Three Questions for Tabula Rasa

An editorial by Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle

The Tabula Rasa community -  er, the knowledgable, the well-intentioned curious, and the nasty contingent of forum trolls and general stankbot bystanders feeling beatified by anonymity (the types of players every beta naturally collects) – is currently working through some tough questions about the game. At the kind behest of Ten Ton Hammer Tabula Rasa Community Manager Tony "RadarX" Jones, I was asked to look at these questions as someone on the outside of the discussion.

You see, while I've played Tabula Rasa since early beta and met with Producer Starr Long and Lead Designer Paul Sage several times to learn about the game, I didn't think I'd formed any opinions. I try not to till after launch for the same obvious reason reviewers don't review pre-release builds of games. However, and also in the interest of fairness, I feel the need to come out of my shell a little bit to do whatever miniscule part I can to see that Tabula Rasa gets a fair shake from the average MMO gamer's perspective when it launches in a little over a month.

Tabula Rasa is an RPG with a slender few FPS characteristics, not the other way around.

Question #1 - Will FPS Work?

Let me first say that I hate using "FPS" in the subtitle an editorial about Tabula Rasa. Despite NCSoft's desperate pleas again and again that we and the public understand that TR is way more RPG than shooter, it seems that the public can't or won't shake the perception. Personally, I think that NCSoft should embrace the mental block as a fate accompli – be all things to all gamers. And it's true that TR has FPS-ish tendencies: guns, a target reticule, the ability to use cover to shield yourself from a full measure of damage, and no auto-attack button (/cheer), but that's where the similarity stops cold. No hitboxes, no headshots, and nary a mention of teabagging in my beta experience.

Those who don't like FPS gameplay typically 1) hate the eyes-to-the-scoreboard, purely achiever, short-term focus attitude that you often find among ardent FPS players, 2) hate the scoring systems that aggressively punish accidental teamkills or the converse, being too lenient on obvious griefers, 3) don't really enjoy seeing the glint of the sun on a sniper's scope a quarter second before the chat log celebrates SoulEeter <MNR>'s headshot. I'm not out to convince you that you're wrong in your feelings toward FPS gaming; I share many of your frustrations. But if you're FPS prejudice is affecting your attitude towards Tabula Rasa, I'd strongly urge you to take a second look. From my admittedly sparse beta experience, I think that traditional MMOG players and FPS players can find a lot to like.

What gives me hope? First of all, NCSoft hasn't made mention of free-for-all PvP yet and, by all accounts, PvP will be pretty standard MMOG fare, i.e. consensual combat between clans (TR's take on guilds, persistent player organizations of up to 200 players), and duels (invitations to which you must accept before the duel begins). If you hate FPS, chances are that your problem isn't with the action or intensity – it's with the selfishness, mischief, or overpowered veterancy of other players. Tabula Rasa bucks the WoW-inspired trend of offering free-for-all servers, and something tells me that such a line a distinction was very intentionally drawn.

Since you needn't worry about players attacking you without warning or provocation, many of the traditional FPS frustrations fade into the background, leaving a solid storyline, progression system, and fast-paced gameplay in its wake.

The Logos system offers an interesting tandem path of advancement.

If it is, in fact, the fast-paced gameplay that bothers you about Tabula Rasa, I can only suggest that you try it on for size. Point your cursor at an enemy, hit "tab" to lock on, find yourself some cover, and choose the right mix of weapons and abilities to win the fight. Lather, rinse, repeat. Other games reward you for sitting around meditating for mana, resting to get an xp bonus – Tabula Rasa rewards you for picking fights like an amped-up sailor with Tourrett's in the bad part of town. The more and more rapidly you kill the Bane, the higher that experience modifier goes, up to 6x.

If you think that makes socializing tough, you're right. That is, if by socializing you mean tediously planning who is doing what in which order for 20 minutes before you pull a mob or fighting over who was supposed to do what at which time for 20 minutes afterwards. Some of the most fulfilling social moments for me have revolved around sitting on my helmet and holstering my weapons amid the carnage, breathlessly asking my companions how we survived that fight against seemingly impossible odds, our lifebars turning a very black shade of red. And Tabula Rasa has the potential to provide that kind of experience aplenty.

But we all know the reason many of you don't like Tabula Rasa… no orcs and elves. You can think of the humans as elves and the bane as orcs (or vice versa) if that would help you get past the whole fantasy MMO love thing. Or go back to whatever backward MMOG you've been playing. As for myself, I've been ready for a change for quite some time.

The Medic - one of the four tier 4 choices

Question #2 - What happens after the last tier choice?

This one seems pretty simple. You enjoy the last tier choice, kick some Bane ass in epic kinds of ways, and then explore what the other tier choices in your class tree do… you did remember to create a clone at those critical junctures, right? Better yet, clones all have access to the same footlocker, so save that kit for a clone with a matching specialty, then it's twink time. With an even spread of classes and good gear, you'll be the go-to guy (or girl) in your clan for the next instance run. And, of course, you can roll on more of the loot without troubling your conscience.

For all the crying about elder game / endgame in [insert any MMOG here], I've yet to see a forum poster suggest anything different, let alone something revolutionary. I like WoW's approach, first make the endgame accessible and desirable to the casual gamer, then it becomes worthwhile to develop more and more endgame content. Otherwise you're just going through the motions for a vocal fraction of your audience that probably won't be satisfied anyway.

Question #3 – Where's the raid content?

Are we talking about the same game? The entire planet is a raid instance; drop ships dropping merciless Bane on your head, bases and control points won and lost (and with them come and go vendors, crafting stations, mission givers, teleporters, rez points), fighting your way through scores of enemies to recover Logos shrines, instances that are easily hours of nonstop action…

All that, and you want more Molten Core (or Karazan or Zul'Aman or whatever the flavor of the day raid instance is). Give me a break. But to ease your mind, I'm fairly sure Richard Garriott, who crafted the longest continuously running MMOG of all time, has something in mind to keep you entertained.

What do you think? Is Tabula Rasa MMORPG enough for you? Jump into our Tabula Rasa poll in the Ten Ton Hammer forums and let your voice be heard!