Funny, i play the game regularly, and i have to turn down groups left and right, it's actually super-easy to find groups, i have never had the luck 'or lack of it' of not finding groups..
You probably have a higher level toon. I can assure you that groups in the newbie area are difficult at best to find.
As an experiment, you might roll a new toon and see how easy it is to get into groups in the newbie area. Remember, the reviewer was starting a new toon and this was the environment that she found. So, you need to compare apples to apples.
Ion
I just came back a month and a half ago. I have started 4 new chars in that time and have been able to find people to group with for any quest I have wanted to do and my weekly play time starts at 1am EST. I can still get full groups for harbor and 2 or 3 people to do Korthos Island and I am not anywhere close to being on in prime time.
This review was a joke. Her 30 second lags are system related for sure. Yes DDO has had some service issues including the servers going down but 30 second lags and needing to restart after logging out are not on Turbine in this case.
If you are not playing how can you assure current players of anything?
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.
You do not need a full group in this game. Much of the content is quite doable with 2 or 3 people and grab a hireling or 2 if you like.
You probably have a higher level toon. I can assure you that groups in the newbie area are difficult at best to find. As an experiment, you might roll a new toon and see how easy it is to get into groups in the newbie area. Remember, the reviewer was starting a new toon and this was the environment that she found. So, you need to compare apples to apples. Ion
Not true. I just started playing a month ago. If I stand still for more than a few minutes in the starting area then I get invites from all kinds of people. Considering that I brought a group of friends with me and don't need nor want to pick up random people, all the extraneous invites were even somewhat annoying.
At level 7 my wife's cleric can't even log in to check the AH without a steady stream of tells asking her to join groups. Honestly, I think she was getting more group invites in DDO than we ever did in WoW, AoC, or WAR.
I just restarted DDO, and I'm not getting steady stream of invites. In fact, over the past week, I've gotten 1 invite and that person didn't say a word once I accepted, so I left the group. I play on the Sarlona server, which is the same server I've played on off and on since I was a founder. I have Drow unlocked on this server, and I'd hate to reroll on another, since Drow is only unlocked on the server you unlocked it on (I could be wrong). What server do you play on with a community so active you have to beat them away with a stick. It really sounds like an exaggeration to me, but who knows, you could be telling the truth. Thankfully, I can just roll a character on your server to verify that and if you're not exaggerating, maybe my friend and I should reroll.
Try Thelanis. My cleric gets tells and invited so often I put him on anonymous. My Level 14 barbarian gets tells and I never have LFG up. As a lower level I find people quite easily to do any quest I want and I play when most people are asleep 1-5 am EST. Finding a guild is always helpful and that is true in almost any game. Then you have access to a group of people who hopefully share the same goals in game more or less and might want to roll a new lowbie character and group up for easy grouping and leveling.
If people make no effort to join groups or try to create them then of course they are going to say the community sucks and no one talks.
6.5 is a 65/100. That is a D. Not a B, not a C a friggin D! Are you kidding? AoC is a D, all these f2p are Ds. DDO, while the concept of grouping to do anything is assinine and outdated, has to be, at least, a C.
DDO's only flaw, imo, is that it requires you to group in a game that no one plays. Yea, that's a pretty big flaw, but I don't think I would give it a near failing grade.
I really don't want to come across as an angry fanboy, but I agree that the review was pretty sloppy. No other game on the market is like it and my $500 system from three years ago ran it smoothly with all the settings on max. It has the most interactive and engaging dungeons in any MMO and, if you choose to repeat a dungeon, you're encouraged to try it on harder difficulties, which opens up new objectives and more treasure.
So a 6.5 seems a little unfair. It just felt a little too unprofessional (especially since you screwed up the bold text there on one of them). Felt like something you might just see on the forum.
Having Atlantica Fans reviewing games is going to be the death of this site , fast. I'm sick and tired of all this Alantica brokered bull**** on this website, and now we are supposed to site here and except "re-reviews" of games. **** you, really.
Re-reviews have always been a part of this site.
I'm not entirely sure what your beef is witrh Atlantica Online, or why it is you think the reviewer or anyone else is a fan of the game. I'm not saying no one who writes for us is a fan of the game. I'm just saying you're implying something bizarre here that I don't understand.
