Tabula Rasa nearly finished

By Robert Purchese Published 2 May, 2007

Closed beta under way.

NCsoft has revealed that a closed beta test for Tabula Rasa is under way.

It marks the game's final development stages ahead of its expected launch on PC this autumn.

Tabula Rasa is in development at Destination Games, run by Ultima Online creator Richard Garriott. It's an online adventure that will try to blend the fast-paced action of first-person shooters with the traditional fantasy-values of MMOs.

"This is an exciting time for the Tabula Rasa team," said Garriot. "With closed beta testing now in progress, we're excited to hear more what our players think."

"With fast-action and tactical combat in an RPG setting, a deep and interesting fictional universe, and many feature innovations, we think we've created a game that represents the next generation of MMO games and will revolutionize the way people play online games."

You can find more information on the official Tabula Rasa website - or you can catch up on some more of Garriott's views in a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (19) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • TheUnionFrag #1 5 years ago

    I got bored of GW. Why would I want more in sci-fi form? LOTRO for me thanks.

  • The-Bodybuilder #2 5 years ago

    >"traditional fantasy-values of MMOs"

    /looses interest.
    I HATE the fantasy world setting. The sole factor why I can't get into oblivion.

  • dudefella #3 5 years ago

    I am really looking forward to this game. It looks great. Bodybuilder, look at some videos of this game. It is not at all an Oblivion-type thing, it looks like no other MMO I know anyway.

  • smelly #4 5 years ago

    I used to love RG and used to buy everything he worked on..

    Why such a terrible name? Why? Whyyy?

    Doomed to failure. If it was a single player game, i wouldnt care and buy it anyways. But when you know a MMO is going to be a failure - there's no reason to buy it.

  • bigbadbeasty #5 5 years ago

    @Smelly

    So you're basing the failure on the name?

    If so, as I know you are a Nintendo fan (like me), surely the same was said about the Wii, no?

    Anywho, I'm looking forward to it!

  • Gurgeh #6 5 years ago

    "I HATE the fantasy world setting. The sole factor why I can't get into oblivion. "

    It's a sci-fi game. Helps if you read...

  • DjchunKfunK #7 5 years ago

    The games Sci-Fi though isn't it not fantasy.

  • Instinct #8 5 years ago

    The game is sci-fi and always has been. Article is misinforming.

  • Gl3n #9 5 years ago

    Closed beta \o/

  • dudefella #10 5 years ago

    Good thing you're not making premature judgement based on... what, exactly, smelly?

  • smelly #11 5 years ago

    My judgements?

    1. Lack of people in a thread about a game normally means no-ones interested (hmm - dunno if that's true any more, nowadays people seem only interested if it's on a console different to theirs as it gives them a reason to post to say how much the other machine suxors).

    2. A name like this basically shouts "geek"

    3. I cant think of a single game with a name like this which sold.


    But i love lord brit.. Bah.. if it was a single player rpg, i'd have bought this.

    Show oblivion how a rpg is supposed to be done (interesting story/etc ala ultima)

  • smelly #12 5 years ago

    Actually you guys.. I'm making premature judgements in pretty much the same way as all the people posting in the ea-playground thread have already decided its shite from 3 screenshots and not very much game info.

    This, i'm sure will be great (i REALLY dont expect Lord Brit to make a bad game.. on the contrary). But I dont think (on the basis of the name alone) it'll sell. "Hey, have you tried tabula rasa yet?" nah.. doesnt work.

    And for a mmo to work as a game, it needs to sell well.

  • Vandrius #13 5 years ago

    And under every rock you can find an idiot.

    I once wondered why they hid under rocks. No longer.

    Never question the idiot, it only makes you stupid.

  • Metalfish #14 5 years ago

    /lifts nearest rock.

    /is shocked

    You lied!

  • Pike #15 5 years ago

    Why is Tabula Rasa a particulary geeky name?

    I mean I know it's silly to take anything Smelly writes seriously, but I'm still a little curious.

  • Hog-lumps #16 5 years ago

    I used to love RG and used to buy everything he worked on..

    Do you mean Richard Gere? I didn't realise you were such a fan of his movies!

    \gets coat

  • WriterUK #17 5 years ago

    Just for info and without judging it at all... Tabula Rasa... it's Latin, and means 'blank slate'.

    Was originally a working title. Apparently it stuck.
    Edited by 1 at 03/05/07 @ 09:43

  • Laserbream #18 5 years ago

    I hope it's come a long way since that EGTV video of stiff characters running awkwardly over badly textured terrain.

    Still, enough negativity. At least it's trying to go in a slightly different direction. I hope it's more like Planetside than WoW.

  • konnsky #19 5 years ago

    they've revolutionized fuck all..