| July 13, 2006 House of Commons |
Sprite - Welcome to another great Stratics house of commons with the developers of Dungeons & Dragons Online! We'd like to focus on the future of DDO tonight so try to keep your questions around this, however others may be taken.
Sprite - Please send your questions to [QT]Cale by using /msg [QT]Cale My question here. Questions sent to myself or the developers will NOT be answered so please do not send them to us. You only need to send your question one time and only to one QT. Sending it multiple times will not increase the liklihood of it being answered.
Sprite - We'll begin with a brief introduction from our guests and then proceed with the chat. Now would be a good time to send those questions to [QT]Cale!
jwb_DDO - Aloha, I'm jwb, I'm a quest and level designer on DDO
Nereid_DDO - Hi, it's a pleasure to be here. I am Nereid, the Producer on DDO.
Sporkfire - Hi, guys. I'm Victor Wachter, Community Relations Manager for DDO.
Graal_DDO - Howdy, I am Graal, Game Systems Designer in charge of Items, etc
Keeper_DDO - Hiya! I'm Keeper. I make landscapes and other environment art for DDO.
Gubtug_DDO - I'm Gubtug. I'm the Art Director for DDO.
Samera_DDO - Hi. I'm Samera. I'm the Online Community Specialist. Great to see you all!
Eldorudo_DDO - Hello everyone I am Eldorudo, Online Community Representative. Thanks for joining us tonight.
Codog_DDO - Howdy howdy! It's great to be here with you. I'm a Senior Engineer on the project.... and no that doesn't mean I'm old and get a discount at IHOP.
Eckelberry - My name is Dave. I'm probably lying.
GelatinousCube_DDO - I am The Cube. I /engulf things.
Denour_DDO - Evening folks, my name is Andy "Denour" Gillis, I am one of the Game System Engineers (Funky Code-Monkey) on Dungeons & Dragons Online.
Jared_DDO - Hey, I'm a bot. I /write things and design quests. powerful that it is almost game breaking. Fighter action boost for example, so far out performs in melee that it makes other classes like the bard, and rogue, that should be able to melee a bit, almost useless in that role. How do you plan to adjust this as we get new levels?
Eckelberry - Yes, some of the short-term boosts to our characters are more effective than I wish, especially at the highest levels. I'll be reviewing their magnitudes, cooldowns, and duration in a future expansion as we make new enhancements for the level cap increase.
Sprite - *Dashien* What is the status or projection of the Ability to have Random Traps in dungeons?
jwb_DDO - We've worked pretty hard on the twilight forge module and the future content we're moving forward with to add more random elements. Traps, monster spawns, etc. Sometimes you'll go down a hallway and the floor will fall out, sometimes there will be skeletons, sometimes you'll get a free ride. We recognize there is repeat in our gameplay and dungeons and are striving to make each play through a little different and unique.
Sprite - *mattllow* Some classes got love this module, others like the Barbarians and Rangers not so much, What classes or races can we expect some attention to n the next Module?
Codog_DDO - In an upcoming module, we have made a number of changes to the combat system that we are very excited about that will apply.
Codog_DDO - First off, we’ve made combat feats such as trip, sunder, stunning blow, and smite evil work more cooperatively with your normal attacks. Previously, to do those special abilities you had to stand still and execute a totally different combat swing while not moving. You would not get the added bonuses that you would get later in the combo chain (+0,+0,+5,+10 ) and therefore you were a lot less likely to get a trip or a stunning blow to hit a target
Codog_DDO - So if you are moving, you’ll get a moving swing (with associated moving penalty unless you have spring attack). If you are on combo swing 2 and hit trip, the next swing will be swing 3 with a trip effect if you hit. What I find particularly exciting about this is that you can walk up to a monster and hit (sunder) (trip) (stunning blow) and it will do combat swing 1, 2, and 3 just as fast and agile as if you were swinging your sword regularly.
Codog_DDO - Included in this change, I’ve made it easier for you if you are using autoattack to invoke your special attacks. Previously, it was a bit difficult to get the timing right while using the autoattack feature.
Codog_DDO - Another great change to the combat system is that bow speed will now increase with base attack bonus for bows, crossbows, and thrown weapons. Haste will now affect the speed of ranged combat as well. Included in our ranged combat changes, I’ve made ranged combat targeting with the targeting reticule much more precise. We have also implemented precise shot and improved precise shot. These feats will make it easier to hit specific targets out o
Codog_DDO - out of the crowd with a ranged weapon.
