Earthrise
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Earthrise newsletter updates fans on title's progress
The team at Masthead Studios has released another batch of info on the upcoming Earthrise MMO, through their August newsletter. It's become standard for the Masthead newsletters to profile members of the Earthrise team. This time it's Composer Pavel Benov who's featured. He talks about how he drew upon his punk and hardcore roots to create Earthrise's soundtrack, which will be a fusion of experimental ambient and industrial. There are also some highlights of the previous month's coverage of the post-apocalyptic title. But most of the revelations come through their Community Manager, Moll, who touches upon where Earthrise is in terms of beta testing. In addition, 'Issue IV' of the Earthrise newsletter has more concept art from the Eastern Gardens Creatures, showing off the npc spawns that will be devouring players when the game goes into beta, which Moll says will be later this year.
An early look at the lore of Earthrise
More information about the lore of Earthrise has surfaced, giving readers a preview of the post-apocalyptic MMO's setting of Enterra. Although still in a pre-beta stage of development at Masthead Studios, some details were already known about the organizations in Earthrise. The newest information comes from IGN's RPG Vault, which has released their first of three installments on the lore of Earthrise.The IGN pieces will focus on Continoma, the corporate entity that governs the lives of Enterra's citizens. "Continoma: The Beginning" looks at how the Continoma Project developed into humanity's only viable chance for survival, via genetic rebirth which followed the cataclysmic Third World War. If you're a fan of the lore in your MMOs and sci-fi is your thing, check out the full story over at RPG Vault.
Earthrise newsletter sheds more light on the road to beta
Masthead Studios has given beta-hopefuls another taste of what's to come in their sci-fi MMO Earthrise. Following the format of their previous two newsletters, Masthead Studios showcases some of what they've created to date on the road to the Autumn 2008 Earthrise beta. The Earthrise newsletter 'Issue III' announces a fan art contest with autographed concept art to be given away as prizes. On that note, they've also posted concept art of the Eastern Gardens creatures. Earthrise's Community Manager, Moll, highlights a number of interesting discussions on the official forums, namely player accountability (spying, scamming, alt play) and the factions that will polarize players in the game. Check out the latest Earthrise newsletter for the full low-down on how the game is shaping up.
An interview with Earthrise art director Nikolay Stoyanov
During a recent interview with Earthrise's Nikolay Stoyanov, we get a candid look into the influences and goals of this talented Art Director. This interview is mostly about himself as an artist, but there are also some points made about the game itself.Still though, we think it's a welcome change to hear an interview that is more about what makes a game developer tick. Once you learn more about the developers, you get a better feel for the game, why they made it and how much of their heart and soul they've put into it. In Stoyanov's case, he cites some examples of the biggest challenges he has faced so far with Earthrise. He also craftily avoids a question regarding any other MMOs he'd like to work on, and finishes off the interview with some helpful advice for aspiring game artists or designers.
Earthrise game mechanics confirmed in Masthead Studios dev chat
The creators of the sci-fi MMO Earthrise have been very active in recent months -- granting a number of interviews, releasing monthly newsletters, and participating in dev chats. Stratics recently hosted the third Earthrise 'House of Commons' dev chat, with three members of the Masthead Studios team.The Masthead Studios devs that took part were Atanas Atanasov (CEO of Masthead Studios), Apostol Apostolov (Lead Game Designer), and Moll (Community Manager). Their discussion ranged from the professions available to players to the extensive crafting system in the game. Read on after the jump for details straight from the devs about what we can expect from Earthrise.
Earthrise newsletter introduces dev team and their influences
Masthead Studios has released the second newsletter for their upcoming sci-fi MMO Earthrise. As with their first newsletter, it's full of hyperlinks to images and audio related to the game, however there are a few new additions this time around. We've read about the game itself in recent months, but until now little has been known about the people behind the scenes who are working to make Earthrise a reality. The newsletter features an introduction to the members of the Earthrise development team at Masthead Studios in the form of a short Q&A for each developer. Each of the devs discusses what brought them to work on the project, their influences, and what they do at Masthead Studios to further the creation of Earthrise. There's also screenshots of a new area on Enterra called The Nest and a hyperlinked recap of Earthrise's media coverage in the last month. But the real focus of the Earthrise newsletters is on the community, and a number of issues are showcased in the latest iteration.
