Such A shame...

[Nymie_the_Pooh]

Seriously, DDO is pretty much a multi-player platformer. I will continue to play until they either shut the doors, or someone releases a Prince of Persia MMO. DDO is still technically an MMO. The thing is that at some point MMOs are going to branch out the same way their predecessor the MUD did. DDO is just a branch of the MMO family. Personally, I feel that the mistakes made were tying the D&D franchise to the game, not enough content at release (especially soloable content), and lackluster advertising.

There are many games that follow the D&D ruleset faithfully. Players looking for the D&D experience are more likely to spend their time and money on one of those. DDO is a great game, but it is not the table top experience and there were some people looking for that when they came into the game. This game could have easily been a custom setting with a few changes and I feel it would have been better received by some.

The content is improving, but many people who left over that are not incredibly likely to take another look. Especially when the marketing isn't there. Repackaging the game is a great option. I gripe about paying for paid expansions, but I would still fork up the money and it is a chance to get the game out in the public view again. Seriously, a paid expansion would get a lot more attention than a free expansion typically gets as long as it isn't overdone. Then they can do a repackage of the game with the expansion as well later on to get even more players.

[Oran_Lathor]

While I haven't reached the point yet where I am completely bored with our current high level content, I think I have to agree with the OP. New players to the game have plenty of content on the way up, and it is ALL new to them. Those who re-roll generally tend to bypass most of the low level content anyway, and simply do the quests with the best xp/time ratio. Adding something like Searing heights - while it seemed like a cool place, and I enjoyed the quest - is catering to a VERY small few, while almost EVERYONE lingers at level 14 waiting for something new. I understand that things take time to produce, and for all we know Searing Heights could have been 90% finished a year ago which would make it the sensible thing to add. Still, in my opinion, the developers should drop (for now at least) all their low-to-mid-level content development and focus entirely on new high level material.

Another thing that contributes to the stagnation occuring at high levels is the 'module x.y" system they seem to have begun using exclusively.

Let's take 4.2 as an example: It added a new wilderness area, a new quest, various bug fixes, and some new character options, etc. My suggestion? It doesn't have to be done ALL at once every 2-3 months. Instead, of waiting for everything to be done, they could have taken the servers down for a couple of hours a few weeks earlier and given us JUST THE QUEST. Same thing for Litany. Why make us wait until you've polished (hopefully) every last bit of the quests/metamagic/whatever else? Why not take the servers down tomorrow, add a quest or two that are already finished. THen in two weeks time when you've got another 2 quests finished, you give us those, and so on.

As it is now, we get nothing nothing nothing nothing BAM!!! Bunch of stuff. The problem with that is, with a massive influx of content at one time, people feel the need to rush to get it all done, then concentrate entirely on the few quests they felt gave the best loot/time ratio. If you added a quest here, a quest there, on an ongoing basis, people would actually play ALL of the content to a much greater degree.

Another example: How many times has the average player run the Rakshasa Lair as opposed to Prison of the Planes? They've likely run the lair a couple of times here and their, for favor, or to help a guildie, or because it was the only pug they could find. Meanwhile they sack PoP regularly, or at least play it often, because that's what the pugs run. You see my point? If they'd released, the side quests a few weeks, or even a month earlier - people would have played them more! How many people are 'bored' of Foundation of Discord (Aurumn Lair)? Not too many, I bet.

I didn't intend for this post to be so long, and it's all entirely off the top of my head, but I do hope it gets read. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea.

[Ringlord]

To the OP in case someone has not already pointed it out, Turbine has already said crafting will be coming to the game late this year or early next year with the statement that it would be different from other games and that they felt we would like it. Guild housing has also been slated to be added late this year or early next year. A simple search would have produced the threads containing this info so you would not have had to make this one

[blakbyrd]

Timesinks are bad. Collections are bad. Travel is bad. We have enough of that garbage in the game now. The more this looks like other MMOs, the more likely players like me leave. I'm willing to bet at least some other players are here because we don't need to do that garbage.

The only part I dont disagree wit you on here is that making DDO into what every other MMO is caould be a bad thing. However, DDO is already outside of that mold in it's main feature (combat system and character creation for the most part). It pretty much has this understanding in it's community and writeups, it's simple a bit different.

Why I disagree with the rest of it is simple. Adding other time sinks to the game, like crafting, is it adds more options to the game. More options gives more people something else to do, and more potenital players something specific they may like. As long as it is something implemented that isnt required to do, I see it as a good thing. It comes down to being the difference between attracting fighting style players, crafting style players or both. How could it hurt to try to attract as many as possible rather than ignoring part of the potential player base.

