Tabula Rasa beta

[CeeKay]

well, I went and pulled the trigger on the Amazon deal for 24.99.  Hopefully I'll have it by Wednesday so I can upgrade out of the trial without missing any playtime and avoid paying them 50 bucks for a serial number for the full game

[unbreakable]

I would never play one of Garriot's MMOGs where you couldn't kill him.

[CeeKay]

well, tonight I saw 2 control poins in the Divide fall, Purgas Hospital and the Hydro Plant.  The plant got taken back quickly, but the Hospital is so far out of the way it could be a while until it gets taken back (unless the AI does it).  I like the whole feel of the Divide- artillery shells falling, a nice wasteland and menacing machines of death.  I saw on the chat someone mentioned they were putting mechs in the game- that could be pretty cool.

[Blackjack]

I put some time in Sunday morning (Pegasus server, as "Jude Blackjach," fwiw). Server busy-ness varies quite a bit depending on the server. It feels more polished now for sure.

I have one technical problem though -- depending on my ATI video driver settings, the sky textures either frantically overlap and blink, or there are no sky textures at all (the sky is completely black). If I turn all the settings to maximum it seems to look OK, but then my frame rate is in the pits. So, I guess I have to keep experimenting a bit. One of the bad things bout having no official forum is not really having a reasonably reliable place to look for informal tech support stuff.

I couldn't quite screen capture the overlap/blinking problem, but here's the black sky (more like a stage play backdrop) I get otherwise:

[CeeKay]

looks like the personal wormhole generators are in the game- I saw them at a vendor today: 1 way, 2 way and a third one I can't remember.  IIRC they start out at 1000 credits.

[Blackjack]

Good ole' Cuppa Jo (former City of Heroes forum moderator) provided a couple interviews of interest...

With Sweet Flag blog about upcoming Social Features in TR (this is, to be honest, mostly "we're working on it," and "no release date yet" stuff; it might as well be a Hellgate dev interview!  )
http://sweetflag.wordpress.com/2007/12/15/qa-with-cuppajotabula-rasa/

With Ten Ton Hammer on "Ask the Devs" forum questions
http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?p=191466#post191466

[Blackjack]

A few pics:


The collector's edition pet is, basically, obnoxious. I don't think I'll use it too much, but you can't say that it's too small to be noticed.  I was hoping for something cooler than a giant robotic ostrich. 


My attempts to dye all my armor red seem to make Jude Blackjach look more like "The Walking Orange Box" 


Dude, it's a Dell! Talk about weird product placement...

I had a good time playing last night. Just soloing for now, though it seems like the LFG channel is quite busy, esp. at higher levels (20s or higher).

[Destructor]

A few pics:

The collector's edition pet is, basically, obnoxious. I don't think I'll use it too much, but you can't say that it's too small to be noticed.  I was hoping for something cooler than a giant robotic ostrich. 

Dude, it's a Dell! Talk about weird product placement...

As for the CE pet... I was wondering why I never saw anybody with one out. Now I know why.

As for the Dell... Keep looking around at the PCs from time to time. I found one that had a screenshot of Aklabeth (Richard Garriot's first game, however it's spelled), and yes, pulling up the info on what I was looking at talked about the game.

[CeeKay]

As for the Dell... Keep looking around at the PCs from time to time. I found one that had a screenshot of Aklabeth (Richard Garriot's first game, however it's spelled), and yes, pulling up the info on what I was looking at talked about the game.

I found that too!  It was in the Ranj settlement in the Concordia Wilderness.  I LOL'd.

I had some pretty intense base defenses last night- Purgas Hospital seems to be the place to be if you want a challenge around level 12.  At one point we didn't have enough defenders, the shield wall fell and they just came storming in like a flood.  I was just about to reach the waypoint inside the place when they took the control point and promptly got slaughtered by a group of 20 Banes.  I respawned in the Hydro plant just in time to see the same thing almost happen again, but thankfully I had a trauma pack and was able to jump back into battle without any penalties.

