Tabula Rasa - State of the Game
Starr Long, the Producer of Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa has written an article detailing the current state of Tabula Rasa. In the article he discusses NCsoft's commitment to the game, where the game is now and their future development plans, as well as Richard Garriott's current involvement, rumored layoffs and financial issues.
Starr Long, the Producer of Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa, updates us on the state of the game, as well as moving forward to the exciting things to come.
In the last few weeks there’s been talk about the future of Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa, the financial impact of the game on NCsoft as a whole, and the state of our development team here in Austin. I think it’s important to clarify what is going on and what our players can look forward to in the near future, because there is a lot to look forward to.
NCsoft has committed a lot of money and resources into continuing post-launch development of Tabula Rasa. We have been putting new content into the game every few weeks, and we will continue doing just that. We have already added more upper level content and new features like Hybrids, and we’re working on tons of exciting content, such as Personal Armor Units (mechs and mini-vehicles that players can use and will grant them new abilities). Other features we are planning include Command Opportunity, where players will get the ability to summon entire squads of upgradeable NPCs to fight for them. Clans will be able to battle over control points, which we are building specifically for clan versus clan gameplay. Another addition we’re working on is Flashpoints, which are missions that start dynamically in a region for a number of players, whenever certain criteria are met.
;)
Richard Garriott remains involved in, and dedicated to, Tabula Rasa. Even while training for the opportunity of a lifetime—to go to space—he’s been in daily contact with our team, providing guidance and continually challenging us.
I would be remiss if I don’t clarify the matter of rumored “massive layoffs” within NCsoft North America and the Tabula Rasa team. While the game has not taken off as quickly as we had hoped, we also launched in an insanely competitive time frame, with several well-known intellectual properties launching follow up products at the same time. However, the fact of the matter is that we are transitioning from a pre-launch crunch-mode development team to a live service team. This is standard in our industry—you ramp up to launch a game and then ramp down once it’s live. This is what we are doing over the next several weeks, and it only affects the Tabula Rasa team. Once all is said and done, we will still have a substantial live team for industry standards. As you can see by the new features we’re working on, we’re still planning on lots of great content and updates all year long.
There has been a lot of talk about Tabula Rasa lately which doesn’t match the reality of the situation. I hope I’ve been able to shed some light on what is really going on. We have become a more flexible team and have put procedures in place in order to deliver more focused, timely content and fixes much faster than before. This has given us the ability to support our players in a much more timely fashion, which they seem to appreciate and we plan to continue.
I can’t close this column without mentioning Tabula Rasa’s community. They have been invaluable in helping us determine the priorities for the game moving forward. We deeply value our community’s passion, commitment, and dedication to the game. They continue to provide us with excellent feedback and ways to improve Tabula Rasa. We have a lot on the horizon for Tabula Rasa this year, so stay tuned to our website for more updates on the game.
Thanks for your time!
Starr Long, Producer of Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa, NCsoft North America
This article was originally posted on PlayNC.com
I am actually tempted by this game and wish they would offer a free trial for a week or 2 the way other MMOs do. TR's 3-day free trial didn't seem worth the downloading effort, in my opinion, so I didn't bother with it.
TR sounds like a pretty good game, but I am not sure it is worth paying a subscription fee to play, based on what I have read. If NCSoft ever comes up with a more generous free trial period and/or a more economical subscription plan (say, a CoX/TR "package deal" or something along those lines), I would probably give it a try.
I just can't play a game designed by someone named "Starr"
But it does sound like NCSoft remains committed to improving the game, just a matter of seeing if they can capture momentum again, especially in light of the upcoming major releases this year.
Maybe I'd play it if they dropped the RG off the front of the name?
I agree I would love to give this game a good go around, but i dont think 3 days is enough time ... I am hoping they offer a 2 week trial soon. I am dying for a good sci fi game.
Guys I found this game to be an absolute blast...for about a month.
With that in mind if you have the money, go for the 3 day trial and play. You'll know in 3 days if you really like it and will stick with it.
If you last a month like me, that is one month closer to the games I think most of us are waiting on...which is a good thing!
TR was great fun when I started playing it. It doesn't have much lasting power, but the game is a blast when you first start. It is VERY solo friendly regardless of the direction you choose w/ your character and if you like grouping that makes instances much much more friendly.
