Earthrise Digital Release Date Set for February 4

Earthrise now has a release date! Masthead Studios announced today that the sci-fi MMO will be available through digital distribution on February 4, 2011. The development team also unveiled the game's minimum system requirements:

OS: Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista SP1, Windows 7
Free hard drive space: 20 GB
CPU: 2.4+ GHz Single Core Processor
RAM: 2 GB
Video Card: NVIDIA 7800GT+ or ATI Radeon 9800 SE 256-bit
High bandwidth internet connection (DSL, Cable)

Earthrise is a single-server game that features a sandbox environment and third-person combat. You can view a video of Earthrise beta footage after the jump.

Iceberg Interactive to Publish Earthrise in Europe

Iceberg Interactive announced today that it has signed an agreement with Masthead Studios to publish and distribute Earthrise in Europe. According to the announcement, the game is schedule to launch in Europe in February 2011 with exclusive extra content for boxed version buyers.

Earthrise is a post-apocalyptic science fiction MMO set in the distant future. You can view a video of Earthrise beta footage after the jump.

Information on 2 New Earthrise Creatures Released

Masthead Studios just released new screenshots and descriptions for the Leapers and the Burzuns, which are two of the hundreds of creatures and mutants that players will encounter when Earthrise launches later this year. The sci-fi, post-apocalyptic MMO will feature a skill-based advancement system, a player-driven economy and opportunities for PvP combat.

Keep reading after the jump for information and screenshots of the Leapers and Burzens, and check out the official Earthrise site for more information on the game.

Earthrise PvP and Mechas-Based Looting News

The developers of Earthrise, an upcoming post apocalyptic science fiction MMORPG, have released some interesting news regarding the game's anticipated, PvP-driven combat system. On the official forums, the devs created a recent post called "Mechas, Transit, and Loot!" answering some of the questions that fans have been wondering about the Mechas looting system.

In Earthrise, Mechas are a hybrid vehicle and combat machine, similar (in concept) to iconic "Mech Suits" seen in many other games and comic books over the years. Since Earthrise features such a prominent PvP system and "full loot" mechanic, many fans wondered how that would system would carry over into Mechas combat and looting.

The post features some satisfying answers, even though it's pretty brief. Here's a snippet: "It takes a bit of effort, but even carefully planned and armed attacks can disrupt a planned resource transportation route and destroy a mecha. It'll likely take a team effort to lift and loot the resulting destruction alone, and possibly leave the looters more vulnerable to additional opportunistic robbers as a result."

Sounds like a pretty enticing idea for any Sci-Fi MMO. Check out the full post for more, and keep track of Earthrise news and updates at our portal site.

Masthead to visit GDC 2009

Masthead Studios, the developers of Earthrise, the upcoming post apocalyptic science fiction MMORPG, have annouced they will be attending GDC 2009 this year.

Masthead Studios will be attending this year’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, CA March 24th – 27th, 2009. The developers will be available to meet with members of the media to discuss Earthrise and its development process. Please note Masthead Studios will not be exhibiting at this event. Media parties interested in more information please contact ecarter@themis-media.com.

Although Earthrise is not intended for exhibition at the event, fans of Earthrise anticipate the release of unreleased video, udpated screenshots, and significant lore and gameplay news following the event.

Source: Earthrise Official Forums

Earthrise Enters Beta

Earthrise, set in the aftermath of World War III, has gone into beta and is looking for good users to sign up to test the ride. With graphics that will make you cry, cringe and possibly cower, this looks to be a promising release.

"Masthead Studios is excited to announce that Beta Applications for Earthrise, the post- apocalyptic, science fiction MMORPG, are now available to players. We invite everyone to complete an application for a chance to join the developers in this exploratory stage of Earthrise and to take an early peek into the world of Enterra Island."

Although some of the comments are in Russian or some other Eastern dialect, the game still has a ludicrous amount of potential and I am, without question, looking forward to getting my hands on it.

Source: Earthrise Official Website

An Early Look At the Organizations of Earthrise

Part two of the Question of the Week over on the Earthrise forums has been posted! If you missed part one, you can find it here.
The Nathurians – Group of eccentric scientists who stray from all senseless political struggles on the island, as they often relate the conflict between Continoma and Noir. They follow a nearly religious belief of balance and symbiosis with the nature, picturing the mutated ecology of the island as a precious ally in the mutual goal of survival rather than an enemy that has to be destroyed. For them, every direct intervention in the ecologic biosphere is a barbaric act that would repeat the ecologic catastrophe of the war, in their eyes a mistake that cannot be repeated.
This is just one of the many organizations you'll interact with while in this intricate world! Check out the rest!

Earthrise Newsletter Available!

If you haven't seen it yet, don't wait to catch the first newsletter for Earthrise!
  April was a very busy month, as the community discussed a wide variety of ideas, presenting opinions on recent developer remarks regarding the combat system, reaction to the news about the availability of multiple avatars, and other items from the recent developer chat on Stratics. Healing and Entertainment continues to bring lively discussion to the table. The looting thread remains a favorite over in PvP, although many are concerned about the stated size-limit of groups and eager to talk about bounty hunting.

Club Earthrise is now filled with, with original avatars, art, and wallpapers available for the community to download. Fortunately we're always looking for more! Alterego joined the growing list of active guilds checking out Earthrise by requesting forums in April, and over in the roleplaying forum, not only have many people gotten organized, but there are a few open roleplaying threads to participate in.
You can catch it all, including the full list of coverage from sites across the web, on the official site.

Earthrise Screen Shots at WorthPlaying

WorthPlaying has some new screen shots of the upcoming MMO Earthrise!
Featuring a unique skill-based advancement system and player-driven economy, as well as extensive, meaningful player-vs.-player combat, Earthrise gives you innumerable choices to forge your destiny. Whether you're a noble soldier in the raging conflict between the Utopia and the rebellion, a criminal hiding from the law or a world-renowned engineer whose power extends into intricate trade and politics, your actions will echo throughout the game world.
They've got three available!

New Earthrise Question of the Week

Earthrise has posted another developer question and answer on their forums!
What effect, if any will the "main storyline" have on player development within factions? In particular, will the Noir/Continoma storyline missions be different?

Once players enter the world of Earthrise and familiarize themselves with the factions that struggle for control over Enterra, they can take on storyline quest arcs that develop into an epic story taking place over majority of the expansive territory of the island. The story will be usually branched between Continoma and Noir, but many quests will have shared setups between the two factions. Still, their completion task will vary depending what faction the player is affiliated with.

For example, some quests might involve either entering a territory and protecting a settlement from attacks of nearby enemies, or killing everyone in the said territory. Almost every quest is made with such duality in mind. Even when the completion task is clearly defined to the player, they will be free to complete quests in favor of the opposing force, sacrificing many of the rewards of a quest for reputation towards the opposing faction.
Read on for the rest of the answer, and rest in easy in knowing that you won't be able to screw it up!