Originally posted by Darkjinxter A downside is there's no option to skip this island should you create new characters, as you likely will just to try out new builds. So, more switches and that now familar dragon to free yet again, and again, and again. Perhaps Turbine will change this approach soon. I hope so.
ô_ô ? i don't know how it is on us server, but on codemaster's, you can skip it when you have done it once.
?
You can't skip the starter island, only the first quest on the island can be skipped. If you know better pray tell how it can be done. A skip straight to Stormreach would be really good, thankfully you will enlighten us noobs.
when i skip the first quest, i'm tp in "sunny" korthos (instead of the normal snowy), then i can use the ship to stormeach without completing any quest in korthos.
(and i'm not saying anybody is a noob, maybe it work differently in european server, but i never had any problem to skip the tutorial, i just did it once, then skip it all the time)
If you're starting out in DDO with a first character, you need to complete the starter storyline quest series on only one character per server.
After that, with all subsequent characters created on that server, you can tell Jeets Shimis (on the starter beach) that you want to skip the tutorial and go straight to Korthos Village. You immediately are ported to Korthos Village where you can select your end reward. Now you can run your character to the docks and talk to Valeria Sinderwind, First Mate of the Sojourn, and get passage to Stormreach, thereby skipping the whole Korthos Village quest line.
That's definitely how it works; I've done it myself, and am currently living in the US.
when i skip the first quest, i'm tp in "sunny" korthos (instead of the normal snowy), then i can use the ship to stormeach without completing any quest in korthos. (and i'm not saying anybody is a noob, maybe it work differently in european server, but i never had any problem to skip the tutorial, i just did it once, then skip it all the time)
My apologies Niflheimr The one time I took the the 'skip' option I was totally unaware you could furthermore take the boat to Stormreach. I stand corrected and thank you and the others who posted this.
I beta tested DDO. I wasn't impressed. It's definitely boring. I think some people's opinions are just colored by the fact they are D&D fans. I play D&D too and I love Eberron but DDO was teh suck. It could have been far better. Everything being so instanced gives it an artificial feel. They also did not include all the races or classes that should have been in Eberron. At the very least they could have at least had all the PHB races. I hope to see a 4th ed MMO eventually but if it's not going to be a good game then I'd rather it not be done at all.
You know its gr8 2c a review of DDO because it doesn't get enough attention. However as a player of 3 years, since the first day it was released, I think I can say how impressed I am with the community and the game play. Yes there are inadequacies but the positives far out weigh them. This reviewer should start by getting a decent pc. I had no lag on my old xp box and infrequent lag on my vista box (and that is to do with vista I am sure). I hope new players do come to DDO because everyone here will help them to get started, join a guild and level up their char, take them on raids and if they ask us... they can lead us to our deaths..lol. We have a lot of fun and plenty of laughs. If you don't find you like it, it won't be due to the lack of player interaction or inability to get in a party cause in the end its all about adventure and LOOT. Give me treasure or give me death..!!
I played DDO for a year. I quit playing it a year and a half ago. I left because the quest repetition does get old, but that was only after getting a few maxed level characters and enjoying myself for a long period of time.
I am not going to flame the reviewer. They are entitled to their opinion. However, I want to address some concerns with the review and offer my opinion.
1) I ran the very same content cited in the review on a 7 series card with 2 gigs of ram. I had no issues. Your PC is either not optimized properly or you did not set up the options within the game according to your specs. This is a very basic thing any PC gamer needs to do when playing ANY game. DDO may have many shortcomings but client performance is not one of them. I've played it on a horrible laptop with 1/2 gig of ram and a 4 years old integrated graphics card and I did not get the circumstances you described.
I also ran it on a 6 series card with 1 gig of ram, about 2 years ago, with 0 problems. The load screens were just longer, there were no performance issues.
When I revisited it a few weeks ago I also tried it on my main rig: 4 gigs/8800 gts and could run it maxed on all options. The game never lagged, stuttered or froze.
2) 6.5? I would give it a 7.5. Again, this is my opinion and while it is no more valid than yours, I am positive that my opinion is better informed. I've leveled up many characters in the game and have more knowledge about the game based upon what you shared.
