Update 9

[Vordax]

So.. Will we be seeing update 9 on lama soon?

Vordax

[CaptGrim]

I have been wondering the same thing, the silence is deafening.

I have a few conspiracy theories I'd like to share concerning update 9 and the dirge of hype surrounding it.

1. Something great and anticipated for a long time. I.E, druids, Epic gianthold, spell overhaul, ect.

2. Something horrible and tech intensive thus creating a bit of performance anxiety for the devs. I.E. Greensteel re-balance along with a deconstruction option.

I'm thinking it'll be number 2.

[Missing_Minds]

Good grief.. it hasn't even been two months since Update 8 was released.

[Drfirewater79]

Good grief.. it hasn't even been two months since Update 8 was released.

The problem is more along the lines of no word about update 9 and its been over a month ... and secondly and most importantly anniversary and pax east.

if update 9 is planned for anniversary it should be on lama before mid febuary. If update 9 is being held back to pax east march 11-13th then it will be more then 3+ months downtime between updates the longest since the DDOEU launch.

If they launch early febuary then they can announce all the goodies for update 10 at PAX and turn the hype wagon with something big like druid to help fight against SWTOR launch date expected to be dropped at pax east this year.

to much competition on the horrison and not enough hype turning at turbine. To late and you risk people turning to other mmos because the hype on swtor is huge and i have been following it long enough to know its more competiton for DDo then DCU was ... rifts and tera are also big name mmos coming this year ... DDO needs something massive for pax this year or they get ousted in there hometown.

If you ask me ... drop update 9 early febuary and make it just the sorc pre and a content pack. Then update 10 at pax announce druid two new raids (one lvl 13-15 w/epic one lvl 19-20) and a new end game system so epic isnt the only thing we have to look forward to while also announcing higher drop rates for seals and shards and scrolls from here on out to encourage more epic play. but either way they need to make some noise now ... or they are gonna get left in the dust ... free to play was how they recovered from atari .... what is turbine gonna do when SWTOR drives on through?

[IronClan]

what is turbine gonna do when SWTOR drives on through?

The same thing every other game/MMO does... rely on the fact that not everyone is interested in every Genre or clique or flavor, that D&D will always attract a certain subset of gamers, who love the rules set and conventions and character designing. And that F2P will fill in the gap when there aren't enough D&D players, or they don't dig on some of DDO's short comings in rules and mechanics translations.

Personally I'm in no danger of going away for SWTOR, as a long time gamer and past experience with UO and SWG among many others: I know better than to join any MMO until at least 2-3 years after it launches... Anything sooner and you are asking for the disappointment and nerd rage you will certainly experience when the early version of the game evolves into something else.

I am in danger of going away for the thin feature set DDO has, and the unrelieved meta-gaming... But not because something new with all new shiney pixels comes along.

[jimmymac32409]

Is it just me that sees this or what?

Hmm Update 8 comes out and Update 9 is in limbo with a great silence from the Devs.

Think pre DDO F2P. How long and deafening was the silence between MOD 8-Rever's Refuge and MOD 9/Update 0-DDO Unlimited ?

No wonder some people are SO QUICK to panic. There is something about DDO Devs and the number 9.

[Natashaelle]

There is something about DDO Devs and the number 9.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQal-lJrSLI

[donfilibuster]

Yeah, better let them polish the release, lest some plane become sentient and began to eat ur stuff.

[Drfirewater79]

The same thing every other game/MMO does... rely on the fact that not everyone is interested in every Genre or clique or flavor, that D&D will always attract a certain subset of gamers, who love the rules set and conventions and character designing. And that F2P will fill in the gap when there aren't enough D&D players, or they don't dig on some of DDO's short comings in rules and mechanics translations..

While i agree there is more then the Star Wars name attracting people to that mmo .. things that Turbine cant compete with. BioWare style story in an MMO (first time ever in MMOs history where story choice effects character) bringing the RPG back to MMOrpg. Its the most money any company has put into an mmo before launch ... the most content any mmo has put out at launch ... no trinity requirements.

