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Dungeons & Dragons Online: Q&A #1
Dana
Member Posts: 2,415
Every couple weeks, someone from Turbine has agreed to be cornered by one of our writers for a brief question and answer session. Today, we debut this new series with five questions from Staff Writer Mike Jabbogy to Dungeons and Dragons Online Lead Designer Ken Troop.
;) MMORPG.com: D&D has been around forever it seems. With the venture into the online world, is the focus on getting the table-top game people into the mmorpg arena, or adapting D&D to the mmorpg crowd?
Ken Troop: D&D Online is focused on creating a fun online RPG experience that you can play with your friends. We dont compare ourselves to other MMPs DDO takes you straight to your adventure (no endless running to get where you want to go), offers quest-based advancement (no sitting in the same place for hours grinding for XP), and creates a private adventure for you and your friends (no random interference or grief from strangers). Our development touchstone has been to create an online experience that captures that essence of the classic tabletop adventure session. But it has to be a fun online experience. When a straight translation of the pen & paper rules would hamper our ability to provide a fun online experience, we work closely with Wizards of the Coast to come up with a modification that maintains the spirit of D&D while satisfying the demands of the online medium. |
You can read the full interview here
Dana Massey
Formerly of MMORPG.com
Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios
Comments
There has been some questions raised on how experience was acquired. And it's definately looking like players can ONLY gain experience to level up and improve their skills from doing quests. Which in turn means you can't just go out and kill mobs to get exp to level up. I certainly hope Turbine has put a TON of quests in the game content because if players have to repeat ANY quest to gain experience it will definately cause problems to the success of this MMORPG.
I really really hope Turbine has thought about this. I personally don't agree with getting exp by ONLY doing quests. Some people actually enjoy the FREEDOM of going out and just grinding/acquiring exp from just random killing mobs.
This should definately be interesting.
Joe
I don't agree either, Joe. I think the typical D&D RPG formula of "some XP for monsters, lots for quests" would work best for DDO. Remember, though, that this really isn't a MMORPG but a CORPG (cooperative online RPG) like Guild Wars: a lot will likely be altered from the typical MMO's approach (like a lack of grinding).
Didn't I read somewhere that there will only be 100 dungeons to quest in at launch? It certainly seems to me they would need more to qualify as a "TON of quests".
Nonetheless, the interview is great and really helps to alleviate my "underpowered rogue" fears, although I'm still unclear on exactly how long it will take to get to level 20 (Ken Troop essentially just said not to worry about it).
I think everything sounds great, and I can't wait.
*Holds breath*
I'd like to point out too all that have missed it this is not Q&A #1.
The first Q&A was hosteded 4/14 on Stratics here a readable transcript Stratics HoC Q&A Transcript.
Have fun reading it psi
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Light laughter and sweet water to you fellow adventures.
Conservatism.
Just old white men trying to find ways to legalize discrimination, and make the poor poorer
Ah came to wrong conclusion because yesterday was 2nd Dev chat Warcry thought this was reffering to that.
Sorry maybe some of you find both link helpfull anyway.
have fun psi
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Light laughter and sweet water to you fellow adventures.
Turbine has said that all crafting (including mage crafting) is out (at launch, at least). Here's a topic on the DDO forums that might shed further light.
By the way, thanks for the URLs, psi; those Q&As are good reading, too.
Wow, no crafting, no PvP, advancement only through quests... Turbine is sure trying to be different by taking out all the things people like.
D&D never really had crafting nor did it have PVP
It was always about questing
Evidently you've never played AD&D or you'd know that.
That said... pure questing does not translate well to an MMO... I've got a bad feeling this one isn't going to do well.
Which is a shame... I love D&D and have played the P&P game since the 70's.
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
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...precisely why this is not an MMORPG but a CORPG and should be called such. Some would even say that this is enough reason not to have an online version whatsoever.
Perhaps you've never played AD&D...have you not heard of item creation feats?
NO - Crafting
NO - Open zones where u are free to explore on your own (save for the city)
NO - PvP
NO (or little) Solo content.
as far as i know...the game is early in development though, and i'm sure this is all subject to change.
Joined 2004 - I can't believe I've been a MMORPG.com member for 20 years! Get off my lawn!
Every other sentence has the phrase "...with your friends." Read: forced grouping.
*sigh*
They better have a TON of quest and a TON of variaty. I actually don't think it's even possible to make enough quests or enough variation to keep peoples interest for very long.
