I've worked in teh gaming industry for over 20 years, and if RG is a failure, then you can pretty much say 99% of the game development community is a failure, or even the industry as a whole. I think after dealing with PlayNC, and seeing how the industry is going with publishing as a whole. It probably turned him off to the industry. It gets to a lot of developers. Not to metion the kind of perspective leaving the planet and looking down on earth from space might give someone. It might make someone contimplate what contribution they've made to the world. Making games doesnt stand up to something like a Nobel Prize. I can see why someone might do something drastic after such an experience like that. I'm sure the realization of his actions probably hit him much later.  I'm sure we will have a few of these moments in our lives. I know I constantly ask myself these days if I've done enough good in my time here, or is it time to quit goofing around and do somethign real. I think a lot of us creative types go through this as we get older. Usually I just go back to whatever it is I am doing, but some days I get up and go do something good for someone. You should try it!

That's my perspective.

Tabula Rasa  had it really going on.  However, I think NC soft needed to have a much tighter contract on this old boy so he couldn't just up and leave when he felt a tingle in his loins for a brand new adventure.

They should have demanded he stay on until the game was fully functional and  at least a full year. With many happy customers enjoying the quality new content and careful, loving, patch work then perhaps he could take a sebatical.

While on a break  he can pretend he is in his game as much as he likes and return enlightened and refeshed.  It's a great shame for Tabula Rasa , it's a great shame for gamers  and it's a great shame for Garriott he didn't try it that way.......

In my humble opinion  

Goeegoanna

He's a failure, he may have been good back in the day but now he isn't worth spit.

I'll never play a game he has anything to do with.

Dear pajama partying Diva, AKA RIchard Garriott,

No producer in their right mind will give you another dime after the sickening thievery that you and your brother perpetrated on NCSoft.

Tabula Rasa sent a 100 million dollar message to everyone in the gaming industry that whatever magic you had in the Ultima series is long gone.

You thought that pulling together a "dream team" for Tabula Rasa was going to allow you to sit back and have your pajama parties while they did all the work.

They realized what a sack you are so they took their paychecks and walked.

After the "dream team" walked out, taking all the engine code with them, all you had were fanboys like that fruity little turd Starr Long so you tried to use those fanboys and the Auto Assault engine to cobble together a product to cover all the time and money you had wasted.

And once they got the crappy game onto the market you turned your back on everything and played cosmonaut on NCsoft's money...

You are a disgusting piece of work, Richard, and I hope that you fade from the gaming industry never to return.

Or better yet, get the Russians to send you to space permanently.

 Dear pajama partying Diva, AKA RIchard Garriott,

No producer in their right mind will give you another dime after the sickening thievery that you and your brother perpetrated on NCSoft.

Tabula Rasa sent a 100 million dollar message to everyone in the gaming industry that whatever magic you had in the Ultima series is long gone.

You thought that pulling together a "dream team" for Tabula Rasa was going to allow you to sit back and have your pajama parties while they did all the work.

They realized what a sack you are so they took their paychecks and walked.

After the "dream team" walked out, taking all the engine code with them, all you had were fanboys like that fruity little turd Starr Long so you tried to use those fanboys and the Auto Assault engine to cobble together a product to cover all the time and money you had wasted.

And once they got the crappy game onto the market you turned your back on everything and played cosmonaut on NCsoft's money...

You are a disgusting piece of work, Richard, and I hope that you fade from the gaming industry never to return.

Or better yet, get the Russians to send you to space permanently.

No, Ichijo, tell me how you really  feel!  LOL.

Don't worry.  I don't think he's found a new sucker , although he is sucking up to Blizzard, praising them as being an amazing company.  Isn't that special?  He may have ruined NcSoft, they give him the money to space-ride, but Blizzard receives his praise as being a good company.  It's a backhanded insult.  He's trying to blame NcSoft  for the TR disaster .   RG is a gift that never stops giving.

I  don't believe he has any real plans.  He's back from space in Austin with nothing to do after he drove his business to Seattle, and he's used to having a lot of adoring attention.  He's depressed.  So he makes a phone call about his newest grandiose idea.

i heard a couple or more times now that TR used the Auto Assault engine.

is this a known fact that was announced on some semi-reputable site?

or just wild speculation by forum venters?

