destination-games
Latest
Tabula Rasa's Deployment 12 goes live
Tabula Rasa's Deployment 12.5 hit the live servers today, and with it comes some major changes to the game. First off, there's the highly-anticipated Omega Labs instance that has been discussed in great length for quite a while now. This instance is available for level 50 players and can only be accessed after your character has completed a series of difficult missions to gain Level 5 Security Clearance.This patch also brings us a new waypoint in the Concordia Palisades, new creatures, new Series 2 weapons, new dialogue audio for 200 missions, the first installment of pet AI improvements, regular bug fixes and much more. Check out the complete patch notes for more information as we look forward to the big Deployment 13 patch coming up on the PTS soon.
Richard Garriott to appear on The Colbert Report
If the recent news of Stephen Colbert joining Operation Immortality has you scratching your head, you may be pleased to learn that Tabula Rasa's Richard Garriott will appear on Colbert's show, The Colbert Report, to discuss his flight to the International Space Station, Operation Immortality and Colbert's participation with the project.This particular episode will air on Comedy Central tomorrow, September 17th, immediately following the Jon Stewart Show at 11:30pm EDT/10:30pm CDT. With Colbert's dry humor and satirical wit, we're sure there will be more than a few jokes made at Garriott's expense.
Tabula Rasa's Progressive Weapon system upgrades
In this week's Tabula Rasa Feedback Friday, the Progressive Weapons are explained a bit more for those high-end players looking for something new and exciting with their firepower. Anything from Series 2 up will play by a new set of rules, revolving around better skins, more specified damage types and more damage dealt. Plus, With the upcoming deployment 13, players will have the chance to duel-wield certain Series 2 pistols.In addition to all of this, there was a new patch today for Deployment 12.4, which is currently on the Public Test Server. This patch was implemented mostly for bug fixes which include many for the COCP map. Check out the complete Feedback Friday and the complete patch notes from Deployment 12.4 for more information.
Stephen Colbert joins the gene pool at TR's Operation Immortality
Professional athletes, writers, musicians and entrepreneurs have nothing on Operation Immortality's latest DNA recipient: Stephen Colbert. The star of the hit Comedy Central show The Colbert Report will have his DNA digitized and sent to the International Space Station with Richard Garriott for the wildly-popular Tabula Rasa promotion Operation Immortality."I am thrilled to have my DNA shot into space, as this brings me one step closer to my life-long dream of being the baby at the end of 2001," said Colbert. Garriott comments on the decision to add Colbert to the growing list of popular celebrities joining the project, "Is there a better person for us to turn to for this high-level responsibility?"
Tabula Rasa's 12-month vet rewards announced
Can you believe Tabula Rasa's one-year anniversary is soon approaching? While it's still a bit less than 2 months away, NCsoft decided to reveal the rewards for those veteran players who have stuck around for the entire year since the beginning.First, we have the Resupply Beacon which teleports an AFS Resupply Bot to your character's location, allowing you and your entire squad to buy ammo, consumables and repair your equipment. Then there's a Dropship Extraction Beacon which acts as a portable dropship waypoint, allowing one-way access to the local dropship network for you and your squad. They've also added a new emote called Logos Greeting. This allows players to greet each other in the language of the Eloh with the /logosgreet emote. Finally, there's the new title "Special Forces" to help other players recognize you as a dedicated member of the veteran AFS special forces.Check out the complete Feedback Friday for more information on what's in store on the Public Test Server and more!
Tabula Rasa's Operation Immortality extended
Since we first told you about Tabula Rasa's Operation Immortality, it has grown quite a bit. All sorts of top athletes, artists and musicians have signed onto the project to have their DNA digitized and sent into space through the Immortality Drive. This special hard drive will travel with Richard Garriott to the International Space Station on October 12th and stay there in the event that humanity needs a restart.Originally, this project was to end on August 31st, for anyone interested in participating. However, we're happy to report that this deadline has now been extended until September 29th, 2008. This gives you even more time to vote on mankind's greatest achievements, send a personal message from the website or win a chance to have your digitized DNA included on the Immortality Drive. So if you still haven't taken part in this historical event, you might want to head on over to the project's website and give it a shot.
One Shots: AFK, researching
Many of the Massively staff will be on the road this weekend covering either PAX or Dragon*Con, so we figured this screenshot was appropriate for today's One Shots. What is it, you might ask? Well, from what we're told by Sevenwind, this is what the "AFK" screen looks like in Tabula Rasa. If you're going to be AFK, there are certainly worse things for your character to do beyond researching the situation. (Heck, that could be really handy on boss mobs if your character could research and tell you what to expect as opposed to having to rely on external websites and/or your raid leader!) Will you be gaming at home this weekend, or heading out to get your geek on? If you'll be doing some gaming, you should grab some screenshots of your favorite game and send them our way! After all, One Shots thrives on your screenshots; otherwise we have to dig into the folders of our staffers. Email those screenshots and descriptions to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com! Safe (in and out of game) travels, all!%Gallery-9798%
Tabula Rasa's Deployment 12 nears the Public Test Server
With this week's Feedback Friday, the Tabula Rasa folks let us know about their basic plans for the upcoming Deployment 13, which will bring a brand new map, new v2 and v3 weapons and make some highly-requested UI tweaks.However, the main focus is on what's coming to the Public Test Server very soon with Deployment 12. This is the deployment that will introduce us to the first iteration of the Clan Owned Control Points on a special prototype map for players to use and abuse to their heart's content. Plus, there's word of the Epic Gauntlet Test Map which is aimed towards the level 50 crowd. This map will be a series of 10 rooms, each with a different assortment of Bane creatures. Things get progressively more difficult throughout the map, so it's aimed more towards the hardcore AFS soldiers: no wimps allowed! Check out the entire feedback notes as well as what the community thinks about the upcoming changes.
