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A move in the right direction
Boonshniggle
Member Posts: 48
Instancing has MAJOR benefits that you cannot have with a non-instanced game. It allows for a more eventful gaming experience, this is because everyone has their own copy of the dungeon. This allows them to have world events, cutscenes, better boss battles, etc. Also, alot of people think of guild wars when they hear the word "instance". Well, it wasn't instancing that necessarily made guild wars bad. It was that there wasn't a whole lot of content, which was probably due to it not having a monthly fee. Sure, they added sorrow's furnace.....but, that didn't add a whole lot.
Also, lets keep in mind that turbine does have a good track record for adding game content and giving gamer's their monthly fee's worth. Instancing is something that is new and it needs to be refined. Guild wars was the first fully instanced game so there is alot to improve upon. I have been playing the stress test for DDO and they are really making some nice advancements.
Another thing is that I love the combat system they are going with. Instancing, rather you like it or not, is what makes that combat system possible. Without instancing, the bandwith would likely not be good enough to allow this combat to feel as smooth as it does. I favor instancing over anything else, however I do think the instanced areas could be quite a bit larger and hold some more players. There will be alot of advancements made with this and it should be something to be excited about. Instancing allows this genre to have games with deeper, more in-depth, gameplay.
Also, for a stress test the game is going pretty smoothly if you ask me. If turbine updates this game nearly as much as they did with AC2, I would be glad to pay them some dough every month. The gaming community these days is becoming much more jaded then it used to be and people should be more open-minded to new things.
Comments
Instancing of quests is one thing. It's pretty much a given for a current generation MMO. Unfortunately they don't even make the best use of such instancing by offering dynamic balancing of the content for the size of the party, which is why this game becomes solo impossible before you even reach level 2.
The biggest problem, the reason why the Guild Wars analogy is so popular, is that everything is instanced. Every inn, shop and even the city streets, instanced. The random way you are shuttled into and out of contact with any given group of players kills any sense you are living in a logical game world.
The game actually is less balanced for it's content than Guild Wars. GW doesn't run out of content as you advance towards level 20. DDO does run out of content, which is why quests here are repeatable (with diminishing rewards).
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
Good rebuttal, guild wars does have alot of replay value in it's PvP elements (big time). DDO doesn't have any PvP from what I can tell (at least yet) so I can see your point. I do agree that if we are paying monthly for a game that the areas outside of quests should not be instanced. I can see how it can be considered quite excessive which is totally understandable. There is a happy medium that needs to be found.
The game ddo, it has some good thoughts...The basics are there... The instancing is a excessive, however, it can be made to work, when u really start to think what they can add and put in there... (I'm saying this mostly because people are looking at the wrong thing... People are thinking anything instancing is like Guild Wars...)
Anyways, I gotta say it was a bad decision to work on 2 games at once...When one game starts years later than the first one that was being worked on and comes out earlier...what do you expect...? This sheer fact, makes it look like an attempt just to make a quick buck...Wait for commercial and see what happens...
I never flamed anyone before...but you stupid ******* idiot. Many game companies work on more than one company at a time. So what if they are making two mmorpgs at the same time? They are not even the same developers and both worked on by different people. You lose.
Anyways, Turbine is known for giving out good content. At least the two mmorpgs I played with them.
Also the game is dark for a reason, the DnD story or whatever it is they are using is a more darker style to it. I like it myself.
As for different companies working on more games... good for them... Your statement however is deviating from my point... Please read my post over... Then use some reasoning... And if necessary, rinse and repeat... Lets say there's 2 people competing for a job. Lets say the start date is jan. 01 and the deadline for a project is Feb. 01... Guy A works right away... Guy B waits 'til jan. 08 to work... Guy B finishes the project on jan. 22 and turns in his project in... Guy A works until the deadline... They're both basically clones of each other except Guy A spends more time... Who would you hire?
Same company = same budget/resource... Tell me, what money magically appears out of nowhere? Employees?...psssh
Turbine being "known" for giving out good content has nothing to do with the now... You said yourself different developers...so what does that have to do with the past... Don't tell me they have the exact same team working on AC or AC2 as DDO...
