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Garriott's New Project Cooking Along

Posted by Hemos on from the nothing-better-then-britishing dept.

omeros writes "Looks like Garriott's latest project will have plenty of human support, as much of the creative staff from Origin has joined him in the hills outside Austin. They've just moved to a larger space. Also Jake Song, creator of "Lineage," will be working with Destination Games on their first title, "Tabula Rasa." Ultima fans rejoice!"

103 comments

  1. It's been how long? by Runt-Abu · · Score: 1, Troll

    For a second there I forgot what game they actually made...

    --

    GCM d+ s+:+ a- c++ U? P! L E-- W++ NM+ V PS- PE+ Y+ PGP- t 5+ X?+ R+++$ tv+ b+ DI++++ D---- G e
  2. Re:Paraeso Juvioso by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Idioto.

  3. What exactly is "Tabula rasa" ? by windi · · Score: 1

    Maybe the question is stupid, but I've been out of touch with gaming for a while and the article wasn't exactly forthcoming on the game, focusing on the new office space (really important, yhea). All it says is that it's some form of online game, I guess an RPG, and that it is somehow supposed to be revolutionary.

    What I would enjoy is if it where an RPG where society, science, and technology develops and advances, somehow like a complete virtual world.

    P.S. What is with all teh ASCII art trolls that are currently appearing, did someone discover aalib :-)

    1. Re:What exactly is "Tabula rasa" ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, the name sure suggests that they want to put Ultima behind them and start on something new. I suspect that it will be RPG based in some way. It seems the are too secretive for us to do anything but guess. Who knows, maybe it will be more like a Wing Commander title.. :-)

    2. Re:What exactly is "Tabula rasa" ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Tabla Rasa derives from Latin, and literally means "Clean Slate". Refering to making a new or fresh start perhaps?

      The only reason I know this is because one of the student run Magazines at my Uni is titled this. ( http://www.swin.edu.au )

      *smile*

      brett

      bmh.cjb.net

    3. Re:What exactly is "Tabula rasa" ? by DahGhostfacedFiddlah · · Score: 1

      Yeah - "Tabula Rasa" means "clean slate", as per above post. It may have other contexts, but the only context I've heard this phrase in is in psychology, where it refers to the theory that babies are born without any knowledge at all; their minds are a "clean slate".

      Could be an interesting game if the name refers to something like this...

      --
      Last post!
    4. Re:What exactly is "Tabula rasa" ? by zoward · · Score: 1

      "Tabula rasa" is an expression often used by teachers (particularly latin teachers) to describe the state they see their students as being in before the've been taught - a "blank slate" that has yet to be filled with knowledge. I'm sure that Garriott et. al. (more latin!) are using it as a metaphor for "starting over".

      --
      "Can't you see that everyone is buying station wagons?"
  4. Interesting switch by alnapp · · Score: 1

    Not the most profound observation, but it is interesting that a Korean company is switching to the US rather than vice-versa

    --
    Get the EULA T-shirt
  5. Much more informative article... by AliasTheRoot · · Score: 5, Interesting

    here

    Talks about who ncsoft are and what Garriot is doing with them. No mention of property deals for all you office space geeks though.

    If you prefer to cut and paste then go here: http://gamespot.com/gamespot/stories/news/0,10870, 2808054,00.html

  6. What I would like to see.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    (Is those first-post boobies to go away)



    ..is Ultima IX: Ascension done right. Like, no half-done maps in the commercial product, no hang-ups and crashes during the first five seconds of installation, nor the numerous graphical and story bugs and glitches that the game has. I bet there are many 3D engines today that could handle this kind of game with much more style than Garriot's (et. al.) own engine did.



    Still, I'm a believer. I believe Garriot had not much chance but to push out the half-finished product as funding and time grew short. I sincerely hope he will have more time and reliable funding this time around.


    1. Re:What I would like to see.. by Spootnik · · Score: 2

      When Garriot showed off the nice floating buildings of Moonglow, and when I saw it, you know what I thought? Not, "Gee, wow, floating buildings" but, "Gee, big drably-textured polygons! Looks like a bad Quake map". The problem with 3D game worlds is that they are so angular. In action games such things can be forgiven, but with an RPG (especially an Ultima) the idea is to create a realistic world, and those polygons-that-are-buildings very quickly reminded me that it ISN'T another world, but a game. This need-to-be-3D is something I have never understood, other than as marketting ploy. I know it's too late to expect U9 to change to a decent isometric view now, but viewing the engine in action seems to validate my belief that isometric is the way to go in Ultima IX.

