Join us for a Chat with Sev on Wednesday on Twitch!

[Cordovan]

Join us this Wednesday starting at Noon Eastern (-5 GMT) for a chat with our Executive Producer Severlin on Twitch.tv/DDOstream! This will be our final Wednesday show of 2020, so it seemed like a good time to do an open Q&A with Sev and just give as many of you an opportunity to ask away as we can. See you there!

[Razor_Wit]

Q: Sev, when date did you know the raid wasn't going to be released anywhere near the date of the content it was bundled with ?

Q: Sev, why didn't you update the community (those who had prepaid/were about to be prepay/considering prepaying) with a revised eta as soon as you knew ?

Q: Sev, did you feel the potential loss of pre-pay sales as a result of the delay, outweighed the potential loss of fidelity with customers who had already paid for
part of something you knew would not arrive as advertised ?

Q: Sev, have you calculated how much of your player base will never pre-pay for an expansion again as a result of these circumstances you've created?

[Yokido]

Sweet! I'd love to watch but I'm outta town atm joining the Army reserve!

Can someone ask:

Severlin, are there more "epicifications/legendaryifications" coming to old content in the coming year?

Also, I imagine you'll be pulling the stops and busting out some sensational product for the Feywild raid since it's later than hoped for. Is there anything you can share with the community to address their concerns of unfair tardiness? I for one am happy the raid came AFTER, what with recent lag spikes that seem to follow big new releases.

Lastly, what is the present state of ladders, and has the team discussed switching to vines?

Tyvm

[mikarddo]

Sev - lag is once again (or still) a huge detriment to playing the game. I would be embarrased to introduce new players to the game due to lag. Are there any plans to seriously work on fixing this?

[LightBear]

The financial questions are not in place for Sev, you should address those to the board.

All I have for the developers is:
I see you, I hear you and I feel you.
Wish nothing but safety, health and steady progress for you all.

[DYWYPI]

I'd probably ask him something like; how many Baseball caps are currently within his collection? I won't be there although I'll possibly watch the recording at a later date.

[Aelonwy]

Join us this Wednesday starting at Noon Eastern (-5 GMT) for a chat with our Executive Producer Severlin on Twitch.tv/DDOstream! This will be our final Wednesday show of 2020, so it seemed like a good time to do an open Q&A with Sev and just give as many of you an opportunity to ask away as we can. See you there!

So what sorts of questions are appropriate? or appropriate for Sev? Is he only a big-picture person or does he know the nitty-gritty of some of the bug-type issues that players are experiencing and can give us a yes or no about whether those particular issues are being dealt with? Will he answer any future-type questions? Or is this strictly a what's-current conversation? Will he be allowed to tell us if everyone is still with SSG or if we lost people from the EG7 purchase? Its probably too much to hope we expanded any.

[Cordovan]

So what sorts of questions are appropriate? or appropriate for Sev? Is he only a big-picture person or does he know the nitty-gritty of some of the bug-type issues that players are experiencing and can give us a yes or no about whether those particular issues are being dealt with? Will he answer any future-type questions? Or is this strictly a what's-current conversation? Will he be allowed to tell us if everyone is still with SSG or if we lost people from the EG7 purchase? Its probably too much to hope we expanded any.

The idea is to leave the question topics as open as we realistically can. He's able to answer a pretty wide range of questions, although specific class bugs and the like might not be the best use of our time to answer. Still, ask whatever you'd like!

I can tell you that there weren't any personnel changes related to the acquisition of Daybreak by EG7 at SSG at all. We're all here and doing what we usually do.

[Aelonwy]

I can tell you that there weren't any personnel changes related to the acquisition of Daybreak by EG7 at SSG at all. We're all here and doing what we usually do.

That's good to hear. :) You guys have been so quiet lately I was afraid we'd lost some people due to the acquisition.

[Razor_Wit]

I can tell you that there weren't any personnel changes related to the acquisition of Daybreak by EG7 at SSG at all. We're all here and doing what we usually do.

Haven't seen a post from Tolero since June 2019.

No posts from Lynnabel since Halloween.

[Eelpout]

That's good to hear. :) You guys have been so quiet lately I was afraid we'd lost some people due to the acquisition.

