Originally posted by signetring Trust me it would be even worse if they tried to actually DEFEND the game. It is simply indefensible. The only thing DDO was ever good at was being a failure. If you play it, and you like it, that's great for you. Like I said, I'm thrilled you get something out of it. This post was not written for those who love the game, but for those who are seeking to try it out. My advice is to pick up another box and play it. You'll get far more out of it. Someone mentioned character creation being a strong point, but what they didn't tell you is that since the game has been released, there has only been ONE new class and ONE playable race added to the game, and they were added over a year apart from each other. The playable race was a CLONE of another existing race (Elves were in game, they added Dark Elves with the same skins, just darker tones and different stats). The Monk class mechanics still need major work, and the Monk as a viable class has all but deteriorated as 6 months has gone by since their release and polish has not been applied yet. Great idea, poor execution. Move on.
All I can see is that you wan't DD:O to become or get the features from other MMO's, and most of them are clearly not needed in this game IMO..
Again, DD:O for me is a game where you enjoy D&D Modules in dungeoons with friends´, nothing more nothing less. And that can be done fine in this game. And if you stick to my formula you will have a great time aswell..
Maybe the game will only last me 6 months or so, but that is good enough, I could always come back if more content would be added.
Maybe It was a bad choice to even call it an MMO, as It clearly sends some odd signals to some players..
People should really try the game, atleast now with the rewamped starter areas and all, It's obviously not for every player around and If you are looking for your standard MMO you need to look elsewhere..
I love monks, apart from handwrap effects not all being there (which I believe is fixed in Mod 8, which we may actually get tomorrow in EU), finishing moves duration being a bit short, and no greencloth wraps, I am not sure what needs fixing?
Spoke too soon looks like December now before we get the October Mod.
i like ddo and i have the deepest respects for turbine to continue the developement with a rather small subscibers base compared to lotr (or wow)
each module i see a good improvement and i mean technical improvement and not some shifting around of skills or numbers.
would i rather have forgotten realms then eberon or a more open world ?
yes but ddo still has some unique features, stays true to d&d and is far from another run in the mil wow clone. as somewhat fan of pen&paper dd i can only shake my head in puzzlement that one of the points of criticism was they didnt have level 200 chars yet.
if your bored, visit my blog at: http://craylon.wordpress.com/ dealing with the look of mmos with the nvidia 3d vision glasses
I'm sorry, did someone asked questions in between their flames? Had someone been intelligent enough to ask questions in an intelligent fashion, such as breaking them out and asking for commentary, I would have been glad to provide.
No, rather people are quite happy in posting their opinions about my opinion, and personal attacks, , or how I am WAY wrong because their isolated (and limited) experience shows otherwise.
Then, it's always funny to hear people call someone a troll when they offer nothing useful to the conversation. Is that not the essence of trolling? My original post stands, and refuting it or attempting to dissect it will only further the strife generated by such scrutiny. Since it can be neither proved nor disproved, let it be.
A please, do tell, why is it that any opinion that is not your own is suddenly wrong and the subject of attack by an invisible minority? Couldn't you just as easily move on to another thread, where you have an opportunity to provide useful (as opposed to useless) feedback?
Writing commentary about video games always poses this challenge: how does one communicate the obvious fact that a video game is a waste of time? This may sound redundant, but in the case of Dungeons and Dragons Online, there was never an MMO that had such potential that fell by the wayside so quickly. From the initial launch, to the difficult times right after, Turbine proved that the only thing worse than a bad launch is a bad finish. Now, the end sentence is really how you come off as; not a DDO hater, but a customer, who have played since launch, and now, have become unhappy with how it developed. Is this correct, or have you really played a game you are this unhappy with for 3 years?
With these two options in mind I have to ask you. Do you think your OP has any credibility to a potential DDO buyer/trial user as a “stay away from this game” warning?
Any new game will have a new feel and what appears to be endless possibilities, but rather than letting the game blossom and grow into its own, Turbine made a huge mistake. They made this game as a purely linear game with no options at all with the storyline. This is not a fact; this is a matter of opinion (not counting the linear bit), which isn’t really a good reason to warn other people not to try a game. I think the game has grown into its own, and that Turbine has done a nice job developing DDO. This is why we have free trials... As for the linear bit, DDO is as linear as the next level based MMO. (If not less) If you want a non-linear experience, you need to create a sandbox game. Are you telling me you want a DnD game without levels?
The entire game is an instance. Why they felt the need to break out individual servers with a 100% instanced game is beyond me. The biggest impact of this is an empty game. Where normal MMO's tend to sputter because of pickup play, D&D was almost made for pickups. I have never met a more pretentious and annoying group of gamers in my life. They seem to thrive on not having any organization whatsoever. The game simply does not allow it. The guild functions and features simply do not even allow a basic feel of guild mechanics. No guild vaults, no guild rankings, no advantages whatsoever except a name. When you combine a small server broken down with players who prefer guilds and those who don't, you effectively halve the available playerbase. They should have taken a lesson from Guild Wars and at least made one big server with instanced city zones (which they have in game, but you never seen more than 1 or maybe 2 instances, ever.) In this paragraph you first blast the instance system, then you rapidly jump over to flame the poor community, then swiftly move on to the guild functions and jump right back into complaining about the instances again. How to even start answering this? Instances: DDO is heavily instanced. If you don’t like instances in your gaming, you probably won’t like DDO. That is a fact. But because of the instances, Turbine can, and have, created some of the best quest content available in an online RPG game. Have the instance system been a game-breaker for you the last 3 years? Community: No complaints. There is however a problem for newbies concerning veteran players rushing the quest dungeons/areas. Guild System: I haven’t even given the guild system in DDO a thought. If you see it as a problem - ok, but this is not a problem in DDO alone. Every MMO has guilds that don’t do PUGs and affectively reducing guild less people chances of finding PUGs. This is a known issue in every MMO. If you won’t play DDO because of this, you should probably stay away from all MMOs with guilds in them. Guild rankings...vaults... meh. I play in guild because of one thing; the community it brings.
