If this post's title struck you in a snap and you think you got creative juices to share, we're more than glad to tell you that your artsy fartsy ass is in luck. Why? Because the Tabula Rasa team is currently looking for experienced artists to join their team!
Yeah huh! If you're willing to work full time in Austin, Texas and have relevant working experience as a Concept Artist, Environment Artist, or a Lighting Artist, you might just be the Neo that NCSoft is looking for.
No need to head to NCSoft's Austin office, simply visit the company's website to get the full details on their job openings and other whatnots. Interested parties (and more importantly qualified candidates) can send in their resume, salary history, and URL to online portfolio to jobs@ncaustin.com.
More info can be found by clicking on the Read link below, so if you're willing to share your creative juices, go on and click away.
This weeks Tabula Rasa screenshot shows how "Firing an Ability" works. In the screen above the player is attacking an enemy (trust us he is) with a Logos ability.
It's a bit hard to make out the enemy that the player is attacking as the poor fool is being obscured by the beam teleporting him down from the drop ship. The shot also shows of the lighting effects found in the game. Note the environmental lighting and the light coming from the Logos effect.
We'll update as more as new screens and gameplay details are made available.
It's been recently announced over at the official site of Tabula Rasa that the admins will be adding a new feature to their site: a screenshot of the week section.
Now before you folks decry the new visually oriented feature, we would like to note that the new feature will come with commentary and details on the gameplay elements involved in the said screenie.
For this week, the screenie shows off the current UI and HUD currently in the game. The basic elements of the UI are as follows:
The bottom right corner contains the mini-map. It displays your current location, it has several zoom levels, and it helps indicate foes (they're the red dots). The orange glow at the southern edge of the map indicates that a mission objective lies in that direction.
The bottom middle of the screen displays your currently selected weapon and ability. The long bar that travels the length of the screen is the XP bar.
The bottom left are your characters status (shield/helth/power/adrenaline) meters.
Upper left contains the chat window. It's transparent when not used.
Upper right is your mission tracker. It lists all missions you have marked, and You can add/remove missions from the tracker in your mission log.
Been itching to have a meet and greet with Tabula Rasa's CuppaJo? Well then head on to Austin Texas, the Live Music Capital of the World (or so they say), and get a chance to meet NCSoft's CuppaJo and Cricket!
To celebrate the City of Heroes/Villains Double Exp Weekend, Silent MercX will be broadcasting his show on January 27 (7-9 Eastern, 6-8 Central) live from Austin's Tek Republik gaming center. And joining him will be community coordinators CuppaJo and Cricket, so this is your chance to get the lowdown on your favorite NCSoft games.
SilentMerc will be at TekRepublic from 5 - 9 p.m. Central (6-10 Eastern) and on the following hours:
Dunno where to go? Here's where they'll be at: 5310 Burnet Road Suite 106 Austin, TX 78756 (behind the Shell Station on NW corner of North Loop)
Well there ya have it! So if you wanna get the latest dibs on your favorite NCSoft games from the two kickass community coordinators, make sure you tune in (or better yet be in Austin) to w00t radio on the mentioned times.
A report from tech news site Slashdot reveals that Ebay is now de-listing all auctions for "virtual artifact" from the site. "Virtual artifacts" in this case includes currency, items, and accounts/characters.
If you folks are thinking that those too lazy to grind their own high level character in your standard MMO, and only those involved in third world farming are affected by this, keep in mind that even the relatively cute and harmless neopoint - used in the popular Neopets - is not exempt from this decision.
Speaking for eBay, Mr. Hani Durzy explains that the decision to pull these items was due to the "legal complexities" involved with virtual property. After much thought, the company felt that this was the proper course of action. This is "for the overall health of the marketplace."
Moreover Durzy pointed out that the company is now just following through with a pre-existing policy. Their policy on digitally delivered goods states:
The seller must be the owner of the underlying intellectual property, or authorized to distribute it by the intellectual property owner.
Given the debatable nature of ownership of virtual property in online games, eBay has decided that for now, it is apt to remove the possibility for players to sell what might be the IP of other properties via eBay's service.
We now wonder if this will mean less or more income opportunities for third-world farmers. Moreover, given the absence of eBay as an avenue for income, we wonder if smaller virtual businessmen will now be forced to turn to larger RMT entities.
For more information on eBay's existing policy, you can scrutinize it via our read-link below.