Having Atlantica Fans reviewing games is going to be the death of this site , fast. I'm sick and tired of all this Alantica brokered bull**** on this website, and now we are supposed to site here and except "re-reviews" of games. **** you, really.
Re-reviews have always been a part of this site.
I'm not entirely sure what your beef is witrh Atlantica Online, or why it is you think the reviewer or anyone else is a fan of the game. I'm not saying no one who writes for us is a fan of the game. I'm just saying you're implying something bizarre here that I don't understand.
I am all in favor of re-reviews and DDO is a game that deserves a second look. I left DDO prior to the server merge for a variety of reasons. At the time a lack of content for my higher levels and a shift in play time were part of it. I have come back after nearly 2 years away and have found I am happy to be back and have new things to do. Sure DDO could use faster content updates and a couple other changes that would give people things to do outside of combat and quests, but DDO certainly has a lot of original things going for it that your reviewer completely missed.
Stradden could you by chance have someone re-review the game that actually ran the game before and may have a high lvl char? I would love to see someone who played the game from mmorpg.com do the re-review.
I'm not even going to re-hash what others are saying, i'm only going to say the following:
Make up your own mind. Even a 12 year old can read this and see that this review is poorly written, and quite honestly, if one cant take the time to write a review worth reading, one certainly didnt take the time to actually gather data to support their conclusions.
Say what you will, but make up your own mind about this game and every one out their for that matter.
R
This is what will happen if the regular "Joe" try the game,he will experience the game as the author did.I was there when the game launch then I stopped playing.I've been following the game's progression since.And each time new content has been added I gave it a try.
There's somekind of Elitism in DDO playerbase(experienced it on Sarlona & Argonessen) which is sad to say and I think that 's why the author said she could not find people to group.It's unfortunate that the people who are sometimes overprotective with their beloved game are the one who also drive new players away.
Am I happy the way Turbine made DDO,I would say NO and I would say the same for LOTRO.But there's no other like Turbine for releasing free update content.
In the land of Predators,the lion does not fear the jackals...
When I was in 3rd or 4th grade... maybe 5th I picked up the red box Dungeons and Dragons Basic Set. Within the next couple years had gone through all of that stuff including Greyhawk (still one of the best old school settings I have ever had the joy of adventuring in) and the AD&D stuff, before the censorship nazi's got their mits all over it with the release of Mazes and Monsters and some of the weird crap that went on in the 80's.
When I first heard about DDO I was excited. I expected to play an AD&D based game. Unfortunately a couple of things happened that pretty much screwed the pooch. First was the Eberron setting. Completely throwing out some of the core parts of what made D&D special really hurt the game in general. Then was the new ruleset that released around the time the game was either in development, ending beta oe releasing. Still don't like hte new ruleset and do not know many people that still play the pen and paper game that can stand the new rules... but thats one of hte great things about D&D the rules were a guideline, not carved in stone
Unfortunately, as far as I was concerned, everything that a D&D based mmo should be was left out of DDO. I did my best as a beta tester and even gave the game a spin with launch. But there was too much I couldn't and didn't want to adapt to. Then the very closed atmosphere, the lack of any countryside (I heard this has since been adjusted a bit?) and the god awful Eberron setting just killed the game completely.
my wife and I played this game for a few months and well, I didn't really think it was all that good. it was a total grind fest at the time. i liked the traps and active combat, but running the same missions over and over again kinda sucked.
Well one the I definatly agree with in the review is the monthly fee. Im sorry but this game just doesn't feel like a monthly fee type of game. They are holding one of the best licenses you could possibly have for an MMORPG... Dungeons and Dragons a legendary name. And yet this game bleh.....
If they were going to release it in the form its in, they would have been much better off and had a lot more subs if they would have made it like Guild Wars which to me feels like it has twice the content of DDO.. An yet its free. Competing with games like WOW or Lotro in its current form isnt happening. I dont know what the sub numbers are but when I played it felt fairly empty as well. An I did play the game for 3 months. So I wasnt a total newb.
Played DDO Beta. Played since then and haven't stopped. Played EQ1 x7 yrs, EQ2 3 years. GW x 2, UO x 3, WoW trial, AoC trial, won Beta keys for 2 other (thanks mmorpg). Have tried many many F2P.
Author of review ... play the full entire 10 day free content before reviewing ... get a better machine / graphics card. All MMO's have lag. Did you mention group / raid voice chat is built into the game? No need for Vent.
