Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
A completely impartial view of the game.
Shayde
Member Posts: 4,529
First of all.. I played D&D while most of you whippersnappers were in diapers. (shakes cane in the air). I wanted this game for years. Looking foreward to it since I first heard of it.. only a Shadowrun game would make me happier, or maybe SWG2.
Imagine how happy I was to get into Beta.
Boom.. online. Created 4 characters just because I liked the character creator. Detail that was almost as good as SWG or CoH. Real refreshing change from WoW. What the heck is that race that looks like a flesh golem? The women and the men look aloke! HAHA. Nice job.
Get in.. looks very nice. They went for realism instead of cartoony... and they pulled it off MUCH better than EQ2. It feels gritty. So far so good.
Ok.. so there's not much freedom in the tutorial. Pretty standard "here's how you do it". Here's where I start to get annoyed. Right mouse button is really making me mad... mouse-clicky combat is what makes SWG-nge suck... but it is much more tolerable.
Ok.. tutorials over. (actually skipped half of them). Get to town.
Exploring around... suddenly notice there is nohing to explore. No world to wander and hunt up creatures. EVERYTHING IS FREAKING INSTANCED. Find a party and hit an instance, over and over and over again.
Unless I missed something here. Please tell me I missed something here.
Where's the exploration? Where's the mobs? Where's the social setting? Where's the feel of a fantasy game?
If this is it... then this is over. WoW buries this game, because in all the time I played DDO, I NEVER FOUND THE FUN. This game needs a saving throw.
I never felt immersed. Especially when I was watching myself throw a 20 sided die every time. Why the hell do I want to pretend to throw dice? When was dice throws the FUN of D&D.. it was the RPing and what happened if you GOT a good roll... not the rolling itself. If I want to roll dice for fun, I'm playing craps.
I wanted so much more. Glad I got to test it before I bought it. Back to WoW.
Shayde - SWG (dead)
Proud member of the Cabal.
It sounds great, so great in fact, I pitty those who canceled 
- Some deluded SWG fanboi who pities me.
I don't like it when you say things. - A Vanguard fan who does too.
09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0
Comments
You know you would've known all that just by reading about the game on the game site for about 5 minutes. Sorry it dissapointed you, but the joy of it is that you didn't have to pay anything and now you can go back to playing World of Warcraft.
Take care.
HELLO WORLD
This game should be renamed "Dungeons and Taverns Online."
DDO takes the socializing and the questing to a whole new level of goodness. I love the trips back to the tavern for a good ale and a good story after every epic quest. I love the quests themselves!
- Instant travel = great!
- Taverns with people = great!
- Complex character options = great!
- No respawning mobs = great!
- Easy grouping and instances = great! ( I started my beta today and in an hour found five role players to hang out with, best LFG system ever)
- Large explorable dungeons with plenty of hidden goodies! = great!
... The game does have it's downsides... a bit clunky controls, little in-game lore, very few points of interest... but overall I find the game to deliver what it promises (unless you just saw a commercial saying REAL DnD and were expecting paper, pencils, and dice).
P.S. I would strongly suggest reading up on a game before playing it so that you don't find yourself unpleasanlty surprised. If you play DOOM3 and expect it to be Deux Ex ( or vice versa) you will probably be a little shocked.
Well, firstly I also was playing the original D&D when I was a kid o-so-long-ago. It was my first taste of roleplaying I'll throw a guess at ... 21-23 years ago... starts to daydream.... Anyway, I've been sucked into WoW for the last year and really needed something new. WoW is good, but its far from perfect. Of late Ive been messing with a few trials to find an alternative. Some things that are in progress sound exactly what Im after, Vanguard etc, but they are a long way off. So what about now?
Then came DDO. A genre I could relate to. I got the beta and started her up last night. I understand where the OP was coming from, but I was aware that it was instanced etc. Sure the lack of exploring feels like a let down, that said - I hope there will be plenty of Instanced exploring, that remains to be seen.
One of the things that does put me off is the lack of immersion. Again, with the right group this may be possible in a dungeon. But seeing names such a Deathgiver, Bluedog and Ddd doesnt help (ok I know it only the beta but it shows what to expect). The game around the tavern etc had a very big "Guild Wars" feel to it. Though, I have to say GW looks better. But, this is D&D. The UI was fine as were the controls. No real problems. Would have been nice if when I put a cloak on you seen it, though this did happen when I changed my armour from normal to studded leather.