So an empty game is the first whammy. Then comes the slow pace of development. The game launched with 10 levels of character progression, and nearly 3 years later, they have only added 6 more. It took players only 3-5 days to max out the first time around, and with 3-4 months in between ANY new quests, every level cap raise they've had took only a few days (or in some cases hours) to hit the max. The problem with this becomes very obvious after only a few days gameplay. After out-pacing the missions, you find yourself either repeating the same dreary missions over and over, or you spend your time in lower level zones grinding out underpowered loot or looking cool in front of lower level players. DDO probably has a low subscription number, but it has enough faithful players for Turbine to keep developing the game, and for players to find groups for questing without any real problems. The times my groups didn’t fill up rapidly, or at all, can be counted on one hand. I have played on and off since launch. True, the real power-levellers hit level cap, after a cap raise, really fast – as they do in all MMOs. But how you can compare levels in DDO to others MMOs is beyond me. As for slow development – what game are you comparing to?
As far as aesthetics go, the game looks really dated. There are cookie cutter armors that just look horrible, the colors and the skins look like they have only had one pass from the day the game launched. Having played the game from the first day, I can honestly say Turbine is definitely lacking polish. Opinion... This again is why they have a free trial so people can make up their own mind about the graphics, amount of polish, art style of armours etc. You are coming off as a person who is trying to push his own opinions over to others, and not adding anything useful as for why THEY should stay away from DDO. I made up my own mind and can honestly say; I like the art-style and graphics in DDO. I love the robes, hate some of the humanoid armours, and love the look of all Warforges. Some very simple features that you would expect in an MMO are simply not there. To make matters worse, they haven't made up for it in any other areas. There's never been an MMO where you paid so much for it and received so little. The game has the depth of a dixie cup stuffed with cotton balls. And still you played for 3 years! What does that say about you? Its true DDO isn’t your traditional MMO, but they have made up for it with quality quest content, unique combat system, and deep and non-linear character development. (Probably more) But in essence this was just another ranting paragraph. You didn’t even bother to name the features you think DDO is lacking...
The lack of gameplay, the lack of polish (for a nearly 3 year old MMO), and the lack of a good solid player base (there's always permadeathers and roleplayers) make this a game you would do well to stay far, FAR away from.
There are way better places to get your fantasy MMO fix these days. D&D Online plays like a 1st generation MMO with no endgame (except 4 or 5 raids with varying levels of repeatability). Too many player options lead you into groups with two-weapon wielding clerics and fighter classes with less hit points than a wizard. All in the name of D&D? Your D&D fix is best found in a good book. Good luck finding your next game. May I suggest; if you don’t like your next MMO, try leaving it before you burst into a ranting pile of text filled with “trollish” (admitting it or not, you were hoping to start a flame-war here, which I stated in my first post in this thread) opinions on MMORPG.com. You might find it healthier.
I would always advise people to try things for themselves, and to ignore strong opinions either way. It is very easy to mislead.
That is true, but the big question is: Why shouldn't people get Guildwars instead? Same instances, but only one server for each language(well, 2 for english), no monthly fees, better programming and loads of content?
D&D is made so it should work perfectly in computer games and DDO have some nice ideas. But the game is to similar to Guildwars which costs less and is a better game.
And why didn't they make the game in a popular D&D world instead like Forgotten realms, Ravenloft or Dragonlance?
No, Turbine should start from the beginning and use the open world from LOTRO, mix in DDOs combat system and keep the stuff from the dungeons. Then place it in a more popular gameworld. And give us all friggin' 20 levels, they can always add the epic levels from D&D later if they want something for the expansions. And only one server for each language. Turbine can really do this
I have to agree with you here i was in beta of DDO and then played it and stopped as I felt the game was lacking in fun, I will never return to it no matter what they do. I am fed up of poor games getting better three years down the line. They should get it right off the cuff.
