<s>
Firefall	B-Application
was	O
a	O
science	O
fiction	O
free-to-play	O
massive	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
online	I-Application
open	O
world	O
shooter	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
and	O
released	O
by	O
Red	B-Application
5	I-Application
Studios	I-Application
in	O
2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
and	O
only	O
game	O
to	O
be	O
developed	O
by	O
Red	B-Application
5	I-Application
Studios	I-Application
,	O
combining	O
elements	O
from	O
both	O
the	O
shooter	O
genre	O
and	O
some	O
role-playing	O
aspects	O
from	O
the	O
massive	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
online	I-Application
genre	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Firefall	B-Application
was	O
shut	O
down	O
in	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	B-Application
servers	I-Application
automatically	O
creates	O
or	O
shuts	O
down	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
available	O
shards	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
prevent	O
overcrowding	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Firefall	B-Application
's	O
servers	B-Application
use	O
cloud	B-Architecture
computing	I-Architecture
through	O
Amazon	B-Application
Web	I-Application
Services	I-Application
to	O
scale	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
servers	B-Application
to	O
fit	O
demand	O
,	O
automatically	O
acquiring	O
more	O
CPU	O
and	O
memory	O
during	O
peak	O
hours	O
and	O
releasing	O
them	O
when	O
they	O
are	O
no	O
longer	O
needed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	B-Application
server	I-Application
places	O
players	O
on	O
shards	O
where	O
they	O
are	O
most	O
likely	O
to	O
become	O
a	O
part	O
of	O
an	O
online	B-Architecture
community	I-Architecture
by	O
prioritizing	O
shards	O
with	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
friends	O
and	O
clanmates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
has	O
a	O
player	B-Application
driven	I-Application
economy	I-Application
with	O
features	O
designed	O
to	O
deter	O
gold	B-Protocol
farming	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	B-Protocol
client	I-Protocol
directly	O
interfaces	O
with	O
Twitch	O
,	O
which	O
allow	O
players	O
to	O
stream	O
their	O
play	O
sessions	O
without	O
requiring	O
a	O
third-party	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Firefall	B-Application
is	O
an	O
event	O
that	O
takes	O
place	O
in	O
2178	O
after	O
an	O
asteroid	O
predicted	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
near	O
miss	O
gets	O
caught	O
by	O
the	O
Moon	O
's	O
gravity	O
and	O
crashes	O
into	O
Earth	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
seemingly	O
unlimited	O
potential	O
of	O
Crystite	O
,	O
mankind	O
wanted	O
more	O
and	O
followed	O
the	O
trajectory	O
of	O
the	O
Asteroid	O
to	O
Alpha	O
Prime	O
,	O
a	O
star	O
system	O
in	O
Alpha	B-Application
Centauri	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
assumes	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
a	O
mercenary	B-Application
working	O
for	O
The	O
Accord	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Crystite	O
acts	O
as	O
an	O
in-game	B-Application
currency	I-Application
that	O
is	O
rewarded	O
to	O
the	O
player	O
for	O
completing	O
missions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Firefall	B-Application
used	O
a	O
custom	O
server	O
and	O
graphics	O
engine	O
with	O
its	O
renderer	O
based	O
on	O
Offset	O
Engine	O
by	O
Offset	B-Application
Software	I-Application
that	O
was	O
sold	O
to	O
Intel	O
in	O
February	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Offset	O
Engine	O
was	O
originally	O
built	O
for	O
Offset	B-Application
Software	I-Application
's	O
first	O
person	O
shooter	O
Project	B-Application
Offset	I-Application
that	O
was	O
cancelled	O
in	O
2010	O
by	O
Intel	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
failure	O
of	O
Larrabee	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Red	B-Application
5	I-Application
Studios	I-Application
relationship	O
with	O
Project	B-Application
Offset	I-Application
gave	O
them	O
full	O
access	O
to	O
source	O
code	O
,	O
which	O
they	O
heavily	O
modified	O
to	O
suit	O
their	O
needs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modifications	O
to	O
the	O
Offset	O
Engine	O
include	O
a	O
custom	O
texture	O
streaming	O
engine	O
,	O
a	O
character	O
and	O
terrain	O
system	O
designed	O
to	O
handle	O
hundreds	O
of	O
players	O
in	O
a	O
large	O
open	O
world	O
,	O
a	O
vegetation	O
and	O
prop	O
system	O
,	O
custom	O
lighting	O
and	O
FX	O
,	O
and	O
integration	O
of	O
Havok	B-General_Concept
Physics	I-General_Concept
onto	O
the	O
server-side	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Firefall	B-Application
was	O
under	O
development	O
for	O
over	O
five	O
years	O
with	O
its	O
title	O
undergoing	O
several	O
internal	O
name	O
changes	O
before	O
it	O
was	O
officially	O
announced	O
on	O
September	O
3	O
,	O
2010	O
at	O
the	O
Penny	O
Arcade	O
Expo	O
in	O
Seattle	O
where	O
it	O
received	O
high	O
praise	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Firefall	B-Application
has	O
made	O
numerous	O
changes	O
to	O
its	O
core	O
systems	O
throughout	O
its	O
beta	O
phase	O
:	O
iterating	O
on	O
different	O
progression	O
systems	O
,	O
trying	O
different	O
economic	B-Application
models	I-Application
,	O
and	O
testing	O
different	O
implementations	O
of	O
its	O
mission	O
types	O
and	O
back-end	O
server	O
technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
open	O
beta	O
ended	O
on	O
July	O
