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Earthrise patch coming soon, roadmap features delayed
Fans of Masthead Studios' Earthrise MMORPG have waited a long time between patches. According to producer Atanas Atanasov, the wait is almost over. A new post on the official Earthrise boards details what players can expect when the new version goes live toward "the end of this week, or early next week at the latest." The patch will include fixes for the inventory stacking bug and the problems with party experience gain. The game's shadow renders are also being tweaked, and AI attacks through walls and other solid objects are being addressed. Atanasov also tells us that the previously reported development roadmap has undergone a few revisions, and most of the items on that particular list are being delayed in favor of improving Earthrise's graphical performance. "Due to changes in our priority list you can expect [a] delay of some roadmap features such as vehicles, inverse kinematics, quest hints on the minimap, and item painting," Atanasov explains. "Our expectations are that you will see them in game in June/July 2011."
Masthead reveals new Earthrise beta video
Launch date for Earthrise is drawing near, and those curious about Masthead Studios' sci-fi sandbox now have a bit more information to chew on thanks to the release of a new beta video. The clip features PvE and PvP gameplay, and also offers a glimpse into several locations around the world of Enterra, including the Cascade Mountains, Seyenand, and Sal Vitas square. New equipment is also on display during the combat portions of the video, and you'll be able to see a T5 core flamer, a shielding bubble, and other equipment in action. The Earthrise beta is also taking on new testers according to Masthead CEO Atanas Atanasov, so head over to the official website to sign up if you haven't already. "We are adding new testers every day, and our team continues to take all the feedback and suggestions from players into consideration as we progress toward launch in February," Atanasov said.
Masthead prepping new Earthrise beta client, additional beta keys
Launch day for Earthrise is closing fast, and Masthead Studios is gearing up for the throng of sci-fi sandbox fans looking to make a new home on the game's single worldwide server. Masthead is also pushing a new version of the beta client to the game's test servers and will be distributing more beta invites in the very near future. The new client features combat and tactical tweaks, changes to crafting skills and item insurance, and revamped graphics and animations. "The development team has been working around the clock to continually add new gameplay functions and we are thrilled for our community of testers to become further immersed and share their thoughts with us," says Masthead CEO Atanas Atanasov. As for getting your hands on that elusive beta key, you'll want to head to the official site and sign up for your chance to win.
Masthead confirms Earthrise digital release date, system requirements
The team at Masthead Studios has nailed down a definitive launch date for Earthrise. The sci-fi sandbox MMORPG will be available via digital distribution on February 4th, with a European retail box and exclusive content to follow. "We have worked incredibly hard to make Earthrise the best sandbox MMORPG on the market, and we can't wait for players to fully experience all of our hard work and become immersed in Enterra," said Masthead's Atanas Atanasov in a press release dated this morning. In addition to last week's announcement that players will gather on a single worldwide server, the studio has also detailed the game's system requirements: OS: Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista SP1, Windows 7 Free hard drive space: 20 GB CPU: 2.4+ GHz Single Core Processor RAM: 2 GB Video Card: NVIDIA 7800GT+ or ATI Radeon 9800 SE 256-bit High bandwidth internet connection (DSL, Cable)
APB's Book-Larsson talks story, game modes
Bjorn Book-Larsson is back! Forgive the exclamation point, but we had to accentuate the latest in the long line of developers with action hero names (and with apologies to Atanas Atanasov and Tasos Flambouras, Book-Larsson has vaulted near the top of the spiffy name list). In any case, the GamersFirst COO/CTO has updated his APB Reloaded blog with some interesting insights into the game's story. Yes, you read that right; we said story and APB in the same sentence, and before you think we've been brainwashed by the likes of The Old Republic, TERA, and other story-centric MMOs in the offing, consider Book-Larsson's assertion that APB was originally designed to facilitate the "open world-ish" nature of the Grand Theft Auto series. "APB actually has the beginnings of a lot of the elements that will make it a really successful game in the long term, and could in theory exploit (maybe complete) both types of interactions [story and shooter elements]; there is actually a giant backstory to the entire city (100 plus pages of it), there are deep anthologies of the various factions in the city, and there is even the foundation for a single-player mission mode," he writes. Whether or not players will care about APB's potential to grow beyond an ordinary shooter remains to be seen. After all, Global Agenda is a similar title with a fairly deep backstory (and one that is summarily ignored by 99.9% of the players fragging it up in AvA and merc matches). The fact that GamersFirst is even considering future additions to APB is relatively exciting news, and we'll be watching with great interest.
