Read more about our plans for the year in a new Producer's Letter!

[Belnavar]

Re: VIP, we know from the Q&A with Sev (and not from the letter, which is a major failing) that they're looking at doing some kind of system that gives VIPs rewards over time, but they don't know how long that would take. Fair enough.

It's been deemed that daily gold rolls for VIPs has a negative impact on SSG's finances (I think that is short-sighted, given how reliable VIP income is, and how clear VIPs are about "add value or we unsub," which seems to have taken SSG by surprise [I don't know why, when Tolero admitted a year ago they were worried about VIP value even before the pandemic, which was before they severely devalued VIP]). Okay, fair enough.

I agree with others that words are not enough anymore. SSG did indeed have a year to come up with something for VIP -- anything -- and there's nothing to show for that time. It seems the new plans are only in response to the huge backlash over the past month.

But let's put all the bad will, disappointment, and (very justified) player anger aside for a moment to think about a temporary/interim solution:

Grant VIPs one-off gifts every month or two until the new VIP system is in. Month 1 = 5 XP elixirs. Month 2 = a new cosmetic. Month 3 = 5 Slayer elixirs. Month 4 = a new pet. You get the idea. Maybe every three months give something bigger, with more value, but give something -- anything -- to show that you are at least trying.

When VIP was devalued on the LOTRO side by the free codes, we got a free pet and carry-all (very high value item). We then later got the Town Services feature and other buffs. They made an effort. Now, VIP still needs more value there, and I thought daily gold rolls would've helped on that side too, but DDO needs even a single VIP gift very soon to show you care. Because "we're looking at it" just isn't enough anymore.

-Bel

[Kelledren]

I agree (except we can almost certainly predict a full expansion next year, as that alternating pattern seems well-established for both games now -- and I don't personally have an issue with it).

The Producer's Letter is probably the biggest opportunity to create excitement and enthusiasm for the game, and as much as I liked what Tolero delivered last year, and appreciate the roadmap (however skeletal), this letter hugely underperformed on that front.

I get that there may be some hesitancy to share about all upcoming plans, especially ones that are less concrete or might get canned or postponed, but we learned a tonne more from Severlin on the stream (which mostly made up for how lacking the letter is for me), bit that info should really have been in the letter. Just emphasise that some things may not make it (the roadmap already has a disclaimer) and most players will be understanding. Saying as little as possible isn't a good way forward though, and I think that was learned quite strongly on the LOTRO side.

-Bel

I still haven’t watched the video from the live stream yet, but if that info was in the letter and then there would not have been so much negative feedback. If they have these future plans laid out enough to talk about in a live stream put those in the annual PL. Or at least say- see livestream for more details on this bare bones plan. That
live stream should be for answering questions not already planned out.. VIP changes for example. From the summary of the video I read on Reddit it seems like some decent info was given, I just cannot comprehend why it wasn’t in the Producers letter. I guess what I’m saying is that I would rather be disappointed by a lack of info in a livestream about the PL than the official DDO Producers Letter.

[capsela]

I mean I just don't think that's true*.

I do think that, like LARP, it's expensive enough that it's mostly suited for middle earners, which makes folk who want to spend their disposable on more than one thing feel like there's a huge barrier to entry.

But you know, SSG could be a worse corporation. *sideeyes at WOTC*.

*(I mean, I think the codependency suggestion is true, but that's how it is with any game- video games are addictive and that's been the entire point of making them since about 2001, so why would anyone be surprised if players become co-dependent if they play something for a long time? Might as well be surprised that the stuff that falls out of the sky tastes like that stuff you find in streams. For my part, it just helps kill another few hours of my life between work and bed as a healthier alternative to drinking whilst I wait for the old biochemistry to stop. At least DDO quests are legitimately laugh out loud funny from time to time. I suspect DDO is just where middle aged & older gamers come to put down roots really - after all the excitement hope and fight is beaten out of you, you conclude "well I might as well be comfortable". And of course, all of this supposition is as much speculation and projection as your view that the prices are abuse, we can, neither of us, make an evidence based case for it other than 'well *I* feel that way').

So it's ok to overcharge your players if they are old? I know you didn't say that but that's what I got from what you said. You could say the DDO devs are engaged in elder abuse. Ba dum tish. As far as value proposition for $100 I can buy Rimworld, a game that arguable has more replay-ability and stories in it than DDO. Paradox publishing offers a $5 a month sub for Europa Universalis, and $5 for Hearts of Iron 4 both amazing games. Meanwhile you can spend $500 on DDO and not even own all the packs and have low quality of life. Is this what late state capitalism looks like? I admire their chutzpah. Caveat emptor. Gordon Gecko loves SSG.

