Preorder Access Extended Through March 5th

We have extended preorder access to DDO through March 5th in order to help address the concerns of players who have told us they may not be able to get a copy of the retail box for DDO right away. Players who have created an account using their preorder bonus key will continue to have access to DDO through Sunday, March 5th. We expect most retail and electronic retail stores to have DDO boxes available on or before this time.

Starting on Monday, March 6th, players will need to redeem a retail key at https://billing.turbine.com in order to continue playing. Players who are unable to obtain a retail key before March 6th won’t lose their account information or characters and will be able to play those characters once they enter a retail key.

As a reminder, the opportunity to earn the Head Start Event founders helm and founder status ends at 8:00am EST on February 28th. So be sure to log in and get your guilds set up!

The time has come and many realms have had the opportunity participate in The War of the Shifting Sands.

WoW Stratics is proud to bring you a look into this war and also what the new instance Ahn'Qiraj is like.

We have added a new section to our left side menu entitled IN GAME EVENTS, which features this recent event THE WAR OF THE SHIFTING SANDS. Here you will be able to see screen shots and read up on the history behind this war.

If you would like to add some screen shots from your realm feel free to send them to us, please don't forget to include your name and realm.

Enjoy!

Once again we have a new guide from Edward the Less! This one is entitled RAGEFIRE CHASM. This guide is great for giving tips on how to go on an instance, PLUS it shows where all the quests are! This is a must for any character trying to level.

To read Edward's new guide or if you would like to look up any other guide we have at WoW Stratics you can view them all in our GUIDE SECTION.

If you would like to submit a guide feel free to email us!

There are two new unique pieces of work at Stratics Central for your enjoyment!

First, we added an editorial on the upcoming title, Rising Force Online, written by Cherry, of RFO Stratics. In this detailed review of the beta, Cherry provides an entertaining and provocative look into what has the makings of a very successful title. Here is just a bit of what she has had to say:

There are some positives and downsides with traveling. You can take a teleporter at your headquarters to take you to different areas. This allows for some quicker traveling opportunities. But, the downside is the walking and running to get there. It feels like it takes forever. The movement keys are also frustrating. At first I found it difficult to just stop where I wanted when I was running. This could be potentially dangerous when running into areas where other factions are abound.

Cherry gives her thoughts on everything from the initial characters to the user interface, as well as the creatures found within the storyline. Her discussion on the graphics and questing are insightful, and a pleasure to read. You can access the full editorial here.

The next piece of work we've added is a Computer Terminology guide, for those searching for a place to decipher the phrases used on the various gaming forums regarding technical issues. Zhent, Stratics Central Reporter & Editorialist, wrote up a light-hearded and informative guide to the most common terms used in today's conversations regarding hardware and software issues:

Less serious computer terminology: This is a short list of common phrases that are used by computer geeks and personnel to describe the less than average intelligence of a beginning computer user.

ID-10-T Error – Method of bumping a tech support request up the ladder for management intervention, if someone has a particularly silly problem or something absolutely ridiculous. Tech support personnel can flag a request with a ID10T error, and then send it to a manager for review, thus getting the problem out of their responsibility.

For a complete list of the terms covered in this article, please visit this page. And, if you do not see a term listed, please feel free to submit your own!

Thank you Cherry and Zhent for your wonderful work!

With the release of RF Online in both the US and UK, we at Stratics are proud to present our newest site, dedicated to the Novus world!

Our RFO Stratics features:

• A beginners guide including character creation
• A controls guide
• and a down and dirty review that asks Do I Love It Or Do I Hate It?

As always our RFO site comes with people willing to help with whatever you may need on our forums.

Welcome to the world of Rising Force Online! May your race reign supreme!

We Built This City
By Ken Brown
Associate Worldbuilder, Turbine

I'd like to let you know a little bit of what it took to bring Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach to life. Passing through many hands, the city of Stormreach--its ultimate in-game look, feel, and atmosphere--became my main responsibility. In time, I became the main "city guy." I hope I can shed some light on how this city came to be.