Just my 2 cents, for what they are worth.
It's sad to say but TR will go the way of Auto Assault by next year. There just isn’t that much interest....The game cost a shit load of money to make and is basically the same handful of missions over and over again.
This is RG's Diakatana make no mistake, if it wasn't for the Koreans worship of the man the plug would have already been pulled.
As someone who played and now miss auto assault this statement just makes me want to play the game. Auto assault did get repetitive, but at least it was a nice break-up of the onslaught of cookie-cutter mmos out there. Forget hitting something with a sword or shooting it with a dinky pistol or bow and arrow, something's in your way, just ram it with your car! Boo-yah. Senseless car violence and complete terrain destruction for the win ^^
Just my 2cents.
I just have one question. It seems like (from what everyone is saying) that this game is loosing steam, as in loosing subscriptions, the whole ball of wax. Is this true? I was really thinking about giving this game a go, but with dwindling numbers, I'm not.
I absolutely loved Auto Assault. I hated to see it go. Human Engineer = God on wheels.
That game was so far before it's time...
I salute you for bringing it up again. I'll miss it and hope that somebody out there will realize what a good idea it was and take more of the same idea into account on an MMO in the future.
I got the game for 10 bucks at EB games, and I actually really enjoyed it. However I had a couple problems.
1. It didn't look that great on my comp, which isn't the games fault, but if I could run it close to what the screen shots look like, I probably would've liked it more.
2. I didn't know anymore. I have way more people I know in WoW then this game, so transferring is a problem.
I honestly think this game could be better then WoW, but in a sense, never will be because they should've held it back until it was more polished gameplay wise.
I just starting playing the game again after the beta ended. I am having fun. I don't think the quests are too repetitive because from the ones I have played, they all get that way. What I like is the constant action. If it isnt the ships dropping off the Bane to start shooting at me as I go by, it is some kind of alien beast. No place seems safe or serene in this world. I like that. As far as people leaving the game--I don't know. I always see other players wondering around. It isn't SWG pre CU--but I don't think any game will ever compare to that. Another thing I like is the shooter type of action. I like the fact that I need to actually aim and take cover.
So, if you are at all interested in this game, I would say give it a try.
When I started playing about a month ago I would login and all the server pops were on low, now when I log in they say medium at around 6pm EST. Euro hits low later on and all servers are low in the morning but I think the population is improving. I see some people on the east coast server when I am just dickin' around at the bases and running cross country.
Tried TR on it's release as a brief change from LOTRO and have been playing it ever since. It is a really nice game with loads of exciting and visceral combat. Always feels like you are playing the game rather than pressing buttons in the right order and provides heaps of fun.
It is certainly no more repetitive than any other mmo and to my mind it is a lot less so. The missions are go here, go there, find this, kill that, etc like every other game on the market. To it's credit though, it's npc enemies wander around, fight one another and show a lot more life and character than in any other mmo I have played. Because of this it also has replay value. Unlike LOTRO whereby everything was exactly the same when you came to play through a second time, TR often feels like a new experience, even when completing the same objectives.
The game feels a lot more open ended than AutoAssault did so has the potential to be a slow grower like EVE and to expand in to something truly great. Whether it does or not will depend on what new PVE content NCSoft deliver over and above the interesting PvP concepts they have promised us.
The 3 day trial will be enough for you to explore the first noobs zone, participate in mass assault and defence of control point bases and maybe even play through the first few instanced zones. That is, if you actually play the game rather than sitting in general chat moaning because it isn't the same as World Of Warcraft! You wouldn't believe how many people seem to feel compelled to do this. What 3 days won't show you is that each new area feels better built and more exciting than the last, that the storyline becomes involving and that you get a real sense of being part of something.
Elves need not apply, but if you want to take part in a game which feels like a cross between Starship Troopers, Stargate and Saving Private Ryan, with a side order of Aliens and Predator thrown in, then this may be what you are looking for.
In terms of population, the last figures I saw were that they had 150,000 subscribers 3 months in, which puts it on a par with City Of Heroes. The euro server is well populated and has a vibrant community. There are 3 US servers, I haven't played on them but at least one of them seems to be on a par with the euro server for player numbers.
