masthead-studios posts

Masthead Studios delves into Earthrise crafting process

by James Egan Nov 2nd 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, New titles, Crafting, Earthrise

Earthrise creators Masthead Studios have already made clear that their forthcoming title will be a far future sandbox MMO, a post-apocalyptic setting where PvP will be a major aspect of gameplay. What hasn't been as clear is exactly how the extensive crafting process they've discussed in the past will actually work out in normal gameplay. Certainly we've heard a great deal about customization of crafted goods and the potential to become well-known for your own variations on items, but we never had a real overview of those game mechanics. That is, until now.

Masthead aims to dispel any confusion surrounding Earthrise's crafting system in a two-part series of blog posts that kicked off today as part of their Question of the Week offering to the community. "The Crafting Process", part one of two, poses the theoretical example of a player -- let's call him "Tim" -- who clearly hates Burzun mutants. Enough so that Tim wishes to craft an assault rifle specifically tailored for killing this particular type of mutant. Masthead Studios walks the reader through the skills required to create such a weapon, the components that must be gathered, and how Tim will be able to extract needed resources from those materials.

Tags: burzun, crafting, customization, dev-blog, dev-blogs, earthrise, game-mechanics, masthead, masthead-studios, new-titles, post-apocalyptic, qotw, sci-fi

Earthrise crafting process explored further

by James Egan Oct 28th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Forums, Game mechanics, New titles, Crafting, Earthrise

Earthrise developers Masthead Studios revealed more about the title's in-depth crafting system in the latest Question of the Week on the official game site. One of the game's strengths is its degree of item customization. Earthrise fans have wanted to know how they'll actually be able to customize items or manipulate the crafting process for better results, and Masthead provided some of the answers this week.

They've stated that the game will allow crafters to combine resources in various ways, creating new synthetic materials that can positively influence the outcome of the manufacturing process. If you've been following along with the Masthead Studios announcements about crafting in Earthrise, you'll want to see "Crafting: Product Manipulation, Combines" for more on how the system will work.

Tags: crafters, crafting, earthrise, forums, game-mechanics, mass-production, masthead-studios, new-titles, post-apocalyptic, qotw, sci-fi

Masthead Studios explains crafting and mass production in Earthrise

by James Egan Oct 21st 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, New titles, Crafting, Earthrise

Earthrise is an upcoming sandbox MMO that will have strong emphasis on guild-vs.-guild conflicts and PvP. The game will also have a deep crafting system, something that may interest players looking for more than PvP in a sci-fi MMO. Earthrise developer Masthead Studios has stated in the past that it'll be possible for players to craft unique, customized items and perhaps even establish a reputation for producing certain wares. The latest Question of the Week answered by the Earthrise developers sheds a little more light on how crafting and mass production will work in the game. Specifically, Masthead Studios explains how mass production will apply to some of the game's rarest craftable items.

Moll, Earthrise's Community Manager, explains how a blueprinting process creates Designs which are used by crafters; these are essentially templates combined with ingredients/materials to create items. Each Design will have a finite property called Edge which gets burned off over time through the manufacturing process. The limited use of Design Edges mean that the game's rarest or most elite items can't be created in large production runs, in other words keeping them rare and elite in a game where mass production is possible.

Tags: blueprinting, blueprints, community-manager, crafting, designs, earthrise, edge, elite, game-mechanics, manufacturing, mass-production, masthead-studios, moll, new-titles, qotw, rare, sandbox, sci-fi

Earthrise developers seeking community input on alts

by James Egan Oct 19th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, Opinion, Earthrise

Earthrise is an indy-developed science fiction MMO on the way from Masthead Studios in Bulgaria. The developers have stated that Earthrise will be a sandbox game, with a large part of the player experience based on what guilds try to accomplish in the post-apocalyptic setting of Enterra. Given this emphasis on player-driven content, Masthead Studios has been running a Community Consensus over the past few weeks where the devs seek input from Earthrise fans on various aspects of the game's design.