To the people who Played(?) when it came out or at Beta and quit ... now doing a review 3 years later .... OH Come on. As with all MMO games... none has improved as greatly as DDO.
Repeat the same quests? Only if you want to. DDO has alot more (300+) Quests than other games
As with everything ... Try it out for yourselves folks and decide for yourself. Don't let the Forum Trolls tell you what to play.
BTW end of Feb 09 another free update that includes raising lvl cap to 20 , New Dungeons, and with Prestige class bonus'
Why so much hate over a review? A review is nothing more than the reviewer's opinion of the game. To disagree is fine, but to flame her just because you don't agree with her? Immature. The reason that I left DDO was one of the issues she had with the game and that was the lack of people to group with. After the first few dungeons, you have to have a group to continue playing. Yes, the LFG system is nice, but if there are no people your level playing, it doesn't do any good. The low level areas are essentially empty. I would love to still be playing DDO, but I'm not going to waste my time and money sitting around trying to find someone to group with. Ion
There would be a lot less 'hate' as you say if the reviewer actually played the game. This is a re-review which makes it even worse. How can you give a fair assessment of anything when you haven't even tried it, not once but twice now.
I say get a reviewer to actually play the game and then give a review, it's only fair to the game itself and I think there would be a lot less negativity if it were done so.
When I was in 3rd or 4th grade... maybe 5th I picked up the red box Dungeons and Dragons Basic Set. Within the next couple years had gone through all of that stuff including Greyhawk (still one of the best old school settings I have ever had the joy of adventuring in) and the AD&D stuff, before the censorship nazi's got their mits all over it with the release of Mazes and Monsters and some of the weird crap that went on in the 80's. When I first heard about DDO I was excited. I expected to play an AD&D based game. Unfortunately a couple of things happened that pretty much screwed the pooch. First was the Eberron setting. Completely throwing out some of the core parts of what made D&D special really hurt the game in general. Then was the new ruleset that released around the time the game was either in development, ending beta oe releasing. Still don't like hte new ruleset and do not know many people that still play the pen and paper game that can stand the new rules... but thats one of hte great things about D&D the rules were a guideline, not carved in stone Unfortunately, as far as I was concerned, everything that a D&D based mmo should be was left out of DDO. I did my best as a beta tester and even gave the game a spin with launch. But there was too much I couldn't and didn't want to adapt to. Then the very closed atmosphere, the lack of any countryside (I heard this has since been adjusted a bit?) and the god awful Eberron setting just killed the game completely.
I agree that Eberron is not the best realm to build a D&D game around but the 3.5 rules are probably the best system to turn into an MMO. While I still prefer the older rules I think an MMO implementation would be lacking.
my wife and I played this game for a few months and well, I didn't really think it was all that good. it was a total grind fest at the time. i liked the traps and active combat, but running the same missions over and over again kinda sucked.
Running the same quests over again is a choice that you can make. I have been playing for over 2 years now and as such I have leveled many characters. Often, I admit, I run the same quests while leveling a character but maybe 2-3 times tops. With the exception of two characters however, I have a slew of quests in my logs that are not completed, mainly because I chose not to run them at the time and am above the level for them now.
I could have easily chosen to run a different grouping of quests and hence not run the same ones over and over.
Compare this to another game such as Warhammer. You run the exact same style quest from start to end game. There is absolutely no variation at all. I'd much prefer running a good quest 5 times over than playing a game entirely of Kill X Monsters styled quests.
i'm playing on european server which are less populated than the US one, and have no problem for leveling and grouping.
what surprise me in this re-review, is that all the good point of ddo were not mention ... how can you talk about ddo without talking about the unique active combat system, or the trap system, or the template etc... and the quest ? you will never have quest like "go and kill 10 rats".
if you don't like a game, simply don't review it please and try to be honest.
Wow. Lot's of hate on the OP here. Tbh re-review or first time through, she had more good to say about DDO than I did when I played it.
Graphics, "Meh". Character creation, terrible. Armor designs look like they were done by the brain-damaged chimp that made the costumes for the "Dungeons & Dragons" movie. No community to speak of.
