 p.m. EDT after being down since 6 a.m. The team originally planned to have the servers up at 1 p.m., but announced on the official forums that it needed an extension to implement a patch. You can check out the patch notes after the jump.

While you wait for Fallen Earth to officially launch, you may want to read one of our two previews of the game. Chris "Xenophage" McGraw recently got the chance to see Fallen Earth up close and personal at the Penny Arcade Expo, while Christopher "Pwyff" Tom participated in the beta test. So do you plan to fight for your life around the Grand Canyon Province?

Version 1.0.8 preview

Chat
· Added an option to show channel names and timestamps for chat messages.
· Fixed an item link issue with certain items.

UI
· Fixed an issue with initial filtering of recipes on entering the game.
· Fixed an issue with the character build template not being reset it on re-entry if the first entry was selected.
· Fixed a small issue with tabbing in the email window.
· Fixed sorted merchant sell tabs to correctly highlight the previous entry when the last one is removed.
· Fixed an issue with items not showing refreshed conditions when replaced by identical items.
· Fixed a crash that happened when too-large numbers were added to the Waypoints window.
· Updated the /time command to only show the time and not the date.
· Updated the converser windows positions to save between sessions.
· Enabled the Escape key to close the Pack, Gear, Vault, and Mission windows.
· Disabled minimizing while creating the interface and the game window to prevent a black screen upon entering the game.
· Updated windowed mode to hide the title bar and border when set to the same resolution as the desktop. It can still be moved using the RMB on the windows taskbar entry. Select move and then use the arrow keys.
· Updated the Options window to save settings when closed.

Keymap
· Enabled keybinding for the Alt+mousewheel command. When bound it will not allow you to zoom in free look mode.
· Enabled keybinding for exiting to the desktop. It defaults to Alt+F4 and prompts a confirmation window.
· Enabled keybinding for Force Walk mode. It defaults to the Shift key and may be changed if it interferes with moving or activating hotkey actions.

Combat
· Fixed an issue with using the Previous or Next weapon key and the Wield weapon key at the same time.
· Added support for stun animations.

General
· Added an optimization to character animations that are in front of you but cannot been seen.
· Added an optimization to character face effects.
· Refactored how characters manage their missions
· Fixed a display bug where the server was not updating the front end when taking a stack of items in or out of a Vault.
· Fixed a display bug that appeared when a looting or harvesting player’s current weight was over the maximum.
· Fixed a bug that was causing usable items to be consumed when a treasure item failed to appear in the player’s pack.
· Fixed a bug with harvest nodes in instanced remaining after use.
· Added numerous optimizations to improve server performance.

Mounts
· Enabled mount transition animations for mounting and dismounting. There are new animations for the horse and the vehicles with doors.
· Significantly increased the fuel efficiency of all vehicles. This does not affect mounts.

Predictor
· Fixed an issue with characters who appear to be standing then they should be sitting.
· Fixed an issue with mounts that were moving with an incorrect heading or out of synch with the rider.

Conflict Towns
· Standardized guards across all conflict towns to ensure correct faction aggro and rewards.

