Expansion Returns Tabula Rasa Players to Earth

The upcoming expansion for the massively multiplayer online game Tabula Rasa will allow players to set foot on Earth for the first time. The planet seemed to have succumbed to alien attacks, but it turns out that there are still some resistance groups left.

On the official forum of the mmo game Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa, lead designer Susan Kath informs that the expansion Deployment 15 is in development. To the surprise of many fans, the introduction of D15 makes it possible to travel to Earth. Until now, players could only battle on strange planets. According to the story, Earth was destroyed after an attack by the Bane, the alien race that players fight. The expansion is mainly intended for players from level 48 to 50. New pieces of equipment can be found on Earth, which cannot be obtained in other parts of the universe. In addition, Kath wants to make the opponents harder to defeat in the expansion. Groups will have to work together better against the new opponents and have better equipment if they are to be successful. Kath does not comment on a location, but the released screenshots clearly show the contours of a ruined New York.

Kath’s announcement comes a few days after the return on Earth by Richard Garriott, who linked his name to the game. The eccentric Briton spent 12 days in space, aboard a Russian Soyuz. Garriott, 47, paid $30 million for the trip. Garriott, the son of an astronaut, made his name mainly with the long-running Ultima series, to which he also owes his nickname Lord British. More recently, his contribution to the mmo game City of Heroes/Villains. With Tabula Rasa, Garriott tried to make an mmo game that for once is not connected by magic, but that takes place in space.