    2. Re:What I would like to see.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's why i look forward to Pool of Radiance 2. Of course some of it is becuase Pool of Radiance was the first PC game i ever played. But still it doens't have trendy 3d black graphics. It looks awsome. The monsters and characters are extremely detailed and the maps look awsome. Also it will mostly likely have a great plot as well. Diablo 2 had some great grtaphics, but the gameplay was ultra lame. Pool of Radiance 2 looks like it can take that baldur's gate style gamplay but visualy bring it to another level, without a bunch of polygons textured with the latest buzzword bit map texture scheme.

    3. Re:What I would like to see.. by CaseyB · · Score: 2

      -1 Troll, +2 insightful. Garriot's vision has always been beyond the technical ability of the engines in his games. It would in fact be a good thing for him to license a solid engine, which he could use to do what he's good at -- the world design & gameplay.

  7. It better be good by m0zone · · Score: 1


    My self i didnt like Lineage when i beta tested it for usa release ..would have been fun if i spoke twainese last few on-line rpg's have been very lame everquest wasnt bad But e-bayers and duping screwed it up UO is dead and AO is buggy

    maybe they can make a good on-line game better not be a another lineage clone

    m0zone

    1. Re:It better be good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My self i didnt like Lineage when i beta tested it for usa release ..would have been fun if i spoke twainese last few on-line rpg's have been very lame everquest wasnt bad But e-bayers and duping screwed it up UO is dead and AO is buggy

      You should probably speak English if you were testing the US release. Maybe you can speak TWAINese to your scanner or camera, but that's not much fun as a game. By the way, the people in Korea speak Korean -- or you could say Hangul.

      maybe they can make a good on-line game better not be a another lineage clone

      I would advise attempting to parse your own typing before submitting it to others.

    2. Re:It better be good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When is the last time you played AO?

    3. Re:It better be good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hangul is the Korean alphabet, not the language.

    4. Re:It better be good by Oliver+Wendell+Jones · · Score: 1

      No kidding, I just bought AO on Sunday, and except for a glitch during the install, I haven't found a single bug yet. I played for four hours straight on Sunday, then another 3.5 hours last night, still no bugs.

      I'm simultaneously sorry that I waited so long (so my friends could get ahead of me) and glad that I waited as long as I did, so I didn't have to put with the bugs that they did.

      --
      A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing -- Emo Phillips
  8. Sorry but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    Warren Spector is the one responsible for the good Ultima games. All the Ultima classics that everyone loves (Ultima 6,7 part 1 & 2, Ultima Underworld 1 & 2) where all the work of Warren Specter (of Deus Ex fame) not Richard Garriot. Play the Pre-Spector Ultimas, they suck. Richard Garriot is not really any good. He just lucked out and got his start when a no plot no graphics crap games could be passed off. The first Ultimas had almost no plot at all, stick figures for graphics and repetitive gamplay. But even today look at Ultima 9 what a load of shit. Not to mention it was unacceptably buggy at release and wasn't patched into completion until 4 months later. Sorry but Richard Garriot games are not that good.

    1. Re:Sorry but... by levinas · · Score: 2, Insightful
      I shouldn't replie to a troll but

      You are right that his personal development skill's are questionable but he is a very good manager and that is just as important. In that he hire's the right people, knows how to create and market a frantise, and has a good eye for what is a winner.

      For example Garriot gave Spector and people like him a break in the industry. He countined the Ulitima series though 9 installments with seperate spin offs such as worlds and underworld. Finally he did develop Ulitma Online which was a success for the most part, Since,while it can be considered a failure to begin with did prove that people would pay to pay mud's and that development can be a ongoing process

      99.99999% of the time Orgin's failures where due to the involvement of EA and not Garriot.

      While it is possible to credit his success to being in the right place at the right time (happenstance) he did have the intelligence to know where that place was.

    2. Re:Sorry but... by LoP_XTC · · Score: 1

      Id have to disagree with you on this one. Ultima IV would have to be one of the best RPG's to date. I still go back to playing this game every now and then. This game when it first came out was on two double sided disks (for the c64), and had way more depth then most games produced today. The amount that was uncovered as you went through the game made you want to play over and over. Aside from Baldurs gate, and the Fallout series there hasnt been a good RPG since Ultima IV & V, or the SSI line of AD&D games.

      --
      "Curiouser and Curiouser...." -Alice
    3. Re:Sorry but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why do people think if someone isn't rushing off to kiss someones ass they must be trolling.

    4. Re:Sorry but... by levinas · · Score: 1
      i called it a troll because it wasn't a constructive comment rather a blah blah blah Spector made blah blah blah therefore R.G. is a moron.

      I was attempting to make a post that credited the rather good point this guy made while balancing the position by pointing out that RG did employ this guy to begin with.

      It's a shame that some cowards do have really good point's to make but fail to post in a way that would get read more people then read at 0.

