Originally posted by fedor23
Will their be  story line, or some quests?

Here's a link to an interview with Stephen Nichols, the Lead Developer, from the Dungeon Runners page:

Interview

As of right  now, there are already several quests and there are 53 more coming in the next build (some details of which I've already posted here).

As for a storyline, not really. 

~Ripper

1)  I'm an older beta player, but I love newbies (Vs. n00bs, whom I dislike immensely -http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20060823 ).  Look for me as UlrichWolfsbane, if I haven't already driven you away with my pontificating.

2) I, too, am very excited by the upcoming classless system

3)  With the PVP structure in the works, I agree with you.

4)  Don't worry about the trade system.  You will never, ever, ever be able to trade gold.   You will only be able to trade items.  I love this, personally, because it creates an economy of giving, not greed.  Since all the loot is random and the drops rates are insane, I don't see this as a problem.  All the trading system will do is facilitate trades through a window rather than through drops.

5)  I like pick-up groups, but I mostly solo.  Personally, I don't think a guild system is necessary for the following reasons:

• There are no raids
• There is no economy
• The worlds are currently capped at 100 players/world - is everybody going to be in the same guild?

6)  I'm looking forward to the new quests, the new mob AI, lots of bug fixes and the ability to turn off click-to-move!

~Ripper

Originally posted by Goddyfather
Well, i have played so many mmo's now and when i jumped into the universe of Dungeon Runneres i could see with just a blink with the eye, this game was not for me.

It might be for Diablo fans, hack and slash fast packed, but heh not for me

That is a perfectly valid response.  You''re right - it's not for everybody.

So much better than some of the belligerent tripe I've seen.  Thanks for being reasonable:)

~Ripper

The following was posted by Stephen, "The Big Boss Man":

Wow! This build has been a real bear to get ready. Through our work, we've opened up a few worm-filled cans. As was stated in another post, the build is in QA and we're working out some remaining bugs.

Let me say how sorry I am that it's delayed. Our intention was to send it to QA in mid-January. But issues popped up as we went to work on some core systems. We've had to go back to the drawing board a few times on these changes.

What kinds of changes caused this kind of consternation? Mostly optimization and AI work. We've been optimizing the game like crazy and adding new monster movement and AI code to help support future expansion. To be honest, the scope of that work grew beyond our expectations.

The upside is that future builds should not require such system changes. So, they should come more quickly. So, I hope you'll remain patient as we get this cleaned up and out the door to ya. We'll do our best to turn the next build around very quickly.

Thanks for your understanding and support... You guys rock! And, now that I'm getting freed up from my major programming tasks (and 14 hour days) I'll be able to get back in the game and whip monsters with ya.

steve

Woot!

~Ripper

The following was posted by VonLiebermann, Associate Producer, on the official Dungeon Runners boards:

Below are some of the more interesting changes to the build
Major System Changes
• Monster behavior has been totally reworked. Generally speaking, monsters will try not to stand on top of each other while attacking. If the player is surrounded, then monsters that cannot reach will back off and wait for an opening. (Kung Fu circle)
• Moving through monsters will now slow your movement speed. (monster molasses)
• The font rendering system has been totally rewritten to improve performance.
Features and Balance Changes
• A new soulbinding system has been added to the game. Excluding quest items, if a drop is to be soulbound it will allow the player to use it for about 10 minutes before becoming bound. This will allow players to trade items that they have no interest in.
• Rangers now have their own icon on the character creation screen.
• Starting rangers use a Scrap Crossbow now.
• Starting mage armor is now Rags.
• All crossbows have been adjusted to have the same attack range.
• Kings Coins are now generated from treasure chests.
• A splash screen now displays as the game loads.
• Old chat messages should fade out over time.
• A mouse look system has been enabled.
• Ability to turn off click to move
• Mythic item labels now show in an animating rainbow font.
• A new /busy command has been added to the game. This lets other players know that you are away from the game and won't accept private messages.
• A new /played command has been added to tell the player how long they've been playing the game.
• The world selection screen has been modified to show the number of players connected instead of a percentage.
Quest Changes
• 53 new quests have been added to the game.
Dungeon Changes
• Algernon has new encounter tables.
• Horrific Dungeon of Legend has been reworked.
• Added new lava effects to lava to embercore.
Vendor Changes
• There are new King's Coin vendors that randomly appear in the dungeon. These vendors give unique or above items in exchange for tokens.
Art Changes
• New 1 hand picks have been added.
• New 2 hand crossbows have been added.
• New color variants have been added to existing armor pieces.
• Roughly 50 new armor pieces