[CeeKay]

an woot! my copy of TR arrived just in time for my trial to expire, and I didn't even have to spring for expedited shipping 

[Blackjack]

The main problem with the CE pet is that it's so big, and hovers so close to your character, that I often found him floating into my line-of sight. 

I finally realized (I didn't understand this in beta) that some of the skills you can learn are Logo-based (require you to have two specific Logos for it to be available), so I'm not using points on them (Soldier class) for now cause I don't have any of the necessary pairs completed. I couldn't quite grasp this during the beta, even when explained in chat channels, but the manual makes it a little clearer as just does sort of clicking around the skills points screen.

[Blackjack]

Anyone else playing on Pegasus (East Coast) server? I'd certainly be game to team up on some stuff. Right now I don't know enough of the missions to have a clue in the LFG channel. It's all people shouting out mission titles like they'd mean anything to a noob. 

I was mowing everything down last night until I got a quest to tackle some "egg layers" in a cave, and, well, it didn't go very well. 

So far I don't seem to have the "never enough ammo, always too broke to buy anymore" problems that I had in beta. I try to always buy a few at the vendors (trying to always stay above 1,000 - I know how fast the machine gun stuff can chew through the cartridges) and I'm so far resisting the fancier (more expensive) ammo types.

[Destructor]

I was mowing everything down last night until I got a quest to tackle some "egg layers" in a cave, and, well, it didn't go very well. 

So far I don't seem to have the "never enough ammo, always too broke to buy anymore" problems that I had in beta. I try to always buy a few at the vendors (trying to always stay above 1,000 - I know how fast the machine gun stuff can chew through the cartridges) and I'm so far resisting the fancier (more expensive) ammo types.

Do NOT do the Egg Layer quest anywhere near early on. It's a terrible, terrible quest that just shouldn't be in the game that early. In short, the bigger mobs phase out of existence once they've been shot for a few seconds, and then phase back in. They're utterly invulnerable while they phase, so make sure you hit them with your best possible weapon when you can (either the shotty or your lightning). Oh, and the mobs there do INSANE damage for their level.

As for the ammo - your guns can ONLY use the ammo that's listed, so there's absolutely no reason to buy anything bigger. Starting around 15, you'll be forced to use more expensive ammo. But until then, enjoy ammo being so cheap. Thankfully money is never a problem (unless you spurge on the newly released auction house), IMHO.

Finally - the machine gun is next to worthless. Yeah, it has the highest DPS, but at an absolutely insane price point. Short of fighting bosses (and taking down base shields with an EMP based one) you're normally better off sticking with the rifle/shotty. In fact, the rifle/shotty paired will easily get you through the first 15 levels (assuming you're the Soldier anyway), especially once you raise your skill up to tier 5. The shotty is amazing at close range (20m, and can hit everybody in a spawn), and the rifle plinks away at huge distances (60m).

[USMC Kato]

Anyone else playing on Pegasus (East Coast) server? I'd certainly be game to team up on some stuff. Right now I don't know enough of the missions to have a clue in the LFG channel. It's all people shouting out mission titles like they'd mean anything to a noob. 

I was mowing everything down last night until I got a quest to tackle some "egg layers" in a cave, and, well, it didn't go very well. 

So far I don't seem to have the "never enough ammo, always too broke to buy anymore" problems that I had in beta. I try to always buy a few at the vendors (trying to always stay above 1,000 - I know how fast the machine gun stuff can chew through the cartridges) and I'm so far resisting the fancier (more expensive) ammo types.

I'm on the west coast server (I forgot the name).... anyone from GT on this one?

[Blackjack]

I'm happy with the machine gun stuff, but definitely I use a little bit of everything.

I'm at level 8 now. I think I might've finally finished the egg layer quest (or I might have one to go and removed it from the mission tracker). I played about 5 hours tonight. I think I like it. 

While I'm still hoping to do some teaming at some point (people kept LFMing for the Crater Lake instance but by the time I got to it they evaporated   ), I think it's a great game for people that prefer to solo their missions mostly, but like the idea of being part of something bigger and battling informally alongside other players. It's so relatively easy to rack up enemy kills that there really doesn't seem much concern or hollering about "kill stealing." There is a little bit of camping on certain objectives but generally there's always something else you can work on in a pinch.

