Tabula Rasa

The long-awaited NCsoft massively multiplayer online sci-fi shooter, Tabula Rasa, is drawing ever nearer to its Fall 2007 release date. Richard Garriott, the executive producer of the title, was on hand at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco Wednesday for a walkthrough of the title.

He opened the presentation by stating that the PC-based game “represents a substantial step forward” in the MMO space and keying that is a “very fast paced and tactical combat system.”

The thread of the storyline picks up an alien race, the Bane, have decimated Earth and only a few survivors remain. Those survivors team up with other alien races that have received the same treatment from the Bane for a final stand.

The game itself will take place on a wide variety of planets and environments, from forest planets to volcanic moons. There will be exotic alien weapons, unique powers to unlock, a crafting system, exploration, player versus player, fully integrated voice chat in the client, ethical parables, and the ability to form clans and squads.

“In Tabula Rasa,” Garriott stated, “it is you and I that get to go to alien worlds to explore and conquer.”

The game will feature battlefields that are dynamic and can change as combat takes place. The battlezones have control points, which will dictate spawning of elements like hospitals and gun emplacements. NPCs will be available to help with quests, and the game does provide help with the targeting system. “The game has a strong sense of tension and pace,” Garriott said, and players will have to pay attention to position on the field of battle and pacing.

The aliens players will find themselves facing including automatons, as well as mechanical mobs and very tough alien soldiers.

“We tried to create creatures that force you to react tactfully,” Garriott stated.

In addition to the battlefields, there will be instanced zones as well; these zones will be used to tell more of the in-depth story.

One of the more unique elements to Tabula Rasa is the ability to save characters just before crucial points in the leveling evolution of the character, then go back, clone the saved character and explore a different class without having to start all over at level one.

The game is not level oriented, but rather is weighted through discovery. A key that unlocks a door will allow those possessing it to enter – just as a waypoint that is discovered can be used by those that discovered it

All clones of a player will carry the same last name, though players can change looks, armor, class and even gender. The idea is that a name will follow you throughout the game as an identifier to other players. If “Joe Smith” is a jerk, and then logs off and “George Smith” logs in, players will know it is the same person, and feigning innocence won’t work. All cloned characters share a common inventory or foot locker, so while armor can be both class and level based, giving armor to other characters within your account will not be that difficult.

It should be noted that the game will launch with only the human race playable, but “classes in our game should be truly unique,” Garriott said.

Garriott termed Tabula Rasa a “very sophisticated and deep role-playing game.” From the looks of it, it is gearing up to present players with a sci-fi title that is more than just a typical alien shooter, but rather an evolving and challenging game that will not only entertain but provide many opportunities for players to feel a sense of accomplishment.