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DDO - great for some, crap for others
Aircool
Member Posts: 14
Personally, I love it, and that's after playing beta for a while as well. I'm in a great guild, with a great bunch of people and always have a great time.
There are those that won't like it, and I can see why. It's not to everyone's taste.
However, if you're interested, give it a try. You get the usual 30 free days which will give you enough time to decide whether you like it or not. For comparison, it took me less than a month to make my way through Doom3, HL2, CoD, CoD2 etc... so it's not a waste if you discover it's not your thing after 30 days.
Like most things in life, it's better to regret something you've done, than something you haven't.
Heinrich Stormhammer
Legends
Boldrei
Comments
Whoah! A Free 30 Days?!!?? Read your Terms Of Service Agreement CLOSELY!
1. You are asked for your Credit Card BEFORE you can set up your account. (required)
2. All subscriptions are NON-REFUNDABLE.
3. You are not billed untill your 30 days are over.
You must cancel your subscription BEFORE the first 30 days if you don't intend on playing the game. I won' be playing, personally, there are still too many bugs. This game, in my opinion (and other professional coders I am close to), could be much better.
The Son of Dun
a.k.a. Lord Dar, DM
Thats still 30 days free, as in you don't pay for them. Also, most MMO's have a similar set up for your account so there's nothing unexpected there.
As for bugs, have you played the retail version or the beta version, they are quite different. As for your professional coders opinion, there isn't much software around these days that couldn't be a lot better.
Perhaps an example of HOW it could be better and what YOU would do to make it better might give you a bit more credibility in your post.
Cheers
Aircool, you mentioned that you love the game, but you didn't say why. Are you able to refute any of the claims the other site members are making about it? Things like the entire content being instanced and that it's Guild Wars with a monthly fee. Soloing is discouraged through the combat system and you're all but required to group. There is no exploration and the dungeons are the same and repetitive. There is next to no roleplaying, which is bad considering the game is based off the very foundations of roleplay, D&D tabletop.
What do you have to say about all that?
4th Feb 06
The more I play this game, the more I love it.
Approach this game with no preconceptions and be willing to accept that it's different.
At first it wasn't what I was expecting. I guess I was expecting the usual MMORPG clone wrapped around the D&D rules with a splashing of the Eberron setting on top. Why I was expecting that, I don't know. Perhaps because the usual formula, done so well in WoW, was the yardstick against which all other MMORPG's are measured.
Perhaps the best way to explain why this game is good (or for some people, bad) is to take an extract out of my journal - Heinrich Schturmhammer - A Dwarf Barbarian.
I had an hour to wait before I could meet up with Nex. I was hungry and knew that I would have to eat soon. However, I had a good thirty minutes to find something to do.
Someone had asked me to find their wife who had been kidnapped in broad daylight. From what I was told of the circumstances, I knew that I could not tackle this quest alone. However, I could spend some time scouting the area and perhaps take part in a little information gathering before I met up with Nex. I found the sewer entrance where the kidnapped women had been seen to be taken and clambered down. The sewers are a rotten place, but this one was particularly foul smelling. After a quick scan around the area, it was clear that there was only one direction to set off in. Immediately I came to a flooded section of sewer. It was no more than knee deep and perhaps 20 yards to the other side, but I've been caught out before. Even a patch of filthy water like this one could be home to slime's or jellies that can corrode metal or be split with blades causing them to become two adversaries rather than one. I put away my greatsword and reached for my simple wooden club and trusty shield. I chose the walk through the flood, rather than run, who knows what beasts may be lurking in the shadows on the other side. I could handle one foe, maybe even survive two. But three at one time would have me into the great beer hall in the sky. I treaded carefully and reached the other side without event. You can never be too cautious, as previous corpses I have know would have testified....