See when I look at TR, I think Diablo.... With Guns....
Definitely worth giving a try if you haven't already, I'm glad that I did!
I found the game very fun, for about three days, after which I realized the game was all style and no substance. I think that's why the trial is only three days, if it was two weeks the conversion rate to paid players would be much, much lower.
(By all means though, if you really have an interest and can find the box really cheap somewhere, it may be worth it for some).
The rest of the "state of the game" seems to be a lot of spin though. Richard Garriott "checking in daily as he trains for his space (ego) trip" had me LOL, along with the excuse for poor launch numbers being a result of a "highly competitive time frame". Huh?!?!?! The game launched in the midst of the ongoing drought of quality, appealing MMOs!
This game is another case of "what could have been". That Richard was able to bank roll his vanity space tourism with the proceeds shows were a lot of the wasted money went.
If and when they add significant PvP content, I would be willing to give this game a try.
I just recently bought TR and Im having a lot of fun. The GM's in this game are awesome. everyday and sometimes several times a day I see GM's in chat interacting with the community,a sking if anyone needs help etc. Its quiet refreshing.
I have been in Beta for over three months and played the game another couple weeks last month to give it another try. Im done. My left mouse button can take just as much ;) Wich is basically the only button you really use through the game lol.
My state on the game:
- By end of beta we said that the game was severely lacking high level content.
- The Mid to high level content that was in, was severely bugged
- Number of classes and skills way too little and restrictive (read boring). You will have all your skills at lvl30!! Not to mention the specialist tree completely nerfed into oblivion! All you need is firearms to pump5 and use rifle and shotguns.... for all classes. As most class specific weapons are severely unbalanced or just nerfed to death! ..or better, just plain bugged (and still are at this moment).
- Logos are just a plain collection system to unlock skills. Nothing more. A huge missed opportunity of what could have been so much more than that! This was my biggest dissapointment really.
- Cloning system all fun and dandy, but just doesn't work as intended and becomes a chore to use really (friend and ignore lists not copying while cloning for instance)
- PAU's were announced at end of beta to be in close after launch as persuasion cookie. After almost half a year later they are still not in! And at this moment still no ETA when they actually will be in?!
- After almost half a year post-launch they still havent got all the needed high end content in place. So many lvl50's running around completely bored. As PVP in TR is just plain dueling atm. Nothing more, nothing less!
Sure Starr..... the game is on steam.... ehhrrmm? I wonder how long you guys at NCSoft can hold up the curtain till it falls down..... hard.
The moment Age of Conan and WAR launch, both games with great PVP potential, I wonder how many will still stick to this game. As sure, many jumped in because of the SF setting (like me), but a lot were drawn in for the PVP, wich basically sucks....and still sucks almost 6months post-launch. As there is no PVE endgame!
Cheers
Now that would be cool. I wouldn't mind a $20 package deal/Station Pass type thing. NC makes some great games, but it seems none have any lasting power. Paying one price to access a few games would repopulate the servers across the board and be a MUCH better value.
Its not the best game NCSoft has released (Lineage 2 still holds that title for me), but its an enjoyable game to pass the time while I wait for AoC. Sure its repetitive but hell what mmo isn't repetitive? Its definitely a break from the normal hack and slash mmo games I am usually drawn too.
Sounds like she is backpeddling to me. I played this game in beta, and it has a lot of great features. Unfortunately for me, it was not in a setting I wanted to stay in. The constant gunfire is annoying. It does not have that great fealing of an alternate reality, which to me is what mmo's are all about. It feels like a console game. I know we all want something different, and this is different, but it's not what I am looking for. I just hope NC Soft will hang on to Aion, I'm really looing forward to it. I want my alternate reality to be beautiful, not a war ground. I know, go play Wow, but wow isn't that pretty.
Aoto Assault cost 10 million and a couple of million would have fixed all of it's problems making it fun for everyone. I hope Net Devil tries to re open buying Auto Assault back in light of Tabuls Rasa's 90 billion dollar going out of business sale. Make no mistake Tabuls Rasa is dead. I told you all before and here it is my proof.
