Vostok Games has detailed the free play mode of its upcoming survival FPS, Survarium.

Distinct from the game’s PvP match modes, Freeplay provides the game’s story, as well as vast maps for player interaction and conflict.

Players will be able to perform tasks for factions, participate in random events, and explore the map in order to gain experience, reputation, money, and valuable items.

Each character only has one life, and death kicks the player out to the game lobby, while those remaining pick over what the deceased character has left behind. New players in a weak outfit will not be able to explore the entire map, and the most dangerous areas will be available only to players with the best gear.

There will be no time limit for gameplay in an area, but there will be a limit on the number of players that can be in the location.

“We want to maintain an atmosphere of exploration and this is only possible when meeting with another player will be a rare event, not an ordinary situation,” said Vostok.

If one of the players dies or leaves the location, his or her place will be taken by a beginner. To leave, a player must travel to one of the special locations which are located on the edge of the map.

Every two hours or so, a storm event takes place. Players get a 15 minute warning before it begins, and any that fail to find shelter or leave the area in that time will be killed when it arrives.

After the storm has passed, a number of very valuable items are scattered around the land, and storm survivors get a 10 minute headstart to search for these prizes, after which some of the prizes are destroyed and the location accepts newly-connecting players.

The game world changes without the participation of players, too. Mutants periodically attack survivors, and the survivors fight mutants or each other. Each of these events is a source of side quests for players, and depending on which faction has the most players, the balance of power can be shifted and make story missions easier or harder.

There will be three types of quests available:

◆ Story quests are given to the players in the lobby. They are associated with advancing the plot and can only be done in Freeplay mode. Story quests allow multiple solutions and are added to the game as the story progresses with updates.

◆ Secondary quests are issued on behalf of a faction, with which the player cooperates. This quest is issued at the entrance to the location and usually indicates some side goal or solution to the current story quest.

◆ There are also random quests which the player receives during the game directly while playing. In Freeplay mode, there are neither allies nor enemies. The relationship between players solely depends on the players themselves. Often players will get a competing task. For example: one player will have the quest to protect a camp and the other to destroy the camp.

“On the one hand, we don't want to make players ‘Terminators’ that can withstand a shot in the head from a sniper rifle, but on the other hand, players dying from an invisible enemy is also not a good thing,” said Vostok.

“[So] we decided to display the ‘counter contacts’ which indicates the number of other players in the range of approximately 150 meters. You will be able to see which players are nearby, as well as contact them.”

Each player in Freeplay mode will have a karma level. If you help others and behave well, your karma grows. If you do things like kill other players, your karma falls.

Your karma is visible to other players, a bounty can be put on your head, and a certain amount of karma is required for some quests.

Survarium's PvP mode is currently in open beta.