post-apocalyptic
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Earthrise developers explain siege territory gameplay
Earthrise is a sci-fi MMO currently in development at Masthead Studios in Bulgaria, one which aims to merge sandbox gameplay with a post-apocalyptic setting. By all indications, Earthrise will be a game where players can band together to work towards world control, while of course struggling against opposing forces with similar goals.This territorial control between guilds will be a key aspect of Earthrise and the latest 'Question of the Week' on the game's official forums addresses the game mechanics connected with such pursuits. Earthrise community manager Moll has posted "Siege Territory gameplay + defensive structures" which explains how guild bases will be integral in capturing and holding territory, as well as some of the ways these structures will allow guilds to tap the resources of a given territory. In addition, specific structures will allow for mass production, serve as power plants, and provide teleporters for moving troops between territories. There's plenty more info on the advantages of territorial control to be found in the latest round of Q&A's with the developers at Masthead Studios.
Earthrise lead technical artist Ed Mattinian discusses visual influences
The Bulgaria-based developer Masthead Studios is hard at work on their first massively multiplayer online game Earthrise, a title that's equal parts sci-fi and post-apocalyptic. Nolvadex from the Italian MMO news site Gamesource spoke with the game's lead technical artist Ed Mattinian about the look of Earthrise. Mattinian discusses balancing form with function when it comes to how technology is depicted in the game, trying to create a futuristic world that's not simply cold and sterile. He says, "I'd say that technological products have their own beauty to them. It's all about function and how that 'product' -- be it a weapon, a craft, or a teleporter - is designed for its function. That's the beauty that we're looking for."
Fallen Earth takes the road tour to Triangle Game Conference
If there's one thing many MMO players are chomping at the bit for, it's a good, solid crunchy post-apocalyptic MMO to sink their teeth into. That's why the team behind the upcoming sci-fi game, Fallen Earth, have been touring around the United States showing off their game to hungry onlookers; and it appears the folks in Raleigh, NC are soon to be next! We've recieved notice that the team at Fallen Earth LLC will be showing off all the rugged, dangerous fun at the First Annual Triangle Game Conference on April 29th and 30th. According to the press release, the TCG is "the East Coast forum for networking, career building and sharing of the area's gaming industry expertise" and will offer a program of lectures by industry experts. They're also planning to offer attendees a Career Lounge and Game Development University to check out as well. As Raleigh is turning into a gamer hotspot, this should prove to be an interesting event. Those interested in attending and checking out Fallen Earth preview awesomeness should head over to the Triangle Game Conference site - or if you're a bit too far away to make it, remember that Fallen Earth is still accepting people for their beta!
Masthead Studios announces GNi as worldwide server host for Earthrise
Masthead Studios is a relative newcomer to the massively multiplayer online game industry and is presently developing the post-apocalyptic MMO Earthrise, a sandbox game where players will vie for control over finite resources in a large, open world. As players of another prominent sandbox MMO know very well, ensuring smooth operations in an unsharded game requires a substantial investment in server technology. To this end, Masthead Studios has partnered with server infrastructure provider GNi to host Earthrise. GNi's 'Infrastructure as a Service' (IaaS) offers "dedicated storage, network, and server capacity on a pay-as-you-grow model." With this week's announcement, Masthead Studios joins companies like Vivox and Frogster Interactive Pictures AG as a GNi client. [Via IGN]
Rumor: Bethesda likely to sue Interplay over inaction on Fallout MMO
We must confess our lack of shock concerning today's rumor that Bethesda could be taking legal action against the previous owner of the Fallout IP. The rumor traces back to the MMO rights for everyone's favorite post-apocalyptic jaunt.Interplay was supposed to have engaged in full-scale development on the Fallout MMO by last Thursday, April 9th and this apparently also included raising the funds for the game as well. We know some sort of movement had been made, but apparently it was too little, too late. That's a tall order for any company to pursue, especially one with a very sordid financial history.Should Bethesda move forward with this and win, we can only assume the company will pursue its own Fallout MMO. Then again, who's to say they haven't been planning for such an occurrence all along? Bethesda was contacted for comment, but declined to do so.