Writing commentary about video games always poses this challenge: how does one communicate the obvious fact that a video game is a waste of time? This may sound redundant, but in the case of Dungeons and Dragons Online, there was never an MMO that had such potential that fell by the wayside so quickly. From the initial launch, to the difficult times right after, Turbine proved that the only thing worse than a bad launch is a bad finish. So where exactly did you lose interest in the game anyway? You obviously played it for quite some time. Any new game will have a new feel and what appears to be endless possibilities, but rather than letting the game blossom and grow into its own, Turbine made a huge mistake. They made this game as a purely linear game with no options at all with the storyline. What options would you prefer? Could you give examples of these options in other games? The entire game is an instance. Why they felt the need to break out individual servers with a 100% instanced game is beyond me. The biggest impact of this is an empty game. Where normal MMO's tend to sputter because of pickup play, D&D was almost made for pickups. I have never met a more pretentious and annoying group of gamers in my life. They seem to thrive on not having any organization whatsoever. The game simply does not allow it. The guild functions and features simply do not even allow a basic feel of guild mechanics. No guild vaults, no guild rankings, no advantages whatsoever except a name. When you combine a small server broken down with players who prefer guilds and those who don't, you effectively halve the available playerbase. They should have taken a lesson from Guild Wars and at least made one big server with instanced city zones (which they have in game, but you never seen more than 1 or maybe 2 instances, ever.) Many players exercise extreme teamwork and organization. What you suggested may refer to a lack of total obedience to the leader(despite a reasonable amount of obedience, as expected), but that's not the same thing. In addition, very few of the many players I've grouped with would fall under the classification of "pretentious." I personally have seen up to 17 instances of a zone, and if you were present in February of 2008 I'm certain you remember that event. Also, that was still a small fraction of the player base. As for guilds, I personally like the lack of a ranking system, thought that's much more opinion-based. Grouping with guildmates is perfectly viable, and pick-up groups are not mandatory. So an empty game is the first whammy. Then comes the slow pace of development. The game launched with 10 levels of character progression, and nearly 3 years later, they have only added 6 more. It took players only 3-5 days to max out the first time around, and with 3-4 months in between ANY new quests, every level cap raise they've had took only a few days (or in some cases hours) to hit the max. The problem with this becomes very obvious after only a few days gameplay. After out-pacing the missions, you find yourself either repeating the same dreary missions over and over, or you spend your time in lower level zones grinding out underpowered loot or looking cool in front of lower level players. I will agree with you that there has recently been a slowdown in content development. However, I would hardly call any loot that people currently grind for in DDO "underpowered." The grind exists largely as a means of keeping interest for those that truly want to equip their character, though that's true for almost all games. As far as aesthetics go, the game looks really dated. There are cookie cutter armors that just look horrible, the colors and the skins look like they have only had one pass from the day the game launched. Having played the game from the first day, I can honestly say Turbine is definitely lacking polish. If the graphics look really dated, turn up your Graphics settings or put on DX10. I personally can't, as my computer is extremely old, though from what I understand and have seen in pictures, they are really quite good. I can run Ultra High Graphics mode depending on how my computer is feeling, and those alone are extraordinarily nice. Some very simple features that you would expect in an MMO are simply not there. To make matters worse, they haven't made up for it in any other areas. There's never been an MMO where you paid so much for it and received so little. The game has the depth of a dixie cup stuffed with cotton balls. Could you list what simple features you expect? There is a semblance of crafting currently with future plans to expand the system. Guild/Personal Housing is also being looked at I believe. The lack of gameplay, the lack of polish (for a nearly 3 year old MMO), and the lack of a good solid player base (there's always permadeathers and roleplayers) make this a game you would do well to stay far, FAR away from. I would disagree that there is a lack of polish, and there's an extremely solid player base, so I don't know quite where you get that from. Could you list a few details? There are way better places to get your fantasy MMO fix these days. D&D Online plays like a 1st generation MMO with no endgame (except 4 or 5 raids with varying levels of repeatability). Too many player options lead you into groups with two-weapon wielding clerics and fighter classes with less hit points than a wizard. All in the name of D&D? Your D&D fix is best found in a good book. When did you stop playing again? You must have barely broken the 2 year mark if you missed out on the most recent raids. We have Tempest's Spine, Vault of Night, Twilight Forge, Zawabi's Revenge, The Reaver's Fate, Accursed Ascension(Despite being slightly borked at the moment), The Thirteenth Eclipse, Hound of Xoriat, and Vision of Destruction. So that totals 9(8 excluding the Abbot) raids, which is close to double what you suggested we had. The multitude of player options is truly the most important part about DDO. Two Weapon Fighting Clerics, while seemingly odd, are quite viable. On the same note, it's not unreasonable(though it is unlikely) for a Warforged spellcaster to have more hit points than an Elven Ranger. ----------------------------------------------------------- Overall, I'd just like to see more examples of what you're talking about, as the majority of your complaints about the people I personally haven't seen since I started playing this game two months after release.
It's really quite simple, I've stated from the get go that my review is just an opinion with supporting detail.
You ask for minutiae of details, not to understand, but to pick apart as you did my original post. Rather than look at my post and shrug it off, you are compelled to come in and dissect it line upon line to "prove" that your love for the game is "better" than my dislike. There is only one explanation for this, you are a fan, and anyone with an opinion different than yours is wrong.
When I made my post, the courtesy of respect for my opinion was not shown, and thus you will not receive the courtesy of "examples".
I have given you brief and concise points on why the game should be avoided. When you cannot defend the game itself, or the direction Turbine charted with it, you then turn your guns and aim it at my credibility.
I will indulge just this rebuttal on the "live event", because your summary of it differs far from what really occurred. You mention one isolated example of "seventeen instances" of a town--a feat that has never existed before OR after that night--as if that's some kind of normal day.
The lag that was present on that day has been categorized as the worst day in DDO's history in terms of performance. The one day that DDO actually had a live and bustling community, it fell to its knees. As for the comment about being the "fraction" of its population, there is no basis for any conclusion other than this one: Those who did choose to log in regretted it. The hundreds and thousands of angry players (some of whom quit right after that event) voted and spoke up with their checkbooks.
Longtime fans and dedicated players disappeared in February 2008 and were never heard from again. So your opinion about this one live event is obviously flawed. On the premise that it was a success, you fail to see the horrible outcome of it.
And the comment about "lately" Turbine's been slowing down their development, I will point out to you that even Star Wars Galaxies had more updates this year than DDO. Yes, that's right, they had 3 "modules" (same as DDO) and several minor releases this year.
What's really laughable about this are all the fans who INSISTED that the reason for the lack of content last year was because of an expansion pack that had yet to be announced. People were theorizing what it was going to be based around, even tossing out names for it. The sad part was how people gave Turbine a pass for missing content updates and postponing even minor fixes because they were certain that the silence was due to an expansion. Until the day came when the announced that sorry, no expansion is in the works (nor planned). It was like a Thanksgiving feast with no turkey (nor ham, nor even bacon bits). Turbine lets down again.
That's the one thing they are good at: failing to deliver.
Why bother to post if you don't want anyone to discuss what you posted?
Nearly everything on a forum is an opinion, but from the thread title you wanted people to take a definite action based purely on your opinion. When validly challenged and asked questions on pretty obvious inconsistencies, you try and pretend you are being victimised for having an opinion.
