All Posts by Elnator

Haven't read through all the replies but for 'a couple months' I'd recommend:

Guild Wars:  Low investment, especially if you buy prophecies rather than the expansions, you can pick it up for like $10-$19 at a lot of shops now cuz it's been out a while and there's no subscription fee.  I still hop into guild wars from time to time when 'bored' with whatever I'm normally playing.

PotBS:  Not a phenomenal MMO but if you're only playing 2-3 months you probably will enjoy the heck out of it.  It's not till about the 2 month mark that you start to get burned out on it.  I don't recommend it to anyone as a permanent game but it's not a bad "short term" option.  It's got the added benefit of being "not fantasy nor sci-fi"

DDO is a pretty darn good option.  I played long ago when it released and bagged it because, frankly it sucked... then picked it up again a month ago for lack of anything better to do and am really enjoying it now.  they've improved the game a lot since release.  Definitely not your cookie-cutter-MMO.... nice and fresh, very unique from others in many ways.  Combat system is very good and almost addictive, Quest system is superior to any other game out there  and it's Character Development is quite possibly the best of any fantasy game outside Ultima Online at the moment.

Other than those?  Most other MMO's require a pretty steep long term commitment to really enjoy, imo.

Originally posted by Settingsun

So you get to watch those same 4 moves over and over and over again? Yeah great.

Mmmmm....

If you were paying attention she clearly states that they're working on adding additional combat animations but they aren't 'ready for prime time' yet.   Also... there aren't much more than 4 moves for any of the other combat types either so not sure what  you're on about.

Originally posted by Souldrainer

I double checked skeleton HD. Medium skeletons get 1HD, and have 1 HD worth of HPs in DDO. Starting characters in DDO get 30-ish HP. Generously assuming mean rolls of 5 on the HD, PC's in DDO have 5-6 HD. I was assuming that this would be 1/3 of starting HD in DDO, but perhaps not. Maybe I "misinterpreted" the direction they were going when they intentionally raped the rules for starting HP? It's possible. That's what happens when you change things.

And yeah, the changes they made are big enough to impact my opinion of the game. Why can't my fighter charge opponents? Where is the spiked chain? What about Dragonmarked Houses?

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Originally posted by TedDanson
Oh cry more. Seriously, you cannot compare the tabletop game to an MMO, atleast not pre ruleset 4. If you want to play online with DnD rules wait till they release the online client with version 4. Until then move on and shut up. No one cares that you and your miniatures are upset about the differences between TABLE TOP and DESK TOP....
 
If you cannot see the difference there then you need to stick to the dungeon you call a house and play with your 40 year old friends in tabletop only.

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"Cry more"- statement made on the internet by a whiner wishing to immediately declare the text which follows as a troll.

DDO labels itself as D&D online. THIS is why it fails. As a stand alone MMO, it has improved and become better than say 80% of what's out there, but as "Dungeons and Dragons" Online, it is a waste of my time.

 

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DDO definitely captures the spirit of the D&D game, both through quests and its interpretation of the rules.

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Man, you must have had some crappy DM's then. The quests and world are static. I think it comes close as far as static dungeons, but if the 4th Edition software delivers as promised, you will see the difference. A bland voice reading a script ala Ben Stein is no match for the real thing. In a good D&D campaign, the story evolves and revolves around your personal set of characters. In DDO, the dungeons and plots do not evolve in any way. For this game to capture the feel of PnP, the story MUST be dynamic IMO. Perhaps I expected too much, but if the devs had waited to release DDO until things were ready, it's a goal they could have worked on.

The 4th edition software looks nice but the graphics in it are ass.  Also there is still the requirement that you have to get a static group of folks together (your normal party) and the DM, and all have time to do a dungeon at the same time.  The beauty of DDO (for me anyway) is that I can hop on whenever I have 45 minutes or more free and get some D&D Goodness in.  My lifestyle doesn't allow me static blocks of 3-6hrs to play anymore.   When it did I had a regular group of folks that got together and played AD&D (House mod of 2nd ed, none of us could be arsed to buy the 3.0 and 3.5 or even the 2.5 rules... got sick of forking out money for new books every time TSR/WOTC decided it was time for us to buy new ones)

Also, there is no way for an MMORPG to be sufficiently 'dynamic' to mimic a live DM who can modify the adventure on the fly.  As to whether the content is dynamic enough?  If you got together with friends 1 night a week and did 1 dungeon a week like you would when playing pen and paper?  It'd take you 6+ years to play every quest in DDO... I'd say that's pretty dynamic.   (not to mention by then there'd be more new quests (enough that you'd never once repeat one).

Originally posted by madkk

They recently had a "welcome back weekend".

 

I should be embarassed for admitting this, but I checked it out.

 

They still wouldn't let me back on the forums, but I also do see that Kommunist kobold, Gelatinous Cube, and Samera are GONE!