And Eberron? F*ing EBERRON? I wouldn't use the term nostalgia anywhere near that. Why not Greyhawk? Why not Forgotten Realms or Krynn? Oh yeah, because then royalties would have to be paid. But at least we could have decent races to choose from instead of fricken Warforged. Garbage.
Another sad game effort hoping to ride the coattails of an established IP. Move along.
I can't offer constructive criticism to an ignorant person about the subject.
A few days on Korthos does not a full review make.
I bet you didn't even ask for help.
Thanks Stradden at least catching the "re-review" issue, but DO have reviewers who are technical enough to know a computer issue from a game issue, and spend a MINIMUM number of days offered by a game's trial period. Although for the sake of full access, do arrange a full (not trial) accoount.
Oh, folks, to make sure I list my credentials over this (since rarely do I sign up just to post in a forum) I have been playing D&D for 31 years now, about 2 years "official" DDO playtime [longer since release on many a trial abandoned account,] and have about 18 years playing massive multiplayer games LONG before Everquest existed.
The login name I have is quite accurate. I've played a multitude of online and tabletop games over the decades..as well as those console and Diablo-type ones as well.
But fear not. While I have posted in many a forum, I'll wait more than a month before considering posting for a review, make sure my computer is good for the game as well as working vs the game not working, and spend a fair amount of time and ASK for information from the playerbase.
Sorry, must be the many years of being a Sr tech support/supervisor/tech writer after my many years of creative writing Character roleplay and philosophy for this kind of thoroughness.
And sorry for any misspellings...every known option for their editor but no spellchecker?
Wow! You completely failed to notice... -A level of interactivity found in the dungeons that is simply not found in any other MMOG on the market today -A character development system that is more complex and flexible than any other MMOG on the market today -A gear system that has more variety of attributes and abilities than any other MMOG on the market today -A combat system that is much much more involved than the "stand still and click abilities" that every other popular MMOG uses. -AI that reacts to sight and sound rather than a simple agro radius -A stealth system that works
Wait, let me guess. You played Korthos Island then ran Durk's and the Butcher's Path and then decided to write a review? Pathetic.
But, think about this...
If someone just started the game, they would see the same thing. No matter how long you play a game, your impressions off the bat shape the rest of the game.
As to the comment about performamce. I have a 4870, Dual Core 6mb cache, 4 gigs and yes, it does not run well. But, maybe you are happy with skippy performance for a game that is 3 years old. I would prefer better.
Now, the DX10 does add some flavor, and they have enhanced the game some...but there is no doubt in my mind that this should be a free to play title like Guild Wars. It does not offer the "world" feel of a real MMO.
Cheers
Lolz I have a 4200, 2gbddr800 and 7900gtx pc and run on max VERY SMOOTH with a high FPS rate in dx9. I also have a E8500, 4gbddr and a 9800gtx and I run in Full DX10 on max with a high FPS (high fps means above 100 all the time).
Originally posted by local93bc Well i could tell by reading the review this was going to be funny to watch. LoL I think you hurt somones feelings. What you said in your review is exacly what any Mmo feels like after 3 year. the people that love this game........ Well don't say anything negetive about there game you will hurt there feelings. LoL
I played a bit after launch and reson i never subed after is: Trying to find some part of a quest in instance with a group only to figuer out it was broken. Bet they got that fixed now though Ha!
But it's not entirely about feelings. It's about a poor review, which is obviously done by complete amateur.
I suggest you and anyone to try DDO for themselves . Just check other sections, even the DDO forums here. There are new players who really enjoy the game, and they are former WoW players. Strange? Not that strange at all, but the review makes just a really bad impression.
I think reviewer expected DDO to be similar to WoW or kindergarten clones. And here she failed absolutely. If you came to WoW expecting the quality sides of DDO in that game, you'd be totally disappointed too. But I think reviewer should be able to raise about such obstacles, or at least identify them. Reviewer should be open minded to review DDO, or any other unique game with it's own playstyle.
Wow. Lot's of hate on the OP here. Tbh re-review or first time through, she had more good to say about DDO than I did when I played it. Graphics, "Meh". Character creation, terrible. Armor designs look like they were done by the brain-damaged chimp that made the costumes for the "Dungeons & Dragons" movie. No community to speak of.
