The Ultima and Tabula Rasa creator brought some of his prized automata and rat tail to the Martha Stewart set, talking about his massive collection of antique and modern day self-operating machines, some of which were previously featured on Kotaku.

Of course, that post didn't feature the lovely and talented Martha Stewart, nor did it offer video of Garriott holding a tiny fully-functioning crossbow. But, like that post, there's very little video game discussion here. Instead, expect more than 11 minutes worth of talking about Richard's expensive toy lot and lust for outer space.

Thanks, Tamiko!

Automata Robot Collection [Martha Stewart Show]
Richard Garriott on Martha Stewart - Automatons [YouTube]

Here are the pictures from the blessed event. Note the lack of vomit and the lack of upskirt shots on the fabulous wedding dress.

The bride and groom, New York couple Noah Fulmore and Erin Finnegan, are huge sci-fi fans according to a June 2 press conference the couple held to discuss their extraordinary wedding plans. They wanted to do something sci-fi-ish and weird for the wedding — so who better to oblige them than the creator of Tabula Rasa?

The zero-g ceremony was facilitated by the Zero G Corporation, a federally-approved tourist flight service that simulates spaceflight by flying in parabolic arcs between 36,000 and 24,000 feet. (Flying up, then dropping down and then going back up again.) The flight costs $5,200 per person.

Couple married in zero gravity [Reuters]

I have never played this game (so have, like, not a lot of people, that's the reason the servers were being turned off.) So I have no idea what exactly is going on here. But several final night videos show humanity winning without annihilating itself. Seems the final battle went down in New York City and mankind triumphed. And then everyone was notified they had been disconnected from the server. Whee.

Here is another video, set to the power-chord ministrations of Queen's "We are the Champions" - that shows people breakdancing with glee once the disconnect comes. (Sorry about the obnoxious Halo Wars ads. I have no control over that, it's someone else's video.) You can also catch tons more screens of "The Last Stand" here.

Tabula Rasa: The Final Stand - Video Tribute [WarCry Network]

Be there tomorrow to witness the end of a particularly short era, as the chief baddies in massively multiplayer sci-fi shooter Tabula Rasa mount a full-scale invasion of just about everything. Tomorrow marks the last day of the game's operation, and if the more recent updates are any indication, the development team isn't going to go out quietly.

We request that all military personnel begin fortifying defenses at every AFS base in preparation for a massive Bane assault. If enemy troop movements are as large as we fear, and the Neph are truly prepared to lead all out war against us, this may be our last stand. Penumbra has been informed of the situation and is standing by on the use of their last resort weapon. We can not afford to be complacent or uncertain, but if it is truly our destiny to be destroyed, we are taking them all with us.

The end begins at 8PM, either GMT or CST depending on your server, coming to a close at midnight, when the servers shut down forever.

Even if you haven't played much since launch, it might be worthwhile logging in to watch the game die, if only to say you were there.

Tabula Rasa's Final Feedback Friday [PlayTR]

Role-playing pioneer Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa might be dead come February 28th, but the team behind the title continue to show their dedication to the game's dwindling fanbase by patching in the promised player-controlled mech robots at the last moment, perhaps delivering a taste of what might have been had the game not tanked so horribly.

Five new mechs have been added to the Edmund Range Training Grounds zone in the game, which has been newly enlarged in order to accommodate some heavy metal combat. While four of the mechs are class-themed, any class can take them for a spin, provided they have the Logos symbols necessary to activate the suits' special abilities.

With the addition of the new mech suits, now would be the perfect time to login to the now free-to-play Tabula Rasa and give them a go. Well, I suppose now would be the only time to do so.

Deployment 16.4 - Patch Notes and Known Issues [Tabula Rasa via Eurogamer]

GameDaily writer and occasional Kotaku contributer N. Evan Van Zelfden (possible robot) got a chance to speak with Garriott about his future gaming plans during The Game Business Law summit founder's dinner.

