A couple bits of news today, from two companies hoping to be the first thing people talk about.

First off, Tabula Rasa is taking beta requests. Note: don’t look for this information at tabularasa.com, which apparently is a ‘fansite’ so ad-infested that the popups have popups. You need to go to NCSoft’s home site if you want to see crucial information, such as pictures of the art director dressed as a banana.

Also in the news, Vanguard has dropped their NDA in preparation for their launch in three weeks. General feedback has been, so far, has been focused on the usual prelaunch tirade of not being ready — I haven’t played it yet, so I couldn’t say. There has also been much questioning as to how well they will do being so close to WoW’s expansion launch. Personally, I agree with that one — you’re better served giving WoW players at least a month to sample the new stuff and realize its not as new and shiny as they’d hope.

I will say that personally, the most interesting insight is what their crafting system will be. It’s, um, very complicated. I would ask any lurking craftsmen from other games what they think of it. When I played a Master Armorsmith in SWG, I hated the complex UIs and unnecessary depth and clicking – I was playing a craftsman for the social experience, and all that other stuff slowed me down and prevented me from meeting with customers and searching the market for goods. Also, all those menus made creating a suit of armor take for-freakin-ever once you factored in all the wearable slots. But I admit I don’t usually play the hardcore crafter in any game, so I’d be interested in other opinions.