3) "WOW" factor. You're right, it's nothing like WoW. It's fairly original in a lot that it does.
DDO is not a perfect game by any means but it has a lot of great things to offer. There's definitely fun to be had with this game. To write it off like some sub-average tiny community grind fest is simply inaccurate. Grinding comes into play in the form of repeating content. Once you've run it all you obviously have to repeat it to continue playing. Find me one game that doesn't fail in this area. There are very few MMOs out there that can claim to have zero repetition of content. Is there grinding in a regular sense? It's pretty much absent.
If you've never played this, don't let the review put you off. The writer is completely entitled to their opinion. They are doing PC reviews on an MMO site yet they can't even figure out how to run the game properly. This client runs very smoothly and can be made to run on very horrible systems rather reliably.
I hope this helps for those looking for more information. Good luck.
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DDo is dead long ago... They moved so far away from D&D core rules that it is not even D&D anymore.. just a mess with outdated graphics, a bad engine, laggy cheap servers, bad comunity relations and support.
Total crappy game.. at least the reviewer was honest in several points and that is rare nowadays. Well done.
DDO is not only NOT dead but it seems to be growing since mod 8. It's a niche game and will stay that way because it's not your tradition thempark WoW style game.
DnD moves away from DnD with 4.0 lol... A video game based on imagination can be alloted some leeway I think.
I thought DX10 was the new hotness Name a new game that's not AoC that has better. Graphics are opinion but to say dated is just ignorant considering the games of last year and this.
Bad engine I couldn't say since I know nothing of them. Laggy cheap servers, yeah probably. Community is fine if you try to be a part of it. We're not gonna throw you a party but will invite you to one if your not a douche. Never used support and I doubt you have either so that's just a ignorant statment.
You guys are incredible. First you flame the reviewer cause she didn't play to endgame, then you flame Stradden for letting what you call a noob write it, then you say the community is a nice one? You come around as frenetic fanboys, nothing more than that. It's even worse on the official forum that some dude linked earlier in this thread. This review may hurt the game a little bit since some people can't seem to make up their own minds and need to listen to other people to figure out what is good or not, but your responses and attitude is hurting it more. You remind me of the Eve'ers.
Well Said. I play the game and I personally think it's a great game... however, I hate going to the forums...for this very reason. DDO fanbois and girls are absolutely impossible to deal with. And how they whine and cry ... yet dare you say anything negative about the game and you're toast. This thread is the epitome of the caustic nature of DDO's community. Absolutely ridiculos.
Originally posted by ironraptor Examining someone who was wearing plate at level 11 looked much the same as someone wearing plate at level 2. I have to agree on this part Turbine just reuses the same 2-3 yr old textures for high end armor most in my opinion are hideous.
It's not just DDO, its LOTRO also. Turbine is pretty lazy when it come to putting in different and diverse gear. (Im not talking about hiding it with the appearance tabs) Gear looks pretty boring in both games, high end or low.
"It is better to die on one's feet than to live on one's knees,"
Why so much hate over a review? A review is nothing more than the reviewer's opinion of the game.
No, this is where much confusion arises on game news sites.
A Game Review is a Product Review and is supposed to be an unbiased and thorough Examination of Product Features (or lack thereof). It's intended to Inform the reader about the content of the game.
This is different from a film or concert review , which are Event Reviews,where indeed all that's being expressed is whether the reviewer liked the event or not.
Game reviews can express like or dislike in the summary but the primary purpose is to Inform and educate, not to give Opinion..
I found that your review is a fair one. In defense, the lag monster, usually bad, has been horrid lately due to the upcoming Mod 9. The computer issues (I have an old system and play on very low) are legit. gain, DDO has updated its graphics several times for a cleaner look, and plans to do it again in thefuture.
Nevet thought of the leveling system. I can see how you would not get it. Also, being honest about high end content is good on you. However, the prettiest and best fight in thegame is still Vault of Night 6. Beautiful and Velah still gives me chills.