It all depends on what Turbine classifies a quest. Maybe there will be quests where you make an item through various means. It would basically be a mini session of crafting but there may not be a whole crafting system, only quests that contain crafting aspects.
That seems to be the only option to me. I don't see how Turbine can make enough variations on "go through area and kill, deliver, or retrieve X" without branching out what typically defines a quest, at least enough to keep players interested for very long.
Just try it... I dare ya... Go ahaed...
D&D never really had crafting nor did it have PVP
It was always about questing
Evidently you've never played AD&D or you'd know that.
That said... pure questing does not translate well to an MMO... I've got a bad feeling this one isn't going to do well.
Which is a shame... I love D&D and have played the P&P game since the 70's.
Wow... this is the first time you are wrong!!!! D&D always had crafting and pvp, that's what made the pencil and paper game soooooo great. Atruly free world, make what you need, kill who you want, pick pocket party members then slink away in the shadows after a big haul, kill a friend while they're sleeping and take there horse, dress as them, then comit crimes and blame them. It may sound evil but it's fun.
Just try it... I dare ya... Go ahaed...
It's not that early in the development; remember: they're in internal alpha. I have a very bad feeling that this game will have none of the above at release, too. They're fairly hell-bent on having no PvP and all instanced areas, although they seem to be open to the possibility of adding crafting in an expansion (though it won't be 3.5e's crafting, as they've said it's "not a good fit for a MMORPG"). Never mind the fact that D&D itself isn't a good fit for a MMORPG...Crafting has never been a big part of the PnP version for me. It has typically just been a former trade or someting I picked up to aide me in adventuring. Who in the world would have time to be a full time carpenter and be able to keep their strength/studies/skills up to par to deal with monsters that would easily destroy a humanoid in seconds. Superman had it easier than that, he just had to stay tan and avoid eerie green meteors. I think crafting needs to be taken back to a seperate class. WoW completely cheapened the crafting classes for the reasoning that everyone could do it. Crafting needs to be taken back to the basics. Skills should be required to identify the quality of crafting supplies and components.
Most players want to be able to do everything in the game with one toon so they can show off their *unique* character to a sea of sameness that doesn't give a damn about anything but being better than you by killing and griefing toons forty thousand levels below theirs and yelling PWND.
Which brings me to PvP. I love pvp, in essence. The problem with PvP? Their is no penalty for griefing. The fact of the matter is, with anonymity, more villains are born than heroes. But having no PvP won't stop the griefer types from playing. Kill stealing, ninja looting is another form of griefing, causing games to use tagging and loot rights. IMO no one has put enough thought into their PvP system. There has been some good and fun ideas, but in the end exploitation of some kind wins out. And equipment instead of skills are a classes forte.
And that would bring me to another major exploitation in games. Farming, and I don't mean grabbing a hoe and planting some seeds. This, hands down, has ruined any ability to create a solid player based economy in some games. FFXI's economy was ruined by it, and WoW's economy is built around it. The worst of this is farming to sell items and currency for real world money. Or should the blame be on those that pay for these things? Without the demand, there wouldn't be a supply.
Finally, there is whining. We've all done it to some extent, I did it a little with the Hunter class in WoW. What I learned from it is that if you don't enjoy it, quit. Nothing is perfect, and most people can't construct an informative reason why something needs nerfed without stretching the truth or using extreme examples.
All in all, these are games, and the idea behind them is to have fun. Griefing, farming, grinding, exploiting and whining ruins the fun. My point is simple, todays game is what it is because of the community as a whole. Maybe DDO is on the right track, maybe not. But we can't judge it before it comes out, that's just being closed minded and arrogant.
Want to try before you buy? For the price of 2 rentals at your local place, you could have unlimited rentals each month. Check it out.
http://friends.gamefly.com/r/ffdff292d0fa1029919d
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy
DDO will rule and be a very nice game.
However The StormTROOPers(the lead designer) have little clue on what D&D is. This have very little to do with D&D. Real time, No xp for killing endlessly mobs without completing quest, rogue as massive damage dealer(are you sick, rogues as massive damage dealer derrived from EQ, not from D&D, the sky must have fallen on his forehead, in D&D, as far as melee damage goes, WARRIOR doe the melee damage, not rogues, soon he will propose that rogues should be allowed to specialised in weapons as well, ROFL even clerics have better DPS then rogues in D&D as far as melee damage goes, and clerics can tank. This guy talk to much with Wizards of the Coast and dont focus enought on D&D, and the fans are not easy to fool considering it is a very old product)...
