EarthriseEarthrise is a post apocalyptic science fiction MMORPG set in the distant future. In the aftermath of the Third World War, mankind has managed to survive and build a new society: the prosperous city of Sal Vitas. Cloning, nanotechnology and quantum engineering are part of a new reality. Thanks to these technological advances, the human species has become immortal; each individual’s consciousness is stored in a data vault, ready to be uploaded into a cloned body as necessary. New energy sources have been discovered. There is a unified government that takes good care of those citizens who abide by its strict laws. Paradise, it appears, might really have come to Earth, and the people have embraced it.
For Masthead Studios this is the company’s first experience in the videogames market, why did you choose a MMORPG? Do you plan to specialize yourself in this kind of online game?
We see MMORPGs as the future of gaming. More and more people are looking for social interaction while playing on their PCs and while the single player gaming is moving to consoles, we believe that PC gaming is not dead; it is evolving into virtual worlds and MMOs.
Masthead Studios is currently developing its own MMO engine and our plans are to specialize in this type of game.
What are your favorite MMORPGs (past & present)? Which kind of elements do you think a MMORPG must have to succeed in the mass market?
My all time favorite is Ultima Online and I also enjoyed Everquest 2. I think that the most important elements for present day MMOs to succeed are stable technology, easy to learn, hard to master gameplay and a lot of content. The latter is especially true for what comes after the first week of play – empty world and repeatable quests or exciting new zones and challenges. I think players want more and more, at the same time cost of development is rising. Future MMOs should be giving more freedom to the players to make the world they want, but not without some kind of regulation by the developer.
What do you think about other SCI-FI MMORPGs and what kind of errors must be avoided to create a "good" one?
If you look at the MMOGchart’s market share by genre, you will see that only 3.7% of the MMORPG market share is Sci-Fi as of April 2008. This is a really sad picture for all Sci-Fi MMORPG fans. I think the real problem behind this is poor game design and unmet expectations. A lot of games are rushing to launch as investors want returns on their investment, but this can only harm a highly anticipated title and once it goes live, players are unforgiving. Another important thing is the focus – pleasing everyone is impossible. It is important to keep the fans happy and not make significant changes in game design with the aim to attract more and more people, rather focus on your current player base and start building from there.
Earthrise will be based on a particular Skill system? Can you explain us how it works?
We are still testing the skill system and I cannot give you many details until it is finished, but some things are certain such as the fact that players will be able to learn all skills, but their usage will be limited by the equipped gear. Skills will be raised online depending on the actions that player takes in the game.
What kind of ENDGAME will Earthrise have? Endgame is very important to create a solid appeal for a game, do you agree that most of the online games have a lack of this aspect?
Endgame is a very broad term. In Earthrise players who have maxed out the skill development of their character can engage in many different activities such as challenging the most difficult monsters in the game, fighting for world dominance through PvP and territory conquest, gaining economic power through trade and influence on the world’s resources and crafting the best and most expensive items in the world.
Lack of endgame content has a very negative impact on the player base. Those who reach a point where “there is nothing else to do” will certainly leave the game sooner or later. It is true that some MMOs lack end-game content, but regular updates and expansions are a good way to keep the players happy.
It's very difficult to create a "real persistent world". Do you plan to give your subscribers the chance to have a sort of "private life" to evade the simple concept "grind, grind, grind"?
It is not an easy task to please all kinds of players. Those who spend a lot of time playing a game expect to be rewarded.
Do you have plans for housing?
Yes, we have plans for housing, but it will most probably be introduced in Earthrise with game updates after launch.
How will crafting work?
Crafting will be fundamental for Earthrise’s economy. It will not be as complicated or time-consuming as seen in some other games, but will be so deeply integrated in the game that every player will find himself involved in it in one way or another. Crafting is not about saving you some time instead of looking for that item somewhere else as monster loot – only a small portion of all possible item designs will be available as loot and players will have incredible freedom in designing new and exciting items from a wide range of basic item templates and a plethora of enhancement designs. They will have the possibility to make them available through in-game shops that remain available for business even when the player is offline. If no crafter makes a certain item build available through his services, this might mean the item will not be available at all! The dynamic economy will not favor anyone for long however, because technological advantage will be temporary and crafters will have to think in the long term, preparing their product line to answer the changing needs of the game population.
What are your plans for the combat system?
Designing an exciting next gen MMO combat system is a priority for our team. We are planning to design a mix between typical RPG fight, where only character attributes and gear are important and a more action oriented combat, where the actual player skill is important. In this way we will give a chance for a less developed character to beat someone with better gear and attributes if he has the skill to do it.
Will PVP be a “free for all” style, faction based or something else? Will there be massive PVP battles?
PvP will feature all of the above. Players can attack other players, even from their own faction. Most of the time, however, this kind of behavior will be reported as a crime so players should be careful when picking their targets. For example attacking someone from your own faction will be considered the worst crime in the game, while attacking a criminal will always be considered a good deed and players will even be rewarded for that.
The massive PvP battles can either be organized by guilds themselves or they can be part of the epic territory conquest that will take place on the island. It will be impossible for a single player or a small party to capture and control a territory.
Can we use vehicles in the game?
Yes, there will be vehicles in Earthrise – hovercrafts ranging from a skateboard to a small truck in size. Those vehicles can be customized in performance and color and will be player-crafted.
Will Earthrise be a multi-language game? Will there be international servers; including German, French or Italian ones?
It is too early to tell in what languages the game will be localized, but we definitely have plans for that.
What stage is the game in right now? Do you have plans for an early beta?
Earthrise is in its pre-alpha stages of development. Our plans are to start beta testing at the end of this summer – beginning of autumn.
They only released one screen shot with the article
Q&A's April 2008
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