HOWEVER: while you mentioned it, DDO is one of thefew MMOs out there that have an active combat system. I can understand how difficult transistion that is, because going to a turn based one in other MMOs from DDO is usually a show stopper for most players.
Still Thumbs up. Most honest and open review of the game so far.
Yes, I am a gamer girl. Dungeons and Dragons Online: April 2006 THELANIS: Guild: Merc's Only. Trissa, Kleo, Sousake, Mulder, Roselyn, Caboose, Kaname, Scully, Courwin, Oncoming, Lanarissa, Doomlord, Tnannet, Healbotatron, keitherland, Keatheran, Allura, Riversong, Johnsmith, Jennysmith I also play Star Trek Online and LotRO, on occasion.
Why so much hate over a review? A review is nothing more than the reviewer's opinion of the game.
That's true, but I guess my "problem" with it is that for a pretty damn good that already has a bad reputation for being a terrible game (which it did indeed suck bad at launch), and everyone pretty much already ignoring DDO and there being zero press coverage on it, the one time it finally does get some exposure... it's a total bullshit review that gives it an even worse rep! (take that run-on sentence grammer nazis! ) This game is waaaay better than it was at launch, and yet it got a lower score? GTFO...
I am stupified af this so called "Review". This is probably the worst PoS disguised as journalism I have ever seen. I remember recieving better articles as Features Editor of my lame ass high school newspaper.
Not only does the reviewer come off as a bitchy and whiny spoiled brat, as a former player of DDO I can say with authority that she was flat out wrong on just about every point. Seriously, complaining about a default bloom effect? If you don't like it.... TURN IT OFF! In what way is customizing graphics settings "frustrating"?
More importantly, some one who is not able to deal with technical problems on their end, or even recognize them as such, has NO business whatsoever writing about PC games.
Also to be unable to come to the table without some sort of bias as evidenced by the quotes below shows a real lack of understanding in what it means to review a product.
"For those who are into nostalgia, DDO is certainly the place for you"
"I managed to convince some friends to play along with me"
While it is obvious that the "reviewer" had no real desire to take on this assignment, she should have undertaken it with an open mind, rather than with resentment.
OP I suggest you take a good look at the two articles posted earlier in this thread which were written by people with some modicum of talent, and maybe consider finding a hobby you are better suited for.
(I sincerely hope hobby is the correct word here, I mean if you actually got paid for writing this drivel... I would just be speechless.)
-A character development system that is more complex and flexible than any other MMOG on the market today
This is not quite true. Anarchy Online offers an equaly complex and flexible System(its even somewhat more flexible since your able to change every thing in high level and you can start a "full" character the first time...).
As far as the performance issus go they are not inherent in the game. I'm running it on a notebook with an 8600M GT, Vista Business and use the DX10 effects: No performance issues.
-A character development system that is more complex and flexible than any other MMOG on the market today
This is not quite true. Anarchy Online offers an equaly complex and flexible System(its even somewhat more flexible since your able to change every thing in high level and you can start a "full" character the first time...).
As far as the performance issus go they are not inherent in the game. I'm running it on a notebook with an 8600M GT, Vista Business and use the DX10 effects: No performance issues.
I agree that there are lots of good character development systems out there. But to completely overlook DDO's in a review of the game isn't doing it any justice.
How do you think a re-review of WoW would go over if the author created a human, ran all the quests in Elwyn forest, got killed by Hoger, asked a friend to make an account so that she could kill Hoger, then visited Stormwind city once, crashed as soon as she got more than 10 people on the screen at the AH because she never updated her video drivers, blamed the crash on the game, then quit playing to write a review?
I think you would see quite a few upset WoW fans and plenty more people generally upset over the lack of effort put into the review. She doesn't necessarily have to go on end game raids to write a review, but it isn't too much to expect her to at least have run the DDO equivalent of the Dead Mines before writing a review on one of the largest review sites on the internet.
The reviewer's machine is not failing. There is a bug in DDO that affects some popular video cards under some (including default) video configurations. The result is severe 3+/- second lag occurring every 20 seconds or so. Oddly, bringing up the Task Manager in the background can work around the issue... A better fix is to experiment with Advanced Video Settings until you find a combination that doesn't trigger the bug. I found that throttling my framerate to about 75 resolved the issue with no noticable loss of quality.
