from what i've read of the game so far, its a fun concept, i know there are a lot of solo'ers out there, but the D&D game was always about groups, a game will always be more fun when you are part of a team, well, thats my opinion anyway, having quest xp instead of a per kill xp sounds interesting, if it encourages people to experiment instead of just killing everything they come across, then that has to be good. im really looking forward to this one, hanging around in taverns between dungeon crawls.. now that never used to happen in pnp D&D
After reading that article as well as the dev forums at DDO, I'm as happy as a kid in a candy store. Anymore I feel like falling asleep in World of Warcraft, especially after multiple instance runs...remind me how this isn't like Diablo 2 again?
I have to say, I'm going to be checking this game out when it comes live.. It looks like there's a lot to look forward to here, as a longtime player of D&D and roleplaying games in general (both on- and offline).
The one thing that concerns me though is the statement that most content will be designed for group play. I can understand making sure that there's lot of group content, but if they neglect the solo player to the point that there's nothing I can do when I've only got half an hour or so to play, I'm going to be seriously disappointed. Yeah, grouping is good. But I don't want to have to spend time finding a group that's looking for my class, working out loot rules/who's leader/who actually knows how to play their class etc every time I want to play. Sometimes I just want to go crawl into a dungeon somewhere by myself.
And sometimes I just don't have the time to deal with a group. We've all been there... You've got a couple hours of free tiem so you log in. Spend an hour getting a group together and ready, only to have the cleric suddenly log out... spend another 20 minutes finding a replacement, maybe lose someone else. By this time you only have half an hour or so left to play. What's the point?
But they say they've got a fix for this, by having everyone all together in one city. Maybe they've found a quick and easy way to help people get groups started. I don't know.
I'll give it a shot. But like I said, the group-heavy thing worries me a bit. There's a reason I'm still playing CoH ... when I only have half an hour, I know I can log in and do a mission. I don't NEED a group if I don't have time for one.
I think that this game is probably the stand out MMORPG based on the E3 reports but i am not sure if i personally like the game yet. I am impress with some of the designs and features especially setting the game in a new world and the use of instanced quests. The skill check to hear noises sounds like a great idea and having a smaller server population might create a closer knit community. However, it seems that the game doent have a wow factor for me, there isn't a lot from the info released that really differentiates it from every other MMORPG.
Who knows, maybe it will turn out great but atm this game is not for me (btw, i don't like graphics either.)
Hi! I am a fanatic of simulation, and realism of the environment is IMO the very first step. D&DO really looks promising, even slightly more than Guild Wars. I bought GW and I think some of the visual effects, like the amount of objects managed by the client, are outstanding all other games I have tried (think of the branches of the trees moving with all the grass around). One of the worse limits of GW is its "forbidden areas", which "channels" the avatar into pre-defined paths which allow not enough freedom (why shouldn't I be able to climb a hill, or go downhill a low mountain?). That really compromises a lot in a scenario which is otherwise so great. WoW is less prone to this error, even if its visual quality is far behind the GW's one. I hope that's meant to be a space for improvement and future updates, and not a definitive choice from the development team.
D&DO, at least from the shots I've seen online, is just a fine compromise (with a remarkable affinity to GW) between these two great games: the whole is blended together really smoothly, and the definition of details and lights and environment objects is amazing. The article keeps on describing the possibility to interact with the environment in a much deeper level - something which is missing from both WoW and GW, where you cannot pick a stone from the ground, unless you're meant to do that in that precise place. Hopefully, this will open the way to a further generation of online games, where it will be possible to (partially) change the environment and the system will record that for all players to come (e.g. I can chop a tree down, and from that moment on the tree will appear chopped down for everyone else, then slowly rotting till it disappears...). Of course this will require a huge amount of extra elaboration, but the level of satisfaction and reward it would generate in players will be immense (once again, IMHO!). I would personally go crazy for that.
I play RPG (both computer based or on paper) since 1985, and I will never get sick of it. In my "growth" as a player, I always appreciated the level of correspondence with the reality (e.g. the avatar in every game should eat and rest every once in a while! Something which is not difficult to do, it only takes a "vitality counter" affected by eating, resting, fighting and running, and gives a thermometer of the player's energy at a certain moment... is that so hard? ;-) ). In "old" @ games (Rogue, NetHack, Angband and so on) it's a determinant part of the whole game, and I really think it could be implemented in modern MMORPGs really easily.
Anyway. Just wanted to put my "two euros" (since I am Italian!), and share my opinions on D&DO and MMORPGs in general. Hei, there's a poll option... let's see if I'm right!
Hope to see you all completing and releasing what seems to be a GREAT piece of art. I will be a sure buyer. Great job guys!
i think that i like the small communtiy based servers but im not exactly sure what that means, is there only going to be up to 1,000 characters on each server, if so i dont no if that is such a good idea because what if characters are made and only used once a week or so, it might make it so you never see anyone because their simply arent alot of people on your particular sever that play the game alot and that would just completely ruin the game but we will have to see.
I have been a D@D player since 1989, and an EQ player for past 2 years. I am a very serious player who enjoys both grouping and solo play. It is obvious to me after playing and watching others play that solo play consumes as much if not more time than grouping. Reason being, u can always find time to solo, but u cannot always put together a good responsible group. It is also true that all of us from time to time enjoy just a relaxing time alone in our favorite game, just developing our toons. I sincerly hope that a game that has the potential to be as great as this one does , is not ruined by the lack of solo content, at any level of play.