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.
Fallen Earth rated M for Mature by ESRB
Fallen Earth is the upcoming post-apocalyptic massively multiplayer online game where players will soon be carving out a living in a world ravaged by viral and nuclear armageddon. Not that we really thought a game where fending off packs of mutated anarchist bikers out in the wasteland Mad Max-style was really going to be "family-oriented entertainment", but Fallen Earth LLC has now made it official. Circatrix from the Fallen Earth team writes, "Thought you all should be the first to know that we've received our rating from the ESRB board and we're classified as an M (Mature). You'll start to see this in our ads and videos moving forward." We're glad to hear that they're not toning down the game's themes simply to reach a younger audience, and Massively will be keeping an eye on Fallen Earth as it gets closer to launch.
Earthrise videos show game mechanics and zones
The post-apocalyptic MMO title Earthrise from Masthead Studios has caught our attention, perhaps even moreso since we heard of their involvement with the much-rumored Fallout MMO. Massively ran a fairly comprehensive look at Earthrise from our meeting with them at GDC 2009 and the game seems to be coming along rather well in terms of development. We came across something else interesting today over at MMORPG.com that might interest our readers. Masthead Studios CEO Atanas Atanasov gave MMORPG.com a demo of Earthrise which they captured in video in two parts.The first video introduces some of the core aspects of playing Earthrise, with the system of skills, abilities, tactics, and stances explained briefly while moving about in a starter zone. The second bit of in-game footage focuses on Earthrise's zones. It shows off the contrast between the utopian Eastern Gardens and a devastated region, once a city and now a buffer between the game's civilized areas and the wasteland. Both videos are worth checking out over at MMORPG.com.
Fallen Earth dev diary focuses on introducing new players to PvP
Fallen Earth is one of three post-apocalyptic massively muliplayer online games currently in development that are a far cry from the fantasy titles which have proven most popular in the MMO world. IGN scored an exclusive two part developer diary from Fallen Earth writer and content developer Wes Platt who discusses creating the PvP starter town of Terance. Namely, he explains how and why the Fallen Earth team has been putting so much work into Terance and the challenges and pitfalls faced in differentiating the PvP-centric area from other more standard towns in the game. The first part is "Building the Town of Terance". It paints a picture of a post-apocalyptic aftermath setting where a psychotic artificial intelligence, long since sealed away underground by its corporate progenitors and forced into a century of dormancy, is woken with dire consequences. Now powered up, the AI -- TETRAX -- prepares once again to work towards the extermination all human beings in its vicinity. Human beings in Terance may find themselves on the run, hunted by AI-directed zombies called Diggers, as well as mutants and vermin.
Fans to determine stops on Fallen Earth dev tour
We've mentioned a unique approach the Fallen Earth team is taking to promotion of their post-apocalyptic MMO, a US dev tour. At least one of us at Massively first pictured something like the Gwar tour bus roving about the U.S., or a caravan of armor plated VW buses stuffed with mohawked techno-fetishist cannibals. The reality is far more mundane (less lawnmower blade boomerangs, more 'grassroots'), but at least you won't be risking life and limb to preview the game and speak with the Fallen Earth creators. Even better, the fans themselves can determine the next stop on the Fallen Earth dev tour by sending SMS text-based votes to the dev team. So if you're hungry for more Fallen Earth info, you can apparently have the devs delivered. The list of 15 potential cities and the rules about how to vote through SMS are listed on the Fallen Earth contest announcement page. They've got an FAQ there as well that should cover most of the questions that could arise in connection with the contest.