[Beherit_Baphomar]

You all seem to be stuck on my examples.

They are just examples. Forget about crafting, travelling, gathering, mining, hunting. They are examples Im using to get my point across.

One person in this thread got what I said. Thank you.

Im not advocating crafting, Im not advocating timesinks, per se. Im trying to get the point across that we need emersion(sp). We need realism, we need to feel like we are living in Eberron. Think Sims. Think jobs, houses, hell think families, land, stores, inns, back storys etc.

What we have now is questing. For loot. For favor. For XP. For raiding. For loot. For XP. For partying. For gold. For (insert everything we do in this game).

We need something else. I used crafting, travelling, hunting, mining as examples ONLY. Forget about whether you like crafting, hunting, travelling, mining. Think what you would like to see in this game BESIDES questing.

Adding more quests and more levels helps us out for about a week, crafting would and could be done for hell ten years if you want.

If you dont like these examples then give us some of your own.

Think if this as a challenge. I want to see what YOU want in this game other than questing.

[joker965]

The problem with timesinks is this:

If a person can play the game 10 hours a day 7days/week and this will eventually make thier character significantly more powerful than the avarage player then it is bad. BAD.

Right now this isn't really true. A character could have all raid loot and still will only be slightly more powerful than the "well equiped" character.

[Beherit_Baphomar]

The problem with timesinks is this:

If a person can play the game 10 hours a day 7days/week and this will eventually make thier character significantly more powerful than the avarage player then it is bad. BAD.

Right now this isn't really true. A character could have all raid loot and still will only be slightly more powerful than the "well equiped" character.

Huh? How so?

[Kraki]

Instead, of waiting for everything to be done, they could have taken the servers down for a couple of hours a few weeks earlier and given us JUST THE QUEST. Same thing for Litany. Why make us wait until you've polished (hopefully) every last bit of the quests/metamagic/whatever else? Why not take the servers down tomorrow, add a quest or two that are already finished. THen in two weeks time when you've got another 2 quests finished, you give us those, and so on.

For those that were not here at launch, it looked like we were going to be getting 2-3 month gaps between large updates with around 20-25 dungeons but there was a major shift to the current release structure of Module, Update, Update, Module.

A big part of the problem with going in smaller increments is that the QA requirements for a small update are just as onerous as those for a full Module update and would require the same amount of time to be in that pipeline. You don't just plug in a chunk of code, be it a dungeon, set of NPCs etc without testing to ensure the stability of the rest of the platform. There are always, always hooks and unintended dependencies that somehow will pop up as problems in such complex collections.

The behind the scenes cycles of Concept->Design->Development->QA where at any point something can be sent back a stage or two for retooling are the iceberg below the water line. As users, we only see the itty bitty piece of time where the implementation is floated on the forum and brought to semi-live on Risia before implementation.

/glances up at his ramble and wanders off

Kraki

[Invalid_25]

You all seem to be stuck on my examples.

They are just examples. Forget about crafting, travelling, gathering, mining, hunting. They are examples Im using to get my point across.

One person in this thread got what I said. Thank you.

Im not advocating crafting, Im not advocating timesinks, per se. Im trying to get the point across that we need emersion(sp). We need realism, we need to feel like we are living in Eberron. Think Sims. Think jobs, houses, hell think families, land, stores, inns, back storys etc.

What we have now is questing. For loot. For favor. For XP. For raiding. For loot. For XP. For partying. For gold. For (insert everything we do in this game).

We need something else. I used crafting, travelling, hunting, mining as examples ONLY. Forget about whether you like crafting, hunting, travelling, mining. Think what you would like to see in this game BESIDES questing.

Adding more quests and more levels helps us out for about a week, crafting would and could be done for hell ten years if you want.

If you dont like these examples then give us some of your own.

Think if this as a challenge. I want to see what YOU want in this game other than questing.

Well according to the Devs although this game cant follow the PnP rules to a Tee their main focus when creating this game was the "Spirit" of playing a table top game of D&D with your friends.

That usually included going on a quest or an adventure. Very very rarely did D&D ever get into any of that stuff you are talking about. None of our table top adventures turned into love stories where someone started a family maybe the romance started and was role played a little but if the character decided they wanted to get married that character was retired.

D&D has always been about the quest about the adventure. Most DM don't do travel time they make a couple rolls of the dice to see if there's a random encounter on the way if not its "You arrive at your destination".