New Tabula Rasa event brings the pain
When you get invited to an in-game event that consists of the word "pain", you know it has to be good. Kagasumi, one of Tabula Rasa's QA Testers, is looking to test the limits of high-level monster AI with an event called The Pain Train. This event will take place on the Public Test Server on Friday, August 22nd from 2pm to 4pm Central Time (-6 GMT) on the Palisades map.As Kagasumi says, this event was created to test some very strong monsters against players to see how they fare. Apparently, he says he's been surprised at how players can always come out on top when they're up against large mobs of Bane. So Kagasumi simply wants to test the limits of player/monster combat balance, with your help. He promises lots of giveaway goodies, so even if the thought of high-level Thrax makes you wish you were back in Bootcamp, you'll want to show up and help out as much as you can.
Tabula Rasa Deployment 11 releases early
A full week earlier than planned, Tabula Rasa's Deployment 11 has just hit the live servers, bringing with it the changes with the Bootcamp tutorial area and much more. With this comes the inevitable introduction of Deployment 12 to the Public Test Server very soon. Deployment 12 will bring a few more welcome additions to the TR world. First we have two new weapons: the Series 2 Physical Chaingun and the Series 2 Laser Pistol. Plus, there will be some improvements made to the pets and their AI. Each Bot, Clone and Spotter will automatically be set to follow, guard and assist the player above all else. Finally, the training menus have been completely revamped to better show the proper information for complete career planning.Now, if you're a former player and find any of these new features enticing, you may also be pleased to hear that NCsoft has opened up a free trial period for anyone who has previously had an account with Tabula Rasa. Check out their reactivation page for more info.[Thanks Jack!]
The DNA guest-list grows for Garriott's Operation Immortality
Richard Garriott's Operation Immortality is proving to be quite the attention-grabber lately. Not only that, but more people are signing up to get in on the DNA-sharing action. One of the most recent additions to this project is Matt Morgan, better known as "Beast" on TV's American Gladiators and a professional wrestler for Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling.Morgan has been called "The Blue Print", in reference to his size and physical build. Some believe he is a blue print for the paradigm of human genetics and physical potential. "The Immortality Drive wouldn't be complete without the DNA from a human physical specimen and who better to fit that bill than The Blue Print himself, Matt Morgan," said Garriott. "I'm thrilled that Matt is on board and that an American Gladiator will be making the trip with me to space."
A first look inside Tabula Rasa's Omega Labs
Recently, we made a trip over to NCsoft's offices in Austin, Texas, to get a preview of the Tabula Rasa's newest dungeon, the ultra top secret Omega Labs. We had a chance to chat with Senior Designer Wynne McLaughlin, who brought us up to speed on where Omega Labs fit into the game's story in between staccato bursts of gunfire from his computer speakers. So for those of you who haven't been keeping up with TR's lore [and for those of you who don't want to spoil any surprises, we recommend averting your eyes], we're visiting Penumbra Headquarters in the level 40ish subcontinent Torden Abyss. Penumbra is the black ops branch of the AFS, under the questionable leadership of a man known only as the Director. As you work through quests given by Penumbra, you'll gain higher levels of security clearance and be allowed into section 1, 2, 3, 4, and finally 5. Omega Labs is an instanced wing off Section 5, where Penumbra and the AFS have lost all communication -- and no one is quite sure what's happening inside. As he jumps through the instance portal, McLaughlin explains that with Omega Labs, they were trying to bring more of a survival horror feel to the game, and we have to say they've done a decent job of it with dark corridors, flickering lights, and zombie-like Machina rising from the ground when you least expect them. Warning: If you're the sort of person who does likes to experience the content first hand and unspoiled -- stop reading now. The text to follow is filled with spoilers. If you click ahead and see something you didn't want to see, don't say we didn't warn you! However, if this sounds like your cup of tea, read on! NEXT >> %Gallery-9822%
Tabula Rasa Community Olympics event
Let's face it, the PlanetTR community has remained an integral part of keeping Tabula Rasa what it is today. Sure, there's the gameplay improvements and all the recent work by the devs, but PlanetTR deserves some credit, too. A fine example of this is their new Tabula Rasa Olympics being held this Saturday, August 9th on the Public Test Server.There will be thirteen events held here in all, including King of the Hill, Gymnastics, Swimming, Fencing and more. Most of these events will employ the use of vendor grey items, and have specific rules regarding class, race and item usage. This, of course, is to even the playing field among characters. Be sure to check out the PlanetTR forums for complete details, rules and sign-up information.
