BETA NEWS

[Signe]

Quote
December 4, 2005 6:00 p.m. EST

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT NEXT WEEK

Happy Friday everyone! As you may already know, we will be releasing the Beta 3.5 update on Tuesday, December 6. This will be a major update with lots of fixes and changes. Release notes will be posted on Monday detailing these changes. In the meantime, we would like to give you advance notice of some important details. To avoid any confusion, we'd really like everyone to read this entire update. The information in this update is also available in the Beta forums in this thread and this thread .

First of all, there is a possibility of extended downtime on Tuesday. The Beta server may be down for most of the day, possibly extending into Wednesday. We will let you know as soon as possible during the day on Tuesday when we have a good time estimate for the servers coming back up.

Second, we are conducting a series of database upgrades in order to address some identified problems, and there is a chance that this may necessitate a character wipe. At this time, we are not certain if this will be necessary and we are doing our best to try to avoid it. We may not know until some time after the update is completed if a character wipe is required: again, we will update you as soon as we have the information.

Finally, as part of the Beta 3.5 update, we will be migrating to a beta version of our internal billing and registration system. As a result of this change, we will be taking the beta.turbine.com website permanently offline this coming Tuesday, December 6.

How does this affect you? Well, for starters, your game account will be completely unaffected. You'll be able to login and play with the same username and password that you're using now. If you need to manage your account – update your e-mail address, change your password, etc. – you'll be able to do it on our new billing site, again using the same username and password that you have right now. Once we finish the Beta 3.5 update on Tuesday, we'll post the link to the new site on the Beta launcher and in the forums.

After Tuesday's update, the bug report tool at beta.turbine.com will no longer be available. Therefore, please report any bugs you find on the Bug Discussion forum at betaforums.ddo.com. You can find this forum at http://betaforums.ddo.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5.

If you haven't created your forum account yet, you should make every effort to do so before Tuesday's update. To create your forum account, please log into http://beta.turbine.com to retrieve your forum key and account creation instructions.

Thanks to the continued feedback and support of our Beta community, our game has been getting better by leaps and bounds, and next week's update will continue this trend. Thanks again everyone, and enjoy your weekend!

Sincerely,
The Turbine Beta Program Team

[Samwise]

I really hope they don't do another wipe.  I haven't even caught up to where I was before the last one - getting really burned out on the low level quests (though it is nice that they've almost fixed the XP on them).

[SuperPopTart]

A wipe isn't going to bother me one bit. It's beta after all. I'm just wondering if I'll be able to get in after this next update.

[Signe]

It won't bother me, either... although I finally made level 2.  (don't faint, Xilren!)  Xilren plays a lot, I think, though... he might be level bajillion by now.

[Xilren's Twin]

It won't bother me, either... although I finally made level 2.  (don't faint, Xilren!)  Xilren plays a lot, I think, though... he might be level bajillion by now.

/flying-rasberry

Phhhhppptt!

I just hit level 5 with my cleric, which doesnt sound like much but it half way to the cap.  Feels weird from that standpoint.  If you slackers would ever get to lvl 3+ you can do a lot more interesting quests than whats in the harbor :)

Despite the bugs and unfinished parts, I find myself actively wanting to log in and play just to check out new quests which is a good sign considering it just moved to beta not long ago. I think the last beta test i logged this much time in was CoH.   

While I do find a lot of players who just want to repeat easy quests for loot, I also find a fair number who seem to enjoy doing new quests as much as I do and frequently start a group myself.

Overall, while I am concerned about long term rentention (i.e. anything beyond 3 months), the content they do have is fun to play through.  Overall I'm catiously optimistic of this one, despite the return of SirBruce on the the boards.  He' irritating a whole new slew of beta virgins.

Xilren

[SuperPopTart]

I saw his lame arse running amok around the taverns. Shoot him if you see him. I'll bake you cookies.

[schild]

Bruce is on the DDO beta forums? Nice.

[Samwise]

Posting numbered lists of known bugs, no less.  My dislike of him intensifies.

[schild]

Why the fuck is he even allowed in the beta? Isn't he associated with Perpetual Entertainment now?

[Sky]

It's beta, wipes are to be expected. But since the exp nerf in Alpha, I haven't been able to make it to level two between wipes.

[Signe]

Maybe they'll un-nerf the xp for you, Sky, in this next update!  Log in and find out!  It has been inferred that it's not final.