If it is a true opinion, defend it and answer some of the quite reasonable questions people have asked. Like why did you play for so long if the game was so awful?
People are not going to just agree with you when their own personal experience is so at odds with yours.
I find it amazing why people have to ask the question you just did. What does it matter how long I played the game? Do you think that I secretly love the game, and I'm just here posting the opposite of how I truly feel in an attempt to market the game?
I mean, what answer are you people hoping for?
The only reason my silence boggles you is because you're applying your standard of communication on me. You feel that every attack should be met with a direct confrontational response. I don't have to defend my opinion, that's why it's an opinion.
I haven't insulted any of you... but you sure have insulted me. Then you think I'm the one who has an issue because I refuse to give you more reasons to insult me? Get a grip man.
I'm not scared of any of you, nor your bickering. I just choose not to feed the trolls.
Well firstly kindly point out where I have made any attack, I am just pointing out the obvious, if you post then expect replies, if you are going to get personally offended when people question your post, maybe forums are not for you. Are you use to people just blindly accepting your opinion?
Secondly you don't have to defend your opinions. Except you did invite questions, with the implication you would be glad to answer them, when you are clearly not. If you say one thing and do another, then little point in acting wounded when people think you lack credibility, because you clearly do.
Finally if I were to say I hate football and I would advise people never to go see a game, like I did for 3 years. You wouldn't think that was in anyway strange? The answer to that question would give me a clear insight in to whether your opinion should be considered suspect.
p.s. For clarity by saying you will not feed the trolls, you are implying people are trolling you, which is actually an insult.
The OP has probably never played the game and is transmitting things he has heard from someone that sounds a tad disgruntled. As far as the graphics being outdated comment, you really need to get yourself a decent PC and actually play the game. Install Vista and go with DX10; as I am looking at the long list of MMOs under released games as I type this response I am wondering what the OP has to be smoking to say this games graphics are outdated in the current MMO world that we live in.
Please help me understand what is so perplexing about someone who played a game for a long time and gave it the fair chance that one should give it? Your inability to digest even simple concepts is proof that you really don't want answers you want ammunition. To which I politely say, no and thanks.
Regarding the other poster and the AWESOME DX10 graffix --- so what if the water looks crisp when the other areas of the game haven't had any updates. The colors of the city, the landscapes and the character skins have not changed since day one.
Two and a half years later they add DX10, and all of a sudden that means its all better? The colors they use are very bland and very dry. Everything is a shade of brown or green with some highlights of red. The place looks very dull, very boring, and not awe-inspiring at all. Nothing in that environment is interactable, you can't sit in a chair for example. The environment is very two-dimensional. Their idea of "gambling games" are just random-number generators to which you can only click on "Play again" or "No thanks".
If a gaming company has no eye for detail, they have no business being in the game. There are absolutely NO details in DDO that ever made me say WOW that was effing cool. They forgot the polish. DX10? Who cares, the game itself wasn't even designed with DX10 in mind. No point.
You can put a wing spoiler on a Mercury Sable, it doesn't make it a high performance vehicle.
Please help me understand what is so perplexing about someone who played a game for a long time and gave it the fair chance that one should give it? Your inability to digest even simple concepts is proof that you really don't want answers you want ammunition. To which I politely say, no and thanks. Regarding the other poster and the AWESOME DX10 graffix --- so what if the water looks crisp when the other areas of the game haven't had any updates. The colors of the city, the landscapes and the character skins have not changed since day one. Two and a half years later they add DX10, and all of a sudden that means its all better? The colors they use are very bland and very dry. Everything is a shade of brown or green with some highlights of red. The place looks very dull, very boring, and not awe-inspiring at all. Nothing in that environment is interactable, you can't sit in a chair for example. The environment is very two-dimensional. Their idea of "gambling games" are just random-number generators to which you can only click on "Play again" or "No thanks". If a gaming company has no eye for detail, they have no business being in the game. There are absolutely NO details in DDO that ever made me say WOW that was effing cool. They forgot the polish. DX10? Who cares, the game itself wasn't even designed with DX10 in mind. No point. WoW: That was effing cool = Seeing Velah, the Great Red Dragon in The Plane of Night every single time. Or running through a gambit of traps in Bring me the Head of Ghola-Fan and living to tell about it. Secondly, the skins did get some updates. The weapon effects and animations also were given updates. And finally, the game updates itself so it could contend with current releases as well as introduce new players with a better and more entertaining tutorial. It totally had a point. Your own bias opinion will of course overwhelm these points, but we're all entitled to make opinions. And that's the effing point.
Please help me understand what is so perplexing about someone who played a game for a long time and gave it the fair chance that one should give it? Your inability to digest even simple concepts is proof that you really don't want answers you want ammunition. To which I politely say, no and thanks.
It is neither a simple concept or clear, for someone to both spend time and money playing a MMO with no redeeming qualities is pure madness. The fact you are trying to throw up a smoke screen and getting so emotional about the issue, speaks volumes for both you and your opinions.
Writing commentary about video games always poses this challenge: how does one communicate the obvious fact that a video game is a waste of time? This may sound redundant, but in the case of Dungeons and Dragons Online, there was never an MMO that had such potential that fell by the wayside so quickly. From the initial launch, to the difficult times right after, Turbine proved that the only thing worse than a bad launch is a bad finish.
I fail to see how you can say anything about the "Finish" cause its far from FInished.
Any new game will have a new feel and what appears to be endless possibilities, but rather than letting the game blossom and grow into its own, Turbine made a huge mistake. They made this game as a purely linear game with no options at all with the storyline.