Sure my half orc cleric of Helm had a job. It was his job to make sure the Temple and the chambers were all taken care of and clean. Never did we role play any of that it was just a part of the back story. Would you want to come to our table top session and sit around watching me and the DM role play me doing my job?

I guess my point is I like DDO the way it is its a way for me and my old PnP buddies to all get together and play D&D again a game we love and have loved since the late 70s.

[Vi'Aed]

You know whats funny (well maybe only to me) but me and the 18 friends I play with experience none of that in this game. Why? We play D&D online like its D&D.

I have 2 groups I play once a week with a one group we play every other week. Same day same time every week or ever other week. You know just like you would normally play D&D.

None of us even have a toon over lvl 10 we do every dungeon and its every ones first time through no hand holding no tour guiding.

For those of us that want those other things like time sinks we play games like Vanguard EQ2 and LOTR.

When you play DDO like D&D meaning once a week with your old D&D friends this game is more fun than a barrel of monkeys on crack.

Dude. That is just great. I have often thought that would be a fabulous way to approach the game and I think that it may have been designed with that much more in mind than any other MMO would ever consider.

[joker965]

Huh? How so?

Example: My main is a 14 (28 pt) capped cleric. He has no raid loot and has never used a +2 tome. You would never think that he was somehow gimped if you were playing with me in endgame content though. It is good and correct that this is possible.

I hate the fact that in other games there is a huge imbalance in power level based on someone being able to play the game 80 hours a week vs. 15. It drives many of the adults with jobs and families away from these games.

P.S. I understand that some people might be married and have jobs but their unique situation allows them to play a tone. Almost nothing is 100%.

[llevenbaxx]

No, I wouldnt craft either. I wouldnt gather, I wouldnt do any of those other MMO cookie cutter ****...but MMO's need them, regardless of your opinion, games need things to keep them going. I agree with you, I dont like timesinks either...but the game needs realism, something to emmerse people in, something to take them off to Eberron. Quests dont do that.

Also, if and when DDO implements crafting, it should be a side-project. Certainly it should NOT be something required.

People leave this game because they get bored, and no Shecky, I cant understand that either, Im not sure when I'll get bored, if ever and Ive never rerolled either. Granted Ive only two capped characters, Im sure others have all their spots filled with capped characters.

The game, whether we like it or not, needs timesinks for some people to stay and play. There are certain expectations from an MMO and it seems most dont understand why DDO wouldn't have them.

Again, I wont use crafting, Id hate to travel more than we already do and I certainly wouldnt be camping out waiting for a spawn...but these are very valid parts of any MMO.

Whats wrong with wanting to put MORE pieces into DDO?? I dont understand why you wouldnt want as much as possible implemented. The more there is to do the more people will subscribe, the more people subscribe the longer the game lasts.

I agree with this completely. I also would not likily take part in any of these things but still recognize what they bring to the table. Stormreach is completely lacking a life of its own, the hustle/bustle or w/e you want to call it. I dont miss the grind stuff but absolutely do miss the people who do enjoy these things, they are who bring a sense of life to a city/enviernment, the very sense that is totally void in Stormreach.

I think the key to bringing all these things in would be to have the benefits/payoffs be nice enough where people will take part but not so earth shattering as people who arent interested dont feel at a disadvantage while out questing. Maybe tie it into housing or travel map instances, basically things that strictly quest players wouldnt be all that interested in anyway.

[rpasell]

We NEED timesinks. We NEED something where people can log for 6 hours, not run a single quest and feel they acomplished something. Like crafting.

Think of other MMO's, they have content that has nothing to do with questing. And yes, some of you dont want gathering/crafting/travelling, but these are the things that keep a game alive. These are the things that people need. It creates a sense of realism. It bonds you with your character, it makes you feel that you are actually living in Eberron. Thats what people need/want. Give us housing, give us our own inns with PvP pits, give us THINGS that make us feel at home. Dont have me log in to be standing around the streets. Give us realism and I promise you the game will flourish.

We play these games to escape. At the moment the only escape is quests. Well, when you are done with those what else do you have?? Nothing. More quests. And what are you going to have when you add more quests? Nothing. More quests.

Turbine NEEDS TO NEEDS TO NEEDS TO implement some sort of timesink to the game that DOES NOT involve questing. Favor, raid loot, high-end loot, XP are all good, but they are all tied to the same thing, questing. Or you get tired of them. Crafting never ends. Gathering never ends.

