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Choose My Adventure: Beware the Bard edition
All the world's a game, and all the men and women are merely players. Shakespeare was really onto something there, even if he flubbed a word a bit. Folks who try to deny their participation in games are just fooling themselves! What are games, after all, but progression in a given world? Some people are just so boring that they stick to only one world. We know better, though, don't we? We choose ours from a myriad of options! Or, as in this case, you Choose My Adventure. I will admit, I have been in the wings, eagerly awaiting my next casting call. Twice now you've sent me on amazing adventures, and I've had a blast! And finally, it's my turn to take the stage again. So what will I star in this time? Will it be a military epic, a space adventure, or a flight of fantasy? My big comeback is in your hands! Peruse the list below and follow your muse to choose which world I will spotlight for the next six weeks. Just be sure to have your vote in by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Sunday the 9th. And don't forget to stay tuned to the MV Guide over the coming weeks to watch the adventures unfold on Massively TV!
PAX Prime 2012: DDO has been busy
Dungeons and Dragons Online has been keeping its dev team incredibly busy. It wasn't too long ago that the Menace of the Underdark expansion came out, and hot on its heels came update 15, the Song of Druid's Deep. Did you blink? Have you missed some of what's been going on? Luckily for you, we caught up with the Turbine team at PAX and have everything you need to know to get up to speed. Menace of the Underdark introduced the world of the Forgotten Realms by leading players through the Demonweb, into the Underdark, and out into Faerûn and the town of Eveningstar. The Song of Druid's Deep update sends out the first tendrils of adventure into the wide world around Eveningstar. Players have to deal with a growing corruption -- zombie-like plant beings and infected humans and dryads -- and chase it to its putrid heart. If you want an in-depth look at the update, be sure to read our hands-on article about the Druid's Deep experience. Update 15 comes not only with new quests and monsters, but the digital version of the time-honored monster manuals. Players with monster manuals can earn rewards, including Turbine points for big achievements and exclusive creature companions for the biggest achievements, while keeping track of all the terrifying foes they've faced. Additionally, there is a variant of the Ruined Keep challenge called the Daybreak Ritual. The team isn't slowing down. With plans for a few quality of life fixes in the very near future and update 16 in November, Turbine is keeping up its quick pace. Update 16 will bring in five new quests, another wilderness area, and an emphasis on creating real connection between the areas of Faerûn. Massively's on the ground in Seattle during the weekend of August 31st - September 2nd, bringing you all the best news from PAX Prime 2012. Whether you're dying to know more about WildStar, PlanetSide 2, RIFT: Storm Legion, or any MMO in between, you can bet we'll have it covered!
A song of trees and fire: A deeper look at DDO's Update 15
Earlier this week, Turbine released Update 15: Song of Druid's Deep for Dungeons and Dragons Online. Seeing as this was the first post-expansion update and that it took us further into the Forgotten Realms setting, we had to get a closer look at what Update 15 added to the game. Lead Content Designer Ricardo Liu and Community Manager Amanda Grove invited us along to a tour of the new content. Liu said that the speed of Update 15's arrival is a sign that Turbine wants to kick up the pace of releases. The update includes a new four-quest adventure pack, the monster manual, and an additional challenge. With Update 15, many more options are available in the DDO store. Turbine's set the pricing as follows: Menace of the Underdark adventure packs are 2495 Turbine Points for all, account-wide epic destiny unlock is 995 TP, the Eveningstar Challenge Pack is free for VIPs and 695 TP for others, and the Druid class is free for VIPs and 1495 TP for others. The pricing details out of the way, we got right into the fun of all of Update 15's new adventures. It's a tale that will give the green thumbs among you a plague of nightmares.
DDO Update 15 goes live with new adventure pack
Never letting a little thing like releasing an expansion pack slow them down, the developers at Turbine have pumped out the first post-Menace of the Underdark update for Dungeons and Dragons Online. Update 15: Song of Druid's Deep significantly adds on to the expansion content, including the titular adventure pack for high-level characters. This adventure pack includes four quests and comes in two varieties: level 17 and 23. There's also a new challenge called The Ruined Keep: The Daybreak Ritual which is being included with the Eveningstar challenge pack. On top of that, the latest update for DDO includes a "monster manual" that can be filled out for extra rewards, the ability to purchase the expansion through the DDO store, and several tweaks for the wet-behind-the-ears Druid class.