The Turbine artists are constantly pushing for higher standards and raising the bar wherever and whenever they are given the chance. So when the Stormreach market was undergoing its third (or fourth) overhaul, we said, "That's enough." We then sat down and made a concentrated effort to come up with a plan to whip Stormreach into shape based on what we learned in all the previous attempts. Eventually I was told, "OK, go take a section of land and see what happens based on our new plan." I won't lie: I had never done something like this before. It was no small undertaking, and, honestly, the task seemed too big for my inexperienced hands. Even now it seems a little insane to me. "This is impossible," crossed my lips more than once. Maybe that's why I loved it.

DDO WarCry Interview: Wrath Of The Dragon God

Greetings!

Dungeons and Dragons Online WarCry recently had a chance to sit down with the writers of Dungeons and Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God (IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0406728/). Part one of the Q&A is now available at http://ddo.warcry.com/scripts/news/view_news.phtml?site=37&id=52300. Part two will follow at http://nwn2.warcry.com - Check below for a sample.

Links:
Article: http://ddo.warcry.com/scripts/news/view_news.phtml?site=37&id=52300
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0406728/
Host(s): http://ddo.warcry.com -- http://nwn2.warcry.com

Sample:
*Warcry*: What do you think is the defining element of the film that will make viewers go, "This is Dungeons and Dragons." ?

*BR*: I think the most D&D moment in the movie comes when the Elf Wizard uses her Figurine of Wondrous Power, which in this case is a dove, to do some scouting for the group (we took some creative license here and gave the dove a name and familiar-like status). Anyway, Ona the dove gets zapped, shatters into a hundred pieces, and Nim, the Elf's rogue companion, laughs out loud. I love that. In the game I'm in right now our rogue foolishly entered a room first and was trounced by an Ogre. One swing of its club and he was dead. We all thought that was hilarious.

--
Greg "Gatzby" Huber
DDO WarCry
http://ddo.warcry.com
http://www.warcry.com

We have a few announcements for WoW Stratics!

Our content team and our art department have been working long and hard to help spiff up our site.

Located on the left hand column of our website you will see a new section entitled EXPANSIONS. This section is loaded with screen shots, information and even the trailer of the upcoming expansion, The Burning Crusade.

Also on the left hand side of our website you will see a new banner, we are proud to help support the NoGold organization. To join you can also visit their website at www.nogold.org.

Thanks to our new content editor Braydin, our CLASSES section has been updated to reflect the current information on all the different classes available in WoW.

We have more GUIDES that are currently being worked on, so stay tuned!

North American Server List
17-Feb-2006

The DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE™: Stormreach™ Head Start Event begins February 24th! By now, you’re making your plans, seeking out allies and preparing your guilds. You’ll need a key piece of information to make the most of your Head Start: the server names.The following worlds will be available on February 24th for players with a North American client:

• Adar
• Aerenal
• Argonnessen
• Aundar
• Fernia
• Ghallanda
• Khyber
• Lhazaar
• Mabar
• Riedra
• Risia
• Sarlona
• Shavarath
• Tharask
• Thelanis
• Xoriat

Gather your parties and get ready to play in the Head Start Event! Remember that you can only play in the Head Start by preordering! Preorder players who play during the Head Start Event qualify for special gear and exclusive in-game commemoration.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE™: Stormreach™ hits retail shelves on February 28.

Preorders and Head Start Event
17-Feb-2006

As DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE™: Stormreach™ (DDO) moves towards launch we want to remind everyone to register your preorder game account early to join the Head Start Event, which begins on February 24!

If you have already used your preorder bonus key to create a preorder game account at http://billing.turbine.com, that’s great! We look forward to seeing you in Stormreach™.

Please keep in mind that registering for the Beta does not create the account that allows you to participate in the Head Start Event.

So if you’ve only created your Beta account, we recommend that you register your Preorder Bonus Key and create a preorder game account at http://billing.turbine.com now.