In terms of seeming to have a never-ending river of missions to do, it really is a far, far cry from the mid-late beta I played. I think I'm just going to stay away from betas unless they're the week before release -- I just too often get a sour impression that's sometimes not really fair.

A few pics...

Who needs Gears of War anyway?  (middle mouse button actually gives a viewpoint similar to GoW)


This guy... gave me problems.  I usually switched to an energy weapon. He seems to really beeline for you if you do any appreciable damage to him... or it.


I'm not really a crafting nut but I spend some time working up paint stuff including this Bright Purple look...


Gotta love them AI-controlled AFS mechs, especially the way the spent cartridges come flying out of their guns in a flood...

[Jarrodhk]

This does look interesting... what's the damage on the system specs?

[Destructor]

This does look interesting... what's the damage on the system specs?

Not too much, IMHO. It looks nice, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't seem to need much in the way of system horsepower.

Blackjack - crafting as a whole (short of making paint for your armor) is a waste of time, IMHO. Wait until you get to 29 (or is it 32...) and use one of your Clone Tokens to make a crafter character. You need to hit that point to have enough skill points to fully level all the crafting skills. But yes, armor colorization works out well. Even with the generic stuff (purchasable for 1 buck each at most weapon/armor stores) you can look pretty decent.

The guy you're talking about that gave you problems is immune to bullet weapons period. This is why it's highly recommended to take a bunch of different weapon types with you. Bullets are nice as a whole, as few enemies are immune to them, EMPs are used for most robots (for full/bonus damage, plus they're great for killing the shields on anybody), and then there's Sonic and Energy for lower levels (with a few more coming into play past 15) too. You can carry 5 weapons in your slots, plus 50 more in your backpack, so keep a few handy incase you come across anything that gives you trouble.

[Lockdown]

I am not playing anymore, to answer your guys' questions about "which server".

But it has nothing to do with the game itself.  I am not much of an MMO guy, even though I love trying them for about 3 to 4 weeks.  I just get bored with them all; but it is no reflection of the game quality.

I found TR as fun as any of them I have tried in the past.  I loved WoW, EQ2, LotRO, CoH as well.  I just get bored.  Guild Wars and EvE, two games I think are incredible, I can only take in small bursts before I get tired and have to take breaks from. 

I am glad you guys are liking it though.   

[Blackjack]

I'm running acceptably (I still can't get sky textures to appear, I've just learned to live with a black sky  ) on a kludgy old AMD64 3200, 2 GB RAM, ATIX1650 card system. The min specs are nothing scary compared to the likes of Crysis, Gears of War PC, etc. etc., but you prob need something decent to turn up all the bells and whistles (I'm leaving a lot off to get a consistent, playable frame rate).

From the box:
Minimum System Specs:
2.5Ghz Intel P4 or equivalent (no AMD specs mentioned)
512MB RAM
DVD-ROM
5GB Hard Drive space
ATI Radeon 9600 or NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 series video card with 128MB of VRAM
16-bit sound card
-Broadband connection (I imagine it would technically run on dialup, but with so much gunfire and what not, broadband is pretty well a must -- I do have buds who play COH and LOTORO on dial-up)
DirectX 9.0c

Recommended System Specs:
3.5ghz Intel P4 or equivalent
2GB RAM
ATI Radeon X1800 or NVIDIA GeForce o7800 series video card
[Rest are pretty much the same as the Minimum]

A lot of what makes the game feel promising to me in the long run are the specialized classes (which I have a long ways before I can get to). There are lots of interesting skills, not all firearms-based down the road. Exobiologist [class specialty choice at L30] reminds me quite a bit of Diablo II's Necromancer (right down to detonating enemy corpses and reanimating masses of corpses in a wide area). Engineers can make turrets, traps and robots.

I'm maybe going to work towards Ranger [class specialty choice at L15], just cause the idea of AI-reinforcement call-ins (via waypoint network) and carpet bombing sounds fun to me. Though Commando is prob better if I'm going to continue to solo most of the time. I'm eager to see how that all pans out.