[DoctorOfLiterature]

Severlin, I was not impressed by your comments on Ddo stream nor by the Producers Letter. I am not one to complain here. I have been patient on the promised vip upgrade. But I am going to cancel sub because I do not feel appreciated and the benefit is not there as Tolero admitted last year. You have had a year. There have been many suggestions to improve vip to compensate for eroded value and most would not cost SSG money. Giving vip a better exp snd or buddy exp bonus for example. Plans for 2023 continue to erode vip value as you require us to buy mini expansions that would have been packs in the past and you give away archetypes to f2p. There is nothing planned for the year to give me a reason to keep VIP.
That’s bad business.

[Belnavar]

I thought I'd share some of the highlights (in terms of upcoming stuff for 2023) from the Q&A with Severlin, as it fills a lot of gaps from the letter. I encourage folk to check out the Q&A directly for more details and nuance.

VIP

new system being looked at for VIPs
month to month claims like a loyalty programme, accumlate over the months
some one-time claims, some things free in game that make it less onerous (presumably things like XP elixirs, slayer elixirs, etc.), and other expanded things

requires engineering support, if it requires a year of engineering (doesn't look like it will) would require a rethink

engineering time is being prioritised for this over UI scaling

felt more comfortable sharing about this over stream, as things are still up in the air (my paraphrasing)

-

RAIDS

mini-expansion will have a new raid
in addition to existing raid to be updated in Q3

-

LEVEL CAP

no level cap increase
current plan is level cap increase every second year (this seems painfully slow to me, meaning we won't hit level 40 until 2030, assuming two levels each time)
mini-xpac year won't have one, xpac year will (this largely confirms the intent to keep rotating xpac/mini-xpac, which we also see on LOTRO side, and something I'm personally fine with)

-

UNIVERSAL TREE

probably see another universal tree (I presume with mini-xpac, but wasn't specified)

-

EPIC DESTINIES

we'll probably see another epic destiny this year (my guess is in Q3, but who knows)

-

CLASS

no new class this year, concentrating more on archetypes (this gave me the impression we're getting more archetypes this year beyond the 3 in U58, but this wasn't stated)

-

RACE

probably no new race this year (expensive, probably next year)

-

UI SCALING

looking into ui scaling soon
vip tech prioritised over ui scaling
don't know how hard ui scaling will be
ui scaling will result in icons being pixelated until they're ressed up (somehwat suggestive that this might not happen at the same time)
ui likely moved to hud, grey more modern look becaused it scales better (gold piping likely won't scale well)

-

AVATAR UPDATES

at some point we're gonna get avatar updates
if that happens, it'll be later this year (will try to get stuff in this year)
scope of avatar changes from a little to a lot

-

DROAAM UPDATE IN Q3

will at least be Attack on Stormreach adventure pack
unsure if free quest in Droaam (not sure which one this is, actually, so maybe others can clarify?) will be included, still being discussed

-

2FA & NEW LAUNCHER

new launcher tech required
store updates required for new launcher
through most of 2FA backend code
launcher tech being worked on
store updates planned, coming some time early summer
then new launcher and 2FA aimed for mid-to-late year

-

LAG

much of senior engineering working on lag
getting towards end of phase 2
then phase 3 will start

-

SUPPORTER PACK/S

actively working on supporter pack/s
would like to see one for anniversary, but not sure it's possible
will include sweet cosmetics, generous amount of astral shards, etc. (I'm hoping for one with points and elixirs too)

-

All of the above makes me feel a bit better about this year (so thank you Sev and Cord for the Q&A on the same day), so it may help others here too.

-Bel

[mbartol]

Thanks for the info, Bel.

Some of this really belongs in the Producer’s Letter, and would have prevented at least some of the negative feedback. Sure, it’s not all fleshed out, but even including a section for “potential effort” or “ideas we’re exploring” would give the players something to get excited about—just reinforce that it’s not a promise. I mean, the Executive Producer is stating the information in a SSG outlet/platform, why not in the letter?

[Thar]

So a bunch of non news?

Q1 -snowpeaks and anniversary event which require little effort to add to and run.
pax event that few people visit from the game or care about.

Update 58 - 3 archtypes and... is that it? no content?

Q2 Forum revamp - who cares?

mini expansion cash grab... no raid???? whaaaat???

Q3 - crystal cove - see annual festival info above... takes what 5 min to code the event to turn on?

A raid!! what only one this year??? Revamp of existing quests... boring.

Q4 - night revels - festivault - see annual festival info above... takes what 5 min to code the event to turn on?

one new adventure pack 4-5 quests?


no classic dungeon for 2023??

no movie tie in???

no class updates - looking at wizard where you all stated that it needed archmage updated like 3 years ago

no new epic destinies?

only a total of like 6 quests not part of expansion which isn't a full but a mini expansion???

what are you all working on this year??