To everyone who is aggravated thinking this reviewer missed the good parts of DDO: Wake up. This reviewer's negatives are all things that new players run into and they are the reason the game hasn't grown.
DDO is a great game, and certainly better than it's bigger competitors on many levels. But that doesn't matter if people never get to the point of seeing the good points because of buggy video settings and other annoyances.
I hope MMORPG.com reviewers get paid for all the forum abuse they receive.....seems like everytime some new reviewer pops up (read: fresh meat) they are rapidly devoured by all the HOFFs (highly opinionated forum fiends). Okay, now that that's out of the way.... I'm another on-again-off-again DDO gamer who wishes desperately that this game were something more than what it is, but respects that it does what it aims for very well. I'm a big-time tabletop gamer, and dislike the fact that the system is not as true to it's namesake as it should be, even allowing for differences in media. I was on Thelanis server every time I have played before, and I always have a lot of fun until about level 5-6, when the game seems to slow to a crawl. Grouping opportunities seem to happen for some people easily, but not for others....I've been on at times when I'd get 2-3 invites within minutes of logging on. Other days, not a peep. And this is not a game you can advance in without a group after a point, unfortunately. I like to solo games a lot.....DDO is simply not for loners. Anyway, I enjoyed the review, hope the reviewer doesn't take too much umbrage with the snide commentary of the forum posters, and works to get a srtronger review in next time.
I think DDO ultimately was the perfect example of "careful what you wish for...".
They tried really hard to make the game as close to the PnP game as possible, and as it turned out, alot of that stuff just didn't translate well into realtime.
I preordered my copy and was there on day 1. I liked it for being, really, the first MMO(at the time) where your character onscreen actually acted like a character and not just a placeholder representation of a character. You crouched, you jumped(your distance and control based on your actual jump skill), when you climbed ladders, your hands and feel actually grabbed the rungs, etc.
Here's what blew it for me: The community.
People that only wanted to run that 3 parter in the sewers because of the loot.
People who would reveal what happened next and tell you to "stand over there, a bunch of goblins are going to pop out after I pull this lever".
People trying to zerg their way to 10th level asap.
People who'd enter the dungeon and take off running, setting off EVERY trap so the healer had to blow spells on them or take them to the rez stone, all while denying the rogue the XP for disarming those traps.
The guy in every party who left his mic on while he was eating and snorting like a rhinocerous...
So eventually I just started creating characters so I could solo the dungeons, just so I could slow down and enjoy them. Eventually that got dull since many of the dungeons were only soloable if you had a couple levels up on the dungeon, which would then give you almost no XP for that reason. I quit after about 2 months.
The game itself wasn't bad at all, and it certainly had the best instanced dungeons at the time and possibly even now. They made what the PnP fanbois wanted, and as it turns out, that wasn't quite what many of us hoped in many ways that they had no power over.
Well Said. I play the game and I personally think it's a great game... however, I hate going to the forums...for this very reason. DDO fanbois and girls are absolutely impossible to deal with. And how they whine and cry ... yet dare you say anything negative about the game and you're toast. This thread is the epitome of the caustic nature of DDO's community. Absolutely ridiculos.
Peace.
Ah... the DDO official forum... I forgot all about that horrible place... I remember feeling like I was between the rock and the hard place in there. You had people attacking you for criticizing the game all while complaining that "this spell" and "that feat" were different from the PnP. Then the people who argued that rules from non-core rulebooks should be implemented, or complaining that it wasn't Forgotten Realms... eeeeesh!!!
Well Said. I play the game and I personally think it's a great game... however, I hate going to the forums...for this very reason. DDO fanbois and girls are absolutely impossible to deal with. And how they whine and cry ... yet dare you say anything negative about the game and you're toast. This thread is the epitome of the caustic nature of DDO's community. Absolutely ridiculos.
Peace.
