G-News

Here’s some big news for the North American folks who play NCSoft’s City of Heroes, Richard Garriott s Tabula Rasa, or Exteel MMORPGs. The company has announced that they will be releasing a game card for each of these titles, which will provide players with limited-edition items and game time, among other goodies.

The City of Heroes card will provide players with an exclusive in-game jet pack. It will also enable first-timers to download and play the CoH MMORPG for a month without need for a credit card. The CoH game card was made available at Target outlets last weekend, and will also be available at Rite Aid by September 3. The card will cost US 20.

The Tabula Rasa game card will entitle its users to an exclusive in-game jet pack as well. Much like the CoH card, the TR card will also enable users to download a copy of Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa, and comes with 30 days of game play. The card will be made available exclusively at Best Buy outlets, and will cost US 14.95.

The Exteel game card will entitle players to a total of 1,200 NCcoins, which can be used to purchase upgrades for your in-game mech. You will need an existing Exteel account to redeem the card, though the game client itself is free-to-download and free-to-play. The Exteel game card is now available at all Target outlets for US 10.

Those who’ve already purchased their game cards are advised to visit NCSoft’s redemption page, via the source link below. Keep alert in case NCSoft announces any more retailers that may begin to carry their cards.

Buy: [City of Heroes Collector’s DVD Edition]
Buy: [Tabula Rasa Collector’s Edition]

Yup, you read that right: we’re introducing a brand new scoring system that we hope will make it easier for you to get a clear idea of where we stand on the games we review. From now on we’re going to be rating our games according to a five-star scoring system, with a single star representing the lowest a game can score, and five stars representing the absolute zenith of the form.

We figured you might have one or two questions, like “why the hell are you doing this anyway?” or “what does this even mean?” So we’ve put together a handy little FAQ for ya.

What does each rating mean?

1 Star: This is a poor game, not worth buying, not worth playing… we took one for the team and you definitely owe us.

2 Stars: Not particularly good, but some fun can be had if you’re willing to put up with a bevy of faults.

3 Stars: This is an average game, it’s more good than bad, would probably make a good rental.

4 Stars: A really good game, just about everyone will likely have fun with this, definitely a recommended purchase.

5 Stars: There is no such thing as a perfect game, but this comes darn close. It’s revolutionary, or at least evolutionary, an amazing experience that represents the best gaming has to offer, everyone should experience this.

Why a 5 Star review system?

We’ve thought long and hard about it and the fact is that a numerical scale or percentile system implies that there’s a mathematical formula that can followed, or a checklist of items that can be ticked off to come up with a game’s score. This simply isn’t true. A game is, for most people, more than the sum of its parts, it’s about a complete experience, and throwing out arbitrary figures just didn’t seem right.

The 5-Star system is our attempt to avoid the numerical scale while at the same time providing a strong visual identifier for you to immediately get an idea of just how good or bad the game is.

Why not an alphabet based review system?

We feel the A-B-C-D grading system is too strongly linked to the percentile grading system, where an “A” often represents a gray area between 90-100 … it seemed just a little too inaccurate so we decided it’d be best to avoid that whole mess altogether.

No half-stars…why no half-stars?

Half-stars give a little too much wiggle room. We want you to be able to get a good idea of how good or bad a game is at a glance; the half-star complicates things and quite frankly would probably allow us the chance to cop out from time to time. It forces us to be harder on ourselves when we evaluate a game because the difference between 3 stars and 4 stars means that much more.

Cool, what does an actual score look like?

We really hope this new system helps clarify things, and we’re also pretty excited that the very first review using this new system is actually already up!

From us all at QJ, stay frosty… or something.

Our MMO-loving readers out there may want to take some time out to update their flash players. It’s come to our attention that there’s a vulnerability in old versions of Adobe Flash that could be used to target online gamers of World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, and other such games.

