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Exploring Eberron: DDO for the solo player
One of my favorite things about MMO gaming is that there is literally something out there to suit every MMO player. It's one of the upsides of a fairly crowded market -- if what you're playing doesn't hold your attention, there are a hundred more games lined up behind it.One effect of this is that the "multiplayer" part of "massively multiplayer" is more of a suggestion than a defined gameplay style these days. There's a significant portion of the gaming community that lacks either the time or inclination to do everything in-game with a group.Most MMOs have varying levels of soloability. Some make a point of extending a welcoming hand to solo players, some stack the benefits and perks on the side of groups, and some don't even seem to realize there's a difference. So where does Turbine land in all of this? Well, the company has made some nice strides in the past year or so in opening the doors for solo players.If you tried DDO way back when but didn't find it very solo-friendly, it might be time for a second look. Follow along after the jump as I touch on the various solo-friendly points of Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Rubi Bayer
01.21.2011
The Game Archaeologist and the NeverEnding Quest: A cozy chit-chat with Thom Terrazas
Welcome back to the Game Archaeologist's third week of our EverQuest expedition! So, OK, we lost a few valued members of our team crossing the wilds of Norrath, but who would ever think that 10 rats could be so vicious when out for vengeance? It comes with the territory, and really, it's well worth the loss of human life if we can educate just one soul on one of the most influential MMOs of all time. Their mothers will understand their sacrifice.We've already taken a look at the highlights of EverQuest and the perspectives of several veterans of the game, which means this week we must be gearing up for an inside look into the machinations of grinding, hell levels, alternative advancement and DKP. For this, we struggled through the Swamp of Sony to find the ramshackle hut of Thom Terrazas -- and he was expecting us. A fight ensued, with many a chicken flung in anger, not to mention a few pokes in the eye, Three Stooges-style. But in the end, Terrazas capitulated and told us everything we wanted to know.Thom Terrazas almost has all his SOE merit badges, having worked on Planetside, Vanguard and now EverQuest in various roles. I was curious -- what was it like to be handed the keys to not just a game, but a veritable institution? Hit the jump to see what Terrazas has to say about his favorite memories, the future of the game, and why EQ hit it out of the park in 1999.
Justin Olivetti
01.18.2011
Exploring Eberron: You can go home again
It's less common these days, but it used to be that many of the Massively staff's friends, family, and readers thought we had a great gig because we got paid to sit around and play games all day. Thankfully, that assumption comes around less and less nowadays -- most of the Massively staff finds very quickly that the job reduces our gaming time rather than allowing us free rein.So wait, what on earth does this have to do with Dungeons and Dragons Online? Well, my schedule has cramped my DDO time so severely lately that it could very well be called a hiatus. Recently, my husband had the day off work, so I assigned him full parenting duty, locked myself away, and logged into DDO for some uninterrupted playtime. OnedAwesome officers Aunwiira and Tebraen joined me, and Brian "Psychochild" Green jumped in partway through to join the fun too. I enjoyed some great playtime with some great company, and it started me thinking about the Massively DDO guild as well as the implications of rejoining an MMO after time away. Follow along after the jump for more!
Rubi Bayer
01.14.2011
Exploring Eberron: Welcome to a monstrous 2011
Welcome to the first Exploring Eberron of 2011! I'm pretty excited about what this year will bring to Dungeons and Dragons Online, particularly since Turbine has been hinting at something special for the game's fifth birthday next month. I'm going to be looking into that pretty enthusiastically during the rest of January, hoping to dig up some hints as to what's coming.For now, though, Turbine is kicking off 2011 in DDO with the focus on foes -- January seems to be all about monsters. The DDO crew will be giving us information on old monsters that's both useful for those just encountering them and entertaining to those who are used to them, and the designers seem to be on the hunt for new creatures as well.Follow along after the jump to see what it's all about!
Rubi Bayer
01.07.2011
The Game Archaeologist and the year that was 2010
Earlier in the year when I started this column, I realized two things. First, I'd be giving myself as much as any of you a crash-course education in older MMOs, particularly with some of the more fringe titles that I'd never really explored up to this point. And second, it would be a challenge to find the right mix of elements to do these MMOs justice.So before we look back at all the games this column covered in 2010, I'd like to ask each and every one of you to take a minute and drop a comment about what you'd like to see The Game Archaeologist do next. What titles would you love to see honored in 2011? What features are the most interesting to you -- dev interviews, player interviews, history overviews, photo galleries, first impression playthroughs, or links to community fansites and blogs? What could I add to make The Game Archaeologist even better?I also want to take a minute to thank the readers, players and developers who have contributed to this column so far. While there are MMOs that get a lion's share of the press these days, we at Massively are committed to spotlighting as many of these games as possible, particularly if there's a passionate community and dev team behind them. I've loved hearing your stories and hope that in passing them along, perhaps we've opened a door or two to games that you might've never considered before.So let's hop in our hot air balloon and soar over the year that was 2010!