Items
· Changed the Knowledge requirement for the recipe Improved Cooking Components 3 to Improved Cooking Components 2.
· Increased the recharge delay of the Falcon Bola from 20 seconds to 2 minutes.
· Corrected spelling errors in the item description for Chunky Oil.
· Increased the damage of the LW Hellfire Shotgun to 54 Ballistic and 43 Fire. Increased its level and cost and assigned it the custom Hellfire Shotgun model.
· Changed the component, Knowledge, and Attribute requirements on the recipe for Improved Zip Guns and increased its level to 18.
· Changed the model of Longsnout's Belt to match the Wire Belt.
· Changed the Enforcer Guard's Glove, Enforcer Corporal's Glove, and Enforcer Sergeant's Glove to occupy the forearm as well as the hand. Increased their cost and armor values accordingly.
· Changed the recipe for Forearm Battle Armor to use Scrap Fasteners rather than Salvaged Fasteners, and more Scrap Steel.
· Corrected the recipe of Renew Consciousness 7 to make the Renew Consciousness 7 Injector.
· Changed the Attribute requirement for Psionic Shock 7 to 168 Telepathy.
· Changed all faction gear except for Researched Suits so that it attunes when equipped but may be sold or traded before attunement. Researched Suits still may not be traded.
· Changed the effect of Impure Pain Killers so they no longer modify permanent Health.
· Fixed the Dissolve 6 Injector to properly teach Dissolve 6.
· Changed the knowledge requirement on Autumn Leaves 3 to require the second rank as opposed to itself.
· Fixed the level 6 to 10 Kinetic Curtain injectors to teach the correct mutation.
· Changed all consumable items to show their cooldown times.
· Reduced the amount of health restored by Spicy Refried Bean Paste and corrected the tooltip's erroneous indication of time.
· Corrected the maximum charges on the Crude Viral Bomb to allow it to function properly.
· Fixed the Bug Farm Surprise food to work with Defensive Coordination.
· Corrected the tooltip on the Deep Grass Concentrator.
· Corrected the tooltip on the Knockdown, Vol 4 book to state the correct skill.
· Changed the Loot Hunter's Loupe Visor to grant a constant +10 bonus to Scavenging.
· Changed the Elite Account Toaster to grant +4 Endurance in addition to its normal effects.
· Changed the recipe for Economic Rifle Ammo Research to use 240 of each type of ammunition rather than 360.
· Changed Armadillo Hide to act as Ragged Leather.

Mutations
· Changed the icon for Ablate 4 to be consistent with the other ranks of its effect.
· Corrected the tooltip on Revitalize (all ranks) to list the correct duration of 20 minutes.

Nodes
· Changed the level 20 Silver Node to drop less Weak Geologic Chemical and more Scrap Silver.

PvP
· Changed the time between spawning and despawning for all GlobalTech Supply Caches to 10 minutes. If no one grabs the Cache in 10 minutes, the node will despawn and come back in 30 minutes. If someone does grab the Cache, the time remaining from the 10 minutes is added to the 30 minute respawn time.
· Removed Horsefeed from all GlobalTech Supply Cache treasure tables.

Skills
· Corrected all ranks of Dash so that the skill does not cancel active stances.
· Corrected the reuse times on all ranks of Shake it Off to one minute.
· Changed all ranks of Knockdown to no longer function as a prepared attack.
· Corrected all ranks of Puncture and One Shot, One Kill so that their debuffs stack.