What kind of options are you looking for? Fact is, there is no set progression in this game at all. THere are several quests that are tied together and several quest chains that folow the same story, but other than running level apropriet content, there is no restrictions as to what quest you need to do when. It is entirely up to you.
The entire game is an instance. Why they felt the need to break out individual servers with a 100% instanced game is beyond me. The biggest impact of this is an empty game. Where normal MMO's tend to sputter because of pickup play, D&D was almost made for pickups. I have never met a more pretentious and annoying group of gamers in my life. They seem to thrive on not having any organization whatsoever. The game simply does not allow it. The guild functions and features simply do not even allow a basic feel of guild mechanics. No guild vaults, no guild rankings, no advantages whatsoever except a name. When you combine a small server broken down with players who prefer guilds and those who don't, you effectively halve the available playerbase. They should have taken a lesson from Guild Wars and at least made one big server with instanced city zones (which they have in game, but you never seen more than 1 or maybe 2 instances, ever.)
Public areas can indeed get crowded on occatian. I've seen as many at 21 Instances in the Harbor during live event. All the instances do make the game seem underpopulated at times, but just browse through the "WHO" list an dyou'll see hundreds if not thousands of people visable at any given time.
So an empty game is the first whammy. Then comes the slow pace of development. The game launched with 10 levels of character progression, and nearly 3 years later, they have only added 6 more. It took players only 3-5 days to max out the first time around, and with 3-4 months in between ANY new quests, every level cap raise they've had took only a few days (or in some cases hours) to hit the max. The problem with this becomes very obvious after only a few days gameplay. After out-pacing the missions, you find yourself either repeating the same dreary missions over and over, or you spend your time in lower level zones grinding out underpowered loot or looking cool in front of lower level players.
There is no reason to repeat anything unless you want to. You can level from level1 Rank 1 to Level 16 Rank 4 without repeating a single quest if you use the explorer zones. Thats a lotof questing and content.
As far as aesthetics go, the game looks really dated. There are cookie cutter armors that just look horrible, the colors and the skins look like they have only had one pass from the day the game launched. Having played the game from the first day, I can honestly say Turbine is definitely lacking polish.
The game is 3 years old at this point. Sure it doenst have the cutting edge graphics of Crysis, but its anMMO. At least its not a cartoon world like so many other MMO's The game has expanded drastically since launch though.. We have lots of Lush green forests and open areas, dark dungeaons, Vast deserts. Not sure what your loking for here. DOesnt seem you took the time to explore at all.
Some very simple features that you would expect in an MMO are simply not there. To make matters worse, they haven't made up for it in any other areas. There's never been an MMO where you paid so much for it and received so little. The game has the depth of a dixie cup stuffed with cotton balls.
Whats Missing? Hard to take this comment seriously at all without examples.
The lack of gameplay, the lack of polish (for a nearly 3 year old MMO), and the lack of a good solid player base (there's always permadeathers and roleplayers) make this a game you would do well to stay far, FAR away from.
again, no example of the negative, but you admit there are Roleplayers and Permadeathers. Both viable and popular alternative playstyles within the game.
There are way better places to get your fantasy MMO fix these days. D&D Online plays like a 1st generation MMO with no endgame (except 4 or 5 raids with varying levels of repeatability). Too many player options lead you into groups with two-weapon wielding clerics and fighter classes with less hit points than a wizard. All in the name of D&D? Your D&D fix is best found in a good book.
Theres a thriving end game in DDO. currently we have 5 Raids at or above the level cap, 20+ Quests youc an do, and several explorer areas. SUre, it would be nice to have a full featured Crafting system and maybe some guild housing for events and fun, but thats hardly a gamebreaker.
Responses inYellow Above.
Your critisisms of the game are very vague. I certainly get the impression that you didnt play very long, or if you did, you were shunned by much of the community.. Maybe it was Attitude.. Maybe it was Playstyle.... Whatever it was, I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but its been my experince that these sorts of things are usualy brought on by your own actions. DDO has very little tolerance when it comes to childish behavior. It is indeed a mature game. some people find that t he most attractive part of playing.
I wish you well on whatever game you try next. Me? I'll be playing DDO......
T Having played the game from October 2005 - February 2008, I've seen the good bad and ugly.
Did a little bit of research after reading this post, and this phrase really just struck me as odd. Game went live in Feb. 06, early start two weeks before that, open beta from Dec 15, 05 to early start, closed beta from Nov. 12, 05 to open beta. Unless you were on the QA team, how in the hell did you start playing the game two months before open beta??
Originally posted by signetring Please help me understand what is so perplexing about someone who played a game for a long time and gave it the fair chance that one should give it? Your inability to digest even simple concepts is proof that you really don't want answers you want ammunition. To which I politely say, no and thanks. Regarding the other poster and the AWESOME DX10 graffix --- so what if the water looks crisp when the other areas of the game haven't had any updates. The colors of the city, the landscapes and the character skins have not changed since day one. Two and a half years later they add DX10, and all of a sudden that means its all better? The colors they use are very bland and very dry. Everything is a shade of brown or green with some highlights of red. The place looks very dull, very boring, and not awe-inspiring at all. Nothing in that environment is interactable, you can't sit in a chair for example. The environment is very two-dimensional. Their idea of "gambling games" are just random-number generators to which you can only click on "Play again" or "No thanks". If a gaming company has no eye for detail, they have no business being in the game. There are absolutely NO details in DDO that ever made me say WOW that was effing cool. They forgot the polish. DX10? Who cares, the game itself wasn't even designed with DX10 in mind. No point. You can put a wing spoiler on a Mercury Sable, it doesn't make it a high performance vehicle.
Hmm..Fair chance ? Well, I guess we can't argue about that you didn't give it a fair chance then..
But along the way you must have had some wonderful times, as you continued to play this game this long..This is maybe the answer many on this forum seek, but you refuse to chare this with us for some reason..
