Face of Mankind is a futuristic “sandbox” MMO/FPS with a heavy focus on roleplay. The game bills itself as completely player-driven, and (with the exception of hostile aliens contained on one world) features no NPCs of any kind. The guard patrolling the street, the receptionist at the corporate desk, the commander giving you your assignments, and so on, are all live players.
Players can join one of eight factions including law enforcement, military, rebels, peace activists, and competing corporations. Every faction is player-run, and its leaders are generally given a free hand to establish their organizational hierarchy, activities, and goals (supported by in-game tools). For example, a military leader may set up a raid mission on enemy territory, a police chief may set up a guard point, and a corporate leader may set a manufacturing quota for a particular item. A player in that faction may elect to take that posted mission, and as long as they participate or meet the stated goals, they will receive the item or cash reward the leader has assigned to that mission. Players can also create “departments” within their factions, which act similarly to guilds, but still take overall orders and goals from faction commanders.
The economy is similarly player-driven. Resources are mined by players at specific terminals, and sold on the marketplace or placed in faction storage. Crafters purchase the materials and use fabrication terminals to create every item in the game - clothing, tools, armor, guns and the ammunition to fire them. Players can purchase these items for credits at marketplace terminals. The quality of a final item is decided in production, and can be “low” “medium” or “high.” Higher quality items require more high-quality resources, and generate fewer items per manufacturing run. Certain items (such as illegal drugs) can only be crafted by one of the factions.
The game can be played in either a first or third-person view. Combat has more in common with action games than typical MMO fights. Characters aim ranged weapons with the mouse and pull the trigger with a click. There are no background stats affecting the chance to hit, only the player’s own aim. There are also no levels or combat skills, so a player’s relative strength is dictated by the quality of the armor and weapons they can afford. XP earned by doing missions only unlocks advancement within the player’s faction, and does not improve any aspect of their character. Any items carried on a player (i.e. not in storage) are dropped in a backpack when killed, and can be looted.
Rules are enforced entirely by the players. Certain activities (killing neutral/allied players, hacking, carrying illegal drugs or weapons) can generate “Penalty Points.” Members of the law enforcement faction can scan other players for contraband items, or to see their current Penalty Points. If high enough to warrant attention, the police may use non-lethal weapons to knock the offender into a stunned state, then arrest them.
Arresting a player sends them directly to an in-game penal colony, where they must do missions to pay off their Penalty Points, or try to avoid the player guards and escape. Faction leaders can also assign penalty points and other punishments (such as demotions) to players that break the internal rules of that faction. Egregious player-killers earn a “Most Wanted” status with various penalties attached, from being bounty hunted without repercussions by any other player, all the way up to permanent death if killed.
There are thirteen areas in the game - three Earth cities, nine space colonies, and a spaceship acting as a headquarters for the military faction. Control terminals scattered around the maps allow for coordinated players to take control of a world. Different planets feature different resources, as well as a different visual style. In fitting with the roleplay focus, many cities have purely decorative areas (such as hotel lobbies, restaurants, or briefing rooms) that serve no purpose beyond offering interesting gathering areas.
As of December 29, 2009, Face of Mankind is free to play with limitations. Free accounts cannot own apartments, have limited storage space, a limit to how high they can rank in a faction, and cannot produce the highest quality items. A “premium” account with monthly pricing removes these restrictions.
