Letter from Executive Producer Rob Ciccolini - January 2018

[Revolted]

Personaly I see all of that as great news, working on those classes is good/great, new adventures are always welcome. And if I was a bit underwhelmed by most of the content released by the last years of Turbine, Ravenloft brought me hope for SSG! Make all the new content a bit like it: immersive, plausible, beautiful, artsy, fun! I won't even care if it is in Eberron, or Dark Sun or New Mexico!

Keep up with the great work.

[janave]

Good plans so far,
Congrats and thanks for your work.

[Cambo]

Keep on the Borderlands...BreeYark

[Fenix93]

Finally! it was time! I could not wait to discover the new contents of this year on DDO! and I must admit that in part it turns out to be very interesting, at first glance it would seem that there are no new races or classes, positive for me and for all the others who are trying to do the Completionist objective, every time you add classes or races this implies + time and + things to buy.

but let's go in order...

Update 38 will arrive this Spring, and will return adventurers to Eberron. The magic that has long protected Stormreach is failing, and a strange plague is sweeping through the city. You'll join forces with the healers of House Jorasco to find a cure and save your adopted home. This new adventure pack will be level 14 on Heroic difficulty, and level 31 on Legendary difficulty. Part of this work will allow us to tweak House Jorasco as well, to help players get around the space.

Please ... just with pack on eberron! do something more in the Frogotten Realsm ... that universe needs a little love you do not find?But anyway the update 38 seems very interesting ... more than anything else I'm curious about the Revamp of Jorasco ... (in fact the quests are a bit dispersive and you have to go back in the area to go you have various ingresi - this applies to Ftp quests and not to premium HJ packages)So it would seem that in HJ we would have a new package ... (but if we think about HJ and bring it to Ravenloft ... it may be that this bad ... no no I do not think there will be a crosover with Ravenloft in this package ... but if there was ... well ... it would be great. : D

We will also be doing a bit of work on the Anniversary Event, including some new event rewards, as we celebrate DDO's 12th year! We will have a special gift for players as well, but do not want to spoil the surprise.

I really hope that the anniversaries this year will be more rewarding with the gift ... in short ... not that I did not like that last year ... on the contrary, it gave me the chance to redeem 2 2 pack items that I did not have and that have been very useful for the course of my next past lives .. but this year I really want to have something more exciting and useful for the purpose of And-game ... I do not say give me a weapon of CiTW's choice ... no ... it will never happen ... but let's see ... let's see that it will happen.

One of the things we have long heard from you about is the desire to have a third Artificer Enhancement tree, and we're pleased to be able to say that the Renegade Mastermaker will be coming in the near future. This tree will focus on improving your Repair spells, Curative Admixtures, personal Defense, and building things to buff both yourself and your allies. We also intend to add a third Favored Soul tree, update the Cleric Warpriest, and do extensive work on the Druid class. For Druid, we will be working on the core of the class, its animal forms, and both of its existing enhancement trees in addition to a brand new enhancement tree.

This point was known for some time but had not yet been revealed many details about the new branches of the classes coming ... for now we know only the artficer that is called..."the Renegade Mastermaker"... apparently it seems interesting ... and it gives an extra gear on the bullies and the defenses (it will turn out to be an extra gear for end-game and Reaper? or it will be a complete failure? this is to see), to the rest be ... FvS I'm curious to see the 3rd branch ... cleric perhaps needs even more love ... and then ... the druid ... then on the druid premise that I have not yet tried anything, but those few druids that I see in play almost all use the wolf or the elementary form ... this said I have no idea what to expect from this revamping of the class.

Another thing we have long wanted to do is update our Treasure of Crystal Cove event, and we intend to start doing that work in the coming months by updating the reward list. Speaking of events, we have plans for Night Revels to update the public space to work similar to the Challenge system its dungeons use, and add a new dungeon for our favorite Halloween event. October is historically one of our biggest months, and we think you'll love what we have in store.