Actually, I am getting a bit bored of level 1, though it's not been entirely my fault.  I didn't know what I wanted to be, then I was having some issues, then I had to wash my hair... but, like Xilren, (who can expect to be shot next time I see him... I mean, really... cookies, you know?) I enjoy new quests.  I find the sort of quests in DDO to be good fun, with plenty of action, scary bits, explosions and barrel smashing.  I especially enjoy the smashing.   

[Xilren's Twin]

... but, like Xilren, (who can expect to be shot next time I see him... I mean, really... cookies, you know?) I enjoy new quests. 

No no no; she meant shoot SirBruce when you next see him!  Besides, there's no way you can pass the background check for handgun anyway....

(i hope...on both counts)

Xilren

[Sobelius]

My main cleric is more than half way to level 3, and I have never finished most of the harbor quests and still don't have Market access yet. This is fine with me though, because my enjoyment of the game has been in trying out different classes and skills and feats and spells and weapons and armor and ... well ... even though I do enjoy my alt-oholism, I really don't want to have done all of the content by the time release hits. I really enjoythe surprise factor, and the puzzles and traps and ... well.. I think I'm just enjoying it because it's D&D and it, for the most part, works and plays like D&D.

Of course it can be exploited or not played as D&D. And of course there are people exploiting bugs and calling the game design broken (there was, though, a great post on the beta forums about soloing Ire Inlet with nothing but a naked rogue wearing a pair of boots of feather falling).

Heh -- I've had fun exploring the rooftops of the harbor sections by using the double-jump bug (tap jump twice with just the right timing and you jump twice as high as normal).

[HaemishM]

I'm burning out on the newbie quests, and I've only been through them a few times. I have yet to get to level 2. I'm seeing a real problem for this game with people who primarily solo. Yes, yes, I know it's an MMOG and you are supposed to play with other people. Hell is other people.

The typical MMOG player (and with the explosion of WoW, there's a shitton more of those people than there were before) is conditioned to solo through the first X number of levels, where X is 5-10 depending on the game. It's just the way it is, because it's much more efficient and easier to do so in other MMOG's. No one is going to come into the game expecting not to solo level 1. And yet, even level 1 solo is SLOW. It feels slow. Yes, there's tons of content, that doesn't change the fact that it feels like it takes a long time to level. I think that's what has kept me from playing as much as I could. It just feels like such a long time between when I start the character and when I get new/improved abilities. I'm not sure of how exactly to fix that other than just make level 1 quests go faster, or group up. Only, I think most MMOG players will resist grouping up at level 1. It's a catch-22, because I fucking hate the mentality of the MMOG player, but I can't help feeling the same internal pressures.

Also, what is this about Bruce being associated with yet another developer? Perpetual Entertainment? Why not, he's always been assocaited with Perpetual Douchebaggery.

[Signe]

Oh, sorry... I'm still very sleepy.  I can't make my head clear this morning.  Just in case, however... I suppose I should just shoot everyone except PopTart thereby insuring my cookie reward.

I saw SirBruce SirBrucing the DDO forums.  I haven't seen him in game but if I do, I'll be nice.  You all know me... I'm nice to EVERYONE, regardless of race, religion or douchbaggeryness.  Unless they piss me off.

Oh, and I agree about solo content.  It needs some.  Since there are already a difficulty option for each quest, maybe the "easy" choice could be soloable.  It'd doesn't have to be really easy... just possible.  People are going to want to solo.  They've proven this to be the case in nearly every MMO.  I think it's one of the reasons WoW is so popular.  Even EQ2 had to add solo content to boost their sales... and it worked, from what I understand.

[Xilren's Twin]

I'm seeing a real problem for this game with people who primarily solo.

Actually, that's me.  Due to my wildly varying play schedule and lack of catass potential, I do a lot of soloing in every game I play.  I'd say right now I'm soloing ~50% or more of the time I play.

The typical MMOG player (and with the explosion of WoW, there's a shitton more of those people than there were before) is conditioned to solo through the first X number of levels, where X is 5-10 depending on the game. It's just the way it is, because it's much more efficient and easier to do so in other MMOG's. No one is going to come into the game expecting not to solo level 1. And yet, even level 1 solo is SLOW. It feels slow. Yes, there's tons of content, that doesn't change the fact that it feels like it takes a long time to level.