Registering this account allows you to participate in the Head Start Event, giving you the opportunity to reserve your character names and to obtain both status and items that cannot be obtained any other way. To register your game account and join the Head Start Event click here and select “Create New Account”. In the “Product Key” field, enter your Preorder Bonus Key (for those who got a preorder box, this is the key on the left side of the preorder card) and then fill out the other fields. Doing this will create your game account and allow you to play the game when the Head Start Event begins on February 24.

If you are not sure whether you’ve created a game account or not, you can check by visiting http://billing.turbine.com. Enter your username and password and click the “Login to Existing Account” button and make sure that you have a subscription listed with the “Preorder Head Start” billing plan. If you don’t see this subscription or if you get a login error, you need to register your Preorder Bonus Key and create your preorder game account.

When you and your guild play in the Head Start Event you could be immortalized as founders and inspire future adventurers.

• All characters that log into the game during the Head Start Event will be commemorated by having their name engraved in an in-game marker and be listed in a special founders section of the official web site at http://www.ddo.com!
• Guilds that are created during the Head Start Event and have ten or more members at the end of the Head Start Event will gain a special in-game item for their characters – a founder’s helmet that will grant its wearer an additional five hit points* (and it looks really cool too!)
• Helmet will be available as part of a post-launch update.
• Guilds that have 25 or more members at the end of the Head Start Event will be commemorated by having their guild name engraved in an in-game marker and be listed in a special founders section of the official web site at http://www.ddo.com!
• Players who preorder and register for the subscriber forums during the Head Start Event will also be recognized as founders and be honored with a special Founder’s Forum Title and Forum Avatar!

If you preordered DDO, thank you again and we hope to see you in Stormreach during the Head Start Event! If you haven’t preordered yet, there is still time. CLICK HERE for details on the preorder!

Developer Diary: Andy "Denour" Gillis
17-Feb-2006

Hello there; my name is Andy Gillis, though you may know me better as “Denour”. I am a Game Systems Engineer here on DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE™: Stormreach™ and part of the effort of bringing Eberron to life.

Since joining the team I have worked on several different tasks; some very much under the hood such as customer support tools and fault tolerance for our communication system, while other tasks have been a bit more obvious such as the friends list, incorporating voice chat into the user interface, and your most important concern: dice!

We all know that dice are a very important part of Dungeons & Dragons. Perhaps one of the things we had underestimated was how personal these dice could be to the player. We listened to the feedback of the Beta players and we have added options to let you personalize how your dice are displayed. As a result there are now twenty-seven different styles of dice for you to choose from in the user interface options. Styles include Brigand Green, Onyx and Ruby. In addition, we have updated the dice display to show 2d10 for percentage rolls: no more magical one hundred sided d20 display here!

Voice chat fell into my lap as a result of some very ambitious work on behalf of our Core Engineering team. Voice chat had always been a feature everyone wanted to see implemented into DDO since the party-based nature of the game pointed in that direction. After much hard work, a proof of concept, which is the initial implementation to show voice could be implemented into our engine, was successfully integrated into the game. With the first proof of concept ready, it was time to hook voice into the user interface.

The voice chat feature is available on a per party basis. If a member of your party has voice chat enabled, a small icon will be displayed next to their health bar in the party display. Only party members who have voice chat enabled and have the proper hardware will be able to hear voice chat. When one of your fellow party members is speaking, their name in the party display will change color.

There was work to be done beyond the Party UI. In order to make configuring voice as painless as possible I had to incorporate a microphone test into the audio options. Performing a microphone test will display a sound meter that will assist in setting your sound levels so you are not clipping when talking (clipping is what happens when an audio wave is truncated, causing distortion and unpleasant sounds). Another feature included into the options is the ability to switch between press to talk and hands free mode.