Ah... the DDO official forum... I forgot all about that horrible place... I remember feeling like I was between the rock and the hard place in there. You had people attacking you for criticizing the game all while complaining that "this spell" and "that feat" were different from the PnP. Then the people who argued that rules from non-core rulebooks should be implemented, or complaining that it wasn't Forgotten Realms... eeeeesh!!!
WHAT DDO forums??
Certainly not DDO EU forums . I had some trouble because of POSITIVE posts! But it was long ago, now I think they've all used to it and write in postive manner too . And there is lots of new players, so it has even out.
Certainly there wasn't a problem with negative posts since maybe 12 months. I had problems when I criticized non-constructive whines and moans, but as I said, not it's normally and fine .
So, I'll say it again - DDO (EU) is thriving with new players now, it's better than maybe in 2 last years, and Turbine invests even more into the game (yes, there will be further revamps and features added). So please stop these doomsays which are age old, and look around how it is now .
What we speculate about is the possibility of adding this in Module 9:
Comments
"Freedom is just another name for nothing left to lose" - Janis Joplin
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ô_ô ? i don't know how it is on us server, but on codemaster's, you can skip it when you have done it once.
?
You can't skip the starter island, only the first quest on the island can be skipped. If you know better pray tell how it can be done. A skip straight to Stormreach would be really good, thankfully you will enlighten us noobs.
when i skip the first quest, i'm tp in "sunny" korthos (instead of the normal snowy), then i can use the ship to stormeach without completing any quest in korthos.
(and i'm not saying anybody is a noob, maybe it work differently in european server, but i never had any problem to skip the tutorial, i just did it once, then skip it all the time)
If you're starting out in DDO with a first character, you need to complete the starter storyline quest series on only one character per server.
After that, with all subsequent characters created on that server, you can tell Jeets Shimis (on the starter beach) that you want to skip the tutorial and go straight to Korthos Village. You immediately are ported to Korthos Village where you can select your end reward. Now you can run your character to the docks and talk to Valeria Sinderwind, First Mate of the Sojourn, and get passage to Stormreach, thereby skipping the whole Korthos Village quest line.
That's definitely how it works; I've done it myself, and am currently living in the US.
DivaGamer
DDO turns 3! Happy Birthday!!
That's a low score.
Might as well take DDO off the site no one is going to look at the this game since you game it a terrible score.
DDO is like a 7.5 at least. Its quite enjoyable imo.
Playing: Nothing
Looking forward to: Nothing
My apologies Niflheimr The one time I took the the 'skip' option I was totally unaware you could furthermore take the boat to Stormreach. I stand corrected and thank you and the others who posted this.
.....shutting up now....
I beta tested DDO. I wasn't impressed. It's definitely boring. I think some people's opinions are just colored by the fact they are D&D fans. I play D&D too and I love Eberron but DDO was teh suck. It could have been far better. Everything being so instanced gives it an artificial feel. They also did not include all the races or classes that should have been in Eberron. At the very least they could have at least had all the PHB races. I hope to see a 4th ed MMO eventually but if it's not going to be a good game then I'd rather it not be done at all.
You know its gr8 2c a review of DDO because it doesn't get enough attention. However as a player of 3 years, since the first day it was released, I think I can say how impressed I am with the community and the game play. Yes there are inadequacies but the positives far out weigh them. This reviewer should start by getting a decent pc. I had no lag on my old xp box and infrequent lag on my vista box (and that is to do with vista I am sure). I hope new players do come to DDO because everyone here will help them to get started, join a guild and level up their char, take them on raids and if they ask us... they can lead us to our deaths..lol. We have a lot of fun and plenty of laughs. If you don't find you like it, it won't be due to the lack of player interaction or inability to get in a party cause in the end its all about adventure and LOOT. Give me treasure or give me death..!!
I played DDO for a year. I quit playing it a year and a half ago. I left because the quest repetition does get old, but that was only after getting a few maxed level characters and enjoying myself for a long period of time.
I am not going to flame the reviewer. They are entitled to their opinion. However, I want to address some concerns with the review and offer my opinion.