All of the chat in the taverns was "ooc" as with GW and full of the usual people dancing or LFG. Oh and yes, the LFG system is really well done.
What I do like about this at first glance, is that the tasks are more that a hack n slash affair. There are levers to pull, ladders to climb, puzzles to solve. If as we get deeper into the game these get more complex then this will outweigh many of the misgivings.
All in all, I think if you are after RP (as I prefer to while playing - or at least staying IC) then I think if you get a good friends list or likeminded guild, this could be accomplished while in the dungeons. Then DDO could be worth a shot until some of the "bigger" more immersive games come out.
So what are we paying per month for? Well, against GW Id say the D&D name. I only assume content will continue to be added as thus far Im not sure what the high end of the game involves.
I think I will go for this, to run alongside WoW (which my time gets less and less - only to raid a couple of times per week), but neither will last and I still seek one to call home for another long term.
I didn't powerlevel or anything, but I left DDO beta as a level 4 cleric. I really wanted to like it, but just ended up seeing it for what it is. Loading...Please Wait. Market place in that big tent is really buggy. So many people were playing cleric in the beta and that's understandable; bards and sorcerers were the least played. Loading...Please Wait. Of course it varied by server but I suspect it would be roughly the same.
The inability to regenerate health and spell power, short of using potions really annoyed me in the end. Ok I can understand why they limit how many times you can use a rest shrine, but having to go all the way back to the tavern when you are at 40% health is just silly. Loading...Please Wait. It's an odd mix, the tavern is there to meet people, but when you finally get a group you don't really need to go back. But you do as that's the only way. It's such an artificial way of introducing down-time. Loading...Please Wait. If Turbine allowed regeneration outside the tavern, maybe slower I'm sure fewer would use it. It's a symptom of going waay over the top with instancing. Loading...Please Wait.
I cant put it better myself. This is like Neverwinter Nights but with awsome graphics, and im paying a monthly fee.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Famous people speak out:
Im for the death penalty. If you commit a terrible crime you should have a harsh punishment...So you learn until next time.
-Britney Spears
Well said
but i think u missed out on something, all the mobs are in the forest outside city 
"Everyone is quick to blame the alien" Rather don't post a reply than post what will harm you later. I still like the cookie!
Well, If you read the SWG site, it looks like a good game. It is SO far from that. You have to try it to find out.
Tavern.. Instance.. Tavern.. Instance. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
What makes an MMORPG is the immersion, the idea that you are actually part of a world. This is the exact opposite. I wanted a world, I got a tavern and some dungeons.
Shayde - SWG (dead)
Proud member of the Cabal.
It sounds great, so great in fact, I pitty those who canceled
I don't like it when you say things. - A Vanguard fan who does too.
09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0
This game should be renamed "Dungeons and Taverns Online."
DDO takes the socializing and the questing to a whole new level of goodness. I love the trips back to the tavern for a good ale and a good story after every epic quest. I love the quests themselves!
- Instant travel = great!
There is no instant travel - you just have a short run through the city or perhaps a small outdoor area to the dungeon entrance. You also get to run all over the city dumping collectables [response: then don't keep the collectables! - reply: No collectables = no "bane" weapons which are absolutely necessary to be able to fight through dungeons]
- Taverns with people = great!
The fact that they are doing emotes due to boredom or more likely afk is immaterial, apparently.
- Complex character options = great!
I agree, though I prefer a skill-based system. Yes, I knew all along it was D&D and not Runequest.
- No respawning mobs = great!
You don't grind mobs here, you grind whole dungeons! You get little or no xp until the end [this system would've been better to give a minor xp award for each kill and then a large reward for completion - now, if you don't complete - or worse die trying to complete - you get nothing <or negative xp!>] However, no spawn camping, no ks - that IS great!
- Easy grouping and instances = great! ( I started my beta today and in an hour found five role players to hang out with, best LFG system ever)
Forced grouping - there are areas/objectives that cannot be done without having certain classes [rogue] or stats [runes that need 18 str,int,wis to operate]. Also, some classes are in more demand than others - rangers, sorcerors and low level wizards are taken in a group only out of pity.
Instancing is done well here, or would be if you didn't have to do the same dungeons over and over and over again.
- Large explorable dungeons with plenty of hidden goodies! = great!