Today Masthead Studios wants to hear what the community thinks about alts. In most MMOs having extra character slots is expected, but alt play in a sandbox game where players will engage in espionage could get out of hand. Would the ability to easily for any player to create a cell of spy alts unbalance the game, or should there be a tight limit on character slots per account?

Tags: alt, alts, community-consensus, earthrise, enterra, espionage, masthead-studios, new-titles, opinion, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, spies, spy, spying

Listen to new tracks from the Earthrise soundtrack

by James Egan Oct 17th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, Earthrise

Masthead Studios, the creators of post-apocalyptic MMO Earthrise, just reached out to Massively and gave us access to two tracks from the upcoming game's soundtrack. The tracks are titled Flooid and Shiv Out, composed by Pavel Benov who we've mentioned in the past for creating a blend of ambient and industrial music for the game.

Both tracks are electronica, which seems fitting for this sci-fi MMO. When you're creating the music that sets the tone for a futuristic game where the old world is dead and gone, lost to nuclear and biological warfare, something orchestral as heard in a fantasy MMO might not really work. Earthrise is a game about a cloned society of technocratic elite reborn in the far future -- a time where advanced technology dominates and defines the lives of all of the world's remaining inhabitants -- so going electronic with the game's music was probably the right choice. Give the Flooid and Shiv Out tracks linked above a listen and let us know what you think. If you like these tracks, you might also want to check out Benov's Dystopia Sunrise and Lay Waste as well.

Tags: composer, composition, earthrise, electronica, masthead-studios, music, new-titles, pavel-benov, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, score, soundtrack

Neutrality and criminality in the dystopian setting of Earthrise

by James Egan Oct 12th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, New titles, Earthrise

The developers at Masthead Studios dropped some info about their post-apocalyptic MMO Earthrise today, explaining how they've designed the game to allow freedom of choice. In true sandbox style, players will not be forced to choose between the main factions of Continoma or Noir and can, in fact, remain neutral. Earthrise Community Manager Moll writes in the latest Question of the Week, "Aside from Continoma and Noir as major Factions, there are 10 smaller political groups (called Organizations), and 4 of them will be Neutral and will provide neutral players with quests that allow them to build their Reputation and unlock rewards that cater to their political standings."

Cloning, which may prove to be one of the most vital services players will require, will be independent of faction standings, Moll explains. On that topic of cloning, Earthrise fans have also wondered how criminals can gain access to the same advanced infrastructure used by the more legitimate factions. Or, for that matter, how do criminals gain access to the various resources and markets used by non-criminal players?

Tags: community-manager, continoma, crafting, criminals, earthrise, factions, game-mechanics, masthead-studios, moll, neutrals, new-titles, noir, organizations, post-apocalyptic, qotw, sandbox, sci-fi

Earthrise developers seeking player input

by James Egan Oct 1st 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, Earthrise

Players having more input or control over the games they play is an interesting direction some MMO companies are taking. While not every company will establish something structured as EVE Online has with the Council of Stellar Management or (as Massively reader Se7en pointed out yesterday) Star Wars Galaxies has with its Galactic Senate, the simple fact that game developers are making efforts to allow more player input is encouraging. Masthead Studios is a newcomer to the MMO scene with Earthrise, a far future post-apocalyptic title, but already they're showing an interest in getting player feedback as they develop the game. The devs at Masthead will now have a "Community Consensus" on the Earthrise forums which brings up key issues with the game's design, to learn how players feel about these aspects of the title.

It's not clear yet exactly how much input the players will really have on Earthrise but if the devs are willing to listen to the playerbase, we'd say this is a step in the right direction. The first Community Consensus deals with an issue that will likely be hotly debated -- adding additional incentive for player killing, with greater benefits at higher levels of notoriety.