1) I ran the very same content cited in the review on a 7 series card with 2 gigs of ram. I had no issues. Your PC is either not optimized properly or you did not set up the options within the game according to your specs. This is a very basic thing any PC gamer needs to do when playing ANY game. DDO may have many shortcomings but client performance is not one of them. I've played it on a horrible laptop with 1/2 gig of ram and a 4 years old integrated graphics card and I did not get the circumstances you described.
I also ran it on a 6 series card with 1 gig of ram, about 2 years ago, with 0 problems. The load screens were just longer, there were no performance issues.
When I revisited it a few weeks ago I also tried it on my main rig: 4 gigs/8800 gts and could run it maxed on all options. The game never lagged, stuttered or froze.
2) 6.5? I would give it a 7.5. Again, this is my opinion and while it is no more valid than yours, I am positive that my opinion is better informed. I've leveled up many characters in the game and have more knowledge about the game based upon what you shared.
3) "WOW" factor. You're right, it's nothing like WoW. It's fairly original in a lot that it does.
DDO is not a perfect game by any means but it has a lot of great things to offer. There's definitely fun to be had with this game. To write it off like some sub-average tiny community grind fest is simply inaccurate. Grinding comes into play in the form of repeating content. Once you've run it all you obviously have to repeat it to continue playing. Find me one game that doesn't fail in this area. There are very few MMOs out there that can claim to have zero repetition of content. Is there grinding in a regular sense? It's pretty much absent.
If you've never played this, don't let the review put you off. The writer is completely entitled to their opinion. They are doing PC reviews on an MMO site yet they can't even figure out how to run the game properly. This client runs very smoothly and can be made to run on very horrible systems rather reliably.
I hope this helps for those looking for more information. Good luck.
Have a winner and don't go on a game over! Does your avatar make you powerful in real life? Check out the Mystical Enders gaming community. www.mysticalenders.com
DDO is not only NOT dead but it seems to be growing since mod 8. It's a niche game and will stay that way because it's not your tradition thempark WoW style game.
DnD moves away from DnD with 4.0 lol... A video game based on imagination can be alloted some leeway I think.
I thought DX10 was the new hotness
Name a new game that's not AoC that has better. Graphics are opinion but to say dated is just ignorant considering the games of last year and this.
Bad engine I couldn't say since I know nothing of them. Laggy cheap servers, yeah probably. Community is fine if you try to be a part of it. We're not gonna throw you a party but will invite you to one if your not a douche. Never used support and I doubt you have either so that's just a ignorant statment.
-Almerel
Hello my old friend.
After you finish the Korthos quest chain on one character you do not have to do it again for any other char on that account unless you choose to.
Fact.
Well Said. I play the game and I personally think it's a great game... however, I hate going to the forums...for this very reason. DDO fanbois and girls are absolutely impossible to deal with. And how they whine and cry ... yet dare you say anything negative about the game and you're toast. This thread is the epitome of the caustic nature of DDO's community. Absolutely ridiculos.
Peace.
It's not just DDO, its LOTRO also. Turbine is pretty lazy when it come to putting in different and diverse gear. (Im not talking about hiding it with the appearance tabs) Gear looks pretty boring in both games, high end or low.
"It is better to die on one's feet than to live on one's knees,"
No, this is where much confusion arises on game news sites.
A Game Review is a Product Review and is supposed to be an unbiased and thorough Examination of Product Features (or lack thereof). It's intended to Inform the reader about the content of the game.
This is different from a film or concert review , which are Event Reviews,where indeed all that's being expressed is whether the reviewer liked the event or not.
Game reviews can express like or dislike in the summary but the primary purpose is to Inform and educate, not to give Opinion..
I AM a DDO Fangurl.
I found that your review is a fair one. In defense, the lag monster, usually bad, has been horrid lately due to the upcoming Mod 9. The computer issues (I have an old system and play on very low) are legit. gain, DDO has updated its graphics several times for a cleaner look, and plans to do it again in thefuture.
Nevet thought of the leveling system. I can see how you would not get it. Also, being honest about high end content is good on you. However, the prettiest and best fight in thegame is still Vault of Night 6. Beautiful and Velah still gives me chills.
