CuppaJo interview: Tabula Rasa raids and instances

The WarCry network was able to have a quick Q&A with none other than CuppaJo herself regarding NCSoft‘s Tabula Rasa. One of the first topics they discussed was the format of raids. If WoW has their own system, how exactly will it go for TR? Besides, Garriott previously stated that WoW did them a great service in the MMO arena. So how different would raids be in this game?

WarCry: Raids! Some people love them, others hate them. Will there be raids in TR and how will they be handled? What do you plan to be the average size group in TR?

CuppaJo: So we have large instanced areas – but the max group size will be the same as all other groupings – 6. As for stuff to do with large groups of people, there are large enemy controlled bases which if players wanted to take them over would require working together in large groups. More like castle sieges.

Castle sieges? Right. Castle here being some sprawling base that’s part metal and part laser security systems, populated with Banes and Thrax soldiers left and right. But more on these instances, an intriguing question popped up towards the end of the interview:

WarCry: You have said that Tabula Rasa will use Instancing. Could you explain how often we will see instancing, and what kind of things we can look forward to seeing in the instances?

CuppaJo: Instancing runs about 40% of the game at the start and then moves to about 60% towards the end. Instances are more like single player games – lots of story, lots of amazing things going on. Instances in TR blow me away. There is more thinking going on in instances with cameras, alarms, and interacting with your environment and it’s just cool as hell.

You can click the Read link below to see the full interview.

The WarCry network was able to have a quick Q&A with none other than CuppaJo herself regarding NCSoft‘s Tabula Rasa. One of the first topics they discussed was the format of raids. If WoW has their own system, how exactly will it go for TR? Besides, Garriott previously stated that WoW did them a great service in the MMO arena. So how different would raids be in this game?

WarCry: Raids! Some people love them, others hate them. Will there be raids in TR and how will they be handled? What do you plan to be the average size group in TR?

CuppaJo: So we have large instanced areas – but the max group size will be the same as all other groupings – 6. As for stuff to do with large groups of people, there are large enemy controlled bases which if players wanted to take them over would require working together in large groups. More like castle sieges.

Castle sieges? Right. Castle here being some sprawling base that’s part metal and part laser security systems, populated with Banes and Thrax soldiers left and right. But more on these instances, an intriguing question popped up towards the end of the interview:

WarCry: You have said that Tabula Rasa will use Instancing. Could you explain how often we will see instancing, and what kind of things we can look forward to seeing in the instances?

CuppaJo: Instancing runs about 40% of the game at the start and then moves to about 60% towards the end. Instances are more like single player games – lots of story, lots of amazing things going on. Instances in TR blow me away. There is more thinking going on in instances with cameras, alarms, and interacting with your environment and it’s just cool as hell.

You can click the Read link below to see the full interview.