May 25, 2005 - Aimed to launch in 2006, Tabula Rasa is currently in development at NCsoft's in-house studio, Destination Games. At the show last week, it was available for general viewing in the company's booth and also in closed demo sessions conducted by various team members including the project leader, Richard Garriott.

Tabula Rasa has some very impressive graphics and seems to sport a lot of the features that your new video card can show off. The game takes place in a science fiction setting with a bit of magic thrown in courtesy of some benevolent beings. The area we were shown had the feel of a military outpost city full of soldiers. NPCs shouted to gain the attention of passersby, and when you inquired about a mission, you were treated to a bit of voice acting. A relatively recent trend among online worlds has been to employ instanced missions, and Tabula Rasa does so, although perhaps in manner that's a little different.

In Tabula Rasa, the mission instances are dynamic. If your group goes into one and rescues a group of commandos, you'll go back to the main area and see a drop ship fly the troops in. If you take out a shield generator in one mission, other aspects of the instance, such as mission strategy and enemy behavior, will change accordingly. Thankfully, you'll be able to communicate with your team very easily since voice chat is built in to the game, and anyone who joins a team is automatically connected to its private channel.

As befits a science fiction-like setting, you'll have a variety of guns at your disposal. Ranging from the fast but weak pistol to the long-range and powerful rifle, your weapon choice is an important consideration when sizing up the opposition - I particularly liked the flamethrower, which sets foes ablaze in a cone-shaped area. Targeting and attacking is a mix of first-person shooter and RPG; your reticle snaps to a close target, and your hits and misses are determined by the traditional behind the scenes dice rolling, which takes movement into account. The interface is minimal, giving you an unobstructed view of the battlefield.

A brochure handed out by NCsoft indicates Tabula Rasa is targeted to launch in 2006, but according to comments during the presentation, it will ship "when it's ready", which will be toward the end of the year at best.