Agreed.  The biggest challenge facing Turbine is going to be communicating and setting the expectation for DDO early and often when marketing this sucker, b/c it is not going to be well received by players expecting another EQ/WoW style game.  Tell em early and often what the game is like, and more importantly, what is NOT.

The funny thing is, soloing is actually doable in this game, but not by every class equally. I threw a post up on the beta forums about this issue b/c what people seem to be asking for is to make every class able to solo with the same success rate, and I just think thats a little unreasonable with out cookie cuttering them to blandness or just making the game really easy.  The prevailing thought seems to be, "I should be able to solo any quest with a CR equal to my level"; I dont think that's a good idea, but again, most people don't know what a challenge rating is supposed to mean.  All gets back to expectation setting.

Clerics seem to be soloing machines b/c they are so self sufficent; healing plus buffing/utilit spells plus good armor and decent weapon skills.  Warforged wizards are also pretty good (despite the built in arcane spell failure check) b/c they can repair themselves.  Hell I've talked to some straight up two handed fighters that solo well, they just spend a fair amount of coin on potions for healing, but money doesnt seem to be much of an issue.  Rogues can be tough to solo early in combat oriented quests, but reportedly do much better when they can employ Use Magical devices for wands, plus there are quests where you can stealth through a lot if not all of it.  Not only that, but since you can multi-class to any combo you want, if you really want to solo a lot you could build a very self sufficent character.  So I many ways I don't get the DDO isn't solo friendly vibe Im reading on the boards.

But, I think your point about level 1 is well taken.  Trying to solo through it no matter what class you are, (especially when many of the early quests were not giving the right exp rewards) wasn't fun.  My advice for new characters would be to bite the bullet, group up and run Irestone Inlet b/c the exp is just too good to pass up.  If you do it once on normal and once on hard that will probably net you like 6500 exp and some useable gear.  No need to farm it, but definately worth the run through (and actually, it's a pretty decent quest if people would stop trying to make it farm-o-rama).

Xilren
PS BTW Samwise et all, I broke down and finally solo'ed the long Caverns of Shaag/Helm of Shaag quests this morning and it worked this time.  Got the note and into the next area.  I'm curious to see the next parts of the Seal of Shan-Kor line...

 

[SuperPopTart]

Oh, sorry... I'm still very sleepy.  I can't make my head clear this morning.  Just in case, however... I suppose I should just shoot everyone except PopTart thereby insuring my cookie reward.

I saw SirBruce SirBrucing the DDO forums.  I haven't seen him in game but if I do, I'll be nice.  You all know me... I'm nice to EVERYONE, regardless of race, religion or douchbaggeryness.  Unless they piss me off.

Oh, and I agree about solo content.  It needs some.  Since there are already a difficulty option for each quest, maybe the "easy" choice could be soloable.  It'd doesn't have to be really easy... just possible.  People are going to want to solo.  They've proven this to be the case in nearly every MMO.  I think it's one of the reasons WoW is so popular.  Even EQ2 had to add solo content to boost their sales... and it worked, from what I understand.

Oddly enough, I've been soloing for the majority of my leveling (though I am only 3 and just hit it.) Rangers actually can do so reasonably well even if the archery is a bit odd. When I stop attacking I'd like to stop attacking and have the ability to run or do something other then stand in place. However, it's got decent quests..nice short load times and.. an interesting LFG tool that never seems to leave you unless you log out. Or maybe it just likes my head.

PS: I am going to whore myself here and tell everyone that I'll be DJing on DNDRadio cause I'm a fangirl of the game. Go me. They are looking for new DJs if any of you out there love the game and would like to apply.

Nice group of guys. So far.

We'll see though.

[Calandryll]

Yea, soloing is definitely posssible. Some of it depends on your class (clerics are good at soloing too) and soloing can be very, very difficult. While we want partying to be at the core of DDO, we also recognize people want to solo. In the past few design meetings the team has talked about that a lot. I don't have any details that I can share right now though.

That said, soloing to level 3 is quite an accomplishment!

We're still tweaking the leveling curve for level 1 to 2. One thing we have talked about is making sure you get enough XP from the tutorial to gain an action point at the end. Even though it's not a "level", it does give you a new ability which is really the benefit of a level anyway.

Oh also, the downtime is going to start at 8am tomorrow. We're starting early because they are predicting snow so people are going to get in earlier to beat the worst of it. Someone remind me why I left TX again? ;)

[Xilren's Twin]

We're still tweaking the leveling curve for level 1 to 2. One thing we have talked about is making sure you get enough XP from the tutorial to gain an action point at the end. Even though it's not a "level", it does give you a new ability which is really the benefit of a level anyway.

