Make This Game Great Again!

[Eguzky]

Man, I really want this MMO to come back. 11 years old and still fun to play..minus the paywalls for pretty much everything past level 3 :(


Anyways, my views on how to revive this beloved MMO now that it has a new company:

Update the graphics!
This is pretty much a 'no duh'. It's 11 years old, and LOOKS 11 years old. A graphical overhaul could breathe new life into this MMO.

Update the combat!
This one is..complicated. I don't mean a new combat system; this system works well for a 3.5E-based MMO. And it should STAY 3.5E based. The newer MMO based off 5E I think? I can't remember the name..but it was just a boring, cookie-cutter MMO based on a D&D world.
So what do I mean? Ok..
Update combat animations (the one-handed maces share one-handed weapon animations for everything else..which is slash/slash/stab. This means people stab..with a mace.) So make weapons have more unique weapon animations. Slashing and stabbing for shortswords and longswords, 3-stab combos for daggers, 3-slash combos for greatswords and battleaxes, etc.
Maybe even add whips with 5 foot reach? New weapons not seen in the game yet?

On top of that:
Make combat more..involved?
Monsters ten to have ONE death animation; hit a cultist with a sword? Spins around and falls over. Fireball? Spins around and falls over. Knife? Spins around and falls over. Greatsword? Spins around and falls over.
We can do more; we have the technology.
Kill with a dagger? You drive it into their chest.
Kill with a rapier? Run them through.
Battleaxe/Greatsword? You cleave into their torso via the shoulder.
Backstab kill? You step up close and drive it low and up, what would be going under armor and up into the vitals.
Fireball? They fall over and roll before going still.
Ice? They freeze solid.
Etc, etc.
I'm not saying there has to be blood and guts and gore; just better animations to make combat feel more involved.

Add more races!
Why not free up a few races for free players, and add a few lesser monsterous races? Like kobolds, gnolls, etc.

Add evil paths!
I see evil-aligned weapons in-game, but no choice of evil alignment. While that makes sense for the current modules; an evil person would not save Korthos, for example, why not add new towns and distraught and oppressed cities that evil people quest in? They put down kobolds and bugbears who are rising up, or making bids for their own evil power structure.

And, finally:

Add Custom Modules!
Seriously, other games have proven player-made content can be GREAT. Why not allow players to have a 'Custom Module' character; one that plays player-made dungeons and even full quests and worlds? It's seperate from the official-content characters, to avoid buffing people with XP-farm content..
..BUT!
Allow the community to police and endorse these modules; report those that have vulger content to be removed or blocked, and even UPVOTE good ones.
The best of the best could be reviewed by you, the company, and added are paid DLC for a few bucks. A cut of the profits go to those who made it.

And bam; you've updated and revived the game, and even pulled the community in to help it thrive and become something to last ANOTHER eleven years!
Because I'd love to be playing this in 2028. It's a good MMO, it just needs a little TLC.

[Avocado]

Might as well just make a new game called ddo2. They won't update combat, they won't update graphics. We are getting asimar soon or whatever it's called. They can't implement player made content. These won't make the game great again. The game it already great and always has been.

[Eguzky]

Might as well just make a new game called ddo2. They won't update combat, they won't update graphics. We are getting asimar soon or whatever it's called. They can't implement player made content. These won't make the game great again. The game it already great and always has been.

Maybe a DDO 2 with about 50% less microtransactions for everything past level 3 would be a good thing.

[SiliconScout]

I am a premium player.

I probably spend a year pretty close to what it would cost for a VIP sub and certainly more than the cost of an annual sub. Some years it's more, others it's less but I have probably $2,000 at a minimum invested in this game as I went Premium about a week after they offered it.

As much as DDO2 is attractive I would not walk away from DDO and join it. Maybe if I was a VIP I would just transfer over my sub and start all over again (it's a bit of an if there though just ask everquest) but I can 100% say I wouldn't add a VIP in DDO2 nor would I just start over there.

Hey if I could transfer over my stuff or receive a cash equivalent credit for everything I have purchased then maybe but there is no way SSG could make any money allowing something like that.