The Perfect Ten: Stock fantasy enemies from lamest to coolest
One theory of MMOs is that they represent several parallel universes, each with similarities and differences. This may explain why so many of them claim to be boldly original and yet carry the same monster DNA that exists everywhere else. Today we're going to carefully unpack our ancient collector's edition of stock fantasy enemies. Blow off the dust and smell that nostaglia, mhmm. Sure, they've seen better days, but they're still good, right? Still solid. Still capable of entertaining us, even if we've slaughtered their kin a thousand times over. Let me show you my collection of 10 stock fantasy enemies that we encounter all the time in MMOs. Just for fun, I'm going to order them from lamest to coolest. I would be number 11, by the way.
D&D Online's Song of Druid's Deep screenshots released
It's been a little while since Dungeons & Dragons Online's Menace of the Underdark expansion came out, which means it must be time for a content update. Surely enough, Monday, August 20th, will be playing host to the launch of the game's Update 15: Song of Druid's Deep. The update will bring in a new Monster Manual and a brand-new adventure pack with new dungeons and exciting monsters. You can get a sneak peek of three of the dungeons -- Outbreak, Overgrowth, and Thorn & Paw -- right here! Check out the gallery below to get a glimpse of what awaits you in the Song of Druid's Deep. [Source: Turbine press release] %Gallery-162605%
Jukebox Heroes Extra: Five exclusive DDO music tracks for your listening pleasure
I'll be honest: Part of the reason I'm doing this column is to get my grubby mitts (and ears) on as much MMO music as possible. So while it's great to talk with composers about their projects, I'm even more interesting in hearing the finished result. For a companion piece to my Chance Thomas interview, Turbine sent over five exclusive tracks from Dungeons and Dragons Online: Menace of the Underdark. Sound Video Technology Director Steve DiGregorio wrote, performed, and recorded each of these, as both he and Thomas collaborated on Turbine's two expansions. In addition to the tracks and my thoughts on them, DiGregorio provided descriptions of each for illumination. Are you excited? I know I am, so let's hop to it!
Jukebox Heroes: Chance Thomas talks about scoring Turbine's expansions
For many Lord of the Rings Online players, the name Chance Thomas is synonymous with the feel of virtual Middle-earth. From the earliest days in the game, explorers have traversed the Shire, Moria, and beyond listening to Thomas' melodies. So we were excited to hear that Turbine is bringing Thomas back to score not only Riders of Rohan (his first soundtrack for the game since Mines of Moria) but also Dungeons and Dragons Online: Menace of the Underdark as well. Thomas is an Oscar- and Emmy-winning composer who's been working primarily in the field of video game music since 1998. Being a huge fan of MMO soundtracks, I made it a personal quest to talk with him about these two new scores and how he feels about working in this genre. In the weeks ahead, I'll be reviewing both Rohan and Underdark's soundtracks, but today I wanted to focus on the man behind the music. Join me, then, as we embark on a voyage to worlds far away, sailing on the wings of a song. Geez, that's cheesy, ain't it?
