Well, if you pre-ordered TR you can go ahead and jump right in.  The servers are now up and open for the pre-order community, while the official launch day for everyone else is Nov. 2. 

We are getting a jump on the headstart and opening up our servers for our Pre-Order headstart community now. However, we have a few stray issues which are preventing some users from logging in.

You will only be able to access the servers if you have purchased a Pre-Order Bonus Pack and applied the code included in the Pre-Order Bonus Pack purchase. If you meet these conditions but are getting an error logging in, please try again in an hour or two as we expect the issue to be resolved before midnight central.

Access to the servers for customers who have not purchased the Pre-Order Bonus Pack will not be turned on until our official launch day, November 2nd. Go! Go! Go! Hooah!

Happy hunting to everyone in TR.  I might still get into TR at some point to try out the live version, but right now EQ2 has sucked me back into its embrace.

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If, like myself, you’ve found yourself intrigued by Tabula Rasa but are still on the fence, this recent video with Garriott himself as narrator may help you decide whether to give this title a shot or not.  As I’ve stated previously, I’m just hoping to get 2-3 months of fun out of TR.  If it turns out to be more than that, great, but I’m not setting my hopes too high.

That said, there are a lot of design elements that Garriott talks about in these videos that really sound good to me.  I know that what looks good on paper doesn’t always work well in practice, but I think several of their ideas are moves in the right direction.

I didn’t watch the third part of the video (I will!), but here are a few things I really like about where they are headed:

Environments that can dynamically change.  What you thought you knew when you logged out 8 hours ago is no longer true.  That friendly base is now firmly under the control of the Bane!

Minimal UI and faster combat.  I love funcationality and having things at my fingertips, but when it causes my screen to look like a jig-saw puzzle, that’s probably too much.  TR’s interface is very clean, if very different than what most MMO veterans are used to.  Also, watch the gameplay of combat…the guy never stops moving.  It’s definitely not “whack a mole”.

Forcing players to make decisions.  I love the fact that there will be meaningful choices to be made in terms of what factions you help or don’t help.  Certain content paths may be cut off once you take a side, so choose well.

Cloning.  Allowing players to jump to “alts” essentially at pre-saved levels, but then go on to make different class and skill choices, attempt different quests, and see different content, is great.  No longer do we have to suffer with the 1-50 grind again and again and again just to see some different things.

Will TR be a commercial and critical success?  Will it be able to draw in enough of an audience with no established IP?  Will the Garriott name be enough?  Time will tell.  But I do like a lot of the decisions they’ve made, and it just seems to me this will be a very different “soup” of stuff than other MMOs out there are trying.  Let’s hope it tastes good.  

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Tabula Rasa.  One of those games I’ve followed on and off for quite some time, but never really thought a ton about.  However, in recent months I’ve found myself more intrigued by what it’s shaping up to be and what it can offer.  Traditionally I’m a fantasy MMO kind of guy.  However, every once in awhile the fantasy genre gets to feeling stale, too familiar, and I just need a breath of fresh air.  City of Heroes did that for me back in 2004 when it launched.

Lately I’ve been hearing and reading various opinons and perspectives on TR.  Some people think it will be crap, and others are cautiously optimistic (I don’t think I’ve seen anyone yet just estatic over this title, but if so, let me know).  I think I fall into the latter camp at this point, but then again, I haven’t had any keyboard time with it yet.  However, after listening to the MOG Army guys in show 73, I’m more intrigued now than ever. 

I’ve been of the opinon that TR might be the next CoH for me - something out of my normal genre of play that can provide some fast-paced fun and a breath of fresh air when I need it.  Don’t get me wrong, when Warhammer hits my life will get sucked away, but until then (and when I need a break), TR might be just the trick.  Some of the things I’ve heard are around it being too surface or shallow, too repetitive, an unknown IP, or too much like an FPS.  I don’t know for sure, but I’m hoping for the best and believing that Garriott will have pulled some cool things out of his hat for this game.  I’m really intrigued by the language and how that will play into the game and a character’s advancement and growth.  I’m hoping that TR will be more organic than it appears now (i.e. Bane repetitive kill-fest) and that the story will actually deepen and (heaven forbid!) change over time.  That would be a nice change.

So I took a few more gulps of the punch and went ahead and pre-ordered tonight as I know I will try it when it comes out.  I hope it’s something I can at least enjoy for 2-3 months, and I’ll keep you folks posted on what I think.

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For those of you looking forward to Tabula Rasa, or just want to give it a test drive when it gets here, you will soon be able to pre-order.  From PlayNC:

 Austin, Texas, August 9, 2007—NCsoft®, the world’s leading developer and publisher of online computer games, announced that the pre-order bonus pack for Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa® has begun shipping to retailers. The pre-order box offers customers several perks, including exclusive in-game items and a three-day head start when the product launches this fall…

…Players who purchase the pre-order for Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa not only get a three-day head start on the live service, they also receive exclusive character emotes, exclusive in-game pets to accompany their characters, access to the beta test, and a DVD with the game client, bonus wallpapers and art…

“There is an amazing amount of anticipation for Tabula Rasa’s launch within our development team and the player community,” said Richard Garriott, executive producer. “The player feedback at this point has been extremely helpful and we’re putting the final touches on the game. This pre-order release truly marks the final stages in developing this epic adventure, and since owning the pre-order allows players beta access, it is a great way to try Tabula Rasa out before we launch the game.”

I don’t see this as a game I’ll play hardcore.  It may end up being one of those games I jump into from time to time to have some fun in a different setting, ala CoH.  I’ll probably snag a pre-order and jump into the beta to see how this title is shaping up.

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