Sector One
· Fixed generator template that was spawning scorpions named Sand Worms so that it generates Sand Worms.
· Fixed the location of several harvest nodes that were underground or inside objects.
· Moved radiation zone that was affecting an encounter area at the northern point of Sector One.
· Added all appropriate ammo types to the Franklin's Rider merchants in Embry Crossroads, Oasis, Odenville, and Oilville.
· Removed a special effect generator that was causing some odd collision issues.
· Fixed missions from major story lines so that they fall into in the proper categories in the player's mission journal under the following headings: Who Are You, Clone?, GlobalTech, White Crow, ATV, All-Mind, Bankers and Franklin's Riders.
· Archive Coalition Missions
o Removed the events that "bind" books for you, and updated all conversations related to the NPCs binding books for you. Added new collections binding recipes, unique to each sector, that are granted when you speak to the Augusta Brown in Embry Crossroads, Curtis Wooten in New Flagstaff, and Orvall Bush in Trader's Flat. These recipes are organized under the Science tab.
o Updated some of the reward missions with the correct requirements.
o Renamed all the reward missions to match the item they request.
· Clinton Farm
o Corrected the mission “Stand and Deliver” to update correctly during tracking.
· Coppermine
o Assigned a female voice to Ballistics Trainer Sherri Jones.
o Increased the power of the spider summoned in the mission “Redemption of the Apostate.”
· Depot 66
o Changed the mission "Great Waste Hunter" so that it no longer requires Armorstrong's Stinger and completes when the player kills Armorstrong.
o Flagged Scarpelli's Watchman so that his name is in red.
o Lowered the number of weeds required for the mission "Unloved Flower" and tripled the number of weeds in the area.
· Embry Crossroads
o Marked Jaggd and Jaggd's Crew as hostile, giving them a red name for the mission "Smuggler's Payback."
o Updated the mission "Framework" so that Sean Kildaire and Gabe Anthony no longer offer the player frame pieces once it is complete.
o Added custom goal strings to step four of the "Stolen Medicines" mission series.
o Corrected names of all auctioneers to avoid duplicates.
o Restored Suzi Laws to her original position and fixed the pavement under her so she can walk on it.
· Junk Fortress
o Increased Loki's spawn time to 4 minutes.
o Removed the key from Loki's treasure table and gave it as a mission reward instead. The final deliver step will clear the key from the player’s inventory.
· Linewood
o Removed one of the bodyguards for the “Vega's Jackpot” mission to ease the difficulty.
o Gave Glusharg the Earth Reaper the appropriate "Boss" tag under his name.
· Mumford
o Fixed step two of the mission series "Run and Mine" to generate the item for delivery to Tish Simons, and made the goal string clearer.
o Updated step two of the mission series "All Know the Road"to show rewards.
o Lowered the number of Compasses rewarded by the mission "Curious Project" mission from 5 to 1.
· Needle Eye
o Changed Raphael Fosburg's body model to match his head.
o Replaced the item in step three of the mission series “Canned Collection” because the same item was used later in the chain.
· Odenville
o Removed Weaponry books from Ace Jenks and added a Weaponry trainer in the appropriate facility.
· Oilville
o Removed the document mission items from the ATV quest series including the mission "Upton's Lament" and altered text referring to those documents.
o Removed the gumbo components from the ATV quest series including the mission "Spare Parts" and altered text referring to the player receiving those items.
o Removed the camshafts and crankshaft items from the game, and set Hugh O'Boyle to only give you a mission ("The ATV Engine") if you've completed missions for Hans Grettner and Johann Gruber.
o Reduced the experience reward for step two of the mission series "A Crankshaft of My Own.
o Increased the boss Simeon Littlejohn’s respawn time.
o Fixed a typo in the mission “Training Up.”
o Updated the Komodo Dragons near Oilville so they no longer drop Intact Komodo Dragon Torsos.
o Changed the mission "Headhunter" mission so that is not longer requires the Embezzler’s head but completes when you kill the Embezzler.
· Old Kingman
o Put a bandage on Jim Conrad's hand to verify his story of being wounded there.
o Fixed the mission “Snake Bite” so it works properly when aborted and begun again.
o Repaired a broken delivery step in the mission series “On the Wing.”
· Pass Chris
o Relocated the ballistics trainer to the building marked Bar and Ballistics.
· South Burb
o Updated the target object and location for the mission "Either Ore" and moved the copper node model from inside the cargo container. Removed the second mission item from the mission.
o Removed the waypoint from the third step of the mission "Basic Needs" and altered the text slightly.
o Changed the default stance on a Vista farmer to keep him from sitting on air.
o Removed the unnecessary first step of the mission "Size That Matters.”
o Removed the unnecessary first step of the mission "King Coyote."
o Added a Feed and Fuel merchant to the garage.
· Spider Hill
o Adjusted all attacker locations for the mission “Hatchling Plague” and the second step of the mission series “Caught in the Web.”
o Streamlined the experience for the mission series “Close Encounters” missions by adjusting the location, increasing the number of allies, and fixing a problem with allies occasionally spawning shirtless.
· Terance
o Restructured the second step of the mission "The First of All Liberties" to avoid the delay between uses required by the original item requried.
o Changed the target objects for several steps of the mission series “Deep Profits” to ensure functionality.
o Changed Slade Vicious to an invulnerable questor.
o Removed extra "while" from the greeting string of the mission "Darkened Veils."
· Trumbull
o Gave Old Willy stats more appropriate to a boss and flagged him as such.
· Zanesville
o Changed the repeatable mission "Did Someone Call for Backup?" so it no longer locks out other players when someone is already running it, and reduced its reward.
o Deleted a guard who persisted in following another's patrol path.
o Shortened a goal string on step sixteen of the mission series "Crosshair Trigger" to make it fit in the mission window.
o Updated the box used in step ten of the mission series "Point Blank Slate" to prevent an issue that could cause the mission to no longer function.