Even though the CuppaJo interview on w00t Radio was postponed, patience rewards those who wait. And for those who're waiting for NCSoft's Tabula Rasa MMO-FPS-RPG, how can it get any better than this? We've managed to score the podcast of the entire interview. It contains a treasure trove of details about the game.
CuppaJo even talks about the friends-and-family beta that's currently on the move. They're still trying to fix everything up for closed beta, and sign ups have already started. But more on the interview, CuppaJo uses City of Heroes to compare Tabula Rasa and its features. How different are they? In some ways, they're the same, but they're still definitely far different in a lot of other ways.
One of the interesting points discussed during the sit-down is the part about how the controls work especially during battle. It appears that the reticle, as used in most every other FPS game, plays a much bigger factor in TR. The reticle isn't just used to point-and-shoot, but CuppaJo further explains that it's going to be a "sticky reticle" that acts like an auto-target with damage depending on how "sticky" your reticle is set.
There's also a segment about the Logos skill. The long and short of it is that the Logos is the mystical force (super powers, if you will) governing the TR world. As you level up, you learn more kinds of these Logos abilities (left-click for weapons, right-click for Logos). Levelling up also requires a lot of decisions as you play along. The skills and weapons you choose in the game will change the direction your character takes.
More about squad combat, recon strategies, Smith and Wessons, character creation, humans, clones, and how your last name can actually affect your gameplay - all right behind the "Read" link!
Eurogamer has considered MMOs as a separate platform from the PC as it is a growing part of the gaming world with each passing year. As a result to WoW's success (read: cash cow), MMOs are popping up like mushrooms. Cynics either consider them as imported mind numbing grindfests from Asia or WoW rip-offs.
Tabula Rasa makes a surprising entry on the list, given its numerous delays and tight-lipped devs. Redesign has ultimately caused it's nth delay, and we're surely not complaining that they want to have the game released when it's really ready. Hopefully, this sci-fi MMO would be released by the end of this year.
Eurogamer concludes the list with Honourable Mentions - AION: Tower of Eternity (who wouldn't want to have usable wings?), Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising (to an age of togas and gladiators), Huxley (an MMOFPS), Pirates of the Burning Sea (Harr!), and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (from the pen and paper RPG).
The Austin America-Statesman reports that NCsoft Corp. is looking for more game testers for their upcoming MMO Tabula Rasa. This Richard Garriott-fueled game is set to soon (soon being several months from now) go into open beta. At the moment the company has already received 20,000 applications.
To apply as a tester all you have to do is to go to www.playtr.com/beta/. Testers will be chosen based on criteria that includes game experience and system specifications. Oh, and there's an age requirement. Sorry folks, but you gotta be 18 years or older to apply.
And to those wondering why we bother to cover news that's been reported before, well, it's actually a bit encouraging to see TR-related updates make it to non gaming-related outlets. It speaks volumes of what kind of promise the game has. The better exposure it gets, the brighter the MMO's future will be.
Here are a few TR updates we've come across that you might find useful. Apparently, the Account section of the PlayNC website will be under maintenance on Thursday, January 11, between 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM CST. This means that account creation and management will be unavailable for around two hours. If you're looking to register for beta during those hours, don't. It would be very unwise.
On other news, It seems that the w00t Radio interview with NCSoft's CuppaJo will be delayed until next week. If you're a w00tradio listener, and you're interested with what CuppaJo has to say, then check back next Wednesday 7pm EST at w00tradio.net for the interview.
Yeah, this is an update to this report. Anyway, we'll be sure to update you folks if any further news breaks. Stay tuned.
Surely, y'all have heard that NCSoft has opened the beta sign-ups for Tabula Rasa, so we won't talk about that anymore. Instead, we'll just give you guys a little heads up on how you can get more info about the upcoming beta.
How?Well, all you have to do is tune in to w00t radio this Wednesday, January 10, and listen in as TR's Community Manager CuppaJo talks about the beta as well as general tips and a primer on the game. And, AND, w00t radio will also be giving away beta slots for the game, and you do wanna get into the beta, don't you?
You might wanna mark your calendars and set your alarms for this because some of the male bloggers here at QJ might beat you to those slots. (Some of them have been getting these silly schoolboy crushes on CuppaJo, for some strange reason, so they'll surely tune in. But because I don't wanna have lunch alone, I won't drop names. Harhar.) So anyway, make sure you catch the TR interview with CuppaJo this Wednesday, 7-9 p.m. EST on w00t radio. You never know, you might get lucky and snag a slot for the beta.
