Yes it had - that will teach me to use Quick Reply it will...

I'm so experienced at this mod gig I don't think I've anything to learn now.

Boo!

Hey, I have met Renimus in-game, and ran with him the last couple nights, which has been great fun... if anyone else is playing (or thinking of it) come on over to the Thelanis server and we'll get you signed up into the Morgrave University League of Explorers. Those bastards over in Korranberg may scoff at our approach to archaeology, but we have a hell of a good time poking about in the ruins of Xen'drik!


On Grouping:
One thing that few people realize is that with the game not being geared towards soloing, you don't have the majority of the population out there doing so. Therefore they are looking to add you to their group as much as you're looking to join them. Your rewards are the same no matter how many you have, so it's just a matter of personal challenge to yourself to go with fewer than six. If you aren't picky about going on one specific quest or having the perfect balance of classes, you can throw a group together in a minute or three and be underway. Dungeons can be done in around 5 minutes if they say "short", about 10-15 if they say "medium", and 15-30 or so for "long". That's not to say there aren't longer things to do... but they are broken up into chains so you don't have to be around for all the parts at once.

Nuts I still haven't run into anyone that I've actually been trying to.  I've found other people that have been a pleasure to meet which is perhaps more rewarding.  But still grrr...

I played around with the character creation and Intro/Noob quest at a friend's house a few days ago.

It wasn't really enough for me to get a good feeling as to how the game actually plays, which is interesting - usually I'm pretty good at judging these things by their introductions.

I may investigate more, but at the moment I just don't have the time for an MMO.

Quote from: AelfinnI played around with the character creation and Intro/Noob quest at a friend's house a few days ago.

It wasn't really enough for me to get a good feeling as to how the game actually plays, which is interesting - usually I'm pretty good at judging these things by their introductions.

The reason it's a poor way to get the feel is that the whole game is multiplayer. The n00b quest is just to try to teach you the controls and interface.

I'm really liking how easy it is to get groups. Like Thanatos said, since EVERYBODY wants to group, it's easy finding groups. At any given time there's tons of people looking to group. And so soon after launch! The "played it at my friends house" or "read the review and liked it" crowd hasn't even hit yet.

So far the only think I can't get working is my mic.  I can hear other people chatting.  In windows my mic works fine.  But in the game doesn't seem to work at all.  I've read through the FAQ's checked the help and nothing that I've done/doing goes outside of what they've said.  I may get a USB mic if they weren't so ridiculously expensive for just a stupid mic.

Plus I have some confidence that they'll patch it since I'm not the only person that seems to be doing everyting correctly yet still can't get it working.  My own $.02 is that they should tell gamespy's vchat to piss off and use their own.

Quote from: kryystSo far the only think I can't get working is my mic.  I can hear other people chatting.  In windows my mic works fine.  But in the game doesn't seem to work at all.  I've read through the FAQ's checked the help and nothing that I've done/doing goes outside of what they've said.  I may get a USB mic if they weren't so ridiculously expensive for just a stupid mic.

Plus I have some confidence that they'll patch it since I'm not the only person that seems to be doing everyting correctly yet still can't get it working.  My own $.02 is that they should tell gamespy's vchat to piss off and use their own.

That's really weird, I just picked up a cheap-o $6 mike/headset that I saw in passing at the hardware store (of all places). I just plugged it in, checked the boxes in the sound options, and it worked. What happens when you try the Mic Test option? Can you hear yourself?

Quote from: Name LipsThat's really weird, I just picked up a cheap-o $6 mike/headset that I saw in passing at the hardware store (of all places). I just plugged it in, checked the boxes in the sound options, and it worked. What happens when you try the Mic Test option? Can you hear yourself?

I can hear myself over my speakers but the Mic Test doesn't register anything.  I've printed out some more Faq's on the subject and I'll paly with some more settings at home.  I'm sure it's something stupid, yet simple that I've missed because I was flipping back and forth.  Between various windows and the online help.

Quote from: kryystI can hear myself over my speakers but the Mic Test doesn't register anything.  I've printed out some more Faq's on the subject and I'll paly with some more settings at home.  I'm sure it's something stupid, yet simple that I've missed because I was flipping back and forth.  Between various windows and the online help.