Yes ... it was more than obvious that they would update this event, I think they will raise the level of objects from 25 to 28 or so ... I hope ... but I hope ... that they make me a cosmetic version of the hats. They are very beautiful and have to use every time a mirrow and a spend of time and money ... that I do not like ... I love cosmetics but I would like for some outfits of the events also have their cosmetic version.On Halloween ... it is clear that it is the flagship event of DDO ... as is the YuleFest in LOTRO at the end ... but ... it would not be better if in the Festival sector there is a bit of love in general for DDO? there ... in short, the DDO festivals are so boring except Halloween and cristal cove ... but it goes well they are thoughts.

Next, we are pleased to announce our next classic adventure! An eccentric wizard has hidden three famous Sentient weapons inside of a volcano, and challenged all comers to try to retrieve them. Can you make it through fiendish obstacles and deadly traps? Have you guessed the pack yet? It's White Plume Mountain, a classic 1979 dungeon that was also recently brought to 5th Edition in the Tales from the Yawning Portal book. We'll be giving this intense test of skill the DDO treatment later this summer in an adventure pack that will also feature several other stand-alone dungeons themed around wizards and their arcane environments.

I finally got to the interesting part of the letter! a new classic adventure! ... for some time I thought that with the launch of last year of "Tales from the Yawning Portal" of D & D 5th edition, SSG would have thought something to be implemented in DDO concerns these classic adventures...and in fact..."White Plume Mountain"

I think it will be a truly epic pack under many notes of view (hopefully), look at the maps and reading on Wikipedia this classic adventure and really huge, full of salt and traps to overcome, in short ... an adventure of real intriguing, I have loved very much slaver lord I know by heart that pack and 'and now so simple to do that you could do with your eyes closed you have level of game play now, but on one side Slaver lords from the point of view of the maps was a bit of a disappointment and did not faithfully reproduce the maps of the PNP (as per the plot of the pack does not fully resume the plot of the campaign Pnp) ... so I really hope that for "White Plume Mountain" there is a bit of love, I do not say something like ToEE (that few people play it or if they play it and only for the items and not XP),I really love the work done on Ravenloft, I hope you put the same work and commitment done in this expansion even in the packages to come, the Ravenloft Castle was a great success for me, and I would like to see that level of gameplay and immersion of D & D lore to..."White Plume Mountain"!

An image of the classic adventure cover of 1979

We are happy with the feedback we received about Sentient Weapons with the release of Mists of Ravenloft, and plan to continue to support that system in 2018. In addition to the Sentient Weapons available in White Plume Mountain, we intend to add a Kobold-themed Sentient Jewel for our 12^th Anniversary, and create a Dragon-themed jewel for an as-yet unannounced release date.

How nice and so we will have a Kobold-themed Sentient Jewel that everyone wanted to start Ravenloft ... well that say "cheers"? This shows once again that SSG listens to us ... repeat with "SSG hears us" ... "LISTEN" then for who knows that "and but SSG does not listen to us" is not true because if SSG does these things it means that he cares about our feadback ... who unque is contrary with my judgment, that and the door.Returning to the speech ... I hope that in addition to new jewels (which are purely aesthetic) there are also new watermarks to ensure that there is more and more choice in the bonus segment in the arms, and to promote a variety of choices and end strategies. game ... in the end I hope that at the end of 2018 do not stop the development of this feature and the abandonment ... sentient weapons for me to add much to the game ... and see this function overwhelmed by a system much more beneficial and a bit sad.

A preview of the new 3 sentient weapons taken from the manual of the 5th edition

We have another big announcement to make later this year, but we're not ready to hint about that news yet, sorry. Stay tuned soon for an announcement about an adventure that has been on many of our players' wish lists for years. We can't wait to tell you about it!

And here we are at the interesting point or the "final surprise" or as he calls it..."announcement about an adventure that has been on many of our players' wish lists for years"Now I have no idea what it may be ... there are several thoughts in this post that everyone goes to fall on "Labyrinth of horrors",but I do not know what else to say ... but many ... ask also a new starting area in the forgotten realms ... but who knows ... it could also be the umpteenth Ebberon pack set in an iconic place that everyone Did they want to visit? in any case, I sincerely hope that it is linked to Forgotten Realms or anything that is not related to They ... I say enough with these packs and do something more substantial for the Forgotten Realms who need love ... a lot but a lot love.