You see what Im getting at?

...it's called Real Life. I play DDO to get away from the grind. The reason this game attracted me was because you don't have to do any of that tedious garbage other games require you to do. Log on, form group, adventure.

[MrRotten]

You know what I see in this thread? Well the OP's suggestions were mostly geared to what he/she wants to see this game become.

Then basically every other post after that is either agreeing, or hating those suggestions.

Heres what I think:

I like my MMOs full of OPTIONs!!!

I personally love DDO.. There is no MMO out right now that has the indepth toon creation, and specializations then DDO. There is not many MMOs where race plays a strategical option in making your toon. Then having tons of feats, skills, etc. etc. to customize your toon. The graphics are excelent, one of the best VS other MMOs. The combat system beats most MMOs! So this MMO IMHO is one of the better ones out to date. BUT it dose have a problem...

OPTIONs!! You quest, you level, you cap out, you loot run loot run loot run. And induldge your AH addiction! Thats it... There is a major lack of options/content to keep us busy.

Dragonmarks intially I thought were going to be stupid.. But you know what, I wasn't forced to taking them. I wasn't told that I need to drop my feats and I must take them. You're gimped without them... none of that! Its merely an option in the game. Maybe if and or when the cap gets raised, i'll take it.

My point is : OPTIONs!!

The OP's suggestions I thought were great... Do I prefer to do those things? Well Crafting would be a nice thing, but making the traveling like WoW or LOTRO.. HECKs no!! I like the compactness of Stormreach, and all the attatched places, and Sorc teleporting being a pivital thing that really matters.

But again, its OPTIONs!!!

I say implament some sort of Crafting system... Implament another world, but make it so that you don't have to ride a horse for 30 minutes to get there. Its so easy, most of us played PnP, you can easily do what you've done so far. Talk to someone in town, and teleport us to the new location. Whatever it is... Implament those things, but:

DO NOT FORCE THEM: meaning don't make it a required part of the game.

OPTIONs people!

This way those that like to craft can craft.. Those that don't, don't have to, don't feel forced to do it, and can be just as powerful as someone that does craft. Don't overwhelm us with a billion differant professions.. Keep it simple, simple enough to appease the masses that like crafting, but not so darn demanding that its a chore or a really icky job that you wish you were fired from.

This way one way or another we are all happy, and have plenty of OPTIONs to play the game the way we want, and to grow in the game the way we want.

OPTIONs! Having a choice to do one thing VS another honestly I think is what people really want. Currently as it sets the content in DDO limits us drastically to have differant things to do in the game. So we are forced to loot run, loot run, loot run. Raiding is nice, although I think the VON series needs a overhaul. Add a few more raids like Tempest, single entrance just raid. Add some titles or a reputation system based upon quests completed, and faction completed or something.

I don't think it would take much, small tweeks, and a big Crafting system, and new race/classes or something to give us many many more options will keep us busy, instead of capping out, and having to reroll/replay and recapp out again.

OPTIONs!

I honestly don't think anyone would have problems with a Crafting system and other things the OP suggested even tho some of the masses hated these ideas. I don't think even those people would have issues with em as long as they are just OPTIONs that each person can make based on playing styles and what they prefer, and these OPTIONs aren't forced upon us!

[Raithe]

That usually included going on a quest or an adventure. Very very rarely did D&D ever get into any of that stuff you are talking about...

D&D has always been about the quest about the adventure. Most DM don't do travel time they make a couple rolls of the dice to see if there's a random encounter on the way if not its "You arrive at your destination".

Things are glossed over in a PnP campaign because the DM hasn't taken the time to develop every possible scenario fully. DDO doesn't really have that problem because scenarios are limited by the game world. For a decent MMO, the design goal would be to make as many interesting and viable exploration and gameplay scenarios as can be fit within those confines. D&D is really about roleplay and scenarios, not quests. "The quest" is just what the DM calls all his prepared or purchased material, and he tries to steer characters through it so he doesn't have to do a lot of improvisation.

Furthermore, "quests" (scenarios) do not have to be sanctioned by Turbine to be valid, nor do they have to provide experience points. Highly romanticized scenarios of love, betrayal, heroism, sacrifice, etc., are the very essence of what is fun and interesting about roleplaying in a D&D campaign. Some people call those types of scenarios fantasy.

I'm sure you've heard that term before.