Do I have a plan that I can tell you now? No. I'm still finishing my space flight. I am literally still in the middle of NASA and ESA medical experiments. I am literally still in the middle of my earth observation analysis, as well as the particle crystal growth stuff we're wrapping up. And that's going to take me some weeks and months to wrap up. But, some day in the future, it's hard not to assume I will get back into gaming. I still personally believe I have lots of great ideas and desire to build games. It's just today, it's space.

Hit up the link below for the rest of the interview, in which Garriott bemoans the early closure of Tabula Rasa and expresses interest in returning to the Ultima property somewhere down the line.

Richard Garriott Talks Games After Space [GameDaily]

The wreckage includes three titles whose names are either punchlines by now or dangerously close: Hellgate: London, Age of Conan, and the dumpstered Tabula Rasa, joined by the patched-too-late Pirates of the Burning Sea, as examples of how not to run an MMO railroad.

Hellgate cratered thanks to bad management, bad decisions and their reversals, and its bastard sibling Tabula Rasa was so awful Lord British decided to leave Earth rather than deal with the mess. Pirates of the Burning Sea patched its problems, but way too late to save itself. Age of Conan, as discussed before, stopped trying after you got past level 20. Bottom line, Hellgate and Tabula Rasa's servers are shutting down entirely (or already have) and the other two have merged or closed many of theirs too.

The lessons? Listen to beta testers; get the launch right, because patches won't save your asses, and if you're innovating some new gameplay mechanic, do it like you mean it. A successful MMO depends on a huge investment of a gamer's time. The investment on the development/publishing end should be total, too.

The MMO Crash of 2008 [Hellforge]

Reader Shane sends these pics of a dumpster behind his local outlet. Those aren't display copies. They're sealed, retail ones. Guess "free to a good home" doesn't mean much when no good home wants it.

Despite the game's closing on February 28th, NCsoft have still updated the title with promised new features, including a first-person view, sniper scopes, and enhanced cockpit views in mechs, just to give players a taste of what might have been had the whole project not been scrapped following the departure of legendary creator Richard Garriott, who left NCsoft to pursue more interstellar pursuits.

New players can head over to the Tabula Rasa website to sign up, while returning players can simply log in and join in the festive, death bed atmosphere.

Tabula Rasa: now with more free play! [Thanks David!]

Shortly after they announced that they were pulling the plug on the Richard Garriott led massively multiplayer online game and that people who worked on the title were losing their jobs, NCsoft broke down some of the things they are going to try and alleviate the sting of playing on a soon to be dead MMO.

Starting January 10, the game will be free to play. Any active player as of 10 a.m. this morning (pacific) will also get:

* 3 free months of City of Heroes including digital client
* 3 free months of Lineage II including digital client
* Aion beta access (coming soon)
* Aion pre-order access (available in 2009)
* 1 free month of Aion including digital client (available in 2009)

If you’re a player who pre-paid for TR time past when it gets shuttered, you’re going to get your money back. Pretty nice, though I’m guessing there are still some hardcore fans of the game out there who would much rather keep their virtual world.

I am very grateful to you loyal players for sticking around through what I think we can all honestly say was a rough launch. I thank the development team for pushing hard to get polish, updates and new content out every month since launch...a feat that I think is unusual in MMO development. They have a lot to be proud of.

Many of you probably wonder what my plans are, now that I have achieved the lifelong dream of going to space. Well, that unforgettable experience has sparked some new interests that I would like to devote my time and resources to. As such, I am leaving NCsoft to pursue those interests.

We'll be following up with NCsoft and Garriott, but in the meantime we wish Lord British and his glorious rat tails the best of luck in his future endeavors.

An Open Letter from General British [Tabula Rasa - Thanks Seth]

If you do decided to purchase it, I'd opt for the free super saver shipping. They make excellent stocking stuffers.

Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa [Amazon.com - Thanks ampersande!]

While I haven't played the game in ages - like many who picked it up at launch - this is exactly the sort of change Tabula Rasa needs to inject new life into its gameplay and hopefully bring back some old players. I'm intrigued.

