Already? Already. The Dragon’s Vault will have a raid, 15 new dungeons, and an actual dragon! Now, as Kill Ten Rats jokes, they can be called Dungeons and Dragon. Just one more and they’re accurately named.

From the release:

The new dungeons provide a variety of additional content for players of all levels in the game. Turbine announced today that the Dragon’s Vault module will be free of charge for all current DDO subscribers as a way to say “thank you” to all of its fans. Turbine also declared its plans to release additional modules over time that include new content, features, and other improvements to the hit MMOG.

I love that they’re calling them modules. That’s just classy. I hope to have something up on Slash tomorrow on this game. I hope. I’m so conflicted.

Psychochild had a post up at the end of last month talking about the value of being in the credits for a game. More than just a ‘Hey mom look what I did’ trophy on the wall, credits prove to future employers that Kilroy was really there. Jason Booth, over on his site, talks about the crappy way Turbine handled Dungeons and Dragons Online’s credits. If you weren’t there at retail launch, no credit for you. Even if you wrote like half the code or were responsible for most of the design.

Sometimes, given the creative nature required to make good games, it’s disconnecting to hear stories like this. There are some people I’ve met who don’t follow gaming news that seem to be under the impression making games is like a big party all the time. Designers are these really creative people who get to sit around all day just thinking stuff up while looking at the ceiling, and programmers get to play with really cool technology and stuff. I will even admit; Within the last five years the thought of going into game design was appealing.

Thankfully over a year of reporting on the industry has cracked that nut but good. I’ll take my little corner of the universe, full of story-stealing blogs and prima donna reporters, over the soul-crush of game creation.

As a final DDO-related note, I intended to have a review up on Friday for the game but decided to push it back. I’m really wrestling with what I think of the final product. There’s good and bad there, to be sure, but overall it’s just not what I want in a game. I think I can get that across well enough, but I have to also think of what others might like about it. Bah, writing.

Via Cathode Tan, the YouTube version of Colbert’s D&D sendoff. Don’t put up those dice just yet Stephen.

DDO sucks. does not live up to the reputation of the D&D game, nor to the design the Turbine folks have set out for the title.

Ahem. “Told you so.”

Via Kill Ten Rats:

what to do after hitting level 10?
farm for +5/+6 is the only thing left????

level 10 rogue
my equip is +4 elemental only

feats:
twf
wf
xbow
freload

I agree with the first poster. “What do you expect, a medal?” Just the same, this does not bode well for the land of Xen’drik.

Well, when they release the list of server names, you know they’re close to launch. Yes, next week Dungeons and Dragons online joins the Post World of Warcraft MMO market. This is essentially the first big launch since EQ2 and WoW came on the scene around Christmas of 2004. City of Villains is doing quite well, as far as I know, but I view that as an expansion to CoH more than anything else. This is the first new IP trail blazing that’s been tried. I know that there is interest, as I’ve already heard talk about the beta in World of Warcraft City chat, and the leader of my guild has already quit to form a similar organization in DDO.

I don’t think he should have bothered. My impressions from the DDO Beta will form the basis for a launch-week review on Slashdot, but here is my very cynical two cents.

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Ethic has a description of the introductory quest in Dungeons and Dragons Online up at Kill Ten Rats.

One trip to the Origins Gamefest and the wedding of a good friend later, I’m going to be back on the regular with the Random Dialogue column. Assuming that moving to a new apartment and Gen Con don’t get to me this coming month. Ahem. Anyway, before I left for Origins I picked up the main book for the new Dungeons and Dragons campaign setting, Eberron. As you may or may not already be aware, Eberron is going to be the setting for the Dungeons and Dragons Online game being developed by Turbine. The campaign setting is set on the continent of Khorvaire, which just recently finished up a century-long war between the former members of a great nation. The MMOG is going to take place on the continent to the south of Khorvaire, known as X’endrik. You know all of this, of course. Both the MMOG and the RTS are going to be centered in X’endrik, as Wizards of the Coast enjoys the profits it can snag from Keith Baker’s new campaign setting. Without the hangups that come with doing a Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk game, these forays into digital media can be as great or as poor as the designers want them to be, and there will be a minimum of expectations going into the experience.

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