Earthrise announces European publishing deal, February release date
Bulgaria-based Masthead Studios has just announced a partnership with Iceberg Interactive to publish the sci-fi sandbox MMORPG Earthrise. The agreement covers the whole of Europe, and a press release on Iceberg's official website says that the game will be coming to European retail in February 2011. The release also hints at "exclusive extra content for boxed version buyers" as well as plans for localized versions to be announced at a later date. Earthrise is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi game set in the 21st century that features open PvP, a complex crafting system, skill-based advancement, and a player-driven economy.
Masthead shows off Earthrise beta video
Earthrise fans are waking up to an early Christmas present this morning in the form of a lengthy new closed beta gameplay video available on the official website. While developer Masthead Studios has provided a steady stream of screenshots (and even a few interviews) over the last several months, footage of the sandbox title in action has been extremely hard to come by. No longer. Thanks to the five minute clip, we now have a clearer picture of the game's UI as well as an idea of how the PvP and PvE plays out. The footage also shows off various locales around the world of Enterra including Arcology, Autonomy, the Blasted Region, the Borderland zones, and the Hatchery. "The Masthead team is thrilled to finally offer more of our fans a window into the Earthrise beta testing environment. Our developers have been working exhaustively to fine-tune all of the game's features to deliver a uniquely captivating gaming experience, and we are very anxious for all of our fans to see it," says producer Atanas Atanasov. Check it out at the official Masthead website and let us know what you think in the comments.
Earthrise's Atanas Atanasov strikes back
Masthead's Atanas Atanasov returns with another interview about the studio's upcoming Earthrise MMORPG. This time around, the focus is fairly general, with topics ranging from the economy, to PvP, to the type of player that will enjoy Earthrise. "While casual players can enjoy the game without going too in-depth, the interwoven player-run economy and complex social competition for influence and resources provide addictive mechanics for hardcore players to fine-tune their characters," he says. With over 800 crafting technologies and a skill-based combat engine, the game aims to provide plenty of sandbox for players looking for something outside the mainstream of the holy trinity quest grinder. Earthrise also looks to depart from the norm by encouraging player interaction, to the point that Atanasov says it will be hard to progress on your own. "There are no rats that can drop you a high-tier rifle; no bosses with epic loot that out-stats every other item in the game; no quest will supply you with good gear - you have to rely on crafting or larceny to earn your bread," he says.
Atanas Atanasov talks Earthrise PvP, crafting, and payment models
GameOgre has scored an interview with Masthead Studios director and Earthrise producer Atanas Atanasov that's worth a read (and not just because Atanas Atanasov is quite possibly the coolest game dev name in history, with all due respect to Tasos Flambouras and Ragnar Tornquist). Anyhow, Atanasov answers a hefty number of questions covering a wide range of topics including the inspiration and backstory for the game, the purpose behind the title's open PvP, and a few details on the crafting system. "Almost every item in the game comes from crafting and the whole economy and combat system is aimed at conquering territories and supplying resources to the guild and friendly crafters," he says. Atanasov also weighs in on the decision to go with a subscription model for the sci-fi sandbox, a move that bucks current industry trends and is something the Masthead dev team has alluded to before. "A subscription-based game puts players on level ground by giving them all access to the whole world and every game feature. We want to make sure that every player in Earthrise will be treated equally and there will not be paying and non-paying players, players with purchased gear, and players with free gear. Earthrise is an all-inclusive title, pay once and enjoy everything that's included," he says.
Earthrise's Atanas Atanasov on grinding and more
German fan site Onlinewelten.com managed to snag an interview with Masthead Studios boss Atanas Atanasov regarding the forthcoming science fiction MMORPG known as Earthrise. Information on Masthead's post-apocalyptic sci-fi title is hard to come by, and we're always happy to see additional details come to light. The lengthy interview touches on everything from the player-controlled economy, to combat and exploration modes, to grinding. "Grinding has its advantages and disadvantages," says Atanasov. "Its disadvantages are well known and boil down to repetitiveness that can dumb down a game when left out of control. In Earthrise grinding will be possible, as collecting resources and components from mobs will bring organic material needed for many technologies. Still, it will not dictate that the players must spend time grinding if they don't want to." Hit the link to read the full interview.
Earthrise video footage a peek at PvP combat
Masthead Studios now has a YouTube page for their upcoming title Earthrise. The first video they've put up is very short, but we thought our readers might be interested to know it's there, in any case. "Earthrise Dynamic Targeting" is a quick (and annotated) look at PvP in Earthrise. The footage shows a character geared towards close combat engaging another close combat opponent, as well as a second equipped for ranged attacks. We see that although Earthrise combatants see their character and surroundings in third person, players manually target their opponents with crosshairs. As the video annotations mention, the game is in early closed beta and what is shown in this footage is still rough. Masthead Studios expects to roll out improvements over time, including improved animations and graphics as well as UI changes. If you're interested in seeing more of Earthrise, we've got the video embed for you below the cut.