Originally posted by jarvey

Come on! At least Richard Garriot attempts to get away from oh so boring WoW, Korean, grid-til-you-die type of games. Tabula Rasa wasn't a bad idea but should've spent more time in Beta, way more time. Since I'm a longtime Ultima player (from the first) and still have an active UO account I still have respect for him.

UO was just a mud + 2d graphixs he was more of a idea transcripter than a "god" "in his time"

however, the quoted poster does well to point out that we should welcome non-wow type games. Still TR's game systems all around (without exception were/are) trash. In this light RG should have killed the game, but money is money and he was getting paid.

 That being said i don't dislike him or really care anyway if he makes  a good game great, if not oh well.

Originally posted by corpusc

i heard a couple or more times now that TR used the Auto Assault engine.

 

is this a known fact that was announced on some semi-reputable site?

 

or just wild speculation by forum venters?

Neither.

In the early Beta I still had the Auto Assault game installed (though it was long dead) and it was easy to look and see that some of the assets in TR still had the original names from Auto Assault.

They cobbled that crap together so quickly that they didn't even change most of the fonts.

 to corpusc--about Auto Assault.  

This guy has a good rep as a gaming blogger.... and the comments part is the best  

http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2007/10/tabula-rasa-borrowing-auto-assault-code.html

Are you guys serious? How many games share the UT, Cry, and Havok engines? Do you seriously think that there is no shared code? I see no proof that this is the case with these two games, but please feel free to amuse yourselves with the speculation. 

Originally posted by AngelBurst

Are you guys serious? How many games share the UT, Cry, and Havok engines? Do you seriously think that there is no shared code? I see no proof that this is the case with these two games, but please feel free to amuse yourselves with the speculation. 

What does it matter TR's code was god awful.

Originally posted by Gorilla

 I'd pay 15 a month to send him back into space.

This cracked me up real nice! lol!!

God help us all.

Originally posted by AngelBurst
{ Mod Delete }

Something about a pot calling a kettle black comes to mind...

Personally, as a player with no connections to the "industry", I started playing Tabula Rasa three months ago.  Yes, I started a month before they decided to kill it.  From what I gleaned, and from many reviews since the game came out, if the game had been given more time in beta, say another 6-10 months, the finished product would have been much better.  If you read his history, around the time the game was in beta, Garriott was financially tight.  There is some truth to the comments that he went to space on NC Soft's dime.  It would have been in his best interest to get the game out the door and making money ASAP.

I think it's sad, because it is a good premise for a game, with a great back story.  I think most of the rants about the game are from those who either played it when it first came out, and had to deal with Beta bugs in a P2P release; or they were from people who never played the game, and base their opinions on what every other ass hat says on here.  Playing it now, there are plenty of areas to explore, the challenge level is attractive to the casual player(99% of gamers are casual, btw), and the art design is above average compared to most of the crap out there.

For me, the beef with Garriott is, if you are going to put your name on something, you are saying you stand by it, that it stands for what you are about.  He spent little of his time supporting the game, let it be rushed into production, and gave no fight when NC Soft said they were pulling the plug(I'm sure this was in the works a few months before it was announced).  He pushed hard for it, but gave no follow-through when it was close to being finished.  It showed he values his good name little, which is not something I'd want from someone pitching a game to me, if they are asking for my money for it.

On a side note, this highlights the difference between Blizzard and others.  Rob Pardo said in an interview that they have no problem in killing a game if it looks like it won't work, or if they have any doubts about how the team is working together with the game.  A lot of others(I'm looking at you, NC Soft and Funcom) shoulg take their advice.

Originally posted by haggus71

Originally posted by AngelBurst
{ Mod Delete }

Something about a pot calling a kettle black comes to mind...