So yeah ... love the idea of DDO 2 but in reality it is far more likley to be a catastrophic, closing down SSG failure than it is likely to pay off so I'd vote no as much as I really like the idea.

[Arch-Necromancer]

Update the combat animations!
Update combat animations (the one-handed maces share one-handed weapon animations for everything else..which is slash/slash/stab. This means people stab..with a mace.) So make weapons have more unique weapon animations. Slashing and stabbing for shortswords and longswords, 3-stab combos for daggers, 3-slash combos for greatswords and battleaxes, etc.
Maybe even add whips with 5 foot reach? New weapons not seen in the game yet?

Well, I actually think that this one could and should be done.

Really, every weapon type should get its own animation. Piercing rapiers should pierce, not slash. Bludgeoning weapons shouldn't stab.

I don't think it would be too much work to do that and it would definitely help the game look better. Maybe this could be done with half elf face redesign.

[Saekee]

I think having diverse mob deaths would be fun--at least on the frequently encountered ones

they are coming out with a new knife animation

[Cantor]

Maybe a DDO 2 with about 50% less microtransactions for everything past level 3 would be a good thing.

This is funny to me, DDO is one of the few systems I've seen that you can unlock virtually everything free and be competitive. Most "free" games are only free for the fodder that paying players need to beat up.

[Ralmeth]

I agree with others that as much as a DDO2 would be cool, I don't think that's in the cards at the moment. Someday, if there ever is a DDO2, here are my 2 copper pieces on some key elements I would want to consider.

Combat / Graphics
One thing that really makes DDO awesome is the combat system, as I consider this a first person shooter, but D&D. It's awesome that you can zoom in and out, and the combat is very active, which is fun. Having said that, it really bugs me when the geometry of an area makes it difficult to see what the heck is going on. This should be improved / ideally fixed. A wish list item would be to customize attack animations to match the weapon/style, but this issue would be a nice to have, and likely wouldn't be a sales driver.

Power Balance & Scaling
Have a long term plan for power balance and difficulty. I think getting the difficulty right in any game is a real art, and time should be spent designing how powerful characters will be vs. the content they will face. Make the plan encompass the initial level cap, all the way to what the max level will be some day. Formulas for the game mechanics could be designed around this. Monster, traps, spells, etc, could all be designed around this. So instead of seeing power bloat over time make earlier content a lot easier, if a long term plan is used then this won't happen. If the game mechanics are designed right, then they won't have to be changed drastically later on.

Feats / Enhancements / Epic Destinies / Reincarnation
Some time should be spent designing these up front. Some feats are really good, and others are newbie traps. Get rid of the traps, and make sure the feats that do exist are all competitive in what someone might want to take. In regards to enhancements, I love the enhancement system in DDO. It's very cool, and a lot of fun picking and choosing what to take. So do more of that. Design and balance character power relative to each other, and the challenges they will face. As for epic destinies, please trash the system because everyone knows that leveling off-destinies is not fun. Instead, in epic levels you should choose a class just like in heroic, but you get to spend points in epic class enhancement trees. Oh yeah, and keep reincarnation.

More Immersive
The game could be even more immersive than it is, and this could be accomplished a number of ways. First, more voice acting would be a lot more immersive. Secondly, design quests that make ecological sense and plan on what areas / monster types etc the characters will face based on their level. Higher levels should be really nasty stuff, and lower levels your typical monsters. For example, you shouldn't be fighting epic level wolves.

[Melkazar]

I'm not really bothered by the graphics. I play GuildWars 2 which should be new and shiny but I really don't get a feeling of missing much in DDO. Design is more important; parts of GW 2 are breathtaking but the Stormhorns prove that DDO can create beautiful vistas with their existing engine.

I do like the idea of different animations although again, it is not something that I think about. It would be nice to get spears we actually throw. The mobs have them, and we already have returning weapons so this should be easy enough to do. I'm always disappointed I can't hurl my Sirith into something's face.