... Later, I was faced with a chasm in the sewer. I had to get to the other side to find out where the woman was being held but the drawbridge was raised. No problem, as I noticed that behind a few crates, there was a mechanism for operating the drawbridge. A quick scramble over the crates and I twisted the wheel. Not that it did much good, the drawbridge had only lowered a couple of useless feet. To make matters worse, I found out that i could not climb back over the crates, there was nowhere that my hands of feet could get any purchase. The only option it seemed was to jump down into the chasm to face whatever lurked down there and probably injuring myself in the process. But wait, the crates didn't completely reach to the end of the ledge. If I was careful, I could return to my previous position by shuffling along the thin, exposed ledge. The agility of a Dwarf is not to be underestimated, low centre of gravity you see; I was back safely. That still left the problem of the chasm. There was a ladder reaching down into the chasm on the other side, but that still left me with the problem of getting down there in the first place. It would definately hurt and I wasn't willing to use one of the two healing potions I had left. Perhaps I could jump to the other side? Hmm, even for Dwarven Barbarians, who are renowned for their acrobatic skill, it was an impossible jump. What about jumping onto the ladder then? Possible, but I'd have to make sure I caught it high up, otherwise I could still end up hurting myself. I could do it, but I'd have to do everything to improve my chances of success. I removed by bulky armour, as it impeded slightly upon my agility, and took a running jump. Success, I just managed to grab the ladder before falling to far. My joy in triumph was short lived however. Once I'd got to the other side, I realised I had wandered too deep. As the chasm was behind me now, I only had the choice of pressing on...
This is a proper MMORPG, with the emphasis on role playing, teamwork and problem solving. Encounters with monsters can be very dangerous. My Barbarian is good in a toe-to-toe melee, even against several foe's and a good hit can even take some out in a single blow, but you can't rely on coming out on top all the time. I've been on the wrong end of a severe beating on several occasions. In fact, as you don't get XP for defeating monsters (only completing objectives and finishing the quest, although some of those objectives could be defeating certain monsters) combat is sometimes best avoided if possible. There's no regenerating 'mana' to fire off a spellcasters healing and attacking spells, once it's gone, it's gone. Sure, sometimes there are opportunities to rest, but these a few and far between.
So, it's a MMO because, obviously, there's lots of people to be seen in the public areas and there's nothing to stop your whole guild from taking over a pub while you drink, eat and chat. Incidentally, the only place you can naturally recover hit points and spell points is in the pub (tavern, inn, ale house, etc). At first it only takes a minute or so to recover from near death. However, as you gain levels and therefore more hit points etc, it will take you an awful lot longer to regenerate. Buying food and drink will mitigate this and increase the rate of regeneration. So after a particularly tough quest, you group can retire to a quiet table, eat & drink what they've bought and generally just socialise. In fact, it just feels natural to do so. This, combined with the approach needed to tackle quests and dungeons, helps you slide into the role playing part of the game. It's you, with a few friends or guildmates sharing stories and food over a pint in a crowded inn, full of strangers doin there own thing. Much more fun than wandering the wilderness looking for 10 bears and 10 badgers to kill, and realising that everybody else in the area is doing the exact same thing.
It's not comparably better or worse than the other popular MMORPG's (give or take a few letters) out there, it's just different, and good. Very good in fact.
A winner for roleplayers and adventurers, not so for grinders, power levellers, crafters and killwhores. I'll leave the following fact for you to digest, which may well influence you into looking at this game or not. After a hard days play with a new character, you're still likely to be level one when you finish. There's feats and skills to learn on the way, but you'll still be level one.
Cheers
Aircool
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1 Mar 06 - a discussion on charisma
http://community.codemasters.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84420&page=1&highlight=aircool
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13 Feb 06 - a discussion on instances vs shared world
Mmm, good old huge Ogrimmar that took flipping ages to get from the entrance to where you wanted to go and could be as dead as a doornail at times.
It's like comparing the sizes of the maps in COD2 to BF2, it's pointless because they play differently. BF2 on a COD2 sized map would be awful and vice versa.
Personally, I much prefer instances most of the time, it actually adds to the realism. In a persistant world (WoW EQ2 for example) it just look ridiculous as you watch a horde of players chasing some pigs (or other such animal) to get 10 kills to complete their quest. My favourite part of persistant worlds to ridicule is the 'conning' system. Oooh, a nasty group of Orcs (or could be badgers or Deer) will attack you if you go too close, but 5 minutes later when you have levelled, they won't even blink as you stroll past them! Then of course there's the Benny Hill style chases as some poor sap walked too close to a Hobgoblin, then ran away through a group of Vicious Diseased Squirrels which also join the chase. It's flipping hilarious watching them run to safety with a massive freight train of rabid animals chasing them.
