New D&D Online Details

[bean19]

Gamespot's (www.gamespot.com) updated hands-on (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/ddonline/preview_6130925.html) of Turbine's upcoming MMORPG, Dungeon and Dragons Online (http://www.ddo.com) reveals a few new and interesting facts. Fans of the pen and paper RPG of the same name on which DDO is based will be glad to hear that the character creation system uses a character sheet derivative of the PnP game. Additionally, for those who fear DDO's planned twitch mechanics, "auto-attack", similar to that found in other MMOs, has been added as an option.

We also got a good sense of the varied tactics that enemies will use in the game to encourage players to think tactically. Undead ghouls will attempt to use their paralytic touch on just about any unfortunate adventurers they can get their claws on, while skeletal archers will hang back and avoid direct conflict, and wight priests will hurl curses (and other nasty spells) at you from afar. Combat takes place in real time, and you can choose either to have your character repeatedly "autoattack" (just like in EverQuest, World of Warcraft, and practically any other massively multiplayer game) or to "actively attack" by repeatedly clicking your mouse buttons and using keyboard shortcuts to make the most of your characters' attack bonuses and feats. The game itself seems to be coming along well and is scheduled for release early next year.Surely no one reading Evil Avatar is noob enough to need the auto-attack setting? Ninja dogs! (humor labeled for the humorless - I'm kidding)


UPDATE: IGN (http://www.ign.com) has a new video interview (http://media.pc.ign.com/media/619/619908/vids_1.html) with Turbine President and noted Mr. Clean look-a-like, Jeff Anderson, that unveils some details that may prove upsetting to prospective gamers.

In order to leave some room for expansions, and due to the fact that the D&D ruleset only provides for 20 character levels, Turbine has decided to release with only 10 levels obtainable. To provide more than 10 moments of character advancement throughout the game, Turbine will provide "ranks" throughout levels that stagger advancement. For example, a player's avatar might be a level 4, rank 3 wizard who has more spell points, spells, and/or more skills than a level 4, rank 0 wizard.

Additionally, Jeff Anderson states that there are 7 months until release, a date much further back than the 5 months some players expected after the game was recently moved back from a holiday 2005 release to a Q1 release. This later date in the quarter makes sense given developer's infamy for releasing products on the cusp of a quarter to attract investers; however, the gameplay footage looks astonishingly complete and functional for a game that plans for a 7 month alpha/beta test.
They were kind of pushing it with only 20 levels. I wonder if they'll be able to sell only 10. It all comes down to the gameplay, but I'll go completely bat-shit loco if they expect me to grind a whole month for one ding-dong level.

[A Lusty Alien]

I am sorely tempted to add this game to my collection, though heaven knows the last thing I need right now is another MMORPG. If I get it, it's probably going to be as a homage to all those Tuesday, and Friday and Saturday nights I spent over the years (decades even) playing D&D.

Hey, Philip... Want to get a regular D&D group together? Each week, we can all stop off at Burger King on our way home from work and pick up dinner, then sit in front of our computer screens playing D&D and munching on bags of Doritos.

[Acidpoptart]

An autoattack really isnt needed for this game unless someone else is tanking and all you really want to do is just whack away. I tried this at E3, and since its in real time and what not, movement and choices are kinda important. Auto attack isnt really needed.

[Royal Fool]

I haven't been following DDO a lot, but I'm sort of disappointed to learn that it's not using the Forgotten Realms setting but instead it's Eberron, a setting I'm not wholly familiar with and supposedly rather new. I guess Wizards of the Coast are trying to market the campaign setting more and including it in DDO is part of those plans.

Still, I'd have preferred something slightly more familiar, even if Drizzt and all that crap sucks.

[Sazime]

Eberron is a neat setting, check it out. And I'm sure people are just as upset that they're not using Dragonlance. I think it's because Eberron is so new and they can keep expanding the online universe with the pnp one. But this combat thing sounds damned cool. It will definately keep people on their toes and add new strategy elements to PvP.

[Kefkataran]

I haven't been following DDO a lot, but I'm sort of disappointed to learn that it's not using the Forgotten Realms setting

Personally, I'm relieved they're not using Forgotten Realms. Think of all the D&D-related RPGs to come out in the past 5-10 years. Now how many of those don't use Forgotten Realms? D&D has so many other settings (Planescape, Ravenloft, Dragonlance, Eberron, etc.) and they just let most of them sit. It's a damned shame, and I hope this leads to exploring some of the others.