[Eguzky]

This is funny to me, DDO is one of the few systems I've seen that you can unlock virtually everything free and be competitive. Most "free" games are only free for the fodder that paying players need to beat up.

Maybe. I'm currently a free account and, at level...7 or so? I've done every free mission in the Harbor and Market. I can't seem to find anymore that I can do without paying. It, on top of each race (past human/elf/dwarf/halfling), and every class behind microtransactions..and having limited money if I don't pay.. I hit my PP cap every level. :P

It really, REALLY feels like Turbine (back when they had the game) really, REALLY wanted to charge for each and every thing they could.

Hell, when I first started, I could be a warforged. Now? It's behind a paywall.

Maybe I just want to see more life breathed into the game; maybe, if they add more races, and more classes (I hope), we could see a few of the old pay ones become free? Maybe more free missions?

It just feels like TOO MUCH is locked behind paywalls and really high point prices. That's all.

[Krell]

I agree with the graphics and animations update. I would also add replacing old textures from early content. New content graphics are pretty good for the most part. The first impression for new players is the look of the game. After Korthos they are wandering through some of the original game quests and they look like it. They need to stick around for a while to learn and appreciate the game play and all the game systems. It may not be as exciting to veterans, but in the end, new players is what will keep this game going in the future.

[Cantor]

Maybe. I'm currently a free account and, at level...7 or so? I've done every free mission in the Harbor and Market. I can't seem to find anymore that I can do without paying. It, on top of each race (past human/elf/dwarf/halfling), and every class behind microtransactions..and having limited money if I don't pay.. I hit my PP cap every level. :P

It really, REALLY feels like Turbine (back when they had the game) really, REALLY wanted to charge for each and every thing they could.

Hell, when I first started, I could be a warforged. Now? It's behind a paywall.

Maybe I just want to see more life breathed into the game; maybe, if they add more races, and more classes (I hope), we could see a few of the old pay ones become free? Maybe more free missions?

It just feels like TOO MUCH is locked behind paywalls and really high point prices. That's all.

Get out of the harbor and marketplace. You should check out a F2P guide.
Level 7 is a good free level, there is tear and pit at 7, at 8 stormcleave and stromvauld's, gwylan's. House k has a couple 5/6, house D at 4/5. Various level 6 in house P and J.

The thing is that points are easy to earn in game, if the prices of packs were too cheap they would never make any money. I think the prices are more based on earned points augmented with cash, not assuming you pay cash for it all. I have been vip for some time and no regrets, $10 a month is a low entertainment expense if you play any significant amount.

WF has always been premium race, if you were VIP before you would have had it. If you are vip you get everything but expansions (and maybe some iconics, they came with expansion so idk if granted with vip).

[SpartanKiller13]

Personally I think the game is great already. Of course there are changes I'd like to see, but I guarantee that everyone (devs included) has a few things they'd like changed.

A lot of things that you're asking for would require a significant update to the coding, which is already more than a decade old and fairly spaghettified. I'm just glad that the game is still mostly bug-free and that the servers are running while a dev team creates new content and exciting things to discover.

Would I like better graphics? UI Scaling? More combat animations? Yes to all, but none of those will prevent me from calling this game a great one.

The real secret to graphics is to start playing the game on a cheesy laptop (like I did) before moving up to one with a gaming grade GPU. Ultra graphics are fantastic compared to the lowest setting. I'm still amazed by quite a lot of the graphics ingame.

[Eguzky]

Maybe I just need to find a good guild to help me find the good F2P quests. I'm on Orien. :P

[TPICKRELL]

Maybe I just need to find a good guild to help me find the good F2P quests. I'm on Orien. :PNot on Orien, but the DDOWiki free to play guide might be helpful: http://ddowiki.com/page/Guide_to_Free_to_Play

[scipiojedi]

Maybe I just need to find a good guild to help me find the good F2P quests. I'm on Orien. :P

Starting out free, then gradually buying/acquiring every pack in the game, I can show you how to level for free, since I don't think I bought anything until Gianthold, you can get to level 12 or so without buying any packs.

