Originally posted by Stradden

Tabula Rasa is one of those games that we haven't heard a great deal about during its development cycle,

THIS is a freaking understatement!

You'd think the Department of Defense or Homeland Security was funding this project by the amount of information that's been released on it!   Even this article doesn't do anything but state the same features and game mechanics that were mentioned last year.

Cloning.  We get it.  Battlefields.  We get it.

How about some REAL details or a press conference or letting reviewers play the game or something? 

Maybe they figure Garriott will provide all the advertising they need so they don't need to bother.  Personally it's more like they're either ignoring the community or they don't have anything to show. 

I wanna play this game, it actually seems like itl be released within my lifetime (DAMN U HUXLEY). Its something different and thank god for it, cuz im damn tired of the elves having all the fun.

Originally posted by severius
There has been, most assuredly, major changes since the game was first announced several years ago.  What they had wasn't working up to Lord British's expectations so he scrapped the vast majority of the project and started over again.  He, like myself, feels that the MMO community has been illserved over the years since UO and EQ were released.  No one seems to be trying to really innovate anymore and are more concerned with giving everyone more of the same.

This may well be the first true second generation mmorpg to be released.  If it does reasonably well other developers and publishers may well not shoot down every proposal that is not another eq/wow clone.  I am somewhat leary as everything sounds great on paper but, the proof will be in the gameplay.  Ultima was one of the very first graphical games I remember playing oh those very many years ago and if Garriott completely scrapped the original Tabula Rasa to go in a different direction I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.  He has never released a flop yet and I doubt he is going to start now.  *note: Ultima IX was not his game, it was EA's game.*

I have been following this game forever and hope it will be good.

Oh ps plz include DAOC in that list becuase i found it more inovative then EQ anyday. (It just didn't tons of lame fanboyz)

yeah I'm looking forward to this game also the screenies are great and it looks like it will be different then all the cookie cutter mmos being released now

Out of all the mmos that are in development at this time this is one of the very few that I am very interested in. Its something different and I always liked the idea of the MMORPG-FPS and maybe this one will be the one that works right...

Tabula Rasa - A "clean start" for Richard Garriott. After many years of Ultima he should and must do something new about the online genre that he loves so much.

From clicking skill buttons and health bars to something that looks more like an "arcade" style of gameplay? Who knows... 6 years in development for a game that is just a massive fps is too much. I am sure it will be something more than i can imagine.

I wish you good luck Lord British and i hope that everything will go as you want it to go.

Tabula Rasa is not an fps. The only thing that it uses from FPS-games is the targeting reticle, there is no twitch-action or dodging. (Not sure if you can even move & shot, anyone care to look over the preview videos for gameplay that shows shooting on the go?).

Originally posted by JelloB2000

Tabula Rasa is not an fps. The only thing that it uses from FPS-games is the targeting reticle, there is no twitch-action or dodging.

QFT.

Tabula Rasa is much more than an FPS...it's an inovation.

Yeah, one thing you can bet on, Richard will not be releasing anything close to a Wow clone.  Hopefully this will be the first of a new generation of MMO's.  I am looking forward to trying it out.

Originally posted by Alienovrlord

THIS is a freaking understatement!

You'd think the Department of Defense or Homeland Security was funding this project by the amount of information that's been released on it!   Even this article doesn't do anything but state the same features and game mechanics that were mentioned last year.

Cloning.  We get it.  Battlefields.  We get it.

How about some REAL details or a press conference or letting reviewers play the game or something? 

Maybe they figure Garriott will provide all the advertising they need so they don't need to bother.  Personally it's more like they're either ignoring the community or they don't have anything to show. 

At E3 '06 they had a playable demo and some have eve posted videos. Repeating information is a bit annoying but understandable. The hype surrounding this game is considerably smaller than Age of Conan and WAR so they try to push what they to be the features that are going to catch people's eyes. CuppaJo has gone onto fan forums answering questions and even an internet radio interview so to say they are ignoring the community is a bit extreme.

Originally posted by Gamer5389

At E3 '06 they had a playable demo and some have eve posted videos. Repeating information is a bit annoying but understandable. The hype surrounding this game is considerably smaller than Age of Conan and WAR so they try to push what they to be the features that are going to catch people's eyes. CuppaJo has gone onto fan forums answering questions and even an internet radio interview so to say they are ignoring the community is a bit extreme.

E3 '06.  Exactly, as in '06.  As in last year.   There have been plenty of other conventions/confereces or whatever where they could have showed off the game if they want to generate some hype.

Now it seems they have finally started to put links to preview articles up at the Tabula Rasa site.  (I've been trying to follow this game and I can tell you there were spans of months and months when that site was not updated or even touched)   There seems to have been a big push in March, unfortunately the articles I've read are all pretty much the same, saying the same details so each one is virtually a carbon copy of the next.