--------------------
Tommy
Associate Producer
Dungeon Runners

~Ripper

I agree with your opinion of 9dragons 100%.  When I stated this opinion on the 9dragon forums, however, I was slammed.

~Ripper

Caveat - I'm not a LotR fanatic.  I like the books and first read them almost 30 years ago.  I enjoyed the movies.  When I look at this game, I look at it from the standpoint of gameplay, not lore.

Friday night, I played a dwarf guardian to 8.
Saturday night, I played a Hobbit Hunter to 8.

1)  The game installed easily, but .NET framework 1.1 broke functionality for another app I have that uses 2.0.  Not good...

2)  Game looked  beautiful and ran very smoothly.  Over the course of about 8 hours, the game crashed once with a generic error.  I was able to get back in immediately.

3)  For a stress test, it didn't seem particularly stressful. I played in Windfola exclusively, btw.  Windfola never seemed to have more than a handful of characters in any zone I was in.

4)  The introductory quests were simple and designed to introduce you to combat, questing, etc...  In this, they succeeded.

5)  I dislike spawn camping in order to complete a quest.  When I and others have mentioned this, we've been attacked and told that we should group with those others waiting for the spawn.  I disagree.  I shouldn't be forced to group just for a chance to complete a relatively simple quest.  What is this, EQ1 2007?

6)  After exiting the Intro, the quality of the quests didn't seem to change.  They were still straightforward 'kill x number of mobs' or 'run from x to y' quests.  Nothing innovative or particularly interesting.  I wouldn't call the quests I saw a low level fun.  Rather, I felt compelled to complete them for experience.

7)  I did run one fellowship quest (A Gift from the North), but didn't complete it.  I had a few issues with that quest.

a)  Every member of the fellowship had to complete the chain in order to be part of the quest.  Why can't I just invite somebody for the final piece?

b) The quest was bugged.  After a party wipe, the gate was closed and Ulfar wouldn't open it.  We all had to log and then re-initiate the quest.

c)  Upon death, you have to run from 6-8 minutes to Ulfar so he can teleport you in again.  This seems rather onerous since the mission is in an instance.  I would prefer to revive within the instance, but at a safe location.  Since there is still a 10-minute death penalty, I don't see the harm in this...  In fact, the running seems to mitigate the effects of the death penalty, thereby negating it...

8)  I never tried crafting, so I can't comment upon it.

9)  I didn't know about horses until a team mate told me about them right before I logged...

All-in-all, the game was fine.  It looked nice and ran well.  The game seemed pretty polished for a beata.  I enjoyed playing it, but wasn't overly impressed with the gameplay or quests.  Nothing really 'wowed' me. I've been told by others, especially on these boards, that I should play until at least 10 or 15 before I can really get a feel for the game.  Personally, I feel like I should be 'wowed' from the minute I login.  I wasn't.

~Ripper

As a counterpoint to some comments in your review:

My review

I am really, really sorry to say I am disappointed in the game. it was not at all what I was expecting.

For those that dislike the game, this seems to be a common sentiment.  My question is 'why did you expect it to be something different'?  Is it because it's listed on MMMORPG.com that you thought it was a true MMO?