[bean19]

They decided against Forgotten Realms in large part because there are so many hyper-powerful NPCs.

They couldn't really make players able to be as powerful as Drizzt or Elminster (or even their companions), and the boss mobs faced by these super-powerful characters in the fiction would decimate a party playing under the D&D rules. So they were faced with playing outside the D&D rules or dumbind down encounters so that they were beatable by D&D parties.

Eberron provides a world where the players are less super-human and thus more central to the story.

[Ernst_Jager]

What about Spelljammer or Darksun? You have to admit a good Spelljammer game could be fun.

[A Lusty Alien]

What about Spelljammer or Darksun? You have to admit a good Spelljammer game could be fun.

I've got a Hamster, and I'm not afraid to use it!

[balamoor]

Not to sound like a buzz kill, but I'm still betting this one gets canned before retail. It just seems like Wish all over again to me.

[Draft]

Wow, varied attacks like archers standing back to... shoot you :|

[nonchalance]

What about Spelljammer or Darksun? You have to admit a good Spelljammer game could be fun.

Would be very difficult to do a good Spelljammer MMORPG, though.
It'd probably end up pretty much like SWG, but with spellcasters.

I'd love to see Darksun or Planescape - but Eberron's a good choice. It gives the game designers a lot more freedom, as opposed to one of those settings like Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance where everybody knows every inch of the geography.

[jeffool]

As someone who's only played D&D a couple of times, what's the difference with the settings? Or is it essentially a way to say "Those people? They don't exist." and build a new world with other fun people/places?

[bean19]

Wow, varied attacks like archers standing back to... shoot you :|

REVOLUTIONARY!!! hehe.

Okay, I've got more DDO news, but this isn't a DDO fansite and there are no new news posts after this one to spread them apart, so I'll just post the "news" here. (Note to editors, if you want to cut and paste as news tomorrow after some spread between stories or append to the current post, feel free).



IGN (http://www.ign.com) has a new video interview (http://media.pc.ign.com/media/619/619908/vids_1.html) with Turbine President and noted Mr. Clean look-a-like, Jeff Anderson, that unveils some details that may prove upsetting to prospective gamers. In order to leave some room for expansions, and due to the fact that the D&D ruleset only provides for 20 character levels, Turbine has decided to release with only 10 levels obtainable. To provide more than 10 moments of character advancement throughout the game, Turbine will provide "ranks" throughout levels that stagger advancement. For example, a player's avatar might be a level 4, rank 3 wizard who has more spell points, spells, and/or more skills than a level 4, rank 0 wizard.

Additionally, Jeff Anderson states that there are 7 months until release, a date much further back than the 5 months some players expected after the game was recently moved back from a holiday 2005 release to a Q1 release. This later date in the quarter makes sense given developer's infamy for releasing products on the cusp of a quarter to attract investers; however, the gameplay footage looks astonishingly complete and functional for a game that plans for a 7 month alpha/beta test.

They were kind of pushing it with only 20 levels. I wonder if they'll be able to sell only 10. It all comes down to the gameplay, but I'll go completely retarded loco bat-shit crazy if they expect me to grind for a month from level 9 to level 10.

[Kefkataran]

Not to sound like a buzz kill, but I'm still betting this one gets canned before retail. It just seems like Wish all over again to me.

I'm still calling b.s. on this. It just seems really unlikely that it'll flop when it's already entering beta and all.

[bean19]

As someone who's only played D&D a couple of times, what's the difference with the settings? Or is it essentially a way to say "Those people? They don't exist." and build a new world with other fun people/places?

I'm not a D&D player, but I've been following this game.

Eberron has a "pulp noir" feeling to the writing attached to it. The difference is the setting and the characters that inhabit the world (like you said, these characters won't exist), but it also has to do with particulars. For instance, (and this are the only things I know, I'm exhausting my expertise here) there is a race specific to Eberron called Warforged. Warforged are golems (think steampunk sentient robots) and have very interesting and different racial bonuses as well as being something new to make the setting a bit more interesting than just another Elf game. Additionally, there are flying air ships. . . this world is infused with magic more so than the others. In Forgotten Realms, characters in campaigns would run into magic all the time because their characters were central to world changing events, but in Eberron players can run into magic even when they aren't fighting Super Wizard X, and having 100 player wizards running around town doesn't strain credulity.