I had a very funny thing happen to me when I attempted to test out voice chat on our Beta world. I took myself to the Wavecrest Inn and asked if anyone was interested in trying out the newly added voice feature. A few folks responded, eager to help. However, one person began asking me strange questions. “What is a Microphone?” “PC? What is this you speak of?” His strange questions quickly turned into accusing me of witchcraft! Needless to say, I obtained my help elsewhere.

I hope that the work being done helps further the effort to make DDO feel as much like pen and paper D&D as possible. If we could, we would throw in some soda and chips but I think that would be very hard to serialize and send in a binary stream. So for now, we’ll have to settle with talking to your fellow adventurers.

Take care, and happy adventuring!
-Andy “Denour” Gillis.

Seed!

Extending life beyond our own perceived limits, the TAU has sent out crycoolers to distance worlds with similar atmospheres in order to habitate other planets. After many years, the first of five ships have landed on a planet near Beta Hyi, a star 24.4 light years from the Sun. A large iceberg was rammed into the planet's surface, and thus changing the weather patterns and, ultimately, the planet's habitable atmosphere... forever. Life on Da Vinci was about to become what nobody imagined it would ever be.

Here at Stratics Central, we are making it our business to keep you informed on the hottest games out there. We are working hard to bring the information to you so that you, the MMORPG community, can get the latest news on the titles available in the industry today.

Introducing another in a long series of new sites coming to Stratics, Seed Stratics!

Seed is a new adventure game brought by Runestone Game Development to the world of MMORPGs. The new world that Seed provides does not include combat, questing, or character progression. Instead, it revolves around personalizing your own story, becoming involved in political and social aspects more than factions or enemies to do war upon, and something beyondwhat is standard for MMORPGs. Even the graphics are unique to online gaming!

We are pleased to bring you Seed Stratics, providing you with the latest news and reviews on the game, beta information and updates, as well as an area to discuss your sci-fi adventures! Join us at Seed Stratics today!

Coming soon to a Portal near you... Pirates of the Burning Seas, ArchLord, and Hero's Journey!

It's no easy task to build a massively multiplayer game that lives up to the Dungeons & Dragons name. Players of the pen-and-paper D&D game surely have vivid memories of many an epic adventure. This was our challenge for DDO--how can we re-create this feeling in an online game?

Early on in DDO's development, we outlined some high-level goals for the player experience.

Adventurers who slay together stay together.
The first design goal was to create the ultimate dungeon crawl. I'm really fond of the old first-edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons modules. The centerpiece of many of these was a bunch of interconnected rooms, each with some deadly menace awaiting your arrival. It might have been a cavern, a labyrinth, a tomb, or a castle, but it probably had a bunch of rooms, passageways, and little numbers, which the dungeon master used to look up room descriptions and secretly plot your demise. Ahh, good times! No D&D game should have anything less than an incredible dungeon crawl.

WESTWOOD, MA, February 13, 2006 – Turbine, Inc. announced today that DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE™: Stormreach™ has gone gold and is in final production. The world’s first online roleplaying game based on the legendary pen and paper DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game, and voted the “most-anticipated MMO,” by IGN.com readers, is currently scheduled to ship on February 28, 2006. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is under license from the Hasbro Properties Group, the intellectual property development arm of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS).

Signatures... feeling too limited?

Well, no more!

Recently, we received some inquiries about signatures and their file sizes. As a part of the discussion, the topic was brought up about folks on dial-up or slower ISPs, and how the larger signature images would effect them.

We realize that many other communities do not have guidelines for signature images as strict as Stratics', and we want to be competitive in the online communities. Therefore, we have come upon the following:

Effective Monday, February 13, 2006, two changes will occur. The first will be a new feature, like the show/hide calendar we now have, that will allow our community members to select whether or not to view signatures - directly from the forum, rather than going to the control panel to do so. The option will remain in the control panel as a setting, but this will allow a more convenient way for those who wish to toggle on and off depending on their mood.