Codog_DDO - Another change we’ve implemented relates to the reloading cycle of ranged combat. You can no longer accidentally interrupt reloading by firing too soon! If you click too early, it queues up the next attack after the reload is complete. In addition to this, you can now reload on the run all the time.
Codog_DDO - We’ve reworked the Shot on the Run feat very much analogous to how movement penalties work in regular melee combat. If you shoot while you are moving, you will take a -4 to hit penalty unless you have Shot on the Run. These changes to bow combat make it feel more smooth and give better tactical options for players.
Codog_DDO - So... everybody is getting lots of love. PHEW!!!!
Sprite - *mattllow* With the announcement that some of the quests for module 2 has been pushed back till next month, Can you give us some insight on what we can look forward too? Giants, Undead, Ogres, more Mind Flayers?
jwb_DDO - August will see the unveiling of the Heretical Path, the first part in the Litany of the Dead storyline. The Litany of the Dead takes place in a graveyard not far from Stormreach. Long ago during the first days of Stormreach’s existence as a trading colony, a rogue group of Vol Cultists ventured out into the jungles of Xen’drik.
jwb_DDO - Their leader (the Black Abbot) decided that he was tired of wasting time trying to make Vol a god, and instead wanted to become one himself. He and his group of cultists locked themselves away in an ancient necropolis, and began to write the tomes necessary for his ascension.
jwb_DDO - The magical tomes would take many lifetimes to complete, so the cultist harnessed the powers of death and became a lich. His three most trusted servants became vampires that would complete the books.
jwb_DDO - The powerful warriors of the cult were turned into mummies and given the task of guarding the vampires, ensuring their work was not interrupted. The remainder of the cultists were slaughtered then reanimated to serve as the lich’s undead army in the war to come.
jwb_DDO - The time of the Black Abbot’s ascension is at hand. The Silver Flame and the Emerald Claw united to fight their common enemy (though each group has its own reasons). The first of the three Black Prophets, Brother Cuore, is about to finish The Heretical Path, the first book in the Litany of the Dead.
jwb_DDO - The gates to the vampire’s crypt, and to the tombs of his mummy guardians, will open in August.
jwb_DDO - The Litany of the Dead is a new way of deploying content. The story for this area, and the dungeons involved, will unfold over the course of this year and the next. The area is intended to provide dungeons and adventures for players from levels 5 to 12 when it is completed, and will feature epic encounters with mummies, vampires, and ultimately, the Black Abbot himself.
jwb_DDO - The Litany of the Dead also features a new outdoor adventure area in which the dungeons reside. This landscape also contains all the quest NPC’s, representatives from the Silver Flame and Emerald Claw, an outdoor tavern area, a bind NPC, a repair NPC, a basic supplies NPC, and collectors for the custom collectables the area has.
jwb_DDO - The first chapter includes the 5 dungeons, the Bloody Crypt and its accompanying tombs (the Tomb of the Sanguine Heart, the Crimson Heart, the Immortal Heart, and the Sanguine Heart). The second chapter is expected to be released in late fall/early winter. At this point it’s too early to speculate on the release timeline beyond the second chapter.
Sprite - *GoldRabbit99* Is a server transfer service in the works? I've recently discovered a host of family/friends on another server and for me to be able to participate with them on high level content I'd have to start over :(
Nereid_DDO - We have received many requests for transferring characters between servers. This is something we are actively exploring, and we hope to have something out by the end of the year
Sprite - *croger152003* Well my only question is the future of the warforged, at present they keep getting nerfed I.E. the fighter enhancement does not work on them.
Eckelberry - Ah, my poor warforged paladin character. While they go unloved by many posters, we continue to love our warforged, thus the recent change to their breathing underwater. In the future, I'll be reviewing their balance, including perhaps making it easier for them to get their immunities.
Sprite - *dstungah* Will we see the increased ranged attack speed, by level, as addressed in the last dev-chat?
Codog_DDO - Absolutely, in the fall module.
Sprite - *Banhammer* Any plans to expand the patron system further?
jwb_DDO - The system was designed to be very friendly towards adding new patrons and also adding in new ranks and rewards to the existing ones, so naturally as we add new areas and dungeons, those will be two directions that we’ll be expanding upon. We’re also looking into creating quests that will require a certain amount of favor with a specific patron in order to attempt.
jwb_DDO - The patron system offers a lot of really cool possibilities and tie-ins with the quest system that we’re excited to explore.
Sprite - *linaewen* what are your ideas for a crafting system in DDo? Components, where will we find them, what sort of crafting, magical crafting, brew potions? craft armors? design armors and weapons?
