GamesRadar - News

Richard Garriot Speaks on VBS (Tabula Rasa)

Feb 26, 2009

Three short videos featuring Richard Garriot, his background, home and life, have been released.

In the first of the three films, Garriot explains how he came by the name 'Lord British', and goes over the games he created. Garriot is famous for making the Ultima series of PC games, which later became the first ever MMORPG, Ultima Online.

Tabula Rasa Server Merge: EU Server Not Included (Tabula Rasa)

Feb 23, 2009

NCSoft has revealed that the EU server for the troubled MMO Tabula Rasa will not be included in the planned server merge, which is in preparation for the shut-down of the game on 28 February.

The European server will have its own 'sunset event', at a time more suitable to European players.

Tabula Rasa Gets Mech Suits Before Final Shut Down (Tabula Rasa)

Feb 12, 2009

NCsoft's doomed Tabula Rasa will go out with a bang in its final weeks as the development team announced the long-awaited mech suits will make it in the next patch before the game servers are shut down.

Tabula Rasa Honors Best Fans and Players with In-Game Items (Tabula Rasa)

Jan 30, 2009

TentopHammer:

"Over at Flickr, a Tabula Rasa players has posted up sixty-odd screenshots of items that the developers have named after their favorite players and fans. While this is one of those achievements that can only come in a dying or very small, personal sort of game, the Tabula Rasa devs have certainly churned up a lot of well wishes from their community with this gesture."

Opinions flair from ex-NCsoft employees about TR's closing (Tabula Rasa)

Jan 17, 2009

As Tabula Rasa approaches its end days, the anger, sadness and I-told-you-so sentiments are rising up more than ever. This week marks an interesting occasion where two former NCsoft employees each wrote detailed stories on their own perspectives regarding the sci-fi MMO's downward spiral.

Why you should be playing Tabula Rasa: It's free (Tabula Rasa)

Jan 9, 2009

Massivley: If you're still postponing the dive into NCsoft's Tabula Rasa, because of that whole shut-down thing, I wanted to just let you know that you may be missing out on a historical opportunity here. How often is it that you get to play a game through its last remaining weeks, and actually witness the end first-hand?

Right now the game itself is even free to download. I'll explain more on this later, but if you're feeling extra generous, or you're big into souvenirs from dead MMOs, you can pick it up on Amazon or most brick-and-mortar shops for $5 US. If you want to spend the extra cash for a Collector's Edition, to get some dogtags, an AFS Challenge coin, a "Making of Tabula Rasa" DVD and more, you can do that for $15-$30 usually. Or perhaps, you'll be lucky enough to find a dumpster full of boxes behind an EB Games somewhere.

Tabula Rasa goes free a month early (Tabula Rasa)

Dec 20, 2008

After just releasing Deployment 15, and talking about the upcoming Deployment 16(With Mechs), NCSoft has made Tabula Rasa free for current, new, and returning players a month early.

Tabula Rasa introduces Epic instances (Tabula Rasa)

Dec 6, 2008

As announced in today's Feedback Friday, the Tabula Rasa team has been working on a way to present low-level instances in what could be considered a "hard mode" of sorts. The first of these is the Caves of Donn instance which now has an Epic version, accessible through the CELLAR Arena.

This Epic Caves of Donn instance has Epic versions of the Caretakers, Technicians, Soldiers and the brand new Ravagers and Seekers created for the Back-to-Earth campaign. This instance is repeatable, allowing players to eventually gain all rewards in addition to the XP, Prestige and Mimeomech. Admittedly, the developers report that the instance doesn't have as much polish as they'd like.

Tabula Rasa's weekend activites still going strong (Tabula Rasa)

Dec 6, 2008

As a testament to the fact that Tabula Rasa players aren't throwing down their rifles and giving up that easily, the community events are carrying on stronger than ever. Thanks to fansites such as PlanetTR and Gangrel's Forums, this weekend is chocked full of contests and special events to keep away those end-of-the-game-in-two-months blues.

Tabula Rasa's Deployment 15 hits the Public Test Server (Tabula Rasa)

Dec 2, 2008

Massively: "For those players left to enjoy Tabula Rasa in its final months, NCsoft has remained diligent about keeping up with quality content. The most recent game update, Deployment 15, has now hit the Public Test Server and brings with it many features that players have been looking forward to for a while now.

In addition to the new FPS camera view, we're treated to a new instance map entitled "The Empire Sector". This special map is restricted to level 50 players who must also meet certain Logos requirements."

NCsoft clarifies its rationale for closing Tabula Rasa (Tabula Rasa)

Dec 2, 2008

Massively writes: "Last week we spoke very briefly with NCsoft's Director of Public Relations David Swofford about the company's decision to close Tabula Rasa. He reiterated the basic statement we heard from several sources surrounding the call: this was all about the bottom line."