[Invalid_25]

Things are glossed over in a PnP campaign because the DM hasn't taken the time to develop every possible scenario fully. DDO doesn't really have that problem because scenarios are limited by the game world. For a decent MMO, the design goal would be to make as many interesting and viable exploration and gameplay scenarios as can be fit within those confines. D&D is really about roleplay and scenarios, not quests. "The quest" is just what the DM calls all his prepared or purchased material, and he tries to steer characters through it so he doesn't have to do a lot of improvisation.

Furthermore, "quests" (scenarios) do not have to be sanctioned by Turbine to be valid, nor do they have to provide experience points. Highly romanticized scenarios of love, betrayal, heroism, sacrifice, etc., are the very essence of what is fun and interesting about roleplaying in a D&D campaign. Some people call those types of scenarios fantasy.

I'm sure you've heard that term before.

I agree to a certain extent but I think a reason why most DMs don't deal with that stuff (I think most DMs see it like i see it when I DM) Is its no fun for a group of friends to show up to game together and sit around and watch one guy and the DM play out his "fantasy" of getting gwen the serving wench at the tavern to fall in love with him. Yes things like that get brought up but where the fun in it for the other people to watch 2 people roleplay this scenario? Would you want to sit around and watch m and my DM roleplay an entire session about me being at work in the temple? I'm in no way saying there isn't groups of PnP players that do this I just don't think its the norm. I think when friends get together once a week or month to play D&D they want adventure.

[Muravi]

You all seem to be stuck on my examples.

They are just examples. Forget about crafting, travelling, gathering, mining, hunting. They are examples Im using to get my point across.

One person in this thread got what I said. Thank you.

Im not advocating crafting, Im not advocating timesinks, per se. Im trying to get the point across that we need emersion(sp). We need realism, we need to feel like we are living in Eberron. Think Sims. Think jobs, houses, hell think families, land, stores, inns, back storys etc.

What we have now is questing. For loot. For favor. For XP. For raiding. For loot. For XP. For partying. For gold. For (insert everything we do in this game).

We need something else. I used crafting, travelling, hunting, mining as examples ONLY. Forget about whether you like crafting, hunting, travelling, mining. Think what you would like to see in this game BESIDES questing.

Adding more quests and more levels helps us out for about a week, crafting would and could be done for hell ten years if you want.

If you dont like these examples then give us some of your own.

Think if this as a challenge. I want to see what YOU want in this game other than questing.

EXACTLY. Thank you. options, options, options. Consider this scenario when complaining how time sinks and travel and deeper game emersion were not part of your PnP experience:

Many more people on-line and available for grouping. We see time sinks now as a past-time for when there is nothing going on and few pugs or guildies available. Oh, well, at least I can log on and (craft,explore,travel,etc..whatever) OH! wait a second! lots of people thought the same thing! cool, now maybe we could actually do a quest. Maybe a crafter needs a material only found in a certain area. i.e. reason for a party.

While that may be an idealized version of how things could go, I wouldn't think it beyond reason. Also, no one is forcing anyone to do a time sink (I hate that phrase). It is, as someone else here stressed, an option.

For those of you who enjoy this game once a week with your old PnP pals, more power to you. But please realize that many of us did not play PnP and /or do not have the built in party you log on with. Many of us are here to play an emmersive, persistant world that happens to be in Ebberon. I am not making demands or screaming,"I want, I want!" but I would like to see a change in Dev focus.

BTW, this has been a really great thread so far. Many good opinions on both sides of the arguement.

[Raithe]

I agree to a certain extent but I think a reason why most DMs don't deal with that stuff (I think most DMs see it like i see it when I DM) Is its no fun for a group of friends to show up to game together and sit around and watch one guy and the DM play out his "fantasy" of getting gwen the serving wench at the tavern to fall in love with him. Yes things like that get brought up but where the fun in it for the other people to watch 2 people roleplay this scenario? Would you want to sit around and watch m and my DM roleplay an entire session about me being at work in the temple? I'm in no way saying there isn't groups of PnP players that do this I just don't think its the norm. I think when friends get together once a week or month to play D&D they want adventure.

No, no one would want to sit around and observe two other people roleplay a day at work at the temple or flirting with the barmaid.

This is the whole point of an MMO that I've been trying to get across for what seems like eternity (a little over a year in real life).

While your friend Jack is roleplaying with Gwen the NPC/Computer DM (or better yet, Gwen the Player/DM) everyone else can be off roleplaying with Private Jake, Mistress Orphne, or each other. It doesn't have to be a 1 DM, 4-5 player scenario. It can be 500 DMs with 1050 players, or vice versa.

