Tabula Rasa Developer Diary

Tabula Rasa producer Starr Long has penned a new developer diary on the PlayNC website, in which he discusses the game's Deployment 11 update and Operation Immortality promotion.
A lot of feedback from the community gets absorbed and fed back into our Deployments, making Tabula Rasa more fun and interesting along the way. Sometimes they can seem pretty simple, but still make a lot of sense. For instance, recently, we changed several Abilities so players can use them in a crouched state or while moving. Previously, you had to be standing up and not be moving to use most abilities. It's about keeping the pace of combat; we don't want to slow down one of the great action-oriented aspects of the game, but keep it flowing. New weapons, like the Series 2 Rocket Launcher, add even more spice to combat.

Deployment 11 also features a brand new high-level instance: Dybukkar Garrison. This instance map should only be tried for level 50 players, and specific missions can be obtained from Archeron Outpost in Torden Abyss. Dybukkar is a main reinforcement hub for the Bane forces on Arieki, where dropships transport fresh troops in on an hourly basis. The area is heavily defended, but a well-armed group of players may be able to survive long enough to accomplish the mission. We're continuing to add new instances and other places for experienced players to explore, like Magma Caverns for Deployment 8 and Velon Hollow for Deployment 10. Other instances and mission areas have been redesigned for better mission flow and ease of access.

In conjunction with Operation Immortality we've also added a lot of related content, including fictional back-story featuring Richard Garriott's October 12 flight to the International Space Station (ISS) and subsequent discovery of a wormhole. Players can take a somewhat low-level mission called "Time Capsule", as well as one of five "Soyuz Salvage" missions from a variety of areas (depending on your level).