As far as myself, I have only played one game close to what you may have played DDO, and that is EQ2, sure I left that game with a bitter feeling , mostly with anger of what SOE finally did with that game ...But I will also gladly admit that EQ2 holds one of the best gaming times for me aslong as it lasted..SOE got infected (abit to much) with the WoW virus and made EQ2 into a solo game..
DD:O Is a game that is very special, there really isn't ONE single MMO that can be compared to it, yet people will continue to compare it..
Why doesn't DD:O have this or that feature ?
My answer to this would be, It doesn't need it..
They implemented PvP after the first wawe of whines, Did DD:O really NEED this feature ? No I do not think so..
Crafting ? Does DD:O really need crafting, In my book the semi crafting that is in the game now is good enough, but again it isn't really needed..
On the other hand DD:O has features that has never been seen in a MMO at all..
-No health/mana regen -No exp for mobs -Diffrent damage reduction in counless diffrent ways, diffrent immunities etc etc..Ways to get Ill/cursed - Puzzles, althou ranging from very easy to rather hard, no MMO has these type of puzzles.. -hidden doors/traps that only a very few classes can find,and a very strong interpendency between classes in the game.
These options make DD:O a harder game, a much harder game then todays standard MMO's..A great example would be Turbine's other game LOTRO where all these options are not there at all.. Infact if they would inplement all these hardcore options in LOTRO half the community would most certainly quit, because they are used to a game where they hardly have to think at all..This is not all bad , because it gives us a choice of what game I would like to play..
For me DD:O is the clear winner, It's hard(alsong as you let it be) and that is something I have sought from an MMO very long..
Originally posted by signetring Having played the game from October 2005 - February 2008, I've seen the good bad and ugly.
Did a little bit of research after reading this post, and this phrase really just struck me as odd. Game went live in Feb. 06, early start two weeks before that, open beta from Dec 15, 05 to early start, closed beta from Nov. 12, 05 to open beta. Unless you were on the QA team, how in the hell did you start playing the game two months before open beta??
I got into the Alpha of this game I think due to AC2 getting shut down or their rewards program. Anyways these screenshots I took back in Sept 05, atleast what the timestamp on the properties of the pics say.
I can't speak for the OP as I pretty much think you called him on it. I had little desire for DDO, was extremely mad AC2 was getting the boot. I had planned to return to the game (AC2) christmas break from college. Also, DDO absolutely HATED my ATI card and would not run the game properly.
The only game with some good story , good quests and d&d which is way better then any mmorpg except the skill based ones like UO and rip wish online. Yeah stay away from this game if you like brainless repetitive games that most of the other mmorpgs are. But if you like good storyline and meaningful quests and something that is deeper then the usual primitive mmorpg gender go right ahead. The game has its drawbacks , its short but its much better being short then being one of the do 12k quests of type "Bring me 12 pristine boar tusks".DDO is a very good exception amongst the primitive gender which relies on either grinding or poor mans pseudo questing amongst vast fields of clueless wondering monsters , big maps unlogical filled with monsters with few nods for quest gathering.And people wonder why every new mmorpg is a failure .
The only game with some good story , good quests and d&d which is way better then any mmorpg except the skill based ones like UO and rip wish online. Yeah stay away from this game if you like brainless repetitive games that most of the other mmorpgs are. But if you like good storyline and meaningful quests and something that is deeper then the usual primitive mmorpg gender go right ahead. The game has its drawbacks , its short but its much better being short then being one of the do 12k quests of type "Bring me 12 pristine boar tusks".DDO is a very good exception amongst the primitive gender which relies on either grinding or poor mans pseudo questing amongst vast fields of clueless wondering monsters , big maps unlogical filled with monsters with few nods for quest gathering.And people wonder why every new mmorpg is a failure .
This is thie the best post in this entire thread, including the OP's purposely trolling creation that led to the creation of this discussion; everyone realizes the OP is troling these forums, right?
Well, as intresting as this may seem, this thread is actually making me want to play this MMO again. I tried it out, but I couldnt seem to get intrested in it at all. However, aftering reading this thread, I think I am ready for another shot!! I want to think the OP, and all the others for helping renew my intrested in DDO! Now where did I put that credit card.....
Comments
All I can see is that you wan't DD:O to become or get the features from other MMO's, and most of them are clearly not needed in this game IMO..
Again, DD:O for me is a game where you enjoy D&D Modules in dungeoons with friends´, nothing more nothing less. And that can be done fine in this game.
And if you stick to my formula you will have a great time aswell..
Maybe the game will only last me 6 months or so, but that is good enough, I could always come back if more content would be added.
Maybe It was a bad choice to even call it an MMO, as It clearly sends some odd signals to some players..
People should really try the game, atleast now with the rewamped starter areas and all, It's obviously not for every player around and If you are looking for your standard MMO you need to look elsewhere..
/junker
Spoke too soon looks like December now before we get the October Mod.
i like ddo and i have the deepest respects for turbine to continue the developement with a rather small subscibers base compared to lotr (or wow)
each module i see a good improvement and i mean technical improvement and not some shifting around of skills or numbers.
would i rather have forgotten realms then eberon or a more open world ?
yes but ddo still has some unique features, stays true to d&d and is far from another run in the mil wow clone. as somewhat fan of pen&paper dd i can only shake my head in puzzlement that one of the points of criticism was they didnt have level 200 chars yet.
if your bored, visit my blog at:
http://craylon.wordpress.com/ dealing with the look of mmos with the nvidia 3d vision glasses
You refuse to answer questions and much of what you've typed reads like a blatant lie.
I'm sorry, did someone asked questions in between their flames? Had someone been intelligent enough to ask questions in an intelligent fashion, such as breaking them out and asking for commentary, I would have been glad to provide.