Sector Two
· Banker Storyline
o Removed the Banker storyline from faction towns and rebuilt it inside New Flagstaff.
· Barret Manor
o Eased difficulty of step four of the mission series “Missing Sister.”
· Blaine
o Built a small camp for Hale's Boys and adjusted their placement.
o Flagged step six of the mission series "The Poor and Downtrodden" as group content.
o Downgraded Nino Killian from the Franklin's Rider mission "Finish the Job" from a boss to a standard level 30 ranged build.
· Credit Bend
o Changed the requirements for the mission "Long and Dismal Fast" to standard locally-available drops.
o Increased wolf spawns around the target area of the mission "Murderer and Thief."
o Fixed the story string for the mission “Idle Thunder.”
· Devon Township
o Changed the way the “Messered-Up” mission part four works so that fighting the test subject works differently, preventing it from breaking under certain conditions. This change required additional missions and text.
o Corrected an error in the story string of the mission “Collect Their Emblems” to reflect recent changes in where players can locate the mission goals.
o Corrected a typo in the mission “Not Rocket Science.”
· Fracture
o Updated the mission “Safety Among the CHOTA” mission so that the escort target follows correctly.
· Haven
o Changed the hostile Chief Tech Engineer to aggro based on faction.
· Hollister Point
o Updated the faction camp supply merchants with Simple Armor, Simple Ballistics, and Simple Weapon Repair Kits.
· Kristo’s Rest
o Added the required item to steps one and two of the mission "Quest for Ale" and altered dialogue to specify the skills required.
· New Flagstaff
o Changed the item requirement for the mission “A Remorseless Fang.”
o Fixed the Shackleton Endurance newsaper box so it no longer offers the final instance mission. Also changed mission text so it refers to Amador rather than Addams.
o Upgraded Krawler, Fangspite, and Case 92 with new abilities and stats. They are designed to handle 5 or more players around level 25.
o Updated the boss Devereaux with stats more appropriate to a boss.
· New Gallows
o Corrected the waypoint for step four of the mission series "Superior Intelligence, Superior Firepower."
· Post 23
o Added Simple Weapon Repair Kit to Flannery Borgia's merchant inventory.
· Sunshine Corners
o Repaired generator and reduced nearby enemy camp mobs for the mission “Out of Your League.”

Sector Three
· Banker’s Hole
o Reworked step seven of the mission series "Speculation 101" to require normal trash drops from creatures in the area rather than a special mission item.
o Fixed step two of the mission series “Science of Savagery” to correctly update waypoints and provide visual clues.
· Blackhill
o Correctly tagged Supply Officer Pounders as an Armorcraft Merchant.
o Corrected a typo in the mission “On Harmony.”
· Brigg’s Point
o Corrected two typos in the reward string of the mission "Cut in on the Action."
· Dieseltown
o Updated the text of Darius Chu's mission "Promise of the Future" to clarify the goal.
o Updated the stats and abilities of the boss Ursaline.
· Docuer's Court
o Changed Angus Howard to a Fuel and Feed Merchant instead of a superfluous Garage Manager.
· Earthbound Storyline
o Removed the Master tag from a White Crow Soldat.
· Papermill
o Added LifeNet pod in town.
· Park City
o Updated the escort position for the mission "Park City Horror Show."
· Repository
o Updated the mission series “Breaking the Bonds” to provide visual clues during tracking and chain properly between missions.
· St. Sebastian's
o Altered the journal text of the mission "Trading with the Enemy" to indicate that the mission is a part of the town event.
· Tannerfield
o Removed extra line break in the reward string for the mission "Get Dem Bones."
· Trader's Flat
o Moved Master Archivist Orvall Bush so that his name no longer clips the advertising display near him.
o Removed a misplaced neutral guard who was in a constant fight with one of the hostile Trigger-Happy Sentries.
· Waste Farm
o Standardized the CHOTA version of the “Wisdom of the Children” mission series display in the quest log.

Art
· Remodeled and textured several residential, industrial, and retail buildings.
· Remodeled and textured the large LifeNet facility.
· Reshaped female heads.
· Re-textured faction flags.
· Remodeled and textured grass island.

Animation
· Updated the male Shiva’s Favored models
· Updated the female Traveler models.
· Updated the models for ants, porkupines, horses, chickens, and snakes.
· Tweaked the male and female jog animations to make them more appealing.