The hype-meter on mmorpg.com keeps wavering on this game. People either love it or immediately dismiss it. I really think that for this game to be successful, NCSoft needs to stop marketing it as an MMO. While the game is multiplayer online, it is hardly massive. The MMO title best belongs to games like WoW, EQ, Vanguard, etc... Additionally, there is the perception that the game is still in beta (mmorpg.com lists it as such and lots of new players received their invitations from those forums).

NCSoft needs to go on the offensive, market the hell out of this game and clear up the misconceptions of what it really is; a humorous, 3d, online multiplayer hack-n-slash dungeon crawler.

Originally posted by Bahz

you should at least play till lvl10 and try monster play/check out the bigger citys/look into the trait system for both your main char and the monster skill/trait system before even try to give an opinion. To many kids that play for 1 hour and think they have seen all because "I played MMO's for like 10 years, how can I be wrong?" or "Look at my cool signature with all the games I've played.....I'm a MMO specialist".

 I have every intention of playing more, but my initial impressions of the game is 'meh'.  First impressions are everything  My first impression from the start should be 'wow'!

I haven't dissed the game in any way, nor have I been antagonistic in posting my initial thoughts.  I've simply stated that, so far, I'm not impressed.

It's a little presumptuous to call me, or the other posters, kids.  I, for example, am a very successful 36 year old professional who's been playing RPGs as a hobby for over 20 years.  By commenting as you have, you only display your own immaturity.

~Ripper

My thoughts:

Caveat:  I'm not a LotR fanatic. I've read the books (including Sil) and enjoyed t hem, but I don't live and sleep LotR.

1)  Game installed easily in WinXP Pro.  I'm a little miffed that it installed .NET framework 1.1 when I already have 2.  Not a big deal as long as it doesn't break anything else i have or need.

2)  Game plays beautifully on my laptop.  I'm perfectly happy with the graphics and sound

3)  I played for a couple of hours, got through the intro quests, did a few quests after that.   All of the quests were simple enough.  i didn't like spawncamping for Frostmantle, even for a few minutes, however.  Hopefully, this changes when the game goes live.

My thoughts?

All-in-all, the experience was very nice, but there wasn't anything that made me go 'wow!'  The first time I saw the original EQ (1999) after having only ever played console RPGS and AOL NWN, I went 'wow!'.  After seeing City of Heroes for the first time over 2 years ago, I went 'Wow!'.  This game?  Nothing.

As I mentioned before, I'm not a LotR fanatic, so I'm looking at this game in regards only to looks and gameplay.  IMO, it looked nice and played nice, but there wasn't anything that struck me as 'really cool'.  I'd have to agree with the OP's comments of 'generic'. 

~Ripper

Great write-up, Rev.

~Ripper

The entire point of this game is that it is a quick, down-and-dirty hack-n-slash.  It isn't a full fledged MMO like WoW and never will be.  Think of this game as a nice diversion from your other MMOs like Wow.  Personally, I subscribe to Cox and this is my 'secondary' game..  If you're looking for something more in-depth, then this isn't the game for you.

Eventually, there will be PVP, guilds, item-slotting and other MMO mechanics, but the core of the game will always be fast and easy-to-get-into hack-n-slash action.

~Ripper

1)  No PVP is a bonus for me.  I find that it tends to bring out the lowest common denominator in players in many games.  Your post tends to back up that theory.  That being said, the devs are working to bring PVP into the game in the form of instances, arenas or duels.

2)  The game HAS BEEN RELEASED.  It's not in beta, it just in limited release right now.  That being said, some of the beta testers (myself, included) were pretty ticked because we were never told beta was over until we got the email about having to pay for membership status.  Like it or not, the game is no longer in beta.  When the Feb/March build comes, that will essentially make the game 'full release' in my eyes, since it will have quests for all the other dungeons (not just the lower level dungeons).

~Ripper

Well, there's a lot coming in the next two months.  Check out my review:

Dungeon Runners Review

Here's a list (incomplete) of some of the things coming in the next build (Feb/March):

(quoted from MarkT - Developer):

~ 50 more quests!!!

a complete overhaul on the Horrific Dungeon of Legend!