Feedback Friday: 10/31/2008 [Tabula Rasa via EuroGamer MMO]

Hit the jump for more details, including what's in store for Lineage II, and Exteel players. Did someone say free giant mech paint jobs?

Guild Wars

On Friday, October 24, Mad King Thorn makes his return to Guild Wars in yet another ghoulish Halloween season in Tyria. Players can take on the king and his maniacal mini-games, jokes and riddles at their own risk. But the rewards will be worth the effort. Winners will earn fabulous prizes. Losers will be killed. But like any good Halloween event, you can always come back to try again. Other events for this Halloween season include a costume brawl in a newly designed area of Guild Wars, dreadful Halloween peddlers located in Lion’s Arch and Kamadan who will barter for their creepy items and photo ops where you can take your character’s picture amongst some of the holiday props and settings. More information on all the frightful happenings in Guild Wars can be found here, http://www.guildwars.com/events/ingame/halloween2008/.

City of Heroes

City of Heroes’ annual Halloween event is back again with even more evil twists. This season, gruesome zombies are on the prowl and they’re after all heroes and villains. In addition to fighting off the dead guys, City of Heroes’ Halloween event has a familiar look with Classical Costumes. Badges will be awarded to those who collect the most costumes. But don’t stop there. Wear your costumes and go out trick or treating in Paragon City. Check out http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/archives/2008/10/halloween_event.html for more info.

Lineage II

Lineage II players will be celebrating Halloween along with the launch of the latest update to the game, Gracia – Part 2. On Tuesday, October 28th, the day Gracia – Part 2 launches, all players level 20 and above who go to their warehouse will receive a Pumpkin Transformation Stick which will change the player into a pumpkin ghost. Additionally there will be a surprise gift, but we can’t tell you what this is until next week when the event starts. All the details about Lineage II’s special Halloween Haunt can be found here, http://www.lineage2.com/archive/2008/10/halloween_haunt.html.

Tabula Rasa

For the next two weeks players can participate in special Halloween missions scattered throughout Tabula Rasa’s expansive world. Complete them and you’ll get a trick or treat emote and one of nine masks. If you played trick or treat in Tabula Rasa last year, you may recognize some of the masks but some will be brand new. For more information visit http://www.rgtr.com/news/latest_news/trick_or_treat.html.

Exteel

Starting Wednesday, October 29, Exteel will be celebrating its first Halloween by giving all of its players the opportunity to paint their robotic Mechanaughts orange and black at no extra cost. They’ll also be able to enjoy their new Halloween-themed paint schemes while earning 50% more credits and experience for every match played in the game. Be sure to take advantage of it quickly—Exteeloween ends on November 5! For more information about Exteel go to http://www.exteel.com.

Not plucky Lord British, though. No, the good lord is safe in his heaven and has found the time to transmit a coded message of hope to us earth-bound types.

The multisquillionaire held up a card containing the message shortly after reaching orbit - the message is encoded in Logos Elements - the fictional runic system used in Garriott's game Tabula Rasa.

Fans of the game have now decoded the runes and found it to be a quote - hit the jump to see what Lord British thinks we ought to know.

"Earth is the cradle of humanity but mankind will not be in the cradle forever."
-Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky (Soviet Rocket Scientist)

Wow, that's like, really deep.

Richard Garriott Sends Message During Launch

Along with job cuts comes the resurfacing of the rumor that Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa, the ambitious MMO that failed to capture a significant portion of the MMO market, will be closing it's doors in the coming months as well, which would lead to more job cuts as NCSoft further streamlines their business.

An announcement addressing these issues is expected within the next day. We're currently looking into the rumors and will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

NCsoft to trim European office? [GI.biz]

NCsoft to trim European office? [GI.biz]

”Mankind is at its best whenever we set our vision to the stars,” Hickman said. “One of my first memories was of watching Alan Shepard fly his Mercury capsule atop a Redstone rocket. I have lived my entire life dreaming of space. ’Operation Immortality’ is essentially a celebration of that same adventuring spirit and an offering of hope for the future. I am deeply honored to participate.”