No, rather people are quite happy in posting their opinions about my opinion, and personal attacks, , or how I am WAY wrong because their isolated (and limited) experience shows otherwise.
Then, it's always funny to hear people call someone a troll when they offer nothing useful to the conversation. Is that not the essence of trolling? My original post stands, and refuting it or attempting to dissect it will only further the strife generated by such scrutiny. Since it can be neither proved nor disproved, let it be.
A please, do tell, why is it that any opinion that is not your own is suddenly wrong and the subject of attack by an invisible minority? Couldn't you just as easily move on to another thread, where you have an opportunity to provide useful (as opposed to useless) feedback?
Okey, ill bite.
That is true, but the big question is: Why shouldn't people get Guildwars instead? Same instances, but only one server for each language(well, 2 for english), no monthly fees, better programming and loads of content?
D&D is made so it should work perfectly in computer games and DDO have some nice ideas. But the game is to similar to Guildwars which costs less and is a better game.
And why didn't they make the game in a popular D&D world instead like Forgotten realms, Ravenloft or Dragonlance?
No, Turbine should start from the beginning and use the open world from LOTRO, mix in DDOs combat system and keep the stuff from the dungeons. Then place it in a more popular gameworld. And give us all friggin' 20 levels, they can always add the epic levels from D&D later if they want something for the expansions. And only one server for each language. Turbine can really do this
I have to agree with you here i was in beta of DDO and then played it and stopped as I felt the game was lacking in fun, I will never return to it no matter what they do. I am fed up of poor games getting better three years down the line. They should get it right off the cuff.
Asbo
One thing you can't remove from DDO is it has the best combat system MMO wide. Rest is another story.
It's really quite simple, I've stated from the get go that my review is just an opinion with supporting detail.
You ask for minutiae of details, not to understand, but to pick apart as you did my original post. Rather than look at my post and shrug it off, you are compelled to come in and dissect it line upon line to "prove" that your love for the game is "better" than my dislike. There is only one explanation for this, you are a fan, and anyone with an opinion different than yours is wrong.
When I made my post, the courtesy of respect for my opinion was not shown, and thus you will not receive the courtesy of "examples".
I have given you brief and concise points on why the game should be avoided. When you cannot defend the game itself, or the direction Turbine charted with it, you then turn your guns and aim it at my credibility.
I will indulge just this rebuttal on the "live event", because your summary of it differs far from what really occurred. You mention one isolated example of "seventeen instances" of a town--a feat that has never existed before OR after that night--as if that's some kind of normal day.
The lag that was present on that day has been categorized as the worst day in DDO's history in terms of performance. The one day that DDO actually had a live and bustling community, it fell to its knees. As for the comment about being the "fraction" of its population, there is no basis for any conclusion other than this one: Those who did choose to log in regretted it. The hundreds and thousands of angry players (some of whom quit right after that event) voted and spoke up with their checkbooks.
Longtime fans and dedicated players disappeared in February 2008 and were never heard from again. So your opinion about this one live event is obviously flawed. On the premise that it was a success, you fail to see the horrible outcome of it.
And the comment about "lately" Turbine's been slowing down their development, I will point out to you that even Star Wars Galaxies had more updates this year than DDO. Yes, that's right, they had 3 "modules" (same as DDO) and several minor releases this year.
What's really laughable about this are all the fans who INSISTED that the reason for the lack of content last year was because of an expansion pack that had yet to be announced. People were theorizing what it was going to be based around, even tossing out names for it. The sad part was how people gave Turbine a pass for missing content updates and postponing even minor fixes because they were certain that the silence was due to an expansion. Until the day came when the announced that sorry, no expansion is in the works (nor planned). It was like a Thanksgiving feast with no turkey (nor ham, nor even bacon bits). Turbine lets down again.
That's the one thing they are good at: failing to deliver.
Why bother to post if you don't want anyone to discuss what you posted?
Nearly everything on a forum is an opinion, but from the thread title you wanted people to take a definite action based purely on your opinion. When validly challenged and asked questions on pretty obvious inconsistencies, you try and pretend you are being victimised for having an opinion.
If it is a true opinion, defend it and answer some of the quite reasonable questions people have asked. Like why did you play for so long if the game was so awful?
People are not going to just agree with you when their own personal experience is so at odds with yours.
I find it amazing why people have to ask the question you just did. What does it matter how long I played the game? Do you think that I secretly love the game, and I'm just here posting the opposite of how I truly feel in an attempt to market the game?
I mean, what answer are you people hoping for?
The only reason my silence boggles you is because you're applying your standard of communication on me. You feel that every attack should be met with a direct confrontational response. I don't have to defend my opinion, that's why it's an opinion.
I haven't insulted any of you... but you sure have insulted me. Then you think I'm the one who has an issue because I refuse to give you more reasons to insult me? Get a grip man.
I'm not scared of any of you, nor your bickering. I just choose not to feed the trolls.
Well firstly kindly point out where I have made any attack, I am just pointing out the obvious, if you post then expect replies, if you are going to get personally offended when people question your post, maybe forums are not for you. Are you use to people just blindly accepting your opinion?
Secondly you don't have to defend your opinions. Except you did invite questions, with the implication you would be glad to answer them, when you are clearly not. If you say one thing and do another, then little point in acting wounded when people think you lack credibility, because you clearly do.
Finally if I were to say I hate football and I would advise people never to go see a game, like I did for 3 years. You wouldn't think that was in anyway strange? The answer to that question would give me a clear insight in to whether your opinion should be considered suspect.
p.s. For clarity by saying you will not feed the trolls, you are implying people are trolling you, which is actually an insult.