Oh also, the downtime is going to start at 8am tomorrow. We're starting early because they are predicting snow so people are going to get in earlier to beat the worst of it. Someone remind me why I left TX again? ;)

Any idea when you will know if a character wipe is neccessary for your DB tweaks?

Xilren

[Calandryll]

We're still tweaking the leveling curve for level 1 to 2. One thing we have talked about is making sure you get enough XP from the tutorial to gain an action point at the end. Even though it's not a "level", it does give you a new ability which is really the benefit of a level anyway.

Oh also, the downtime is going to start at 8am tomorrow. We're starting early because they are predicting snow so people are going to get in earlier to beat the worst of it. Someone remind me why I left TX again? ;)

Any idea when you will know if a character wipe is neccessary for your DB tweaks?

Xilren

Unfortunately we won't know until after the publish is done.

[Samwise]

Code:

if ( rand() < RAND_MAX / 2 ) wipe_characters();

Exciting!

(I kid, I kid.)

[HaemishM]

Ummm, that's not exactly a reassuring sentiment. Aren't even MMOG's in beta supposed to be past the stage of "push a button and pray?"

[Calandryll]

Ummm, that's not exactly a reassuring sentiment. Aren't even MMOG's in beta supposed to be past the stage of "push a button and pray?"

Basically if this were a live environment we'd perform the changes after a backup and then either revert or spend the time to fix any problems that occured.

But since it's not live, if we can't fix the problems quickly, we're going to do the wipe if we encounter any corruption problems in order to save time. This is mostly because we have another stress test coming up and we want to get the game back and running as quickly as possible for a beta event on Thursday (to be announced tomorrow). If we didn't have that coming up we'd probably be more likely to spend more time fixing any issues that arose.

[Signe]

I should have put my other post over here but I'm always putting things in the wrong places which is why I can't find my pizelle iron.     Anyway, I had assumed the exploit stuff would insure a wipe... maybe not, though. 

I've just turned level 2 and have done it almost entirely solo.  Not because I really want to, but I've been playing during the say and go afk too.  I'm also very distracted at the moment and tend to die way more than I should.  Also, I suck at games... but you all know that.   

Good luck with all the update goo. 

George Bush pretends he's from Texas.  Maybe that's why you left? 

[SuperPopTart]

I want a game where someone crowns me Queen.

[Xilren's Twin]

I want a game where someone crowns me Queen.

I thought you already won that game.  It's called marriage....

Xilren

[SuperPopTart]

I'm just an underling in that :( I am the obedient one? Yep.

*cries*

By the way, with the soloable content, I am not expecting DnD to be very compatible to the player that wishes to solo and honestly I think it should only be a fraction less difficult then it is. I love the fact that clerics are good at soloing and hope that stays that way. In every other game they've been given the proverbial shaft.  What I'm hoping is that they don't try and dramatically tune down the amount of experience it takes to get from one level to another. Yes, it's long, but it's also nice a nice ride on the way there, let's you really get a feel for your character and their class(es) and let's you get an honest to goodness grip on how you play.

Most games you just speed up in levels and when you hit endgame, still aren't playing well.

[Signe]

I don't mind the amount of time it takes to level and I don't mind that there soloing is relatively difficult... as long as it's possible.  People can multiclass... that's big.  You can be a fighter, cleric, rogue and pretty much take care of all the elements you need to beat a dungeon, albeit not easily.  That's good, in my opinion.  I do think that solo play should have an solid place in DDO.  I also think that there needs to be more encounters that you can gain xp from and more places where that occurs.  Since I've been reading a bit about the PnP game, I've found that random encounters happen a lot and that you do get xp and treasure from them. 

Personally, I think they should revert to the older rules where gold gave you xp, too.  Why did D&D nerf gold???   

By the way... marriage doesn't make you queen unless you marry a king.  On the other hand, marrying a queen doesn't make you king. Prince is the best you get out of that deal.  HA!  We do win that one.  It's all about the crown though...  absolutely.

[Sky]

Marrying a queen is still illegal in most states.

[Signe]

Greetings Stormreach Residents!