HOWEVER: while you mentioned it, DDO is one of thefew MMOs out there that have an active combat system. I can understand how difficult transistion that is, because going to a turn based one in other MMOs from DDO is usually a show stopper for most players.
Still Thumbs up. Most honest and open review of the game so far.
Yes, I am a gamer girl.
Dungeons and Dragons Online: April 2006
THELANIS: Guild: Merc's Only. Trissa, Kleo, Sousake, Mulder, Roselyn, Caboose, Kaname, Scully, Courwin, Oncoming, Lanarissa, Doomlord, Tnannet, Healbotatron, keitherland, Keatheran, Allura, Riversong, Johnsmith, Jennysmith
I also play Star Trek Online and LotRO, on occasion.
That's true, but I guess my "problem" with it is that for a pretty damn good that already has a bad reputation for being a terrible game (which it did indeed suck bad at launch), and everyone pretty much already ignoring DDO and there being zero press coverage on it, the one time it finally does get some exposure... it's a total bullshit review that gives it an even worse rep! (take that run-on sentence grammer nazis!
) This game is waaaay better than it was at launch, and yet it got a lower score? GTFO...
I am stupified af this so called "Review". This is probably the worst PoS disguised as journalism I have ever seen. I remember recieving better articles as Features Editor of my lame ass high school newspaper.
Not only does the reviewer come off as a bitchy and whiny spoiled brat, as a former player of DDO I can say with authority that she was flat out wrong on just about every point. Seriously, complaining about a default bloom effect? If you don't like it.... TURN IT OFF! In what way is customizing graphics settings "frustrating"?
More importantly, some one who is not able to deal with technical problems on their end, or even recognize them as such, has NO business whatsoever writing about PC games.
Also to be unable to come to the table without some sort of bias as evidenced by the quotes below shows a real lack of understanding in what it means to review a product.
"For those who are into nostalgia, DDO is certainly the place for you"
"I managed to convince some friends to play along with me"
While it is obvious that the "reviewer" had no real desire to take on this assignment, she should have undertaken it with an open mind, rather than with resentment.
OP I suggest you take a good look at the two articles posted earlier in this thread which were written by people with some modicum of talent, and maybe consider finding a hobby you are better suited for.
(I sincerely hope hobby is the correct word here, I mean if you actually got paid for writing this drivel... I would just be speechless.)
www.massively.com/2008/10/16/dungeons-and-dragons-online-module-8-the-new-player-experience/
pumpingirony.net/2008/11/06/ddo-module-8-hands-on-new-player-experience-phase-iv/
Playing no time for games
Played UO, DDO, AoC, WoW, VG, EQ2, AO
This is not quite true. Anarchy Online offers an equaly complex and flexible System(its even somewhat more flexible since your able to change every thing in high level and you can start a "full" character the first time...).
As far as the performance issus go they are not inherent in the game. I'm running it on a notebook with an 8600M GT, Vista Business and use the DX10 effects: No performance issues.
This is not quite true. Anarchy Online offers an equaly complex and flexible System(its even somewhat more flexible since your able to change every thing in high level and you can start a "full" character the first time...).
As far as the performance issus go they are not inherent in the game. I'm running it on a notebook with an 8600M GT, Vista Business and use the DX10 effects: No performance issues.
I agree that there are lots of good character development systems out there. But to completely overlook DDO's in a review of the game isn't doing it any justice.
How do you think a re-review of WoW would go over if the author created a human, ran all the quests in Elwyn forest, got killed by Hoger, asked a friend to make an account so that she could kill Hoger, then visited Stormwind city once, crashed as soon as she got more than 10 people on the screen at the AH because she never updated her video drivers, blamed the crash on the game, then quit playing to write a review?
I think you would see quite a few upset WoW fans and plenty more people generally upset over the lack of effort put into the review. She doesn't necessarily have to go on end game raids to write a review, but it isn't too much to expect her to at least have run the DDO equivalent of the Dead Mines before writing a review on one of the largest review sites on the internet.