That's true the FIRST time you do a dungeon - it's the next 3+ times that it gets boring. Worse is if it is YOUR first time, but someone else in your group has done it before - tour guiding is the worst experience you can have.
... The game does have it's downsides... a bit clunky controls, little in-game lore, very few points of interest... but overall I find the game to deliver what it promises (unless you just saw a commercial saying REAL DnD and were expecting paper, pencils, and dice).
You forgot: Spamcasting mobs that never run out of spellpoints; Mobs that jump all over so you must chase them to hit them [taking a -4 penalty to hit] while they hit you with no penalty; incredible lag in some parts of town; I guess that's enough...
The problem is that DDO does NOT live up to its promises nor its license.
<p align=center><a target=_blank href=http://www.nodiatis.com/personality.htm><img border=0 src=http://www.nodiatis.com/pub/20.jpg></a></p>;
Dude.. if you have to "pretend" that the third time doing the same exact thing is "different" to make it "fun"...
IT ISN'T ANY FUN.
I had such hopes for this game. WoW got it right.
Shayde - SWG (dead)
Proud member of the Cabal.
It sounds great, so great in fact, I pitty those who canceled
I don't like it when you say things. - A Vanguard fan who does too.
09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0
You should not have to do this - and most people won't.
It's almost like you're tricking yourself into enjoying the game! And they want a monthly subscription as well?!
Fully instanced guild wars proved this was not necessary.
----
MMORPG's I've Played: World of Warcraft: 10/10 - Rappelz: 7/10 - Ragnarok Online: 8/10 - DnD Online: 2/10 - Runescape: 6/10 - LotR Online: 5/10 - Anarchy Online: 7/10 - CoV: 8/10 - Rohan Online: 8/10 - Guild Wars: 7/10 - Flyff: 8/10 - Warhammer Online: 8/10
My HARDCORE Story
HELLO WORLD
All arguing aside... I am also one of those oooooooooooold PnP players, and I do not think of this as D&D at all. Heck if I had a GM like this I would kick him in the cowbells and go read a book.
But its a good game, all in all... I would never buy it, for one reason and one reason only.
DDO is a Guild Wars clone. Straight off. They have looked at Guild Wars and copied it straight off, with D&D rules.
Guild Wars is free
They want 15 bucks a month.
For a bunch of notalented stealers of others work? Not a chance in hell....
"This is not a game to be tossed aside lightly.
It should be thrown with great force"
Apart from instances DDO has nothing in common with Guild Wars at all. Oh, and was being made before Guild Wars.
Nice try though.
HELLO WORLD
As with all things in life, there is a balance to be achieved.
Instancing is nothing new....other MMOs have done it in a limited way.
Guild Wars covered new ground with extensive instancing...actually all instancing.
The soulution is a mix of both. There needs to be instanced areas for people to go in with their friends and not be harrassed. And there needs to be extensive common area adventuring for that unpredictability that comes with it.
Many many things we do can be compared with cooking. Too much of even the best ingredients can ruin a dish. A balanced mixture of ingredients that compliment each and and create a synergy creates something great.
Any devs in here? Please listen.....mix extensive instanced areas with extensive open areas...give us instances with group size limits ranging from 3 people to 24 people...with difficulty and rewards to match.
Just out of curiosity, do we know the dates that DDO and Guildwars started developement? I would have thought that since GW has been out for so long and that Turbine states that they cannot afford to take, I think it was, 3 to 5 years to develope a game.
Quick edit here... I do not mean when Turbine obtained the rights to D&D, I mean when they actually started to develope the game.
I agree entirely - it has to be seen to be believed.
Caveat Emptor
I completely agree with the OP that D&D Online was just a real let-down, and the comparisons to a pay-to-play Guild Wars is a rather accurate one. There is ONE major difference however, and that is that Guild Wars has a beautiful and interesting world that you can explore simply by creating your own party composed of NPCs. But when it comes to D&D, I'd rather stick to tabletop and use my own imagination rather that the horrendous rinse-and-repeat of this game.
Secondly, on a side note on someone else's commentary that all MMOs essentially have you doing the same thing over and over has apparently not gotten anywhere near WoW, which has the most complex and in-depth quest system of any MMO out there. The game is practically based around quests, which most of the time never leave you grinding out the same quest over and over again, or even grinding random mobs for exp. Now, I'm not saying WoW is the best thing ever, but you can't compare a game like D&D Online to much else while trying to keep it in a positive light.
