Smaller content releases, more often

[Tanka]

What insight do you have into either build process that makes you think this is funny? How does DDO quest design work, Tanka?

Let's take the worst case scenario.

Say that DDO quest building is a combination of NWN (detailed scripting but modular world building) and FPS (surface-by-surface, texturing). Even THAT isn't too hard to do if a bunch of rank amateurs can do it in their spare time.

If you think that making quests for an MMO are as simple as a multiplayer-capable game like NWN, you're going to be sorely disappointed.

There's a reason a well-made NWN module can be created with just one person and why an MMO requires teams of groups all working together to bring one single quest to life.

[VirieSquichie]

If you think that making quests for an MMO are as simple as a multiplayer-capable game like NWN, you're going to be sorely disappointed.

There's a reason a well-made NWN module can be created with just one person and why an MMO requires teams of groups all working together to bring one single quest to life.

That reason is that NWN was created with UGC in mind from the start, and the toolset is robust and easy to use as a result. They took pains to make not only content and an engine to use it with, but a content CREATION engine. It's very nearly two products in one.

If a MMO isn't designed from the start to make it easy for (in-house) designers to add content, it's going to suffer in much the same way DDO is suffering...though I'm not sure whether this is DDO's problem. I get the feeling that much of Mod 1 was already built before retail launch and they just had to get the thing working properly before releasing it, and I wouldn't be surprised if large chunks of Mods 2 and 3 were at least on the drafting board before retail launch as well. Various departments can be done with their bits long before the whole thing is ready to go, it only takes one department being behind to keep whole sections of content from being published.

I'm thinking the scripting in DDO is entirely manual for every little thing, no toolset around to make it easier. Other than artwork, scripting is usually the most difficult component in a product like this. Often it's nearly the same as "real" programming but without the flexibility of a full language and IDE to make life easier. If the original stuff is poorly documented, you get newer scripts stepping on the toes of older scripts in addition to their own bugs and everything goes south quite easily.

Be that as it may... I *want* new content, darn it!

[Inkblack]

Part of me wonders if they even have a quest building tool-set... It seems the devs have to build each quest "by hand"....

If they have any kind of toolset at all, they should be able to knock out pretty basic quests pretty fast... If they truly have to write each quest from scratch... <shudder>... I can't imagine that's the case...

1 basic quest a month should be pretty easy... and then 4-6 complicated quests per Mod...

The numbers I've heard are 1,000 developer-hours for 1 playable hour in-game. Everything is done by hand. I echo that <shudder> Thrudh. I don't have any idea what would be involved in streamlining that time, but I would think that it would be a very nice tool for Turbine to have in their box of tricks.

Some related stuff I've heard: Mod 8 was considered 10 playable hours, so 10k dev hours to produce the content only, not considering the other things. Mod 9 was planned to be 25-50 playable hours, with some time and manpower savings coming from completing half finished quests from previous mods. The Mod 9 number I heard is VERY old though, I wouldn't be surprised if it was significantly different.

These numbers are not reliable. They are friend of a friend of a friend kinds of things.

Ink

[sjwalker1973]

We are currently at their 'endgame'. Since I don't see them progressing beyond level 20 in this form. It would be wise to come up with new content every few months or so and fixes. I too am looking at other alternatives when they arrive (Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, Startrek Online, Stargate Worlds, etc.). This game could have been something if they put the resources behind it since the beginning. It's too late for them to fix the bad blood between Turbine and the players of this game who have been here for 3 years hoping they would turn it around. It has all been empty promises in my opinion. They can't even deliver on their own timetable. I wish Bioware was working on a Forgotten Realms MMO. Forgotten Realms should have been where this game was set. Not Eberron.

[Guildmaster_Kadish]

/sigh...

Oh for the days when we would get packages like Invaders+BAM+The New Mirra's+The Haunted Library Followup (by TS)+Whisperdoom as a monthly update (I think that's right). And mods with more than 10 new quests (Mod4).

Then Turbine announced that they were going to eliminate the monthly updates, but make the mods larger and more expansive!

Yeah... that worked well. If anything, the mods have gotten smaller and the waits have more than doubled.

Oh well, I guess there's not much we can do about Turbine's lack of will to keep this game going strong.

/waits for new content