D&D Online = HUGE Letdown!

Taipans · January 2006

Anyone else in BETA atm? My wife and I pre-ordered it and got into BETA. We played it all weekend, and no matter how hard we tried to like it we couldnt. All the instanced zones, quirky control system, and real lack of feeling a part of a breathing world were all glaring problems. Maybe I have been spoiled by EQ2 & WOW, but even guildwars beats D&D hands down. Out of pure horror we called ebgames and cancelled our pre-orders, seems they are getting a flood of the same actions. Anyone else having a bad un-fun time in the D&D world?

~Taipans~

Muddah · January 2006

Yeah man D&D is crap,hell its not even as good as Guildwars.Which is the same type of game as far as instancing goes.

Oh I got in beta thank god I didnt pre-order.I wasn't in right as closed beta started but I got in about 2 weeks after it did.I tried hard to like it I even stuck with my character until lvl 4.At that point I'd rather stick a fork in my eye then run another repetitive boring instance.

Laserwolf · January 2006

tsk tsk

How dare they release such a horrid game after so much hype......wait......they haven't released the game yet have they?

Laserwolf · January 2006

Double

Taipans · January 2006

Well I have played a lot of beta's, and this close to release they would have to overhaul the entire game to make it actually "fun" to play. Atleast in my opinion, some people might like it? With my experience, beta's do actually show alot of the final build of the game, yes they tweak balance issues and fix some techinal issues before release. But mostly the game is intact and shows a great deal of how the final release will play out.

Now you can "tsk tsk" me by judging a book by its cover, and by whats printed inside. But I was one of the people actually looking forward to D&D, and now im shocked by how un revolutionary and unplayable it really is. Its a huge step back, atleast in world exploration and content. "Find guy, find door, enter instance" wash and repeat.

Poor design.

Cymek · January 2006

Originally posted by Laserwolf
tsk tsk
How dare they release such a horrid game after so much hype......wait......they haven't released the game yet have they?

Well, we must remember this is a beta....beta being the last test before realease means the game is very close to what it will be when it hits shelves....If you think the beta sucks then you will probably hate the game when it comes out.

JudithWilliams · January 2006

I also pre-ordered and called and canceled my account today... The game is not fun to me at least. I don't like having to hold down all different buttons at once to dodge, jump, and kill my opponent. I also love exploring in mmo's and this game has no exploration. The zoning is very bad... you have to zone just to go into the taverns. Anywhere you go, you have to zone. Just isn't my play style or what I look for in a game.

JudithWilliams · January 2006

opps.. double post

reanor · January 2006

I told you DDO will suck, you never listen untill you try yourselves. I haven't tried it, but I knew it sucked... sorry.

Tinybina · January 2006

Yeah I just cant understand why they would instance off so much of the game.. I mean part of the reason why alot of us play MMO's is to be around thousands of other people and get to actually see that..

GuildWars is its own animal, but most MMORPGers need those first two M's in there lives.. Massive Multiplayer

Cleffy · January 2006

I agree, they could have definetly done better; but compared to alot of released games and games in development it is actually OK.

I appluad thier attempt to make a Thief actually a thief; although they missed the most quint-essential element of the thief, thievery. It definetly made the class more dynamic and really drew the class away from a high dps fighter type character. I liked that alot.

I also love thier halflings, seriously I do. Damn those little halflings are so freaking hot.

And fighter are awesome. Thats great too. They brought back one aspect to D&D I liked. A barbarian specialized in 1 specific element charging through a dungeon clobering every single enemy in sight.

I definetly felt there were drawbacks though. Spellcasting was a little iffy, same with archery. Everything in the world was Brown. Just tons and tons of brown. The dwarf women couldn't have beards. Thats what i didn't like about it.

I think they made the right choice instancing everything. If they didn't do this, the world would have to be much larger to accomodate 200 people all trying to kill the same mob for the same quest. It also helps reduce the system specs needed.

Razephon · January 2006

the right choice instancing everything. If they didn't do this, the world would have to be much larger to accomodate 200 people all trying to kill the same mob for the same quest. It also helps reduce the system specs needed.

Yeah its funny how the Pub ran whenever I zoned into it on my PC. (My PC isnt exactly low spec and is near the best in terms of what you can get today).