Eckelberry - Tricky question. We've had a lot of preliminary design work on crafting, and the challenges are obvious; how do we integrate the D&D item creation system with the needs of an MMO? It's not an obvious answer, because no we don't want players able to make every item in the game presently. It's still early, but our designer on the project is pretty excited already.
Sprite - *Geran* in the patch notes Drow have Short bows listed as a Racial Weapon yet in the game they are not able to use them proficently. Is this a something that will change in the future?
Eldorudo_DDO - The Drow being proficient with the shortbow was an error posted on the website. We apologize for the error and have changed the site to reflect the proper information.
Eldorudo_DDO - The rules are now in proper accord with DnD Pen and Paper.
Sprite - *Zaran* What is the revamp of the Ranger going to be like?
Codog_DDO - It will make you quiver! The ranged speed increase coupled with improved precise shot and many shot makes for really fun play sessions for rangers.
Sprite - *Orochimaru* Will we be seeing an option to mass email our guild? And if so when?
Denour_DDO - Mass guild mailing is one of the top features on our list of additions to the Mail System. We will be exploring these features with our future updates.
Sprite - *Zaran* Why is Niac's Cold Ray so unlike what a first level ray should be?
Eckelberry - Niac's Cold Ray fills an interesting space. We wanted a high-damage spell for lower level characters, and something new in the space of first level spells. So the all-or-nothing (save for negate) fits that hole perfectly. Statistically it does just about as much damage as other spells on average with average saves, but is better at low levels for the newer characters.
Eckelberry - And our senior engineer loves the spell.
Sprite - *Nixon* Hey! this questions for Jared, rumour has it, we have a gnoll invasion quest soon.... is this true? I can't wait if so!
Jared_DDO - There are rumors of hungry, feral packs of humanoids out in the deserts of Xen'drik. Those that traveled out there to deal with these tribes were never seen or heard from again... Does this mean that the gnolls are on the march? Possibly... but it won't be good news for Stormreach's brave heroes.
Sprite - *Liwillen_Whitelock* just wanted to say thank you for the great work on Twlight Forge so far. and have a few Questions, Do Drow gain faction with the patrons ? i havnt seen any so far with the quests ive run
Eckelberry - Yes.
Sprite - *linaewen* will there be any improvements for bards? song duration? more spells? you ll admitt that for now +10 perform items are useless...
Codog_DDO - Awesome... We've been exploring ways to improve bard's gameplay. We're exploring making bard song activation shorter and the possibility of letting them move while performing.
Eckelberry - Deja vu!
Eckelberry - There's some cool new spells and songs that we're working on now for the bard with the fall module. They get their 4th level spells, and some exciting disco dancing balls. And some songs inspired by Complete Adventurer and other sources.
Sprite - *Zaran* Will you be adding more quests to each faction so we don't have do quests on elite to max out our favor?
jwb_DDO - The large majority of the quests in the game will give points towards a faction. As new quests come online and the available points increase, new ranks and rewards will be created. New factions will also be created. The system is very flexible and easy to expand upon both vertically and horizontally
Sprite - *Teleboas* When creating a fighter, it tells you that repair is used by fighters to repair equipment. Do you plan to put this in game?
Eckelberry - Yes. We've been kept busy by lots of other projects, but that's definitely on our to-do list.
Sprite - *Dashien* Will the chest rewards be more optimizied in the future? Level 10 chest having a better chance of dropping level 10 loot instead of level 3? Like today in Tempest elite we ALL got +1 Gear and Gems
Graal_DDO - I am currently doing a revision of the treasure tables. One major aspect of that revision is to tighten up the spread of possible results especially at the higher levels. The other major change is to move all consumable items to a separate roll from the hard magic items (weapons/armor/jewelry/etc)
Sprite - *Whitemask* Are there any plans to allow characters to swap feats out (albeit for a price)?
Denour_DDO - Yes, we are currently exploring the option of feat respec. Keep your eyes peeled for future announcements.
Sprite - *Geran* In pen and Paper D&D the atack system starts your first atack at the highest bonus and then last atack with the lowest. but in DDO this works from lowest to highest... Is there a reason it was done this way and will that be changed at some point?
Eckelberry - In the pnp game, the iterative attacks work they do because all of the iterative attacks are essentially simultaneous and, well, free. There's no cost to making the 3rd or 4th attack in your iterative attack. In a real-time game like DDO, each attack takes time. Of course, we want to make these later attacks valuable to reward you from what you've achieved. So the later attacks in your combo chain "invert" the standard pnp attack bonuses,
Eckelberry - giving you a +5 to attack with your 3rd attack and a +10 to attack with your 4th attack.