[Heretic Machine]

As someone who's only played D&D a couple of times, what's the difference with the settings? Or is it essentially a way to say "Those people? They don't exist." and build a new world with other fun people/places?

Settings have different races, gods, geography, possibly different rules. They are entirely different worlds, often times on a different plane of existence. One might be ruled by dragons, another might not have dragons at all. They are settings, to put it simply.

Eberron has a "pulp noir" feeling

Eberron is Steampunk with a heavy fantasy element, yo.

[nonchalance]

As someone who's only played D&D a couple of times, what's the difference with the settings? Or is it essentially a way to say "Those people? They don't exist." and build a new world with other fun people/places?

Part of it's that.
Part of it is entirely different game balance, and different game styles.

For example, Forgotten Realms characters have loads and loads of magic items and spells - it's rare to see a level 10 character without at least a dozen items of varying power on him/her. There's a few godlike (level 30+) NPCs wandering around.
In contrast, a Dragonlance character could well be wearing non-magical armour at level 14, and the stars of the Dragonlance Saga vary between level 9 and level 15.
Darksun is a desert world, and use of magic damages the environment further. Characters die relatively easily, and there's not that much magic.
Spelljammer is a space thing, very high-power, very epic.

They change a fair bit more than just location and cast - it's mood, balance, atmosphere, difficulty, style, all of it.

[Heretic Machine]

It's also worth mentioning that Spelljammer, like Planescape, connects the other settings into one. You could start on Krin, and then wind up in Ravenloft...

[nonchalance]

It's also worth mentioning that Spelljammer, like Planescape, connects the other settings into one. You could start on Krin, and then wind up in Ravenloft...

That it does. And if you're using the Spelljammer setting, then all the other settings except Darksun have various ports for spelljamming ships to come and trade at.

And Ravenloft just picks people up from other settings and drops them into a gothic horror novel via the Deus Ex Machina of swirly mist.

[Heretic Machine]

In order to leave some room for expansions, and due to the fact that the D&D ruleset only provides for 20 character levels, Turbine has decided to release with only 10 levels obtainable. To provide more than 10 moments of character advancement throughout the game, Turbine will provide "ranks" throughout levels that stagger advancement. For example, a player's avatar might be a level 4, rank 3 wizard who has more spell points, spells, and/or more skills than a level 4, rank 0 wizard.


WTF... The D&D rule set goes way past 20th level. That's when you hit epic levels, which is where expansions SHOULD be going, rather than just limiting the base levels... Shit, the game sounds like crap now.

[Opty]

I'm still calling b.s. on this. It just seems really unlikely that it'll flop when it's already entering beta and all.

Wish entered beta a week before they decided to cancel the whole thing, so it's not unheard of.

What I'd like is a d20 modern based MMORPG. That'd rock.

[OUX]

I am really interested in this game because in D&D you have always been able to multiclass has anyone heard if this is still going to be a feature in this game?

[Draknodred]

I am really interested in this game because in D&D you have always been able to multiclass has anyone heard if this is still going to be a feature in this game?

multiclassing is definitely a feature in DDO, isn't always smart but if you really want to do a wizard/sorcerer then go for it =)

[Crabby]

Eberron is a neat setting, check it out. And I'm sure people are just as upset that they're not using Dragonlance. I think it's because Eberron is so new and they can keep expanding the online universe with the pnp one. But this combat thing sounds damned cool. It will definately keep people on their toes and add new strategy elements to PvP.


No PvP here. Remain on the bus til the next stop.

[Acidpoptart]

No PvP here. Remain on the bus til the next stop.

Eww are you sure? MMOs just arnt as tasty without some good ol' PvP to keep you happy.

[bean19]

Eww are you sure? MMOs just arnt as tasty without some good ol' PvP to keep you happy.

Positive.

They are trying to be as true as possible to the D&D rules, but the classes are not balanced at all in D&D rules so they would have to create separate systems for nearly everything in PvP and they just aren't focused on that.

