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Tabula Rasa to shut down in February 2009
It's been a fairly good run for Tabula Rasa, but the inevitable has now been announced. As of February 28, 2009, Tabula Rasa will be shutting down its servers for good. We've feared an Auto-Assault-like fate for the game for a while now, but confirmation of this event truly saddens everyone in the MMO community.According to the announcement, the folks at TR plan on going out in style, though. Not only will they continue to pump out some new, quality content in the remaining months, but the game will actually go free-to-play for its final month and a half. You can check out more of their upcoming final plans with the game, as well as the official announcement at their website.
Richard Garriott announces his departure from NCsoft
Some say they knew this day would come, while others swore it never would. In an official announcement on the Tabula Rasa website, Richard Garriott announced to the world today that he is leaving NCsoft to pursue other interests.According to the announcement, Garriott's experience pursuing his lifelong dream of spaceflight has sparked some new interests in him, and he aims to devote his time and resources into these, instead of the MMO he worked to build for so many years. This still leaves us with many unanswered questions. Does this mean the end of Tabula Rasa as we know it? That part has not been mentioned at all, but we imagine there will at least be some upcoming changes, like, to the logo. You can read Garriott's departing letter just after the cut below, and let us know what you think of his resignation in the comments.
Tabula Rasa to hold back-to-basics Q&A event
Even though Tabula Rasa has just reached its one-year anniversary, there are certainly new players coming into the game constantly. Whether people have heard about the newest crafting changes, the return to Earth or are simply coming back into the game after a long hiatus, they may need a bit of a brushing up on their skills. Luckily, there's an upcoming event to explain the basics of the game to us.This Tabula Rasa 101 Q&A session will be held in-game at Alia Das in Wilderness 1 during the following times: Monday, November 10th, 2:00 PM CT - Centaurus Monday, November 10th, 8:00 PM CT - Orion Tuesday, November 11th, 8:00 PM CT - Cassiopeia Wednesday, November 12th, 8:00 PM CT - Pegasus Once there, new recruits can meet up with GM_Vagabond to fire away any basic mechanics or gameplay questions you may have. Good luck, soldiers!
Massively.com giveaway: Tabula Rasa AFS Commander prize pack
Earlier today we started giving away 50 Tabula Rasa soldier packs. There's some really nice swag in there ... but it is just not enough. See, Massively and Tabula Rasa share pretty much the same birthday. Last year's giveaway extranavangza had us doing an entire 24-hour marathon of giveaways. So this year we wanted to offer something really special to everyone serving in the AFS. That's why we have the AFS Commander Prize Pack. If you win this one-of-a-kind pack you'll get: A collector's edition box of Tabula Rasa (retail: $39.99), a Tabula Rasa T-Shirt, a TR Zboard keyset, TR dogtags, a TR hat, a Tabula Rasa lanyard, a commemorative patch from Richard Garriott's flight to the ISS, and a fantastic Tabula Rasa poster signed by General British and Starr Long. Total estimated retail value: $116.All you have to do to win this kingly swag pack is leave a comment on this post telling us whether you'd want to serve on the front lines against the Bane. Would you sign up, or leave the alien-fighting to others? You'll need to comment before 7:00 AM EST Wednesday, November 5th to be eligible. You can only enter once per person, and after the contest closes we'll ship out the prize pack to one randomly-selected winner. Give us at least a week to ship out this massive pile of swag, though. To win you must be age 18 or up and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec). For full eligibility details, we suggest you read our official rules. Good luck!
Richard Garriott returns safely from space
Richard Garriott's space flight has certainly caught the attention of more than just the fans of his MMO development career. He's been all over the mainstream networks for several months as preparations were made and he was eventually launched into orbit earlier this month. Now Garriott has returned safely to Earth in what was said to be a highly-successful mission with Russian Cosmonauts.Not only has the father of the modern MMO concluded the Tabula Rasa: Operation Immortality project with his trip to the International Space Station, but he has also become the second person to ever follow in their father's footsteps into space. Garriott's father Owen Garriott is a retired NASA astronaut who flew on the U.S. space station Skylap in 1973. Ironically, Garriott's return to Earth perfectly coincides with Tabula Rasa's own news of the game making a return to the home planet.You can see more information, videos and interviews with Garriott upon his return at his website richardinspace.com.
