Tabula Rasa

First off, I know from experience that when you first start a MMO, it always usually is fun.  The novelty of a new game, a world to explore, new choices in classes, etc.  I remember loving Matrix Online and wondering why it was not a more popular game, until I played it for several days and realised it is basically a piece of crap (which is a shame as it had a lot of promise).

I heard about the free trial with Tabula Rasa.  Now, I am not actively looking for a new game to play, as I already am involved in far too many.  However, I just cannot help myself.  It seems as though every other day, I find myself downloading a free2play or trial, to see what a game is like.  On top of which I am currently paying two subscription games, (used to be four! But found that was just stupid, and a waste of money).

Now, currently I am playing Lotro, and really enjoying it for the storyline.  I am a Tolkien fan, and love the attention to detail which Lotro has.  It may not be the Holy Grail of gaming which I have been looking for, but it is my current favourite.  EQ2 is my second favourite.  With WoW being my third (please don't groan -hehe, I know that it has caused a lack of innovation in the genre, but in essence, it is still a good game).  I think I would like AoC if my pc could run it, and also WAR (but I doubt it wil run that either).

So you have probably noticed the pattern, that these are all fantasy based games.  Even my favourite Asian grinder (if I can possibly have such a thing as a favourite in this sub-genre) is Final Fantasy XI.  Another fantasy themed game.

I also love sci-fi, but I find that it is seriously under used in this genre.  MxO I have already discussed.  Then I tried SWG, as I loved the movies, and also wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  I actually loved it, for a couple of days, and then realised that there was something wrong with the gameplay.  I undrstood then what the pre-nge vets were talking about.  I tried Face of Mankind, which I wish I had given more of a chance, as it had a really good premise, but at the time, I did not have a lot of spare time, and so I never played MMO's much.  Now I believe it is gone.  Shame, as I loved the way that the players actually policed the game.

Then of course, there is EVE.  I have a feeling that if I truly paid attention, and managed to wade through all the tutorials, that I would love that game.  However, I have tried twice now to get into it, and I just cannot find the dedication to learn how to play it.  One day I hope.  As I suspect that therein lies a true classic.  (Btw, I am not complaining about the level of complexity, as I think that may be part of what makes it special, just that I could not be bothered at the time)

Now finally, I come to this.

I discovered the free trial by reading an article somewhere of Garriott going into space, and putting his DNA into the International Space Station.  I thought it was a joke, or a publicity stunt.  But I understand that he is actually going to be doing this for real?  The man is either a genuis, or an egotist, or perhaps both.

Either way, it lead me to Tabula Rasa. 

Now, I have followed the MMO genre for several years now, and I have played most of them out there.  Tabula had never grasped my attention.  One, I knew very little about the game, and there is still next to no marketing for it, so nobody really knows anything about it, apart from you guys.  Secondly, what had been putting me off, was that I thought it was going to be like RF Online.  Which I think is a dreadful game.  Basically just an asian-grinder, set in sci-fi world.   No thanks.  There was no way I was going to pay full price for this game, and then a subscription, when everyone I knew was saying it was going the way of RF Online.

Then I downloaded the free trial, and everything has changed!

Now, this could be one of those occassions when I get egg on my face, but so far, this game is brilliant!  Please bear  in mind that I am stil only a few hours into playing it, and have just discovered my first logos shrine (or whatever it is called).  But I feel as though I had to come here and write about it.  The gameplay is amazing!  No simple button pushing or pressing one or two hot-keys.  This feels like true combat, fps style.  Something I have been wanting for ages. 

I have always thought that devs made MMO's in that button pressing fashion, purely to make combat a drawn out affair, and so it would take players longer to level. thus keeping them subscribing.  It has always been a backwards logic to me, and I have grown incredibly bored of MMO's gameplay, in general.

Now this game, with targeting, concealing, crouching, shooting, all like your average fps game, but in a MMORPG.  Brilliant.  The game itself looks quite astounding, even on my low end rig.  There appears to be a strong plot.  Well thought out environs.  An revoultionary system whereby you can make a clone of yourself, so that instead of making an alt from level 1, if you want to try a new class, you can use a clone.  Sheer genious. 

I don't know how pvp works yet.  And I have barely explored the first map outside of the barracks. 

So guys, my question is this.  And before I ask it, I want you to be truly neutral, and not speak through a biased perspective.  But why is this game not as well known and popular as other games out there?

Am I going to get MxO syndrome, and discover in a few days that the game has nothing new to offer, after the initial novelty?  Will I find all the missions just the same, with no, or very little story-line?

