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Tabula Rasa Delayed Two Weeks
The FPS/MMOG Tabula Rasa, developed for NCSoft by Richard Garriott's Destination Games, will now be delayed for about two weeks while some last-minute testing goes on. Eurogamer reports: "The extra time will apparently be used to fiddle around with stability and balance issues, as well as put high-level area Ligo through its paces and iron out some crafting niggles. This is very important to Starr, who was adamant to share the development mantra of, 'Stable, fast, fun. In that order.' In the coming weeks, creator Richard Garriott will be writing features detailing what endgame content we can expect in Tabula Rasa, and how Destination Games will go about adding updates over time."
While I have no reason to doubt that the phrase dates back much further than a recent television show, I was merely pointing out the repeated use of the phrase, and the context under which it had been previously used. Thank you very much for making me feel like an idiot.
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I am currently play LOTRO and that game is becoming more and more like a direct WoW clone (not a good thing) so if there is anything that can avoid being a WoW/EQ clone I would welcome it.
So to any who have played it in the trials can you answer me this.
Does it have quests to gather X from Y and then X does not drop in a clear logical pattern?
Does it have items looted for crafting that drop from X that only spawns once in a blue moon if your avatar wears purple?
Is it impossible to craft to your own level (Lotro is very guilty of this) so that by the time you have harvested everything that is needed for a level 12 item, your are level 20?
Is there a reputation grind (we couldn't think of more story quests so now just go kill) that if you calculate the number of kills needed you realize you ain't getting out of the house this year?
Do the game makers put grinders and questers in the same place? (Lotro with its deeds (kill X Y for bonuss stats) often has people at very high levels killing X in low levels areas to get their deed and damned be any players at the right level questing there)
For that matter, does that crafting/loot system encourage, even enforce, farming?
Is there any system in place to deal with gold spammers (SWG has introduced player killing of gold sellers, WoW has finally introduced limits on spam messages, turbine... nothing).
In short, is this any different from the default EQ clone with all the same crap that really should have been elimenated since the days of EQ2? SWG tried, it really did but failed because of bugs ans was then turned into an EQ clone itself.
Don't mention Eve Online to me, I played it.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Richard Garriot created a legendary series of games - decades ago. He's not cut out for modern game development in my opinion. For all his proclamations about Tabula Rasa being so different, new, unique, etc. etc... it's absolutely NOT new or unique. It's a sci-fi online shooter with sub-par production values and some gimmicky ideas which don't provide enough fun to warrant a monthly subscription.
Sadly the game COULD have been a refreshing change of course IF it had better production values and more entertaining.... awww hell it's just trash there's no saving it, move along... move along...
Uh, what? I'm having a hard time thinking of what WoW did that no MMORPG had done before. They streamlined and made it *better*, but WoW really just took a lot of things that were done before and put them in a better package.
Don't get me wrong, it's no small feat, but it's not amazingly original, either.