Update: 30 Jan, 06, restructured some parts of this post.
So the preview event for Dungeons and Dragons Online (DDO) has come and gone and I finally got to play the game that I've already started ranting about. It’s hard to approach the game objectively when I've already decided the game was missing an aspect that is key to pen and paper Dungeons and Dragons; the Dungeon Master. Regardless of my reservations about the game I had to try it.
Holding Hands
If you were a new player coming into a MMORPG how would you want to be introduced to the character building process? Would you want it to be fairly straight forward allowing you to get into the game and explore OR would you want to wish you had spent a little bit longer buried deep inside your D&D rule books?
DDO starts you off in a small un-guided cluster of a mess. For MMORPG veterans it may be intuitive to click on the nearest NPC as you enter the game, but for a newbie the hand holding approach needs to be used. Also it is very nice as a veteran when a new game takes my hand and guides me in my baby steps.
Guided steps are another key to introducing the player to the game. Turbine's idea of combat orientation is giving you one of four doors to choose from IF you actually figure out that they exist! The four doors are off to the side and had I not just out of curiously investigated them would have never discovered them. Each one offers a different combat training experience because I guess it was too hard to teach you about ALL your avatar's abilities at once.
Once you are familiar with what you are doing it is not hard to find your first quest and set off. The beginning quests are simple and actually do serve as a good stepping stone into the game. It just stands to reason that the combat training would have been much more fully integrated into the quests.
The minor victory that is achieved after completing the newbie area is quickly lost as you hit the same unguided wall when you finally reach the only city in DDO; Stormreach. I found myself just as lost and unguided as the newbie area. Hopefully by this time you have figured out to look for the big yellow swirl symbols that mark the entrance to a dungeon instance. They are equivalent to graffiti in any major city. Luckily you can click on a dungeon entrance and be directed to the NPC that hands out the pre-requisite quest required to enter. Its up to you how to actually get started in that quest line.
Combat isn't for Wimps
The combat of DDO is not for wimps. It also apparently is not for the standard MMORPG player because it’s radically different. Radically may be too strong a word. The trinity still exists: heal, tank, and damage.
The radical comes from the controls for combat. Auto attack is all but removed. Every click is an attack, a swing of the weapon, a block, or any number of various skills. Combat is real time and it is very hack’n’slash inspired.
Sadly this left me with soar wrists and fingers after only a couple hours of play. Sometimes I just wished I didn’t have to click a dozen more times to hit my target. I don’t really understand why the clicking gave me soar wrists or pain in my fingers because after all I play FPS games for extended periods of time with no problems. I think it came from having to constantly have a key depressed to keep the camera in a decent position.
It is just poor design to have an action inspired control scheme that requires you to control the camera. In the end the combat does not feel like a true representation of D&D. Don’t ask me how to fix it because I don’t know.
Crazy People Repeat Themselves
There is a Dungeon Master present in every quest instance you adventure into. It is the same computer controlled DM that you will meet in every single adventure. It does not change. It does not adapt to play styles. It does not feel like a real DM.
On top of not being real there is a huge immersion breaker when the DM repeats every action you take. I know that the rusty metal gate just clanked open because I saw it with my own two eyes and just so happened to have pulled the lever to make it do so! I know the chest just opened because I opened it! I know the ladder just broke because I was climbing it when it happened!
The idea works in some areas. At first the booming voice of the DM was very welcome and added to the experience. The enjoyment was short lived when I realized every action I took in my adventure was going to be narrated back.
With a little time and effort this system could have been much more effective. The system shines when it accurately notifies party members of an impending trap or situation that their skill checks passed. This makes every party member have to pay attention because the clues given by the computer DM don't go to every person in your group. This is good. Repeating my actions is not.
Warforged
Warforged are in DDO because of Turbine's decision to host the game in Wizard of the Coast's new world of Eberron. Warforged are a significant element of Eberron and that has pretty much sealed their fate to exist in DDO.
Remember playing the game "One of these things is not like the others?" when you were a child? Well then you will have a similar experience when you get to the race selection screen of DDO. The Warforged neither fit in appearance or in MMO familiarity. They are large. They look funny. And most of all they are not a race players can identify with at all. Dwarves, Elves, Humans, and Halflings are all Fantasy 101.