And Eberron? F*ing EBERRON? I wouldn't use the term nostalgia anywhere near that. Why not Greyhawk? Why not Forgotten Realms or Krynn? Oh yeah, because then royalties would have to be paid. But at least we could have decent races to choose from instead of fricken Warforged. Garbage. Another sad game effort hoping to ride the coattails of an established IP. Move along.
a little harsh woulndt you say?
character creation is more complex than any other mmorpg out there as of yet. the armor sets don't bother me, they look like any other game. (except wow's fisher price shoulder pads), and the community is the best ive seen in a game also, you were probably on a low populated server in which case its not your fault, but that is probably why.
dont have anything to say about it being Eberron since i never got a chance to play pnp.
First off the review is titled 'DDO Early Game review' and as such it concentrates on the early part of the game, which I myself recently re-subbed to as I found a limited edition box in PC World for £3.99....a bargain.
So I subbed again for my free month, this time I created a fresh COG account, thus leaving my original chrarcters at peace in their digital lock-up.
I rolled a fighter using the new character creation tool which simplifies the process down to a few choices, melee, caster, specialist >> defence, attack, berserk etc. Actually it's not too bad and not as intimidating as the old character creation screens.
As is the fashion nowadays D&D have created a standalone new player environment called Korthos Island. This includes a few (re-used from Stormreach) dungeons, some new dungeons and an 'open' area to wander around in. As it's a starter area there is plenty to do, NPC trainers, vendors etc are all to hand in a small area, so no problems there for new players. A nice touch is a 'veteran' NPC who when spoken to will offer tips on most aspects of playing the game/your class.
Apart from that it's D&D business as usual, run the dungeons, run the island until you get to the last quest which involves freeing a dragon from a pesky mind-flayer. This last dungeon is fairly big, there is a fair amount of switch pulling to do and you'll likely be cursing switches before you reach the end.
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.
D&D runs ok on my C2D+8800GT, although that inherent stutter which the reviewer mentioned can pop up from time to time. This was a 'feature' at launch btw. In summary I think the reviewer was fair on this, a review of the starter experience, not a review of D&D as a whole.
Comments
You probably have a higher level toon. I can assure you that groups in the newbie area are difficult at best to find.
As an experiment, you might roll a new toon and see how easy it is to get into groups in the newbie area. Remember, the reviewer was starting a new toon and this was the environment that she found. So, you need to compare apples to apples.
Ion
I just came back a month and a half ago. I have started 4 new chars in that time and have been able to find people to group with for any quest I have wanted to do and my weekly play time starts at 1am EST. I can still get full groups for harbor and 2 or 3 people to do Korthos Island and I am not anywhere close to being on in prime time.
This review was a joke. Her 30 second lags are system related for sure. Yes DDO has had some service issues including the servers going down but 30 second lags and needing to restart after logging out are not on Turbine in this case.
If you are not playing how can you assure current players of anything?
You do not need a full group in this game. Much of the content is quite doable with 2 or 3 people and grab a hireling or 2 if you like.
Not true. I just started playing a month ago. If I stand still for more than a few minutes in the starting area then I get invites from all kinds of people. Considering that I brought a group of friends with me and don't need nor want to pick up random people, all the extraneous invites were even somewhat annoying.
At level 7 my wife's cleric can't even log in to check the AH without a steady stream of tells asking her to join groups. Honestly, I think she was getting more group invites in DDO than we ever did in WoW, AoC, or WAR.
I just restarted DDO, and I'm not getting steady stream of invites. In fact, over the past week, I've gotten 1 invite and that person didn't say a word once I accepted, so I left the group. I play on the Sarlona server, which is the same server I've played on off and on since I was a founder. I have Drow unlocked on this server, and I'd hate to reroll on another, since Drow is only unlocked on the server you unlocked it on (I could be wrong). What server do you play on with a community so active you have to beat them away with a stick. It really sounds like an exaggeration to me, but who knows, you could be telling the truth. Thankfully, I can just roll a character on your server to verify that and if you're not exaggerating, maybe my friend and I should reroll.
Try Thelanis. My cleric gets tells and invited so often I put him on anonymous. My Level 14 barbarian gets tells and I never have LFG up. As a lower level I find people quite easily to do any quest I want and I play when most people are asleep 1-5 am EST. Finding a guild is always helpful and that is true in almost any game. Then you have access to a group of people who hopefully share the same goals in game more or less and might want to roll a new lowbie character and group up for easy grouping and leveling.