According to reports, Flash players of version 9.0.115.0 and below have the vulnerability in them. Some sources online have said that this vulnerability potentially exposes the users to keyloggers.

Adobe’s blog mentions that the latest version of Adobe Flash, 9.0.124.0, doesn’t contain this vulnerability, so upgrading your Flash to this latest version would be a good idea. Just note that once you download the file, you’ll need to shut down your browsers to install the update.

In any event, the sourced link below leads to the Adobe blog, where you can find more information on the subject.

The developers from NCsoft have rolled out the Weekend Wrapup for Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa which summarizes all the events that happened for the week ending in May 12.

Last week saw quite a number of events including an update on the AFS Recreational Gallery, the results of the Tabula Rasa hottest armor contest (see image on the right), and the schedules for a number of in-game events.

The first two are pretty self explanatory so we’re going to jump right into the events, the first being an announcement regarding the Friday Night Fights (FNF) this May 16. The upcoming PvP matches will be held in the Cellar Arena on the Public Test Servers at 7:00 P.M. PST. You can get there by accessing certain teleporters found in the barracks of multiple bases.

The second PvP event, the PvP Singles Tournament, will be held on May 24 at the Geodesic sphere, specifically the Retread City Marshes. The event itself is open to all levels but will have specific level brackets to ensure that the matches are as fair as possible.

Finally, for those who would rather take out their frustrations on the Bane, the GMs will be running a new mission event called It’s Raining Bane-Hallelujah on May 18 at 6:00 P.M. PDT. The instance will be held at the Cassiopeia Server in the Torden Mires’ Baylor Base.

For more information on any of these topics, feel free to follow our source link below which will send you to the Tabula Rasa Weekend Wrapup for the week ending on May 12.

If you’re an active player of NCsoft’s Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa, then you might find the Feedback Friday useful. After all, knowledge is power. Use the information we have to your advantage in the MMO. The latest leg of the weekly update covered various topics: the PTS level command and updates on the Patch Note and the Sniper job class.

The level command will be activated on the Public Test Servers with Deployment 8.3. Just what exactly will this do? Both of them will give levels and cash to your characters. Although the level command does not release logos, players must gather it for the time being.

As for the Patch note update, the devs have tinkered with the Crab Mines AI. These things will react to players within 0.5 seconds of their creation in the MMO’s world. Upon reaching their targets, they will automatically explode. But there are still times that these little baddies fail to detonate. The devs are still currently working on resolving this issue.

The Sniper job class was briefly updated by designer Lee Ridout. He noted that they’re trying to make this particular job an effective character in eliminating targets with just one hit using chainguns. Changes have been made to the Shredder Ammo to make it more effective when used by players. Here are various levels that can be achieved by using skill points:

• Rank 1 - Physical damage buff. Estimated rounds per minute for all ranks: 10
• Rank 2 EMP damage buff. Estimated rounds per minute for all ranks: 20
• Rank 3 Sonic damage buff. Estimated rounds per minute for all ranks: 30 - Note that at this pump, TSR users should expect shredder to proc with almost every shot when shots are timed with re-bead
• Rank 4 Virulent damage buff. Estimated rounds per minute for all ranks: 45
• Rank 5 Ice damage buff. Estimated rounds per minute for all ranks: 60 Note here that this is a considerable buff to Chaingunners but you will now have to heavily invest skill points to gain these benefits.

If you guys want to know more about what was posted for the latest Feedback Friday, feel free to visit the link below. Just be sure to head on back to QJ.NET for more updates on the game.

We’ve got some news from the frontlines of Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa, so grab your rifles and fall in. The developers from NCsoft are going to be making a few changes in the Public Test Server and implementing a new program to get some inactive soldiers back in the war.

According to a post of the game’s official website, the developers will be running a new script this May 9 from 8 A.M. to 9 A.M. Central Time on the Public Test Server which fixes a bug that blocks players from re-using a character name once it has been changed.