    5. Re:Sorry but... by Mprx · · Score: 1

      There's been a better RPG than all of those, Planescape: Torment. It's AD&D based but the gameplay is still good, and the plot is more interesting and complicated than any other PC RPG I've played without restricting you with excessive linearity like console RPGs. It uses the same engine as Baldur's gate. Fallout was great, but I prefer the non-turn based system.

      The only Ultima game I've played is 8, which was not very good. I could never get Ultima 9 to run.

    6. Re:Sorry but... by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 2

      Try Fallout Tactics; real time combat.

      The problem with Fallout Tactics is that it's monkey. Let me explain.

      In one of the early levels, you need to get to the roof of a building. So you go in, and there's a staircase, with a pile of sandbags at the base.

      Can you move the sandbags? No. Can you blow them up with dynamite? No. Can you climb over them? No. Can you cut them open with a knife and let all the sand out? No.

      After you realize that you need to literally go around the entire circumference of the map and climb up a ladder, you can just hear the game yelling 'silly monkey! Dance! Dance!' at you.

      --
      Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
    7. Re:Sorry but... by Kingu · · Score: 1

      So you're saying Torment is better than Ultima IV & V, but you've never actually played them? ;)

      Actually those 3 are my all time favorites. Ultima IV&V were so epic.
      Ultima VI was awful, it was my last Ultima. You couldn'd type anything you wanted when speaking, you instead had to select from options when speaking, plus it had crap like you couldn't leave the first city unless you completed a few small quests (hmmm.. sounds like the mold of all the modern RPGs)
      And the worst part about it was that they scaled down the size of the continent
      I miss the days where you could run outta the first city and get lost in the middle of nowhere.
      The best was getting your ass beat by groups of dragons and demons when all you had was a dagger :)

      No more mapping the dungeons by hand. no more keeping your own handwritten journal :(

    8. Re:Sorry but... by festers · · Score: 1

      I played Ultima IV and V and Planescape, and I have to say Planescape is the best RPG I've ever experienced. If you haven't tried it, it worth paying the $15 for it (I've seen it in the bargin bins) and even installing Windows.

      --


      -------
      "Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief."
    9. Re:Sorry but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Am I the only one who finds the encounters with orcs every 5 steps in the wilderness more than tedious? I love ultimaIV, but after slaughtering the N-Thousandth orc and his troll buddy, its time to quit out.

    10. Re:Sorry but... by CaptainCarrot · · Score: 2
      Aside from Baldurs gate, and the Fallout series there hasnt been a good RPG since Ultima IV & V, or the SSI line of AD&D games.

      Nonsense, especially if you like the mid-series Ultimas. Go to Spiderweb Software and download a game from the Exile series, or Avernum (basically the same as Exile but with a somewhat more up-to-date engine.) They're easily the equal to anything Garriot did, IM(never H)O.

      --
      And the brethren went away edified.
  9. Re:Kill a nigger or jew for Jesus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    One of each every single day?

    A bit unreasonable I think!

  10. Re:two words for you Hemos, listen up ! by manon · · Score: 1

    Would you please keep in mind that there might be a lot of Anonymous Cowards that do not agree with you?

    --
    42 + 1 = 42
  11. mmmm howdy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Jesse Jackson is a poverty pimp.

  12. Lord British is back! by Sklivvz · · Score: 1

    I really hope he won't screw up this time. Ultima IX was, to put it mildly, terrible! Also Ultima On Line would have been good, if it hadn't been full of PK's...
    With a smaller company, I hope (and in this sense the news of the acquisition are bad news), the Garriot brothers will find the hope and inspiration to produce some more masterworks like Ultima IV - VIII.
    Hail the Avatar!

    --
    My Stack Overflow user
    1. Re:Lord British is back! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The masterworks you refer to where made by warren spector, richard garriot just sat on his ass and slapped his name on it after they where completed.

    2. Re:Lord British is back! by angelo · · Score: 1

      That's IV - VII pal. VIII was rubbish, and it was the first example of how much crap you can produce when EA gives you no time/money. IX is the second example. Also don't forget WoU I and II + UU I and II. They were all great games, in the tradition of Ultima IV and VI.

      --
      Lowmag.net
    3. Re:Lord British is back! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow actually i did forget those Worlds of Ultima games, those where awsome. I never got to play the savage empire one, but the one on mars was awsome. Martian Dreams or something. It was cool, it had all the scientists from the 1800s crash landing a space ship launched out fo a giant cannon on mars and you had to solve all these crazy puzzles. It was pretty cool. It had Tesla and Frued and all these other historical figures running about mars trying to flood the canals with water and figure out the secrets of a dead martian race, haha it was awsome. It had all the classic mars legends and lore from the 1800s. It was a good game.