If people make no effort to join groups or try to create them then of course they are going to say the community sucks and no one talks.
6.5? Are you serious? Wait, are you serious?
6.5 is a 65/100. That is a D. Not a B, not a C a friggin D! Are you kidding? AoC is a D, all these f2p are Ds. DDO, while the concept of grouping to do anything is assinine and outdated, has to be, at least, a C.
DDO's only flaw, imo, is that it requires you to group in a game that no one plays. Yea, that's a pretty big flaw, but I don't think I would give it a near failing grade.
I really don't want to come across as an angry fanboy, but I agree that the review was pretty sloppy. No other game on the market is like it and my $500 system from three years ago ran it smoothly with all the settings on max. It has the most interactive and engaging dungeons in any MMO and, if you choose to repeat a dungeon, you're encouraged to try it on harder difficulties, which opens up new objectives and more treasure.
So a 6.5 seems a little unfair. It just felt a little too unprofessional (especially since you screwed up the bold text there on one of them). Felt like something you might just see on the forum.
Here's another take on starting out in DDO's new player experience. I think this look at the new player experience gives much more detail.
http://www.massively.com/2008/10/16/dungeons-and-dragons-online-module-8-the-new-player-experience/
Cheers,
DivaGamer
DDO turns 3! Happy Birthday!!
Re-reviews have always been a part of this site.
I'm not entirely sure what your beef is witrh Atlantica Online, or why it is you think the reviewer or anyone else is a fan of the game. I'm not saying no one who writes for us is a fan of the game. I'm just saying you're implying something bizarre here that I don't understand.
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Re-reviews have always been a part of this site.
I'm not entirely sure what your beef is witrh Atlantica Online, or why it is you think the reviewer or anyone else is a fan of the game. I'm not saying no one who writes for us is a fan of the game. I'm just saying you're implying something bizarre here that I don't understand.
I am all in favor of re-reviews and DDO is a game that deserves a second look. I left DDO prior to the server merge for a variety of reasons. At the time a lack of content for my higher levels and a shift in play time were part of it. I have come back after nearly 2 years away and have found I am happy to be back and have new things to do. Sure DDO could use faster content updates and a couple other changes that would give people things to do outside of combat and quests, but DDO certainly has a lot of original things going for it that your reviewer completely missed.
Stradden could you by chance have someone re-review the game that actually ran the game before and may have a high lvl char? I would love to see someone who played the game from mmorpg.com do the re-review.
-Almerel
Hello my old friend.
This is what will happen if the regular "Joe" try the game,he will experience the game as the author did.I was there when the game launch then I stopped playing.I've been following the game's progression since.And each time new content has been added I gave it a try.
There's somekind of Elitism in DDO playerbase(experienced it on Sarlona & Argonessen) which is sad to say and I think that 's why the author said she could not find people to group.It's unfortunate that the people who are sometimes overprotective with their beloved game are the one who also drive new players away.
Am I happy the way Turbine made DDO,I would say NO and I would say the same for LOTRO.But there's no other like Turbine for releasing free update content.
In the land of Predators,the lion does not fear the jackals...
When I was in 3rd or 4th grade... maybe 5th I picked up the red box Dungeons and Dragons Basic Set. Within the next couple years had gone through all of that stuff including Greyhawk (still one of the best old school settings I have ever had the joy of adventuring in) and the AD&D stuff, before the censorship nazi's got their mits all over it with the release of Mazes and Monsters and some of the weird crap that went on in the 80's.
When I first heard about DDO I was excited. I expected to play an AD&D based game. Unfortunately a couple of things happened that pretty much screwed the pooch. First was the Eberron setting. Completely throwing out some of the core parts of what made D&D special really hurt the game in general. Then was the new ruleset that released around the time the game was either in development, ending beta oe releasing. Still don't like hte new ruleset and do not know many people that still play the pen and paper game that can stand the new rules... but thats one of hte great things about D&D the rules were a guideline, not carved in stone
Unfortunately, as far as I was concerned, everything that a D&D based mmo should be was left out of DDO. I did my best as a beta tester and even gave the game a spin with launch. But there was too much I couldn't and didn't want to adapt to. Then the very closed atmosphere, the lack of any countryside (I heard this has since been adjusted a bit?) and the god awful Eberron setting just killed the game completely.
http://www.speedtest.net/result/7300033012
my wife and I played this game for a few months and well, I didn't really think it was all that good. it was a total grind fest at the time. i liked the traps and active combat, but running the same missions over and over again kinda sucked.