I kept finding myself pulled out of the immersion because of a lumbering hulk of a Warforged standing around. D&D always has relied on openness and allowing players to be anything they want to be. The problem I find is that DDO does not have this openess and therefore having one unique race really hurts the game. Now if many other races could have been included we may have a more diverse selection to fit Warforged into. Unfortunately the selection is small and the Warforged stick out like a sore thumb.
In the End
The game got a passing grade from the D&D creator himself, Gary Gygax. Still this doesn't sell the game to me. The lack of a real DM was a main detractor before I even played the game and after playing the game I am 100% confirmed in my prediction.
Lacking and uninspired combat just adds onto the laundry list of things that don’t translate between D&D and MMORPG. DDO doesn’t deserve the D&D in its title. Don’t get me wrong. The game is set in a D&D setting, but the rules are much maligned and overall poorly implemented into Turbine’s vision.
Vote with your wallet and vote no for DDO. I give Dungeons and Dragons Online a resounding grade of D (no pun intended).
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Saturday, January 21, 2006
How does Jack Thompson get away with it?
Go here and read this. It details the suicide of a gamer nicknamed Kuja105. Not only did his online community try to save him, but they went to an exhausting length to do so. In the end it was not to be and Kuja105 is no longer with us.
But the tragedy of the story? During a time when communities and families are still grieving and trying to understand a death of one of their own out comes Jack Thompson to prey on the situation.
Jack Thompson needs a wake up call. These communities need to rally behind this tragedy and Jack Thompson needs to be barred as a lawyer and never allowed to practice again. I am not a lawyer and don't even know if that is possible, but this is something that must be done.
If a Pepsi drinker commits suicide in the same situation does Jack Thompson e-mail Pepsi and tell them they are all children of the devil and that drinking Pepsi is causing our youth to commit suicide? No, he doesn't, and Pepsi (HFCS in general) is responsible for more youth deaths than any video game ever will be.
But the tragedy of the story? During a time when communities and families are still grieving and trying to understand a death of one of their own out comes Jack Thompson to prey on the situation.
"Your 'gamer friend' will find peace through the Lord, Jesus Christ, but sadly it's too late for that.Now how the fuck can Jack Thompson get away with such things? I just don't understand this. He can throw a law suit down because he was called a name over the Internet, but feels he can turn around and berate a community of millions without repercussion?
There is a void in every heart. You can fill it up with the things of God, or the things not of God. This unfortunate soul chose to fill it up with combat games. The playing of these video games is masturbatory activity, meaning senseless self-stimulation. If you gamers could use a dictionary you would know that that term is not necessarily a sexual one.
The real tragedy here extends beyond the life and death of this one fellow. There are literally millions of young people and young adults whose despair is deepened by turning to the things of this world and then finding them meaningless.
All of you gamers need to put down the controllers and get a life. The utter inanity of the vast majority of postings here shows how vapid "gaming" really is.
You are one of the cheerleaders for this wasting of time and the wasting of lives. Do you feel any remorse for having contributed to this "culture of death?" Of course not. Hey, let's all play MORE games, and ignore all the really productive things to do with our lives.
Let's pretend to be shocked that a gamer might descend into deeper depression, as his gamer "buds," knowing he was killing himself, couldn't figure out how to call 911 themselves for him. That would have involved leaving their computers I guess.
Sad. Sad for all of you." - Jack Thompson
Jack Thompson needs a wake up call. These communities need to rally behind this tragedy and Jack Thompson needs to be barred as a lawyer and never allowed to practice again. I am not a lawyer and don't even know if that is possible, but this is something that must be done.
If a Pepsi drinker commits suicide in the same situation does Jack Thompson e-mail Pepsi and tell them they are all children of the devil and that drinking Pepsi is causing our youth to commit suicide? No, he doesn't, and Pepsi (HFCS in general) is responsible for more youth deaths than any video game ever will be.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Tips for Battlefield 2 : Special Forces
I'm writing this tips for Battlefield 2 : Special Forces for all the knuckle heads out there that are still trying to play Special Forces as though it was regular BF2. Special Forces is not and will never be like regular BF2 and therefore you need to adjust your current way of thinking.
