Tabula Rasa

[Outbound]

Gunther, you're right about Tabula Rasa... I saw an interview with the main developer (same guy as Ultima Online) on G4 yesterday that confirmed that it will very much be an MMORPG. The "shooter" aspect only requires facing your enemy and firing. Evidently it will be good and fast-paced with left click being your weapon and right click being your magic. It seems like the type of thing that (for me) would be interesting for a while then die out pretty fast.

I'm not sure if missions are instanced or not but I'm sure that will also make a big difference as to the playability of the game. I have trouble justifying a monthly fee for instanced gameplay since you could easily do the same sort of game over the internet or as a LAN even in an RPG setting. I tried D&D online and it bothered me that essentially the only MMO part to it was in town (mainly in the tavern while waiting to recuperate after dying.) Auto Assault seemed more like instanced gameplay, but I think at least it displayed everyone on the server that was in any given area. I was led to believe, though, that PVP was instanced.

About Huxley, it is probably the most promising, but I'll just have to see whether it's my type of game when it comes out. It certainly seems like it would be capable as a "filler" game if nothing else, until another true MMOFPS comes out. I don't particularly relish the idea of bot-killing in comparison to the pre-ruin Planetside experience, which Huxley will have plenty of. I also don't like the idea of the higher-leveled guy in PVP having an actual advantages over me because of my potential equipment being limited by level. But I DO like the fact that it is 100% based on Aiming and (I would assume) one's ability to move with agility and strategy. Any other MMO I have seen in the past and future seems to be geared towards the "select the enemy then make good decisions about which attack to use" gameplay.

I'd still love to see another True MMOFPS, especially based off of a popular franchise (Halo, Starcraft, Star Wars, Half-Life, or a Tom Clancy game) to pick up a lot of players. I could even envision a decent LOTR game if they could get a really good Melee system going (similar to but better than Oblivion) that was ballanced with what would be slow-fire ranged weapons. A Mech game would work too if everything is vehicles.

In the meantime Huxley does look like the best option. I'll just have to see if it's too much of an RPG once it comes out.

[roadrunner]

well crap. I don't know how they can compare themselves with BF2 and MoH and not have to aim. I have to admit the combination of powers plus guns sounded interesting. I would say the auto assault was less "instanced" than games like city of villains which is almost all instances for missions.

[rhonnin]

I don't recall going into a single instance in auto assault for a mission, it was all open with various areas divided up like zones in EQ. Speaking of, Auto assault has a free trial thing going so that could be a fun group thing to do some time as well.

[Valkyrie]

Basically the game has a fun factor of SWG Nerf #2..........ya thats promising

[Backus]

I don't know if i think Tabula Rasa is going to be a good game, it looks like a futuristic WoW wannabe

[roadrunner]

Looks like it will be a first person shooter, kinda.

The game is a blend of shooter action (you can switch between third-person and first-person perspectives, depending on your playing style) and online role-playing. Don't worry if you lack lightning reflexes, though, because the game is designed to appeal to those who don't necessarily like twitch gameplay, thanks to certain features such as auto-aiming, which makes locking onto a target easier. Meanwhile, the game will have role-playing calculations in the combat. If you put the reticle over a target and hit it, you'll pretty much be guaranteed a hit, but the game will calculate how much damage you did. There are going to be dozens and dozens of weapons--including energy, incendiary, poison, and more--and enemies will be vulnerable to particular types of damage, so you'll need to make constant tactical decisions about what to use in battle. We got to play as a heavy-duty soldier type, armed with multiple rocket launchers as well as various magic-style special abilities, such as a particularly nasty chain lightning ability. The way in which the game combines both science fiction and fantasy conventions isn't entirely unfamiliar but seems unique all the same.

From this review

http://www.gamespot.com/e3/e3story.html ... pid=516716