The new player experience of Earthrise
The new player experience is not only crucial to any game's success, but it is particularly important to an MMOG, where developers can lose out on subscription income if players don't see anything that grabs them initially. So in a recent interview over at Ten Ton Hammer, Atanas Atanasov, the CEO of Masthead Studios discusses how Earthrise will approach this concern.He mentions the fact that character creation will be fairly involved, with the ability to customize many features of your character, yet you won't be overwhelmed with too many choices on class or statistics right away. Atanasov also mentions that Masthead Studios has developed their own game engine from scratch that will utilize both DirectX9 and DirectX10 so that it will be accessible to more computers. Be sure to check out more of the in-depth interview over at TTH for more information.
Earthrise organizations revealed
Masthead Studios has released information about the factions that will populate the post-apocalyptic setting of Earthrise. These groups are referred to as 'organizations' rather than factions; players will work with them to gain access to 'design technology'. This acquired technology can be applied to items, 'creating unique, powerful, and highly sought-after creations.' The details released thus far on these four organizations in Earthrise suggest that the game will have high science/technomagic and psionics, as well as 'light' peacekeepers and 'dark' mercenaries. The organization descriptions also give some clues as to how they will relate to one another in the game's Enterra Island locale.
Physics engine grounds Earthrise players
Being grounded in this case is a positive thing. Honest. Moll, the Community Manager for the sci-fi MMO Earthrise, typically fields a 'Question of the Week' over at the game's forums. This time, Moll answered a few related questions in one go, writing about the physics engine in Earthrise. Moll stressed that Masthead Studios wanted to balance client requirements with server load, while trying to build a realistic experience for Earthrise's players:"The physics engine will run simultaneously on the client and on the server. The server will ensure that the physics results from the client are feasible and prevent cheating. We are using a 3rd party physics core, which can take advantage of hardware and GPU acceleration and also have some internally-coded subsystems." Sound will be tightly integrated with all physics effects in the game, adding another layer of realism. Best of all is the revelation about Earthrise's physics engine: it will feature ragdoll style effects.
Brilliant flora to permeate Earthrise
Masthead Studios has licensed SpeedTree modeling software to add a higher degree of realism to their upcoming MMO Earthrise. The software suite is now used extensively in the game industry for foliage modeling. What, you've never heard of SpeedTree? Well you've almost certainly seen it before. You're not likely to stop and notice the trees and shrubs as the FBI and military are trying to cut you down with automatic weapons in GTA IV. You probably won't admire the indigenous plantlife while you're trying to frag your opponents in Unreal Tournament III either. But the unnoticed backdrop for your carnage in these games was built with SpeedTree. While we may not pay attention to them directly, these details that permeate our virtual environments can have a big impact on our immersion in those settings. Neverwinter Nights 2, Crackdown and Viking: Battle for Asgard are other prominent titles enhanced by SpeedTree. Earthrise is in good company on the MMO front with Masthead's decision to use SpeedTree, joining the ranks of Stargate Worlds, Fury, and Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. If the actual game environments can live up to the screenshots Masthead Studios has released, Earthrise stands to be one gorgeous MMO.
Earthrise newsletter offers glimpses of dystopian future
Some of us at Massively just can't seem to get enough info about the upcoming sci-fi MMO Earthrise. Hitting their forums regularly and following the recent surge of Masthead Studios interviews surrounding the title still leaves this blogger hoping for something more. But it seems those unspoken wishes have been granted -- Masthead Studios has released their first monthly Earthrise newsletter and will continue to churn out newsletters right up until it's time for launch. The May '08 newsletter showcases a section of hyperlinks to Masthead Studios' media coverage over the past two months. This issue also features Community Corner, a recap of the major news and topics found on the official site's forums offered up by Moll, Earthrise's Community Manager. In addition, there's a statement by Atanas Atanasov, CEO of Masthead Studios, as well as some obligatory new Earthrise screenshots.
