When the game launches, all I see is a black screen and I hear sound. I never even make it to the character selection screen. What should I do?

This could mean that the server is down for a scheduled maintenance. In order to make sure, please visit the Fallen Earth forums and check the Server Status section for the appropriate server. 

If this is happening when the servers are not down, your system may be having trouble connecting to the login server. The first step is to make sure that FEUpdater.exe and frontend.exe (located in your main Fallen Earth directory) are added to the exceptions list for both your firewall and anti-virus software. If this doesn't solve the issue, try disabling the program only long enough to see if the results change. If this doesn't help, try closing down all other applications like Instant Messaging, Voice over IP, active virus scanners in case they are causing interference. If you continue to experience issues, you may send a report of everything you've tried along with a DXDiag to us for further assistance.