GDC09: Massively previews Huxley, a hybrid sci-fi MMO and FPS
Huxley: The Dystopia is a massively multiplayer online first-person shooter (MMOFPS) in development at NHN USA. We haven't heard much about the title since mid-2008, so we were happy that NHN USA was willing to sit down with us at GDC 2009. We spoke with Andy Hong, Huxley's Project Manager, who showed us some of the basic concepts behind the game. Huxley is a persistent world built upon Unreal Engine 3 foundations and is a game that differs from many of the MMOs we cover at Massively. Like other titles entering the market such as Global Agenda, Huxley is a marriage of the twitch combat of a first person shooter with classes, skills, trading, banking, and player housing we associate with MMOs. "At the core of the gameplay in Huxley, at its heart, it's an FPS," says Hong. But the depth of the rest of Huxley's gameplay, not limited to its quest and crafting systems, makes it a title quite unlike any pure FPS. %Gallery-48874%
GDC09: Massively previews Earthrise
The futuristic game Earthrise is one of the upcoming sci-fi massively multiplayer games that we can see on the horizon. It's the first MMO developed by Sofia-based Masthead Studios and features the post-apocalyptic setting of a world divided between utopian idealism and revolution. Massively had a chance to sit down with Masthead Studios CEO Atanas Atanasov at the Game Developers Conference 2009 where he gave us a walkthrough of Earthrise, shedding some light on what this new title may bring to the MMO world.%Gallery-48760%
GDC09: Massively previews Earthrise page 2
The struggle for dominance Earthrise will be a very PvP-centric title, with open PvP and full looting adding greater risk to combat. How long will players have to loot fallen opponents (or allies)? Atanasov says, "There will be a time limit. Right now we're planning for 30 seconds, which means that once you die nobody can pick up your inventory for that first 30 seconds. So you have the time to choose whether or not you want your inventory back," at a cost, of course. A key game mechanic that's central to Earthrise's combat is a player's "battle rating" which is a numerical ranking of how tough you are (as presently skilled/equipped) and conversely how tough your opposition is. Your own battle rating and that of your opponents determines the experience you can gain from defeating them, or how juicy a target you are to them. Your battle rating is determined by a few factors. The armor and weapons you equip and the abilities you've learned largely dictate battle rating. A target's battle rating will be visible to you and determines how much experience you'll get from taking down a mutant or other opponent. The battle rating system will also give players flexibility in how quickly they advance. For example, you may be very strong but if you want greater experience gains from taking on weaker opponents you can choose to use weaker gear to match. In effect, you lower your own battle rating but earn more rewards by facing a greater challenge. The battle rating system isn't just a system that determines individual gains, it will also carry over to groups. Atanasov says, "I would say it's very unique in the MMO field. Nobody has tried it so far. I hope it will work well and will bring some new ideas to the future of MMO games."
Fallen Earth comes to life in new trailer
We've seen this game hit content concentration; be retooled; offer holiday greetings; had a chance to talk to the developers just a few days ago at GDC about how Fallen Earth is progressing, and now, we have a shiny new trailer to drool over. With all the news about different mounts, all about the deep, evolving storyline, PvP and so much more, we're ready to step into 2156 and start kludging our equipment together already. Until then, it looks like we'll have to content ourselves with checking out the most recent video from the Fallen Earth team - placed behind the break for your viewing enjoyment - and hoping we get lucky enough to be selected for the closed beta.
GDC09: Massively's Fallen Earth interview
We had a chance to sit down with the Fallen Earth guys yesterday at GDC 2009 and came away from the experience very ready to roll deep into our post apocalyptic futures of 2156.What can we say? A dynamic mission system that reacts not only to faction alignment, but also storyline choices made by the player is probably what began our newly formed obsession. Although, an open class system emphasizing player choice certainly added to our excitement.Watch out, because when you see an avatar gardening in Fallen Earth? That could be us, packing a basket of flowers and herb. And a flame thrower... and sniper rifle... and... well, probably a revolver, too. Did we also mention the horses, ATVs, trucks, dune buggies and muscle cars as mounts? All this, and much more can be found just beyond the hyperlink precipice.%Gallery-48606%
Fallen Earth dev journal focuses on weapon balance
The upcoming post-apocalyptic MMO Fallen Earth has the potential to bring a very different kind of setting to the fantasy-dominated landscape in massively multiplayer titles. One of the interesting aspects of Fallen Earth is the variety of weaponry players can obtain. In true Mad Max fashion, the game's weaponry can can often be found and modified objects, bringing a 'use what works' approach to inflicting harm upon your fellow survivors in the wasteland. Then again, other weapon choices will be decidedly high tech. Could this create a disparity between the haves and have-nots in terms of improvised vs. manufactured weaponry? Fallen Earth's system designer Brandes Stoddard has written a developer journal for MMORPG.com that's focused on how the dev team is balancing the game's weapons. Hopefully, he relates, they're creating weapons that fill the right niches -- no one weapon should be the best for every task, but should really be the ideal choice for certain situations. Check out his dev journal over at MMORPG.com for images of some of the weapons players will be able to use in Fallen Earth, and read about why shotguns probably won't be an i-win button once the game's ready for release.