Poorly designed game. End of story. I played the stress test for a while but got bored out of my ***.

I appreciate that it is a Beta, but if the release doesnt fix a lot of the issues there are in this game then I feel its doomed. Fine the instancing they've done isnt to most peoples tastes (Primarily because the actual instance (pardon me) sucks ass!)

Why do developers think its ok for you to face the crappiest enemies and go on the crappiest missions when you start a game....

Cleffy · January 2006

I agree. The end-game content and beginner content are the most important aspects to the game. The beginner content is what reels them in, and the end-game content is what keeps them paying the monthly fee. Its all the middle stuff that should be half-assed.

Tammy · January 2006

I agree with the original poster

I have the beta as well. I was sorely let down. I used to play the pen and paper D&D so when I heard about this I was SOOooooo excited to know about it and even more excited to get into beta.

Then I got in the game. The game is so bad I just wanted to cry. I gave it three whole weeks and I just could not stomach it. Im play mmorpgs a lot so its not like I get bored very easily. I gave D&D online an honest to goodness shot....and it was really really really really bad.

It felt really fake. It wasn't the graphics at all that made it feel fake ..it was the "mood" I guess. It's hard to explain. Also, every freakin thing is instanced. EVERYTHING. Its more instanced than Guild Wars. The characters were horribly done too. I felt like my characters were middle aged men and women and the male elves are literally the ugliest form of elf I've seen in my life.

True, real life medievil men and women would look rather "old" but this is fantasy and not real life. I felt like i was using characters from a nursing home.

I am SORELY dissapointed in the direction of this game. Turbine had an AWESOME chance of making a great game and they utterly destroyed it. Good luck posting anything in the beta in terms of suggestions to improve it or to critize something because you'll get a freakin swarm of fanbois ready to flame and troll your thread to death.

I swear.....fanbois is probably the biggest outside reason why MMOs go to the crapper. However, Turbine did there fair share of destruction.

Rest in Peace Dungeons and Dragons

GRIMACHU · January 2006

This is what gets me...
D&D tabletop, even 3.0/3.5 is hideously old fashioned and outdated in terms of PnP game design, even the new versions are. Then most MMORPGs remain based, at best, on the older D&D rules with more restricted classes and the same, tired, generic Tolkienesque worlds.

D&D actually made a bit of an effort to update its image with new 'DungeonPunk' art styling, better multiclassing and an integrated skill system. Amongst the things that have improved are a removal of some of the hoary old chestnuts like 'female dwarves have beards'. The styling at least is a lot better and - while I don't like Eberron - it is at least a stylistic updating of the world.

Thieves aren't thieves any more, they're 'Rogues'. Player V Player (including stealing off each other) is, generally, antiethical to the tabletop RPG experience that they're trying to recreate here and letting people steal off other players would go against that.

Originally posted by Cleffy
I agree, they could have definetly done better; but compared to alot of released games and games in development it is actually OK.I appluad thier attempt to make a Thief actually a thief; although they missed the most quint-essential element of the thief, thievery. It definetly made the class more dynamic and really drew the class away from a high dps fighter type character. I liked that alot.I also love thier halflings, seriously I do. Damn those little halflings are so freaking hot.And fighter are awesome. Thats great too. They brought back one aspect to D&D I liked. A barbarian specialized in 1 specific element charging through a dungeon clobering every single enemy in sight.I definetly felt there were drawbacks though. Spellcasting was a little iffy, same with archery. Everything in the world was Brown. Just tons and tons of brown. The dwarf women couldn't have beards. Thats what i didn't like about it.I think they made the right choice instancing everything. If they didn't do this, the world would have to be much larger to accomodate 200 people all trying to kill the same mob for the same quest. It also helps reduce the system specs needed.

Stark · January 2006

I wonder if the Eberron setting has anything to do with the suck fest of a game (beta) this is looking to be? If this game took place in the Forgotten Realms would some of the problems be easier to deal with like groups only to advance and all instancing all the time? Maybe the game would have been worked different from the beginning if a more established setting was in play like the Forgotten Realms which is what I alwys played in the PnP game?

