Dungeons and Dragons ... level 10's before launch.

Turbine has allowed people who pre-ordered Dungeons and Dragons Online to have an early start. So, it was bound to happen that a player was going to flip on hardcore mode and hit the max level (10) relatively fast. The problem is that such a player has done so; five days before the game has landed on store shelves!

The post on the DDO forums has a lot of points between the casual players and this single hardcore level 10. The level 10 claims he was figuring out if there was a ton of level 10 content to be consumed and he was terribly wrong because there is ZERO level 10 content. The more casual crowd is chanting "Thats what you get for rushing." I don't know which side is more sad in this argument because they are both horribly mistaken about DDO being a viable MMORPG.

Community member Karos says it best on page 4 of the thread...

"Ok, from reading this thread I get the impression that a lot of people feel it is fine for a game like this to end, 'the journey is everything', so to speak. Comparing this game to a non-subscription based rpg is comparing apples to oranges, as this game lives and dies by how many people is can keep playing.

Many people when they play a console rpg play it through slowly and completely, never to look at it again except in nostolgia. Now ask yourself if you would be willing to pay a monthly fee while that game is sitting on the shelf doing nothing. If enough people can honoestly say yes to that question, then this game has a future, but if not it will lose subscribers and with no bottom line it will go the way of AC2, but much quicker.

Endgame content is something every online game must eventually have to keep that subscriber. The form that content takes though can be extremely differentiated but it will all boil down to the same principal. How do you keep people busy and continuing to play after they reach the max level allowed? This question may seem moot, but eventually every player can reach that level if they continue to progress. You may think that someone reaching the end now is a problem, but it is a symptom of a much bigger problem.

Right now things are looking good and we can hope for fast new content patches. Let me finish with a different question. If every time you got together with friends for a PnP D&D game and and your DM asked you to roll up new chars and placed you in exactly the same campaign to be played out exactly the same way every single game, how long before you found yourself a new DM?"

That is a very well stated point of view that I have to agree with. The casual gamers out there are going to be hitting 10 within a month or two months time and they are quickly going to come to the same conclusion as the hardcore. The argument that Turbine is going to continuously add content as a viable way to maintain the game is utter bull crap. They've had years to build this games content (remember they already had the engine built) and they can't make more than a few days worth of leveling content?

It is true that the number of levels doesn't matter. Level 10 as max does not have to be a short journey. Turbine proclaimed how their was going to be so many mini step ups as you level that you will have content for months on end before running out of content. Turbine vastly underestimated what amount of content they did have because its not even remotely close to being viable to support this game.

I truly feel sorry for the idiots in that thread posting that Turbine will have a patch out within a few weeks with tons of content. It just doesn't work like that. They will be able to add a couple top end quests at most and that's if they go for quality. They could squeeze out a few more, but they are going to be very unfinished experiences. The majority of early patching will be in fixing technical bugs and game bugs... not content delivery.

Here are the points I dug out of the thread:

1. The content doesn't change. It's the same the first time you play and then is just a repeat. Turbine didn't even bother to have the traps or secret doors change locations.

2. The speed of leveling is not proportionate to the amount of content available. It is being compared to leveling to 20 in WoW, which took casual people about a month to do and the hardcore hitting 20 after a day. Difference being, WoW has different 1-20 content for almost every race.

3. There is ZERO level 10 end game content available. Once you hit level 10 it is a reroll and restart, farm the dungeons you've already completed, or wait for the next content patch which is X number of weeks away.

Final Thoughts

DDO is in trouble and matter of fact so is Turbine.

Update: 1 Sept, 2009 - Edited post, applied label.

Time

I've come to realize that I just don't have time to do things that I want anymore. I have too many things that need to be done! Fortunately all things that I need to get done are worth more than anything in the end, but still having little to no time to pursue my hobbies is a big downer. But before I get into solutions I will get into what I'm so busy with.

1. I've purchased a house.
2. I've began planning my wedding.
3. I'm preparing to move within the next few months.
4. In a few months I will be out of the active military.
5. I'm beginning research into what school I will attend after I am out of the active military.