I am sure some of it has to do with being really busy this time of year.

However, it does feel like there is a bit of "duck and cover" going on over previous and current issues. Including, but not limited to, the awful freezing and lagging that has gotten worse over the last few weeks, negativity over Feywild ( no raid, augment issues, lack of engaging content, etc), the news that SSG isn't necessarily the cute and cuddly independent studio that it was sold (pun intended) to be after taking over from Turbine, when the sale of EG7 made it clear that Daybreak was the owner.

You know, stuff. Perhaps this is all just a "case of over reaction due to pandemic fatigue" (there probably should be a line of Hallmark apology cards for this clearly medical condition, but I digress). Anyhoo, here's to putting a dagger in 2020 and hoping for an amazing bounce back in 2021, including a more informative Producer's letter than the last. CHEERS!!!

[cdbd3rd]

.... I'll possibly watch the recording at a later date.

Yep.



Haven't seen a post from Tolero since June 2019. ....

Had pondered that same ponder just a few days ago.


Just becuz - good stories and rememberies:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsVtSmS0vIo

[Valerianus]

That's good to hear. :) You guys have been so quiet lately I was afraid we'd lost some people due to the acquisition.


i guess...last update + expansion is buggy and incomplete, they are not stupid, they knew before release, and they are working to finish it instead of losing time managing the obvious outcome, raging and flaming threads from a playerbase that's more disillusioned than ever. (not criticizing the fellow players, i'm guilty, and we have our good reasons). and add pandemic for everyone. humans are nervous as of lately.


someone please mention the fact that a change in inventory and tr cache system is more important than any destiny rework, level cap increase, class change, new content, more important than whatever (except teh lagg). the vibes are suggesting that the player community can't cope with it anymore. it's time to show players that we are heard and considered. it's time to stop the -insert tr cache problem- threads, it's time to stop the -insert complain about customer service cause random tr cache problem- threads. we had to accept an half-baked expansion. please give something in return. it's time for a distraction you know, to switch aggro. throw a bone.

[fatherpirate]

I have other obligations so will not be able to attend.

Someone please ask if they will eventually allow players to craft their own scrolls (BTA).
Thxs in advance

Happy Holidays

[Aelonwy]

Watched it with Hubby. Really appreciate how much you guys tried to address in such a short time, even though most of my questions were skipped. I've never seen the questions stream past so fast before but then again I usually watch these big interviews on Youtube later and very rarely live, so maybe I just never paid attention before to the amount of participation they get.

[kanordog]

I have other obligations so will not be able to attend.

Someone please ask if they will eventually allow players to craft their own scrolls (BTA).
Thxs in advance

Happy Holidays


Now that would be awesome!

[LightBear]

So.... Al-Qadim?

[Silverleafeon]

Thanks!

Worth watching, lots of interesting points covered.

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/839463825



Please watch, but off the top of my head after watching roughly:

Some interesting stuff a minute 19

Leadership theory might come to the game = earn leader points and as they build up share your reaper/past live power with them when they join your group.
Lot of tech needed to make that happen, but great idea.

Discussion about being able to spend points in all the epic destiny trees and work upward, but also that twist will still be in use.
Not needing to play in a certain epic destiny tree that you don't like.
This is likely the latest about Epic Destiny which is being worked on for next year.

Higher level reaper cosmetics would be nice.
Also maybe that everyone spends their reaper points on survival then dps and maybe that a ranking system/revision especially to allow leadership sharing to work might be more interesting.

DDO is doing well financially.

The new publishers love games and are enjoyable and enthusiastic in discussions.
Looking forward to working with them.

Ilse of Dread will not be the next classic pack, but enthusiasm is high for a future pack.

Raptor Mounts have high enthusiasm among designers, so might see those sometime.

Flying Carpets might appear someday.

New winter event next Jan/Feb?

Love the VIP always want to see more value there when possible.

The S/s/s system of the SAnds/other packs likely would get revised as an update goes thru on the pack itself.
Not before.

Feywild Raid will be arriving to preview server and do not want to put spoilers on live stream.

Would like to add pack to Ravenloft and Feywild but wonder if it should require the pack to access thus.