NCsoft Adam and Eve 2.0 art contest announced
Are you an exceptional artist, with work good enough to save humanity from the Bane? You might just be what Richard Garriott and Operation Immortality are looking for. Just consider this: if the Earth was destroyed by tentacled aliens and the human race was forced to be reborn from stored DNA, what would the new Adam and Eve look like? This is where you come in. The new Adam and Eve 2.0 Art Contest held by NCsoft allows players to submit their own original artwork for a chance to win a spot on the Immortality Drive. Winners will get their DNA and artwork sent into space with Richard Garriott and stored on the International Space Station as part of mankind's greatest achievements. The selection will also have the opportunity to appear on future NCsoft promotional materials. So head on over to the main contest page for complete details, and good luck!
Has the migration back to Tabula Rasa begun?
Recently, with some of the new features added to Tabula Rasa in Deployments 10 and 11, it seems older, original players who left the game in droves are now curiously scratching the door, asking to be let back in. Is this a sign of things to come, as a part of the usually inevitable return to an MMO that most early adopters face, or just a sign of player boredom as we all await the fall launch season?Either way, and for whatever reason, it does seem like more players are making the return to Tabula Rasa and finding that they enjoy the game again. Of particular interest is a recent forum post over at PlanetTR where the players compile a pleasant list of things they've enjoyed in the game that seem different than other MMOs they've tried. After all the negativity surrounding the game in previous months, it's nice to see that the game might enjoy a resurgence afterall. It's happened before with other games, so it's certainly a possibility with Tabula Rasa as well.
Tabula Rasa's Feedback Friday gives backstory on General British
In this week's Feedback Friday for Tabula Rasa, we get a bit of a summary from the release of Deployment 11 earlier this week. Richard Garriott's space flight and his new project Operation Immortality is featured, with an explanation of how this experiment will work. Plus, we're treated to an in-character story entitled The Traveler, which is all about General British's experiences as a cosmonaut castaway and eventual hero for the AFS.We also get an explanation of the changes made to the new player experience, and why these changes were necessary. Apparently, the developers felt that Bootcamp and subsequent missions were too difficult and were laden with too much extraneous information, so they've revamped the tutorial, help menus and log-in screen. Hopefully these changes will aid new players brought in with the recent publicity from Operation Immortality, as well as the current influx of returning players.
Tabula Rasa Deployment 11 arrives on the test server
Now that Tabula Rasa's Deployment 10 has been unleashed to the world, it's time to start playing around with Deployment 11, which has just hit the Public Test Server today. In it, we get treated to a hefty revamp of both the beginning areas and the advanced areas. The Bootcamp zone has experienced a total revamp, plus there's the addition of a new level 50 instance entitled Omega Labs. However, one of the biggest changes to gameplay that was introduced with this content update is the changes to Adrenaline. As with any gameplay changes, player opinion is mixed, but NCsoft hopes to gauge player response through the test server and make appropriate changes before it goes live.
NCsoft's Operation Immortality launches
As we reported from Comic-Con 08, NCsoft was quite the belle of the ball last week with their Adam & Eve 2.0 booth gaining its fair share of attention from attendees. At this booth, couples were seen swabbing their cheeks for some DNA samples to send into space with one of the grandfathers of the MMO, Richard Garriott. Finally, the website for this campaign has been officially launched and all further details have been released. From now until August 31st, anyone with a PC and an internet connection (that's you) can participate in the site's weekly polls which will be included on an Immortality Drive, to be sent into space with Garriott. Not only that, but current Tabula Rasa players can actually leave a personal message to be included on this drive. Is this simply an outrageous commercial for Tabula Rasa? Sure it is, but has anyone ever done anything even close to this before for a game? Nope.
TR's Feedback Friday details upcoming Clan Owned Control Points
In this weekend's Feedback Friday, Tabula Rasa's QA Lead, Neal "Thade" Johnson, gives us some more insight into the upcoming Clan Owned Control Points. This new feature is something the Destination Games developers have been talking about for a very long time, but it seems we're finally getting closer to seeing them live.These control points won't be strictly PvP, although they may start out that way. Eventually though, the team hopes to add PvE functionality. Apparently, these control point battles will be set up like a spectator sport called the COCP Rumble Show, complete with host Stewart Richards. You can join these battles as a participant, or simply sit in the hovering observation deck to do a little spectating. The battles will provide certain buffs and prestige point rewards for successful wins, and may just be the one thing (besides PAUs) that players have been waiting for the most.
Tabula Rasa Deployment 10 goes live
After over three weeks on the test server, Tabula Rasa's Deployment 10 has now arrived on the live servers. With this content update, TR players get their fair share of goodies, and the general opinion so far is positive.With this patch comes the new Looking for Squad (LFS) command. By typing /lfs or using the radial menu, you can access the options for creating or searching for a squad. There are also some new changes which allow players to use more skills while on the run, which is very important for a game with this much action. Check out the complete patch notes for more information.