[capsela]

no class updates - looking at wizard where you all stated that it needed archmage updated like 3 years ago

From and including: Wednesday, October 30, 2019
To, but not including Saturday, January 28, 2023

Result: 1186 days
It is 1186 days from the start date to the end date, but not including the end date.

Or 3 years, 2 months, 29 days excluding the end date.

Or 38 months, 29 days excluding the end date.

But, who's counting?

[HuneyMunster]

Lag has been reduced? Where?

Enlarged bank, yay! But very minor and for outrageous prices, it's still buggy, and it's still more annoying to use. So... not quite yay?

Not a word about VIPs, but hey, we can get to pay for a "mini-expansion" - aka rebranded adventure pack that we used to get included in the VIP subscription.

No mention of new classes or races or levels, but more archetypes that have so far been fairly meh. Hopefully the new ones are better.

Banking is better than it was but still needs to be polished.

If you look at the recent patterns it's a new race every two years with a full-expansion followed by a mini-expansion. I doubt we will see a new class added due to Alchemist too so much resources. I would think melee and range classes would have been more easier to create. I like the idea of Archetypes as it add more to the current classes we have. I would be surprised if a new class was added before level 40 cap.

I would think new level will be next year with my guess increasing level to 34 or 35.

Would be good to have a bit more value for VIP. Daily Gold dice was not the answer to boost VIP.

[Lamassut]

Severlin, I was not impressed by your comments on Ddo stream nor by the Producers Letter. I am not one to complain here. I have been patient on the promised vip upgrade. But I am going to cancel sub because I do not feel appreciated and the benefit is not there as Tolero admitted last year. You have had a year. There have been many suggestions to improve vip to compensate for eroded value and most would not cost SSG money. Giving vip a better exp snd or buddy exp bonus for example. Plans for 2023 continue to erode vip value as you require us to buy mini expansions that would have been packs in the past and you give away archetypes to f2p. There is nothing planned for the year to give me a reason to keep VIP.
That’s bad business.

The problem is that if they think that gold rolls, terrible as they are, are a problem for their profits, they will think that an increase in experience will also hurt their potion sales. Any perk that is not useless will hurt their sales in their eyes, because they monetize EVERYTHING, and they have forgotten that to make money, you have to invest first.

They don't have enough charisma to sell smoke, sorry.

SSG, wake up. Decide if the money that your VIP clients give you with their subscription compensates what you think you have lost in sales in the store (because, believe me, many people would not buy those items in the store anyway xd), if you prefer sales from the store or the vip suscription. Because you can't expect VIPs to buy everything in the store and, on top of that, pay a subscription for nothing. You have a business, not an NGO.

And come on, we all know what has really hurt sales this year. And it has not been the gold dice, precisely.

[Gordo]

I thought I'd share some of the highlights (in terms of upcoming stuff for 2023) from the Q&A with Severlin, as it fills a lot of gaps from the letter:

VIP

new system being looked at for VIPs
month to month claims like a loyalty programme, accumlate over the months
some one-time claims, some things free in game that make it less onerous (presumably things like XP elixirs, slayer elixirs, etc.), and other expanded things

requires engineering support, if it requires a year of engineering (doesn't look like it will) would require a rethink

engineering time is being prioritised for this over UI scaling

felt more comfortable sharing about this over stream, as things are still up in the air

-

RAIDS

mini-expansion will have a new raid
in addition to existing raid to be updated in Q3

-

LEVEL CAP

no level cap increase
current plan is level cap increase every second year (this seems painfully slow to me, meaning we won't hit level 40 until 2030, assuming two levels each time)
mini-xpac year won't have one, xpac year will (this largely confirms the intent to keep rotating xpac/mini-xpac, which we also see on LOTRO side, and something I'm personally fine with)

-

UNIVERSAL TREE

probably see another universal tree (I presume with mini-xpac, but wasn't specified)

-

EPIC DESTINIES

we'll probably see another epic destiny this year (my guess is in Q3, but who knows)

-

CLASS

no new class this year, concentrating more on archetypes (this gave me the impression we're getting more archetypes this year beyond the 3 in U58, but this wasn't stated)

-

RACE

probably no new race this year (expensive, probably next year)

-

UI SCALING

looking into ui scaling soon
vip tech prioritised over ui scaling
don't know how hard ui scaling will be
ui scaling will result in icons being pixelated until they're ressed up (somehwat suggestive that this might not happen at the same time)
ui likely moved to hud, grey more modern look becaused it scales better (gold piping likely won't scale well)

-

AVATAR UPDATES

at some point we're gonna get avatar updates
if that happens, it'll be later this year (will try to get stuff in this year)
scope of avatar changes from a little to a lot