Well one the I definatly agree with in the review is the monthly fee. Im sorry but this game just doesn't feel like a monthly fee type of game. They are holding one of the best licenses you could possibly have for an MMORPG... Dungeons and Dragons a legendary name. And yet this game bleh.....
If they were going to release it in the form its in, they would have been much better off and had a lot more subs if they would have made it like Guild Wars which to me feels like it has twice the content of DDO.. An yet its free. Competing with games like WOW or Lotro in its current form isnt happening. I dont know what the sub numbers are but when I played it felt fairly empty as well. An I did play the game for 3 months. So I wasnt a total newb.
Played DDO Beta. Played since then and haven't stopped. Played EQ1 x7 yrs, EQ2 3 years. GW x 2, UO x 3, WoW trial, AoC trial, won Beta keys for 2 other (thanks mmorpg). Have tried many many F2P.
Author of review ... play the full entire 10 day free content before reviewing ... get a better machine / graphics card. All MMO's have lag. Did you mention group / raid voice chat is built into the game? No need for Vent.
To the people who Played(?) when it came out or at Beta and quit ... now doing a review 3 years later .... OH Come on. As with all MMO games... none has improved as greatly as DDO.
Repeat the same quests? Only if you want to. DDO has alot more (300+) Quests than other games
As with everything ... Try it out for yourselves folks and decide for yourself. Don't let the Forum Trolls tell you what to play.
BTW end of Feb 09 another free update that includes raising lvl cap to 20 , New Dungeons, and with Prestige class bonus'
There would be a lot less 'hate' as you say if the reviewer actually played the game. This is a re-review which makes it even worse. How can you give a fair assessment of anything when you haven't even tried it, not once but twice now.
I say get a reviewer to actually play the game and then give a review, it's only fair to the game itself and I think there would be a lot less negativity if it were done so.
I agree that Eberron is not the best realm to build a D&D game around but the 3.5 rules are probably the best system to turn into an MMO. While I still prefer the older rules I think an MMO implementation would be lacking.
Running the same quests over again is a choice that you can make. I have been playing for over 2 years now and as such I have leveled many characters. Often, I admit, I run the same quests while leveling a character but maybe 2-3 times tops. With the exception of two characters however, I have a slew of quests in my logs that are not completed, mainly because I chose not to run them at the time and am above the level for them now.
I could have easily chosen to run a different grouping of quests and hence not run the same ones over and over.
Compare this to another game such as Warhammer. You run the exact same style quest from start to end game. There is absolutely no variation at all. I'd much prefer running a good quest 5 times over than playing a game entirely of Kill X Monsters styled quests.
i'm playing on european server which are less populated than the US one, and have no problem for leveling and grouping.
what surprise me in this re-review, is that all the good point of ddo were not mention ... how can you talk about ddo without talking about the unique active combat system, or the trap system, or the template etc... and the quest ? you will never have quest like "go and kill 10 rats".
if you don't like a game, simply don't review it please and try to be honest.
Wow. Lot's of hate on the OP here. Tbh re-review or first time through, she had more good to say about DDO than I did when I played it.
Graphics, "Meh". Character creation, terrible. Armor designs look like they were done by the brain-damaged chimp that made the costumes for the "Dungeons & Dragons" movie. No community to speak of.
And Eberron? F*ing EBERRON? I wouldn't use the term nostalgia anywhere near that. Why not Greyhawk? Why not Forgotten Realms or Krynn? Oh yeah, because then royalties would have to be paid. But at least we could have decent races to choose from instead of fricken Warforged. Garbage.
Another sad game effort hoping to ride the coattails of an established IP. Move along.
I can't offer constructive criticism to an ignorant person about the subject.
A few days on Korthos does not a full review make.
I bet you didn't even ask for help.
Thanks Stradden at least catching the "re-review" issue, but DO have reviewers who are technical enough to know a computer issue from a game issue, and spend a MINIMUM number of days offered by a game's trial period. Although for the sake of full access, do arrange a full (not trial) accoount.