Would like to make the game feel a bit more like 5th edition in some ways.

D&D hype is increasing via new Movie and other which DDO benefits from.

Would like to update half-elf race.

Would like to update avatars and older content graphically when have a chance.

Might spend more effort on new races and or iconic than alternative races.

Listed several alternative races.


New independent tree?
Bows need love right now.
May include overview of making bows better.
(referenced Bow tree name which I forgot)


Overall, several important points made that show Sev is really thinking about the game alot.


Lag mentioned and working on it.

There were DOS attacks on DDO in 2020, no details.

There were some bugs with the new infustructure?
Which were fixed.

A lot of the lag is the effects applied to a toon, which the system was not designed to handle that many.
Would like to streamline how past lives types and procure types are handled.

Would like to create a Mega Server but that needs a lot and lot of technical work.
The infustructure in place helps towards things like that.


Wants better storage but needs a new UI for that.

TR Cache is usually where the Reincarnations have problems.


Creating a whole bunch of customer service tools to help them reach the players better.
Working from home in 2020 made this more difficult.
Working towards being able to deal with customer service w/o player being logged in.


And some other stuff....

[cdbd3rd]

Thanks!

Worth watching, lots of interesting points covered.

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/839463825



Please watch, but off the top of my head after watching roughly:

<snip>

Summary much appreciated. Will watch the whole thing later when I can.

[Silverleafeon]

https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/520507-Notes-from-Twitch-Chat-with-Severlin

Even more detailed summary on the general forums here.

[AAH]

Wants better storage but needs a new UI for that.


14 years isn't long enough to wait for a new UI.

[Silverleafeon]

Even though it was much more informal, I felt this was superior to our yearly Jan producer's letter.
Maybe more of these every so often?

[Rauven]

Thank you for the stream. It was very informative and I quite like this type of more informal communication where it really feels like the community is able to interact with the dev team.

Couple comments I wanted to make. I understand that you are reluctant to commit to the next species, but you did mention duergar. Of the four basic races (human, elf, dwarf, and halfling), elves (particularly) and humans have received quite a bit of attention in the racial variant and iconic departments. Duergar would be nice, but please do not forget about halflings. There are those of us who quite like playing them and would love to see a halfling variant or iconic.

With regard to raptor mounts. I just want to remind you that this is Eberron and halflings ride dino mounts on the Talenta Plains, so if raptor mounts are introduced all halflings should get one for free. ;)

Thank you, and happy holidays to everyone at SSG.

[Aelonwy]

With regard to raptor mounts. I just want to remind you that this is Eberron and halflings ride dino mounts on the Talenta Plains, so if raptor mounts are introduced all halflings should get one for free.


They won't do that. What they might do is make a Talenta Halfling Variant or Talenta Halfling Iconic that either might come with a Raptor Mount as part of its purchase or might summon a raptor mount as part of its racial tree. But the likelihood of them just giving Raptor Mounts even BTC ones to everyone that just happens to be playing a halfling at that moment is next to nil. Besides the fact, that TRing is a big part of this game and anyone who is playing a halfling today might be playing a tiefling tomorrow; there is the more important issue that Raptors as a new mount type would be a big money-maker so... No I seriously doubt they will just give them away for free.

[salmag]

New independent tree?
Bows need love right now.
May include overview of making bows better.
(referenced Bow tree name which I forgot)

...

Thank you for the breakdown... +1

I agree that bows need love, sooner rather than later; However, a NEW Universal Tree, is not the way to do it.
There are other ways to make archery better. A new tree just leads to more nonsense.

When are we going to get a NEW Universal Tree for handwraps, or quarterstaves, or picks, or axes or etc... etc... etc... you get the idea... Why not just delete the class trees and offer Universal Weapon trees instead...

Please Sev, do not waste developer time on a new Universal tree for bows. Take those developers and use them to work on storage...

Re-read some of the threads here for BETTER ideas on improving bows...

[Steelstar]

Thank you for the breakdown... +1

I agree that bows need love, sooner rather than later; However, a NEW Universal Tree, is not the way to do it.
There are other ways to make archery better. A new tree just leads to more nonsense.

