What is Earth & Beyond?

Earth & Beyond is the first massively-multiplayer online role-playing galaxy. Thousands of players come together online to live the lives of legendary science-fiction heroes. As the captain of a powerful starship, you will carve out your destiny in this unique space-based universe. Aside from combat, you can also advance in the game through exploration or trading. Whether you prefer to explore the mysteries of the universe, become the most powerful warrior in the universe, or buy low and sell high as a shrewd trader, Earth & Beyond offers all those possibilities.

Is Earth & Beyond a space simulation or a role-playing game?

Earth & Beyond is truly a role-playing game. You advance through the game by building up your character’s skills and your ship's capabilities. Whether mining a precious resource, trading with in-game characters, or battling it out with an alien, the outcome will always be dependent on the character’s and ship's abilities, rather than the player’s dexterity with the mouse and keyboard.

What will Earth & Beyond cost?

A subscription-based fee of $12.99 will be charged monthly to play Earth & Beyond in addition to the initial cost of the software. This subscription fee covers ongoing costs associated with this type of game. These include providing a dynamic changing world, a highly responsive customer support infrastructure, costs for bandwidth and server maintenance, and other benefits to enhance the user experience. Players can choose to purchase blocks of time for a reduced price: three months for $11.99 per month, or six months for $10.99 per month. Earth & Beyond will accept all major credit cards and electronic checks as payment. In addition, players can purchase 90-day pre-paid Gametime Cards from their local retailers for $39.99.

Do I have to have broadband internet access?

No. Earth & Beyond supports dial-up connections. In addition, broadband users will not have any advantage over dial-up users.

Can I play offline?

No. Earth & Beyond can only be played online over the Internet.

What is the Founders’ Federation?

The Founders’ Federation is a program created exclusively for public beta testers to reward them for helping to shape the game’s galaxy. This program offers several benefits, the greatest one being that testers will be able to carry-over their beta characters and starships into the retail version of the game. Other benefits include the special Founders starship decal, identifying you as one of the pioneers of the galaxy. However, testers must purchase the retail version of the game and register within 2 weeks after launch to carry-over their developed beta characters and starships. You may get into the public beta test by pre-purchasing the game from these North American participating retailers (Electronics Boutique, Gamestop, Amazon.com and the EA online store), by receiving a public beta CD from special events we attend, or by being selected after signing up on this website. The public beta test ends when the final game launches.

How will the story unfold in Earth & Beyond?

Because the game is persistent, the story will be forever changing and evolving, mainly through the actions and interactions of the players. Also, we will continuously add new content -- new areas to explore, new quests, new storylines to follow, etc. Players will also be able to keep up with the Earth & Beyond story through Net-7, a news feed available in the game's starbases.

What are the different types of characters you can play in Earth & Beyond?

There are three races: Terrans - the masters of trade, Progen - the masters of combat, and Jenquai - the masters of exploration. Players can further customize their character by selecting a class. The best traders in the game will be the Terran Tradesmen. The best fighters will be the Progen Warriors. The best explorers will be the Jenquai Explorers. Players can also choose to be hybrids, their abilities stemming from any two of the three classes.

Will my ship be upgradeable?

Yes. You will get one ship per character. Your initial choice of race and class determines your starting ship configuration. Each ship permits a certain number of items to be mounted on the hull. For example, your ship may initially permit the addition of three weapons systems, which will change as your ship becomes more powerful. You have the option of using a variety of different types of weapon delivery systems, and your ship's appearance will correctly reflect your mounting choices. As you become more powerful, so too does your ship by increasing the number, type and quality of mounting points for additional systems.

How much flexibility do I have in customizing my character's skills?

You will have a high degree of flexibility in how you advance your character. Although the race and profession dictate your character's skill set, character advancement can take many different routes. You will be able to specialize in different areas with your abilities and skills, which can still make you quite different from other characters of the same level, class and race.

How do missions work?

There are two different types of missions in Earth & Beyond: crafted and personalized. You can get a personalized mission from any of the mission generators found in the star bases. The generators scan your character and skill level and return a variety of tailor-made missions. The crafted missions are in place to advance the overall story and often require you to get assistance from other players to complete. The missions range from combat missions (example: assassinating a non-player character) to explorations missions (example: discovering a new star gate) to trade missions (example: escorting cargo between starbases).

Can I use a joystick?

The game is designed to be played with a mouse and keyboard. There is currently no plan for support of 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 with programmable keys, you can use it.

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.

Will there be a Linux or Macintosh version?

No.

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