D&D Online showcases two more Menace of the Underdark dungeons
If you have the urge to hack-and-slash your way through some undead or test your mettle against a new type of demon, Dungeon and Dragons Online's recent expansion Menace of the Underdark has just the two dungeons for you. The Unquiet Graves dungeon features Drow necromancers desecrating a once-peaceful graveyard and constantly reanimating the bodies of the dead. The second dungeon, The Deal and the Demon, pairs players with the notorious mercenaries, the Yugoloth, to get rid of a demon lord deep inside the Demonweb. Peer into these new dungeons in the gallery below. [Source: Turbine press release]%Gallery-148679%
DDO opens a window to Menace of the Underdark raid
While Dungeons and Dragons Online: Menace of the Underdark has been out almost a month now, there's still a lot of the new expansion that remains to be seen by the public. One of these views is that of the final boss of the capstone 12-person raid, Lolth. Turbine's sent in a few pictures showing this intense battle between level 25 players and her royal spiderness in the Demonweb. Check them out! That's not a suggestion; it's an order. [Source: Turbine press release] %Gallery-148679%
DDO shows off new expansion dungeon House of Broken Chains
Dungeons and Dragons Online's first expansion Menace of the Underdark is now a week old, but have you seen everything? Neither have we. Luckily for us all, Turbine keeps treating us to screenshots showcasing the new areas. Today the spotlight is on the new dungeon called House of Broken Chains. Besides just offering the standard fare of foes, this dungeon presents a new dynamic in the game. As players fight both slaves and their masters, they can choose to kill all of the slave masters and free the slaves or simply eradicate everything in true hack-and-slash form. Take a look at the images of this new dungeon along with other Menace of the Underdark screens in the gallery below.%Gallery-148679% [Source: Turbine press release]
MMO Blender: Eliot's self-made legend
I like games that make your characters feel legendary, but sometimes I think they've gotten the whole formula wrong. The problem is that the only thing important about your character is what he or she has done, not what he or she is. World of Warcraft has a lot of quests and raids that seem to imply your character is a big deal, but how big a deal can you really be if you're learning all of your tricks at the local trainer? What about a game where your personal history has as much to do with your future development as anything else? A game where your accomplishments aren't just backstory but an integral part of your character's abilities? A game where every new encounter is a chance for your character to learn something unique? I'd love to see a game where your accomplishments are not a list of things that you've killed but a clear litany of skills learned and scars accumulated -- a game where the path to power isn't necessarily clearly marked.
Touring Dungeons and Dragons Online's Demonweb
To be honest, I haven't delved very deep into Dungeons and Dragons Online, and I have lost count of how many times I've gone through that first introductory dungeon. The reason isn't the game itself. It seems great, and Turbine has done a lot of work on it over the years. What always gets to me is the setting. For me, "Dungeons and Dragons" is synonymous with Forgotten Realms, and while Eberron seems interesting, it causes a mental disconnect. So when Turbine finally got its hands on the Forgotten Realms-license and offered Massively a tour of some of the areas in the now-released expansion Menace of the Underdark, I jumped at the opportunity. Even if I'm not Chaotic Evil in real life, my inner Drow couldn't resist a trip to the Demonweb.
Dungeons and Dragons Online: Menace of the Underdark goes live [Updated]
Hope your dice are polished and your character sheets fresh from the copier: Dungeons and Dragons Online's first expansion has gone live on Turbine's servers. Menace of the Underdark is now available for all players who have purchased the digital expansion pack from the studio. Menace of the Underdark represents a sizable addition to the game. With it, DDO is expanding into the Forgotten Realms campaign setting and offers a new class, the Druid. Players will also be able to level up to 25 and expand their characters with the epic destinies system. "Menace of the Underdark delivers a wealth of content for our players and introduces significant engine upgrades that allow us to bring to life in a striking, visually impressive manner two of the most requested features, the new Druid class and access to the Forgotten Realms setting," said Executive Producer Fernando Paiz. While you patch up the game, you can check out the last of Menace of the Underdark's developer interviews after the jump! [Source: Turbine press release] [Update: Turbine just announced over Twitter that the game is now available on Steam!]
Dungeons & Dragons Online offers up new Menace of the Underdark screens
If you're an avid Dungeons & Dragons Online player, you probably already have Menace of the Underdark preordered. After all, the expansion is launching on June 25th, so you've got less than a week to wait. But that's still not quite "launching right now," and even if you have the expansion purchased, you might want a look at more of what to expect. The newest batch of expansion screenshots should help tide you over for the next few days. So what's in there? Aside from previews of two of the new quests coming in the expansion, there's also a look at the environment and architecture of Sschyndrylin, which is not exactly a pleasant spot to hang out over the weekend. Take a look at the gallery below for a full lineup of all the new screenshots as well as the previous shots of the expansion, and mark your calendar for Monday, when you can start killing Drow on your new Druid. [Source: Turbine press release] %Gallery-148679%
The Game Archaeologist: Will classic MMOs survive without free-to-play?
