Earthrise

Massively Speaking Episode 201 gets into all of your dirty little secrets -- not to mention Funcom's, as well! We're joined by Jef, who gives us the full scoop on The Secret World now that the NDA's come tumbling down. Will this be another Failcom or possibly a Fabulouscom? Only Jef knows, and he's highly resistant to torture and bribery.

Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to podcast@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air!

Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to Massively Speaking directly in iTunes.
[RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator.
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.
Listen here on the page:



Read below the cut for the full show notes.

Continue Reading

Remember Earthrise, the post-apocalyptic sci-fi sandbox from Masthead Studios? The fledgling title shut down last February after a tumultuous year that included a rough launch and lukewarm (or worse) reviews.

Masthead originally intended to convert the subscription-based game to a free-to-play business model but opted to pull the plug entirely due to a lack of investor interest. As of today, though, there's a countdown timer on the official Earthrise website (as well as a new background graphic that shows off the game's sci-fi battle action).

Has Masthead found an investor after all, and is Earthrise making a comeback? We'll see in a little over five days, but feel free to speculate in the comments!

[Thanks to IMN for the tip!]

Massively Speaking Episode 186 is the episode that fans will forever decry as the one that jumped the shark. In our defense, the shark was just sitting there in the Massively office parking lot and we were looking for an excuse to try out our new dirt bike anyway.

This week we're joined by Jeremy Stratton, who provides expert analysis on the perks and pitfalls of free-to-play. He was also the first to clear the shark without major blood loss, so bully for him!

Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to podcast@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air!

Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to Massively Speaking directly in iTunes.
[RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator.
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.
Listen here on the page:



Read below the cut for the full show notes.

Continue Reading

Bulgarian developer Masthead Studios has announced that it's shutting down the servers for its post-apocalyptic sandbox MMO, Earthrise. Said Atanas Atanasov, Director of Masthead Studios:

"One year after the launch of the game, we have decided to stop the Earthrise servers. Earthrise was released too early and did not meet the expectations of its fans. We did our best to revive the game in 2011, but the time was not enough to keep up with the user requirements. There is a huge interest in high quality open world sandbox MMORPGs, unfortunately the big publishers do not show any interest in the genre. It is unfortunate that low budget companies like ours are trying to bring innovativeness in the already saturated MMO market. I hope that one day an independent studio will be able to release the long anticipated open world sandbox MMO, which everyone is talking about, but no one is making. We tried, but did not succeed. We would like to apologize to those who were disappointed from Earthrise and to thank everyone who supported us during the years."

The studio does mention that the planned free-to-play version for this year may still launch if any investor interest is shown, but there has been no word on this yet.

[Source: Masthead Studios press release]

The struggling sci-fi sandbox Earthrise is no longer interested in competing in the subscription market, and is instead veering toward a free-to-play model in 2012. As of December 1st, all players will be able to experience the game without a monthly charge as Masthead Studios prepares for a F2P version.

Masthead CEO Atanas Atanasov says that the move is an effort to retain customer trust while the developers shore up the game's weaknesses: "We decided to let all our players unlimited gaming experience until we all are satisfied with the experience in our game. At the moment Earthrise features one of the best visuals, content, and gameplay of all sci-fi MMOs on the market. However, it is missing polish and has annoyances that spoil the fun in the game. We are learning from our experience and that is why we will remove monthly charges until we bring the game to a quality state that is satisfactory to us and our players."

Once the title is brought up to par, Masthead will transition it to a true F2P model, although Atanasov assures players that it will not incorporate pay-to-win purchases. Until Earthrise goes F2P, new accounts will be invitation-only as Masthead restricts the number of incoming players. All current subscribers will be able to invite a few of their friends during the transition, however.

[Source: Masthead Studios press release]

Masthead Studios has just informed us of the latest patch for Earthrise. There's good news for former players too, as the company is re-upping all inactive accounts for a free 14-day trial period.

The patch itself includes new vehicles that can be obtained via quest lines, player crafters, or in-game vendors. The mounts are called hoovers, and when coupled with Earthrise's physics model, they allow players to perform drifts, jumps, and various stunts. Speed is a major factor as well, and Masthead says that explorers will appreciate the new vehicles when checking out the various nooks and crannies across the world of Enterra.

Finally, the patch includes "large numbers of strong monsters" designed to provide more of a challenge for PvE players as well as provide greater loot rewards. You can learn more about Earthrise at the game's official website. Also, don't forget to check out the new vehicle concept art in our gallery.