~40 new armor pieces (and this is just the tip of the ice berg folks)

color variants on some of the existing armor art

15 new 1 handed picks (meaning new art) - yes we know the ranged weapons are lacking and yes, they are in the works and will hopefully make the following build

new monster movement behavior as well as more skills and abilities on monsters

The classless system is supposed to be implemented with the March/April build.

~Ripper

Welcome and I'm glad you're having fun!  I, too, find that I intend to sit down for a short session but end up playing for hours!  The humor is something that attracts me, too.  I love that the Bank NPC does a Sean Connery impression and that the hermit does Krusty the Clown.

FYI, the game isn't in Beta anymore.  It's in limited-release, but is live.

~Ripper

Thanks for the reply Java!  I'm fairly certain I grouped with you on one of my characters recently (DarkMary or UlrichWolfsbane, maybe?).

~Ripper

Thanks for replying, RNLee.  It'd be nice if a few more people put their thoughts here.  So many invite threads are created that all other content gets lost.

~Ripper

1)  It's completely soloable. Some encounters may be more difficult (end bosses) if you're not of a sufficient level or don't have good gear, though.

2)  The dungeons don't change based on the group.  The mobs, however, scale up in difficulty and loot drops.

3)  You'll see a lot of similar models, but also lots of unique items, too.

4)  You can play for a few minutes or a few hours.  I find that if I sit down for a few minutes to play that I'll suddenly look to see that several hours have passed, however :-).

Here's a review I wrote on the game:

Dungeon Runners Review by Ripper McGee

~Ripper

Hey sYn,  I was the one chatting your ears off last night.  Here's the scoop:

1)  As a non-member, you can only use gray, green and blue drops.  You have to be a member to use yellow, purple and rainbow items.  Believe me, it's a different game with those items, too...

2)  No, you can't make more than one character, per account.  This may change in the near future, according to the lead programmer.

3)  As a member, you get extra lock box (bank) space.  The NPC is next to the King's Coin Vendors...

4)  tMy understanding is that the game has been massively stripped down from what it was originally, so that the devs can focus on the current vision of the game.

~Ripper

GabrielD, I believe I was the one you grouped with.  I'd recommend that you post on the official boards:

http://boards.dungeonrunners.com

First, it's important to determine what kind of 'lag' you're experiencing.  Are you suffering from a poor frame rate or from 'rubberbanding' (suddenly snapping back x number of feet that you just ran).  Frame rate is typically caused by your computer, whereas rubberbanding is normally caused by packet loss or other network issues.

Regarding fps,  there are very few graphics options to set within the game.  Here are the following options:

Resolution - this can have a huge impact on performance.  Don't pick a resolution higher than your card can handle.  Most modern cards can handle at least 1024X768.

Full Screen - Yes or No .  Allows you to run in full screen or windowed mode.  Shouldn't affect performance too much unless you're trying to run in a resolution that is too high for optimal performance.

Vertical Synch - Yes or No.  Turning Vertical Synch off increases performance, but can cause graphical 'tearing'.

Brightness - 1 through 10 .  Basically a gamma setting controlling how bright the game is.  Shouldn't affect performance.

AntiAlias - 2x through 8x - Smooths lines and jagged edges .  Can dramatically affect performance.  Some cards handle it well, others can't.  I have a 256MB NVidia GO 7900 GS that I play with at 8x.  By comparison, my desktop with a 7300 LS can't handle AntiAliasing for crap...

User Interface Size - 1 through 10.  Scales the size of the UI boxes. Shouldn't affect performance.

Foliage Density - 1 through 10.  Determines the amount of foliage in outdoor zones.  Can dramatically affect performance.

If I were you, I'd experiment with Resolution, AntiAlias and UI Size.

As with all games, I'd recommend that you have as few processes running in the background as possible.  Also, defrag often.  Make sure you have the latest drivers, cleanly installed.

Lastly, please post your system specs (amount of memory, processor and graphics card).  Post the same information on the official boards, so the devs can see the post.

~Ripper