1. Squads! Squads! Squads! Joining a squad is key to success in any Special Forces game. Special Forces is grounded in the work of squads! This is a good tip for regular BF2, but is magnified 10x in the Special Forces expansion.
1a. While in a squad spawn on the squad leader! Most of the time they are setting up for a flag cap and its easier to sneak one person in than 5. Spawn and cap... makes for a great surprise.
1b. A squads success relies heavily on its combination of classes. A good rule of thumb is to always have a medic and two anti tanks. Anti tanks are always needed... a single tank will always win a stand off against a squad that has no AT. Even if you have Spec Ops you need to assume you will not have the jump on a tank. Resupply doesn't hurt, but you also need to have some decent firepower and until EA fixes the supply weapons accuracy they are not more important than a Spec Ops or Assault.
2. They added grapling hooks, zip lines, gas, and flash bangs in for a reason!
2a. Grappling hooks and zip-lines. The Special Forces maps are full of buildings and obstacles that can be bypassed. This makes it harder to defend flags, but in the end it makes the game 100% better because there isn't finite choke points to bottleneck at.
If you see your squad leader tossing up a rope be kind enough to follow. Chances are he is looking to get high to a) clear out any enemies below and b) get high enough for a zip line into the flag.
2b. Zip lines. As with grappling hooks they are keys to Special Forces. I guarantee a good squad will always be zipping into flags and you would be very amazed at how quickly the flags get capped. The key to the zip line is to deploy it and use it right away. If you hesitate at all you're never going to make it down.
2c. Flash bangs and gas. These two items can allow a squad to go into a packed spawn and remove every target before they have a chance to react. Employ with a zip-line and you can zip line into a flag covered by gas.
Flash bangs are useful, but don't get happy with them. They are tricky to throw and usually the effect is not enough to throw someones aim off that much.
Update: 29 Nov, 2009 - Edited post, corrected spelling, and applied labels.
1. Squads! Squads! Squads! Joining a squad is key to success in any Special Forces game. Special Forces is grounded in the work of squads! This is a good tip for regular BF2, but is magnified 10x in the Special Forces expansion.
1a. While in a squad spawn on the squad leader! Most of the time they are setting up for a flag cap and its easier to sneak one person in than 5. Spawn and cap... makes for a great surprise.
1b. A squads success relies heavily on its combination of classes. A good rule of thumb is to always have a medic and two anti tanks. Anti tanks are always needed... a single tank will always win a stand off against a squad that has no AT. Even if you have Spec Ops you need to assume you will not have the jump on a tank. Resupply doesn't hurt, but you also need to have some decent firepower and until EA fixes the supply weapons accuracy they are not more important than a Spec Ops or Assault.
2. They added grapling hooks, zip lines, gas, and flash bangs in for a reason!
2a. Grappling hooks and zip-lines. The Special Forces maps are full of buildings and obstacles that can be bypassed. This makes it harder to defend flags, but in the end it makes the game 100% better because there isn't finite choke points to bottleneck at.
If you see your squad leader tossing up a rope be kind enough to follow. Chances are he is looking to get high to a) clear out any enemies below and b) get high enough for a zip line into the flag.
2b. Zip lines. As with grappling hooks they are keys to Special Forces. I guarantee a good squad will always be zipping into flags and you would be very amazed at how quickly the flags get capped. The key to the zip line is to deploy it and use it right away. If you hesitate at all you're never going to make it down.
2c. Flash bangs and gas. These two items can allow a squad to go into a packed spawn and remove every target before they have a chance to react. Employ with a zip-line and you can zip line into a flag covered by gas.
Flash bangs are useful, but don't get happy with them. They are tricky to throw and usually the effect is not enough to throw someones aim off that much.
Update: 29 Nov, 2009 - Edited post, corrected spelling, and applied labels.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
The SOE effect: The other side of the coin!
SOE Effect Part ISOE Effect Part II
Those are both my articles on how I feel SOE is leading their games (Everquest1&2, Planetside, Star Wars Galaxies) astray and that any SOE game should NEVER be played. SOE is a shifty and underhanded developer pushed a) by money grubbing business suits and b) by unrealistic development schedules and practices set forth by John Smedley.
