dungeons-and-dragons-online
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One Shots: To Sorrowdusk Isle!
Reader Schad tipped us off to an event happening in Dungeons and Dragons Online yesterday evening, where adventurers were invited to adventure on Sorrowdusk Isle for fun and loot. Though we don't have a picture of the event itself, but we do get to see the crowds gathered on the boat to Sorrowdusk to participate. Schad tells us that there were four full instances worth of people on the boat at the time -- quite a crowd!But perhaps you have a screenshot of your own that you think expresses a unique or memorable moment in your favorite MMO? Send them to us with a description (including game name and location) and you may see it posted here for tomorrow's One Shots.%Gallery-9798%
Massively WRUP: Farm that honor edition
Yes, my friends, it is Friday, happy Friday, and that means that this beautiful site you're reading is one week old! Happy birthday to us! It also means that it's time for the debut (though you had a little teaser earlier) of our weekly WRUP feature-- every Friday, we're going to ask, "What aRe yoU Playing?"This weekend, many of you will probably be heading to the battlegrounds in World of Warcraft, working your hardest to farm up honor and marks for the items coming in patch 2.3 on Tuesday. Or maybe if you're a Mac or Linux user, you might be finding your way in EVE Online with the brand new client for the game. And if you're a DDO player, you might be headed to Sorrowdusk Isle for tonight's live events.Personally, I'll be playing lots more EVE Online. Mo' money, mo' money, mo' money!
Live events in DDO tomorrow night
Reader Schad dropped us a note about some live events going down in Dungeons and Dragons Online this weekend. If you haven't heard yet, be sure to bring a full party of level 7 or higher to Sorrowdusk Isle tomorrow night (times for each server are listed there), and expect to have some fun and "keep any items you find in your explorations." You know what that means-- phat lootz inc!I haven't played DDO all that much myself, but I do love a good live event, and I especially love not only the fact that this is set in the Eberron setting (I DM'd a pen and paper game in Eberron, and I know it well), but the way they've implemented these live events-- as chapters in a roleplaying story. Fun! If you do head out to this event (or any others, be sure to report back here with screenshots-- either email them to our One Shots feature or just drop us a line at the contact form. If you do head out to Sorrowdusk Isle tomorrow night, have fun and be careful!
The Digital Continuum: Don't Fear The Re: Console
Massively Multiplayer Online Games have always been the slaves to their PC masters, rarely able to exist on anything other than the PC platform. That isn't to say there haven't been partial attempts in the past such as Final Fantasy XI, but since launch that game has been developed for three different platforms including the PC. Developers still have yet to create a console MMOG that becomes as financially successful as some of the more popular PC titles. In all reality, it still remains easier to make and maintain MMOGs for PCs. The reason MMOG developers find creating and sustaining their games on the PC easier is the very problem with a console exclusive. When creating any Massively Multiplayer Online Game for the Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3 that problem happens to be that as advanced as those consoles are they do not offer the flexibility of a PC. A large part of Blizzard's longterm success with World of Warcraft comes from the depth of the community tools and game customization. It's the wonderful ability to alter your user interface and the incredibly addicting habit of alt-tabbing back and forth from game window, forum posts or online game guides. I'm personally unable count the number of times I've been playing City of Heroes windowed while listening to various albums, simultaneously browsing news, guild forum posts or maybe just checking my email. You may be able to get a browser onto your PS3 and you might manage custom music on both the 360/PS3 but in the end would it be as easy as a keystroke to flip back and forth between both of those functions?
DDO team announces more updates for Module 6
Developers at Turbine added a few small notes to the Dungeons & Dragons Online Module 6 updates list today. There's not a lot that's changed from the previous list, but there are a few good bugfixes and improvements to the UI worth nothing. Greater two weapon fighting will now enable a new left hand attack hook, self targeting spells will no longer ever be "blocked," and there's also a new Conjuration (Healing) spell in the game called "Seek Eternal Rest." Available to Clerics at 2 and Paladins at 1, it grants a +4 Sacred bonus to turning undead. Back off, zombies!Are you all excited about this update? I have no idea what kind of audience DDO still has-- I tried it once and liked how closely it stuck to D&D proper, but didn't find it interesting enough to stick around for long. I liked the fact that they tried active combat, but it just didn't vibe too well with me for the short time I tried it. Do we have a dedicated DDO audience in the house, or has everyone moved on?
Turbine services/games to go down for maintenance
It's that time again. Turbine pulls the plug on, well, everything - Web-services, games, the whole shebang for bi-weekly maintenance. The lights go out at 7AM US Eastern time on Monday, and everything comes back four hours later at 11AM.Affected games include Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, Dungeons and Dragons: Stormreach, Asheron's Call: Throne of Destiny, and Trademarked Property: Revenge of the Colon. No, wait - that one's just a marketing game (though I don't think I'd care for the endgame on that one). Also affected are all the web and online support services for these games.Wondering what to do with your free time while you're waiting for your favorite Turbine title to come back? Why not check out a free-to-play MMO?
DDO Module 6 includes raised level cap and more
Module 6 for Dungeons & Dragons Online is currently in testing, and the developers have posted a list of changes they're working on. The most notable of these is a raise of the level cap to 16, but there are many other interesting updates as well, such as whole slew of new spells. Want to charm whole masses of enemies, or trap their souls in a gem? Well, soon you'll be able to!Though it's not exactly Turbine's flagship product anymore, DDO provides a unique online gaming experience to a passionate niche that includes fans of the table-top RPG. If you're part of that niche, get ready to move on up to the next level and take on new quests sometime soon-ish.[Via Razorwire]
Middle-earth expands to the Middle Kingdom
According to a press release from Turbine Entertainment, the MMO maker is partnering with China's CDC Games to bring Lord of the Rings Online: The Shadows of Angmar to Chinese gamers -- a market with a strong affinity for online fantasy games. Turbine has already experienced success with Dungeons & Dragons Online in China and Japan, thanks to some effective content localization, and CDC will use a similar strategy by giving Middle-earth a distinctly Asian makeover. I hope this just means substituting tofu and rice for lembas bread, and not giving Gandalf a Fu Manchu moustache.See also: LOTR Online gameplay footage
DDO: Litany of the Dead previewed
Turbine Entertainment has posted a preview of the next Dungeons & Dragons Online module, to be released this month. The appropriately titled Litany of the Dead will have players exploring various tombs and forming unholy alliances to combat the rise of a dangerous lich.Now that solo play has been added, do Joystiqers find this MMO more appealing? It's pretty big in China these days.