Tags: community, community-consensus, community-manager, criminal, criminal-karma, earthrise, game-mechanics, insurance, masthead-studios, moll, new-titles, notoriety, outlaw, pk, player-killer, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi

Earthrise interview details mechas, game environments and tactics

by James Egan Sep 21st 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Interviews, New titles, Earthrise

Among the independent game studios out there working on something a bit different for the MMO scene is Masthead Studios in Bulgaria. The studio is developing Earthrise, a post-apocalyptic MMO with a setting that's more far future sci-fi than the near-future burned out world of a title like Fallen Earth.

While the game's launch is still off on the horizon, Masthead Studios has been keeping Earthrise's fans informed about various aspects of the game, either in Question of the Week installments on their official site, or through interviews with the gaming press. The latest Earthrise interview is from GameSNAFU, who recently spoke with Atanas Atanasov, CEO of Masthead Studios.

Tags: atanas-atanasov, bulgaria, earthrise, espionage, game-mechanics, gamesnafu, interviews, masthead-studios, mechas, new-titles, post-apocalyptic, pvp, sandbox, sci-fi, trust

Earthrise reveals new environmental screens

by Kyle Horner Sep 17th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Screenshots, New titles, News items, Earthrise

In the post-apocalyptic world of action MMO Earthrise you'll encounter bone-filled deserts, lush jungles, other-worldly forests and... alien hatcheries full of membrane fauna? Hmm, oh that's right this is a sci-fi game, so that's totally cool. Even still, sweeping vistas and mysterious looking locations are all present here, which is exactly what an exploring player hopes to see in an upcoming MMO.

Indeed, many of the new images are deliciously pretty -- just be aware that as you click through them, you're bound to come across that alien hatchery. Of course, if creepy alien hatcheries are what you're all about, then pleased you will certainly be.

Gallery: Earthrise gallery

Tags: alien, earthrise, environment, fauna, masthead-studios, screens, screenshot, screenshots

Earthrise lead game designer on core concepts and game mechanics

by James Egan Sep 3rd 2009 at 6:30PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Economy, Game mechanics, Interviews, New titles, Crafting, PvP, Politics, Earthrise

One of the independent MMOs in the works that interests Massively is Earthrise, being developed by Masthead Studios in Bulgaria. We came across an Earthrise interview at OnlineWelten by Anja Gellesch, originally in German but translated into English. Masthead's Lead Game Designer Apostol Apostolov gives a well-worded introduction to the premise of the game and its "post-post-apocalyptic" setting, but there's plenty of details to be found in the interview as well.

He discusses player choice in the game, how some will opt to join a faction while other players remain neutral in the struggle between the technocratic elite Continoma, and the shadowy resistance movement Noir. Apostolov also mentions that there are 20 different zones spread across the game's island setting of Enterra.

Tags: anja-gellesch, apostol-apostolov, concession-grounds, continoma, crafting, earthrise, economy, enterra, game-mechanics, guild-vs-guild, interviews, masthead-studios, noir, offline-advancement, onlinewelten, post-apocalyptic, pvp, resources, sci-fi, social-experience

Hints of espionage in Earthrise

by James Egan Sep 1st 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Economy, Game mechanics, New titles, PvP, Earthrise

One of the interesting things that happens when you create a sandbox MMO where players can establish political systems, even empires, is that factions of those players will form and work against their opposition. In some cases, this is through large scale PvP campaigns. But another, more subtle aspect to warfare between guilds is espionage, should the game developer allow it. Fortunately for Earthrise players, Masthead Studios won't just allow espionage in their post-apocalyptic game -- they encourage it.

Espionage is the focus of the latest Question of the Week asked by a member of the Earthrise community. It seems that spying will be an important aspect of conflicts between guilds, but so will visits to other guild territories for trade runs. Masthead Studios implies that there will be a pass system used to allow non-guild members access to a guild's territory: "Even though one might expect only allies and friends to the guild would be allowed to visit using a pass system, it is possible for clever spies of enemy guilds to find a way to sneak in and report to their headquarters about the development of enemy bases."