In other words, this year we will have:

• 2 new packs (+1)

• Continuous support for clerical, FvS and fireworks classes with new trees for each class, and Druid revamping.

• Continuous support for sentient weapons and new content for this system

• Revamping of the Crystal Cove prizes and new public event dungeon & revamping of the Halloween event.

What can I say ... it's not bad I'm satisfied, I really hope that in the years to come SSG can improve more and more the game and always add new adventures, DDO for me now in my heart for almost 2 years, keep it up guys.

[Mindos]

Hello, I have been playing ddo from almost the beginning and find the game very entertaining, but I would like to make a suggestion to the Executive branch, For many years now I have played with only a few problems that I can see and one is the upgrade of the Completionist. It would be nice if the executive producer would take into account the older players that have been around awhile. Some have toons that are double and even triple completionist. Instead of giving no upgrades after the first completionist, can't we improve this for older players who have stuck around and helped the game out thru the years by allowing upgrades for each time you go up on your completionist? Like from First completionist to second and third completionist and so on to show your appreciation for the years that they have stayed around and supported the game? I just think its unfair that these people can't improve their rewards after the first completionist. All help in this matter would be deeply appreciated, thank you

Happy first post ever!

I could see a cosmetic for each "level" of completionist. Something flashy, to show off. Maybe the same outfit, but different colors for each "tier"?

[thedip]

Planescape!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s2Qkx3lN5s

[Son_of_the_South]

[Son_of_the_South]

Artificer improvements are nice for a VERY small segment but what are you doing to fix the lag the and make the quests more playable. New Quest Sunrise runs around 4-7 FPS on a my Win7 64 bit I7 with 16G Ram , 4G Video ram on my ISP's fastest line, there's nothing else I can do. Are you looking at switching hosting again or be honest is it simply too cost prohibitive.
You cannot contact any GM as they refer you to customer service and you are given the age old standby , "Must be on your end , We never heard of issues"
Personally I love the new content and pre-purchased the ultimate Ravenloft, But I would like to see some new content put on hold while we fix some issues playing.

Thanks for time.

Michael

Must be on your end though. I'm running and AMD FX8350, 16GB RAM and a 1070. I get well over 60fps on ultra. There are some lag issues, sure, but no fps issues.

[Ballrus]

Don't forget the triple bonus point!

[janave]

Must be on your end though. I'm running and AMD FX8350, 16GB RAM and a 1070. I get well over 60fps on ultra. There are some lag issues, sure, but no fps issues.

It is about consistency, if a single (type of) area drops FPS by 75-90%, that is a bug - stronger configurations probably make it feel less impactful.

Into the Mist,
Yester Hill,
Berez quests (inc Baba Raid outside areas)

All the above quests do the super FPS drop on my IGP only PC. Other areas play perfectly fine 30-45 FPS, consistently.

[Greantun]

It is about consistency, if a single (type of) area drops FPS by 75-90%, that is a bug - stronger configurations probably make it feel less impactful.

Into the Mist,
Yester Hill,
Berez quests (inc Baba Raid outside areas)

All the above quests do the super FPS drop on my IGP only PC. Other areas play perfectly fine 30-45 FPS, consistently.

I don't think this is a bug. The devs stated in the release notes (or forum posts after) that they added way more "grass" (my term) in certain areas, but also added a new setting to lower the amount if your computer couldn't handle it.

Obviously you need to reduce those settings.

[janave]

I don't think this is a bug. The devs stated in the release notes (or forum posts after) that they added way more "grass" (my term) in certain areas, but also added a new setting to lower the amount if your computer couldn't handle it.

Obviously you need to reduce those settings.

Nop. the settings are all low, and the frills are disabled, double checked in the userconf ini file.
You can disqualify this as a bug because you are unaffected, but that does not help us much.

[sudzz]

Must be on your end though. I'm running and AMD FX8350, 16GB RAM and a 1070. I get well over 60fps on ultra. There are some lag issues, sure, but no fps issues.