 

I hope those three losers are working at Burger King now (it's the only thing they are qualified to do).

And you needed to necro this post exactly.... why?

Necroposing is bad... mmmkay?

Population is, in my opinion, just about right for the number of servers the game has.  Lately there's been a larger than usual number of players on but with Mod6 came a bunch of returning players to check the mod out.... many that I've talked to have resubscribed and plan to continue playing.  Matter of fact I haven't heard anyone talk of letting subs lapse at all.  I myself am a returned player (quit 2 days after drow were put into the game eons ago) and have resubscribed as well with no intention of leaving anytime soon now.  There is so much more to DDO now than when it originally released... it's a great game now whereas it was a terrible game back then.  But putting a finger on 'how many' players?  Really couldn't tell you.  I can tell you this:  It never takes very long at all to find or make a group.  5-15 minutes... tops....

Learning curve?  For someone utterly new to the game?  There's a bit of a learning curve... nothing like EVE's but definitely steeper than WoW or EQ1... I'd put the learning curve for DDO on par with the learning curves for UO, DAOC and AC1.  So it's a moderate learning curve where WoW would be 'easy' and EVE would be 'hard'.

Max level?  Depends how you play... if you're very hard core and/or play for insane ammounts of time a day?  A few weeks... possibly 5-6...  If, on the other hand you are more casual a player and/or new to the game?  Probably a few months to cap a character.  Odds are it won't be your first character you play either.  Most people go through a variety of characters before they find 'the one!' they want to play.  Something to remember is that in DDO you can mix classes up a bit and create a character more suited to your playstyle.  For example a lot of people play single class characters and many play dual class characters.  I, myself, am playing a tripple class character (1 primary with 2 splashes) now.  But I also have a single classed Bard that I played to level 16 already and is waiting for the cap to go up again.  In the meantime I finally got enough favor to try this new concept character I'm making.  He's a lot of fun and may become my primary character ;)

I'd recommend downloading the trial and giving it a whirl... Definitely worth taking a look anyway.

There are some classes that solo better than others.

Max level is currently 16 but a new mod is coming in May that will raise it to 18 and again to 20 later this year or early next...

Takes a good chunk of time to get to max level currently.  I play fairly regularly and it's taken over a month and a half to get to level 15 so far.  A die-hard gamer MIGHT hit 16 in about 6 weeks if they already know the game very well but anything less than that will take longer.  Then again DDO isn't about getting to max level... the game, unlike so many other MMO's really does start at level 1... it's fun from 1 to 16 and everywhere in between, in my opinion.   The quest content is the best available, bar none.  It really is the definitive questers game.

There is a storyline in the game which you can follow but it's not linear by any means.  There are numerous stories to follow within Stormreach... each with it's own quest line.  I believe there's an over-arching storyline as well but I've had a hard time following it to be honest. 

There are:

Rogue

Wizard

Cleric

Ranger

Paladin

Fighter

Barbarian

Bard

If you ever played AD&D or D&D you will already know how they 'fit' together.  Multi-classing is possible, even popular, in this game to get a nice mix of skills on a character.  There simply is no such thing as a cookie cutter character in DDO... there are so many different ways to build your character and have them evolve that it's mind boggling.  

There is crafting but it's at the higher levels of the game.  From what I've seen the crafted items are both very hard to gather components for AND very very powerful (among the best items to have in the game) so yes it's got crafting and it is worthwhile if a bit time intensive.  And it's not a profession you can train/do so much as a 'gather the components and assemble them' kind of thing.

Originally posted by nethervoid

Are most people in this thread smoking something?  AC2 was a colossal failure.  How can you give a company props for it?  Secondly, DDO was released with far too little content...e.g. released early despite itself.  Props?  LOTRO has little content, and most of the people who've played or beta'd it said they got bored in 3 months.  Props?

Besides AC1, can Turbine call any of their games big hits?  Can any of them hold a match to the longevity of UO, EQ, and eventually WoW?

Realtiy Check:  Turbine is not a great game company people.  They had a fluke success with AC1, and have yet to live up to the former glory.

Next we'll be hearing how SOE has turned SWG around, and that they're a great game company.  lol  Or how Vanguard's uniqueness makes Sigil a great company.  C'mon people.

You failed reading comprehension in school didn't you?

LoTRO is not a failure, not by a long shot.  It's actually a very successful MMORPG right now and is flourishing.  DDO had major issues at release (which EVERY poster here has stated) but since then Turbine has turned it into a very high quality MMORPG.  Most of it's issues that it had early on have been addressed (some would say all) and it's now a very solid choice of MMO.  I ripped Turbine up one side and down the other for shortcomings with DDO but now?  2 years later?  I am a subscriber to the game and love it because most of the things I found wrong with it are fixed in one way or another.  Lack of content?  Yep, 2 years ago it lacked content... not so today.  And another expansion is just around the corner (free I might add which is going to add a  new class, monks, to the game and possibly a new race as well.   Oh and new starter areas for people to try their new characters out in).