However I have found someone who differs in opinion. Someone who can argue a lot better than I can, but Darniaq will not sway my opinion. SOE is dirt. Go over and read the article and browse around.... Darniaq has quite a few insightful posts.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Who cares about the stories?
One Tired EVE Pilot doesn't care about game stories. So who does? That's a question I can't really answer. Role-players? Possibly. Hardcore fans? Maybe. The gamer looking to get lost in a fantasy world? Another possibility.
It's not that people don't care about the story, but they just don't care for poorly implemented story telling devices. I read 1,000+ page books every couple of weeks, but you won't catch me in-game reading chat boxes. I play games to have a living story where a battle is not narrated... it is won or lost in my actions.
Cut scenes in general are poor story telling devices simply because most game developers aren't cinematographers. There is a couple games like Warcraft 3 and Final Fantasies 7-10 that have used great cut scenes to help tell a story, but cut scenes alone do not make a story go. The game play needs to help tell the story as well and that's something I've yet to see done well.
Art is another big area. If a sewer is dark, damp, and stinks like yesterday's garbage... then visual clues like buzzing flies, visual fog, and proper lighting is required. Imitating smell without smell is hard, but artists are smart and I think it can be done without a 100 word text box describing the stench.
The avatar and animations are also important. The way an avatar runs or moves can tell a lot about the history of the character. I would rather see a Goblin Pirate limp across the ship deck than read a text box tell me that he lost it ten years ago in a battle. Resident Evil had your character slump over and stumble as you became injured and it replaced the health meter quite well.
Our minds make the words to the story we see on screen. Pictures are worth a thousand words and a proper game using the proper story telling mechanisms is worth a million.
It's not that people don't care about the story, but they just don't care for poorly implemented story telling devices. I read 1,000+ page books every couple of weeks, but you won't catch me in-game reading chat boxes. I play games to have a living story where a battle is not narrated... it is won or lost in my actions.
Cut scenes in general are poor story telling devices simply because most game developers aren't cinematographers. There is a couple games like Warcraft 3 and Final Fantasies 7-10 that have used great cut scenes to help tell a story, but cut scenes alone do not make a story go. The game play needs to help tell the story as well and that's something I've yet to see done well.
Art is another big area. If a sewer is dark, damp, and stinks like yesterday's garbage... then visual clues like buzzing flies, visual fog, and proper lighting is required. Imitating smell without smell is hard, but artists are smart and I think it can be done without a 100 word text box describing the stench.
The avatar and animations are also important. The way an avatar runs or moves can tell a lot about the history of the character. I would rather see a Goblin Pirate limp across the ship deck than read a text box tell me that he lost it ten years ago in a battle. Resident Evil had your character slump over and stumble as you became injured and it replaced the health meter quite well.
Our minds make the words to the story we see on screen. Pictures are worth a thousand words and a proper game using the proper story telling mechanisms is worth a million.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Trying to understand things on the internet is hard
What do spray cans, groping, and racism have to do with each other? I don't know. Why are you asking me? I wish I knew, but I don't. Why?
Because I am trying to understand something on the internet. While hitting up my favorite Blog search engine, Technorati, I came across the search term "xiaxue". What is xiaxue you ask? I really wish I could tell you, but I have an inkling from the search results at Technorati that it has to do with spray cans, groping, and racism!
Well I'm not really sure... this is the Internet after all.
Because I am trying to understand something on the internet. While hitting up my favorite Blog search engine, Technorati, I came across the search term "xiaxue". What is xiaxue you ask? I really wish I could tell you, but I have an inkling from the search results at Technorati that it has to do with spray cans, groping, and racism!
Well I'm not really sure... this is the Internet after all.
What To Play: WoW, EVE, or EQ2
I've been thinking recently of what MMORPG I should head back into for a bit. I have not had an active subscription for two months strong now. I've really felt no pull towards any of them to start playing them again. Battlefield 2, Call of Duty 2, and various Half Life 2 mods (Goldeneye Source, Dystopia, Counter Strike : Source) have kept me busy. But like Ogier steddings in the Wheel of Time series, by Robert Jordan, there is a longing to return.