Tabula Rasa announces a return to Earth
After an alien attack led the Logos-receptive humans to find safety in other planets, the fate of the home planet was grim. It was rumored that Earth had been completely destroyed by the Bane, and that's what they came to accept after all this time. Yet, new research has discovered that those rumors were wrong. Not only is Earth still alive, but there are humans there left to save.The return to Earth is a prospect in Tabula Rasa that probably every single player -- past and present -- have longed to see. With the upcoming Deployment 15, those dreams will come true. This exciting new content will include: Epic instanced control point gameplay for level 48 to 50 players All new setting and art design New monsters, including new Epic creatures and mini-bosses. These new Epic creatures are designed to be a greater challenge, requiring the efforts of coordinated squads with excellent weapons and gear to be defeated. PvE Mech gameplay opportunities New armor sets available only on Earth
TR's Feedback Friday explains upcoming changes to Raksha
Tabula Rasa Designer Jason Ford takes the Feedback Friday controls this week to explain a bit about the changes to the Raksha Robotic Facility coming soon with Deployment 14. As he describes, "The Bane have blown a hole through the roof of the C.D.U. (Central Dispatch Unit) in Raksha Robotic Facility on Torden Incline. They've seized control of the C.D.U. system allowing them to start reprogramming the Wardenbots to fight on their behalf."So now it's time for you to do something about it. A new group encounter has been added, entitled Central Dispatch Unit. This is a Wardenbot Control Point recommended for players between levels 25-32, and it is repeatable. This also spawns a new corresponding mission entitled War Machine, but is not required for participation on the Control Point encounter.Read more about the details of this addition to the game, coming soon with Deployment 14.
Watch a video of Richard Garriott's geeky but enviable space voyage
By now a lot of you know that Richard Garriott, creator of Ultima Online and Tabula Rasa, is in space. Sadly, since we didn't watch the live broadcast of his liftoff, we only know this through second-hand reports. But it's all going to be okay -- the NASA TV broadcast has been uploaded to YouTube, so if you missed it as we did then you too can watch an eccentric and wealthy nerd experience his lifelong dream. We've embedded it after the jump. Enjoy!Garriott lifted off on October 12th, carrying with him the DNA of Operation Immortality participants, including some Tabula Rasa players. Shortly after liftoff he displayed to the camera a Logos message to the camera on the spacecraft -- simultaneously an inspiring quote about space travel from a Russian scientist ("Earth is the cradle of humanity but mankind will not be in the cradle forever.") and a hint at upcoming additions to Tabula Rasa.[Via Joystiq]
Richard Garriott's Logos message to Tabula Rasa players deciphered
A couple of minutes after Richard Garriott's flight to the International Space Station blasted off, he held up a sign for the camera, consisting of two strings of heiroglyphs. Tabula Rasa players will have recognised these instantly as Logos, the pictographs of the Eloh, and key to unlocking the various Logos abilities. The message's cryptic quality was further enhanced by the obscurity of some of the symbols, which were completely new.As of last night, community member Lady Valashar has provided the translation: 'Earth is the cradle of humanity but mankind will not be in the cradle forever', first spoken by Soviet rocket scientist Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky. What's even more thrilling for those of us who follow Tabula Rasa news closely is a hint dropped by NCsoft staff member Leilo, who stated 'Several of the symbols are new. Though one will have significance in-game in the near future...'Among the new symbols is the very first one, interpreted as 'Earth', and it's third-rock-from-the-sun appearance can surely mean nothing else. There have been many rumors recently that a return to Earth is on the cards in Tabula Rasa, including the exhortation to 'kick those Bane bastards off our own planet' from new Lead Designer Susan Kath. If this is really the news that's waiting to drop, it's going to be huge for the game.