The sun also rises on a post-apocalyptic world
"[Earthrise is] a game that is about freedom. [It is] not the usual fantasy MMO." So says George Petrov, the Technical Director for Bulgarian based Masthead Studios' post-apocalyptic, sci-fi MMO.In a recent interview, Petrov explains that the game takes place on the island of Enterra, which they hope to make one continuous area. They don't like instances so players should be able to run from one end of the world to another devoid of load screens. While they're not guaranteeing anything at this point, they hope to also have the whole of the game and it's players reside in a single world.The screenshots (not all of which are available on the official website) released so far, and which have increased in regularity over the last few weeks, shows an artistic, photorealistic world. Mastheads plans on making sure Earthrise runs on as many machines as possible by offering scalable graphics options. Petrov said they aren't proponents of the microtransaction business model, so expect a monthly subscription fee like most U.S. based MMOs.[via WarCry]
Questing around Earthrise
This weeks question for the Earthrise devs asks: what types of quests will be available? Earthrise is geared towards player cooperation and PvP, but the devs aren't neglecting the casual gamers. They still want players to be able to solo through the multiplayer environment and advance their character (notice how thy didn't say "level up") without being forced to play with a group. As such, quests will be plentiful.Quests will follow a storyline based on the conflict between the Continoma and Noir. Many of these questions will have multiple solutions, allowing players to pick their side - or change it. Some quests will be repeatable (letting players change what they've done in the past), others will not. Players can follow the storyline for as long as they want, stop and pursue any of the numerous randomly generated quests, then come back to the main storyline.
An interview with Masthead Studios' CEO
Mark Arsenault of MPOGD.com sat down with Atanas Atanasov, CEO of Masthead Studios, and grilled him about their upcoming post-apocalyptic MMO, Earthrise. It's a very lengthy and intriguing interview chock-full of good stuff.Earthrise will offer a "true sandbox experience" and give plays unparalleled freedom, including the ability to customize almost every aspect of the character. PvP will be a very important part of the game and is tided into the lore, which has players fighting for control over pieces of a ravaged pacific island called Enterra. As such, players will be able to attack any other player (at any time) if they are in a non-secure area.As we mentioned in an article a few days ago, every item will be crafted by the players. Atanasov gives even more details about this game mechanic. Apparently players will be able to "overclock" certain items. Instead of providing static effects, players will be able to actually define the effect value of an item. Forcing that value to high ("overclocking" it) is a risk/reward scenario. Push it too high and it might fry the component completely; push it just right, and ya got yourself something truly unique.While I'm not a big crafter, this feature sounds fantastic and may lend itself to some very sweet loot that I'm sure the game's economic system will benefit from. Closed beta begins this summer with open beta occurring just prior to release.
New Earthrise screenshots dawn
After weeks of the same old handful of screenies, Masthead Studios has doled out three new Earthrise screenshots to the gang at MMORPG. The one above gives me goose bumps. I love me some post-apocalyptic ruin, and this magnificent shot brings a tear of joy to my eye. It's... magnificent.And yes... I do dream of being Mad Max, zipping around the Australian wastelands in my souped up death mobile. Thank you very much.
Earthrise, crafting, and you
"Every item in Earthrise will be crafted by its players."Wow, that's a bold statement from the devs. Apparently the game's crafting system will go far beyond tinkering with your standard weapons, armor and equipment. Players will actually be able to mix their own drugs and medicine, erect buildings, fix vehicles and even build mechanized exoskeletons. Exoskeletons + post-apocalyptic setting = winnah! Crafting can help to make or break a game (for some). I'm not one of those people. So when they say "crafting in Earthrise is a complex process that is easy to understand but ultimately difficult to master." It really better be easy or I'm just gonna forget about it, hop into my exoskeleton and go Ripley on some mutants. The Q&A really is a good read, and gives some very detailed specifics on how the whole system will pan out (theoretically). Check it out!