Other features we are planning include Command Opportunity, where players will get the ability to summon entire squads of upgradeable NPCs to fight for them.
One class in the came can now revive a host of Dead enemies .. but they are zombies who only stand around and clutter the screen .. the Ai of NPC summon characters is pittyful at best .. most will use abilitys that enemy is totally immune to .. NO HELP THERE ... I would not expect any better from the NEW concept.
Clans will be able to battle over control points, which we are building specifically for clan versus clan gameplay.
Do not be fooled .. this has been talked about from before launch during the early Beta stages .. players would ask about these additions and were told maybe one day ... The only new thing I see in the report is the flash point missions ... and those seem pretty lame. You kill the Queen bee and poof you got a radio Transmission that sends you to go find the Honey jar .. YES FOR REAL that would be a mission in TR .. The missions are lame and only a few show any real imagination .
and we’re working on tons of exciting content, such as Personal Armor Units (mechs and mini-vehicles that players can use and will grant them new abilities).
Once again 3 or 4 ideas do NOT constitue TONS of content in development .. The Mechs were spoken of again way back in BETA as the Carrot to keep people coming back .. and it is getting Pretty rotten by now.
The game is addictive in the first few months ... and if your looking for something DIfferent then the WOW grind give it a try ... but it has no and I mean NO lasting power to keep large numbers of players interested much past the few month line ...
I played the 3 day trial, I found it interesting, but for me it would have just been one of those games I play when I needed a break from playing eve. As for PVP, its never been a big thing for me if an MMO had PVP in it let alone good PVP. For some it seems to be a must, and to each their own, but if you base your decision on a single aspect of the whole, then you are very short sighted IMHO.
I can see this being a good game for a more casual player, but if you are a fan of WoW you wont like it as you arent spoon fed as much, there is work in this game that you have to do on your own. There is also the problem that for those who like a great challenge that you may not like it because its not as challening as what you may want.
All in all the best advise I can give you, is do your research and if you are still interrested in this game try it for a month. Me Im waiting for Stargate Worlds at the end of the year.
One of the problems faced by casual players is that subscription-based games are seldom a good deal. If TR went in a more Guild Wars-type direction (buy the game, play for free) or offered a more modest subscription fee (say, $5 to $10/month U.S.) or a package deal (TR+CoX Station Pass, etc., for a single subscription price), they'd attract a bigger following. They could then sell added endgame content as pared-down expansion packs (i.e., not full-price expansions) or something along those lines.
I think, from a financial standpoint, they'd recoup a lot of their losses on this game and might even prove to be a genuine success.
Short trial periods (3 days!) are a red flag (to me, anyway) that a game's fun quotient is front-loaded and that it does not not have "staying power."
Tbh, TR was a blast for 2 weeks then like a baloon hit a needle PHOOO all the hot air was out for me. Its all a mindless PEW PEW all over. *shrug* I mean if you like that, fine, but for me I had a supreme sense of motivation loss after 2 weeks and quit. No small adds here and there will ever bring me back, unless they turn the game practically upside down. One more "could have been" game indeed.
Lord British, pls for the eight virtue's sake: go back and make those solo RPGs which were a blast you were so good at!
I wanted to love this game... I bought it, I played it for two weeks, and I just kind of... gave up. The few people I ran into on my server were clearly teenage boys who thought of the whole thing as just one giant frag fest and shouted at eachother in ancient "l33t." It was like I'd been time-warped back to the old days of playing Quake on the LAN at work.
I think if I could have persuaded some other old folk from among my gaming friends to join me, this might have been fun. It definately has a new "feel" to it... In the end, though, it was just too LONELY for me.
Would you say the same thing about WoW? That is a game that was developed for the casual player, plain and simple. There are casual players that play almost every MMO out there I dont think a monthly fee is a problem.
Actually, I would. I enjoyed WoW but eventually quit because it just wasn't economical for me (plus I got a bit bored by it). But, yes, I recognize there are a lot of "casual" players playing WoW. One thing that I can say for WoW is that it is one of the very few MMOs out there that, in my opinion, actually earns its $15/month.
I have played EQ2 and CoX and, while these games are OK, there is just NO WAY I'd pay that much to play them. I suspect TR is much the same, but I would need to try it for a couple of weeks to find out for sure.
