Having read the previews from other sites that seem to have attended the same day - gamespy, ign, 1up, curse

it seems the staff writer could have written a lot more. Did you attend the same day?

One of the sites worte about being shown the hall of games with things from every game Richard Garriott has worked on - including the original apple 2 he wrote his first game on.

Okay it was nothing to do with T.R but a nice touch.

Looks like they did a big news day with lots of people attending.

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The Stalker is another interesting enemy that requires a thoughtful approach. This giant walker is armed with a powerful turret that turns oh so slowly. As long as you can circle around or get behind cover before the turret is aimed in your direction, you should be safe. Unfortunately, the Stalker also comes equipped with a massive plasma disc bomb launcher that can lay waste to anyone who happens to get caught in its range. Fortunately, you can see the bomb charging up well before it drops.

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As a nice incentive for players to get out in the open rather than simply hiding behind boxes and benches all day, the game rewards recklessness with experience bonuses. The more kills you rack up in a row, the higher your experience multiplier will grow. If you take a break to breathe, or worse yet actually heal, the multiplier drops dramatically.

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Unfortunately, the enemies you'll be facing happen to have their own Logos users. Known as Linkers, these energy-flinging, world-twisting ne'er-do-wells aren't afraid to use the full extent of their powers on anyone who gets in their way. Worse still, they tend to travel in groups

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You won't have to actually be present at a base to know when one needs to be defended. To give players a cue to enter the action, NPCs will start giving out missions to defend or attack a base. Fortunately, it's much easier to get to the fight than simply facing the waypoint and hitting the "run" key. The worlds of Tabula Rasa are full of waypoint teleporters that, once discovered, allow for instantaneous transport from one to another. Getting around is simply a matter of finding them and then using them

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IGN hands on

These quotes from the curse visit

Curse visit to NCSoft

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Garriott strives to ensure that they've taken a different approach to instances. The story is focused around the player, and instances are designed with more of a single-player action-adventure game feel than your typical MMO instance. A good comparison to a game that does them similar is Guild Wars - where instances are used to introduce you to and take you through evolving story arcs in the game world, in such a way that they can be personalized to the player. Players will not just be facing wave after wave of AI-driven creatures, but will also have to solve puzzles and overcome obstacles within the instance.

One example, in the demo we were given a tour of, was figuring out a way to get past an alarm system without triggering it. It's not entirely clear-cut, and takes some thinking, rather than just brute force.

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They also got some information on a tier 4 specialist class - the Engineer

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Engineers can make all sorts of gadgets, and even lay turrets and mines that assist you in defeating creatures. Engineers can also create Temporary Wormholes, a micro-mechanical construct that gives the squad field access to the planet's teleportation network, for a few minutes at a time.

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the gamespy article is extremely well written and has some good examples of the ethical parables. Well worth the read.

Gamespy NCSoft visit

1Up NCSoft site visit

some information in here on the crafting

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There are machines in the bases where players can bring salvage to craft. Some items make themselves available immediately, while others need some time to "percolate." Both crafting items and recipes you find as drops, although you can buy certain common things from NPCs

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and some more info on PvP

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The game, at its core, is PvE -- no evil Bane players at the moment-- but there will be a system incorporated to fight with friends. Duels, party feuds, and clan wars are all possible and faction-controlled planet bases are under consideration for future expansions.

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Originally posted by Kremlik

Anyway ignoring the oddness above...

Althogh many players would be going ZOMG! it's not a true FPSMMO as it has targeting!! I do actally like the idea of soft targeting as long as it comes with some sort of limitation (for example guns overheat more, if they actally will overheat that is) but I also like it becuase although it's kinda FPS ish the softtargeting also allows the non-elite shooters out there to enjoy the game (I know I'm one of them) also as it stated in the article it speeds up the gameplay a lot more as you'll spend more time moving and less time aiming..

The only problem a forsee with these types of games is lag, lag will deffinitly disrupt and destroy gameplay theres nothing like shooting a ton of buttles that don't actally do anything for at least 6 seconds but then you suddenly fllop over as about 60 have only just registered hitting you and you'll have no idea where they came from.. As long as the servers can cope with the numbers of players (and on the client side their pcs can run the numbers ok) I see a lot of fun from this...