Tabula Rasa is over (Tabula Rasa)

Nov 21, 2008

With NCSoft slowing sinking, teams being laid off, Richard Garriott himself exiting the company, it should come as no surprise that another round of lay-offs have rippled through the company.

Sources tell us that today many of the Tabula Rasa team were let go. The plug has also been pulled on the game, according to both our sources and the official Tabula Rasa website.

It seems that the game didn't accomplished the player population the devs expected.

Richard Garriott Leaves NCsoft (Tabula Rasa)

Nov 11, 2008

Richard Garriott Leaves NCsoft Richard "Lord British" Garriott, the Ultima designer and recent space tourist, has announced that he will be leaving Tabula Rasa developer NCsoft to pursue new interests.

Tabula Rasa hosts another server war (Tabula Rasa)

Nov 11, 2008

Massively: "The Server vs. Server War in Tabula Rasa is ready for this month's installment, as the PlanetTR folks get ready for what has quickly become one of their largest events. As with last month's server war, this one will follow the same rules, although this time Pegasus will join forces with Cassiopeia to battle those in Orion and Centaurus."

1UP: Tabula Rasa is now $1 (Tabula Rasa)

Nov 9, 2008

You may be reading that title up there and thinking that's a typo -- like 1UP must have forgotten a zero or something. And you'd be right, 1UP did forget something: not to round up.
Richard Garriot's Tabula Rasa has fallen on hard times lately -- what with other high-profile MMOs like Age of Conan and Warhammer Online stealing away their thunder -- but 1UP doesn't think they realized quite how far the game has been sinking. Many retailers, including Gamestop, have stopped carrying the game altogether, but the clearest indicator that all is not well with NCSoft's space MMO probably comes from Amazon. Right now, the online retailer has dropped the price of Tabula Rasa to $0.96 (and once again, no, that's not a typo).

Tabula Rasa to add FPS camera, rocket launchers, and Earth (Tabula Rasa)

Nov 7, 2008

Eurogamer is reporting that Richard Garriott's struggling MMO Tabula Rasa's upcoming expansion will include a revamped FPS camera, along with scope and cockpit views, and new weapons like rocket launchers - as well as Earth.

Tabula Rasa: Feedback Friday: 10/24/08 (Tabula Rasa)

Oct 25, 2008

After an alien attack led the Logos-receptive humans to find safety in other planets, the fate of the home planet was grim. It was rumored that Earth had been completely destroyed by the Bane, and that's what they came to accept after all this time. Yet, new research has discovered that those rumors were wrong. Not only is Earth still alive, but there are humans there left to save.

The return to Earth is a prospect in Tabula Rasa that probably every single player -- past and present -- have longed to see. With the upcoming Deployment 15, those dreams will come true. This exciting new content will include:

* Epic instanced control point gameplay for level 48 to 50 players
* All new setting and art design
* New monsters, including new Epic creatures and mini-bosses. These new Epic creatures are designed to be a greater challenge, requiring the efforts of coordinated squads with excellent weapons and gear to be defeated.
* PvE Mech gameplay opportunities
* New armor sets available only on Earth

Tabula Rasa's Community Coordinator leaves NCsoft (Tabula Rasa)

Oct 10, 2008

Amy Crider writes:

"Today is a very sad day for me, as I will be leaving the Tabula Rasa staff to pursue another opportunity. With every build, I've watched this game transform for the better and I'm eager to see what's in store once it goes to the Live servers. With a new Lead Designer and end-game content directives such as Epic Instances, PVP CP's, and Mechs - this is an exciting time for TR!

Before I leave, I want to thank the PlanetTR staff for all the hard work and dedication they have put in to make the Tabula Rasa community so great. PlanetTR is a community person's dream - always coming up with new and interesting events, promoting the game, and just being an overall area where players can freely banter with each other.

Thank you to the Destination Games Devs, QA, and GMs that welcomed me with open arms when I joined the team. They are some of the most talented, friendly, and customer-focused people I have had a chance to work with."

Tabula Rasa Players Vote Led Zepplin, George Carter Greatest in their Fields (Tabula Rasa)

Oct 9, 2008

What are the milestones that signify humanity's most important achievements? From penicillin to George Carlin to The American Civil Rights Movement, users have weighed in on an online poll inspired by Tabula Rasa's Operation Immortality. The results of the polls are among the many digitized items stored on the "Immortality Drive" that will be taken to space by game designer Richard Garriott, who travels to the International Space Station (ISS) on Oct.12.

Player controlled Mech spotted on Tabula Rasa test server (Tabula Rasa)

Sep 29, 2008

Massively: It's a long time since the first sighting of a Personal Armor Unit on Tabula Rasa - and that one was disassembled. Now, on TR's public test server, the first prototype mech has been unveiled that players can test-drive.