Tabula Rasa Interview

The Armchair Empire has published an interview with Destination Games' Richard Garriott, in which the former Ultima developer answers a handful of questions about his upcoming sci-fi MMORPG, Tabula Rasa. Check it out:
Q: Can players' actions have any sort of long-term impact on the game world? ie. If players on a server consistently fail to defeat the Bane, will they slowly lose territory?

A: Players can make temporary changes in the battles for planets. The Bane and Human forces will carry on the battles with or without player participation and the battles will ebb and flow of their own accord. With players, areas of the map can be held for certain amounts of time, though the Bane will mount periodic onslaughts to retake the spaces.