Personally, as a player with no connections to the "industry", I started playing Tabula Rasa three months ago.  Yes, I started a month before they decided to kill it.  From what I gleaned, and from many reviews since the game came out, if the game had been given more time in beta, say another 6-10 months, the finished product would have been much better.  If you read his history, around the time the game was in beta, Garriott was financially tight.  There is some truth to the comments that he went to space on NC Soft's dime.  It would have been in his best interest to get the game out the door and making money ASAP.

I think it's sad, because it is a good premise for a game, with a great back story.  I think most of the rants about the game are from those who either played it when it first came out, and had to deal with Beta bugs in a P2P release; or they were from people who never played the game, and base their opinions on what every other ass hat says on here.  Playing it now, there are plenty of areas to explore, the challenge level is attractive to the casual player(99% of gamers are casual, btw), and the art design is above average compared to most of the crap out there.

For me, the beef with Garriott is, if you are going to put your name on something, you are saying you stand by it, that it stands for what you are about.  He spent little of his time supporting the game, let it be rushed into production, and gave no fight when NC Soft said they were pulling the plug(I'm sure this was in the works a few months before it was announced).  He pushed hard for it, but gave no follow-through when it was close to being finished.  It showed he values his good name little, which is not something I'd want from someone pitching a game to me, if they are asking for my money for it.

On a side note, this highlights the difference between Blizzard and others.  Rob Pardo said in an interview that they have no problem in killing a game if it looks like it won't work, or if they have any doubts about how the team is working together with the game.  A lot of others(I'm looking at you, NC Soft and Funcom) shoulg take their advice.

99% are casual? Got a link? I agree the majority are casual, but I would put it closer to 80% than 99%.
 

Most people I see complaining here about TR that I knew in game played well after beta and even well after they first quit. Many people went back to the game months after quitting only to find a small world with very limited replayability. Assuming everyone is either an asshat or played only at release is simplistic at best and the entire short life of TR proves that this game was severely flawed from the start.

 For me, the beef with Garriott is, if you are going to put your name on something, you are saying you stand by it, that it stands for what you are about. He spent little of his time supporting the game, let it be rushed into production, and gave no fight when NC Soft said they were pulling the plug(I'm sure this was in the works a few months before it was announced). He pushed hard for it, but gave no follow-through when it was close to being finished. It showed he values his good name little, which is not something I'd want from someone pitching a game to me, if they are asking for my money for it.

On a side note, this highlights the difference between Blizzard and others. Rob Pardo said in an interview that they have no problem in killing a game if it looks like it won't work, or if they have any doubts about how the team is working together with the game. A lot of others(I'm looking at you, NC Soft and Funcom) shoulg take their advice.

Keep in mind that Richard wasn't just the developer, his brother was the CEO.  They went into the deal with NcSoft together and Robert wasn't likely to pull the plug on the game in any circumstance.  Ron Pardo wouldn't have that problem.

 It is also not widely discussed, but  Robert was not only CEO, but a member of the Board of Directors at NcSoft Seoul, with a large chunk of stock.  He may still be on the Board, because he's still on the corporate mastnead at NcSoft.net listed as being on the board.

If you want a CEO and Board Director to protect the interests of the company, it's risky business to hire the brother of the developer.

You guys do know that his space  flight was a publicity stunt for Tabula Rase right? That there was a contest for Tabula Rasa players to get there DNA taken in to space with him. The game did release to early, and it had only to do with money, and NCsoft.  I spoke with the dev team at all the conventions, and my knowledge of what was going on is nothing like what you guys are saying. I hear a lot of people claiming to know how he reacted to certain situation, and what he was thinking when decisions were made. I would like to know how you people claim to know this stuff. I work in the industry, and talked to the dev team at every show. I heard nothing like what you guys are claiming. He wasnt mad, he didnt put up a fight. How could you possibly know this?

 

And for the record, as a developer myself.  I can tell you that Tabula Rasa in the state that it is in right now. Is one of the most impressive MMOs on the market right now. If you don't belive that is the case. I challenge you to get a free code and try it again. The only problem the game had was being released a year to early. The game in finished now, and it is amazing. There is nothing that can even compare to it visually, and the story it top notch. I can tell you the game is not going away permenantly. NCsoft will be shutting down it's servers in Feb, but the game will be back. You just need to stay tuned. 