So, yes, absolutely I give them props to DDO *today*... 2 years ago?  not a chance, they did release it too soon, they did make some big mistakes in initial game implementation... But they've listened and learned and now the game is top notch.  It's not a game that is going to appeal to every player in the universe... it's not a WoW killer and never will be.  But it is a solid game that casual and hard-core gamer can enjoy both at the same time.  It is a game that has depth, feel and great character customization.

As to LOTRO?  I don't play it but from what those who do play it are saying and the fact that they have a growing playerbase?  I'd have to say they're doing something right there too.  It did have a phenomenally stable and solid release.  I dissagree on it lacking content... though for powergamers I suppose it's possible.  I'm a more casual gamer and I never ran out of new areas to explore and see before they added expansions in.... I wound up leaving LOTRO because it was too much of a level/class system for me.  Not because of lack of content.

AC1?  It had it's problems at release too, maybe you weren't there, I was... it had serious issues at release, not stability but game design issues that weren't rectified for over a year after it came out. Once they were it was a top notch game but largely unknown because everyone had already tried it, disliked it, and left.

Much like you did with the turbine games you list.  Because, frankly, your comments about both are outdated.

As to longevity?  DDO has now been out for 2 years and shows every sign that it will be around for a while with more expansions around the corner and more players coming into the game lately as well.  It's been downright 'crowded' in DDO lately.  But yeah neither DDO nor LOTRO have been around as long as UO or EQ or DAOC or any of those... how could they?  They just came out.    Will they have that type of longevity?  Probably... I see no reason why they wouldn't.  DDO has a VERY dedicated fan base playing it.  They have VERY little turn-over in playerbase much like EVE did (and still does) early on in it's life.  Thus the game will slowly grow from where it is today as long as the longevity of it's playerbase endures.  LOTRO?  Again, no reason why it won't be around for years either.... It's got a guaranteed visitorship from anyone who's ever read the books or watched the movies and is a pretty decent game as well so I see no reason why it would fade anytime soon.

Originally posted by Sovrath

 

 

What is the workaround other than logging out and in (for the vendor bug). I just reported it as I was tired of getting it.

Go to the "Sell" tab

Move an item below by double clicking on it.  You do not need to actually sell anything... just moving it to the sell area below is enough.

Go back to the buy tab.  Proceed as normal.  Voila.. problem solved.

Yeah it's annoying but thankfully only appears to occur at all frequently on bartenders.

Originally posted by Nadia

 

Originally posted by zantax

look at there track record with AC1, since release, 1 UPDATE (including content, fixes, and story) every MONTH!!!!  Show a game other then one made by turbine that can claim that?

EQ2 has updates every month - and its more than bugfixes

 

eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Live_Updates

 

last summer,

EQ2 added a new starting city, a new under 20 zone, a new race, and over 100 new quests in a free update

That's true Nadia, except for SOE that's the exception rather than the norm.  Most major updates (and even several minor ones) have always been PAID updates for EQ, EQ2 and pretty much every other SOE title.  That's the primary reason I don't play EQ2.  I refuse to pay for expansions if I'm paying a monthly fee for a game.

Originally posted by wolffin

Originally posted by Scottc

Its too bad thats the only thing Turbine does right.

Ain't that the truth. After they foobarred DDO so bad dont think I will ever play one of there games again tho

Hmmm I would have agreed with you 2 years ago when DDO came out... 100%... but I would have to say that both the release of LOTRO and the ongoing work they've done which has drastically improved DDO has redeemed them in my eyes...

Even a very short run through the DDO forums will reveal that when DDO released, and even for several months afterwards I was a big detractor for Turbine because the game was in such a poor state at release.... but since then they have made dramatic improvements to the game, to the point where I am now a very happy subscriber to DDO.  It's a very good MMORPG now.  And LOTRO is a solid title in and of itself.

As another poster did point out, however:  I find it disturbing that Turbine hasn't released any more games under their own IP.  Granted that AC2 was a collosal failure but AC1 was a decent MMO in it's own right.  In my opinion they just went the wrong direction with AC2 (making it more of an EQ/WoW type game) which was a mistake.  If they took an AC3 out and went more along the lines of DDO/AC1 with great character custimization available as well as the combat system in DDO (maybe not the exact same ruleset but the same style of combat) they would have another big winner on their hands.

Just my opinion... but Turbine's games are among the better ones out there (asside from AC2).  DDO really was BAD at it's release... but Turbine stuck to it and stuck with it and it's much.... much.... much better now.  

