Tabula Rasa Designer Brian Hudson has answered some specific questions regarding Deployment 15 on the game's official Web site , and his focus is on PvP Control Points. These Control Points are "PvP-centric maps designed to deliver a streamlined experience where level 50 players can jump into the action immediately and begin fighting one another."

According to Hudson, players that participate "will be rewarded with Prestige for taking out Epic Bane, killing other players, and completing special PvP missions." Also, new item sets and equipment will be available for the victors, and skilled players will get the opportunity to pilot a Mech by controlling specific Control Points in Edmund Valley.

And, of course, a scoreboard will keep track of all the action. For more information, keep reading below or go directly to the Feedback Friday" post.

In this Feedback Friday, Tabula Rasa Designer Brian Hudson gives us an inside look on his main objective for D15 - PVP Control Points!

What are PvP Control Points?

Player vs. Player Control Points are special, PvP-centric maps designed to deliver a streamlined experience where level 50 players can jump into the action immediately and begin fighting one another. These new maps will be reminiscent of the Wargame map that was temporarily on the Public Test Server, where players can simply choose a team and begin fighting.

What happened to Clan Owned Control Points?

We're still actively exploring many ways to add Clan benefits and functionality to all aspects of the game, including PvP. However, after assessing the existing design and technology for the CoCPs, we recognized a number of persistent obstacles and exploits that made it impossible to deliver the original design in the time frame we hoped.

We also discovered that there were a lot of aspects to the original design that just didn't fit with the fast-paced action of Tabula Rasa. For example, we originally intended for Clans to compete for CoCPs on a timed schedule, but waiting all week for PvP to happen just didn't feel like the fun, fast paced game we all love.

Despite the removal of Clan ownership from the PvP CPs, it is our core directive to create a fun, streamlined player vs. player experience that encourages teamwork and strategy while being accessible to everyone.

How does it work?

Edmund Valley is a new PvP map where players are divided into two teams and compete against one another for control of 3 separate Control Points. Each team starts at opposite ends of the map, while the 3 Control Points are defended by Epic Bane. Players need to conquer all 3 Control Points within a set time limit in order to claim victory. Once the match is over, players are returned to a staging area and the entire wargame resets.

What is the benefit to playing this?

Prestige was originally conceived to supplement PvP and Control Points, and we finally take this design to the next level with the new PvP Control Points. Players that participate will be rewarded with Prestige for taking out Epic Bane, killing other players, and completing special PvP missions, creating a fun new way to collect Prestige. In addition, players that are victorious can purchase brand new item sets and equipment that are only available through the new PvP Control Points.

Where are the Mechs?

The AFS has stocked Edmund Valley with Mechs for training purposes, and any team that manages to control specific Control Points will be able to pilot one of these awesome machines around. Going forward, we hope to incorporate vehicles into many of our PvP maps, adding an entirely new layer of strategy and game play.

What are Epic Bane?

These super difficult creates are designed to require a squad to take down and also require significant coordination to take out.

How do I create a team?

Players will be able to select between red and blue teams upon entering the map.

What about the Rumble Map and the Wargame Map?

Both of these maps were prototypes in the creation of our PvP systems, and you will most certainly find significant aspects of each in Edmund Valley. Once Edmund Valley is released, we will retire these maps, but will continue to use the data we obtained for future PvP maps.

Will there be a scoreboard so we can monitor our wins/losses?

There will be a full scoreboard, allowing you to track the stats of everyone on the map, along with your team's stats and objectives.

We hope this gives you a little insight as to what PVP Control Points are and how they will fit into Tabula Rasa. Please keep in mind that this is just a basic outline of what the feature is and some elements are subject to change as they get closer to going to PTS/Live.

Thank you for reading! Please make sure to send any feedback to us by using our Feedback Form.

Brian Hudson
Game Designer
Tabula Rasa