The streets and taverns of Stormreach are abuzz with the news of a successful expedition to the interior of Xen’drik by House Phiralan, the elven House of Shadow. Word has it that their journey yielded several ancient and powerful artifcats, not the least of which is the legendary d20 of Many Things*. An unassuming object of almost otherworldly power that the giants used in epic games where they gambled with fate itself, the d20 was believed to have been lost 40,000 years ago during the severing of Dal Quor, the Plane of Dreams, and the ensuing cataclysm.

In order to celebrate their discovery, the scions of House Phiarlan have announced that house entertainers will be demonstrating the power of the d20 to the adventurers of Stormreach this coming Thursday, December 8th, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern time. The lucky adventurers that House Phiarlan “finds” in the dungeons of Stormreach will receive great experience and wealth, as dictated by the d20 itself.

So come on out this Thursday and see if you get lucky.

* - d20 of Many Things is not actually in game

==================================================

We will be holding a player event this Thursday, December 8th, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern time. During this time, Turbine admins will be logged in to the Beta and looking for players who are adventuring in dungeons.

If we find you in a dungeon, you and everyone in your party will be given bonus experience points, and a chance for some cool items. What kind of cool items? Only the d20 of Many Things knows! Once we’ve found an eligible party, we will roll a d20 (only one roll per party, please) to determine the exact experience amount and type of items rewarded. The best rolls will come with some kind of challenge, with bonus rewards commensurate to the difficulty of the challenge. The die rolls and corresponding rewards are posted below.

Only players who are adventuring in a dungeon or another instanced area will be eligible. We expect to give out approximately 200 - 300 rewards, so not everyone will get the bonuses, many of you will! The only way to have a chance is to be logged in and adventuring in a dungeon, so don’t be late!

Note that we expect to be giving players a LOT of experience points, in many cases a level’s worth or more. If we need to do the character wipe before this event, we will be giving out even more XP – enough to bring your character up to level 5! Also, please understand that one of the goals of this event is to stress our servers under the new Beta 3.5 build. As such, please keep in mind that you may experience server connectivity and stability issues. If any significant issues arise we will update the launcher and post on the forums.

We hope to see all of you there and look forward to giving out lots of XP and loot!

Table 1-1: d20 of Many Things

   1. Six good items. Defeat a kobold to make a Turbine employee dance!
   2. Seven good items, with an emphasis on wondrous items.
   3. Seven good items, with an emphasis on armor.
   4. Seven good items, with an emphasis on weapons.
   5. Nine good items.
   6. Eight excellent items, with an emphasis on armor and wondrous items.
   7. Eight excellent items, with an emphasis on weapons and wondrous items.
   8. Eight excellent items, with an emphasis on weapons and armor.
   9. Nine excellent items.
  10. Eight superior items, with an emphasis on armor and wondrous items.
  11. Eight superior items, with an emphasis on weapons and wondrous items.
  12. Eight superior items, with an emphasis on weapons and armor.
  13. Nine superior items.
  14. Seven superior items, with an emphasis on wondrous items. Defeat a challenging encounter to receive an extraordinary wondrous item.
  15. Seven superior items, with an emphasis on wondrous items. Defeat a challenging encounter to receive an extraordinary suit of armor.
  16. Seven superior items, with an emphasis on weapons. Defeat a difficult encounter to receive an extraordinary weapon.
  17. Eight superior items, with an emphasis on armor and wondrous items. Defeat a difficult encounter to receive a pair of extraordinary wondrous items.
  18. Eight superior items, with an emphasis on weapons and wondrous items. Defeat a difficult encounter to receive a pair of extraordinary suits of armor.
  19. Eight superior items, with an emphasis on weapons and armor. Defeat a deadly encounter to receive a pair of extraordinary weapons.
  20. Nine superior items. Defeat a suicidal encounter to receive three extraordinary items.

It sounds sort of cool, no?  I'm torn between getting an extroidinary wondrous item and making Cal do the cha cha cha. 

[SuperPopTart]

I vote cha cha. The item will be replaced. Screenshots never lie. And he has to wear a skirt.

[schild]

I'll reinstall the beta and everything if you can guarantee I role a 20.

Edit: I didn't actually delete it so much as reformatted because Space Rangers had Starforce. So don't take it personally, I just haven't gotten back around to a reinstall.

[Calandryll]

I roll 20s all the time. I'm just good that way. ;)

[SuperPopTart]

I roll 20s all the time. I'm just good that way. ;)

You cheat. Cheater.

[Sky]

Everything in the game kills me easily. I better roll up a barbarian!