29	O
,	O
2014	O
with	O
the	O
game	O
being	O
released	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
or	O
through	O
an	O
in	O
house	O
installer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
art	O
style	O
in	O
Firefall	B-Application
is	O
primarily	O
inspired	O
by	O
Masamune	O
Shirow	O
's	O
Appleseed	O
,	O
Hayao	O
Miyazaki	O
,	O
and	O
Udon	O
Entertainment	O
's	O
Street	O
Fighter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Firefall	B-Application
Original	O
Soundtrack	O
was	O
composed	O
by	O
Michael	O
Bross	O
and	O
Boon	O
Sim	O
during	O
beta	O
with	O
Chris	O
Lord	O
&	O
JJ	O
Lee	O
composing	O
additional	O
soundtracks	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Red	B-Application
5	I-Application
Studios	I-Application
was	O
an	O
American	O
video	O
game	O
company	O
that	O
was	O
known	O
for	O
its	O
high	O
ratio	O
of	O
former	O
employees	O
of	O
Blizzard	O
Entertainment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
founders	O
previously	O
worked	O
on	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Warcraft	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mark	O
Kern	O
was	O
a	O
team	O
lead	O
,	O
William	O
Petras	O
was	O
art	O
director	O
,	O
and	O
Taewon	O
Yun	O
was	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
Korean	O
operation	O
which	O
oversaw	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Warcraft	I-Protocol
in	O
Asia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
's	O
only	O
game	O
release	O
was	O
Firefall	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
2007	O
,	O
Red	B-Application
5	I-Application
Studios	I-Application
launched	O
a	O
campaign	O
to	O
increase	O
the	O
size	O
of	O
the	O
organization	O
by	O
recruiting	O
the	O
top	O
game	O
developers	O
in	O
the	O
industry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
February	O
,	O
the	O
project	O
was	O
completed	O
,	O
and	O
each	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
dream	O
hires	O
"	O
was	O
delivered	O
a	O
package	O
containing	O
5	O
nested	O
art	O
boxes	O
,	O
with	O
an	O
iPod	B-Application
Shuffle	I-Application
containing	O
a	O
personalized	O
message	O
in	O
the	O
center	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
April	O
23	O
,	O
2009	O
,	O
Red	B-Application
5	I-Application
Studios	I-Application
announced	O
the	O
closing	O
of	O
their	O
Shanghai	O
office	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
8	O
,	O
2010	O
,	O
Red	B-Application
5	I-Application
Studios	I-Application
revealed	O
Firefall	B-Application
at	O
PAX	O
Prime	O
in	O
Seattle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2011	O
,	O
Red	O
5	O
announced	O
a	O
collaboration	O
with	O
Orson	O
Scott	O
Card	O
,	O
author	O
of	O
the	O
science	O
fiction	O
novel	O
Ender	O
's	O
Game	O
,	O
as	O
writer	O
of	O
the	O
Firefall	B-Application
story	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
a	O
manga	O
novel	O
co-written	O
by	O
his	O
daughter	O
Emily	O
Janice	O
Card	O
and	O
drawn	O
by	O
Joe	O
Ng	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
,	O
2011	O
after	O
PAX	O
Prime	O
,	O
Red	O
5	O
began	O
closed	O
beta	O
testing	O
on	O
Firefall	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Red	B-Application
5	I-Application
Studios	I-Application
pulled	O
support	O
from	O
2012	O
E3	O
in	O
protest	O
of	O
the	O
ESA	O
's	O
support	O
of	O
SOPA	B-Application
and	O
PIPA	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Red	O
5	O
announced	O
it	O
is	O
to	O
open	O
a	O
new	O
30-man	O
office	O
in	O
Cork	O
,	O
Ireland	O
,	O
initially	O
dedicated	O
to	O
European	O
support	O
and	O
localization	O
for	O
the	O
upcoming	O
free-to-play	O
shooter	O
Firefall	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
May	O
26	O
,	O
2015	O
,	O
Chris	O
Whiteside	O
,	O
the	O
former	O
lead	O
producer	O
of	O
ArenaNet	O
on	O
Guild	B-Application
Wars	I-Application
,	O
then	O
the	O
design	O
director	O
for	O
Guild	B-Protocol
Wars	I-Protocol
2	I-Protocol
,	O
attended	O
an	O
interview	O
as	O
a	O
member	O
of	O
Red	B-Application
5	I-Application
Studios	I-Application
,	O
stated	O
“	O
We	O
’ve	O
been	O
through	O
the	O
fire	O
,	O
and	O
we	O
’ve	O
grown	O
close	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
guys	O
(	O
Red	B-Application
5	I-Application
Studios	I-Application
)	O
have	O
bonded	O
into	O
a	O
truly	O
collaborative	O
business	O
,	O
and	O
our	O
overall	O
plan	O
is	O
to	O
become	O
the	O
best	O
online	O
world	O
building	O
studio	O
in	O
the	O
business	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Red	B-Application
5	I-Application
Studios	I-Application
in	O
November	O
2015	O
laid	O
off	O
40	O
employees	O
(	O
including	O
Chris	O
Whiteside	O
)	O
and	O
several	O
more	O
in	O
December	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
were	O
no	O
official	O
statements	O
regarding	O
the	O
future	O
of	O
Firefall	B-Application
from	O
The9	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
was	O
confirmed	O
that	O
the	O
servers	B-Application
were	O
still	O
on	O
,	O
however	O
the	O
authenticating	B-Application
servers	I-Application
for	O
new	O
players	O
were	O
not	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
July	O
7	O
,	O
2017	O
,	O
the	O
servers	B-Application
were	O
officially	O
shut	O
down	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Firefall	B-Application
launched	O
in	O
2014	O
to	O
mixed	O
reviews	O
primarily	O
criticizing	O
the	O
quest	O
design	O
as	O
repetitive	O
and	O
lackluster	O
group	O
play	O
mechanics	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
slow	O
world-travel	O
between	O
areas	O
.	O
</s>