When are we going to get a NEW Universal Tree for handwraps, or quarterstaves, or picks, or axes or etc... etc... etc... you get the idea... Why not just delete the class trees and offer Universal Weapon trees instead...

Please Sev, do not waste developer time on a new Universal tree for bows. Take those developers and use them to work on storage...

Re-read some of the threads here for BETTER ideas on improving bows...

A new Universal tree is definitely not the only change coming to Bows - it's just one supporting element of planned changes to Bows as a whole.

Also: I'm the main dev working on bow changes, and I am not the kind of dev that can really do anything about storage, so no worries to be had there.

(We'll have a lot more to say about the overall Bow changes, the Horizon Walker tree, and its role as we get further along in development!)

[cdbd3rd]

....the Horizon Walker tree, ....

What a curious name.

It either stands for a hunter who never wants to get a shot at his/her prey, or a FNG asking to be sniped off the ridge.

[Mindos]

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Horizon_walker

https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/class-forums/ranger/41970-horizon-walker-tips

https://www.d20srd.org/srd/prestigeClasses/horizonWalker.htm


Entry requirements aside, it's actually a worthwhile class to enter, especially in core only games. The first five levels give a "Terrain Mastery", which lets you select a terrain then gain both a bonus to a relevant skill and a small bonus to attack monsters native to that terrain. The two exceptions to this are Desert (which gives immunity to fatigue and is amazing for Barbarian.... One easily overlooked part of this feature is that the bonus against monsters is not based on where you are, but the location section of their monster entry. This section disproportionately favors certain terrains over others so some picks apply to a lot of monsters. At sixth level till 10th, you instead gain a "planar terrain mastery" which gives unique and worthwhile abilities depending on the plane chosen. Of particular note is the Shifting plane option, which gives a Dimension Door SLA every 1d4 rounds.

[HastyPudding]

A new Universal tree is definitely not the only change coming to Bows - it's just one supporting element of planned changes to Bows as a whole.

Also: I'm the main dev working on bow changes, and I am not the kind of dev that can really do anything about storage, so no worries to be had there.

(We'll have a lot more to say about the overall Bow changes, the Horizon Walker tree, and its role as we get further along in development!)

Interesting. From what I know of the Horizon Walker from PnP, it'll be super-strong against outsiders, but how will it differ from just being an abjuration-focused AA?

[Sebastrd]

Interesting. From what I know of the Horizon Walker from PnP, it'll be super-strong against outsiders, but how will it differ from just being an abjuration-focused AA?

Abjuration-focused AA sounds amazing.

[droid327]

A new Universal tree is definitely not the only change coming to Bows - it's just one supporting element of planned changes to Bows as a whole.

Also: I'm the main dev working on bow changes, and I am not the kind of dev that can really do anything about storage, so no worries to be had there.

(We'll have a lot more to say about the overall Bow changes, the Horizon Walker tree, and its role as we get further along in development!)

I have been a big proponent of Bow updates...but I agree that a Universal Tree is not the best vehicle for those changes. For one, it would have a lot of rolespace overlap with Inquisitive, in terms of "ranged tree that any class can plug in". For two, Elf AA is already kind of a "universal" bow tree given that you can make any class as an Elf and then access the AA tree. For three, Bow use is more closely aligned with Ranger and Monk (and Elf, and to a lesser degree Kensei and Silver Flame divines), and giving everyone a Universal bow tree is a double whammy: it devalues their special relationship with Bows, and it puts Rangers at a relative disadvantage because they're already spending a lot of AP in their own bow trees, so they'll be forced to side-grade to the Universal tree.

The problems with bows arent bow enhancements (except AA, but that just needs an update pass really to make it more modern and relevant). The problems are shortcomings of how the game handles bow mechanics. I think it should be addressed purely with a mechanics-based solution, so that existing bow builds can actually realize their potential, not just being forced into the same nu-Inqui tree that'll lock up 41 AP on any bow user. Or worse, Elf Archer master race with 41 in Bow tree, 7-12 in FI or Harper or Falconry, and rest in AA, and a big boost if you're a super-vet with all your RAP too. A full build with zero points spent in class trees of any kind.

