Leading a life of crime in Earthrise
Today's post-holiday Question of the Week for Earthrise concerns the game mechanics of being (and killing) criminals in the post-apocalyptic MMO. Players who opt to become felons will build up "Criminal Karma", what seems to be a sort of quantified notoriety. From what the developers are saying, it seems that going outlaw won't be a trivial choice, given such characters will be kill-on-sight in the more secure regions of Enterra island. Also, it may be difficult to wipe the slate clean if a character has a shady past.
According to Moll, the Earthrise Community Manager: "Criminals cannot clear their records, nor do they generate additional Karma by killing other criminals in safe zones." She adds that criminals who hunt down other criminals won't do so to repair their faction standings, rather there may be a good chance of obtaining loot by taking out a fellow wrongdoer. However, beyond such scenarios where 'evil fights evil', Earthrise's law-abiding citizens will have incentives for killing the criminals of Enterra; successfully knocking off criminal players will garner them extra Contribution rewards (faction standing).
The Earthrise developers also stress that the game will have safe(er) zones where the general populace will be protected from criminals by NPC guards. Moll writes: "Extreme criminals need to really watch their back, though. They may suffer a chain of deaths if they are not able to protect themselves for the time needed for their record to clear itself. Criminals should most likely stay away from safe zones during this time in order to not trigger guards and to consider their previous targets, who might be ready for a little revenge."