    4. Re:Lord British is back! by Sklivvz · · Score: 1

      Actually I quite liked Ultima VIII.
      Although it was different from the previous chapters, it had a very nice atmosphere. Also the GFX where gorgeous for the time. They also did a very interesting work in the soundtrack dept.
      I thought the UU series was crap though, that's why I didn't mentioned it.
      I don't think EA didn't give enough money, I think it was 2 factors that screwed up Ultima:
      - Lack of ideas (for how long could they go on like that??)
      - Moving from a "small" company to corporate world, too big a budget, too many restraints, too many heads...

      Just my 2c.

      --
      My Stack Overflow user
    5. Re:Lord British is back! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also Ultima On Line would have been good, if it hadn't been full of PK's...

      You should try it now. It's actually pretty good, and PK's aren't really a problem.

    6. Re:Lord British is back! by dgp · · Score: 1

      Ultima IX is the most immersive and entertaining outdoor world I have ever played in. For at least half a year PC Gamer wet its pants over the graphic detail and in the end thats what we got - a visually stunning game. Ultima IX was the greatest game that never was. It deserved to come back from the ashes of its initial bad press. I would love to see an Ultima X done in the same style of game world. The story itself is pretty much talk to person A, throw switch B, find item C, repeat. but the world itself is unforgettable. Go up to any of the peaks of Brittain and take a look around - it feels real because every inch of world has been well designed and nothing is off limits.

  13. For those with out a classical education by levinas · · Score: 2, Informative
    "Tabula Rasa" is latin for blank slate or a blank sheet.

    First used by John Locke in "On Human Understanding", meaning that all human's are born with out any form of intellect (see slashdot editors) and must learn though experience.

    Ofcourse, this implies that it is a working title.

    1. Re:For those with out a classical education by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      for those of you "without" a proper grammatical background... ;-)

  14. No it doens't you lying ass karma whore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Stop making shit up. Stupid mods will probably mod you up to haha. Slashdot is gay.

    1. Re:No it doens't you lying ass karma whore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually dipsht he is correct

      Why dont you post under a user name and then you could be a karma whore too.

      Jealous are we - maybe your user name has -10 karma due to your serious mental deficiency

    2. Re:No it doens't you lying ass karma whore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      maybe your brain has -10 IQ do to serious nigger brain.

    3. Re:No it doens't you lying ass karma whore by Gaijin42 · · Score: 1

      Maybe YOU have -10 IQ DUE to your total lack of education, and generally small brain pan.

    4. Re:No it doens't you lying ass karma whore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Grammar nigger to the rescue!

    5. Re:No it doens't you lying ass karma whore by Karn · · Score: 1

      I find it amusing that the people who are racists are also the ones who are ignorant. (That's due, idiot.)

      --


      Why do I keep typing pythong?
  15. Re:Can someone explain this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You might as well ask, "why does a cheetah on steroids run faster than a baby on heroin?"

  16. The most interesting stuff on this article... by Torp · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... is the link at the bottom of the page that says "Click for permission to reprint". Apparently, it includes permission to link to the article as well. Has anybody on /. checked that text before linking?

    --
    I apologize for the lack of a signature.
    1. Re:The most interesting stuff on this article... by jonr · · Score: 1

      HTML link
      Publisher's permission to link to an article. $5.00
      I guess slashdot owes icopyright 5 bucks! :)

    2. Re:The most interesting stuff on this article... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hum, the publisher should have thought about the impact of publishing the article in a totally unsecure manner on the web if they didn't want anyone to link to it.

      After all, the web was developed as a way to link remote documents together. Shame on them for not understanding the technology before submitting their document to the web. It wasn't like some rogue stole their document and published it to the web... at least not as far as I can tell.

  17. Marketing piece? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That article reads more like a marketing piece or press releasse than a news article.

    "Oh, yet another important game developer in Austin". "Gaming Powerhouse moves to Austin".

    Alas, it is nice, but this article is less news and more feel-good than anything else. Yeah, I've come to love Garriott's old and new products. The first game I loved was Ultima I, circa 1982.

    But as a news article, it doesn't tell us anything newsish. It doesn't inform us of the sources, or even claim to have interviewed anyone. WHERE did this information come from? Competitors? Corporate headquaters? Garriott? Friends?

    Or is this piece of news just a press release?

  18. What???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "UO is dead and AO is buggy"

    Uo dead? I guess the thousands of people on Great Lakes havent head that it was dead, and it must just be my imagination that most of the people I know still play...

    *grinz* Just ranting!

  19. rejoice? give me a break. by *weasel · · Score: 2, Insightful

    when in a recent interview this guy says his only mistake with ultima online was not charging enough?

    perhaps thats just because the pricing was the only thing garriott himself was involved in regarding the game.

    i'm excited as a gamer when new, interesting, and fun games come out. not when great game designer falls from creating one of the greatest rpgs ever (ultima4) to not even publicly recognizing the bad decision making regarding the launch and execution of the 2 most recent influential games (u9, uo) to hold his name.

    shame on the cult of personality.