Comments
Is anything about playable Races, Classes & Prestige Classes ?
from what i've read of the game so far, its a fun concept, i know there are a lot of solo'ers out there, but the D&D game was always about groups, a game will always be more fun when you are part of a team, well, thats my opinion anyway, having quest xp instead of a per kill xp sounds interesting, if it encourages people to experiment instead of just killing everything they come across, then that has to be good. im really looking forward to this one, hanging around in taverns between dungeon crawls.. now that never used to happen in pnp D&D
After reading that article as well as the dev forums at DDO, I'm as happy as a kid in a candy store. Anymore I feel like falling asleep in World of Warcraft, especially after multiple instance runs...remind me how this isn't like Diablo 2 again?
I hope this is a good game, however I have reservations.
I have to say, I'm going to be checking this game out when it comes live.. It looks like there's a lot to look forward to here, as a longtime player of D&D and roleplaying games in general (both on- and offline).
The one thing that concerns me though is the statement that most content will be designed for group play. I can understand making sure that there's lot of group content, but if they neglect the solo player to the point that there's nothing I can do when I've only got half an hour or so to play, I'm going to be seriously disappointed. Yeah, grouping is good. But I don't want to have to spend time finding a group that's looking for my class, working out loot rules/who's leader/who actually knows how to play their class etc every time I want to play. Sometimes I just want to go crawl into a dungeon somewhere by myself.
And sometimes I just don't have the time to deal with a group. We've all been there... You've got a couple hours of free tiem so you log in. Spend an hour getting a group together and ready, only to have the cleric suddenly log out... spend another 20 minutes finding a replacement, maybe lose someone else. By this time you only have half an hour or so left to play. What's the point?
But they say they've got a fix for this, by having everyone all together in one city. Maybe they've found a quick and easy way to help people get groups started. I don't know.
I'll give it a shot. But like I said, the group-heavy thing worries me a bit. There's a reason I'm still playing CoH ... when I only have half an hour, I know I can log in and do a mission. I don't NEED a group if I don't have time for one.
I think that this game is probably the stand out MMORPG based on the E3 reports but i am not sure if i personally like the game yet. I am impress with some of the designs and features especially setting the game in a new world and the use of instanced quests. The skill check to hear noises sounds like a great idea and having a smaller server population might create a closer knit community. However, it seems that the game doent have a wow factor for me, there isn't a lot from the info released that really differentiates it from every other MMORPG.
Who knows, maybe it will turn out great but atm this game is not for me (btw, i don't like graphics either.)
cant wait!
Hi! I am a fanatic of simulation, and realism of the environment is IMO the very first step. D&DO really looks promising, even slightly more than Guild Wars. I bought GW and I think some of the visual effects, like the amount of objects managed by the client, are outstanding all other games I have tried (think of the branches of the trees moving with all the grass around). One of the worse limits of GW is its "forbidden areas", which "channels" the avatar into pre-defined paths which allow not enough freedom (why shouldn't I be able to climb a hill, or go downhill a low mountain?). That really compromises a lot in a scenario which is otherwise so great. WoW is less prone to this error, even if its visual quality is far behind the GW's one. I hope that's meant to be a space for improvement and future updates, and not a definitive choice from the development team.
D&DO, at least from the shots I've seen online, is just a fine compromise (with a remarkable affinity to GW) between these two great games: the whole is blended together really smoothly, and the definition of details and lights and environment objects is amazing. The article keeps on describing the possibility to interact with the environment in a much deeper level - something which is missing from both WoW and GW, where you cannot pick a stone from the ground, unless you're meant to do that in that precise place. Hopefully, this will open the way to a further generation of online games, where it will be possible to (partially) change the environment and the system will record that for all players to come (e.g. I can chop a tree down, and from that moment on the tree will appear chopped down for everyone else, then slowly rotting till it disappears...). Of course this will require a huge amount of extra elaboration, but the level of satisfaction and reward it would generate in players will be immense (once again, IMHO!). I would personally go crazy for that.
I play RPG (both computer based or on paper) since 1985, and I will never get sick of it. In my "growth" as a player, I always appreciated the level of correspondence with the reality (e.g. the avatar in every game should eat and rest every once in a while! Something which is not difficult to do, it only takes a "vitality counter" affected by eating, resting, fighting and running, and gives a thermometer of the player's energy at a certain moment... is that so hard? ;-) ). In "old" @ games (Rogue, NetHack, Angband and so on) it's a determinant part of the whole game, and I really think it could be implemented in modern MMORPGs really easily.
Anyway. Just wanted to put my "two euros" (since I am Italian!), and share my opinions on D&DO and MMORPGs in general. Hei, there's a poll option... let's see if I'm right!
Hope to see you all completing and releasing what seems to be a GREAT piece of art. I will be a sure buyer. Great job guys!
Claudio de Biasio
I've played the pencil and paper version for years. I can't wait to see it come to life! Thanks for the info!
I'd like to see us be able to play with our environment and be able to interact with it. That's something you just don't see in mmorpgs.