Tabu..wait... Richard Garriott back from the dead

[cmlancas]

Caturday?!

[Tannhauser]

I'm not in the beta, so I'm not under any NDA.  Also I know very little about this game, not even how many types of elves they have. 

But I can say that this game is the next Jesus.

Now if you'll excuse me, I must be off to collect my check from Lord British, he's waiting by Britain bank.

[shiznitz]

I want to thank schild for saving me a pre-order.  He really just put me over the top, though. Word of mouth is definitely 'meh'.

[Sky]

Ehh...really? Just on that flimsy knowledge?

I would definitely hold off until the NDA drops and we (every other person on this site who's played the darn thing) can give some impressions.

Remember, schild hates fun. It's not a game from Japan.

[schild]

Remember, schild hates fun. It's not a game from Japan.

Yea, that's it.

No, Sky, my crap-tolerance is just much, much lower than yours.

[Merusk]

Schild isn't the only one with a problem with it.. just the only one talking.

I wonder how much  is because British gets on and talks at people, and how much is nostolgia for British being a premier game designer.

[Venkman]

Schild doesn't hate fun. He just doesn't find any in MMORPGs. That's fine, if you agree with him.

[schild]

That's fine, if you agree with him.

What's this "if" kemosabe? I prefer to be part of the solution. Not the problem. There's a reason I'm not supporting most of this dreck anymore.

[Venkman]

If one agrees with your opinion of a game. Nothing more nor less. Sorry if it seemed to imply something :)

As to TR, well, I can't say I agree nor disagree being all without my journalism cap. But I will say there will be people who like it. Because there are people who like other games too, no matter how universal their revulsion ;)

[Sky]

No, Sky, my crap-tolerance is just much, much lower than yours.

See how this isn't fair?

[Venkman]

Collector's Edition Announced.

This special retail box offers customers exclusive in-game items, including a special character emote, exclusive dye recipes players can use to create unique armor colors, and a unique pet. Players who purchase the Limited Collector’s Edition box also receive a briefing from Richard Garriott’s alter-ego in the game, General British, classified maps, an Allied Free Sentients (AFS) field guide, Tabula Rasa dog tags, an AFS challenge coin and a special edition poster.

Pet?

[SnakeCharmer]

Collector's Edition Announced

This special retail box offers customers exclusive in-game items, including a special character emote, exclusive dye recipes players can use to create unique armor colors, and a unique pet. Players who purchase the Limited Collector’s Edition box also receive a briefing from Richard Garriott’s alter-ego in the game, General British, classified maps, an Allied Free Sentients (AFS) field guide, Tabula Rasa dog tags, an AFS challenge coin and a special edition poster.

Bloody Fucking Hell.

A BRIEFING FROM GENERAL BRITISH!!!!  AND A PET!!!  AND DOG TAGSS!!

SIGN ME UP!!!!ELEVENTYONE!!!111!

    

[Numtini]

I'm still not in this thing. Bizarre. I always get into betas.

[Merusk]

I'm still not in this thing. Bizarre. I always get into betas.

You could've cheated, like me, and gotten in through fileplanet, but that's ended already.    Maybe they're still sending out invites.

Collector's Edition Announced.

This special retail box offers customers exclusive in-game items, including a special character emote, exclusive dye recipes players can use to create unique armor colors, and a unique pet. Players who purchase the Limited Collector’s Edition box also receive a briefing from Richard Garriott’s alter-ego in the game, General British, classified maps, an Allied Free Sentients (AFS) field guide, Tabula Rasa dog tags, an AFS challenge coin and a special edition poster.

Pet?

Yeah, seems odd for a game of this type.  Not that having a panda/ Diablo/ zerg/ whatever made sense in WoW, either, but for a FPS it REALLY seems odd.

[Venkman]

There is a fairly interesting disconnect between the theory/philosophy and the actual execution*, like there's some question on what to market in the first place.

* Even noticable just from how the journalists are reporting it.

[Merusk]

You tread a fine line there, Darniaq. Don't misstep.

[Trippy]

Preorder bonus pack key holders get a choice of pets too (Shell Bot or Pine-Ock).

[Mi_Tes]

Going from one extreme in the first incarnation of TR where the guys looked a bit fem to now where the women characters look butch (in public screen shots of course), wth?  Did they use the male models for the first try as the female faces for this version?

[CassandraR]

The female characters are suppose to be soldiers. Shouldn't they look alittle butch?

[SnakeCharmer]

Not THAT butch....

[schild]

The female characters are suppose to be soldiers. Shouldn't they look alittle butch?