World of Warcraft
I have an account and a level 60 Troll Shaman on Azgalor. There is a lot of new content from the 1.9 patch that may interest me. However, I doubt I would continue playing my Shaman. Most likely I would start a new character elsewhere to level up for the expansion (which I'm not sure I will be buying).
EVE Online
I love the trading and corporation aspects of EVE Online. I've tried to learn the game, but I've fallen flat on my face. I can't stand playing games that are painfully slow and confusing to learn. I know if I put the time in, I could be rewarded, but there are no guarantees in EVE Online.
Everquest 2 : Trial of the Isle
Ethic at the Kill Ten Rats blog has been trying out EQ2 and the Trial of the Isle. He has somewhat peaked my interest in picking it up again for a spin. It is doubtful I would play past the free 14 days, but giving it a try would satisfy my curiousity. I like the idea of play and forget without paying.
Update: 8 Jul, 2007 - Edited post and applied labels.
World of Warcraft
I have an account and a level 60 Troll Shaman on Azgalor. There is a lot of new content from the 1.9 patch that may interest me. However, I doubt I would continue playing my Shaman. Most likely I would start a new character elsewhere to level up for the expansion (which I'm not sure I will be buying).
EVE Online
I love the trading and corporation aspects of EVE Online. I've tried to learn the game, but I've fallen flat on my face. I can't stand playing games that are painfully slow and confusing to learn. I know if I put the time in, I could be rewarded, but there are no guarantees in EVE Online.
Everquest 2 : Trial of the Isle
Ethic at the Kill Ten Rats blog has been trying out EQ2 and the Trial of the Isle. He has somewhat peaked my interest in picking it up again for a spin. It is doubtful I would play past the free 14 days, but giving it a try would satisfy my curiousity. I like the idea of play and forget without paying.
Update: 8 Jul, 2007 - Edited post and applied labels.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Dungeons and Dragons : The DM difference
With all the post-NDA opinions floating around about Dungeons and Dragons Online's beta I have been thinking about a crucial part of what has always been the most important aspect of a tabletop game of D&D. That aspect of course is the real, live, and breathing Dungeon Master (DM).
Let's step back to DDO for a minute. Turbine has gone a long ways to make sure the aspect of the Dungeon Master was not forgotten. They have added pop up text boxes that go into some detail about each and every area a player visits. Also there is narration to help better explain some of the different events within a quest or adventure. It gives an overall impression of there being a DM present, but in reality I doubt any player will ever believe a DM is truly watching over their play.
Turbine has decided that the DM is not a role that needs to be filled by a human. After all, that's what they have servers, graphics, real time combat, and the game itself for. There is no need for a DM to be there. Turbine's quest team has hand built numerous quests and areas for players to adventure in. They have gone the extra mile to make adventures that are exciting and multi-faceted. What possibly could a DM be needed for?
Human > Computer
It is a simple fact that a human would serve as a better DM than a computer.
Your party has been rolling through a dungeon. No monster, trap, or ambush could stop you. No monster, trap, or ambush could... because the dungeon doesn't change based on how well you're doing. The difficulty hasn't scaled. The computer is not smart enough to do so.
Insert a human DM into that situation and you have a different story on your hands. The DM could throw down a trap to slow the party while he prepared the next wave of attackers. What may start as an easy fight could escalate quickly as the DM jumps in to control one of his summoned creatures. Now the party is fighting against a real opponent.
This even extends beyond just interacting with the party as they adventure. It pays its dividends in the end also when the true reward of adventuring in D&D pays off and that is at the division of the experience points. A computer is going to reward you the same amount for the same quest (with diminishing returns for DDO). A DM on the other hand is going to analyze the fight. Was it hard for the party? Do they deserve a little extra maybe? Do they deserve less possibly because they took the easier path? These are questions to think about the next time you earn experience in any MMORPG.
What about getting a bad DM?
Well it is a possibility and I would like to think there would be quite a need for DM with the number of adventurers playing. So the possibility of getting a poor DM that is unable to enhance the adventure is a real possibility.
Things like DM rankings and scorecards would go a long way to alleviate this. After every adventure the party could rate their DM and a DM would rate his players. Other things such as rewarding a DM for achieving better rankings and giving them more power as they achieve higher ranks could also help. These are things that just haven't been explored and until real DM are placed in game it is hard to expand upon them.