Justin Olivetti
12.28.2010
Exploring Eberron: Playtime over the holidays
It's Christmas Eve, and most everyone is on some sort of holiday break. The interesting thing about holiday "break" is that it's often not so much a break as it is a different kind of hustle and bustle than the usual one. Still, it's supposed to involve at least a little bit of downtime, and we MMO fans look forward to indulging with some extra time in our favorite games. While it's hard to find time to spend hours raiding, the design of Dungeons and Dragons Online allows players to take a half-hour here and there to relax and play. The downside of this is that there's a lot of content, and it's easy to wind up staring at the game thinking "I have no idea what I want to do." A few suggestions can usually get the ball rolllng, so follow along after the jump for some ideas on how to make the most of your DDO downtime!
Rubi Bayer
12.24.2010
The Game Archaeologist and the dragon of the deep dungeon
The Game Archaeologist is a lazy adventurer-slash-professor who dons his trademark cap for a weekly expedition through some of the most famous MMOs of the past few decades. Each month, he chooses a different title in order to examine its highlights, talk with its developers, and invite its fans to share their experiences.Part of the holy mission of the Game Archaeologist is to ferret out the roots of history that ultimately led to MMORPGs as we know them today. Another part of the mission is to root out ferrets, as my claw-scarred arms can attest. Some of that history is fairly recent, but today we're going to travel back -- way back -- to a time before many of you were born. Including me, as a matter of fact.The year is 1974. The world is hip-deep in the throes of shag carpeting, driftwood furniture and the strains of Grand Funk Railroad. It truly seemed like nothing would ever be cool or non-earth-toned again. At this, the lowest moment in all of history, game designers Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson took the concept of miniature wargaming, merged it with a fantasy motif, and sold it under the name Dungeons & Dragons. Geeks everywhere had a reason to rejoice, and through this roleplaying game the foundations for MMOs were laid.Let's take a brief survey through D&D, giving special emphasis to how this great-granddaddy of RPGs passed down a legacy that we enjoy in our modern online titles. Also, there will be popcorn.
Justin Olivetti
12.21.2010
Exploring Eberron: Getting the most from the DDO Character Planner
Many MMOs share a common factor that can either be a fun challenge or a complete frustration: the inability to respec your character. From a lore or storytelling perspective, it makes perfect sense. You wouldn't train as an archer for years and become highly skilled then expect to change your mind one day and immediately be an expert swordsman. Dungeons and Dragons Online is an MMO that has this characteristic. You can respec through reincarnation, of course, but it will cost you. Reincarnation gives you more points to spend, so it definitely has that advantage, but usually it's better to know what you're doing from the outset. I mentioned quite a while back that I recommend you cycle through a few low-level classes as a new player in order to get a feel for point distribution and the strengths and weaknesses of each race and class, but there's another tool that's well worth knowing.Follow along after the jump and let's look at the DDO Character Planner.
Rubi Bayer
12.17.2010
The siege continues as DDO launches Update 8
Massively has been hinting that Dungeons and Dragons Online Update 8 would be out soon, and now it is here! We knew Turbine would not let us down.The siege on Lordsmarch Palace rages on in the Attack on Stormreach. A green Hag controls monstrous forces in this ever-expanding plot. Adventurers launch on four different death-defying quests stretching on, over, and under Stormreach, battling the evil armada from Droaam. Take defensive positions against an Ogre General and his army in the Assault on Summerfield; sneak out in the darkness of night and sabotage Droaam mine-laying ships in Blockade Buster; counter a sneak-attack in the tunnels under Lordsmarch Palace courtyard in Undermine; finally, battle through ruins just outside Stormreach where the villainous army is opening a portal directly to Droaam.Beyond the expansive new quests, Update 8 features four unique cosmetic armor sets with 11 unique appearances each.If classic good-vs.-evil fantasy warfare is your thing, you will want to head over to the official site and download the patch now! (Well, after you peek at the gallery, of course.)%Gallery-110491%
Larry Everett
12.13.2010
Exploring Eberron: Waiter, there's a scrooge in my Festivult!
I'm looking forward to the Festivult events. I love sales, I love the Risia Ice Games (even though I stink at platforming), I love gathering Festivult coins, and I will love it even more once I have a cookie jar to stick all my new goodies in. There's even a giveaway that will award one lucky player 100,000 Turbine Points!I had fun writing last week's newbie's guide to Festivult, and once it was done, I spent a fair amount of time browsing the DDO site and the forums in preparation for the upcoming events. In the middle of all my holiday fun and anticipation, I noticed something both on the forums and in game: discontent. Wait, discontent over such a fun event? What's going on here? Who put this anger in my Festivult? Follow along after the jump as I take a closer look.