The "cloning" feature is really quite nice in terms of not having to start from square 1 to see how different class-branch choices work out.

Usually if I've stuck with an MMO a long time (I spent 3+ years in COH, a year or so in UO, about 6 months in Planetside and maybe 5 in LOTORO, everything else I've tried, I've not stayed past the free first month), it's because I enjoyed the gameplay mechanics, combat, animations etc. enough that even if I burn through all the content, I don't mind doing it again with another type of character. LOTORO it turned out was something where I enjoyed the experience more than the actual gameplay mechanics; and once I'd burned through the majority of the content on two characters, I didn't really feel like doing it again, alas.

[CeeKay]

This guy... gave me problems.  I usually switched to an energy weapon. He seems to really beeline for you if you do any appreciable damage to him... or it.

wait until you encounter those guys and they're red- they pack even worse of a wallop.

I'm on Pegasus also, my only toon so far is Hans Llewis (I couldn't think of a first name so I just randomly generated it) and he's a level 12 soldier who's going to ultimately be a sniper.  currently I'm doing alot of defenses in the Divide- last night at one point I was the only actual player defending one side of the Hydro Plant with some AI assistance.  We almost lost the control point a couple of times but last minute rallies saved the day. 

I like the death penalty system, with no XP debt and 5 minutes of reduced stats plus the repair bill.  I also like the Trauma kits which can negate the penalty earlier if you need to get back into the fray quickly.

[Destructor]

I like the death penalty system, with no XP debt and 5 minutes of reduced stats plus the repair bill.  I also like the Trauma kits which can negate the penalty earlier if you need to get back into the fray quickly.

Yeah, it's a definite plus. And the Trauma Kits are dirt cheap (like 250 and 500 credits depending on 'strength'), with little recharge time (unless you're using them in PvP). For me, death is just a quick port back to the nearest town. No penalty at all, short of running back to wherever I came from.

[Blackjack]

I kind of wish I could drag my health/shields/power meters up higher on the screen (this is something I did in COH so that I would notice a quick drop in health more quickly). I think my armor is OK at the moment, but when the shield power drops out, *BOOM* my health drains out like helium from a stuck balloon. The death/trauma kit system makes it all quite bearable, I'm not mad about it, but think I just am not really clear on when I can take some punishment, and when I should run behind cover and recuperate (at least not yet, only been playing 3 days).

While I can carp about this and that, what I like mostly...
-I'm sure PVPers are complaining but I really prefer PvE in this kind of thing, and while the AI is nothing spectacular per se, there seems to be a pretty good variety in enemy attacks, behavior and movement patterns. I like that it doesn't feel predictable and you're challenged in a lot of ways to keep switching weapons to find one that works best.
-The base defense and assault (to take control points back for ASF) stuff reminds me of a PvE Planetside (which was 100% about this type of thing). I like though you can keep getting basic missions (modest exp and rewards for 25 "tokens" from dropped enemies), and have a more individual carrot rather than the "back and forth" faction stuff in Planetside.
-While I was able to get into the "exploration" aspect of LOTORO (where often you were given very vague directions on where to go for a quest, the idea being you would explore/navigate the environment to find it), I'm perfectly happy to be led by the nose and always have a nice gold icon on the map giving me a specific idea where to go. Here and there, tunnels and winding paths make it not as obvious as it looks, but aside from one Logos that I can't seem to figure out (I think it's called "Area," and I can't find it where it's marked on the map), I haven't had to keep whining in chat channels for help on where to find something.
-There seems no end of things to do. None of it's rocket science and maybe there's still a bit too many lazy "go kill X beasties and come back to me" type missions/quests, but overall I've been pleased with how clogged my mission tracker has been.

-I am not going crazy with crafting but so far it seems easy enough to figure out (Auto Assault I was so baffled by, it was like learning some alien language crafting wise), and I like that when you make grenades or something, you get a pretty large, usable clump (say, 12, or 15 of the item) from it (you don't have to slog through making one at a time).

