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Tabula Rasa shows off heavy weapons

Alexander Sliwinski — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 20:25:00 EST

Filed under: PC, RPGs, MMO

Tabula Rasa has been a long time coming. Thankfully, it recently started beta testing and we're looking forward to getting a solid look of the end product by E3. When Richard "Lord British" Garriott (who we recommend not robbing) showed the game last year, it was coming along and looked like a perfectly fine alternative to the fantasy filled orc-lands we've gotten used to in the MMO market.

In the video, after the break, we get a look at Tabula Rasa's weapons. Graphics have never been a big selling point of MMOs (ask Vanguard what happens when you try do that), so we're just waiting to get a real feel for the questing and gameplay once the beta reports get out. Personally, we still like the Team Fortress 2 heavy weapons video much better.

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Tabula Rasa shows off heavy weapons originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 04 Jun 2007 20:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tabula Rasa not vaporware -- starts beta testing

Alexander Sliwinski — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 19:25:00 EST

Filed under: PC, RPGs, MMO

NCSoft's Tabula Rasa began sign-ups for beta testing this week. The sci-fi MMO, headed by Richard Garriott of Ultima fame, is a title that's been a long time coming. Showing at E3 2005 and 2006, with launch dates always shifting, there still is no reasonable explanation as to why this game is taking so long. We're sure to get another Tabula Rasa fix at Min-E3 and with any luck they'll finally nail down an official launch date.

See also:

Tabula Rasa not vaporware -- starts beta testing originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 06 Jan 2007 19:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NCsoft Austin shows 70 workers the door [update 1]

Joystiq Staff — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 18:35:00 EST

Filed under: PC, Online, MMO, Business

Perhaps fueled by the disappointing performance of Auto Assault and other MMOs under NCsoft's control, the company has confirmed that they have indeed made a round of cuts to their Austin office -- 70 employees have been pink slipped. According to a statement on the company's Lineage II boards:

"NCsoft's Austin business has announced an immediate restructuring within its organization that included the difficult task of reducing members of its workforce. ... the company sees a slowdown in its launch pattern and the need to streamline its business. For this reason, NCsoft has reduced its 300 person workforce in Austin by approximately 70 people to accommodate this change. This decision has no impact on the schedules of any projects currently in development and service to NCsoft's current games will continue without interruption."

While some have blamed the subscription numbers of AA and City of Heroes/Villains, an NCsoft rep assured GameSpot that those rumors were false. A rep said the figures shown were incorrect, and "not just barely wrong, but all wrong." NCsoft's Guild Wars may be enjoying some real success, but it seems the others may be holding the company back. Who knows how this will affect their upcoming venture Tabula Rasa, but considering this recent news, it can't be all positive.

[via MMORPG.com]

[Update 1: The Austin chapter of the International Game Developer's Association (IGDA) is looking to help any recently laid-off game designers. They write, "There are plenty of employers around town who would like to snatch you up as soon as possible because of your previous work experience. We'll be displaying the resumes on our website along with an announcement of this opportunity for other employers around town."

Interested? Stop by their website and see what they need from you.]

NCsoft Austin shows 70 workers the door [update 1] originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 24 Jun 2006 18:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Tabula Rasa gameplay vid

Alan Rose — Tue, 23 May 2006 15:45:00 EST

Filed under: PC, Action, Online, RPGs, MMO

NCsoft has released a new gameplay video from Tabula Rasa, the forthcoming MMORPG from Richard Garriott's Destination Games. You'll want to crank up the brightness, as this is one dark and muddy looking featurette. Watch it on GameSpot, or download it from File Front.

See also: Joystiq E3 impressions: Tabula Rasa, Lord British to receive lifetime achievement award

New Tabula Rasa gameplay vid originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 23 May 2006 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NCsoft's E3 booth tour

Jennie Lees — Sat, 13 May 2006 00:30:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, E3, MMO

NCsoft's booth was mostly about the games, with banks of PC stations set up for passers-by to play at. There were plenty of knowledgeable staff on hand, and plenty of t-shirt giveaways. However, the booth's main attraction was its stage -- when we visited, The Mutaytor was helping to create the post-apocalyptic atmosphere appropriate to Tabula Rasa.

At other times in the day, Guild Wars tournaments took centre stage, with large crowds gathering to watch top PvP teams face off. Between this and the pyrotechnic dancing, we really managed to get a feel for the atmosphere of NCsoft's game offerings, something which few other booths managed to convey.

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NCsoft's E3 booth tour originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 13 May 2006 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PC impressions: Tabula Rasa

Jennie Lees — Thu, 11 May 2006 23:15:00 EST

Filed under: PC, Online, RPGs, E3, MMO

Tabula Rasa is a sci-fi themed MMO from NCsoft. Among its arsenal of features are: party-based voice chat, instances and open battlegrounds, a range of weaponry and an interesting cloning system. The class system is branching, and players can clone their character at any time -- change your mind about a class, and you can just dust off the clone and try again, rather than re-roll at level one.

Playing the game, it comes across as the crazy lovechild of a MMORPG and MMOFPS. Combat is fast-paced and loud, with a big focus on guns and special abilities. Aiming isn't the FPS-style twitch-based shooting, though, and players progress through levels and missions much like in other MMOs. Being able to zoom into first-person view makes Tabula Rasa play almost like a straight-up FPS at times, but without the response and accuracy that FPS games are used to.

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PC impressions: Tabula Rasa originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 May 2006 23:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MMO design: the job of creating worlds

Jennie Lees — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Online, RPGs, MMO, Business

Decisions over how long burning rivers should stay aflame for can have a profound impact upon the atmosphere and enjoyment factor of a virtual landscape. This, and many other decisions like it, is how Richard Garriott spends his time these days -- as executive producer for Tabula Rasa, he has to help craft a variety of planets.

World-building isn't a new hobby; fantasy authors and tabletop GMs have been facing questions like this for years, and often throwaway comments cause a lot of trouble for those making film adaptations or video game versions of the world. Creating a world from scratch for gaming means that all the important questions need to be answered at once, however, or the players will ask them. It doesn't stop at the design stage; game companies are providing governments, too, by creating laws and rules on the fly.

Universes created primarily by users, like the world of Second Life, still operate within boundaries and constraints set down by the developers and providers of that world. If the Metaverse idea is really the future of online gaming, there's going to be a lot of influence exerted by some early decisions, just as early networking protocols and standards still influence today's Internet.

[Via Walkerings]

MMO design: the job of creating worlds originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 16 Apr 2006 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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