And, more broadly, if you keep addressing shortcomings with universal trees, pretty soon those trees are going to be the core definition of a build, and your class/race will just be a variation. We already see that with Inquis - you're an Inqui, you just might be a FvS Inqui or an EK Inqui or a Rogue Inqui, but they're all just flavors of Inqui.

Plus, if there's anything that needs a universal tree, make it unarmed/clubs/greatclubs in a Brawler tree. Those are actual weapons without a role in the game (outside handwrap monks). Bows have a role, they're just not supported well enough to fill it.

[Mindos]

I have been a big proponent of Bow updates...but I agree that a Universal Tree is not the best vehicle for those changes. For one, it would have a lot of rolespace overlap with Inquisitive, in terms of "ranged tree that any class can plug in". For two, Elf AA is already kind of a "universal" bow tree given that you can make any class as an Elf and then access the AA tree. For three, Bow use is more closely aligned with Ranger and Monk (and Elf, and to a lesser degree Kensei and Silver Flame divines), and giving everyone a Universal bow tree is a double whammy: it devalues their special relationship with Bows, and it puts Rangers at a relative disadvantage because they're already spending a lot of AP in their own bow trees, so they'll be forced to side-grade to the Universal tree.

The problems with bows arent bow enhancements (except AA, but that just needs an update pass really to make it more modern and relevant). The problems are shortcomings of how the game handles bow mechanics. I think it should be addressed purely with a mechanics-based solution, so that existing bow builds can actually realize their potential, not just being forced into the same nu-Inqui tree that'll lock up 41 AP on any bow user. Or worse, Elf Archer master race with 41 in Bow tree, 7-12 in FI or Harper or Falconry, and rest in AA, and a big boost if you're a super-vet with all your RAP too. A full build with zero points spent in class trees of any kind.

And, more broadly, if you keep addressing shortcomings with universal trees, pretty soon those trees are going to be the core definition of a build, and your class/race will just be a variation. We already see that with Inquis - you're an Inqui, you just might be a FvS Inqui or an EK Inqui or a Rogue Inqui, but they're all just flavors of Inqui.

Plus, if there's anything that needs a universal tree, make it unarmed/clubs/greatclubs in a Brawler tree. Those are actual weapons without a role in the game (outside handwrap monks). Bows have a role, they're just not supported well enough to fill it.


You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to droid327 again.

[Rauven]

They won't do that. What they might do is make a Talenta Halfling Variant or Talenta Halfling Iconic that either might come with a Raptor Mount as part of its purchase or might summon a raptor mount as part of its racial tree. But the likelihood of them just giving Raptor Mounts even BTC ones to everyone that just happens to be playing a halfling at that moment is next to nil. Besides the fact, that TRing is a big part of this game and anyone who is playing a halfling today might be playing a tiefling tomorrow; there is the more important issue that Raptors as a new mount type would be a big money-maker so... No I seriously doubt they will just give them away for free.

Well, I did not really think that they would. I never expected anyone to actually take that part seriously. But, apparently things are taken seriously unless there is a smiley, so I edited my post accordingly so no one else makes that mistake.

[LightBear]

Thank you for the breakdown... +1

I agree that bows need love, sooner rather than later; However, a NEW Universal Tree, is not the way to do it.
There are other ways to make archery better. A new tree just leads to more nonsense.

When are we going to get a NEW Universal Tree for handwraps, or quarterstaves, or picks, or axes or etc... etc... etc... you get the idea... Why not just delete the class trees and offer Universal Weapon trees instead...

Please Sev, do not waste developer time on a new Universal tree for bows. Take those developers and use them to work on storage...

Re-read some of the threads here for BETTER ideas on improving bows...

So far the design of Universal trees has followed Basic Simple Weapons to focus their theme design around.
Prob so just about each class can make use of it, with a few exceptions that even make restrictions in there (3.5 rules).

Was kinda hoping qstaffs would be the next one.
But will take what ever Sev throws at me and run with it.