The other change will be an increase in the maximum allowable file size. Currently, the Rules of Conduct reflect:

- Maximum size of image file(s): 35k (35,840) bytes
- Maximum height of image(s): 125 pixels
- Maximum width of image(s): 600 pixels

Beginning Monday, the file size limit will be 50k (51,200) bytes. The Rules of Conduct and Stratics FAQ will be updated to reflect this change.

We are excited for these changes, as they will give our communities more of an opportunity to reflect their creative sides, without feeling so limited.

Thank you,

AutumnKiss
Stratics Forums Programming Team

The DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE™: Stormreach™ Beta has been a great success and we truly appreciate all the feedback and suggestions we have gotten from the community. We know you still have more to do and see in Stormreach, and we’d like to give you more time to explore. Access to the DDO Beta and most recent Stress Test has been extended to last through Sunday, February 12.

• Accounts created through an invitation from Turbine or a Stress Test key will remain open until that date.
• 10-day preorder Beta accounts with time still left on their accounts will remain open through their 10 day period (but please note that all preorder Beta access ends February 19).

On Friday, February 10, Turbine admins will be visiting Stormreach and entering dungeons to deliver items to players for use in the remainder of the Beta. But beware… the enemies of Stormreach are also gathering to infiltrate the city walls and attack adventurers when they least expect it!

Thank you for your participation in Beta. If you wish to continue playing and exploring the secrets hidden in Stormreach before launch, be sure to preorder and participate in the Head Start Event starting on Friday, February 24!

When I first started the Dungeons & Dragons Online Beta, I wasn’t sure what to expect. As a long time player of Dungeons & Dragons in tabletop form, I was familiar enough with the game and the rules to have certain expectations, but I was not sure how those expectations would be translated into a PC game. At first glance, it is very easy to dismiss it as a knock-off of World of Warcraft, EverQuest II, or any other fantasy MMO.

This impression would be completely incorrect. More than anything else, I was struck by the sense this game was more like D&D than any other fantasy MMO I’ve played. The game not only has the staple D&D classes, but implements them in such a way that each class is important without overshadowing the others. The onscreen 20-sided die (d20) shows the results of each die roll and Dungeon Master (DM) text keeps the spirit and feel of the game close to its D&D roots.

Looking for a place to ask questions about the hottest computer systems on the market today? Wishing you could ask a question about a new sound card? Curious if anyone else has an idea of what is the best online gaming chat program? Well look no further!

We now have in the Stratics Central Community a category for discussion of all these topics and more! We are pleased to announce the Online Gaming Computer System Topics forums, which provide for individual areas to discuss hardware, software, video, sound, and all other types of gaming computer necessities! We have created separate forums for each topic so that you will not need to scour through posts that are irrelevant to what you are seeking.

The staff at Stratics Central invite you to join us in this new area, and look forward to discussing the latest and greatest computer gaming technology with you!

Sincerely,

The Stratics Central Staff

The DDO Beta community just passed another major milestone!

The DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE™: Stormreach™ Beta community just passed another major milestone! There are now more than 300,000 fans who have signed up for a position in the Beta program. The response has just been incredible! Unfortunately we are not planning to invite many more people into the general Beta, so the best way to get access is to preorder the game which comes with up to 10 days of Beta play*. Preorders are available in many retail and online stores. Visit http://www.ddo.com/?page_id=118 for details about the preorder program.

* 10-day Beta pass entitles holder to free admission into the preorder Beta program for up to 10 days, subject to continuation of the program (scheduled to close February 19, 2006) and network and server availability.

DDO Review At Game Rankings

Game Rankings has done a review of Dungeons and Dragons Online!

You start in a small village with the tutorial telling you the basics you would probably get from reading the manual (for the men: a "manual" is the small book that comes in the package and gets thrown into the "things I don't need because I am male" pile with maps, instruction booklets and written directions). The tutorial is useful and gives good hints, some of which are very essential to play the game. However, sometimes a new paragraph will pop up with something very important which can be ignored by mistake. Fortunately, it will probably be repeated at a later date, until you select the "do not show again" button.

Check it out!!