No one should want to play a butch chick in a video game. Ever. Video games are about escapism. You can go anywhere and see a butch chick in real life.

[Engels]

I think it depends on how you define butch. Lara Croft and the human female form in FFXI both have women with very powerful legs, not the long elegant sort supposedly favored by men. I think there's a not so small sector of the male gaming population that is attracted to women who actually look like they could kick your nerdy ass.

[cmlancas]

I heard that all the human females in AoC Tabula Rasa look like Chyna Doll.


Are your pants tight yet?


Edit: I thought Conan was a funnier joke, but this is the TR thread. Sorry.

[Signe]

A lot of my chars in CoH/V are butch looking.  Short, mohawks, and built like fat little brick outhouses.  In fact, one of my chars is named Brick Outhouse.

[Engels]

A lot of my chars in CoH/V are butch looking.  Short, mohawks, and built like fat little brick outhouses.  In fact, one of my chars is named Brick Outhouse.

Let me guess, a brick style costume and he's an earth power's tank, so you can get that bubbly mud thing going around him/her?

[Nonentity]

A lot of my chars in CoH/V are butch looking.  Short, mohawks, and built like fat little brick outhouses.  In fact, one of my chars is named Brick Outhouse.

My first character in WoW retail was a Dwarf Girl Warrior.

I LOVED HER. I STILL LOVE HER. OKAY IS THAT A PROBLEM

[CassandraR]

I disagree. You can often find me complaining about my characters looking like stick figures. I like my female warrior characters to look at least alittle like real warriors might. :)

[Sky]

A lot of my chars in CoH/V are butch looking.  Short, mohawks, and built like fat little brick outhouses.  In fact, one of my chars is named Brick Outhouse.

My first character in WoW retail was a Dwarf Girl Warrior.

I LOVED HER. I STILL LOVE HER. OKAY IS THAT A PROBLEM

I played a female orc hunter in WoW. Total She-Hulk vibe with a crazy red ponytail. Not really bull-dykey though.

[Signe]

Here is a review from the Austin Chronicle:

Screens: August 31, 2007

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A531738

Tabula Rasa
Beta-Test review
By Joey Seiler

Release date: Fall 2007

Even if you don't care for massively multiplayer online games, you still might be interested in Tabula Rasa. If you enjoy them at all, you'll likely love it.

Tabula Rasa is the upcoming science-fiction MMO from NCsoft Austin, headed up by Richard Garriott. While there isn't even a firm release date scheduled – other than "the fall" – early beta-test versions of the game are already showing its potential.

You play a soldier in a war against the Bane. And while you're outfitted with the latest in space-age weaponry, the real power comes from Logos, the remnants of a language left behind by the ancient Eloh. You gradually learn to read the Logos, uncovering more of the story and combining the symbols to form powerful attacks. It's like if Luke Skywalker practiced kabbalah.

Like in most role-playing games, characters gradually evolve into specialized classes, either brute-force soldiers or specialists like technology builders and medics. What makes Tabula Rasa unique is that at each crucial point, you can choose to clone your character. If you get tired of being a grenadier, you can jump back to one of your clones and explore what it's like to be a sniper without having to build a character from level one. It would be nice if the clones were saved automatically, but it's still a helpful option to limit the need to constantly grind out levels for a new character.

I'm not normally a fan of MMOs. The statistic-based gameplay usually makes me feel like I'm just pointing and clicking without any real control over the character. Tabula Rasa's first-person-shooter-style controls at least make it feel like the player is in the driver's seat.

With immersive visuals and sound that unwind a carefully orchestrated storyline, Tabula Rasa's preview state might not be quite enough to sell me on massively multiplayer games, but out of all the MMOs I've played, it's already my favorite.

Copyright © 2007 Austin Chronicle Corporation. All rights reserved.

I don't even know if the NDA is down for regular testers so I won't say anything.  I'd like to, but someone is bound to shout at me if I do.

[Venkman]

That sounds like an advertisement, not a review

[Nyght]

That sounds like an advertisement, not a review

I suspect they bought a bit of ad space as well.

[schild]

Support your local businesses!

[Merusk]

It's a guy looking for a testimonial quote on the box when it hits retail.  You can't qualify a couple of hundred words as a 'review' and hold any crediblity.

[Signe]

Is that not a proper newspaper, then?  If it's not... SORRY! 

[sam, an eggplant]

I don't even know if the NDA is down for regular testers so I won't say anything.

It's not. The press can say what they will, but the public is muzzled. Make of that what you will.