[Eguzky]

Granted, my one, biggest complaint for gameplay; Needing to talk to a person to repeat the quest.

..if we did it already, why can't we just click on the entrance and decide to replay it on the same/a higher difficulty? We already read the lore. :) Allowing this would save time, please!

[Chai]

This is funny to me, DDO is one of the few systems I've seen that you can unlock virtually everything free and be competitive. Most "free" games are only free for the fodder that paying players need to beat up.

The time it takes to unlock it all is prohibitive for anyone who does anything but play the game. The more modern games are Buy to Play, which means instead of buying the content ala carte, you by it all at once with one payment, and then the optional stuff is for sale in the store. Most of those games will at some point make previous tiers of the content free, while still selling the current tier and maybe one tier back. What this does is eliminates the vast majority of the confusion for the new user as to which content they can enter and which they cannot. Keeping them playing means theres a larger chance they will actually pay for something.

Ive seen the demographics on about ~10 ish modern games at this point, and youd be surprised how many people left the game within the first 48 hours of joining, due to not being able to run X content unless they made Y purchase, or equally as troubling, would loot an item out of the "free" content they are not allowed to use unless they purchase other content of which that item was implemented into the world during the same update.

[Qezuzu]

Ice? They freeze solid.

They had mobs killed by cold damage freeze and then shatter, as well as a lot of elemental-based death animations: acid would cause their bodies to dissolve, light damage (or holy?) would cause their bodies to disintegrate into light, fire would cause them to burn to ash, etc.

These were removed because they "caused client-side performance issues." This was years and years ago, I forget exactly when.

If there was ever a reasonably quick improvement to the game to make combat feel better, it would be bring back these death effects. I seriously do not see how some particle effects would cause noteworthy performance issues, at worst there should be an option to turn them off to improve performance if there's a perceived hit.

[scipiojedi]

Granted, my one, biggest complaint for gameplay; Needing to talk to a person to repeat the quest.

..if we did it already, why can't we just click on the entrance and decide to replay it on the same/a higher difficulty? We already read the lore. :) Allowing this would save time, please!

I have a handy way to avoid this.

Step 1: Join LFM Pug group
Step 2: Red door quest once they start
Step 3: Never talk to a quest giver again! :D

[Eguzky]

Well, if anyone plays on Orien, feel free to look for Eguzky or Tawfiq.

I plan on making a spellcaster if/when I can unlock level 7 starts.

[bls904c2]

i don't understand why people don't want to spend a few dollars on this game

i have been play this game off and on for pretty much the beginning

1 meal at fast food around $10
1 movie ticket $10-$12
1 drink at movie $5

one date night $50

$60 dollars for DDO points

2 hours a night 4-10 a weekend = 14-20 hours a week
about 6 years of playing over last 10 years

cheapest investment i ever did

and my wife plays ddo also so no wife aggro here

[Eguzky]

Honestly, as a Level 5 Rogue (premium now, I bought some DDO points)..where should I go for quests?

[SerPounce]

Honestly, as a Level 5 Rogue (premium now, I bought some DDO points)..where should I go for quests?

Depends what you've done. Go to http://ddowiki.com/page/Guide_to_Free_to_Play and sort the quest list by base level. Go do the quests you haven't done yet (if you click on them in the wiki it will tell you where the quest giver is).

Waterworks on normal would be good if you haven't done that. Also the depths chain in house D is a classic.


Save your points for higher level stuff (is something on super sale right now? Gianthold maybe? if so grab that! You'll be glad in a few levels).

[Eguzky]

Depends what you've done. Go to http://ddowiki.com/page/Guide_to_Free_to_Play and sort the quest list by base level. Go do the quests you haven't done yet (if you click on them in the wiki it will tell you where the quest giver is).

Waterworks on normal would be good if you haven't done that. Also the depths chain in house D is a classic.


Save your points for higher level stuff (is something on super sale right now? Gianthold maybe? if so grab that! You'll be glad in a few levels).

Grabbed Gianthold...Starting to wonder if I should switch servers. :P

No one in this thread seems to play on Orion and soloing is not all that fun.