Some additional info:
The reviewer's machine is not failing. There is a bug in DDO that affects some popular video cards under some (including default) video configurations. The result is severe 3+/- second lag occurring every 20 seconds or so. Oddly, bringing up the Task Manager in the background can work around the issue... A better fix is to experiment with Advanced Video Settings until you find a combination that doesn't trigger the bug. I found that throttling my framerate to about 75 resolved the issue with no noticable loss of quality.
To everyone who is aggravated thinking this reviewer missed the good parts of DDO: Wake up. This reviewer's negatives are all things that new players run into and they are the reason the game hasn't grown.
DDO is a great game, and certainly better than it's bigger competitors on many levels. But that doesn't matter if people never get to the point of seeing the good points because of buggy video settings and other annoyances.
No matter how You feel about the review ,calling the reviewer an idiot makes your critic a mute point....And shows a basic level of immaturity....
Everyone is entitled to an opinion but insults don't help Your case.
I think DDO ultimately was the perfect example of "careful what you wish for...".
They tried really hard to make the game as close to the PnP game as possible, and as it turned out, alot of that stuff just didn't translate well into realtime.
I preordered my copy and was there on day 1. I liked it for being, really, the first MMO(at the time) where your character onscreen actually acted like a character and not just a placeholder representation of a character. You crouched, you jumped(your distance and control based on your actual jump skill), when you climbed ladders, your hands and feel actually grabbed the rungs, etc.
Here's what blew it for me: The community.
People that only wanted to run that 3 parter in the sewers because of the loot.
People who would reveal what happened next and tell you to "stand over there, a bunch of goblins are going to pop out after I pull this lever".
People trying to zerg their way to 10th level asap.
People who'd enter the dungeon and take off running, setting off EVERY trap so the healer had to blow spells on them or take them to the rez stone, all while denying the rogue the XP for disarming those traps.
The guy in every party who left his mic on while he was eating and snorting like a rhinocerous...
So eventually I just started creating characters so I could solo the dungeons, just so I could slow down and enjoy them. Eventually that got dull since many of the dungeons were only soloable if you had a couple levels up on the dungeon, which would then give you almost no XP for that reason. I quit after about 2 months.
The game itself wasn't bad at all, and it certainly had the best instanced dungeons at the time and possibly even now. They made what the PnP fanbois wanted, and as it turns out, that wasn't quite what many of us hoped in many ways that they had no power over.
Ah... the DDO official forum... I forgot all about that horrible place... I remember feeling like I was between the rock and the hard place in there. You had people attacking you for criticizing the game all while complaining that "this spell" and "that feat" were different from the PnP. Then the people who argued that rules from non-core rulebooks should be implemented, or complaining that it wasn't Forgotten Realms... eeeeesh!!!
Bad community?!!! wats he been smokin?
No ONe
Ah... the DDO official forum... I forgot all about that horrible place... I remember feeling like I was between the rock and the hard place in there. You had people attacking you for criticizing the game all while complaining that "this spell" and "that feat" were different from the PnP. Then the people who argued that rules from non-core rulebooks should be implemented, or complaining that it wasn't Forgotten Realms... eeeeesh!!!
WHAT DDO forums??
Certainly not DDO EU forums
. I had some trouble because of POSITIVE posts! But it was long ago, now I think they've all used to it and write in postive manner too 
. And there is lots of new players, so it has even out.
Certainly there wasn't a problem with negative posts since maybe 12 months. I had problems when I criticized non-constructive whines and moans, but as I said, not it's normally and fine
.
So, I'll say it again - DDO (EU) is thriving with new players now, it's better than maybe in 2 last years, and Turbine invests even more into the game (yes, there will be further revamps and features added). So please stop these doomsays which are age old, and look around how it is now
.
What we speculate about is the possibility of adding this in Module 9:
www.umbrasoftware.com/index.php
www.umbrasoftware.com/index.php - Umbra Technology presentation video
Speculations came because test server (Risia) is disabled and Turbine said it will be incomatible with present client when it returns.
Polish Sword Coast Legends Portal http://www.swordcoast.pl/
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Great DDO PodCast by Jerry & co. http://www.ddocast.com