For some ideas on ranking and rating systems check this article out.
Its too exploitable
I know what people are going to say. A bunch of buddies get together and jump into an adventure with their buddy buddy DM. The DM makes the adventure a cake walk and then rewards insane amounts of experience at the end. Everyone else feels cheated because there is nobodies all of a sudden level 10 after a week of playing.
No one likes cheaters and sadly cheaters will always look for maximum return with the smallest investment on their part. Its a sad fact, but there are ways to deal with it.
One idea is to randomly assign the DM to an adventure. That way no party can “shop” for a DM that will help them exploit the system. But honestly do we need to go so far as to push the players and the DM apart?
Honestly the simpler fix would be to just not connect the game to hub worlds. Disconnect the player base from itself and offer a separate way of connecting. Server browsers work great in FPS games. Give the adventurers a simple chat interface linked with a game browser so that players can hook up for a game. Each game could then be stored for players to join in later.
Without the connection of hub worlds the effect of the exploiters would not be seen as a negative on other players experience. The exploiters would be playing their own games and the other gamers would be playing theirs. If an adventure called for a party of five level 5's then it would not matter really how each character entering got to level 5.
Again the DM has control of the adventure. If players come in with items the DM doesn't feel are appropriate they could be easily replaced or restricted. If a character comes in weak the DM could boost them up for that game and that game alone.
Conclusion
The DM holds a great power in D&D. Without their presence the D&D experience is not the same. Pretty graphics and flavor text will never replace the human imagination. D&D has never been about what 1,000's of other players are doing, but more about what you and your small group of friends are doing. An online version of D&D needs to simply increase the size of the pool from which you pick your fellow adventurers and in turn hopefully make some new friends.
DDO may be a faithful representation of the world and rules of D&D, but it will never capture the spirit.
Update: 28 Aug, 2008 - Updated labels.
Let's step back to DDO for a minute. Turbine has gone a long ways to make sure the aspect of the Dungeon Master was not forgotten. They have added pop up text boxes that go into some detail about each and every area a player visits. Also there is narration to help better explain some of the different events within a quest or adventure. It gives an overall impression of there being a DM present, but in reality I doubt any player will ever believe a DM is truly watching over their play.
Turbine has decided that the DM is not a role that needs to be filled by a human. After all, that's what they have servers, graphics, real time combat, and the game itself for. There is no need for a DM to be there. Turbine's quest team has hand built numerous quests and areas for players to adventure in. They have gone the extra mile to make adventures that are exciting and multi-faceted. What possibly could a DM be needed for?
Human > Computer
It is a simple fact that a human would serve as a better DM than a computer.
Your party has been rolling through a dungeon. No monster, trap, or ambush could stop you. No monster, trap, or ambush could... because the dungeon doesn't change based on how well you're doing. The difficulty hasn't scaled. The computer is not smart enough to do so.
Insert a human DM into that situation and you have a different story on your hands. The DM could throw down a trap to slow the party while he prepared the next wave of attackers. What may start as an easy fight could escalate quickly as the DM jumps in to control one of his summoned creatures. Now the party is fighting against a real opponent.
This even extends beyond just interacting with the party as they adventure. It pays its dividends in the end also when the true reward of adventuring in D&D pays off and that is at the division of the experience points. A computer is going to reward you the same amount for the same quest (with diminishing returns for DDO). A DM on the other hand is going to analyze the fight. Was it hard for the party? Do they deserve a little extra maybe? Do they deserve less possibly because they took the easier path? These are questions to think about the next time you earn experience in any MMORPG.
What about getting a bad DM?
Well it is a possibility and I would like to think there would be quite a need for DM with the number of adventurers playing. So the possibility of getting a poor DM that is unable to enhance the adventure is a real possibility.
Things like DM rankings and scorecards would go a long way to alleviate this. After every adventure the party could rate their DM and a DM would rate his players. Other things such as rewarding a DM for achieving better rankings and giving them more power as they achieve higher ranks could also help. These are things that just haven't been explored and until real DM are placed in game it is hard to expand upon them.