As for DnD story they are using... What's your definition of "darker"?... I could not care less if it's dark... But I do care if there's even a purpose...
Please read before arguing or flaming... and atleast have a valid counter point... At the moment, you have zero counter points to my post... (Unless you're implying that every company makes the same quality product no matter what?)
My quote implies DDO will not be up to par with LOTR... And DDO is most likely not going to be on par with games that's going to be around its generation or close to its release date...
And to explain reasonings behind such posts... Well I think the best( For Commercial and Quality Purposes) is to push the release date back 1-2 months... And I still do not think the time spent on a game like this was enough for this current generation...
Well, it is strange, because I always think it was LotR that was not going to be on par with D&D.
LotR fanbase is big, but is it as big as D&D fanbase? Now don't consider everyone who saw a few movies as a big fan, a fan is someone who dedicated a LOT of time.
I read the LotR books and saw all the movies (yeah, the semi-cartoon half-assed one as well), I am barely considering myself a fan of LotR, will I try a game about it? Extremely doubtful unless the game appeals to me for OTHER reasons. I guess the same goes for MANY gamers.
As for D&D, I spend a LOT more time on their products, games, books and everything else...I am not even sure any MMO I played have even close to that amount of time and my "main character" as about 1 year of time played. Saddly I think I know the franchise and the property better than most staff at Turbines and this annoy me. Beside DragonShard and Neverwinter Nights, I buy every computer game with the D&D name on it and many gamers are like me. Unless I read stuff who greatly deter my interest, I am going to buy any product with D&D on it (I can't stand RT strategy at all, I am deadly allergic to this type of gameplay...and for Neverwinter Night, it is a long story but the betrayal of solo is the main reason I never buy it).
If Turbines put more money and effort on LotR than on D&D it is a weird choice that reflect a poor marketing understanding. Yes, LotR has a big untap power and it is a great thing. But for a gaming company it is not even close to the power of D&D.
Now, if Turbines really make such a mistake, nothing prevent them from releasing the D&D product and put no monthly fee until they put the much deserve work into the product (I am not saying it is not deserving a monthly fee, I am saying the franchise is deserving to outmatch everything on the market and they can have a multiple steps launchs...it would not be new for D&D players to have to buy more than 1 box to enjoy the full product (and than the monthly fees after the right launch)).
Geesh, I honestly hope you are wrong when you say they put more effort on LotR, it would be such a poor marketing choice. It is not too late to recover extremely nicely if they did such a marketing mistake, but it is getting hot. The release date should be respected for an initial release, nothing prevent much added stuff.
If you don't believe me, just check the initial interest LotR will get, it will never be anywhere close to D&D. D&D is the strongest franchise on the MMO market and it is not even released, if it fall behind WoW it will be only because of the game and it is most likely to be temporary, the fanbase is established for a long time...unless you anger them badly (like raiding could do).
And for LotR release...it is gonna be in direct competition with: Warhammer! I am sorry to break your bubble, but Warhammer is gonna be extremely strong. Mythic LEARNS from their mistakes and they work hard to do better...and even if you think Warhammer is a "minor" franchise...to attracts gamers and be a computer game, it outmatch easily the LotR name, it will get more attention from peoples planning to PLAY a game rather than WATCH or READ something. LotR is considered unsuccesful in the gaming market so far, a few games with limited success, nothing to come close to Warhammer, even less D&D who happen to be the champion in the RPGs domain...and remembers...we are talking about mmoRPGs.
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
I for one, will not buy anything just because it's stamped with D&D. I will not also buy something just because its stamed with LotR.
You my friend is Turbine's dream come true. Put out a sub par product and charge a premium price and hope enough people buy it because it says Dungeons and Dragons.
I just played the stress test and while the game is decent, I myself can not warrant paying $60 dollars for the game and $15 dollars a month for it when there is better games out there.
Just because a game has an $$$ licence doesn't mean its going to be any good.
For the record Turbine has over 200 employees at the company. They have 2 teams working on 2 separate projects with 2 separate budgets. They are not making 2 mmo's for the price of 1 so put that idea to rest.