Tabula Rasa's Community Coordinator leaves NCsoft
Here we are once again, saying goodbye to yet another talented NCsoft employee as they pursue a greater opportunity outside the company. And once again, we're saddened by the news, yet excited for their broadened horizons. This time it's Amy "Critters" Crider, former Community Coordinator for Tabula Rasa.Crider took over the community role earlier this year from April "CuppaJo" Burba, when she left for the Dungeon Runners team. Since that time, Crider has won the respect of the TR community through her work with in-game events, fansite interviews and more. Taking her place will be Dane Caruthers, who you may remember from our PAX08 interview earlier last month. We wish Dane all the best in his new role, and Amy continued success with her new venture.
Tabula Rasa Server vs. Server War
If you follow Tabula Rasa news, you may have seen a recent announcement concerning the Server vs. Server war coming up this Saturday, October 11th, 2008. This war is the third one of its kind, and aims to be the largest and most popular to date. If you're new to the Server vs. Server war, you may be interested in a brief explanation as told to us by PlanetTR's Adele Machka. The war works by combining clans from Pegasus-Centaurus and Orion-Cassiopeia to join two "super" clans which then declare war upon each other. Each of these wars last 4 hours. The victor is the clan which has the least amount of deaths at the end. It's an extremely well-organized event, and the organizers want to make sure that everyone just has fun, first and foremost. If you'd like more details or information on signing up for this event, check out this thread. Let's all do our part to make this the largest SvS event ever![Thanks Adele and Andriss!]
Massively talks with NCsoft about CoH changes, Austin studio shakeup
Massively and NCsoft have had the chance to touch base several times in the last week or so, and we wanted to be sure to put it all together in one place. If you're a fan of NCsoft's games, or just a fan of the genre, you undoubtedly have heard about the trials and tribulations player and developer have been experiencing of late. We've got all the details you want about the NCsoft Austin shakeup, the future of Tabula Rasa, the City of Heroes Issue 13 changeup and the microtransaction initiative the NC NorCal team is ramping up. Check out this roundup of NCsoft posts for everything you need on one of the bigs MMO publishers around. City of Heroes Mission Architect moving to next year!So what is replacing Architect? How about an all new level syncing system that will ensure you can always keep up with your buddies? The "Day Jobs" system, with brand-new civilian costumes and a brand-new game mechanic? Rebalancing of powers for PvP? A new merit reward system? David Reid sets the record straight on NC WestDavid Reid, appointed President of Publishing, was kind enough to give up considerable time yesterday for an interview. We discussed Guild Wars and Tabula Rasa, but the main focus was on the NC West announcement. Brian Clayton and Matt Miller on Power and Responsibility in City of HeroesRight now the news is breaking about a major change to the City of Heroes issue release schedule. The Mission Architect feature is being moved to Issue 14. Issue 13, now titled Power and Responsibility, will include a whole lot more cool content and reach the player base that much sooner. NCsoft 'very encouraged' by Guild Wars 2Massively recently got to talk to David Reid, the newly appointed President of Publishing for NC West, about several key NCsoft matters. We took the opportunity to ask David about ArenaNet and Guild Wars, and in particular, what was happening with Guild Wars 2.
Player controlled Mech spotted on Tabula Rasa test server
It's a long time since the first sighting of a Personal Armor Unit on Tabula Rasa - and that one was disassembled. Now, on TR's public test server, the first prototype mech has been unveiled that players can test-drive. PlanetTR.com board poster RWScissors has bagged a couple of screenshots of the stompy vehicle in action.The original plan for PAUs called for one specific type per tier-4 class. It's not yet clear whether the developers have stuck to this plan or revised it, though the hint given by new lead designer Susan Kath of 'a cool new system to allow you to customize your mechs through a type of alternative advancement' may suggest the latter. The possibilities have Tabula Rasa players very excited, if unsure about the exact role the mech is meant to play.For the immediate future, the best source for definitive information on the PAUs must surely be Dev_Ridout, who's going to be doing a podcast with PlanetTR any day now. There's still time for interested players to get questions in.