More hints of a Fallout MMO?
We've alternately consulted both our Magic 8 Ball and a Ouija board for answers to the Fallout MMO question. As in, will there be one? We think we've got a handle on the licensing intricacies of Fallout between ZeniMax Media (parent company of Bethesda Softworks) and Interplay thanks to a stellar article written by Daedren for r1ft Gaming. Briefly stated, Bethesda owns the rights to the Fallout IP, but not a Fallout MMO. Interplay holds the Fallout MMO rights, but only if they could raise $30 million and begin development by April 2009. Interplay has mentioned an MMO project with a tongue-in-cheek codename Project V13 (a nod to Fallout) but we've heard little of this game beyond that 2008 announcement that a dev team was being formed. In addition, we reported just last week that ZeniMax Media is hiring for an MMO division, project(s) unknown. While it hints at the potential to bring Fallout into the MMO space, we're still chalking it up to rumor. That rumor got a bit juicier today though when we came across something of interest at our sister site Big Download. The original Fallout designer Jason Anderson, formerly the creative director for Project V13, has parted company with Interplay to work for inXile on a new RPG. We're still not certain if the various bits of news we've found in the last few weeks indicates a potential ZeniMax/Bethesda Fallout MMO or if Interplay's Project V13 will chug along just fine without Jason Anderson, so we're still firmly in the realm of "rumor," albeit an interesting one to fans of all things post-apocalytic.
Fallen Earth MMO tour will bring devs to GDC 09
We've mentioned a rather unique approach that the Fallen Earth team is taking to promote their upcoming post-apocalyptic MMO, a national tour across key cities in the United States. The Fallen Earth publicity tour began in North Carolina last month, meeting with the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), and they've just announced that they'll be working with the IGDA again at this month's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Fallen Earth will co-sponsor the IGDA networking event at GDC on March 24 and developers will be on hand to speak about the game. Key Fallen Earth devs planning to attend include project manager Colin Dwan; associate project manager Dave Haydysch; content team lead Marie Croall; product manager Jessica Orr; and lead game designer Lee Hammock.
Fallen Earth dev chat answers barrage of player questions
We don't know about you, but we can feel the era of post-apocalyptic and sci-fi MMOs fast approaching. Definitely on our 'ones to watch' list is Fallen Earth, currently in development at Fallen Earth LLC (formerly known as Icarus Studios). We mentioned the other day that the Fallen Earth devs would participate in a live Stratics 'House of Commons' dev chat, and among the five Fallen Earth team members on-hand was lead game designer Lee Hammock. The Fallen Earth devs responded to a blitz of questions from the game's future players in the Stratics dev chat, ranging from the benefits of capturing 'conflict towns' in PvP to mounted combat on horses and vehicles. In addition, Lee Hammock stated that game play videos should be released at some point in the next few weeks, and more info about the game will be coming out in tandem with this month's Game Developers Conference.Be sure to check out the Stratics House of Commons chat transcript for more on the kind of game Fallen Earth is shaping up to be.
Stratics and Fallen Earth team up for beta giveaway
We know some of you out there are dying to get into the Fallen Earth beta, but it might not be as hard to get in as you think, provided you act before March 15th. Stratics is running a contest to win Fallen Earth beta keys. All you need to do to be in the running is email them at contest@irc.stratics.com and tell them what you think about Fallen Earth, and why you deserve a beta key (or at the very least, a Fallen Earth T-shirt.)Stratics will select winners randomly, and the contest runs through March 15, 2009. You can check out the details on the Fallen Earth forums and of course over at the Stratics Chat site.
