General Info

What is Earth & Beyond™?
Earth & Beyond™ is a Persistent State Galaxy game that you play exclusively over the Internet, which means that you and thousands of other players will mold and shape the game world as you play. If you create or destroy something, it stays that way after you've logged off. Basically, you play in a dynamic and changing virtual world.

What will Earth & Beyond™ cost?
A subscription-based fee will be charged monthly to play Earth & Beyond™ ($10.99-$12.99 depending on pricing plan) in addition to the initial cost of the software.

Why is there a subscription cost too?
A subscription fee covers ongoing costs associated with the game. These include providing a dynamic changing world, a highly responsive customer support infrastructure, costs for bandwidth and server maintenance, amongst other benefits.

What kind of payment options will be available? Do I have to have a credit card?
Available payment options include:

• Players can pay month-to-month for $12.99 per month
• Players can purchase three months of playtime for $35.97 ($11.99 per month)
• Players can purchase six months of playtime for $65.94 ($10.99 per month)

What are the hardware requirements?

Minimum Configuration

• Windows® XP, Windows Me, Windows 2000 (Service Pack 2 or higher), Windows 98 (Windows 95 and Windows NT are not supported)
• 56 Kbps or faster Internet connection
• 500 MHz Intel® Pentium® III or AMD® Athlon™ processor
• 128 MB RAM
• 4x CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive
• 1.5 GB free hard disk space (additional space required for Windows swap-file and DirectX™ 8.1 installation)
• 32 MB Hardware Accelerated video card with DirectX 8.1 compatible driver
  DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card
• Keyboard
• Mouse

  Recommended

• 800 MHz or faster Intel® Pentium® III or AMD® Athlon™ processor
• 256 MB or more RAM
• 16x or faster CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive
• 2 GB free hard disk space

Will there be a Linux or Macintosh version?
No.

How will the servers be setup?
We'll be running multiple server clusters which support approximately 3,500 simultaneous users per cluster.

Will you have PVP only servers?
We're not planning to.

Will there be international servers?
Yes, some servers will eventually be localized, translated into specific languages. The date for localized international servers is not set.

Can I play offline?
No. Earth & Beyond™ is designed to be played online over the internet, only.

Will someone with a faster connection or better computer have an advantage over me?
No.

Can I use a joystick?
The game is designed to be played with a mouse and keyboard. We're not planning on having support for joysticks or game pads. Game navigation through interfaces such as menus, character attributes, skill activation, etc. is best done with a mouse. If you have a peripheral you want to use and it has programmable keys, you can do that.

How can movement and direction take place without a joystick?
You will be able to use either keyboard commands or your mouse.

Will there be support for voice over IP?
We're looking at ways of integrating Microsoft's voice-over-the-internet system into the game, but we can't promise how much, if any, support will be available.

Will there be 360-degree movement (i.e. barrel rolls)?
You can fly in any direction but your Z axis movement will be limited to simplify navigation and concentrate the action.

How many characters can I have per account? How many per server?
You will have five characters per account. You may play any number of them on the same server.

How will patches be handled?
We use a built-in patching process which checks your current system files and automatically patches your computer with the most current information and data.

Do I have to have broadband internet access?
No, you'll be able to use a dial-up modem.

Community FAQ
Earth & Beyond™ Universe FAQ