In the DDO Audio Options do you have Hands Free Voice checked? Mine didn't work until I checked that box.

Quote from: Name LipsIn the DDO Audio Options do you have Hands Free Voice checked? Mine didn't work until I checked that box.

Got it working.  Just went through double checking all the settings and now it's working.  I have it tied to a button press though because, well because I don't want heavy breathing, ambient sounds and what not going through constantly.  It's a pain when other people are doing it.  But voice chat makes a world of difference.  It's also refeshing to see how many people are actually using it.  Even for those that aren't speaking at least they can hear what's being sand and you only have 1 or two people in a typical party typing.

How long do you think it will take to hit the level cap?  Will there be any point in playing after that point?  The reason I ask is I was in beta, and while the game was ok, it didn't fit my play style.  I'm not ususally on for hours upon end, so grouping isn't always viable for me since I may only be on for a half an hour at times.  Plus, I've heard from some players that it's not hard to max out your character, many predicting that even casual players would be able to get to level 10 within a month and a half to two months.  If that's all the content that there is, then I'm not content to pay a monthly fee to wait for new content.

While I think the game has some promise, I'm going to wait on buying until it's been out for a few months.  I want to see if they are going to expand the world beyond Stormreach and add content.

The issue is in defining what casual play is.  I played for one month casually and I hit level 3, though I did it with a couple characters.  I think you have to be pretty hardcore and just zerg the game to hit level 10 within a month or 2.  They added new high end content in terms of a huge dragon module and have said that they will release further content that ups the level cap a couple levels at the time.

However they still have no plans on implementing any PvP (not a problem for me) nor are they going to be concentrating on more solo style missions (which is a problem for me).  The game is great, but it is a group effort.  Soloing works in bits and pieces and with the right class build.  However it's more like shaving a round peg to fit into a square hole.  It's unfortunate because I really like the game but I can only play a bit here and there so grouping falls down.  I either have to constantly run short missions repeatedly or I have to drop half way out of a major mission.  Which sucks cuz them I'm running the same part over and over and also means I'm shafting the group I started with.

Such a shame really, so much potential and coolness just not enough game for anyone but the no working, no responsibility sit at home geek.

Quote from: kryystSuch a shame really, so much potential and coolness just not enough game for anyone but the no working, no responsibility sit at home geek.

Yep.  I also didn't like the aspect that everything happens around Stormreach (mostly in SR from what I saw in the beta).  A D&D MMORPG, IMO, should be a wide world.  Eberron would be great for this with all the wide and varying styles of play that can be found in that setting.  Instead, they gave us a rather generic game.  Nothing about DDO made me feel like I was playing in Eberron beyond playing as a Warforged.  It's an OK game, but it missed out on being a game that could really go toe to toe with other MMORPG's like WoW.

I'm all for the grouping aspect to the game, since D&D is pretty much a group venture.  Some soloing content would have been nice just to be able to keep the hook in the casual players even better.  It's a bit of a problem for me due to my schedule, but overall I understand the aspect.

Why they didn't make it a big world to explore is beyond me.  YOu could have still had the instanced dungeons and quest areas just fine.  That's always one of the things I look forward to in an MMORPG: exploration.  There's just not to much to it beyond going through quests again and again until I find everything I may have missed...that's dull as hell to me.  

Maybe someday in the future someone will do an online D&D game right.

I strongly suspect that there will be more "Dungeons and Dragons Online" games coming out. Remember, this one is titled "Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach."

I feel that they'll probably come out with other cities and locations, but I have no idea if you'll have to create new characters for each one, or even if you can use the same account. It's probably all based on how well DDO does, and right now it's still in the midst of the "Oblivion Slump."

I'm not really interested in the format as it currently is.  I wasn't enamored with the set up as it is now in DDO with huge amounts of XP needed to level and a perk every quarter of the way.  It's just an instance of the game not meeting my personal expectations.  They'd have to really retool to make a game that I'll really want to sink money into.  Now, if it gets good in the realm of content, I could be swayed, but I doubt I'll be a subscriber any time soon.