They also marketed Windows Vista as an opportune platform for casual gamers. They cite Luxor 2 for Windows Vista, Crystal Quest for Windows Vista, and the ever popular Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved as example of their push to further cement Windows Vista as a good platform for casual gaming. Microsoft also used CES as an opportunity to further promote their Games for Windows brand. The Game for Windows portfolio includes the following game titles:
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (Eidos Interactive/Funcom)
Age of Empires III: The Warchiefs (Microsoft Game Studios/Ensemble Studios)
Yes, the beta sign-up for the game went live a few days ago. No, the game is not in closed Beta yet. Why so? Well Cuppa Jo explains that the it will be at least a month before closed beta starts.
She also adds that if you won a beta slot via a contest or some sort of promotion, you do not need to fill out the beta sign up form. Contest winners are automatically part of the first wave of the closed beta.
As for when the beta will start? Here's what Cuppa Jo had to say:
How will you know when beta starts? I'll let you know via a news announcement here and via MySpace bulletin, so either subscribe to our RSS feed or become a friend of ours at MySpace.com/Playtr and we'll let you know!
Of course we here at QJ will let you know as well. Stay tuned for the latest Tabula Rasa news and updates!
New year, fresh start. NCSoft couldn't have picked a better time. The moment of truth has finally arrived: beta sign-ups for Tabula Rasa are now open. Aside from the 10 winners of the closed beta keys, the dev team is going to give a couple of lucky gamers the chance to join the Allied Free Sentinels for the early rounds of beta testing.
To earn your access to a closed beta slot, you'd have to be over 18 years of age and accept Non-Disclosure agreements.
They'll be validating sign-ups based on your system specs, game experience, location, and date of registry. Make sure you fit into their qualifications.
You do have to note that your application would take some time to be promised and that slots would be limited.
To learn more about the mechanics and qualifications, click the "Read" link below!
To give your Desktop that fuzzy-warm feeling of otherworldly battles, MMO combat, and the sweet smell of napalm in the morning, NCSoft has some Desktop wallpapers cooked up on the official site for Tabula Rasa. All these pics are optimized for screens at 1024x768, though there are two higher alternate resolutions available as well. Outside of the closed beta (which is close to its conclusion, it seems), this is one way of getting TR into your PC.
Aye, and an interesting bit of trivia we picked up is that Community Manager CuppaJo herself took the screenshot that was turned into one of the wallpapers. The one we're using as the banner image. It features what looks like a weird lab with what looks like a body strapped onto some funky lab table. Okay, whatever is happening in that room, it looks positively squeamish.
Here are the rest of the wallpapers. Not-so-squeamish ones.
If you happen to be part of the Beta test for Tabula Rasa, then the dev team wants to hear from you. CuppaJo has dropped by in Tabula Rasa-related forums, among them Planet TR, to pop an important question. The Beta for the game is about to wrap up, so the TR team is taking a survey: what was your favorite End of Beta (EoB) event (or something similarly large-scale) from other MMOs, and why?
Over at that forum, people started dropping their stories about EoBs from City of Heroes/Villains, Matrix Online, and Guild Wars. Since, as Community Manager, CuppaJo must be making rounds of the various fora and commentae regarding Tabula Rasa, she's sure to take these suggestions to the devs so that they can party like it's... wait, in what year do the events of Tabula Rasa occur again? In other words, to create a TR End of Beta to remember.
Suggestions like massive invasions, a large-scale stab at the heart of the Bane enemy, and ginormous catastrophes to avert are suitable to the action-RPG genre TR belongs to... and are too obvious, so get creative! One silly suggestion from this room? All the Beta players meet up on the field... and dance to "We're All In This Together" from High School Musical. It can't get any more unique (or weird) than that.
One of the biggies the Stratics TR reporter highlighted was the character customization option, where you don't just create your character on the setup, but you trick him out throughout the game, until he/she is the best-looking bada** to walk the face of this shattered planet. As in the Diablo series, players will find different armor for their character class through the game that will change their appearance (of what they're wearing). Customizing body shape and face details won't be as intensive as it is in other MMOs, though.