    --
    // "Can't clowns and pirates just -try- to get along?"
  20. Apparently Garriott Just Doesn't Learn by JSBiff · · Score: 2, Informative

    I like the Ultima Series, and I suppose I'm somewhat looking forward to seeing whatever Tabula Rasa becomes, but. . .

    The article starts out talking about how Garriott's new company just sold themselves to NCSoft. SO, EA screwed up the Ultima Series, and now Garriott is going to allow NCSoft to screw up whatever games his new company creates. RG needs to find some other way to fund development than finding some big Sugar Daddy company to fund him. Like finding private investors who are willing to allow him to run the company semi-autonomously (yeah, I know, easier said than done, blah, blah; but the fact is someone with as much gaming clout and previous success as Garriott shouldn't have that hard a time finding investors), instead of some big corporate headquarters constantly butting in and throwing their weight around.

    I mean, I could be totally wrong here; maybe NCSoft will allow Garriott and co. to do their thing and come up with a great game. We'll see. . . but I doubt it.

    1. Re:Apparently Garriott Just Doesn't Learn by Skynet · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I mean, I could be totally wrong here; maybe NCSoft will allow Garriott and co. to do their thing and come up with a great game. We'll see. . . but I doubt it

      It's not impossible. Remember Black and White? Peter Molyneaux had pretty much creative control over that game (although he did fund most of the development work himself). EA then distributed it I believe.

      My first thought was the same. What is Garriot doing? He is falling into the same trap that he did with EA! However, he probably learned from his mistakes and had NCSoft make some SERIOUS concessions before going into the deal. That's what contracts are for. ;-)

      I am really looking forward to Tabula Rasa, and I would actually like to see Lineage here in the States too. The game has 2.7 million subscribers in Asia! It has to be a damn good game.

      --
      Execute? [Y/N] _
    2. Re:Apparently Garriott Just Doesn't Learn by FortranDragon · · Score: 1

      > but the fact is someone with as much gaming clout and previous success as Garriott shouldn't have that hard a time finding investors

      After U8 and U9, I don't think Garriott has that much clout. The gaming industry seems to have paralleled Hollywood, in that you are only as good as your last project.

      Oh, and I thing RG *has* learned that small companies can't go it alone. Just look at what happened to Looking Glass. Even id paired up with Activision for distribution reasons.

      --
      "All the darkness in the world can not quench the light of one small candle."
    3. Re:Apparently Garriott Just Doesn't Learn by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 2

      > The game has 2.7 million subscribers in Asia! It has to be a damn good game.

      Popularity doesn't imply greatness !
      i.e.
      Almost everyone has TV, but most of the shows are still crap.

      And it's a bad Diablo clone. Lum the Mad had an old article on it.

    4. Re:Apparently Garriott Just Doesn't Learn by flatrock · · Score: 2

      There's a good chance Garriott just doesn't like the business side of game development. Attracting investors, planning marketing, and making business agreements doesn't leave much time for creating and developing a game. It may just be that he's willing to take the risk in selling the company so that he can actually develop a game.

  21. Too late by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Shadowbane will be out sooner, and offers everything that can be desired in a MMORPG. Don't take my word for it, check it out: http://www.shadowbane.com I loved most of the Ultimas and was quite addicted to UO for a while, but whatever Richard G. does, it can't compete with SB.

  22. Garriott is irrelevant by Junks+Jerzey · · Score: 3, Insightful

    When Garriott started out, he was the heart, soul, designer, and programmer of his games. But for the last ten years, he's been tangential at best. That's not his fault; games with 25 or more people working on them tend to be so diluted that a personal vision cannot shine through. Remember, he _was_ Ultima, yet Ultima VII was such a horribly misguided mess that he apologized to the computer gaming world for releasing it. Ultima IX was all technology to the point that 95% of the development effort went into creating a 3D world...and it still fell short in that department. The actual gameplay and story were laughable.

    So unless we're looking at something small, something created by a handful of people, something that goes off in a different direction, then we're being set-up for another big mess (Ultima IX, Daikatana, Messiah, etc., etc.). This is how it always is.

    1. Re:Garriott is irrelevant by rick_rizzy · · Score: 2, Informative

      You mean "Ultima VIII" was a horribly misguided mess. Ultima VII pt. I & II were great games. Ultima VIII? Not so good..

  23. Health of Austin by pogofish · · Score: 1

    I'm glad to hear some of that group is still around. Austin has had a fairly good gaming industry. We have Steve Jackson Games, Digital Anvil, and Origin to name a few. However, Origin's layoff and apparent fall into a coma was quite a blow, especially falling on the heels of massive layoffs from companies like Dell, the shutdown of .bombs like Living and Garden, etc.