I have seen one disturbing trend with Turbine:

AWFUL releases followed up by tremendous dedication and work which turned a flop into a solid title.  If, just once, they'd release a SOLID title with the same level of QUALITY that all their games exhibit 1yr after release?  They'd hit it big... really big.... WoW kind of big.... their problem has always been releasing games that, at release, don't hold much appeal.... what has always been their saving grace, however, is their ability to listen to customers and implement changes which vastly improve the game.  Unfortunately, however, their games never truely flourish because they suffer that initial 'flop' and never really recover.   Resulting in some high quality MMO's that never really get the attention they deserve because so many have already tried them and won't come back.  AC1 had this issue, as does DDO at this point.  LOTRO may even be experiencing a slight variation of this because at release it had a slight content issue.... though it was their best 'release' ever, to be honest.

Originally posted by Nadia

Originally posted by Elnator

 I refuse to pay a sub for a game and then buy expansions on top of that.  Got over that REALLY fast with EQ and haven't  bought an expansion for a subscription based game since.

 

I think the announced LOTRO expansion is great news

 

but its going to be a *retail* expansion - you need to buy

Link?  I don't play LOTRO so not sure what you're talking about.  Played it for several months but eventually tired of it and moved on to something else.   It, like EQ, WOW and many others, is far too linear for me.  Far prefer a more open system like DDO, SWG (Pre-CU), EVE, UO, even DAOC where you have more room to customize your character.

I wasn't aware Turbine was going to be releasing a 'paid for' expansion for LOTRO though... that's dissapointing.

Do I think it's realistic?  It's more realistic in some than in others.  It's absolutely not realistic in ones where you can shoot 1 mob and he comes after you while the others standing there totally ignore you.  EVE, EQ, many other games all have this issue where developers have had to bend 'reality' in order to make their encounters survivable.  Rather than tailoring the encounters properly they use artificial rules to make certain encounters survivable by players.   In games like DDO and LOTRO and a few others out there it's a lot more realistic (and thus tough encounters are actually tougher than they would be in other games, because of it).

Some, however, do a good job of being realistic.  They are also, typically, more difficult than other MMO's. 

As to the body of your post about scent, sound and visual aggro?  Well there is one game that leaps to mind that takes sound and visual into account (not scent though) and that's DDO.  In DDO you can be hiding nearby but if you make noise the NPC's will find you.  There are two skills associated with 'stealth' in DDO (hiding and move silently) if you don't have both you can be discovered by the AI.  Granted if you're hidden they are less likely to find you but if you make enough noise you will get found.  (noise via movement).  Scent, however?  I'm not sure I'd want to be the developer that had to deal with that can of worms :).

Originally posted by Lobotomist

Wizards are making a massive mistake based on greed and envy. And it does not bode well for future of D&D.

I wish they would wake up. Make it one payment deal only (or only gold member subscription) ...

whatever but not to ruin this basically good idea

 

Errrr.... I love D&D and AD&D... been playing for decades.... but if you're just now realizing that the game has become all about greed I'm wondering what rock you've been under all this time :)  Every single new 'ruleset' has resulted in players having to buy whole new sets of books, all over priced I might add.  After 2nd ed I stopped buying manuals because it had become such a scam.

But yeah this is a bit over the top, even for D&D.

actually there is a feature in game where you can click on a persons name and report them for harassment right on the spot.  Everyone has gotten in the habbit of reporting the RTM spammers instantly now.

Originally posted by uncus

I saw, I believe on the Wizards site, that it was a $10/month subscription.  What hasn't been stated is if EVERYONE has to pay the $10 or only the DM... My guess is everyone.  At that price, I'm going to try to get my old gang to re-try DDO for 6 months of Friday night goodness :) [Same price and I get to play and not just DM!]

I love DDO since coming back to it a month ago.  However... as good as it's gotten... no MMO will ever replace a real game of AD&D/D&D with a real DM running things.  No way, no how, not ever.  $10/mo does seem a bit high considering the players run the content.  If it stays at that price I probably won't bother either.  For 9.95/month I can play DDO whenever I like, however I like and don't have to wait for the stars to align so that a regular group is on that I can play with.

No, I think I have to agree with you on this one... if 4E is more than about $7/mo I don't think I'll bother with it.  Even then I'm not entirely sure I would.

Should probably have posted this in the EVE forums here.  Better chance that the EVE community here will see it.

However I would also recommend hitting www.eve-search.com and doing a search for similar issues.  That or surf around in the tech support forums on www.eve-online.com and see if anyone else is having similar issues or if there's a fix.

Originally posted by Battlekruse

 

Originally posted by forest-nl

Best pvp game is not on poll list so no vote there.

You are thinking on Asheron's Call right?. Sorry, mate. I was thinking at putting it on the vote list, but then I remember AC PvP and took it off.

 

AC wasn't a PVP MMO... it had a server with a PVP ruleset but by design it was a carebear game that had a PVP server, just like EQ1.