For some ideas on ranking and rating systems check this article out.
Its too exploitable
I know what people are going to say. A bunch of buddies get together and jump into an adventure with their buddy buddy DM. The DM makes the adventure a cake walk and then rewards insane amounts of experience at the end. Everyone else feels cheated because there is nobodies all of a sudden level 10 after a week of playing.
No one likes cheaters and sadly cheaters will always look for maximum return with the smallest investment on their part. Its a sad fact, but there are ways to deal with it.
One idea is to randomly assign the DM to an adventure. That way no party can “shop” for a DM that will help them exploit the system. But honestly do we need to go so far as to push the players and the DM apart?
Honestly the simpler fix would be to just not connect the game to hub worlds. Disconnect the player base from itself and offer a separate way of connecting. Server browsers work great in FPS games. Give the adventurers a simple chat interface linked with a game browser so that players can hook up for a game. Each game could then be stored for players to join in later.
Without the connection of hub worlds the effect of the exploiters would not be seen as a negative on other players experience. The exploiters would be playing their own games and the other gamers would be playing theirs. If an adventure called for a party of five level 5's then it would not matter really how each character entering got to level 5.
Again the DM has control of the adventure. If players come in with items the DM doesn't feel are appropriate they could be easily replaced or restricted. If a character comes in weak the DM could boost them up for that game and that game alone.
Conclusion
The DM holds a great power in D&D. Without their presence the D&D experience is not the same. Pretty graphics and flavor text will never replace the human imagination. D&D has never been about what 1,000's of other players are doing, but more about what you and your small group of friends are doing. An online version of D&D needs to simply increase the size of the pool from which you pick your fellow adventurers and in turn hopefully make some new friends.
DDO may be a faithful representation of the world and rules of D&D, but it will never capture the spirit.
Update: 28 Aug, 2008 - Updated labels.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Battlefield 2 patch 1.2 and Armored Fury
EA is at it again today with the new Battlefield 2 patch 1.2 and the announcement of Armored Fury another booster pack. Also with the announcement they put a price tag of $9.99 on the two announced booster packs; Armored Fury and Euro Force.
Onto the 1.2 patch notes and some commentary.
Onto the 1.2 patch notes and some commentary.
- * Helicopter now carry 8 missiles rather than 14
- * TV-Guided missile now have a shorter range
- Both of these will go a long way to balancing the attack helicopters.
- * Hit points on all air vehicles have been reduced
- * AA missile lock on has been improved
- More nerfs to the overpowered air power. Ground pounders rejoice!
- * Support kits have had their primary weapons adjusted for accuracy
- * Sniper kits have had their primary weapons adjusted for accuracy
- * Anti-Tank kits have had their primary weapons adjusted for accuracy
- Hmmm wonder if this means they will be more accurate? I may go back to playing support and sniper now. Nothing like letting 100 bullets fly at someone two feet away and not hitting them with the support guns or the 50/50 accuracy of the sniper rifle sometimes.
- * "Dolphin Diving" is no longer possible
- Dolphin what?
- * Players can no longer jump and shoot at the same time
- And a whine hear the world round was heard the day the bunny hoppers were nerfed!
- * "Prone Spamming" is now fixed
- * "Sprint exploit" is now fixed
- Exploit fixes are always good!
- * The Sa80 weapon has been improved
- * The G3A3 weapon has been improved
- Don't even know what weapons these are... oh well.
- * Reload while sprinting has been enabled
- Fin a fucking lee.
- * Chinese and MEC APCs can now shoot through penetrable materials
- Now they didn't specify if these were the main gun or the side guns.
- * Damage decreased for the M134
- * Medic defibrillator paddles have been adjusted. They now reload while not in use.
- Medics rejoice... no longer pulling out the paddles and having to watch them re-reload!
- * Server search filters now work properly
- What??? They FINALLY fixed the server browser filter issues. I will believe it when I see it.
- * All mines (Claymore, Anti-vehicle, C4) can now be picked up by the same class that dropped it by using the “G” key.
- Snipers rejoice... no longer is it a "wait and see if I got a TK for using a claymore!"
- * Mines can no longer be destroyed with other explosives
- What you do in one patch can always be undone in the next.