What I don't like?
-I'm a bit tired of numbnuts firing into the ground or the air about 1,000 times in the bases. If you're that bored, go play something else. Yeah yeah you got a big gun, we're impressed. 
-The chat channels are rapidly filling up with spambots (not quite as bad as Hellgate yet), and the chat channel's could desperately use some of COH's and LOTORO's chat tab resize-ability and configurability (maybe this is in the works? Or maybe it already has it and I don't realize it).
-My current "black sky textures" problem is a bit annoying. Probably the latest ATI drivers would fix it, but as mentioned elsewhere, that borks up my MP3 online store's software. 
-Animation seems a tad choppy in some situations (maybe just my sluggish PC)

[Destructor]

They're changing how the base HP and such works in the next patch (and giving a respec in the process) - Body will increase HP much more drastically, etc. A good idea and a solution to your problem. A very good thing, IMHO, as I have 3500 armor and only about 600HP. When my armor goes, I really drop dead.

Anything else...

Yeah, the base assault/defense stuff is a lot of fun. I love how the AI will drop people once you've attacked a base, and how they'll randomly drop off people on both sides as time goes on. I've had one base be saved thanks to the AI dropping in reinforcements when we were starting to 'lose'.

Overall a very fun game so far. I highly recommend that anybody on the fence give the 3 day trials a try and see how it plays to them.

[Blackjack]

I'll post a pic of that one Logos I can't seem to find later tonight (maybe someone here can clue me in).  I would say it's roughly NW of the starter base in the Wilderness. On the map, the icon for it is basically in a clump of trees on top of a yellowish hill. There's no way I can see to enter into the tree'd area, and I don't think there's a tunnel somewhere else on the map that leads to it (though that seems the only way it could really be where it's marked.

I'll remember when I get home, but I think the Logos is called "Area", and it's needed (along with one other that I did find OK) for the "Shrapnel" Logos ability that a Soldier can learn.

[Blackjack]

Oh, if you'll be on tonight CeeKay, I'll at least try to add ya to friends list (seems like people have to be online at the same time to add to the list, at this point), Hans Llewis that is (Jude Blackjach is 9 actually).

In particular, I could use some help on that Crater Lake instance thing.

Yeah, I had no particular reason for picking "Jude" other than every first name in the universe, even joke ones, seemed taken. And I had to go with Blackjach in Hellgate cause someone seems to have stolen Blackjack everywhere. I used to be able to use that name in all sorts of games  (it was the name of a martial arts scrapper of mine in COH, and I started using it as a nickname many places).

[Destructor]

Keep in mind that the only 'exclusive' name is the last name. That name is the name tied to your account. All your other characters from there on out will have the same last name.

However...once you've made that last name, you can have whatever first name you want. There can be dozens of people with the first name of Joe in the world. It's all about the last name.

And I think that Logos is underground somewhere. I just don't know where exactly.

[CeeKay]

I'll post a pic of that one Logos I can't seem to find later tonight (maybe someone here can clue me in).  I would say it's roughly NW of the starter base in the Wilderness. On the map, the icon for it is basically in a clump of trees on top of a yellowish hill. There's no way I can see to enter into the tree'd area, and I don't think there's a tunnel somewhere else on the map that leads to it (though that seems the only way it could really be where it's marked.

I'll remember when I get home, but I think the Logos is called "Area", and it's needed (along with one other that I did find OK) for the "Shrapnel" Logos ability that a Soldier can learn.

It's inside the cave where you get the quest to kill the egg layers- Pinhole Falls or something like that.

[USMC Kato]

Hey BlackJack, I made a new character in the East Coast server (Pegasus) so if you need another MMO friend let me know.

[Blackjack]

Sure - what's the name?

As far as Pegasus goes, it seems we have (I would be game to start someone on the west coast server eventually):

L12-Llewis (CeeKay here at GT)
L9-Blackjach (Blackjack here at GT)
[NOTE: I belatedly realized you only need the last name for the friends list]

I'm sure CeeKay has probably progressed, but that's the last level I saw for ya.

If there's enough of us maybe we can set up a separate thread for names (hell if Hellgate gets one, this certainly should ). Maybe even a clan some day.

Anyway, I'm heading in finally now. Look me up. I'll see if I can find that Logos. I swear I've been all over said caves (egg layers) but maybe it goes further north than I thought.

