Hot on the Destination Games and NCSoft's list of updates was the news of the new hybrid races rolling out for Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa, a futuristic MMORPG which was originally focused on the story of the human race. But after a partial downtime back in February 1, 2008, patch version 1.4 went live and the now the community has their wishes fulfilled. Excited about the inclusion of hybrids? We've got some primers at the full story.

Destination Games and NCsoft finally ship Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa, and they know it's far from perfect. The sci-fi, non-grind MMORPG has its share of flaws even after prolonged development, and NCsoft addressed some of those concerns with a known issue list at the official website.

Aside from minor login issues for pre-order launch candidates, Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa also exhibits client start hiccups for some unknown reason. There are also some graphics artifacts issues that needed to be addressed with on-board graphics accelerators, especially laptop versions (Radeon Mobility, GeForce Go, Intel GMA). NCsoft has listed the following issues and their likely solutions:

• Enemy is located behind Imperial Valley control point and not near the Miasma Cave.
• If you want to delete all of your characters and choose another last name do NOT log off first. Delete all characters and then make the new one with the new last name. Logging off between this step will cause your old last name to stick and you will have to repeat the process.
• Mission: Wilderness: Predatory: Mission cannot be completed.
• If you having a bit of lag, you might try going to another copy of the map you are on. for example if you are on Wilderness 1 you might try popping over to Wilderness 5.
• To complete the Wilderness ToO Mission you must complete the Assault and Defense missions for the map. (LZ and Imperial Valley)
• If you aren't seeing your pre-order special items, try logging out and back in or creating other characters. They will show up shortly.
• The sky doesn't render on some hardware/driver combinations. This causes the "hall of mirrors" effect because where the sky should be you instead see pixels left over from previous frames.
• Solution: First, make sure you have a fairly new (last 6 months) driver. In some cases a newer driver will fix them (but not all). This has been fixed and will be in an upcoming patch. There is a workaround; however, if you enable this workaround you will need to revert the change after the patch. In their client.cfg file you can disable mesh compression:
• Client.Graphics.EnableMeshCompression = False
• Geometry flashes and stuff pops in and out — lots of graphical anomalies.
• Update your driver; this fixes the problem. In some cases (such as laptop computers) if you are using the latest driver provided by their hardware manufacturer but the driver is still too old (this is known to be the case on certain Asus models) you can disable mesh compression in your client.cfg file. You should revert this change when your hardware manufacturer releases a newer driver.
• Client.Graphics.EnableMeshCompression = False
• Client one day decides to not start. After splash screen the client unexpectedly just quits.
• Solution: Delete your client.cfg file and try again. This resets all options in the file (including resolution) to default values. Warning: this will revert a lot of their settings to default values.

If you encounter more problems that NCsoft's support team needs to attend to, make sure you contact the developers so they can be documented. Expect an update to this list or a completely new list of fixes once the developers have shipped a quick fix or a full-blown patch - whichever comes first.

 

Talk about the beta phase drawing to a close has been confirmed by none other than NCsoft community Community Manager April "CuppaJo" Burba. "We are also ramping up for the end of beta event," said CuppaJo in an interview, as NCsoft gears up for the release of Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa coming real soon.

According to CuppaJo, NCsoft is already going through with the implementation of "Operations" - Tabula Rasa's equivalent of content additions. In this regard, the developers have already mapped out Operation 0 (that's Operation Fair Trade) and are prepping to spill info on Operation 1, all before the game even launches!

Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa is developed by Destination Games and is expected to hit PCs on November 2, 2007 over DVDs and digital download means.

 

Always wanted to join the fight yet was never lucky enough to be in Tabula Rasa's closed Beta? Don't lose hope now because the Allied Free Sentients is looking for more fresh recruits. If you've got the guts to take the fight to the Bane, plus any type of membership with FilePlanet (GameSpy IDs accepted), you can strap up for the trip to Foreas.

That's right. Anyone can join the newly opened Beta, even those who aren't residing in North America. The sky isn't the limit here though, because just like the closed Beta, access keys are limited. The Beta special offer on the other hand, applies only to legitimate residents in North America, so don't be too hopeful for the additional 10 days offered for free.

But of course, you've got to check if your trusty rig can handle NCsoft's Tabula Rasa, so we've provided the latest Beta requirements here for ease of comparison. Remember that you will need a broadband connection for the Beta, anything less could cause more frustration than losing outposts to the Bane.

If everything checks out, get your key while some still last, and meet up with us at waypoint Alpha. ETA in 10. Head to the promo page via the Read link below, then lock and load, ladies and gentlemen.

Thanks to Dave for the tip!

 

War is hell, and in NCsoft and Destination Games' Tabula Rasa, that idea gets magnified a hundred times over. Sometimes beating back the Bane with toe-to-toe muscle confrontations just won't cut it for the Allied Free Sentients, so it's time that brains and stealth were introduced to the mix. Taking a slice of both, we can sink our teeth into what's in store for the soon-to-be Spies and Snipers, members of the Ranger class.

Spies are your signature avatars for espionage, albeit with mastery of LOGOS powers. The typical Spy is armed with an AFS Filament Blade, the perfect silent weapon for the sneaky kill. Distant targets can be taken down with Net Guns and Chain Guns, though facing against an enemy group would be better off handled by the combat classes.