It's the chief benefit of Massively Multiplayer and DDO has squandered it. The game plays like a LAN FPS for 6 players.

[Invalid_25]

No, no one would want to sit around and observe two other people roleplay a day at work at the temple or flirting with the barmaid.

This is the whole point of an MMO that I've been trying to get across for what seems like eternity (a little over a year in real life).

While your friend Jack is roleplaying with Gwen the NPC/Computer DM (or better yet, Gwen the Player/DM) everyone else can be off roleplaying with Private Jake, Mistress Orphne, or each other. It doesn't have to be a 1 DM, 4-5 player scenario. It can be 500 DMs with 1050 players, or vice versa.

It's the chief benefit of Massively Multiplayer and DDO has squandered it. The game plays like a LAN FPS for 6 players.

I think to an extent that's what the devs of this game hoped it would be they just threw it in a persistent world with a few common areas for people to meet up and be social. I really think Turbine thought people would actually sit in the taverns and tell stories and talk about D&D and old D&D PnP quests they ran and groups would form organically that way. They should add more things to do in taverns is my opinion if you ask me. Money comes pretty easy in this game maybe some money sink gambling. (Yes I know there is in the game) but make it more of a social thing where you would need 6 people to play the game a version of StormReach poker a variation on hold em or something.

I don't think the devs of this game were ever truly going for massively multiplayer from the very beginning of development they basically said don't expect your basic MMO elements to be found in this game this isn't that type of game.

I see the same argument going on In Vanguard all the time the people that want all the hardcore elements taken out of the game because they want to play a game that reminds them more of the game they came from and they don't give a rats ass what the devs original idea for the game was. There's now different games for different types of people. IF yo wanna run around and explore and kill mobs one at a time and grind out levels this game was never the game for you. If you wanna spend 30 to 40 min just getting to a dungeon to meet up with your friends this was never the game for you.

[Invalid_25]

Lets not forget things like this from the development of this game

MMORPG.com: D&D has been around forever it seems. With the venture into the online world, is the focus on getting the table-top game people into the mmorpg arena, or adapting D&D to the mmorpg crowd?
Ken Troop: D&D Online is focused on creating a fun online RPG experience that you can play with your friends. We don’t compare ourselves to other MMPs – DDO takes you straight to your adventure (no endless running to get where you want to go), offers quest-based advancement (no sitting in the same place for hours grinding for XP), and creates a private adventure for you and your friends (no random interference or grief from strangers).

Our development touchstone has been to create an online experience that captures that essence of the classic tabletop adventure session. But it has to be a fun online experience. When a straight translation of the pen & paper rules would hamper our ability to provide a fun online experience, we work closely with Wizards of the Coast to come up with a modification that maintains the spirit of D&D while satisfying the demands of the online medium.

GB: How large will the game world be, as compared to other MMORPGs? Can you tell us about any types of transportation you are planning to implement (horses, boats, teleportation, etc)?

Turbine: We’re deliberately going for a smaller physical space. We feel that rather than have a huge world that feels empty, we’re better off taking our content, and putting it into tailored spaces that are packed with things to see and do. Time that you used to spend running across a featureless landscape can be better spent in We’d rather maximize the amount of “Hey, look at that!” versus the amount of “Hey, where the heck am I?” Exploration of densely packed areas tends to be a bit more rewarding – without density, the answer to “what’s over that hill?” is too often “another hill!”


GB: Tell us a bit about the "private dungeons" that designers will be able to build. How exactly will this design process work, and how will they be able to keep other adventurers from entering?

Turbine: In brief, Private Dungeons are exactly that – a dungeon that only you and your party are able to enter. The Private Dungeons are our way of trying to re-create the friends-at-the-table experience of D&D – it’s just you and your friends against the baddies. Many of our quests will direct players to particular private dungeons in order to complete them, though the option of a simple hack-and-slash romp with your friends is always available as well.

GB: To conclude, what do you feel are the most important features that you're working to incorporate into D&D Online?

Turbine: There are a lot of D&D players on this team. Several of us play a weekly game at the office. Often, you’ll hear us talking and laughing about this week’s exploits; the good luck and the bad, the funny moments and the tragic ones. More than anything else, if we can recreate that feeling; parties working together to overcome challenges, kick butt, and have a good time, we’ll be in good shape. It’s not any individual feature that does that – it’s a combination of good quests and stories, good dungeons, and great combat and characters that make it all come together.