[Source: Masthead press release]

Earthrise is center stage for today's One Shots with a screenshot of a pretty impressive group effort. Earthrise players aren't limited to large structures, though. Knar, the reader character in the foreground, is also sporting some player-created items:

This is the first base built in Earthrise since the Territory War feature was implemented. All structures and walls in the base are player made, as well as the armor and weapon my character has equipped. It has a such a nice view of the mutated wasteland!

Now it's your turn to show off your items. This week's theme is Some Assembly Required -- a little nod to the newest addition to our column lineup. Some Assembly Required covers player-created content, so we want to see the best of what you've created.

Whether you've built a farm or village in Wurm Online, a particularly impressive ride in Fallen Earth, or something even bigger and better in any MMO, we want to see! Grab a screenshot, tell us a bit about what it is, and send it to oneshots@massively.com. We'll be featuring the best of these all week.

Today marks a significant milestone for Earthrise, the indie sci-fi sandbox from Masthead Studios. A rather large patch has made its way to the live servers, and the changes are so numerous that Masthead's press release labels the update as Earthrise's first expansion.

The big kahuna in terms of new content is the Territorial Wars functionality, and the patch notes mention new zones with bases ripe for the capturing as well as the ability for guilds to construct various economic and military structures. Speaking of guilds, leaders can now make use of a new ranking and permission system, and Earthrise now sports both friend and ignore lists in addition to improved client performance.

The patch also brings a laundry list of weapon effect changes, combat re-balancing, and bug fixes, all of which are viewable via the patch notes on the official Earthrise forums. If all that's not enough to whet your appetite, consider that Masthead has reduced the initial client cost by 40% as well as gifted all previous account holders with 10 days of free play.

Big things are afoot in Earthrise, which is now going worldwide as publisher Iceberg Interactive has launched the English language version in all territories. To tempt players into giving it a try, Iceberg's digital launch will be offered at a hefty 40% discount, bringing the title to $29.99.

Even bigger than that is the news of Earthrise's first free expansion: Territorial Warfare. This content update promises to double the size of the current game world and will let players take over territory, build bases, and fight against opposing forces. These bases can even provide players with resources to further expand their power.

The price drop and expansion will apply to European boxed copies as well. The boxed versions also include a map and poster.

Masthead Studios has been pursuing aggressive updates and fixes to the game as of late, and with the expansion there should be plenty of additional content for players to enjoy.

[Updated: Changed the price to reflect US sales price.]

There are patches and then there are patches, and the most recent Earthrise update was definitely the latter. Masthead Studios has dropped approximately one gigabyte worth of changes on the world of Enterra thanks to the 18143 patch, and if the preliminary discussion thread is any indication, players seem to be happy with the tweaks.

Many of the changes are found in the game's combat engine, with adjustments to core and special weapon damage as well as weapon ranges and substantial updates for assault rifles, precision rifles, flamers, melee weapons, and shotguns. AI line-of-sight issues have also been fixed, and several UI and party-related bugs have been squashed.

There's also an interesting blurb in the patch notes regarding territorial warfare. Specifically, the notes say that "all bases and the environment around them are complete and standing by." While Masthead hasn't publicly confirmed that Earthrise's warfare system is complete and ready for prime time, it's encouraging to see some official progress.

The Earthrise developers may be taking their time and making sure every detail is just right on upcoming patches, but they've promised fans it's going to be worth the wait.

If you've been following the game's progress since launch and thinking about giving it a try, we've got just the thing for you! Masthead Studios has given us three digital copies of Earthrise to pass on to some lucky readers.

Already an Earthrise player? No problem -- we've got you covered too! We've also got 10 spiffy Earthrise t-shirts to share. All you need to do to enter is leave a comment here before noon EDT on Saturday, May 7th. Let us know which prize you'd like to have (specify large or extra large if you're entering for a t-shirt), and Saturday afternoon we'll draw 13 winners!

As always, take a look at our contest rules. Best of luck!

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."

What's Masthead Studios been up to lately? Aside from bug-fixing and putting out fires on the forums of its newly released sci-fi sandbox called Earthrise, the studio is finding time to iterate on future features for the world of Enterra.

Player vehicles have been an oft-requested addition since the game's early beta days, and if two new pieces of concept art are any indication, the cries haven't gone unnoticed. Masthead has just published preliminary models for two types of single-occupant vehicles, both bearing the sexy lines and sleek stylings of a futuristic hover-bike, swoop, or insert-sci-fi-motorcycle-analog-here.

While there's no word on when we'll see these new pieces of awesome in the game, we'll keep our eyes (and ears) peeled for further details. In the meantime, check out both images in our gallery below.