I would like to see wilderness areas in the future though, but done in a D&D style and no XP for monsters to prevent farming (Wilderness trips would then become a dangerous but necessary part of travelling from area to area) and perhaps a day/night cycle for resting etc...
Bah, got to go shopping.
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12 Feb 06 - a discussion on capturing the ambience of PnP D&D
To be honest, I'm not really a fan of the modern rules (3 & 3.5) and never liked playing with so much emphasis on tabletop/minatures combat; that's what Games Workshop was for. The Eberron setting seems ok from what I've seen and read so. It makes a nice change from the usual Greyhawk/Forgotten Realms material that's been around for ever. I must admit though, I've got a soft spot for Dark Sun/Hollow World and Spelljammer.
So, yes. DDO captures the spirit of the game for me even though it has no more or less depth than every other MMORPG out there (ok, EVE is pretty special).
I'm still waiting to see my first Gelatinous Cube though.
Cheers
Aircool
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13 Feb 06
A discussion on comparison to other MMO's
I do not consider this game to be the same genre as WoW/EQ et al. In fact, this game is more deserving of the title RPG than any MMORPG in the past. If you want WoW in a D&D style then you're not getting it. Why? Because WoW is already in existence, what the point in making a clone.
Saying DDO is poor just because it's not similar to WoW etc, is just like saying, WoW is rubbish because it's not D&D.
It's a different type of game, I wish people would look at it like that. I'm bored of games that get you to level 5 in under an hour by repeating the same tasks over and over with only a variation in what you collect and what you kill. If I want mindless grinding that can be done solo or in groups, with all sorts of PvP extra's, I'll play CoV/CoH because they do it so well. If I want to spend more time looking for ingredients and crafting stuff that I do adventuring, I'll play EVE where it's not only challenging but it's also fun and very in depth. If I want superlative PvP, I'll choose GW. If I want a quiet, immersive game that draws me into my character, I'll play morrowind.
At the moment and for the forseable future, I'll play DDO because it's got the one thing that all the other games are missing; an opportunity to get sucked into character and adventure with friends where skill variation helps overcome individual weaknesses and teamwork is required to overcome the very real danger.
Aircool
Still gonna join a RP server if there is one though.
Aircool
If you're feeling slightly overburdened with cash, I'm sure my Dwarf will help you drink it away
I'm having a great time
It might not be pure D&D or your traditional MMORPG (which have never been RPG's in my opinion) but it's the best attempt I've seen at a game that caters for roleplayers first and foremost.
Why do i even post this? Its not like i should care... because im one of those clerics so i could care less, but they have to much power for a class that is made to be a Support class!
So if you dont change that, i see Alot of people that will either make one or they will find something else to spend their money on, since they can't find anyone to group with.
Thats all.
Now post what you want, i don't care because i don't need a cleric!
Ahh, another misguided fool. Let me see you cleric pick a lock then, or maybe you can take on 200 Kobolds all by yourself? Nope, I don't think so. Just look around, I don't really see any class dominating at the moment. Sure, a lot of new players might opt for the Cleric because they're good fighters and support spellcasters, but they'll soon find out that there is no all conquering super class.
Cheers
Aircool
Oops, and I forgot to mention, please flush your brain of any preconceptions you have about MMORPG's. EQ. WoW et al don't even deserve the title of RPG in my opinion. DDO is the nearest thing I've seen to an online Role Playing Game and that's because it's different to the standard fare. You cannot directly compare this game to other MMORPG's or apply the same gaming attitude to it.
So, things that need looking at.
UI - I can't play any higher than 1024x768 due to my monitor although my graphics card can easily push out 75+ fps, over 200 with video post effects off. Trouble is, the UI, it covers most of my screen and makes fighting difficult. Also, the stealth indicator, could it be possible to fix it onto somewhere on the UI, it easily gets covered by shortcut bars etc meaning it's difficult to see how well hidden you are.
Also, the damage display on monsters. It's difficult to see how much damage you've caused, particulary if you're a short character fighting a big fellow. Any chance of a visual damage dice along with the to-hit dice?