DDO is all about advancements in PvE content. They want dungeons where you have varied objectives and varied paths for completing them. Your job might be to get through an instance without killing anything (or getting spotted). They had an actual floor puzzle in a dungeon in one video.

What they are attempting to do is create the same feeling of campaiging that people get in the PnP game, grouping with a small number of people and going out on interesting and varied quests, that you get in the PnP game, so no PvP at launch.

[Spigot]

I loved Turbine's work with the original Asheron's Call but I'm not sure how excited I can get over this. I find it amusing that the company that pretty much slapped Everquest for having 80 different expansions by having free monthly updates is now limiting their new game to keep room for expansions.

That said, it would be cool to run around in Eberron. It's a pretty snazzy setting. I agree that Darksun or Planescape (ah, sweet Sigil and her lovely doors) would be amazing settings.

That, or Gamma Earth :)

[Kefkataran]

Wish entered beta a week before they decided to cancel the whole thing, so it's not unheard of.

Meh. I'll still believe it when I see it. PROVE ME WRONG, D&D ONLINE! I DARE YOU.

[Gel214th]

"They were kind of pushing it with only 20 levels. I wonder if they'll be able to sell only 10. It all comes down to the gameplay, but I'll go completely bat-shit loco if they expect me to grind a whole month for one ding-dong level."

If that one level is equivalent to 10 levels in another RPG, and you still advance through ranks, then what's the problem?

We sometimes complain about lack of innovation, but when companies try to do things differently they learn that gamers sometimes really just want more of the same, and don't want the status quo changed :)

[bean19]

Gel214th - I know that I hate slow character advancement in other games, so I'm not looking forward to it in other games.

[Kefkataran]

Well, if ranks really do serve well as character advancement, that won't be a problem. We'll have to see how that works out.

[bean19]

They've posted this dev diary (http://www.ddo.com/index.php?page_id=90) by Ken Troop that explains that each level will have 4 ranks in it that provide leveling opportunities outside the normal leveling system.

At level up, players get action points that can be spent on enhancements, but a player may only use 4 enhancements at a time.

It looks like these will be small buffs that give the player something to tool with between levels, but since there are only 4 of them on at any one time, they won't cause a tremendous difference in skill level difference between a PnP level 8 fighter and a DDO level 8 fighter.

Not very well explained. . . I'm extrapolating some of that answer from what I know of games, etc.

[CarpeAmentum]

They decided against Forgotten Realms in large part because there are so many hyper-powerful NPCs.

They couldn't really make players able to be as powerful as Drizzt or Elminster (or even their companions), and the boss mobs faced by these super-powerful characters in the fiction would decimate a party playing under the D&D rules. So they were faced with playing outside the D&D rules or dumbind down encounters so that they were beatable by D&D parties.

Eberron provides a world where the players are less super-human and thus more central to the story.


Not sure if you have ever seen the official character "sheets" for at least Elminster or not. If you have, I am guessing that you are just bad at d&d or something, because Elminster is a pansy.

[nonchalance]

Not sure if you have ever seen the official character "sheets" for at least Elminster or not. If you have, I am guessing that you are just bad at d&d or something, because Elminster is a pansy.

Pardon me?
According to the 3rd Ed FR Campaign Setting, he's multiclass fighter 1, rogue 2, cleric 3, Wizard 20, Archmage 5 and Epic character 4.
He's level 35, for fuck's sake.

Admittedly, not the most twinkish level progression, but how is that in any way pansylike?

[OUX]

The dudes got a f'in PIPE that hucks 10 dice fireballs!!! Besides Jesus was only like a level 14 cleric how bad ass do you have to be to not be a pansy?

[CarpeAmentum]

Pardon me?
According to the 3rd Ed FR Campaign Setting, he's multiclass fighter 1, rogue 2, cleric 3, Wizard 20, Archmage 5 and Epic character 4.
He's level 35, for fuck's sake.

Admittedly, not the most twinkish level progression, but how is that in any way pansylike?

If I remember correctly, he is built so poorly that a well built 20th lvl character, or a really well built 18th lvl character would wipe the floor with him. He is a pansy for being lvl 35... I'll see if I can look up the full char "sheet" for myself.