This designer know D&D as much as I know Bush personnal Agenda. Cyric will have pity on his soul however, he give a good try to sell the game and say stuff he dont understand, he should let the Cindy gal talk however!
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
Crafting in D&D: It would make sense if you put a very hard limit on the amount of XP you can earn every day so it take a LONG time to level & if it still cost XP to create items(thereby make you a lower level) as well as request feats and skills.
PvP: Gah, go play something else, D&D was never about PvP, just forget it. There is not balance as far as PvP is concerned. D&D is not builded for PvP concepts.
Level cap: I strongly doubt you will be able to reach level 20, I think last talk where to limit it to level 12 until an expension is released. If it take me months to get level 12, I see no troubles with that. If I reach level 12 in a week or 2, I will prolly cancel subscription and maybe restore it at a further expension.
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
Beeing a fan of AD&D for decades almost since it was founded, id like to write some notes about DDO.
The non.crafting choice is one that doesnt really affect much the fun of the game. To implent the crafting rules as in pnp would mean ppl waiting sometimes 1 month for an item to be ready without beeing able to do nothing else, with exaustion after and so on. That isnt really practible on a online game imo.
The inexistance of landscape wandering options really worries me. While most modules in ad&D put the heros party near where the action would take place, the really good ones allowed players to travel to this city or that village, passing roads, forests swamps etc.. wich is rather fun. You can ride your horse or mount go around get ambushed.. awesome. Plus landscape wandering kinda wears off the tedium of beeing always underground in spooky dungeons.
The exp based on a quest is good for the game imo. I remeber the time i played a modules with my lvl 1 Wizard for like 5 days, and at the end of it, GM told us the exp won and eventually lvling for the chars. Just gettign to lvl 2 after 4 or 5 days workign on a quest makes you really like the game more and undersand that lvling up in D&D really is a wonderfull and much celebrated ocasion. Just hope you dont get to lvl 20 fast. a lvl 20 char in ad&D is almost a god, and people need to understand that.
Not really, in a system where you would limit XP you can earn in a day/week (like 1000 XP maximum), crafting could consume an amount of XP you would normally have been enabled to earn (as well as costing components and xp). Crafting is not something I would miss myself, but if done properly, it could have motivate some persons(especially those playing more then 1 character and unable to play all of them when they have a rush at school or work).
Some adventures can be outdoor and have tracking and landscapes even you dont have the tedious aspect of travel, you really should not be concerned about this aspect. It would be wonderfull for 95%+ of the player based to have no need to travel.
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
One thing to remember is that these are only the first 5 questions that were asked. In the upcoming Q&A's we'll get you more info, such as what role and advantages Guilds will have, we'll touch on solo play, and more! Stay tuned!
ThePhoenix -aka- Mike Jobbagy
The tricky part here for the developers is that D&D has been around *FOREVER* and everyone's play style varied, every DM was different. We will all come to this game with a preconceived notion of what D&D is, based on out own experiences playing the p&p (or video game, even) versions.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Sure, D&D was not about Crafting, PvP -- or for that matter it wasn't even about Role Playing or any of the other things we mention. At it's most basic, D&D was only about creating a character and taking him from novice on up to one highly skilled in his or her chosen area. Every thing else beyond that was simply our (and more importantly, the DM's) personal touches on the world we played in.
To say that D&D was not about crafting is only true from the point of view of those who never had it be a part of thier game. I've played campaigns where it certainly wasn't a part. Then again, I've played a campaign where a friend of mine opened "Ye Olde Sandwich Shoppe", had an NPC partner running it, and when we adventured, we always kept our eyes out for exotic meats or condiments, and more importantly connections that would improve his business. My personal favorite was hooking up with a mage that could create items for him. He had magic serving trays designed to bring the food right to your table. So, you see, crafting and business can be a large part of D&D, too.
And as far as PvP...
Some of our most memorable nights were when party infighting would break out, and boy would we go at it. If we were lucky it would be outside of town, if not we might wind up in jail for the night if we couldn't talk (roleplay) ourselves out of it.
My point being that D&D was a very open experience that allowed for game play of all styles. From the "go here, kill that" dungeon crawl to the richly designed persistent world where survival wasn't always based on how good you were with a sword. We're all bringing those ideas with us to Turbine's D&D table, and it's going to be tough for them to deal with that.
My fingers are crossed that this works.
Grey