Instead, Spies sneaking into enemy installations, using the Camouflage powers to walk undetected among "friendlies." Causing chaos would be a piece of cake, since the LOGOS power Traitor will allow them to brand an enemy as a betrayer. Sentries would be quick to apprehend the unfortunate target. With ample mastery, Spies will also be able to create a zone that will give allies 75% more stealth.

More details and screenshots at the full article!

As a succession to the first walkthrough video to Tabula Rasa, hosted by none other than Richard Garriott himself, we've picked up the another walkthrough video, which now dives into another game aspect of NCsoft's Tabula Rasa. Understand that like one other MMORPG out there, Tabula Rasa can also hold "private" instances away from the war-torn, dynamic battlefield.

The Purgas Power Station is one such instance. Here, a finite number of players can team up and achieve a strategic objective that - although is fought far from the front lines - can turn the tide of war significantly. Taking down the power station's fusion reactor, for instance, will disable the Bane's major defense systems in an entire region in the planet Foreas.

Other things highlighted are optional objectives, plus ways to avoid and overcome certain obstacles without having to exert too much energy on offensive combat. Third video soon to follow.

An MMORPG lends little for the exercise of moral decision making, but in the case of NCSoft's Tabula Rasa there's a choice to be made. The latest fiction piece from NCSoft tackles how players in the fight against the Bane will have to muster more than their arms and their mastery of LOGOS.

 

Ethics and morals are tied together more often than not, and Tabula Rasa was designed from the ground up to weave some form of dilemma within players' missions. In a way, soldiers joining the fight against the Bane get more immersed in the threatened universe and the problems humanity is faced with; they also become more aware of how some of their choices change how everyone else in the game view them.

So in essence, players traverse through the plot as if they were actually there, carving their own way through a multitude of choices (and therefore paths) leading from one state to the next. Imagine having gained information from a cooperative Bane captive, allowing the player to unlock missions in thwarting the enemy in key points. When the missions have ended, will you execute the prisoner or will you simply let the captive live?

The reasons behind the decisions made are the players' own justifications, but they must know that each choice already defines their moral lines. Take note that it does not necessarily a define that a player has a specific alignment. How it all plays out will be unraveled further when Tabula Rasa finally releases. Let the screenshots below put your impatience at ease.

 

Four more screenshots available at the Full Article!

Now while there are no shortage of Medics in the on-going closed Beta phase of NCSoft's Tabula Rasa, any player going to jump into a seemingly endless war waged against the Bane would think once about taking the more offensive classes and take second opinions when choosing stealth or support classes, such as the Medic - or the Tier 4 Medic class in this case.

In order to diffuse confusion with support classes' offensive capabilities, Community Manager April "CuppaJo" Burba demonstrated the Medic class at the recently concluded ComicCon 2007 at San Diego, emphasizing how useful a support class can be in the United Free Sentients' struggles against the Bane.

Those who haven't been lucky to participate in the Beta phase but are heavily interested in the upcoming sci-fi MMORPG can check the video embedded below for some gameplay features discussed in earlier articles, including ceaseless conflict even while offline and capturing outposts.

This week it's another new stretch for the World Series of Video Games tour, as the WSVG 2007 hits Dallas, Texas for another round up for Counter-Strike, World of Warcraft, Guitar Hero II, Call of Duty 2, Gears of War, Quake 4 and Fight Night Round 3 competitive players.

Prizes totalling up to US$ 90,000 will be given away at the event, starting July 5, Thursday up to July 8, Sunday. The highlight of Dallas is the inclusion of Xbox 360 titles Gears of War from Epic Games and Guitar Hero II from Red Octane, so the event might be worth checking out for the Xbox 360 gamer.

And if you can shrug off the US$ 10 admission fee, you might want to pick up a few tips from James ‘2GD’ Harding on dominating with your trusty Quake 4 railgun. Listen carefully, and see tips being put to practice on the grand arena floors.

Cheer for your select team or players and get your face plastered all over CBS Sports news, while demoing some of the industry's latest games and winning some free swag. But first things first: you'd have to figure out how to get to the Gaylord Texan Resort on time.

 

And in other news - and while you all rest from fighting back the Bane in Tabula Rasa beta trials - Richard Garriott recently hosted an International Game Developers Association barbecue in his lakeside estate in Austin, Texas. Filled to the brim with the small community of Austin-based game developers and personalities, the event has been rated more as a good family get-together than an all out bash.

Featuring a barbecue feast, live music performances, padded sword fights and water balloon battles, the event was also a good indication of the Austin game development community relationships. During a small speech, Garriott said to the gathering of men and women, "If I haven't worked with you, it's a pretty small community, and I'm sure I will in the next decade or two."

If the self-proclaimed "old fogey" of the Austin game scene saw success in Origin Systems (System Shock, Wing Commander, Privateer) and his arrangement of Ultima games, his mansion and estate may probably be the first and single measure of just how much success his creations have brought to his front door.

And if NCSoft's successes on City of Villains and City of Heroes, EverQuest, and the whispered Tabula Rasa are any indication of his expertise as a game developer, it might be prudent to expect that his triumphs aren't over yet. Photo courtesy of Kotaku.