I will agree with you on EQ2 and CoX. As for WoW earning its money, I think its safe to say that all games do that for some people. I would also agree that not all games should charge the same fee, as most of them to many people arent worth, unfortunately IMO WoW made that almost impossible, since they delivered an inferrior product to what was out at the time, and because of its name millions flocked to it, again this is just my opinion, doesnt make it right or wrong.
Played during beta, pre-ordered & played months after release. I really had high hopes for this game, loved the setting, the devs had an open slate to go wherever they wanted (with a bit of imagination).
Game plays really well, enjoyed it immensely, however it still feels kinda unfinished. A case in point is that levelling is mainly done by doing quests rather than grinding mobs. Problem with that is that there is not enough quests for a player to reach max level and therefore at high levels you end up grinding mobs at a control point etc to try to reach max level. This experience has been recounted to me time & time again by members of the clan I founded. I noticed in a recent Friday feedback article that the devs had announced they were going to restructure the experience modifier to make levelling easier, geez, players don't want the experience modifier changed, they want more quests.
Instances are another issue, they are great to start with but once you get into the higher levels you start to realise that there has been a lot of copy&paste design going on with these instance, the only real difference is that the mobs are a bit higher in level. (don't get me wrong tho, there are some very good instances in here, just too many that look & feel the same)
I really had high hopes for this, and I still hope that the devs come to their senses and start addressing the main issues (ie lack of content at higher levels), alas I fear tho that this will eventually become primarily PvP based as that seems to be what the devs are concentrating on.
I'm no longer playing but I still keep an eye on it with the hope that the state of the game will improve in the future, and many, many of the players that were in my clan have also done the same.
I played in TR beta - loved it for a start but like most betas I expected too much, became disillusioned with it and played something else. I've slammed it a few times on these forums and guess what? Now I'm playing it again.
Why am I playing it? It's fun!
Will I be playing it in a month's time? Who knows, but I will get my month's enjoyment out of it.
It is a nice break from the fantasy genre, has some interesting new ideas but enough of the same old stuff from other MMOs that prevent it being great.
Pick up a cheap copy somewhere, play it until you get bored then move on
I just cancelled my TR account about 2 weeks ago. I played in the open beta and had heard about the mechs/PAUs back then so that's nothing new. Also, since live release they've made me reallocate my attribute and skill points no fewer than 3 times. And each time they did I needed to relearn the rubric where each ability was affected how much by which points.
And to top it all off, when they upped they mob hitpoints they made the game completely unfriendly to soloing (yeah fanbois I know you're all gonna disagree with that but my experience is what it is) which is what I did a lot in TR because the communication/chat/LFG system was weak at best (though I loved the built in voicechat for teams). Also I saw it mentioned earlier that specialist weapons were nerfed to death...I second and third that. No way I should be able to obliterate a target with 5 shots from a rifle but do next to no damage with an RPG launcher.
The game could and should have been so much better, and might have been if they'd actually decided what they wanted it to be before launch. Instead they make major sweeping changes that make the game completely different than what it was the day before. I got the feeling they rushed this one out the door to be honest, and regret plunking down my $$$ for the box and drink coaster. This one's already on it's way out, I suggest folks steer clear.
While I don't wish failure on anyone, the world doesn't really need yet another FPS. This game was bound to disappoint me especially after so much hype pre-launch. It was suppoed to be so much more than just another run-around-and-shoot-stuff game. The "tutorial" teaches you nothing; I still have no idea how to attain and use a LEGO. There's nobody around to talk to or ask questions 'cause nowhere in the manual are the instructions to open a chat window of any kind. The game relies heavily on hand-eye coordination and reactiion times, but doesn't support a joystick. It's impossible to get any customer support because "Tabula Rasa" does not exist as it's own entity--you can only deal with NCSoft. What a joke! Worst $60 I ever spent. Its only redeeming quality is that it made me appreciate EVE that much more.
I'm also in the "three day trial? no thanks" camp. Someone had a really dumb idea with that one. I'll be paying fees potentially for years if I like it. Why only let me try it out for one or two sessions of play? I can only assume they don't want me to have much time for a reason.