The OP has probably never played the game and is transmitting things he has heard from someone that sounds a tad disgruntled. As far as the graphics being outdated comment, you really need to get yourself a decent PC and actually play the game. Install Vista and go with DX10; as I am looking at the long list of MMOs under released games as I type this response I am wondering what the OP has to be smoking to say this games graphics are outdated in the current MMO world that we live in.
"I am the greatest swordsman that ever lived."
Please help me understand what is so perplexing about someone who played a game for a long time and gave it the fair chance that one should give it? Your inability to digest even simple concepts is proof that you really don't want answers you want ammunition. To which I politely say, no and thanks.
Regarding the other poster and the AWESOME DX10 graffix --- so what if the water looks crisp when the other areas of the game haven't had any updates. The colors of the city, the landscapes and the character skins have not changed since day one.
Two and a half years later they add DX10, and all of a sudden that means its all better? The colors they use are very bland and very dry. Everything is a shade of brown or green with some highlights of red. The place looks very dull, very boring, and not awe-inspiring at all. Nothing in that environment is interactable, you can't sit in a chair for example. The environment is very two-dimensional. Their idea of "gambling games" are just random-number generators to which you can only click on "Play again" or "No thanks".
If a gaming company has no eye for detail, they have no business being in the game. There are absolutely NO details in DDO that ever made me say WOW that was effing cool. They forgot the polish. DX10? Who cares, the game itself wasn't even designed with DX10 in mind. No point.
You can put a wing spoiler on a Mercury Sable, it doesn't make it a high performance vehicle.
-k¥§tì£æñ-
It is neither a simple concept or clear, for someone to both spend time and money playing a MMO with no redeeming qualities is pure madness. The fact you are trying to throw up a smoke screen and getting so emotional about the issue, speaks volumes for both you and your opinions.
Responses inYellow Above.
Your critisisms of the game are very vague. I certainly get the impression that you didnt play very long, or if you did, you were shunned by much of the community.. Maybe it was Attitude.. Maybe it was Playstyle.... Whatever it was, I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but its been my experince that these sorts of things are usualy brought on by your own actions. DDO has very little tolerance when it comes to childish behavior. It is indeed a mature game. some people find that t he most attractive part of playing.
I wish you well on whatever game you try next. Me? I'll be playing DDO......
Did a little bit of research after reading this post, and this phrase really just struck me as odd. Game went live in Feb. 06, early start two weeks before that, open beta from Dec 15, 05 to early start, closed beta from Nov. 12, 05 to open beta. Unless you were on the QA team, how in the hell did you start playing the game two months before open beta??
Hmm..Fair chance ? Well, I guess we can't argue about that you didn't give it a fair chance then..
But along the way you must have had some wonderful times, as you continued to play this game this long..This is maybe the answer many on this forum seek, but you refuse to chare this with us for some reason..
As far as myself, I have only played one game close to what you may have played DDO, and that is EQ2, sure I left that game with a bitter feeling , mostly with anger of what SOE finally did with that game ...But I will also gladly admit that EQ2 holds one of the best gaming times for me aslong as it lasted..SOE got infected (abit to much) with the WoW virus and made EQ2 into a solo game..
DD:O Is a game that is very special, there really isn't ONE single MMO that can be compared to it, yet people will continue to compare it..
Why doesn't DD:O have this or that feature ?
My answer to this would be, It doesn't need it..
They implemented PvP after the first wawe of whines, Did DD:O really NEED this feature ? No I do not think so..
Crafting ? Does DD:O really need crafting, In my book the semi crafting that is in the game now is good enough, but again it isn't really needed..
On the other hand DD:O has features that has never been seen in a MMO at all..
-No health/mana regen
-No exp for mobs
-Diffrent damage reduction in counless diffrent ways, diffrent immunities etc etc..Ways to get Ill/cursed
- Puzzles, althou ranging from very easy to rather hard, no MMO has these type of puzzles..
-hidden doors/traps that only a very few classes can find,and a very strong interpendency between classes in the game.
These options make DD:O a harder game, a much harder game then todays standard MMO's..A great example would be Turbine's other game LOTRO where all these options are not there at all..
Infact if they would inplement all these hardcore options in LOTRO half the community would most certainly quit, because they are used to a game where they hardly have to think at all..This is not all bad , because it gives us a choice of what game I would like to play..
For me DD:O is the clear winner, It's hard(alsong as you let it be) and that is something I have sought from an MMO very long..
Did a little bit of research after reading this post, and this phrase really just struck me as odd. Game went live in Feb. 06, early start two weeks before that, open beta from Dec 15, 05 to early start, closed beta from Nov. 12, 05 to open beta. Unless you were on the QA team, how in the hell did you start playing the game two months before open beta??
I got into the Alpha of this game I think due to AC2 getting shut down or their rewards program. Anyways these screenshots I took back in Sept 05, atleast what the timestamp on the properties of the pics say.
I can't speak for the OP as I pretty much think you called him on it. I had little desire for DDO, was extremely mad AC2 was getting the boot. I had planned to return to the game (AC2) christmas break from college. Also, DDO absolutely HATED my ATI card and would not run the game properly.
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Promote what you love instead of bashing what you hate.
This is thie the best post in this entire thread, including the OP's purposely trolling creation that led to the creation of this discussion; everyone realizes the OP is troling these forums, right?
I'd definitely play a Forgotten Realms MMO, as long as it wasn't made by Turbine. I've never been impressed with them.
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"Capitalism is currently working as intended."
Well, as intresting as this may seem, this thread is actually making me want to play this MMO again. I tried it out, but I couldnt seem to get intrested in it at all. However, aftering reading this thread, I think I am ready for another shot!! I want to think the OP, and all the others for helping renew my intrested in DDO! Now where did I put that credit card.....