Not only will a swab of his DNA be included in the "Immortality Drive" but samples of his work as well, so the aliens will have something to read on the space toilet while waiting for our impending doom to propagate in their labs.

Best-Selling Author to Send DNA Into Space
Tracy Hickman, Famed Author of the Best-Selling Fantasy Fiction Series Dragonlance Plans to Send His DNA into Space as Part of NCsoft’s Operation Immortality

AUSTIN, Texas—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Operation Immortality™, the project to create a digital time capsule of the human race, has joined forces with famed author and game designer Tracy Hickman. Hickman is best known for his work on the Dragonlance novels and the innovative Ravenloft module of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons game system. As part of Operation Immortality’s mission to preserve the most talented and influential people of our time, Tracy Hickman will be sending his digitized DNA into space with video gaming luminary Richard Garriott as he travels to the International Space Station (ISS) on Oct. 12, 2008.

Hickman will not only be adding his digitized DNA to the “Immortality Drive,” excerpts of his writings will also be included on the storage device Garriott will store on the ISS as part of Operation Immortality. The Immortality Drive is currently in the process of being loaded with information from people all over the world at the OperationImmortality.com website. Hickman will be talking about the project as he addresses crowds at the Gen Con gaming convention today in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Visitors to the website can submit their suggestions for humanity’s greatest achievements, leave their immortalized message for future generations, and may even have their DNA selected to join Garriott and other luminaries on an out-of-this-world trip to possibly become the future of mankind.

Garriott is a game developer at NCsoft® and creator of the Ultima series of games and the recently released Tabula Rasa®. The goal of Operation Immortality is to have a space-borne record of human DNA and a record of humanity’s achievements in the event a global calamity dooms the human species, similar to what happens in the Tabula Rasa video game.

”Mankind is at its best whenever we set our vision to the stars,” Hickman said. “One of my first memories was of watching Alan Shepard fly his Mercury capsule atop a Redstone rocket. I have lived my entire life dreaming of space. ’Operation Immortality’ is essentially a celebration of that same adventuring spirit and an offering of hope for the future. I am deeply honored to participate.”

The Tabula Rasa team is thrilled by Hickman’s participation in Operation Immortality. “Looking back to the influences that impacted my career, Tracy Hickman’s Chronicles series left a lasting impression on me,” said Tom Potter, Tabula Rasa’s lead designer. “His novels were my first exposure to epic fantasy, and even though I read them at an early age, the setting and characters he created still continue to influence me all these years later.”

"We are announcing that 21 positions are being eliminated in the Austin office of NCsoft in the area of product development," an NCsoft spokesman told Kotaku. "Primarily this is related to products which we have not previously announced and were in prototype phases. We are also cutting some positions on the Dungeon Runners team after deciding not to port the client to other platforms at this time."

Among those let go, Scott "Lum the Mad" Jennings.

The news comes a day after parent company Korean-based NCsoft announced a bump in sales but a drop in operating profit and net income. The news is a stark contrast to rumors that surfaces earlier this week that 140 to 160 people were going to be let go and the office possibly shuttered. At the time NCsoft told Kotaku that the rumors were "not accurate at all" and "pretty outrageous."

According to additional unconfirmed reports, that decision may lead to the closure of the Austin branch altogether, with development on certain titles being shifted elsewhere.

NCSoft has since denied or downplayed the rumors. Calling the alleged reports "pretty outrageous" and "not accurate at all," NCSoft reps responded that "Those are rumors right now, and we can’t comment on any of those rumors" when asked for comment. We're hoping to get better clarification from staffers on the current situation.

Midway announced earlier this week that it would be "reducing headcount" at its Austin location, eliminating some 80 positions. We hope that NCSoft employees aren't facing the same treatment and the prospect of joining them in unemployment.