Originally posted by Ichijo

You are a disgusting piece of work, Richard, and I hope that you fade from the gaming industry never to return.

Or better yet, get the Russians to send you to space permanently.

Well said. 

It seems impossible any company would be stupid enough to hire Garriott after what he pulled off with TR but game developers often seem to have an overabundance of stupidity.    In business, your past is not enough to constantly prop you up.  That's like someone saying they wrote a really great report last year so they don't have to do any work this year. 

What has he done in the last 10 years has Garriott done that was worthwhile?  

I really wish I could say that there couldn't be anyone dumb enough to give him yet more money, but unfortunately we know there are people that idiotic out there. 

I still don't believe NCSoft gave the Garriots a truck load of money and let them do anything they wanted with it and TR is the result.  The magnitude of changes that Tabula Rasa underwent have corporate stink all over it.  A project that had more problems then just a prima dona game designer for sure.

For sake of discussion, even if it was 100% the fault of Richard Garriot I would still be happy to see another company give him a chance to make a game.  He might suck at running a business, his time might be past him, but at this point could he do any worse than what we have seen for the last several years?

Just on the chance that he make a more socially oriented game that leans more towards a sandbox would be refreshing to many people. 

 screw him? he CREATED MMOs, and his MMO is to this day, the best one ever made

Originally posted by Daffid011

I still don't believe NCSoft gave the Garriots a truck load of money and let them do anything they wanted with it and TR is the result.  The magnitude of changes that Tabula Rasa underwent have corporate stink all over it.  A project that had more problems then just a prima dona game designer for sure.

 

For sake of discussion, even if it was 100% the fault of Richard Garriot I would still be happy to see another company give him a chance to make a game.  He might suck at running a business, his time might be past him, but at this point could he do any worse than what we have seen for the last several years?

Just on the chance that he make a more socially oriented game that leans more towards a sandbox would be refreshing to many people. 

Garroitt had to have a clause which allowed him to say don't use my name with this at release.  If he didn't that is a real bonehead move and worthy of a loss in respect.   Alan Smithee's Tabula Risa would have been better for him.
 

Tabula Rasa was a good game with good possibilities. But after Richard Garriot´s fail to all users and clients I will never trust him anymore, never again when for a person money is more important than people or his fans ( clients ).

Personally for me Richard Garriot is dead........R.I.P

 You guys do know that his space flight was a publicity stunt for Tabula Rase right?

Silly fellow.  The ride wasn't to publicize the game, but RG occasionally used the game to publicize his ride.   When RG got attn from the press about his ride, he never mentioned either NsSoft or the game.   He is not th sort of guy who shares.

Originally posted by SignusM

 screw him? he CREATED MMOs, and his MMO is to this day, the best one ever made

Funny, since UO wasn't the first mmo.

Research FTW.

Originally posted by AngelBurst

You guys do know that his space  flight was a publicity stunt for Tabula Rase right? That there was a contest for Tabula Rasa players to get there DNA taken in to space with him. The game did release to early, and it had only to do with money, and NCsoft.  I spoke with the dev team at all the conventions, and my knowledge of what was going on is nothing like what you guys are saying. I hear a lot of people claiming to know how he reacted to certain situation, and what he was thinking when decisions were made. I would like to know how you people claim to know this stuff. I work in the industry, and talked to the dev team at every show. I heard nothing like what you guys are claiming. He wasnt mad, he didnt put up a fight. How could you possibly know this?

 

And for the record, as a developer myself.  I can tell you that Tabula Rasa in the state that it is in right now. Is one of the most impressive MMOs on the market right now. If you don't belive that is the case. I challenge you to get a free code and try it again. The only problem the game had was being released a year to early. The game in finished now, and it is amazing. There is nothing that can even compare to it visually, and the story it top notch. I can tell you the game is not going away permenantly. NCsoft will be shutting down it's servers in Feb, but the game will be back. You just need to stay tuned. 

 

One of the most impressive? Do you actually play the game? It is not finished, it is a poorly made MMO that failed horribly. You talk like you know, but the more you talk the less I believe you work in the industry.