Now, I normally like to keep real life out of my blog, but these changes will play greatly into my gaming future and the reason I am about to present some solutions to keep my gaming addiction fed.

Solution 1 - EVE Online. Since I am already playing it and skill training requires minimal interaction I can continue. This is a good idea, but as I begin to spend more time away from my current house I will not have a PC to access the net with for weeks at a time. So EVE Online and MMORPGs in general are going to be tough.

Solution 2 - Finally getting a Nintendo DS as I've been wanting to do. I gave one to my fiance as a birthday present and she absolutely loves it. I have a crack list of games to get: Mario Kart DS, Mario Bros Partners in Time, and soon to be released Metroid Prime Hunters plus the new untitled Mario DS title.

Also I would get a wireless USB adapter to plug into my PC for some online play for Mario Kart DS. Even though I will be without a net connected PC for weeks at a time there should be plenty of titles to keep me busy and any gameboy is king of portability.

Solution 3 - Give up gami.... blah I can't finish typing that. Haha...

Peace out!

Out for the weekend... err my weekend

I'll be gone until Saturday evening which just so happens to be my "weekend". Next month I'll be switching to Sunday and Mondays off instead of Friday and Saturday. Anyways I will be out of town.

My fiance and I have bought a house after much research so I will be up there checking it out. Good luck in all your gaming... whether its World of Warcraft, EVE Online, Battlefield 2, Everquest 2, Star Wars Galaxies, Dark Ages of Camelot, Anarachy Online, Shadowbane, Asherons Call, Dungeons and Dragons Online, etc. Think I named enough?

Update: 29 Nov, 2009 - Edited post and applied labels.

Guild Wars world champs and thoughts on pro-video gaming

Joystiq has a small blurb up about the Guild Wars world champions. Congrats to team EviL for taking home the prize. The whole thought of gaming for cash and the comments to the article got me thinking. Along with thoughts from the Gaming Steve podcast I have some thoughts that I posted as comments to the Joystiq article.

"Videogames as a sport will not get picked up as mainstream until the various leagues learn to stick to a single game... not many games that change every couple of years.

The MLB doesn't announce next seasons is going to be played as Baseball 2.0. The NFL doesn't go and introduce NFL:The Sequel as next years "game". Profesional sports change very little overtime.

Video gaming professionally needs a constant game. In the US the closest contender we have is Counterstrike. Even then the main star of the circuit is Fatal1ty who jumps to whatever Quake-inspired game is hot.

Pro video gaming is actually a sad commercial interest for the games being played and the technology (gfx cards fo sho) the gamers compete on.

Starcraft is HUGE in Korea and is basically their national "past time". Starcraft is an old game and I doubt you will see the Koreans changing games anytime soon. Sure other games in Korea are competitive, but its basically like comparing the MLB to AAA baseball in the US. It's minor league vs major league.

And until the US video gaming tournaments get out of the commercial aspect of selling the newest and greatest hardware and software, they won't succeed."

Thoughts?

Update: 29 Nov, 2009 - Edited post and applied labels.

Lum (aka Scott Jennings) leaves Mythic Entertainment

Mythic Entertainment, the makers of Dark Ages of Camelot, have lost one of their best today. Lum the Mad (aka Scott Jennings) has parted ways with the company. The old man was seen kicking a jar as he left releasing a magical fairy that will be flying him South by Southwest for an unknown purpose. The blogging scene is full of rumors.

1. Lum the ever vigilant World War II gaming fan could possibly be headed to Cornered Rat software to begin design work on World War II Online.

2. SOE has posted job listings in the southwest for Lead Designer.

3. With the success of his book, MMORPGs for Dummies, it is speculated that he is retiring to Arizona to concentrate his efforts on MMORPGs for Dummies : The Sequel.

4. And finally many have speculated the man really has finally gone crazy.

Update: 29 Nov, 2009 - Edited post, removed broken links, and applied labels.