Oh, folks, to make sure I list my credentials over this (since rarely do I sign up just to post in a forum) I have been playing D&D for 31 years now, about 2 years "official" DDO playtime [longer since release on many a trial abandoned account,] and have about 18 years playing massive multiplayer games LONG before Everquest existed.
The login name I have is quite accurate. I've played a multitude of online and tabletop games over the decades..as well as those console and Diablo-type ones as well.
But fear not. While I have posted in many a forum, I'll wait more than a month before considering posting for a review, make sure my computer is good for the game as well as working vs the game not working, and spend a fair amount of time and ASK for information from the playerbase.
Sorry, must be the many years of being a Sr tech support/supervisor/tech writer after my many years of creative writing Character roleplay and philosophy for this kind of thoroughness.
And sorry for any misspellings...every known option for their editor but no spellchecker?
GameVeteran
But, think about this...
If someone just started the game, they would see the same thing. No matter how long you play a game, your impressions off the bat shape the rest of the game.
As to the comment about performamce. I have a 4870, Dual Core 6mb cache, 4 gigs and yes, it does not run well. But, maybe you are happy with skippy performance for a game that is 3 years old. I would prefer better.
Now, the DX10 does add some flavor, and they have enhanced the game some...but there is no doubt in my mind that this should be a free to play title like Guild Wars. It does not offer the "world" feel of a real MMO.
Cheers
Lolz I have a 4200, 2gbddr800 and 7900gtx pc and run on max VERY SMOOTH with a high FPS rate in dx9. I also have a E8500, 4gbddr and a 9800gtx and I run in Full DX10 on max with a high FPS (high fps means above 100 all the time).
Well i could tell by reading the review this was going to be funny to watch.
LoL
I think you hurt somones feelings.
What you said in your review is exacly what any Mmo feels like after 3 year.
the people that love this game........
Well don't say anything negetive about there game you will hurt there feelings.
LoL
I played a bit after launch and reson i never subed after is:
Trying to find some part of a quest in instance with a group only to figuer out it was broken.
Bet they got that fixed now though Ha!
I suggest you and anyone to try DDO for themselves
. Just check other sections, even the DDO forums here. There are new players who really enjoy the game, and they are former WoW players. Strange? Not that strange at all, but the review makes just a really bad impression.
I think reviewer expected DDO to be similar to WoW or kindergarten clones. And here she failed absolutely.
If you came to WoW expecting the quality sides of DDO in that game, you'd be totally disappointed too. But I think reviewer should be able to raise about such obstacles, or at least identify them. Reviewer should be open minded to review DDO, or any other unique game with it's own playstyle.
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a little harsh woulndt you say?
character creation is more complex than any other mmorpg out there as of yet. the armor sets don't bother me, they look like any other game. (except wow's fisher price shoulder pads), and the community is the best ive seen in a game also, you were probably on a low populated server in which case its not your fault, but that is probably why.
dont have anything to say about it being Eberron since i never got a chance to play pnp.
First off the review is titled 'DDO Early Game review' and as such it concentrates on the early part of the game, which I myself recently re-subbed to as I found a limited edition box in PC World for £3.99....a bargain.
So I subbed again for my free month, this time I created a fresh COG account, thus leaving my original chrarcters at peace in their digital lock-up.
I rolled a fighter using the new character creation tool which simplifies the process down to a few choices, melee, caster, specialist >> defence, attack, berserk etc. Actually it's not too bad and not as intimidating as the old character creation screens.
As is the fashion nowadays D&D have created a standalone new player environment called Korthos Island. This includes a few (re-used from Stormreach) dungeons, some new dungeons and an 'open' area to wander around in. As it's a starter area there is plenty to do, NPC trainers, vendors etc are all to hand in a small area, so no problems there for new players. A nice touch is a 'veteran' NPC who when spoken to will offer tips on most aspects of playing the game/your class.
Apart from that it's D&D business as usual, run the dungeons, run the island until you get to the last quest which involves freeing a dragon from a pesky mind-flayer. This last dungeon is fairly big, there is a fair amount of switch pulling to do and you'll likely be cursing switches before you reach the end.
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.
D&D runs ok on my C2D+8800GT, although that inherent stutter which the reviewer mentioned can pop up from time to time. This was a 'feature' at launch btw. In summary I think the reviewer was fair on this, a review of the starter experience, not a review of D&D as a whole.