I cloned at Level 5 so I'd be glad to switch back to that character if someone newer to the game wanted to team up.

[CeeKay]

nope, still 12.  during the weekdays I usually don't get a chance to sit down and play until late, usually not until after 11pm EST.

[USMC Kato]

My Tabula Rasa toon is called Kato Hakashi

[Blackjack]

Finally got to team up with some friendly folks. Four of us on some Research Facility instance, and then 3 of us continued to Crater Lake. These thankfully aren't claustrophobic little instances -- they're sort of big sprawling battlefield instances instead, usually with gobs of both friendly and enemy AI zooming in and out.

It's late, I must crash, but a couple pics (I cropped to remove the tracker revealing "instance objectives"):


Our squad. I suppose this will get more interesting (it was fun as all get out, but we were all basically the same sorts of soldier classes using a mix of the same weapons) at L15 and above.


It was fun working through some close-quarters situations.

[CeeKay]

well, I solo'd Pravus tonight as a level 12 just to get the Logos in it and completed the missions there.  I added you to my friends list Blackjack- it's kind of umb they won't let you add anyone who's offline.  After going to all the mission givers I leveled to 13, did some shopping at the Military Surplus and called it a night.

[Arkon]

I am trying out the 3 day trial.  I was in the beta for a while but lost interest well before launch.  It is nice to see the game is much more polished than it was in beta.  I am currently on the east coast server, lvl 7 specialist, Aryssa Sulastani.

[Blackjack]

Oh yeah, I was dismayed with the beta. Even Garriott later admitted they drew too many people into the beta at a time when the fun factor wasn't really there, and a lot of things weren't working well. I still bet it launched in better shape than Hellgate. 

CuppaJo did another interview, slightly more informative:
http://www.mmorpgslave.com/index.php/Tabula-Rasa-Interviews/Interview-with-The-Community-Manager-for-Tabula-Rasa-April-CuppaJo-Burba.html

[Jarrodhk]

Hmm... I might be able to run this half decently... but then I went and picked up a DS... maybe after I get paid in January if people are still playing.

[Blackjack]

If it interests you even a little I'd probably recommend taking advantage of that Amazon sale ($29.99 regular, $39.99 collector's). Even if it only keeps your interest a month, 'tis a good deal.

I definitely think I'll stick around, fwiw (not playing any other MMOs or games for that matter, at this point).

[ROTC1983]

well, I solo'd Pravus tonight as a level 12 just to get the Logos in it and completed the missions there.  I added you to my friends list Blackjack- it's kind of umb they won't let you add anyone who's offline.  After going to all the mission givers I leveled to 13, did some shopping at the Military Surplus and called it a night.

Hmm, the game looks tempting.  You gonna stick with it Ceekay?

[Blackjack]

Pravus is fun with a team, but definitely there are enough friendly AI units running around it to not feel too lonely.

Do you know if there is some way in the Pravus instance to... [I guess this could be a spoiler so I'll put it in the spoiler format below]:

Spoiler for Hiden:

... free the prisoners within the actual research facility? There's a keyboard from the area overlooking the prisoners area. When you activate it it seems to spawn a hovering spotlight thing. But the spotlight doesn't do anything, nor does blowing it up do anything. Sometimes a prisoner says "RELEASE US!" and my group was wondering if that's just sort of window dressing, or if it's of any importance (perhaps it'll be a sub mission they put in later or something?)

If it's just window dressing, that's a shame. It would be cool if you could free them, and perhaps some would escape and maybe a few AI prisoners could offer to help you and your squad destroy the nearby reactor/fuel thingie or something.

[CeeKay]

well, I solo'd Pravus tonight as a level 12 just to get the Logos in it and completed the missions there.  I added you to my friends list Blackjack- it's kind of umb they won't let you add anyone who's offline.  After going to all the mission givers I leveled to 13, did some shopping at the Military Surplus and called it a night.

Hmm, the game looks tempting.  You gonna stick with it Ceekay?

for at least a couple of months until the next big new shiny comes along, and then who knows.