Ok, here's what I see this new tree could bring:
This prob has a free feat of shortbow at base 1 and longbow at tier 3 along with a +1[w].
Possible restrictions (because of the Horizon Walker) is partly or fully Neutral.
Instead of a favored Enemy: Race will get an Unfavored Fiend: Plane?
Damage dealt: Untyped Bane
Defenses through universal absorption+resistance stacking with everything.
STR/WIS for counting doubleshot if higher then DEX with a boost option that goes beyond the normal cap.
Some sort of Shadow walk (unlock at tier 3) that puts you further on the horizon with each point and each tier (Fade into nothingness).
Max 80% eventually, x ticks plus every x seconds, one tick minus when a shot fired, you are able to move around for the ticks to gain (you are a walker not a statue).
The x depending on the tier/points you have invested, build up keeps being way slower then the trimming down is.
Also tier 3 could be concealment, tier 4 adding incorporeal to that and then tier 5 invisibility to that again where each is ticking upward and/or downward equally (30% of each prob is way more than enough instead of that single 80%, though no idea how you can do partial invisibility).

[Captain_Wizbang]

A new Universal tree is definitely not the only change coming to Bows - it's just one supporting element of planned changes to Bows as a whole.

Also: I'm the main dev working on bow changes, and I am not the kind of dev that can really do anything about storage, so no worries to be had there.

(We'll have a lot more to say about the overall Bow changes, the Horizon Walker tree, and its role as we get further along in development!)

The PnP group watched the stream, several bets were won w/ announcement.

So I ask the question, will there be anything usable from our proposal?

https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/508903-Proposal-for-feedback-The-Bowman-Tree?highlight=bowman

[salmag]

A new Universal tree is definitely not the only change coming to Bows - it's just one supporting element of planned changes to Bows as a whole.

Also: I'm the main dev working on bow changes, and I am not the kind of dev that can really do anything about storage, so no worries to be had there.

(We'll have a lot more to say about the overall Bow changes, the Horizon Walker tree, and its role as we get further along in development!)

Thank you for the response. I am glad it's not the ONLY change for bows.

Droid327 summed it up nicely so I won't repeat. I'll just re-post his below.


I have been a big proponent of Bow updates...but I agree that a Universal Tree is not the best vehicle for those changes. For one, it would have a lot of rolespace overlap with Inquisitive, in terms of "ranged tree that any class can plug in". For two, Elf AA is already kind of a "universal" bow tree given that you can make any class as an Elf and then access the AA tree. For three, Bow use is more closely aligned with Ranger and Monk (and Elf, and to a lesser degree Kensei and Silver Flame divines), and giving everyone a Universal bow tree is a double whammy: it devalues their special relationship with Bows, and it puts Rangers at a relative disadvantage because they're already spending a lot of AP in their own bow trees, so they'll be forced to side-grade to the Universal tree.

The problems with bows arent bow enhancements (except AA, but that just needs an update pass really to make it more modern and relevant). The problems are shortcomings of how the game handles bow mechanics. I think it should be addressed purely with a mechanics-based solution, so that existing bow builds can actually realize their potential, not just being forced into the same nu-Inqui tree that'll lock up 41 AP on any bow user. Or worse, Elf Archer master race with 41 in Bow tree, 7-12 in FI or Harper or Falconry, and rest in AA, and a big boost if you're a super-vet with all your RAP too. A full build with zero points spent in class trees of any kind.

And, more broadly, if you keep addressing shortcomings with universal trees, pretty soon those trees are going to be the core definition of a build, and your class/race will just be a variation. We already see that with Inquis - you're an Inqui, you just might be a FvS Inqui or an EK Inqui or a Rogue Inqui, but they're all just flavors of Inqui.

Plus, if there's anything that needs a universal tree, make it unarmed/clubs/greatclubs in a Brawler tree. Those are actual weapons without a role in the game (outside handwrap monks). Bows have a role, they're just not supported well enough to fill it.

The more Universal trees get added to the game only dilutes the classes, plain and simple...

If the class trees are so weak, figure out why, and address that issue...

If bow use is that weak, figure out why, and address that issue...

Please do not fix an issue by adding a Universal tree.

Thank you Droid, +1000 rep.

[DYWYPI]

Thanks, to whomever (as I didn't watch the Twitch version recording so didn't see the exact question posed) asked Severlin some form of question about his baseball caps around [36:50 (https://youtu.be/9T-p5HE61ww?t=2211)] on my behalf as per my previous post [Post #6]. :-)