-

DROAAM UPDATE IN Q3

will at least be Attack on Stormreach adventure pack
unsure if free quest in Droaam (not sure which one this is, actually, so maybe others can clarify?) will be included, still being discussed

-

2FA & NEW LAUNCHER

new launcher tech required
store updates required for new launcher
through most of 2FA backend code
launcher tech being worked on
store updates planned, coming some time early summer
then new launcher and 2FA aimed for mid-to-late year

-

LAG

much of senior engineering working on lag
getting towards end of phase 2
then phase 3 will start

-

SUPPORTER PACK/S

actively working on supporter pack/s
would like to see one for anniversary, but not sure it's possible
will include sweet cosmetics, generous amount of astral shards, etc. (I'm hoping for one with points and elixirs too)

-

All of the above makes me feel a bit better about this year (so thank you Sev and Cord for the Q&A on the same day), so it may help others here too.

-Bel

"felt more comfortable sharing about this over stream, as things are still up in the air"
BS. They got caught with a negative response and played catch up. It's gaslighting and manipulative.

[Dandonk]

"felt more comfortable sharing about this over stream, as things are still up in the air"
BS. They got caught with a negative response and played catch up

Yep. They had a year, and after that time, "things are still up in the air". That's just not good enough. Combined with Cordovan's first comment that "VIP is good value" (or great, or whatever it was), it's clear that there was no plan at all to do anything for VIPs, and that they are indeed trying hard to pretend that they did in fact have a plan.... even if it's pretty clear that they had no such thing and the stuff mentioned in the stream was something gotten from a 15 minute "oh **** what do we do now" session right before the stream.

[Belnavar]

"felt more comfortable sharing about this over stream, as things are still up in the air"
BS. They got caught with a negative response and played catch up. It's gaslighting and manipulative.

Just to clarify: that's my paraphrasing of a longer explanation there, so I do encourage folk to check out the Q&A directly for more details and nuance.

That said, I do agree that not mentioning VIP at all in the letter was a major failing (to put it lightly).

-Bel

[Arkat]

Update 58 - 3 archtypes and... is that it? no content?

No, there will be one free dungeon in Update 58. It was mentioned in the Q&A with Severlin.

I'd guess it's some sort of "introductory dungeon" for the mini-expansion.

[MistaMagic]

No, there will be one free dungeon in Update 58. It was mentioned in the Q&A with Severlin.

I'd guess it's some sort of "introductory dungeon" for the mini-expansion.

It is

[Anurakh]

I still want to know what that "raid update" means. What will change in the raids?

[Kelledren]

I still want to know what that "raid update" means. What will change in the raids?

I think it means a current raid, maybe something along the lines of Tower of Despair, will be updated to legendary. Again all this should have been more clear in the PL and a lot less stink would have occurred. Some stink would’ve remained, but there would have been less.

My two hills are 1) more, and not crazy expensive, bank space. And 2) a revamp of VIP.
These can be two birds killed with one stone. But first give the first 30 shared bank spaces for free. It’s the decent thing to do.
I stayed on as VIP purely to support the game. Im really not getting much from it at this point- but the $10 a month is less than my wife’s Starbucks every few days. If I was an OG from 2006 then yeah I would’ve def dropped my VIP already. But as I’ve only been at this about 5 Years, and prob more casual than most, I would like to see it continue.
However I don’t like feeling I’m being taken advantage of either when I want to support something. Hopefully the plans mentioned will materialize into something soon- or at the very least put to a plan and discussed. It had been a year with little conversation on this and no movement. Sure daily golds were nice- but a band aid at best, not the solution.

[HoopleHeadMan]

DROAAM UPDATE IN Q3

will at least be Attack on Stormreach adventure pack
unsure if free quest in Droaam (not sure which one this is, actually, so maybe others can clarify?) will be included, still being discussed
l

Who here hasn't stood on that cliff at the mouth of the cave and looked down over the beach upon the forces of Droaam and felt that convulsive urge to jump down and just kill EVERYTHING arrayed before you?

[Arkat]

I still want to know what that "raid update" means. What will change in the raids?

I think it means a current raid, maybe something along the lines of Tower of Despair, will be updated to legendary. Again all this should have been more clear in the PL and a lot less stink would have occurred. Some stink would’ve remained, but there would have been less.

It will either be a ToD (Tower of Despair) update to Legendary or a Titan (The Titan Awakes) update to Legendary.

[Oxarhamar]

No, there will be one free dungeon in Update 58. It was mentioned in the Q&A with Severlin.

I'd guess it's some sort of "introductory dungeon" for the mini-expansion.

These one dungeon update before expansion & mini expansions really feel like they should just be part of the xpack itself

They are free which is ok but it’s still a one quest update