VenQWish · January 2006

It WAS in the top 6 of highest hyped mmorpgs, look at it now since beta started... I don't get it why they ask a monthly fee for a game that's instanced even more then GW is... Judging from most reviews here, I'll just skip it.

Terian · January 2006

Didn't like it either, tried for a full weekend and couldn't make myself play past lvl 2.

Elnator · January 2006

I was in beta and wasn't overly impressed. DDO isn't a "bad" game but it doesn't feel like an MMORPG and the instancing is over-done. It feels like your average evening of Neverwinter Nights played over the internet with a few friends but with better graphics. Which, as I said... isn't BAD... but an MMO? Not really. It just doesn't have that feel. As someone else said it feels like Guildwars.... but guildwars has no monthly fee.

Nothing *wrong* with the game... just not worth a monthly fee to me.

I love that they instanced dungeons... but the city and world should NOT be instanced... that takes away the feeling of being in a world. And there is no reason for so MANY areas to be instanced. And I *hate* that they went with zoning on the surface. I prefer a seamless world with zone lines restricted only to areas that absolutely need them. EQ2 has too many zones... this has more.

QuantumQrack · January 2006

D and D online isnt an MMORPG, and neither is Guildwars. Having played both, they play exactly the way there were designed to. If you are dissapointed that D and D isnt an MMORPG world, then maybe you simply are confused on what an MMORPG is. I played D and D online and had a blast with people from around the world. Crawling through dungeons, getting deeper into them, etc was really a lot of fun.

So here is my advice: If you actually thought D and D was a true MMORPG, maybe read more about what the game is, before actually playing it.

Ciao!

Taipans · January 2006

Well the only reason I thought D&D online was considered an MMORPG was the statement off the official D&D website that reads.

WHAT IS DDO?

Dungeons & Dragons Online: Storm Reach is the only massively multiplayer online game that recreates the classic D&D experience.

Straight from the horses mouth?

Ya maybe we arent all fimilar with the D&D ruleset and world, but if the game isnt suppose to be an MMORPG then dont label it as one!

darquenblade · January 2006

Well, having been in beta for a while, I can say I won't be getting it. If they make some changes a few months after lauch, maybe, but not at release.

I completely understand why they made the decisions they made and why the game has turned out like it has, and I will also point out that it really is a pretty good game...just not my kind of game. Like many others, I played it extensively hoping that I would suddenly 'get it'. After all, I don't really want to dislike an MMO with the D&D name on it, but I do.

Like GW, the game just does not feel like an MMO (and as another poster stated, even moreso than GW in some cases). The best way I can describe it is that I felt like I was playing a 3D version of Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance. That may sound harsh, but that's about how deep the game feels.

For those wanting an action, arcade-like experience you can play with others online, go for DDO. For those actually wanting an MMO feel, however, it probably won't be your cup of tea.

Elnator · January 2006

Originally posted by Taipans
Well the only reason I thought D&D online was considered an MMORPG was the statement off the official D&D website that reads.WHAT IS DDO?
Dungeons & Dragons Online: Storm Reach is the only massively multiplayer online game that recreates the classic D&D experience.
Straight from the horses mouth? Ya maybe we arent all fimilar with the D&D ruleset and world, but if the game isnt suppose to be an MMORPG then dont label it as one!

Have to say I'm extremely familliar with the D&D ruleset and many of the various 'worlds'. DDO does NOT recreate the classic D&D experience.

AD&D is NOT an FPS. Your characters SKILLS determine if he blocks a blow or hits a target. Not your ability to stick your cursor over a mob or swing at the right time or hit the mouse button to block.

Znith · January 2006

Been in beta since Nov 1st and won't be buying this game for the same reasons others have stated in this thread. It's a sore disappointment and I'm not sure I have much faith left in Turbine.

Classicstar · January 2006

Well you guys should have know better its made by turbine who have failed with ac2.

They also make 2 mmorpgs at same time while they lost alot of millions on ac2 lol.

And is D&D not same engine as ac2 then its logic its nothing its outdated engine from 2001 at the state of the art but now its a autdated engine.

But my faith after failor ac2 was already zero lol.

Gameloading · January 2006

bah...i want to try this title so bad,why don't I ever get into beta's ::::16::

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