It's amazing to me how quickly the industry has shifted to where we don't just welcome free-to-play as a business model in MMOs -- we downright expect it. Take a look in the comments of any new MMO that dares to launch with a subscription-only model: People will be tripping over each other in an attempt to predict just when said game will break down and admit that it needs F2P. Whether or not BioWare's admission that it's looking into F2P for Star Wars: The Old Republic surprised you or not, it's a sign that no game is immune to the allure, dollar signs, and downright necessity of the popularity and flexibility of this model. I think this brings a pressing question to bear in the field of classic MMOs: Will they survive without free-to-play? It's a pretty important question for a few reasons. One, a surprising majority of remaining sub-only MMOs are older ones; two, people now expect free in games they try; and three, players aren't exactly flocking to classic MMOs anyway. This week I want to explore the conundrum that these games are in and why some players may have blinders on when it comes to the fate of their favorite games.
The Soapbox: This fantasy is far from fantastic
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. "More innovation!" is the common rallying cry of the disgruntled MMO player. Push forward the genre, build awe-inspiring giant statues instead of sixth grade art projects, do that one magic thing that nobody can agree on to make this genre as fresh and great and interesting as it was. You know, as it was when you first got into these games, that is. For all of the "more innovation!" speeches that I've seen, I never see the one that touches on the most irksome areas of stagnation in the industry, and that is how incredibly lame most MMO fantasy worlds are. Cut 'n' paste, mix and match elements between any two fantasy MMOs, and I guarantee you that nobody would really notice. The truth is that for all their desire to be seen as unique and special, most of these games feature a world carbon copied from each other with minor Mad Lib deviations. Case in point: Have you ever realized just how many of these MMO worlds share almost the same name? Start with T, usually end with A, there you go. Telara. Telon. Tyria. Atreia. Taborea. It doesn't stop there, but it really should. MMO designers need to realize that fantasy is more than just D&D and Tolkien derivations and explore the unlimited scope of what the genre could be.
The Road to Mordor: Breaking down Riders of Rohan's pre-purchase
This past week or so has been absolutely nuts with all the new information flooding in about this fall's Riders of Rohan. We've gotten confirmation about the release date, the expansion website, pricing information for the different expansion pack editions, a partial feature list, an official FAQ, word of a forthcoming instance cluster, and a first look at the mounted combat system. Expansions always rile up the Lord of the Rings Online faithful, and I'm pretty jazzed to see whether Turbine can pull off what's probably the most epic addition to the game since Mines of Moria. I'm going to save analysis of the expansion as a whole until next week because today I want to dive into the slightly confusing morass of pre-purchase options and pricing to see what's worth pursuing -- and what might be worth ignoring.
Dungeons & Dragons Online discusses the lore of the Underdark
In preparation for the upcoming expansion Menace of the Underdark, the team behind Dungeons & Dragons Online has been producing a series of preview videos about the new content to be found. The newest video focuses on the lore of the Underdark and the Forgotten Realms, a far more traditional fantasy setting compared to Dungeons & Dragons Online's normal home of Eberron. As discussed in the video, it's a challenging setting to work with, and not just because player expectations are high. From a visual standpoint, the Underdark is iconic, but it's also challenging to keep interesting -- after all, it's made up of miles of caverns that need extra points of visual interest. On the storytelling side, the problem is almost reversed, with so many iconic monsters and characters that it's a challenge to fit everything in there. Take a look at the preview just past the break to see how the team addressed these issues and to get a peek at some of the monsters and environments from the new expansion.
Dungeons and Dragons Online unveils new Menace of the Underdark screens, video, open beta [Updated]
On the 25th of this month, Dungeons and Dragons Online players will have the opportunity to set foot in the treacherous caverns of the Underdark for the first time with the launch of the game's next expansion, Menace of the Underdark. To help players prepare for this momentous excursion, the folks at Turbine have released a new behind-the-scenes video that introduces players to some of what they can expect from the depths of the Drow homeland. Drow, of course, are a given. Players can look forward to squaring off against the race's nefarious priestesses and mutated dryders while they explore the city of Sschindylryn below the King's Forest of Cormyr. A number of deadly creatures await curious adventurers, including a new dragon for players to hunt. For the full details on what to expect from the Underdark, just check out the gallery below and then click past the cut for the full video. [Source: Turbine press release] %Gallery-148679% [Update: Turbine likewise announced today that the expansion is in open beta, so head to the forums and jump in!]