    I really wish these guys luck. Austin's a great geek city and gaming, to me, plays a symbolic role in demonstrating that to the world. Not to mention the fact that it keeps my dream alive of quitting my day job and coding games for a living.

    --

    A man without a God is like a fish without a bicycle.
  24. Not sure how they spell it.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ..in classical education but where I come from without is one word.

  25. Tabula Rasa origins by cutshade · · Score: 1

    Tabula Rasa is also used as the name of a secret group dedicated to wiping out Maestros (magicians) in Clive Barker's Imajica. See here for a review.

  26. Good Location by PimpDaddie · · Score: 1

    Sweet. That is like right across the street from my house. I also know a guy at Works. I think in a few months they may be subleasing ALL their space out.

  27. Money for nothing by BobGregg · · Score: 1

    From the article:

    "Grajeda says NCsoft has bought all of Destination Games' technology and intellectual property."

    Let me get this straight - Garriott et al found a new company, carrying over nothing from EA/Origin, and have not yet produced any actual games, publications, or other copyrightable material of any great magnitude... and NCsoft has "bought" their "intellectual property" anyway. Gee, can I get people to give me money for nothing too? :-) I gotta whole lotta nothing right here - any takers? Bidding starts at $3 mil!

  28. Preview of Ultima X by daveym · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Install.

    Reboot.

    Crash.

    Re-Install. Run game. Jump. Jump. Crash.

    Restart game. Jump. Jump. Land in water.

    Un-Install game.

    --
    "Chill, Orrin!"---Trent Lott
  29. Friedrich Nietzsche, author, dead at 157 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I just heard sad news on talk radio - philosophy writer Friedrich Nietzsche was found dead in his Weimar house this morning. I'm sure we'll all miss him - even if you didn't read his books you've probably enjoyed one of his movies.
    Truly a philosophy icon.

  30. It's A Small World... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sweet. That is like right across the street from my house. I also know a guy at Works. I think in a few months they may be subleasing ALL their space out.

    Dude, what a small world. That is like right across the street from my house too. What are the odds? Oh wait, you're my roommate. Shouldn't you be working or something?

    Mister Black

    1. Re:It's A Small World... by PimpDaddie · · Score: 1

      Work... All I do all day is check Fuckedcompany to make sure that I am not on it. Oh yeah, and go to S&W meetings.

    2. Re:It's A Small World... by PimpDaddie · · Score: 1

      Oh, I forgot to add...

      Thou art gay!

  31. Ultima fans rejoice? by FortranDragon · · Score: 2, Interesting

    > Ultima fans rejoice!

    After Ultima 8 and Ultima 9? Unless you are a heatseeker or uncritical fanboy of Richard Garriott, then you won't be rejoicing about RG's group moving into new office space (I'll spare you the allusion to Ion Storm and their Dallas offices :)).

    I don't think many Ultima fans will be rejoicing at this bit of news. You see, we are interested in *Ultima*, not just any old thing RG puts out (for example, the old Car Wars computer game). At this point -- for whatever reason, bad decisions/burnout/you pick a reason/etc. -- Ultima fans will be taking a wait and see attitude. They want to know what the finished product will be like. And after the botches made of U8 and U9, who can blame them?

    If he designs a great online game, cool, we all benefit. If he designs an online game as revolutionary as U4, well, enough said. :-D

    At this point, Ultima fans have had _years_ of promises. It is what RG actually produces that will speak for him.

    --
    "All the darkness in the world can not quench the light of one small candle."
    1. Re:Ultima fans rejoice? by PimpDaddie · · Score: 1

      1) Richard didn't have much say about when IX was released. Though I do agree that 8 and 9 were weak in comparison to the other Ultimas. But let us not pile on. We don't know what the situation was inside Origin between EA and Garriot. A new company where he has more control and a whole new game series to create could do him good.
      2) Don't compare ION Storm's offices and these. The offices that they moved into are the bottom floor of Works.com building that was already built out. Hell, they aren't even buying furniture. They are taking the furniture that was left when Works laid off a ton of people. Property around 360 here is getting a lot cheaper. Look at who were right around here: Living.com, Netpliance, ...

  32. garriot and friends by Stalcair · · Score: 3, Insightful
    well, I sincerely hope that this is the percursor to the old Origin coming back. IMHO, the biggest factor is not money, but ethics. I hope that Garriot and company learned and grew wise... not just learned one particular very specific lesson of 'Beware EA' or 'Don't sell your soul to EA'. The real lesson is, always allow yourself the freedom to innovate(TM) (hehehe, sorry couldn't resist) without being hindered by marketers and middle or upper management. Don't get me wrong, I think that those positions are needed, but I have noticed a very repetitive pattern of companies outgrowing themselves then major changes taking place (internally or by being absorbed or hiring some suits). Either way, it ends up with the marketers making business decisions not marketing, and the management micro-mismanaging in areas that they either no little to none about, or just are spread too thin.