As for the new promo, active players are encouraged to invite inactive gamers to play the game once again. Those who do so can split 30 days of credit on their Tabula Rasa accounts. To find out more about this promo, follow the source link below.

The developers from NCsoft have released the screenshot of the week for Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa. This week’s offering called Eloh Vale shows off an in-game couple as they meet a living Eloh on Planet Foreas.

The screenshot was submitted by Eryxx Starssprint, and it shows off his character and his in-game wife Rubynyota Starssprint as they pose with the Eloh that they met while exploring the Eloh Vale.

This is an interesting change from the other screenshots that were posted before since it focuses more on the characters than the scenery. We can’t help but wonder what next week’s screenshot will bring.

It’s all about teamwork and brand new podcasts this week for NCsoft’s Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa. Several interesting in-game and real life events will be highlighting this week as players can get the chance to participate in them and make General British proud.

First off, we have a Double XP event for all players joined in squads between Monday, May 5 from 10:00 a.m. to May 12, 4:00 p.m. CDT. This is to encourage teamwork with fellow AFS soldiers and to show off the might of the unified front under General British’s command.

In addition, episode 22 of TabulaCast is finally up. This newest podcast features several highlights such as the announcement of the new patch and several live events to help promote the game.

Here’s a rundown of the points discussed during the latest TabulaCast from John and Matt:

• Patch 1.7 goes live
• Paul Sage steps down as lead designer, welcome Tom Potter
• The Bristol Comic Expo
• NCSoft prize for the Tabula Cast Haiku Competition

Winners of the Tabula Cast Haiku Competition will feature their character sketched by a top Tabula Rasa artist at the next NCsoft convention. All you need to do is submit your haiku entry through the email found in the source link below along with a screenshot of your character. You can view the actual podcast by following the link found there as well.

Anyway, that’s it for this latest update from NCsoft’s Sci-Fi MMORPG. Don’t forget to drop by QJ.NET again for more news and happenings on Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa.

The Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa Weekend Wrapup has been officially released. In this week’s release, the guys from NCsoft compiled the results of the last Friday Night Fights, the Atrus Manus event on Pegasus, and a new fan video.

The format of the last Friday Night Fights was changed into double elimination competition with Toxilium taking first place. It should be noted that Toxilium also earned the special prize by taking down his opponents with his partner Cappelli.

The Atrus Manus event held on the Pegasus server was designed to test the skills of level 50 players. Each team of three had to fight through several spawned characters after which their times were averaged. The winners took home 1000 assault and defense tokens, a General British beret, 10 white dyes, and various crafted items. Here are the winners:

• 1st Place
• With an average time of 45.25 seconds
• Stricnine, Oniguma, and Sanz
• 2nd Place
• With a time of 47 seconds
• Zeth, Reck, and Xalentori
• 3rd Place
• With a time of 50.5 seconds
• Wescream, Daopa, and Eckhard
• 4th Place
• With a time of 66 seconds
• Zurn, Rattler, and Kilr/Gummer

Finally, we have the fan video created by Tabula Rasa player Jason Summers. Called Tribute to Tabula Rasa, this video shows various fight scenes as well as the different landscapes in the game. Check it out below.

A lot of things are in store for Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa, according to the game’s lead designer, Tom Potter. In this week’s Feedback Friday, Potter talks about what the devs are cooking for the game’s populace.

According to him, the main focus of the devs right now are clan-owned control points, which has been a sought-after feature for some time now. While this is their current heavy burden, they’re also working on several other tasks.

They’ve already completed some work for the PAU system, but first they want to get the whole thing “right”. Before they release it, they want to create better missions and instances designed with PAUs in mind so players can take advantage of the gameplay.

Another thing on their priority list is improving avatars, Pet and AI improvements, and crafting. Class tweaks and changes are also in the works, so watch out for that. To read up on all of the changes that are in store for Tabula Rasa, follow the Via link below.