Tags: community-manager, earthrise, economy, espionage, game-mechanics, masthead-studios, moll, new-titles, post-apocalyptic, pvp, qotw, sandbox, sci-fi, spies, spying

Earthrise mixes zone preview with lore in The Boneyard

by James Egan Aug 16th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Lore, New titles, Earthrise

Earthrise is the upcoming post-apocalyptic MMO from Masthead Studios, and a game with a substantial body of lore released already. Masthead Studios had a lore series on IGN in the past, and more recently MMORPG.com has been hosting dev blogs which explain the game's zones and how they are tied in with Earthrise's backstory. The latest dev blog from Masthead Studios is "The Boneyard", and focuses on the game's desert zone.

As with their past combinations of lore releases and zone previews, The Boneyard sets the tone for the game: Humanity was wiped out in World War III. Nuclear and seismic warheads obliterated civilization while nanomachine clouds unleashed bio threats which finished the job.

Tags: bulgaria, earthrise, enterra, lore, masthead-studios, mmorpg.com, new-titles, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, sofia, the-boneyard, the-hatchery, zones

Earthrise shows off The Arboretum in developer journal

by James Egan Aug 8th 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Lore, New titles, Earthrise

The Earthrise developers at Masthead Studios are turning out a series of blogs which explains the various zones of the post-apocalyptic setting of Enterra island. These developer journals hosted on MMORPG.com introduce us to the varied terrain and its inhabitants, while framing it all in context of Earthrise's lore. So far they've walked us through the burnt out factories of the Industrial Area, the dangers of the Cascade Mountains, and what happens when mutant ecosystems collide in The Hatchery.

Their latest dev blog focuses on "The Arboretum" which is the refuge of the Nathura Society, largely comprised of scientists who maintain neutrality in the civil war between Enterra's main factions -- Continoma and Noir. The Nathura simply want to be left alone so they can pursue their ideal of engineering a truly symbiotic relationship between humans and the natural world.

Tags: backstory, cascade-mountains, continoma, dev-blog, dev-blogs, developer-journal, earthrise, enterra, enterra-island, industrial-area, lore, masthead-studios, mmorpg.com, nathura, nathura-society, new-titles, noir, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, setting, tanglers, the-arboretum, the-hatchery, volvox

The interplay between faction standings and PvP in Earthrise

by James Egan Aug 4th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, New titles, PvP, Earthrise

Although the post-apocalyptic MMO Earthrise is still in development, the game's creators at Masthead Studios take a question from the player base each week and turn it into a mini dev blog. Granted, some of the mechanics as they exist now may very well change before Earthrise launches, but it's still a nice peek into the development of the game.

The latest from Masthead Studios is "Fighting, Factions, and Guards" which explains Earthrise's system of establishing safety near the major cities and greater risk the further you venture from them.

Gallery: Earthrise gallery

Tags: community-manager, continoma, earthrise, enterra, enterra-island, faction, factions, game-mechanics, guards, masthead-studios, moll, new-titles, noir, noir-base, post-apocalyptic, pvp, qotw, question-of-the-week, sal-vitas, sci-fi

Earthrise dev blog advances lore with The Hatchery

by James Egan Aug 2nd 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Lore, New titles, Earthrise

Earthrise is an upcoming MMO where you will play as a survivor of nuclear and biological devastation from the Final Wars, living in humanity's sole refuge, a vast island called Enterra. The latest dev blog hosted at MMORPG.com from the Earthrise developers at Masthead Studios is called 'The Hatchery', which takes the game's lore a step forward. Or rather, it takes a step back to the centuries preceding the human race's rebirth via cloning technology.

In the years that humankind remained dormant in the Librarium (cloning facility), man-made nano-viruses altered the world's ecosystems. As the environment began to regenerate after nuclear annihilation, separate ocean ecosystems slowly emerged. A vast colony organism became dominant and sought to expand its growth to the surface world. As it evolved, it released swarms of spores that traveled through the ocean currents like scouts, which looked for a surface habitat with enough biomass to support the colony's next stage of life. It found Enterra.

Tags: backstory, earthrise, enterra, librarium, lore, masthead-studios, mmorpg.com, new-titles, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, setting, the-hatchery, the-pioneers