Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Expectations aside...
joeballs
Member UncommonPosts: 163
Is this game... fun?
I'm not one to believe negative feedback about a game. Especially the negative feedback I've read regarding this game. All the negative posts really didn't say much of anything to sway me away from this game. Things like "all instances", "no zone hunting", "no pvp", "slow leveling". etc, etc - none of those things tell me that it's not a fun game.
This game is a multiplayer game. For all the people who complain about no soloing, I just don't understand what that means. When you play a game like Battlefield 2, Counter Strike, etc, you're not expected to play solo. it's a multiplayer game. I'm assuming this game is the same thing. Why is solo play something that you'd expect? Hmm, doesn't seem too realistic if it's a team-based game like the games mentioned above.
And so what about instances? Why is that a problem? Do you rather travel for 15 minutes before getting to your destination? Seems like a waste of time to me. I'd rather quickly meet up with my group and enter the battle (the funs stuff). Also, instances are probably a good thing in terms of people who complain about camping... and you all complain about that.
Leveling. Why does it have to be fast? Getting to the max level shouldn't be your entire purpose in a game(how about having fun?). Level racing is boring. I don't care what level I am as long as I'm having fun. Why don't people see it that way? Leveling is all relative. When you get to the next level, you're just fighting higher level monsters and you're given something extra for your arsenal. But surely you're just doing the same thing you did in the previous level. So who really cares that leveling is slow if all you're going to do at the next level is the same exact thing? I'd rather have fun than worry about my level... and that's what this game sounds like to me. Not so much focus on leveling (I hope).
I also see people complaining about character creation. Isn't this game based on D&D?? If so, I'm sure you're able to pick class, race, attrs, feats, and subclass. Isn't that more than other games? It sounds like a lot to me. It should make for a good mix of characters in a group.
Hmm, I must be missing something that all these negative posters are hiding. Why isn't this game fun?
Comments
I've been playing since beta 1 and its still fun to me. Ive managed to get one character to lvl 7, and 4 others to lvl 3, leveling is pretty fast to me, but it does seem slow at lower levels. I like the combat since its more twitch and real time, not autoattack with a few button mashes mixed in. Finding all the hidden and optional content in the dungeons is nice also. Even though alot of people say that the community will suck due to massive instancing I have more people on my friends list that I play with regularly than I had on most other MMO's that I played for a year or more (only exception is SB). I don't know what people's complaints about the character creation are, there are race - class - stats - skills - feats - spells (for wizard, sorcerer, and bard) all of those you can customize, add to that the fact you can multiclass everytime you level. Lots of options. Plus there is alot of armor and weapons in the game that have different looks and you do not see clones except on rare occasions (this is not true at the beginning since everyone starts with the same gear based on class).
DDO has some different mechanics than most of the current MMO's, and thus IMO, is why it receives so much negativity (that and the fact they chose Ebberon, which wouldn't have been my first choice for a DnD environment).
MMO Vet since AOL Neverwinter Nights circa 1992. My MMO beat up your MMO. =S
I don't mind many of the things you listed above. However, the one thing that has kept my from purchasing the game (I have been testing it since Alpha 1.0, I think that started in Aug 05 timeframe IIRC) is repetition.
I like the dungeon instances, however, I miss the community areas. The instances are nice to get you to where you are going, but it also removes some of the immersion of the game. You click a door/ship and you are magically transported dozens or hundreds of miles away. It makes the game world feel small to me. It is tolerable because the dungeons themselves are really well assembled.
I also dislike (but its playable) the forced grouping. Sometimes, I just want to play 30 minutes or maybe 15 minutes. When I tested, I had fun in my guild - since there are so many magic items, my guild was just giving them away, so I could get the items that I wanted instead of just selling the ones I got from chests. I think most people think that it is easy to scale the dungeon to the number of players (many other games already do this), so why not here? They feel that the game is going backwards in technology rather than keeping up with the rest of the market or going forward. Or maybe they just want an option.
IMHO, the leveling is fine. There's only 10 lvs in the game and I'm sure they want it to stretch out for a while. The character gen is also fine. It would be nice for height/weight, but they stated that they didn't do that because of how the combat system works (everyone would be the skinniest/shortest person so it would decrease their hit zone).
As far as FPS games go (as far as repeating the same map) - that is different. The other players adapt, change, move. In these dungeons, there is always X mob standing at Y location - every time you do the dungeon. There is no randomness to any elements of the dungeon. Once you've done it once, you know everything about it. The next few times, you can just run right through it. You will see it, once you get in game, a few of your group players will have done the dungeon a dozen times and will run off without you because they know where the traps, doors, etc. are at.
So my only argument is the lack of quests and the repetition of those quests. And the lack of Eberron content (races, classes, gear).
Yea I would like to see more randomness in the dungeons in the form of wandering monsters, random traps, and breakables at least. One thing Im a little irked at is the removal of certain warforged racial abilities, like drowning immunity (especially if you take adamantine armor upgrade and get that negative ten to swimming since unlike the other races you cannot take your armor off, which then forces you to get a drowning immunity amulet or use enhancements/skill points to increase it). Regardless of these I still plan to play the game live.
MMO Vet since AOL Neverwinter Nights circa 1992. My MMO beat up your MMO. =S
You must have missed the prolly most important cause for complain of the game it seems: repeating dungeons.
DDO dungeons are one step above what has been published in other Mmorpgs, and few can complain to that. Traps, puzzles, DM writing, intelligent use of skills, all that fit in and makes the dungeons interesting... the first time trough.
Doing the same dungeon 3+ time is not interesting though, is boring. And it seems, from interviews and answers, that this is the road the devs wants to take, confirmed by a 25% Xp nerf on first time dungeon completition and a 25% buff on "hard" level dungeon completition in the latest patch notes.
As for solo content, well, all the games you mention are team games. You NEED a team to play them, you simply can't play them alone. DDO is not a team based game. you can very well go around alone in the city and stuff, now can you? Sometimes, especially casual player, people logs in for half an hour or an hour and they don't wish to spend this time seeking for a group, then deciding what quests to do and finally do them, with the possibilities someone quit in the middle so ruining the rest of the group experience.
In CS or BF2 or other Team based Multiplayer FPS, you log in, you join a game and in 5 minutes you are playing. a game that usually last half an hour or less. then you get another in another 5 minutes and so it goes on, such a procedure can't be compared to a Mmorpg at all, they are different genres altogether.
The "no pvp" and "no crafting" things are more subjectives as not everybody likes either, but it is indicative of lack of options in the game. What can you do in DDO? go on a quest.... or go on a quest? there are no other options (beside hanging around in the tavern).. this can be negative to longevity and to the game in general.
Slow levelling speed: another subjective one, some likes it and other hates it, but some kind of development should be there, in the form of level, powers or new items. Sure, people do not play only for those (not all at least) but getting a new gadget is a pretty positive thing that keep your will to play pretty high.
"If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, if you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime"
"As for solo content, well, all the games you mention are team games. You NEED a team to play them, you simply can't play them alone. DDO is not a team based game."
Huh? I've never played the pen & paper D&D, but I doubt that you can play that game alone. If that's true, they yes, this is a team-based game.
I'm not liking the sound of repetative dungeon crawling. I played The Matrix Online for about 2 hours and then cancelled my account because all areas were exactly the same. Damn.