He maybe means Wrath of Earth, running a dual hex cored Xeon e5 rig with 32 gig ram and AMD 56 8 gig HBM2 card off ssd and I see low frames of 8-20 in Wrath and I'm only running at 1440p so I can see the icons else would be 1600p/4k on a 44 inch screen, 220 meg down 20 up internet pings of 100ms with no loss, even the explorer before entering gets 50-60 fps so that tesla tower is sapping the life out of everything to run it's volts.

[1SickDude]

Greetings!

Our first year as Standing Stone Games is behind us, and we want to thank our fans for being part of a wonderful year. We feel truly fortunate to have wonderful players, and we are excited for the upcoming year. I wanted to take some time to talk about our plans for the upcoming months. The reason we are here is because YOU are here, and we look forward to hearing from you.

Update 38 will arrive this Spring, and will return adventurers to Eberron. The magic that has long protected Stormreach is failing, and a strange plague is sweeping through the city. You'll join forces with the healers of House Jorasco to find a cure and save your adopted home. This new adventure pack will be level 14 on Heroic difficulty, and level 31 on Legendary difficulty. Part of this work will allow us to tweak House Jorasco as well, to help players get around the space.

We will also be doing a bit of work on the Anniversary Event, including some new event rewards, as we celebrate DDO's 12th year! We will have a special gift for players as well, but do not want to spoil the surprise.

One of the things we have long heard from you about is the desire to have a third Artificer Enhancement tree, and we're pleased to be able to say that the Renegade Mastermaker will be coming in the near future. This tree will focus on improving your Repair spells, Curative Admixtures, personal Defense, and building things to buff both yourself and your allies. We also intend to add a third Favored Soul tree, update the Cleric Warpriest, and do extensive work on the Druid class. For Druid, we will be working on the core of the class, its animal forms, and both of its existing enhancement trees in addition to a brand new enhancement tree.

Another thing we have long wanted to do is update our Treasure of Crystal Cove event, and we intend to start doing that work in the coming months by updating the reward list. Speaking of events, we have plans for Night Revels to update the public space to work similar to the Challenge system its dungeons use, and add a new dungeon for our favorite Halloween event. October is historically one of our biggest months, and we think you'll love what we have in store.

Next, we are pleased to announce our next classic adventure! An eccentric wizard has hidden three famous Sentient weapons inside of a volcano, and challenged all comers to try to retrieve them. Can you make it through fiendish obstacles and deadly traps? Have you guessed the pack yet? It's White Plume Mountain, a classic 1979 dungeon that was also recently brought to 5th Edition in the Tales from the Yawning Portal book. We'll be giving this intense test of skill the DDO treatment later this summer in an adventure pack that will also feature several other stand-alone dungeons themed around wizards and their arcane environments.

We are happy with the feedback we received about Sentient Weapons with the release of Mists of Ravenloft, and plan to continue to support that system in 2018. In addition to the Sentient Weapons available in White Plume Mountain, we intend to add a Kobold-themed Sentient Jewel for our 12^th Anniversary, and create a Dragon-themed jewel for an as-yet unannounced release date.

We have another big announcement to make later this year, but we're not ready to hint about that news yet, sorry. Stay tuned soon for an announcement about an adventure that has been on many of our players' wish lists for years. We can't wait to tell you about it!

On behalf of everyone on the Dungeons & Dragons Online team, we thank you for your support. We've been humbled by the response to the Mists of Ravenloft, and we look forward to continuing our amazing tabletop-to-screen journey with you in 2018 and beyond!

Sev~

The game has come a long way. Look forward to the continued journey...

[Vish]

Sev,
Thanks for job well done last year.
Looks like thanks for this year to.

Divines getting some love, that's happy news
Look forward to warpriest, a revamp I hope
And third tree fvs, something is needed
And Druids don't need much? But third tree and bears

So happy white plum
Loved that one many years ago
What are you going to do about the trident?
New weapon??
Or make it a quarter staff? A spear would be cool too,
Too bad we don't have those.

The rest all looks like its in the works,
Guess that means producers letter in summer?
Because this was only half a year...