What is the deal with Tabula Rasa? 

I appreciate your opinions, and yes, I know that I will find out in due time my own answers, but I just wanted to know from you guys first. 

Wondering why this game is not more popular?  How can that be?

First off you can't talk in general with the trial, hence you can't ask questions of anyone.  That is a number one fail in my book!

My character ran out of ammunition because I had no clue what I was supposed to do in the mission and I could not ask anyone where to get more ammunition.  How lame is that.

It feels like any other FPS game I have played. 

So far I am not very impressed at all with this game. 

So basically you are doing the trial like me, and are denouncing the entire game merely because you cannot learn to read and do a mission without being able to ask the rest of the players.  I take it you are quite young?   It may be irritating for us trialist not being able to ask questions (try using the help option like I did) to the community, but don't you think it would be a tad more irritating if you actualllu paid for the game, and were being constantly bombarded by bots, and gold sellers using trial accounts to spam you?  Because that is what would happen.

Can someone else give you a more reasoned answer please?

I tried the trial and loved it. Unfortunately that weekend, when trials were still hard to come by, my internet connection broke so I only got a day of play in. Was brilliant while it lasted.

Now my client encounters a patching error when trials are available. Damn you Murphy and your law.

one of the reasons for me at least  there was a  large lack of content once your off the first planet  wich is about lvl 25-30 if i remember right   

also there was no reason to group AT ALL when the game was released you could do basicaly ANYTHING alone..  i soloed the first 10 dungeons.. with no problems as long as i was paying at least a little attention..       then they changed that and made it nearly impossible to solo for awhile...     currently im not sure where its at but hopfuly somwhere in between..

 also alot of the skills in the game didnt work properly or at all...  there were also major balance issues anyone that played launch remembers how op the net gun was..  

i played from beta  till 3 months after release      then have done a few trails since..

I played the game (bought it and subscribed upon release) for a couple of months. 

To answer your question, for me (not claiming this is the reason why others left) the game just got very stale after the first 10 or 15 levels (as I recall my highest toon was 17).  I felt like I just kept running around doing the same thing in the same places.  Also, although it had been hyped as a FPS-style MMO, it really isn't.  You still just TAB to lock onto a target and then hold down your mouse, no aiming involved (granted you do have the concept of cover, etc. but it's not truly an FPS in my opinion unless you need to keep a target reticule centered on your opponent).

And then for whatever reason as time went on, more and more people left.  So I found myself running around a server with hardly anybody else to be seen.  It's a shame because I really like the "art direction" and the overall "feel" of the game, but at the end of the day the fun factor just gradually eroded and the departure of the fanbase left it feeling too empty.

I hope you have better luck with it though!

TR has a story line and a pretty good one really. It is a fun game until you hit level 30 and then there is little new to do. The quests are a lot of Fed Ex type and the game lacks epic battles. CPs are a lot of fun, but after a while they become tiring.

End game is as close to nothing as is possible with a few hours worth of instances and CP fights if you want. There is nothing that makes you feel like you really are fighting for humankinds survival against some huge enemy force.

The game is very solo friendly and to me that is one of its drawbacks. No group content means no epic battles, you never really feel like there is an overwhelming force, instead I always felt like Rambo, no odds against me were ever enough that you could not win against things your level.

If you like PVP I do not feel TR is great for that. I would take Planetside for PVP fights anyday over what TR has. They have done a lot of work balancing classes and fixing skills, but to me that was beta stuff to do and instead they spent 8 months of peoples money fixing their mistakes instead of adding content to a smallish game world.

I think TR  is a fantastically great concept, and have often wondered why it isn't more popular as well.

I'm no longer subbed, but that's b/c WAR has gotten my wife, bro-in-law and myself interested (where the wife and BIL didn't care for TR).

Like every game out there, it needs improvement. But, it's not like they aren't listening. The devs have a lot of changes that have been coming into the game that the player base have been asking for. And more coming. they had a really bad launch and first couple of months. B/c of that, they progress they've made has really suffered. B/c it's blown off as "not enough". The stigma that "it sucked at launch, it'll suck now" is stubbornly viewed by a lot of players. The low pop is not necessarily a bad thing though. The caliber of player is much better from what I've experienced.

To get a MUCH more objective view of the game, I'd suggest going to planetTR.com. Honestly, mmorpg.com is mostly trolls and people that just want to belittle a game. Most lack the ability to be objective, w/out being offensive. Good write up btw.