Sprite - *Rika* hello, here's my question: during my time exploring the world of ddo i found that there's a huge scale of landscapes outside the usual visible area, can you confirm that does that mean dev team has already have the plans for expanding the activity area from indoors to outdoors?
Keeper_DDO - We're currently building a desert chock full of wide open spaces, cliffs, sand dunes, and other fun stuff. So, yes, there is more outdoor space coming along. . .
Sprite - *Uhsi* Are you guys going to have another dragon? Because ya know, right now you’re Dungeons and Dragon.
jwb_DDO - Of course we’re going to have another dragon. We love dragons, they’re big, they’re cool, they’re nasty, and they’re iconic. The difficulty is making them live up to what a dragon should be is an expensive process. Custom rigs, animations, textures, scripts, and AI’s, that will probably only be ever used for a single placing of the monster once, in one dungeon, in the entire game.
jwb_DDO - There are also many other iconic D&D monsters that we want to do, for instance, mind flayers, liches, ogre magi, etc. So yes, we’ll be doing another dragon at some point down the road; there are just several other iconic monsters we want to get to first.
Eckelberry - I had an art meeting yesterday about some new dragons. Definitely on the way.
Sprite - *Anon830* Are Monks coming in a module or expansion?
Eckelberry - Of course. It's certainly our long-term goal to add all of the core classes, and prestige classes. Monks are very high on the list to get that going.
Sprite - *Whitemask* When will we get more character slots? 9 classes. 5 slots. :-/
Nereid_DDO - We're going to be adding the ability to unlock a sixth character slot when the Drow race is unlocked through the Patron system. This slot can be used on the same server upon which the Drow is unlocked.
Sprite - *Arianna* With the availability of underwater action items, is there any thought to future underwater quests?
jwb_DDO - One of the cool things we can do with the game is swimming and utilizing the Z access. Quests where taking long swims provides shortcuts and bonuses is definitely on the list. We recently enabled the ability to activate levers and disable traps underwater, so the new possibilities are exciting
Sprite - *Arianna* Are there any plans to add ORC mobs to the game? It just doesn't seem like D&D without ORCs.
Eckelberry - A bit long term, but absolutely. Probably the module after the next (ie after the first level cap increase)
Sprite - *snooping* What do you think of having some defensive quests, like defending a castle with parapits for ranged and door ways for fighter types to gaurd/block etc
jwb_DDO - I think they're really cool and fun. They dont' appeal to everyone, but we have a bunch of quests in game and have the ability to make some like assault and defend style that appeal to different playstyles. I know we've got a couple of higher level adventures of that type planned for future content releases
Sprite - *Dashien* does that mean a level increase will be coming out in the next module?
Nereid_DDO - Yes, we are planning to release a level cap increase in our next major module.
Sprite - *Liwillen_Whitelock* if there is gonig to be a feat respect will it aply to skill picks as well?
Eckelberry - Sadly, I'm afraid that that's not going to happen. I know some of us would like to change our skill selections, but that's impossible to balance retroactively with skill points limits per level, class skills vs non class skills as you level, and Intelligence increases.
Sprite - *Dashien* I'd just like to say - who ever the Dev was for VoN3 and 4 has the most sadistic nature for traps and tricks......... will we be seeing more Sadistic evil DM nature like this in the future?
jwb_DDO - Those two quests were actually built by 2 different level designers. Rest assured, we have many many tricks up our sleeves yet, and really enjoy watching you guys come up with creative ways to get out of the situations we put you in :)
Eckelberry - And dying.
Sprite - *patnodewf|work* are there any plans to add the "fly" or "levitate" spells to the game?
Eckelberry - No. The exploit possibilities loom too large.
Eckelberry - Rememember, though, I am probably lying.
Sprite - That's it for this one folks! Thanks for joining us here on Stratics IRC, the logs will be up on http://ddo.stratics.com shortly. Feel free to join #ddo for open discussion. Be sure to come by next time!
jwb_DDO - thanks for coming all :)
Eldorudo_DDO - Thank you all for joining us. We hope to see you next month!
Nereid_DDO - Thanks for having us - it was a pleasure to be here. See you next time!
Jared_DDO - Don't forget to tip your waiter...
Codog_DDO - It was great to be here. Thanks!
Samera_DDO - Thanks for coming! Hope to see you again next time!
Eckelberry - Been fun, been real.
Keeper_DDO - cheers!
GelatinousCube_DDO - \jigglehop
Denour_DDO - The code... the code calls... lovely... calling...
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