My point is that after all these years they have spent talking about this game they really need to do a better job getting information out to the community if they want to generate any interes after all this time..  They can't lay back and play the old-school MMORPG developer game and just do it as an afterthought.  They need an to start being a lot more active, because at this point  doing such a lackluster PR campaign is the same as ignoring a community that has spent YEARS waiting for this game to see the light of day. 

Originally posted by JelloB2000

Tabula Rasa is not an fps. The only thing that it uses from FPS-games is the targeting reticle, there is no twitch-action or dodging. (Not sure if you can even move & shot, anyone care to look over the preview videos for gameplay that shows shooting on the go?).

Good point.  The game i'm looking for them to make is a cross  between Wolfenstein Enemy Territory /  Return to Castlewofenstein (its FPS combat) and incorporating it into a MMORPG.   Wolfenstein is the only FPS game i play so thats my best comparison.  If you can target with a mouse and dogde etc like in a WW2 game, then I'll be trying this game out for sure.  

I'm tired of auto targeting etc.   I sort of want a more skill based shooter/mmorpg.  I'm not sure if this game will emulate that, but thats what i'm hoping for. That would be something new and exciting.

Does anyone know how FPS oriented the combat will be?

Most of the GDC articles are similar because basically the same demonstration was given to all the groups. The only difference would be the questions at the end. The Game Almighty article is probably the only one that says a bit more and includes a video that shows a portion of the demonstration.

The community of fansites around the game have gotten many of their questions about the game answered. The community section of official site has been updated an average of 6 times a month since August and that doesn't include most of the interviews.

If you mean the general MMO community, then I'd agree with you on most counts. The bits and pieces of new information are scattered about various interviews and are difficult for most casual lookers to find themselves. There's been more buzz from the GDC trailer and presentation than the playable demo at E3 (May say something about content but I won't get into that now). They might think that letting the masses try out the game in the planned summer open beta is more effective than articles and leave the pre-beta hype to games based on well-known IPs (And PotBS but a pirate setting seems a lot more exciting).



To the FPS combat question the short answer is probably not a lot. Here's two excerpts concerning combat from Richard Gariott and Starr Long respectively that details more about it.

"Either [players] treat it like a first-person shooter and start jumping up and down and zigzagging, thinking it will make a difference, which it doesn't. What we have to educate people to is that the targeting is "sticky," you still have to aim through the reticle, say I'm going to shoot you, and if he runs under cover, you still need to move so you can get a bead on him, but the targeting reticle sticks to who you mean to be targeted to, so it's not an arcade game...If you and I were fighting, we would do equal damage to each other. If I were to step behind a sand bag, I would take a lot less damage. If I squat down, I can get an easier bead and I am taking considerably less damage. The monsters know that too. If you’re in a tactically superior position, they will come around and kick you to the ground because they know while you are squatting you are a much more vulnerable hand to hand target."

"The front end and the pacing of the game are very shooter oriented, you have the WASD controls and the crosshair in the middle and it feels and plays very much like a shooter, but it’s still an RPG...Your character builds up skills over time, picks up different kinds of weapons and powers and those are the large determinants of how much damage your doing to anything you’re hitting....There are some real-time elements that affect it too, though, like if you’re moving, crouching or standing still, and different weapons are more or less susceptible to movement penalties. It’s kind of a blend of a shooter and an RPG. It’s not just relying on your reflexes like in certain console shooters where the crosshairs will pop over to a target if you’re aiming close enough"

Originally posted by severius
There has been, most assuredly, major changes since the game was first announced several years ago.  What they had wasn't working up to Lord British's expectations so he scrapped the vast majority of the project and started over again. 

 

My "friend" from NCSoft said it was them who told him to scrap his initial design, because it was garbage: another fantasy clone.

Regardless of the truth, I'm happy that TR has gone this route.  Truthfully, I'd prefer the combat system to be more of an FPS than an RPG, but at least it won't be a click and stuff-your-face-with-cheetos game. 

They should make a good console port. From the vids I've seen, the 360 could run it with easy. With VOP integrated into the program, I just dont see a keyboard being required.

I guarantee that if this has twitch based combat, you won't be getting many hardcore mmorpg players. It will be a new breed of players. Perhaps a mix of FPS and MMO players. But twitch based games don't appeal to the gamers who love games like WoW and EQ. I'm currently in a fairly huge guild and very few of the guild members would even touch a FPS. It's just not their type of fun.

 

As sad as it is I am just glad a game is comming out that does not have Elves, Orcs & Gnomes...

Vekt