- * Flash bang effect radius decreased
- Good... never made sense that flashbangs worked 100 feet away and through walls.
- * Added unlocks for Sniper and AT kits
- Say what? Interesting.
- * Fixed a bug in terrain rendering with night vision, whereby terrain was still dark in dark areas.
- * Fixed a bug whereby mods that are not bf2 or not xpack permutate shaders every time a level is loaded.
- * Fixed a bug whereby non-xpack mods cannot use xpack shaders.
- * Fixed bug in TV guided missiles of Havoc helicopter
- * Bug in MP7 fire rate fixed. Ammo count increased and mag count and damage decreased
- * APC Update – “Chinese and MEC APCs can now shoot through penetrable materials”. This fix was a miscommunication to the patch team. Chinese and MEC APC’s have been reverted and the LAV25 now no longer shoots through penetrable materials.
- Awww damn... hope none of you had your hopes up.
- * Vehicles no longer disappear when viewed from some vehicles with a HUD (e.g. Tanks).
- * Performance gain found in static mesh rendering.
- * Detonation radius from grenade launcher explosions has been reduced.
- * Grenade launcher projectiles now have a minimum time before arming.
- All the poor noob toobers spamming Strike at Karkand will quit... I mean it! I can't say much since I had a love affair with the noob toob grenade launcher for a while.
Battlefield 2 : Euro Force... my predictions
EA has announced that Battlefield 2 will recieve a booster pack entitled Euro Force. Here is a list of what it will bring.
Now onto my predictions.
1. It is no secret the Chinese Army is the most underplayed army in BF2. For good reason; the Chinese maps are large and prone to air power raping the entire map. On top of that there is no single good map for scoring points in the Chinese map set.
So one of these new maps is going to be very (and I mean VERY) similar to Strike at Karkand. It will offer equally fast paced combat in an urban setting without the use of any air power. People will flock to this server because it will gain as many (if not more) points than Karkand does. EA probably believes this will somehow even out the balance between the armies.
2. A patch will be appearing shortly before or after the launch of Euro Force. It will make Euro Force unplayable and be removed. It will be taken back and retooled and then be released with the next big update.
3. The pack will sell well because of the new Karkand like map and EA will be convinced they can keep making money off these minor content updates. Its a good idea, but after Special Forces I don't expect too much meat with the release of each of these booster packs.
EA has failed to integrate the game play of SF and Battlefield 2 as it is which has segregated the community. I don't see this pack being that great, but give the stat boys a map to whore points on and they will pay... they will pay.
3 New Maps
- * Operation Smoke Screen
- * Taraba Quarry
- * Great Wall
4 New vehicles
- * Main Battle Tank - Leopard 2A6
- * Main Battle Tank – Challenger 2
- * Fighter – Eurofighter (Typhoon T1)
- * Attack Heli – Eurocopter Tiger (Tiger HAP)
7 New Weapons
- * HK53A3
- * Famas
- * SA80 L85A2
- * SA80 L85A2 with UGL (AG-36)
- * HK21
- * Benelli M4
- * P90
- * L96A1
1 New Army
- * European Union
1 new award
- * European Union Special Service Medal
Now onto my predictions.
1. It is no secret the Chinese Army is the most underplayed army in BF2. For good reason; the Chinese maps are large and prone to air power raping the entire map. On top of that there is no single good map for scoring points in the Chinese map set.
So one of these new maps is going to be very (and I mean VERY) similar to Strike at Karkand. It will offer equally fast paced combat in an urban setting without the use of any air power. People will flock to this server because it will gain as many (if not more) points than Karkand does. EA probably believes this will somehow even out the balance between the armies.
2. A patch will be appearing shortly before or after the launch of Euro Force. It will make Euro Force unplayable and be removed. It will be taken back and retooled and then be released with the next big update.
3. The pack will sell well because of the new Karkand like map and EA will be convinced they can keep making money off these minor content updates. Its a good idea, but after Special Forces I don't expect too much meat with the release of each of these booster packs.
EA has failed to integrate the game play of SF and Battlefield 2 as it is which has segregated the community. I don't see this pack being that great, but give the stat boys a map to whore points on and they will pay... they will pay.
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