Playboy model to join TR's Operation Immortality
The list of celebrities donating their digitized DNA for Tabula Rasa's Operation Immortality is becoming a bit staggering, but this latest one should help perk your interest. Jo Garcia, Playboy Magazine's Cyber Girl of the Year for 2008 will be the latest to store her digitized DNA on the International Space Station along with others like Stephen Hawking, Stephen Colbert, Tim Draper and more.Although the title of Cyber Girl of the Year has nothing to do with gaming, Garcia considers herself an avid gamer. "People don't understand that that the whole gaming world is not just for geeks, and assume that every person who plays video games is a geek that wears glasses," Garcia said in a recent interview with Kotaku. "It's a misnomer that needs to be put to rest."
TR's Deployment 13 introduces new Command System
Tabula Rasa's Deployment 13 has just hit the Public Test Server, and we think you might be excited to hear about the new Command System being implemented with it. Previously referred to as the Minion System, this enhancement gives better control over AI pets and controllable NPCs, also called subordinates, in the game.Subordinates now have better control features where you can set their aggressiveness or defensiveness, assign an anchor point, order them to attack or heal a particular target or set them to simply follow you. All of these commands are done through a set of easy commands and hotkeys. To find out more info on the complete Command System, check out today's Feedback Friday.
Susan Kath announced as new Lead Designer for Tabula Rasa
Tom Potter has stepped down to pursue another opportunity, and Susan Kath has stepped up to the plate to take on the role of Lead Designer in the epic SF MMO Tabula Rasa. Susan is more than qualified, having worn numerous different hats in her career with TR, and been with the project for four and a half years.In her meaty introduction, Susan quickly switches from talking about herself (which she dismisses as 'boring') to talking about Tabula Rasa's future. There is no doom. There is only awesome. The coming content includes 'a new instanced map, in which players (with or without clans) can battle over control points in order to win exclusive rewards.' There are prototype mechs in development, and a tantalizing system of mech customization through a form of alternative advancement.
The Best of Massively: Our ten most important interviews
We have exciting news, dear readers. In just over a month, Massively will be one year old! We're very proud of how far we've come since last November, and we'd like to thank you for sticking with us through all these months. To celebrate our first birthday we're looking back at the most interesting stuff we've experienced so far!We're starting with our ten most important interviews. We tried to find a good balance between interviews that have insights that are still relevant today, interviews that were important for the history of our site, and interviews that were just plain awesome. We saved the coolest ones for last, so be sure and stick with us to the end!Think of it as a look back at the past year in the MMO world, if you like. Major releases, major ideas -- many of them are here. Enjoy, and be sure and tell us what you think. Click to start >> %Gallery-32260%
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.
PlanetSide veteran remembers the Battle of Forseral
PlanetSide doesn't get much attention these days. It didn't get much attention when it was fresh on the market either. It has always seemed like a clunky, not-quite-right prototype for what a massively-multiplayer-first-person-shooter could be. But some folks remember their time spent there quite fondly, including Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Quintin Smith.A few days ago he wrote up an article about how veterans of the game fondly share war stories, and then provided his own epic tale. It's a great story that shows how players with good humor can turn a game-crushing bug into the gaming experience of a lifetime.The story resembles the Battle of Thermopylae; one nation is forced (by a bug) to the brink of annihilation. It's interesting because it's presumably the one time any faction in PlanetSide was faced with the possibility of complete and final loss of a war that's rigged to be impossible to lose (or win). We recently brought up the question of stakes in PvP, so this new RPS article is topical! Amusingly, the article is also not entirely dissimilar to our own PlanetSide experience.