Rubi Bayer
12.10.2010
Stormreach under attack: Massively's tour of DDO's newest adventure pack
Remember back in October when a mysterious Droaam agent showed up in Dungeons and Dragons Online? Hesstess the Medusa claimed to be an ambassador of Droaam seeking to establish a nice, friendly colony.We found out pretty quickly that Hesstess was full of it and that there was an entire Droaam army ready to attack. DDO's Update 8 brings us Attack on Stormreach, an adventure pack that continues the tale with -- surprise -- an attack on Stormreach by the Droaam army. As usual, the Turbine crew escorted me though part of the new content, so follow along after the jump for a first peek at Attack on Stormreach!
Rubi Bayer
12.07.2010
Exploring Eberron: We need a little Festivult, right this very minute
There's been a lot of chat and interest regarding the approach of Update 8 in Dungeons and Dragons Online. What is the new adventure pack going to be like? How will all the tweaks affect gameplay? Will the Half-Elf updates improve the new race? Here at Massively, we're looking forward to it as well -- in fact, we've got an exclusive tour of the new adventure pack coming up later today. It's exciting, but there's another event to look forward to as well. It's that time of year again: Festivult is approaching in DDO. While the big event hasn't arrived yet, Turbine has been keeping plenty busy with preparations.While you wait for the Jester of the Festivult to arrive later this month, check out some of the other December events in DDO. There are sales and a great contest, and the community members are working together to plan ahead for the events. Follow along after the break to see what is happening in December in DDO!
Rubi Bayer
12.03.2010
Exploring Eberron: A first glance at Update 8
The Dungeons and Dragons Online development team has been hard at work lately. The Endless Night event and aftermath kept the developers hopping in between updates, but now we've got the next update to look forward to!Update 8 is coming in December, and it's exciting to see all of the tweaks and refinements -- especially to one of the new races -- as well as little treats like the cookie jar, cosmetic fixes all over the game, and brand-new content! Join me behind the cut for what I'm excited to see in Update 8!
Rubi Bayer
11.26.2010
The Game Archaeologist and the Nights of Old Winter
Here's a question for you: How much do you really, really have to love a game to pay $8.00 an hour to play it? Considering how much we tend to whine about a flat $15/month fee, I'm guessing the answer is, "Only if it loved me long time."And yet, in 1991 this wasn't considered crazy extortionist practices -- it was dubbed "Being a pioneer." While online RPGs were nothing new by then, nobody had tackled the jump from text-based RPGs (MUDs and BBS doors) to graphical games due to the technology (limited modem speeds and access) and funding involved. It took the efforts of a Superfriends-style team to make this happen with Neverwinter Nights: Stormfront Studios developed the game, TSR provided the Dungeons & Dragons license, SSI published it under its Gold Box series, and Aol handled the online operations.Thus, 19 years ago -- six years before Ultima Online and 13 before World of Warcraft -- the first multiplayer graphical RPG went online and helped forge a path that would lead to where we are today. With only 50 to 500 players per server, Neverwinter Nights may not have been "massively," but it deserves a spot of honor as one of the key ancestors to the modern MMO.
Justin Olivetti
11.23.2010
C is for Neutral-Aligned Cookie: DDO Update 8 preview patch notes posted
December is right around the corner, and with it, Dungeons and Dragons Online's Update 8. Advance release notes are up for the Lamannia test server, and so far it's safe to say that this patch is the tastiest one yet. Why tasty? Because Turbine is incorporating cookie jars into the game as a way for players to store edible goodies from Festivault without clogging up their inventory. Best of all? This is one treasure chest that nobody can stick his grubby fingers in but you!What else is the studio baking up for the crowd? First up is a new four-mission adventure pack, "Siege of Stormreach," which will give mid-level players an opportunity to defend and ultimately repulse an attack upon the city itself. For players envious of Lord of the Rings Online's cosmetic outfit system, the upcoming armor appearance kits in DDO are sure to earn a few smiles. Like cosmetic hats, cosmetic armor will visually replace your current outfit without stripping you of the outfit's stats. This special armor can be found in chests, traded, and purchased through the DDO store.The lengthy patch notes also include the addition of Rogue hirelings, class racial enhancements for Half-Elves and the usual collection of tweaks and fixes. Hire a Rogue at your own risk, however, as Rogues have a notorious sweet tooth. Silly Rogue hirelings, cookies are for players!