Perhaps the biggest area for improvement is the pubs. Getting a party together with friends can inevitably take a while. Sitting in the pub is the best way to meet up, but the pub just isn't interactive enough so, how about.
Interactive animations, for example, you click on a seat, your avatar sits. If we're all sitting round a table on seats, it somehow makes the conversation flow better.
More pub emotes, the obvious one's here are drinking. How about several drinking animations, or smoking a pipe or a rolled up tab. How about some simple games to play, dice, dominoes, cards, darts etc. Something a few people can get involved with whilst passing the time. Maybe instanced private rooms (with a bar obviously) where you can sit and talk without Thrud the Barbarian rolling around at your feet or dancing elves waving their leather clad arse around.
In between dungeons, there are the pubs. Invest some time in developing these so they're more fun to hang out it.
Finally, how about beer (and white wine for the elves) that gets you drunk in game. It could affect your balance, judgement and ability to play the mini games (heheh, or even get the room spinning about). Of course, walking outside into the fresh air would instantly sober you up.
C'mon, it's a role playing game so let our characters have some fun in the social areas, the Pubs.
Cheers
Dare I say it. I think DDO is a game for mature players. I don't necessarily mean older players, but those who enjoy facing a challenge together vice racking up scores and pwning noobs.
DDO is very different, who says a MMORPG has to follow the same blueprint as the rest of the crowd? I think DDO will initially be a success. From then on, it's variable content that will keep the players intersted.
Cheers
As for the rest of the game, it's not made for solo play. People need to drop any preconceptions they have of this game and take on board that it's different. The dungeoneering aspect is perfect for ROLE PLAYING your character with a bunch of friends. If you apply the same principles to quests as, say WoW you'll become dead very quickly (for example, the Rogue will find it difficult to go toe-to-toe with the 1/4 level Kobolds if you approach combat like a fighter)
That's the thing I'm starting to love about this game, you can't just grind your way upwards in level. In fact, I don't think you could even make it to level 2 playing solo.
It's very different from WoW et al, and rightly so. I think it would be very hard to make a traditional WoW type game when WoW is itself very good.
I think DDO is another step forward in MMORPG's, just like GW was (although the 2 games are of course very different). Some people will dislike it for what it isn't, but there's plenty of MMO's out there that aren't DDO.
D&D has never been a solo game and the character classes are therefore not balanced that way. A Rogue may excel at finding & disarming traps, but how does he defeat monsters that can only be harmed by magic? Teamwork and team balancing is so important, it can make you feel like the hero of the moment rather than just one of the gang.
Cheers
Its only not a waste if you didnt have to pay the sale price for the game as well 55-60$ here in Canada.
SO If one buys it and still doesnt like it your out that 60 bucks just to "try" a game. If it was available for free so I could try it I would.. but I am not going to waste my time spending cash for something I may not like unfortunatly.
I like it! Beta, Pre-order, now retail. Not repetative. Voice chat Rocks! YES real women play DDO! I even had the floor fall out from under my party once! so cool!
Only Negative for me is lack of individual armor graphic pieces. Helmet and body armor are all you can change your char's look. I want a different graphic when i change my "Boots of elvenkind" with my "boots of +2 dexterity" or my gloves, bracers, etc....
History of UO, AC1, EQ1 (active) EQ2 (active) DAoC, EVE, WoW, and at least a dozen more 30 day trials ...
Don't like it? Don't want to play it? Don't Buy it! Go play Pong!
I'm a long time DnD'r. I've been playing since I was 12 (so going on 12 years of play). I can't speak for everyone, but I went in to this game with serious reservations. I really couldn't believe that they could capture the real spirit of the pen and paper game. I look now at the last 2 weeks of play and I'm astonished how close it actually is. The fact that there is a DM voice telling you what you see including when you make a secret spot or listen check is great. The mechanic of the game are open for anyone to see, minus the poor spell descriptions (but all that is available using the open game license). Generally, the game looks great and the general attidude of most of the players is quite good (since grouping is mandatory this makes a big difference). All in all any 3.5 DnD'r should be very impressed. Speaking as one, I would definately recommend DDO.
The only drawbacks I've seen so far is some coding issues, which will hopefully be addressed soon. Mainly confined to specific quests and not the game as a whole.