Howard
Jan 22, 2003, 09:02 PM
I wanted to start off by saying just how much I love Earth and Beyond, by Westwood Studios. (Distributed by EA.)
Read more at the Earth and Beyond Website (http://www.earthandbeyond.com/).
For those that haven\'t come across the game before, its a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG for short.)
Like Everquest, you have thousands of people online at a time in the game universe - but unlike EQ, it really is a universe!
How best to describe... its like an online multiplayer \"Elite\". And just like the original Elite, its quite addictive :)
I\'ve learnt so many cool things about game design from this game, because it really has been so brilliantly thought out! Kirk (my wife) and I are both playing the game, and its great that we can go off on trading missions, build up cash, find new items or build high quality items for ourselves or to sell to others, or best of all, group together for space combat, and combine our unique battle skills to take down the bad guys :)
You can earn experience, and go up in levels, by doing combat, trade, by exploring - finding new areas, or for some classes, by mining resources from asteroids and gas clouds. You can sell the resources at starbases, or you can give them to other characters, who can use them to create components for items - better weapons, shields, engines, reactors, and other cool devices having useful effects.
You can\'t die - the worst that happens is that you get disabled when your ship\'s hull gets reduced to 0%, and when that happens you can either wait for a nearby friend to \"jumpstart\" your ship, or you can call for assistance from the starbase you last docked at, and they\'ll bring you back. You don\'t lose your ship, your credits, or your equipment! (You do get an XP \"debt\", which you can pay off easily with more combat or trade).
There\'s also a brilliant backstory going on throughout the game. Different races and NPC characters, and all kinds of intrigue! There\'s a well thought out history to the game, as well as Aliens that speak in languages that are *just* decipherable, and all kinds of things going on. Not everyone likes the story aspect - and you can carry on and ignore it if you so wish, but Kirk and I both love that aspect to the game.
Ah well, if you\'re interested in the game, there\'s a free demo download up on the E&B website, which gives you 5 days free in the game! If you like it, there\'s a monthly account subscription, and for us its been the best value entertainment you can buy!
If... you try it and like it and decide to take up a subscription, please refer me as your referrer! (If someone nominates you as their referer, you get some extra skill points, which is a great idea :) ) My account name is \"Jezaire\" which is also the name of my main character, a Terran Trader, on the \"Andromeda\" server.
Let me know what you think - and please follow up here with your thoughts, comments or questions!
Howard.
Read more at the Earth and Beyond Website (http://www.earthandbeyond.com/).
For those that haven\'t come across the game before, its a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG for short.)
Like Everquest, you have thousands of people online at a time in the game universe - but unlike EQ, it really is a universe!
How best to describe... its like an online multiplayer \"Elite\". And just like the original Elite, its quite addictive :)
I\'ve learnt so many cool things about game design from this game, because it really has been so brilliantly thought out! Kirk (my wife) and I are both playing the game, and its great that we can go off on trading missions, build up cash, find new items or build high quality items for ourselves or to sell to others, or best of all, group together for space combat, and combine our unique battle skills to take down the bad guys :)
You can earn experience, and go up in levels, by doing combat, trade, by exploring - finding new areas, or for some classes, by mining resources from asteroids and gas clouds. You can sell the resources at starbases, or you can give them to other characters, who can use them to create components for items - better weapons, shields, engines, reactors, and other cool devices having useful effects.
You can\'t die - the worst that happens is that you get disabled when your ship\'s hull gets reduced to 0%, and when that happens you can either wait for a nearby friend to \"jumpstart\" your ship, or you can call for assistance from the starbase you last docked at, and they\'ll bring you back. You don\'t lose your ship, your credits, or your equipment! (You do get an XP \"debt\", which you can pay off easily with more combat or trade).
There\'s also a brilliant backstory going on throughout the game. Different races and NPC characters, and all kinds of intrigue! There\'s a well thought out history to the game, as well as Aliens that speak in languages that are *just* decipherable, and all kinds of things going on. Not everyone likes the story aspect - and you can carry on and ignore it if you so wish, but Kirk and I both love that aspect to the game.
Ah well, if you\'re interested in the game, there\'s a free demo download up on the E&B website, which gives you 5 days free in the game! If you like it, there\'s a monthly account subscription, and for us its been the best value entertainment you can buy!
If... you try it and like it and decide to take up a subscription, please refer me as your referrer! (If someone nominates you as their referer, you get some extra skill points, which is a great idea :) ) My account name is \"Jezaire\" which is also the name of my main character, a Terran Trader, on the \"Andromeda\" server.
Let me know what you think - and please follow up here with your thoughts, comments or questions!
Howard.