Although it was not mentioned in the highlights, another forum member piped in to note that he "was very excited to hear there would be story driven
missions that involved ethical dilemmas. Decisions you make will have
an impact on the game world - THAT I can’t wait to see in action." Quite interesting - if the interpretation is right, we're looking at a player-driven storyline progression here.
One last highlight we'd like to pull out from the highlights is the targeting system. CuppaJo confirms that the "stickiness" of the targeting cross-hair (a.k.a. auto-targeting or autotrack) can be custom-set by the player, so that those who prefer more of a shooter out of their Tabula can play like it's Counter-Strike.
The most coveted prize among beauty pageant contestants is the crown. The coveted prize among the theatrical circles of Broadway is a Tony Award. And for YouTube members, the most coveted prize is the "Director" status.
Coming up from behind like the slow but very sure turtle is Tabula Rasa's YouTube account TRTV. They just achieved the "Director" status. By the way, they have surpassed the 1,000 channel views mark - meaning, unique YouTube visitors - and they have over 5,000 unique video views.
Being the video uploading account for NCSoft's upcoming sci-fi MMORPG, TRTV provides viewers with the video footage of or relating to the game like gameplay trailers, teasers, walkthrough vids, and many others. Now, here's a sample, just to celebrate their achievement. Let's go back to the beginning and see the madness that was at E3 2004!
Song Jae-kyung or XLGames">Jake Song is currently in an important and interesting place within the MMO universe. He was actually part of Lineage, the second most popular MMO today as well as the upcoming NCSoft creation, Tabula Rasa. Unfortunately, it appears that a lot of things have happened backstage diminishing Song's involvement with the latter.
It would be remembered that during this year's GDC, TR Executive Producer Richard Garriott made a public announcement saying that TR would be delayed. When asked for the reason why, Garriott quipped that it is because of "too many cooks in the kitchen." Song, on the other hand had been denying that this constitutes his reasons for leaving.
Furthermore, it appeared that Song no longer want to be associated with Tabula Rasa. He kind of severed his ties from it when he mentioned that his actual work on the game was limited to a few lines of code and "maybe one page in a design document." However, Song shared that he used to travel many times to Austin (NCSoft's TR hq) for meetings regarding the game.
Currently, Jake Song is heading newly started company XLGames. They are yet to release an MMORPG title, but he promised that they are "going back to basics." Many people are considering Song as one of those who spearheaded the genre. He was part of early MMOs Nexus and Ultima Online.
Some of the most prized possessions in the gaming world today are closed beta keys that are given to loyal and/or lucky gamers as an invite to test and get to play a game before anyone else. That's why when someone announces that they're giving away beta keys, you better make sure that you're up for the task.
The recent PlanetTR website had held their own such contest, and now, the results are in! The ten lucky winners below will receive an invitation to take a crack at the Tabula Rasa Closed Beta when it eventually starts. Here are the winners:
S. Crewe
D. Flores
P. Procyk
D. Buckles
L. Hart
D. Hamada
G. Dionne
B. Bedford
G. Masson
K. Johnson
If you didn't make it, no need to worry. They're hinting at holding other contests in the future to give away more beta keys for all of you anticipating TR. If you're hoping for a slot, better keep an eye out to this Community News section for future contests!
The maiden issue of "AFK Magazine" is flipping its pages wildly as it's getting ready for its release. With a bang, Karmik Studios is starting out their venture with an exclusive interview with Community Manager April Burba (AKA CuppaJo). In this issue, "AFK" actually lists Tabula Rasa as one of their top upcoming MMO picks and as a recommended community hot spot.
Aside from the TR interview with CuppaJo, the magazine will also cover:
Exclusive interview with Mike Rawlingson, Managing Director of ELSPA
WWE Smackdown v Raw 2007 review, feature and interview
Huge Age of Conan feature, including several interviews with the development team, exclusive artwork and our preview of the game
Reviews for Ryzom Ring, Mortal Kombat Armaggedon, Family Guy, Scarface, DD Online and more
Chronicles of Spellborn interview and review
Previews of the hottest upcoming MMORPGs, including Warhammer, LOTR Online and many more
From that list alone, you'd see that, although the magazine focuses on MMORPGs, they will also feature content covering a variety of interests beyond these types of games and goes beyond to general PC gaming, console gaming, music, and entertainment.
We're still waiting for the magazine links to go live (the links open today, 3 p.m. EST). Once the magazine becomes available, we can post it up here too. But for the meantime, click the "Read" link below to flip over to AFK's site.