    If I could ask of Garriot one big thing, it would be "Please don't loose site of yourselves in the storm of business, please listen to that child inside you that wants to create, and please go back to more emphasis in gameplay, story/plot and immersion and then artwork will augment it all... Not pretty bells and whistles first and the whole gaming experience as an afterthought." OK, so it is not one thing and is really long.

    I have faith they will find their way and become the group of gaming and game making fanatics that they used to be. Good Luck! (yet another thing making me want to move back to Texas)

    --

    I seek not only to follow in the footsteps of the men of old, I seek the things they sought.

  33. You're missing the picture (pardon the pun) by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 2

    > This need-to-be-3D is something I have never understood, other than as marketting ploy.

    As a 3D programmer it is NOT just a marketing ploy.

    4 words: "skeletal animation" and "motion blending"

    It is tedious for artists to create EVERY frame of animation for one sequence of motion (i.e. weapon action.) Then they have to create another set for movement (walking,) Now what if we want the char to walk and slash at the same time? All the permuations with sprites QUICKLY chew up memory (CDROM space and RAM.)

    Motion blending (usually with a simplified Inverse Kinematics for real-time performance) allows the artist to create a few "base" animations. Then at run-time, players can have their avatar simultaneously perform ANY number of combinations based on those motions !

    I agree that it 2D art has a much better "graphical cuteness" compared to the "harsh euclidean edges" of 3D.

    Cheers

    1. Re:You're missing the picture (pardon the pun) by Ian+Bicking · · Score: 2
      Then maybe the artists should use all those spiffy tools to make the art, but still have a more restricted (isometric) final product.

      Anyway, if the artist has to punt on some things -- like walking and slashing at the same time -- the result will still look considerably better than the 3D equivalent. Artists seem to be pretty good at faking fluid action, while 3D can actually do the fluid action but it still looks like it's faking.

      Maybe the artists will become better with the technology and they'll take over from the programmers. I think that's what needs to happen -- 3D can be another medium for the artist, but only if they can take artistic license. It doesn't seem like current systems have that flexibility. An artist can't say "yes, theoretically that's how this should look, but aesthetically or for perceived realism, we will make it look like this."

      That's what a good director does when shooting a movie and that's what a game artist should do too.

    2. Re:You're missing the picture (pardon the pun) by GunFodder · · Score: 1

      I am not really fond of the isometric point of view. The art is usually better, but there are several drawbacks. The maps feel flat, even if elevation is drawn in. It can be very difficult to figure out whether or not you can walk on a particular piece of the map. A moveable camera can really help make a game area feel real, instead of looking like a pretty drawing.

    3. Re:You're missing the picture (pardon the pun) by kin_korn_karn · · Score: 1
      Artists seem to be pretty good at faking fluid action, while 3D can actually do the fluid action but it still looks like it's faking.

      3d models won't look like real moving humans until they start modeling elasticity and volume. bend your arm at the elbow. what happens? your upper arm expands on one side, your forearm flattens out on the opposite side, and the tops of both squeeze together. If you add clothes, the surfaces of those do the same thing.

      Now, this would take a ridiculous amount of computational power, but hey... that's what 3d has to do.

    4. Re:You're missing the picture (pardon the pun) by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 2

      > 3d models won't look like real moving humans until they start modeling elasticity and volume.

      That technique is called "skining".

      > Now, this would take a ridiculous amount of computational power, but hey... that's what 3d has to do.

      It's already being done in today's games.

  34. Re:Health of Austin : Game companies by dane23 · · Score: 1

    You forgot about Acclaim Entertainment, Retroactive, Inevitable, Kalisto, etc..., etc...

    Unfortunatly, since we still have a viable tech market we also have the inevitable influx of Californians. No offense meant, but since Cali is so expensive already they don't mind paying a hell of a lot more for rent, clubbing, etc... which raises the prices for the rest of us "locals". Oh well, you take the good with the bad.

    --


    Warning! Keep Out of Eyes! Wash Out with Water! Don't Drink Soap! Dilute! Dilute!
  35. "Car Wars game" by Blackheart2 · · Score: 1
    the old Car Wars computer game

    Autoduel, you mean. That was a fun game, but hard as all hell. I think Chuckles was the lead on that one, not Garriott. Also, (correct me if I'm wrong) I think it was not directly based on Car Wars, although obviously the idea came from there. They must have been trying to avoid license fees to Steve Jackson Games, much as Black Isle, who dropped the GURPS system for Fallout in favor of their own S.P.E.C.I.A.L.(?) for those reasons.