But you got me hooked for another six months,
Unless you nerf duality,
Then I prob protest quit.
Haha, I can't explain it either
Was hoping for one
But guess I got is it's reaper payback for melee
So anyways, keep up the good work
Thanks for fixing the freeze issue

Ps
Maybe make that a trident but gotta use quarter staff proficiency
Because that Gulthias staff sucks for dps
Oh ya, and make it like 15w
Thanks

[SirShen]

Does this mean we are getting trident as a weapon?

[Casareena]

Thank you for all your hard work. Ravenloft, the mists just everything about it is amazing!

This letter is full of interesting and exciting news, that I can't wait to come to fruition.

As for the people who continually look for ways to cheat their way through the game ugh. I can understand the one-upmanship feeling you get, but all your doing really is spoiling the game for everyone else as the worlds have to be taken down to sort out the loop-holes you've found. It is also taking time away that could be spent on fixing any issues or working on new content so your hurting yourselves too in the long run so grow-up and play the game like a gentleman instead of a spoilt brat.

P.S. Mr. Ciccolini could you bring back the raid with the spectral dragon in some form for Halloween, that raid was just awesome and is sorely missed!

[TakeItToTheLimit]

I too, smell
TOMB
OF
HORRORS

The problem with S1: Tomb of Horrors is it is basically a trapfest with too many "instadeath if you make the wrong choice" options throughout. This means it will have no longevity. Once you know which way to go there is no challenge.
S5: Barrier Peaks is a wonderful module but has the capacity to completely break DDO. Imagine players with a laser in one hand and a blaster in the other...they'd be warlocks on steroids!

The Giant trilogy would be a useful addition as a prelude to Slavelords.
Ghost Tower of Inverness
Keep on the Borderlands
Castle Amber
Castle Greyhawk

all good choices

Undermountain and Myth Drannor are really whole worlds rather than modules as is Sigil

What I'd really like to see though, is another Monster Manual covering the inexplicable holes like Vampire, Wight and Spectre, amongst others.

[Aelonwy]

Plague and House Jorasco? Sounds interesting. Will there be a hospital setup anywhere in the city?

More Easter Eggs for the Anniversary? Yay! I would love to know if any of the suggestions made it in? Lynnabel? Mimic chest in library? Yaulthoon & Fred at the party with or without a Taken date? Cake Djinn by the anniversary cake? Meatshield, a shield that looks like a slab of ham? Brussel Sprout Beater (a finessable Broccoli)? Exploding Pork Barrels on the reward list? Party cookies going in the Store Bought Cookie Jar? Nibbles appearing in random locations?

Yay Artificier Revamp! Yay Druid work! Really looking forward to it. New Favored Soul tree, Woo hoo! Please Don't forget to rebalance the enhancement costs for Cleric trees too. Divine Disciple and Radiant Servant are still some of the most expensive trees in AP costs at 79 and 80 respectively, by contrast Warpriest costs 64, Eldritch Knight costs 66, any of the Elemental Savants cost 73, Pale Master 69. Please update the Cleric enhancement trees at the same time as Favored Soul trees. Thank you.

Updates to Crystal Cove - Awesome. New Night Revels dungeon - cool.

White Plume Mountain... Shut up and take my money!

Yes MORE sentient gems please.

We have another big announcement to make later this year, but we're not ready to hint about that news yet, sorry. Stay tuned soon for an announcement about an adventure that has been on many of our players' wish lists for years. We can't wait to tell you about it!

Sev~

Tease.

[Captain_Wizbang]

You heard it here first! They're bringing back the Spectral Dragon dungeon (reworked to go in as a raid group and without all the lag-goyles) and releasing a dragon jewel as a reward!

That would be cool.

Severlin, did SSG take my suggestion from this recent post on the forums?
I have to know!!

Relax pal, the cameras and mics are turned off, no one will ever know it was you that gave them the idea.

It's obviously Castle Greyhawk.

Greyhawk

Tomb of Horrors, Isle of Dread, Greyhawk............. I vote yes to any & all.

SSG GRATZ on year 1, MoR was the best content since Vale & GH. Great job