Take all that and throw in the fact that star wars is a nerd niche (much like comic and DnD) and many DnD players are also star wars geeks. Not saying DDO will die because of it ... but they are gonna lose alot of people for at least 2-6 months this spring if they dont put something big out there.

I went free to play myself so i could afford to play both ... most of my guild did the same thing so we can continue to raid here while playing SWTOR. I think the single biggest competition to the genre since WoW dawns reason enough to put the best foot forward.

Personally I'm in no danger of going away for SWTOR, as a long time gamer and past experience with UO and SWG among many others: I know better than to join any MMO until at least 2-3 years after it launches... Anything sooner and you are asking for the disappointment and nerd rage you will certainly experience when the early version of the game evolves into something else.

Then you obviously havent been doing any reading .. SWTOR is nothing like SWG unlike other games SWTOR is not planning to launch until it has both enough content and as few bugs as humanly possible ... its been in production publicly for almost 6 years twice as long as any other mmo before it ... spent 240 million in producition which is more then twice as much as some companies 6 years into there mmo.

Also theres a month long open beta planned before launch so everyone can TRY the game before they buy it. If you followed any major video game site over the last year you would realize that they are not just planing to be another mmo ... they are putting everything into there MMO to try to topple WoW and so far it looks like they might just do that.

DDO is my favorite MMO and has been since launch... never gonna leave it completely ... but the people spending money on the game are the people they need to keep (no i am not just talking P2P i am talking premiums too) If they dont do something big at pax (more and more i think druid). That being said now we know thoon said next week he would be making some annoncements.

I am in danger of going away for the thin feature set DDO has, and the unrelieved meta-gaming... But not because something new with all new shiney pixels comes along

The Only major problem DDO has is complete lack of content at end game ... this is and has been a raiders game for a long time ... cause at lvl 20 you really have nothing else to do unless you actually like epics. Unless you TR endlessly and really the end game content is so thin that its a pain and not enjoyable at all to level after lvl 16 on a TR. We know more end game is coming but really when you look at been there and done that vs new entertaining and lacking in other sillyness.

[Drfirewater79]

Is it just me that sees this or what?

Hmm Update 8 comes out and Update 9 is in limbo with a great silence from the Devs.

Think pre DDO F2P. How long and deafening was the silence between MOD 8-Rever's Refuge and MOD 9/Update 0-DDO Unlimited ?

No wonder some people are SO QUICK to panic. There is something about DDO Devs and the number 9.

then number was 11 months ...

Since Thoon said next week we would be getting information its not gonna be 11 months this time ... 4 months and three updates worth of content ... it would be worth it rather then 2 months and half an update worth of content like most update last year.

[IronClan]

The Only major problem DDO has is complete lack of content at end game ...

Hi, Drfirewater; every time I've seen you post I've wanted to ask: Don't you understand the difference between your subjective opinion and other peoples subjective opinion?

You say "the only major problem" as if your opinion just makes it so... Just because you say "lack of end game content" is DDO's only major problem doesn't magically make it true for everyone.

For me DDO has MANY major problems (not a singular "only" problem) or at least it has more than one. But I recognize that what I view as a problem might not be for everyone else...

[Jacoby]

2. Something horrible and tech intensive thus creating a bit of performance anxiety for the devs. I.E. Greensteel re-balance along with a deconstruction option.

ICK!!!! NOOOOOOooooo! Bite your tongue!


In response to Ironclan. I once thought as you however DDO has such a unique and free combat system not yet available in "ANY" other MMO. I've looked at SWOTOR an I really don't think it will be a big competitor for two reasons; 1) It's sci-fi not fanatasy, 2) The combat system looks to be VERY restrictive. Bioware is an awesome game designer and top notch story teller but unless they use an in depth ruleset and complication ONLY found in DDO they will not permanently capture this audience base. I too am looking for more, more, more but it's a ton of work and time is required...