You are right. Comparing WoW quests and DDO quests is like comparing working for Fedex to what Jacques-Yves Cousteau did.
Although the Fedex guy makes the delivery only once... it's still just a delivery.
On the other hand exploring the complex ecosystems of the seas seems a bit more engaging even if you vist the same spot 2 or 3 times.
...........................................
As to the "pretend" part: read the rest of the sentence. I'm not going to be a jerk just to get my exp.
..........................................
P.S. It is possible to complete the game without repeating the exact same quest. It is true that you will probably have to do a few quests on a higher difficulty setting. Yet the random quest item placment and increased difficulty keep things fresh. In other words: this game has the most diverse PvE grind ever! You can probably finish the game (get to 10) in less than a month. You will only need to pay the extra fee if you play 30 minutes a week or want the extra content they will release later on.
P.P.S. NWN2 is probably going to be a better game... but it's not here yet.
P.P.P.S. If you claim WoW is more in line with DnD than DDO ... that's just sad. To quote a sig I saw around these forums " Silly rabbit, WoW is for kids." I liked WoW alot, but it simply lacks the role play feel.
And we ALL know that makes for a mucho-successful MMO, don't we? Guildwars, but costs more.
Shayde - SWG (dead)
Proud member of the Cabal.
It sounds great, so great in fact, I pitty those who canceled
I don't like it when you say things. - A Vanguard fan who does too.
09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0
The fact that you call your views "completely impartial" and then present them as you do makes pretty much all your points moot.
You would have to work hard to actually make them MORE subjective.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Jerek_
I wonder if you honestly even believe what you type, or if you live in a made up world of facts.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And we ALL know that makes for a mucho-successful MMO, don't we? Guildwars, but costs more.
I agree. This game will die unless it can keep steady influx of new players or enaugh monthly content to justify the fee.
I personally will only play the first month and then wait half a year before re-subscribing.
Peace.
[b][quote]Originally posted by burrek[/b]
P.S. It is possible to complete the game without repeating the exact same quest. It is true that you will probably have to do a few quests on a higher difficulty setting. Yet the random quest item placment and increased difficulty keep things fresh. In other words: this game has the most diverse PvE grind ever! You can probably finish the game (get to 10) in less than a month. You will only need to pay the extra fee if you play 30 minutes a week or want the extra content they will release later on.
TATSU SAID: You were misled. The developers have stated in two seperate places that you WOULD HAVE TO complete at least a few quests on the elite (Read at least your third venture into the dungeon...) setting in order to "pass" the game and get to 10. You could alternatively complete several quests lower difficulty quests more times to bridge the game. I like to "unlock" things so I will be playing these quests up until elite just because I like the personal bragging right of saying I have completed a quest on elite. I just personally think it should be forced to level. Maybe some additional quests in a future expansion will solve that. That is my hope anyways. If they do that I will be SOOOOOO much happier!
P.P.S. NWN2 is probably going to be a better game... but it's not here yet.
TATSU SAID: Man oh man I wanna see this game. NWN owned me...I almost lost a job over it. lol
P.P.P.S. If you claim WoW is more in line with DnD than DDO ... that's just sad. To quote a sig I saw around these forums " Silly rabbit, WoW is for kids." I liked WoW alot, but it simply lacks the role play feel.
[b]TATSU SAID: I personally like WoW. I dont love it. I love that it has a large world, but would rather see DDO get instanced city-to-city travel than EVER run around in the WoW world. If they did that and add more quests, I would love DDO. Right now it is equal to WoW to me. To compare WoW to true D&D is silly. Utter rubish. However DDO is not spot on, just closer, to D&D. It has a ways to go itself.
[/quote]
-Tatsu Oyama
Impartial. As in "came in with NO pre-conceptions and a totally open mind... not caring on what the outcome was"
I had NO background info on the game, went in a blank slate. If anything, I was hoping for a great game, I was giving them the benefit of the doubt. I even said a lot of complimentary things.
I gave it a shot. I didn't want to play a lowsy game, but I ended up doing so.
How is that not Impartial? I take no sides, and give my interpretation of the facts observed.
From Dictionary.com
So good luck with that.
Shayde - SWG (dead)
Proud member of the Cabal.
It sounds great, so great in fact, I pitty those who canceled
I don't like it when you say things. - A Vanguard fan who does too.
09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0