Shotgun anyone? :)

Garriott described "autoattack" and turn-based gameplay as a result of lag - but he also pointed out that, in the years since the days of UO and EQ, our technology and connections have gotten just a little better.  With the sticky targetting I really didn't have trouble with "lag" messing up my shot, and hitting the tab key ensures you stay on your target very well.

As for shotguns...I'm a sniper type of gal, but I found a mean EMP shotgun that really worked wonders on the mechs.  Pwehee.

Originally posted by _Shadowmage

 

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Originally posted by dalevi1
The lack of some planned pvp at launch also bothers me, because (even limited) pvp does facilitate the creation of player created content. I am not an all-out no-holds-barred pvp player, I do enjoy voluntary pvp though. The lack of a planned pvp system at launch makes me think there is no way they will get it right the first time in a patch or expansion.

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I think they meant Clan pvp holding/losing outposts is not in for release.

They were certainly talking about having voluntary - dueling and group pvp in for launch.

I could be wrong on that though.

Individual housing - I just dont see that fitting the war setting. I would like to see clan bases though.

Yes, you can duel.

Big all out guild/clan wars aren't in - yet - though.

I really like what I've read in the concepts. We'll see what actually comes out but I am a fan of Sci-Fi and looking forward to this.

Originally posted by Suilebhain
Just a few comments:

I personally like text or storyline (in whatever form) in MMORPGs and would not be interested in a game that is little more than a MMOG form of Unreal or Quake.  I am really looking forward to this game, though.

That said, one way to get past the problem of trying to read a lengthy dialogue while ducking incoming would be to have the questgiver download the text to some sort of handheld, much like WoW does. The person gives you the quest and you accept. If you missed something you can go back and read it at your convenience.

"Heck, what did I just volunteer for?" *takes out the handheld and reads the brief while wolfing down some rations*
"Crap, not THAT!" Heheh.

Housing could be cool if you think in terms of "temporary" housing. SWG's housing was temporary in that manner. A whole town could lift up and move if it wanted to or had to (like, if it became a favorite migration place for Krayt Dragons before anyone could kill them).

Factions sound interesting but if some players get more interested in killing other players rather than aliens because of the same old tired excuse that there is more challenge then the game will decay into a gankfest with very little point. I think it is the hope of game designers that the players will take interest in the content before worrying about becoming the uberest PvPer on the server.

Originally posted by Landogarner
You have much to learn young padewan. You use WoW as your template for all mmo pvp. WoW pvp is flawed. Not the best example to make your case on.

Face it, pure pve enthusiasts are a dieing breed. They won't become extinct but they will be on the endangered list.

"Face it, pure pve enthusiasts are a dieing breed. They won't become extinct but they will be on the endangered list. "

I'd like to know where you dug up that bit of foolishness.  First you say Wow's pvp is horrible then you try to tell us that dedicated pve'ers are a dying breed?  Nothing like contradicting yourself.  Wow has so many subscriptions due to the Pve, not pvp.

Just to clue you in, pve games do much better in the marketplace than pvp games.  That is a fact you will have to deal with.

It is such a well known fact that Turbine released Lotro without pvp and it is quite successful.

I am just waiting for some examples to attempt to prove your point.

Originally posted by Suilebhain
DAOC PvP was worse. Unless you had the precise Race/Class combo and number of Realm Ranks, people would not even let you join their team. Build/Spec ruled there. The old adage for DAOC is "he who mezzes first, wins" because you could turn a whole field of combatants into sheep for the slaughter by getting off one area mez. Last but not least was the Assist Train Mini-zerg that attached to the fastest runner and cut the sleeping ones down.

Then we had SWG, and the "best buffs wins" rule and "my kung fu is too strong for your power armor and plasma cannon".

EQ2 may have had a good system but the idea of PvP there was annoying. "Duel me" became the most repeated phrase in the game.

So far WoW might be flawed but the system has the most checks and balances to prevent one class from being totally "uber" over all the rest and combat lasts more than two whacks, unless you are caught unaware by a stealther.