Tabula Rasa (computer game)
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This article or section contains information about an unreleased video game. It is likely to contain information of a speculative nature, and the content may change dramatically as more information becomes available. |
| Tabula Rasa | |
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| Developer(s) | Destination Games |
| Publisher(s) | NCsoft |
| Release date(s) | TBA 2007 (US) |
| Genre(s) | MMORPG |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | Rating Pending |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| System requirements | (Estimated) Windows® 2000/XP/Vista, 512 MB System RAM, 2.5 GHz Intel® Pentium® 4 or equivalent AMD™ processor, 128 MB Direct3D and Shader 2.0 compatible video card and DirectX 9.0 compatible driver, 8x DVD-ROM drive, 4.6 GB free hard disk space, DirectX 9.0c, DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card, Broadband Internet connection |
| Input | Keyboard and Mouse |
Tabula Rasa is an MMORPG from NCsoft, designed in part by some of the creators of Ultima Online such as Richard Garriott. The game is an RPG that blends in certain shooter aspects into the combat system.
Tabula Rasa is about humanity's last stand against an alien race called "The Bane." The story takes place in the far future on two or three planets, which will be in a state of constant conflict between the AFSF (Allied Free Sentient Forces) and The Bane.
According to the developers, the game will include the ability for players to influence the outcome of a war between the player characters and the NPCs.
It was confirmed by an administrator at the City of Heroes' message boards that some staff working on other NCsoft projects will be transferred to the Tabula Rasa development team.[citation needed] This includes, but is not limited to, the City of Heroes' Community Coordinator with the alias of CuppaJo. [1]
On January 5, 2007, a closed beta was announced for Tabula Rasa. Although sign-ups are currently being accepted, there is no word on when the closed beta test would commence. [2]
Beta invites have been given out specifically to contest winners. Open beta is planned to start sometime in the summer and to be released in 2007. [3]
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[edit] Development History
In the works since May 2001, the game underwent a major revamp two years into the project. Conflicts between developers and the vague direction of the game were said to be the causes of this dramatic change. 20% of the original team were replaced and 75% of the code had to be redone.[1] First re-shown at E3 2005, the game then transformed into the current science fiction setting and look.
[edit] Background
There once was an advanced alien species known as the Eloh. They freely shared the knowledge of Logos, the power to convert between matter and energy with just the mind, to less advanced races. One of them, named the Thrax, used this power to wage war against the Eloh. This led to a great divide in the Eloh. One faction wanted to keep on spreading the knowledge as they had before. The other, called the Bane, sought to use it to enslave everyone else so that it wouldn't happen again. The Bane attacked Earth sometime in our near future. Humanity was hopelessly outmatched and the majority was completely wiped out. Luckily the Eloh had left behind some of their technology that had the ability to make wormholes to other worlds. There, humans found other species doing the same thing the had, fighting against the Bane just to survive. They banded together to form the Army of the Allied Free Sentients to fight against the Bane with their lives on the line.[2][3][4]
[edit] Gameplay
[edit] Combat
The combat mixes in some aspects from shooters to add some real time action elements to the game. It still is not an outright shooter and features sticky targeting and has dice rolling based on character stats underneath. Stickiness can be adjusted to fit the preference of the player. Instead of a hit-miss system, Tabula Rasa instead adjusts the damage based on the situation. Real-team factors like weapon type, ammo type, stance, cover, and movement are taken into account. The enemies are reported to have AI so they too will try to take advantage of the terrain, their numbers, and will try to flank you.[5]
[edit] Missions & Storytelling
Missions will be given out by NPCs but will not be static. What missions are available and even the access to the NPCs themselves are subject to how the battlefield is going. Some may be specific to control points that you will need to reclaim from the Bane to gain access again. Missions are also to have multiple options to take. One example is a mission to get some semi-illegal stimulants to some soldiers on duty to help them stay up for their shift. You may turn them into the authorities as the "right thing" to do or find out where the drugs have gone and find out some organization has removed all sources of that drug from the area. The missions you choose to do and the choices during them will change the way certain NPCs treat you. Some missions will deliver you to private instanced spaces. The game is to try to innovate the use of instanced spaces by using them for more in-depth storytelling, with puzzles, traps, and NPCs, that would be more difficult in shared spaces.[6][7]
[edit] Logos
Logos is a pictographic language left behind by the Eloh to be understood by other races. As players go through the game, they will gain Logos symbols to add to their Logos tablet, a blank slate, and begin to learn the language found throughout the game and gain special powers. Logos could be considered the equivalent of magic for Tabula Rasa. Players can improve these abilities and the upgraded versions can add new tactical uses. Some are universal while others are class specific. Some examples range from lightning bolt attacks, sprinting, reinforcements, and poison type powers. [3] [4] [8]
[edit] Character Creation
Tabula Rasa has an inverse tree class system. Everyone starts out as a recruit and as they progress they will be able to branch out. The first branch/tier being the soldier or specialist and each of those has two paths to go on. There are to be four tiers at launch. Tabula Rasa also has a cloning function at each tier. It works like a save function for your character at the branching point and allows you to try out the other branch without having to repeat the first several levels repetitively.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ Tabula Rasa: A Candid Look. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
- ^ Backstory - Clean Slate. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
- ^ a b Tabula Rasa Interview. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
- ^ a b Tabula Rasa Almighty Preview. Retrieved on March 12, 2007.
- ^ w00t Radio CuppaJo Interview 2007-01-17
- ^ An Audience with Lord British. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
- ^ Interview With Richard and Robert Garriott About Tabula Rasa, Massively Multiplayer Online Games, And Taking On World of Warcraft. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
- ^ Interview: Richard "Lord British" Garriott. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
- ^ w00t Radio CuppaJo Interview 2007-01-17
