Dungeons and Dragons Online

Pfc TAZ

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Is anyone planning to try DDO? Just curious to see if anyone else is planning to check it out.

I bought the pre-release for $10. It lets you play the game till March 5 to see if you want to buy the game.

So far it seems interesting. It's a bit rough around the edges, but all MMOs are at the start. It really expects you to understand 3rd edition PnP D&D, and doesn't explain much of the character creation to you. This can cause some issues when you are like me and last played 2nd edition AD&D PnP back in the 80s. I played Neverwinter Nights, but am a bit rusty on all the terminology.

I have reached the starting city and run through some of the beginning solo quests. I'm going to catch a pickup group and try some of the group quests later this week.
 

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And? How'd it go?
It'll have to be better then sliced bread for *me* to pay-to-play, but it'd be fun to hear about.

Tycho
 

Aries

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A friend recently got back into World of Warcraft.

The thing is, he didn't want the work of getting to power level grades of PC, so he's going to just buy a 60th level character. This is really where online games demonstrate their weakness.

You see, if I was to run a conventional pencil n paper game here at my place, I could intentionally and deliberately accomodate any number of levels by whim.

But my friend has highlighted a flaw in the thinking of the online experience, it's simply not fun if all your friends (suitably addicted ones) want to adventure with their power players, and you show up with a noob PC with next to no levels.

Your simply not going to survive doing anything with their PCs.
And they sure ain't going to want to spend time playing anything other than their super duper PC. That's because time IS money in a game where you pay to play.

Precisely the reason why the experience has no power to interest me. I have a life, not interested in 24/7 playing of just one game so that I can keep up with the herd and or guild buddies.

So over all, the D&D online likely will be an ok game in as much as comparing it with other products, but I really couldn't care less what it will have to offer.
 

jayedub7423

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i got lucky and was able to be apart of the closed beta testing for DDO.

the gamespot review of DDO is actually very good, and gives some good detail on what is in the game, and you can tell that they like it very much.

the game is beautiful, looks amazing. you can customize your character in so many ways, from looks to skills, and i really liked the combat system.

here's the bad; levels are capped at 10 right now, all instances, and they become very repetative, heavy reliance on groups, and if you arent familiar with D&D 3.5 edition rules, there is a large learning curve.

the game is trying to avoid the issues other MMO's run into with power lvling and the likes, and i think that is what will keep the casual player away. pen and paper fans will most likely enjoy the game, but i can tell you the beta forums became more and more negative as the testing went along.

turbine is a great company, and DDO has the name, but i just dont see it appealing to the casual MMO player.
 

Aries

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The first game to actually kill off the ability to casually buy pre levelled characters, and the ability to casually buy power items (for those that can't live without them and have more money than brains) will likely do very nicely.

My idea of a nice game though, is one where the design supports the notion of DMs running modules set in worlds where a person can invite a finite sum of friends into the game, to play in a virtual version of what would otherwise be occuring at a person's home as a fixed group.

Yet be able to interact with the larger rolegaming world through an evolving world, that was capable of evolving from the actions of the group campaigning from in it.

Sort of like playing a published module, where your actions actually mattered to the game world it took place in. Like a virtual world variant of being part of the RPGA network.

Right now, all that I see of these MMOnlineRPGs is unexciting.

I don't want to play in a game that auto resets every set span of time. If I kill off a god, I want him to stay bloodywell dead :) I want the game to know I did it too. I want the fame the glory hehe.
I want to know, if I game in the setting for a week, my week will have actually accomplished something more tangible than having thrown away a week of my life.
 

Dr Zaius

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This one is certainly on my list. I'm still waiting for an RPG to top Baldur's Gate II.
 

Pfc TAZ

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I played for a few days. The look and feel of it are nice. But, as of yet the story doesn't grab me.

This game has a great deal of potential and I hope that they try to release new content regularly because that could make this game awesome. If they released content as modules like D&D that would be enough to sell me on it.

But, for now I'm in wait and see mode.
 

Pfc TAZ

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Aries said:
A friend recently got back into World of Warcraft.

The thing is, he didn't want the work of getting to power level grades of PC, so he's going to just buy a 60th level character. This is really where online games demonstrate their weakness.
That's interesting.

End game content in WoW is where the game is weakest. It's almost all a grind, you grind for gear, reputation, pvp ranks etc. So buying a level 60 character is really a waste.
 

jayedub7423

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Pfc TAZ said:
That's interesting.

End game content in WoW is where the game is weakest. It's almost all a grind, you grind for gear, reputation, pvp ranks etc. So buying a level 60 character is really a waste.

i totally agree. i am very close to getting my second lvl 60 character, and then i'll go to my third. the end game content is only interesting and fun if you are in a good guild, and i am lucky i am in one, because pick up groups just blow.
 
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