stonehill_troll
First Post
MarauderX said:
He's talking about LOtR Online, not DDO.
DDO is dead!
- Thread starter MarauderX
- Start date
He's talking about LOtR Online, not DDO.
GoodKingJayIII
First Post
MarauderX said:
Yeah sorry, that was an LotRO tangent. Should've distinguished a little more clearly.
I played a few 10-day trials of DDO. I thought the gameplay was interesting, but it didn't grab me the way I expected it to. Just a little bit more haphazard than I would've liked. Couple that with never being able to find a group during that period (and I often played during peak hours) and I was a little disheartened by the whole experience.
I have heard subsequent patches have made the game better. I'd be willing to give it another go, but not before I get a better machine.
-SIN-
First Post
Sorry to de-rail, but whom would have been more interested in a Forgotten Realms MMO - INSTEAD of an 'Everwrong' setting?...
That is what destroyed DDO for me. I was expecting a high-magic, fantasy of fantasies kinda setting, and was sorely disappointed that they chose a 'steampunk/fantasy' mongrel, hybrid setting. I don't get it. All the FR setting games have been top sellers - even back in the days of 'eye of the beholder' and alike, so why change to a different setting for your BIGGEST game? I wouldn't mind if it were a Baldur's Gate style game, I'd just not bother with the sequal, but an MMO - a continuous, ongoing world that you costs money every month?
I'm no businessman, but common sense says FR would have been a bigger and better success - with all of the fluff material available, like the 'grand histories' coming out, the level of immersion would be fantastic!
That is what destroyed DDO for me. I was expecting a high-magic, fantasy of fantasies kinda setting, and was sorely disappointed that they chose a 'steampunk/fantasy' mongrel, hybrid setting. I don't get it. All the FR setting games have been top sellers - even back in the days of 'eye of the beholder' and alike, so why change to a different setting for your BIGGEST game? I wouldn't mind if it were a Baldur's Gate style game, I'd just not bother with the sequal, but an MMO - a continuous, ongoing world that you costs money every month?
I'm no businessman, but common sense says FR would have been a bigger and better success - with all of the fluff material available, like the 'grand histories' coming out, the level of immersion would be fantastic!
stonehill_troll
First Post
-SIN- said:
Not a fan of FR myself, but I do know that they Turbine borrowed $23 million for DDO, which is only about 1/2-1/3 what Blizzard spent on WoW. Turbine spent a big chunk of that on coding for 3.5 rules and on stormreach city. There were a couple of other small villages/towns, but very little open area.
The basic problem with FR is exactly what you mentioned - all the books (novels and sourcebooks) - way too much detail. Aside from the fact the FR license probably cost a lot more than Eberron, I highly doubt that Turbine would have been able to create just one city like Waterdeep with any meaningful detail. This was greatly discussed on Turbine's boards. People who wanted FR, wanted the detail, wanted the taverns, temples, etc. in the exact spot,with correct color. They wanted lots of people (huge bandwidth problems) walking around. Turbine would have had to spend a significant chunk of money on models and texture to get the FR look. That would have significantly cut down the amount of money for coding of classes, feats, and other rule implmentations (which was already cut down due to budget limits)
High magic? Christ I guess you did not play at all, my 1st level PCs often left the harbor area quests with several magic items. By 5th level my PCs were routinely selling +1, +2 magic items to make room for new magic items. There was way too much magic, and I assume its actually gotten worse.
Eberron was chosen for several reasons, the number two reason (after cost) was that there was no massive legacy of back history that had to be followed. This granted more creative room for Turbine's designer. I don't care for their implementation of 3.5 rule set, but I had no problem with their vision of the Eberron setting.
I figure that with computer's technology advancing, it might be possible to create a close approxmation of Waterdeep with all the buildings and adventure possiblities in about 5 years and with $100 - $150 million dollars. Though I would bet that they would still have to cut features to stay under budget, before the end.
GlassJaw
Hero
I'm pretty sure that WotC basically required Turbine to set DDO in Eberron. I definitely agree on the issue of detail. If they set it in FR and didn't hold true to the years and years of established cannon, there would have been some backlash.
With Eberron, they have a little more flexibility, although with each new update, they are certainly delving into more of the Eberron background. As Eberron goes though, they have definitely done it justice and held true to the setting.
With Eberron, they have a little more flexibility, although with each new update, they are certainly delving into more of the Eberron background. As Eberron goes though, they have definitely done it justice and held true to the setting.
GlassJaw
Hero
MarauderX said:
You list your location as Virginia - EST. For starters, the AM time frame is always going to be the least populous. Plus, at that time, the West Coast people aren't on yet. On top of that, you are playing on one of the least populated servers.
Again, I'm not saying DDO has a huge player base but in the evening, especially after 9:00 PM EST, on a good server, the population has been solid. If anything, it's probably increased over the last couple of months.
I think DDO would really benefit from a paid expansion at this point to sort of reintroduce the game. The game right now is 100% different than what it was at launch.
werk
First Post
MarauderX said:
I still play DDO, a lot, never at the times that are posted. I have mostly lvl 12s because that's where the cap is and I'm very active in guild. Due to this, I also have 'static' characters at lower level milestones that I can use to assist lower level people, specifically clerics and rogue-types.
I think the bonus weekend was part of a chest table revamp lowering the loot tables overall and obfuscating by using rasacking and announced manipulation. Basically, people won't realize that chests were lowered one point after everything. I think it's also in response to the sound nerfing that most everyone experienced with the enhancement revision.
I think DDO is maturing quite well.
Anyone know when Shadowrun MMO is due out?
werk
First Post
MarauderX said:
XORIAT!
XORIAT!
XORIAT!
XORIAT!
XORIAT!
XORIAT!
I've heard it is most populaced, oldest, least friendly, and was at one time suggested as the ENWorld server (I know several folks from here are there, I see them all the time.)
Saviors of Stormreach is a right fine guild if you don't mind casual players and people that are not complete type-A personalities ransacking dungeons as quickly as possible ('professional' MMORPGers really annoy me, personally)...and some flirtacious banter (almost half members are women.) Almost always has fellows online, weekends we 30 or more at one time. We've done simultaneous dragon or DQ raids. We try to pick-up one or two slots in our groups, so we get a lot of exposure as a guild and are recognized as 'helpers'.
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