    Speaking of Fallout, does anyone remember a game called Wasteland? It resembled Bard's Tale/Wizardry but with a post-apocalyptic setting. Is Fallout somehow descended from that?

    --

    BH
    Fools! They laughed at me at the Sorbonne...!

    1. Re:"Car Wars game" by Aexia · · Score: 1

      They must have been trying to avoid license fees to Steve Jackson Games, much as Black Isle, who dropped the GURPS system for Fallout in favor of their own S.P.E.C.I.A.L.(?) for those reasons.
      IIRC, SJG backed out during development so BI had to come up with their own system. That was what I remember at the time anyways.

      Speaking of Fallout, does anyone remember a game called Wasteland? It resembled Bard's Tale/Wizardry but with a post-apocalyptic setting. Is Fallout somehow descended from that?
      Fallout was pretty much *marketed* as Wasteland's spiritual successor. The back of the box more or less says "It's like Wasteland, only spiffier!"

    2. Re:"Car Wars game" by biafra · · Score: 1
      Speaking of Fallout, does anyone remember a game called Wasteland? It resembled Bard's Tale/Wizardry but with a post-apocalyptic setting. Is Fallout somehow descended from that?

      I remember wasteland! That was a great game back in the Tandy days, my friends and I wasted many months when we should have been outside doing other stuff. In fact I'd love it if I could find a copy somewhere, it would be fun to relive those memories for a short while.

      --
      :wq
    3. Re:"Car Wars game" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Autoduel: http://www.theunderdogs.org/game.php?id=80

      Wasteland: http://www.theunderdogs.org/game.php?id=2425

      There are other abandonware sites out there too if you search around.

      MysterX

  36. a short journey. by Zinereem · · Score: 1

    So I work in the offices just adjacent to the Origin building here in Austin. The Lakewood Center (where Destination Games is setting up shop) is literally 2 miles down the road. It's funny to me that after all these years and broo-haha the origin and destination aren't that far apart at all.

  37. Do you know about Quantum computing? by ioman1 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I have been trying to post articles on Slashdot for a month now, but they are insistant on publishing other articles. I just posted an article on Quantum Computing. I think you will all enjoy it quite a bit. For those of you who do not know what Quantum computing is, the article explains it quite well. Here is the link . You can post comments on the article below it. Please tell me what you think.

  38. Re: Ah, more Fnord by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    SJG backed out? According to who? Black Isle? Steve Jackson had a bit of a different story, namely that one day some reporter asked him to comment on Fallout no longer using the GURPS system, and him saying "What are you talking about?" because he hadn't been told any such thing.

    Makes you wonder who to trust, the Illuminati's frontman, or some weird guys..

  39. Run, Don't walk, from NCSoft/Lineage by HBergeron · · Score: 1

    I began playing Lineage months ago because I heard that Garriot et al. were joining the team. It has been the most regrettable, unpleasent gaming experience I've ever had (and I even tried playing Battlecruiser....

    The NCI (Origin) staff is unable to make any changes to the game mechanics without approval of the Korean staff, who could care less about the hundreds of U.S. users vs. the millions (yes) of Korean users. The game becomes unplayable after every server update as the original players exploit the inevitable bugs and Garriot and crew just wave their arms and say "we'll try to fix it".

    Lineage really had promise - there are some nice elements - but NCSoft has made it impossible to manage the on-line world, leading to no end of player frustration - hard work wasted, characters deleted, and quests/missions broken.

    Do yourself a favor and find a new god, Lord British has sold his soul again.

    --
    THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal...
  40. preview of windows XP by Anonymous+Pancake · · Score: 0

    Install.

    Reboot.

    Crash.

    Re-Install. Run 'OS'. click. click. Crash.

    Restart 'os'. click. type. BSOD.

    Un-Install OS.

    --

    The Slashdot Effect: A new for

  41. Re:Ultima IX Roaming Freedom by sminra · · Score: 1

    Absolutely right. U9 was a great start, but they needed another year to add decent quests, add alternate solutions and debug/speed the engine. And of course more NPC activity in towns. And and and.
    But the roaming freedom! I'd sometimes have a good smoke and just wander with the distance cutoff set to some obscenely large value. Refresh rates went below 1/second, but the scenes were so gorgeous!
    Another fun thingy was enabling the flying cheat, then raising up 1000 ft above an area to see how it all looked from above. At some point you caused the VM manager to barf cause it was loading so many textures -- heh.
    I WISH they'd just buy the rights to the U9 world and make a good game based on all the work they had done up to that point.
    Completely agree with other posters that game development suffers from the heavy investements needed in the graphic dept.