Justin Olivetti
11.19.2010
Exploring Eberron: Which class should I play?
I've been looking forward to this week's column for a while now. I've been wanting to look at the intricacies of class and race selection and setup in Dungeons and Dragons Online for several weeks, but Halloween events and Update 7 took precedence for obvious reasons. Now that it's settled down a bit, I can finally dive in. Over the next few weeks I'm going to do a series of overviews on getting started. DDO is a funny game when it comes to this sort of thing, because you can throw together pretty much anything (within reason) and get through the first five levels or so just fine. It's not until you get past that point that you start finding out the hard way that the selections you make at character creation are pretty important. Much of the process is trial-and-error for many newer players. You roll a character, play it until things start getting more difficult than they should, figure out where you messed up, and either reincarnate or start another character. I hope to make this process a little less tedious and painful, so follow along after the jump and let's get started!
Rubi Bayer
11.05.2010
GOG adds yet another RPG timesink: Icewind Dale 2 Complete
It seems that digital games retailer GOG isn't just content with abusing your trust -- now it's turning its sights on abusing every last second of your free time. The site recently added yet another gargantuan RPG to its catalog: Black Isle Studios' Dungeons & Dragons 3E-inspired RPG, Icewind Dale 2. The game comes in its "Complete" edition, which also includes the aptly named "Adventure Pack." As far as we can tell, it contains a metric ton of undiluted adventure.The game will run you $9.99, creating yet another terrifying playtime-to-cost ratio. Seriously, with $50 and 10GB of free space, GOG downloads could occupy your leisure time until the end of days.
Griffin McElroy
11.04.2010
Exploring Eberron: Community and community division
It's been an interesting week for me in Dungeons and Dragons Online, and while that's obviously just a personal perspective, I've come away from it with some observations on the community.Executive Producer Fernando Paiz told me at PAX that Turbine will start turning its collective eye back to the veteran players, and it looks like Update 7 is the first step in that direction. My Update 7 tour set me thinking, as did Wednesday night's outing with OnedAwesome, Massively's DDO guild. Follow along after the jump as I take a look at what these factors have told me about the community in Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Rubi Bayer
10.08.2010
The Game Archaeologist and the Asheron Recall: The highlights
It's hard being the youngest child -- you get the hand-me-downs, suffer through swirlies by older siblings, and eventually develop such a neurosis that it requires seven different brands of horse tranquilizers to make it through the day. Not that I would actually know, being an oldest child and all. But I suppose it would be a hard-knock life.In a couple ways, Asheron's Call was the youngest of the three MMO siblings that comprised the first major MMO generation. Ultima Online, the big brother, had prestige and legacy behind it, and middle child EverQuest quickly became the most popular at school. And then there was Asheron's Call, poking its head on the scene in late 1999 as a cooperative project between developer Turbine and publisher Microsoft. AC never got the recognition of Ultima Online nor the numbers of EverQuest, but this scrappy title became a fan favorite and endured even to this day -- beyond its own sequel, believe it or not.Instead of plowing through a stale history report of Asheron's Call today, I thought it'd be fun to come up with a list of the eight most unique aspects of this fairly innovative 11-year-old MMO. Ah lists, how I adore thee -- let me count the ways. Eight ways, to be precise!
Justin Olivetti
10.05.2010
Hyperspace Beacon: Star Wars Galaxies 2
It happens all the time: When a new game is coming out we attempt to compare it to something familiar. "Jumpgate Evolution is like EVE combined with Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed." "Guild Wars 2's battles are scalable like Warhammer's." Even Rich Vogel, the Executive Producer for Star Wars: The Old Republic, couldn't get away from comparing his crafting system to an existing MMO when we interviewed him at E3. "It will be very similar to what WoW has," is what he said. Granted, Blaine Christine later set our minds at ease at PAX: "I think it's a different take on crafting than what people will be expecting. It's not the standard implementation." Unfortunately, the stigma of comparison was already there.One of my favorite features of MMO creation is the fact that there are no real rules regarding gameplay style. Granted, in the early days of MMO design, a creator had to consider the heavy latency of dial-up connections, so most games were designed to be turn-based. However, now there really is no limit to gameplay style, so there are no rules regarding what makes a game an MMO besides its having a persistent online world. There are no rules that say a game must have similar gameplay to other games that came before, even a prequel. Guild Wars 2 is a great example of this, yet people, inevitably, are going to attempt to compare Guild Wars and its sequel -- sometimes to the point of being unfair about it.Current Star Wars fans cannot help but compare SWTOR to Star Wars Galaxies. Follow me after the break as I make an attempt to debunk this stigma.
Larry Everett
10.05.2010
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