Today, NCsoft released this non-exclusive feature on their cloning system, a mechanic which allows players to make copies of their characters, replacing "alts" which force players to start again at level one.

I think we have all had that moment when you are so busy you just wish you could clone yourself.  I know as we get closer to launch, a few clones of the development team would be a welcome addition.  But that's not the kind of cloning I want to talk about.  Though the Medic class can create a temporary clone to fight alongside them, the actual Character Cloning System(tm) in Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa is a bit different.  It is a way for players to save their progress with a character so they can try new classes and new builds without having to start over.

The idea behind cloning is to give players the ability to save their progress with a particular character before making a major change.  It allows a player to say, "I want to do something radical or something I'm not quite sure of," while acting as an insurance of sorts while they try something they may not have done yet.  It allows players to have more choices and try new classes and builds without worrying that once that change is made, there is no going back.   In my mind, while I was helping to develop this system, I was hoping that we could encourage players to not be as cautious as they might be with a typical MMO. To encourage them to take chances and try new things.

Read the whole article here.