We interviewed Destination Games Producer Starr Long about the progress of Tabula Rasa, their planned PvP system and much more. Find out how the game has come along since last E3.
One of our writers jokingly suggested that we award Tabula Rasa the most times at E3 award. It is no secret that this NCSoft product has gone through a series of trials, redesigns, staffs and visual overhauls during its development cycle. Now, with a hardcore action RPG design, it finally seems as if Tabula Rasa is a reality.
Starr Long, the longtime right-hand man of Richard Garriott and Producer of Tabula Rasa, met with us to talk about player vs. player combat, the development of the game and more.
Tabula Rasa is a futuristic action MMORPG where players fight NPC enemies for control of planets. The game combines FPS and RPG mechanics seamlessly. At this stage, the team is all but done with the first planet Foreas. Theyve also begun on their second planet, a more hellish environment named Arieki. |
You can read the full article here.
Dana Massey
Formerly of MMORPG.com
Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios
Comments
Personaly, I feel their choice in PVP will be fun, but it kind of takes the whole surprise attack out of the picture... War is war it can happen at any time... I am not sure I like the whole idea of going to another clan and say hey bob.. wanna go to war?
the clan bonus should autmatic - amonst other things for the victors - with out capturable content what would be the other point to the battles just because?
Have a reason to go to war - such as that guild really sucks they keep hampering our peeps on missions and such whatever the reason they hate them - let that build a conflict and let war be the solution.
PVP should be random, or it takes away that fear factor.... of not knowing what might happen from one minute to the next.
Graphics look great though
Could still be a fun game, but sounds a little to PVE for a war based mmo.
Tatsit
Tantus Games
COO/Game Director
The key is that they provide the illusion, excitement and pace of an FPS, without making the game twitchy and entirely reliant on player skill.
Well aren't they sacrificing one part for another? Twitchy games tend to favor audacious players, players who can make quick decisions in bad situations while the RPG system favors detailed players, players who plan calculate diligently and after much reading and foresight take action. So when they mention "...without making the game twitchy and entirely reliant on player skill", they mean they are moving from one skill set to the other.
Tatsit have you ever heard of Battletech/Mechwarrior and the Clans? What you mentioned is sort of what the Clans do in that universe. They try to use as little troops to win the battle, the less troops they have the greater the honor and skill the mechwarriors pose. Right before they fight they state their objective, where they are going to land and how many units, mechs, they will use.
It makes sense to me on a level. They want to make the gameplay fun, and if used correctly it could fit into the lore well.
I am looking forward to Tabula Rasa.
With Guild/Clan leaders given the latitude of making clashes of clans a minor issue with only a few grunts going head to head and then escalating a bit at a time to skirmishes, battles, then perhaps including other clans or even de-escalting (yea right) to peace.
All the while the foes are fighting players of equal level, not some level 60, bashing without fear, a bunch of lower level characters.
Leaving the pkers out in the cold is something they have done to themselves..it needs no elaboration.
A rich guild format in an rpg is a formula for success, but please minimize the instanced play, in excess it only harms the community.
R
I am excited about this game, but I was hoping it was further along in development.
From the sounds of it they still have quite a bit to do. So I am guessing we wont be seeing it this year. Maybe Beta towards the end of the year.
Regards,
SpiritCrawler
"In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don''t." -Blaise Pascal
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Listen Asmodeeus, seven years ago, Ultima Online didn't even have those pathetic "quests" that you refer to or those "professions" of ninja, samurai, necromancer, and paladin. Nor did it have any of the neon crap, or bug mounts. It didn't even have any "combat moves." You turned on attack and jousted with simplistic swings. It was a better game then. if you can't guess why then just uninstall the thing and move along. - Crabby
They are making a sci-fi RPG with a FPS look and feel. Where is the confusion?
Its also a land based game. They have been saying this forever.
The confusion was back in 2004 when they were making a fantasy RPG. Now they have done a total redevelopment and I think are on the right track.
There are other sci-fi RPG with a FPS look and feel in development - Hellgate is the one that springs to mind. Not a MMORPG but still a MORPG.
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Sig image Pending
Still in: A couple Betas
I am very much looking forward to this game. Im not a big PVP fan so hearing that PVP will be with consent only is a very good thing, however, my personal feelings are that the background indicates a battle for human survival, that should be the primary focus, not guild wars.
Humans will cooperate in amazing ways when faced with a common treat, only when they have nothing to fuss about do they often start wars among themselves. (Personal observation here only.) I feel the same should be for this game.
In regards to the Roleplay aspect, I hope they include alot of crafting or quests related to the war but not directly in it, such as healers. Though healers are usually the first to go down, give them more powerful shields, just because your a healer does not mean you can't use the best shield, armor system out there made to protect you on the field.
Let's see what happens
Greetings,
Vaporware.
How long have we heard about LB working for this company and their own a 1/3rd of the way done?
This one will end up next to Duke Nukem, for sure.
-Ravon
Riiight. Vaporware.
I'll be aboard when this game arrives...when it's done, of course. Blizzard has taken its sweet time molding and polishing World of Warcraft, and it has dictated the pace, not the corporate suits. The ex-Blizzard staff of Hellgate, Flagshiip Studios, is taking the same tone too...when it's done, and even its publisher Namco realizes this.
What I've seen so far regarding Tabula Rasa, I like. "Platoon" on Sci-Fi steroids. Would you like to know more?