Masthead talks mad apocalyptic skillz
Via MMORPG we've learned that the Earthrise community has lobbed another Question of the Week at Masthead Studios. This time forum members want to know what's up with the lack of classes and the game's "one for all, all for one" skill system.According to Masthead, characters in Earthrise won't have classes or be forced down one exclusive development path. All players have the same choice of skills and abilities. This is done because they feel many MMOs have problems balancing skills and fall into a rut by forcing players into rather rigid "ultimate build" classes. In Earthrise a customizable action template will allow enhancement using a special system that lets players modify their abilities and create new ones. And while players may get a slight boost based on their build, there will also be disadvantages to their choices. Masthead puts it like this: "Think of this as the paper/rock/scissors game, where 'the best' character template will be beatable by another 'best' character template." This same system will apply to equipment and loot. Masthead goes into much more detail about the above issues, as well as talks about PvP and loot drops, and how both will be more of a player-centric experience rather than item-centric one. It all sounds fascinating, and if they can pull it off might actually create a game partially devoid of the age old grind. Only time will tell, but my own personal interest in this game has piqued tremendously over the last month as more and more info is divulged.
Earthrise to do what reality doesn't
Three new questions were asked by the Earthrise community for the devs at Masthead Studios to answer. While all three give us a bit more insight into the game, the biggest question had to do with PvP. Specifically, will players actually be able to attack people in their own faction.The short answer is: Yes. Because Earthrise's setting is a dynamic and "edgy" place the devs didn't want players to have to play by their rules. While players will be able to attack and even kill members of their own faction, it doesn't mean the act won't go without consequences. Something that appears to be missing in today's reality. Murdering -- and that's what it really boils down to -- people within your own faction is one of the most egregious acts a player can commit. Clearing your name will be very difficult, plus your actions will have consequences out in the wild by becoming a target for other criminals. Much more is revealed about the game mechanics, and the more I read about this game, the more I want to play it. If you're interested in this post apocalyptic sci-fi MMO set in the distant future, be sure to give it a read.
Earthrise gets two new wallpapers
The brand new MMO on the block -- Earthrise, from Masthead Studios -- has a couple new wallpapers for anybody interested in something new to look at on your desktop. We always appreciate it when wallpapers come with a widescreen resolution option. Since we were already on the Earthrise website, we took the chance to check out their "About Earthrise" page and found a handy bullet-point list of features to expect in Masthead's upcoming game. One thing that stood out to us more than anything else was a feature towards the bottom of the list that says, "Character progression that keeps you advancing in your career even when you're not logged in." As far as we're aware, EVE Online is currently the only MMO that allows for character progression out-of-game -- it should be interesting to see what they do. We think the whole conceptual feature-list for Earthrise is super-interesting.[via MMORPGdot]
Post-apocalyptic MMO Earthrise announced
We just began discussion earlier this month on a horror-flavoured MMO, Requiem: Bloodymare. As sci-fi, pirates, and tales of the undead begin to fill in where once only fantasy dared to tread, we're starting to see more and more new games stray from the norms of the MMO genre. Today's announcement of a new post-apocalyptic game, then, shouldn't come as too much of a surprise.Joining the in-the-works title Fallen Earth in the Mad Maxian genre, Earthrise is a title being developed by the Bulgarian studio Masthead. The game is to be set after a third world war, which finds our planet more-or-less a wasteland. Our species is on its way to the conclusion of all Darwinian evolution, but a few brave souls are fighting on to keep the light of civilization burning. A corporate-run government has created a semi-utopia, populated by clones of citizenry stored in massive genetic databases. Not all is well, of course - the government is fascist, keeping tight control over the meager resources available to the fledgling society. Rival factions are fighting for control of the hearts and minds of the cloned populace, and players will get to choose who they throw their influence behind.Also, as you can see in the above screenshot, there looks to be monsters. Not sure how they fit in, but perhaps they're mutants left in the wake of the world war? The press release from the Masthead Studios indicates they're very keen on exploring PvP and market-based gameplay as well as tradition PVE gaming. Do you think this is going to work out? Post-apocalyptic gaming is a very different animal from your standard fantasy fair. Another doomed niche product, or a breath of fresh air for the genre?[Via Warcry]
