New Content and people are already getting bored

Lastera

I was looking through DDO boards when I found this topic: http://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82799



I was shock to see people admitting they were bored with the game. I'm also shocked to see players suggesting people to play other games until DDO can get more content. This isn't good a good sign for DDO player base. What do you guys think?

Odysses

I posted a very similar subject based back in the alpha and beta forums of this game when I saw how the game was designed.   The fact is if you play this game alot, you will burn through the content fairly quickly.    This wasn't built around the tried and true MMO formula which is to have alot of systems in the game each which require lots and lots of grinding and time required to make the highest possible levels.    Therefore DDO will not be able to retain customers that have that playstyle.

One of DDO's biggest strengths is the fact that it is very accesable and it is very easy to get acclimated to.   So out of every single online game on the market today, you could stop playing DDO for a few months and resubscribe and get your character to the maximum level cap.   So I always assumed that a lot of players that would unsubscribe would be able to resubscribe down the road and play through the additional content at the pace at which they prefer.  IE if you are a very active player that likes playing for long periods of time many days a week, you could resubscribe to DDO every 3 or 4 months and grind away for a month or two and repeat the cycle.    The fact that when you leave alot of other MMORPG's, you feel left behind and there can be a very big level stratification to where you can't play with your old friends.   With DDO this is not a problem and makes the game very playable every few months with all the content that they are constantly updating the game with.

The one thing that does surprise me alot is that people expect to play a MMORPG for years at a time.   I don't know of any game that can keep players interested that long because you simply cannot make content at the pace that is required to keep players entertained without any sort of repetiveness or requiring them to grind away at something either buy acquiring the best gear or trying to reach the highest possible level.   The best bet for most people that really enjoy these types of games is to find 2 or 3 that you really enjoy and rotate through them.   I hear this same thing about WoW.   Alot of people love the game 1-60 but hate it after that because it requires endless grinding of the same content.   Well it took Blizzard 2+ years to make that much content and you can't get that experience again once you have played through it.   Blizzard with all the millions they are making on their game should be the benchmark for other companies to shoot for and if they can't keep a game from being entertaining after a few months of play, then I don't think any company can.

Lastera

The average causal player plays an average of 1 to 2 hours a day and the powergame plays 4 a day. I play 2 hours on weekdays and 4 hours on weekends. It took me one Saturday to finish the whole harbor area, all quests. You don't have to be play like a madman to get through the content, but I think what the poster is indicating that DDO leaves much to be desired. I don't think it's just DDO either, but other games as well are doing this.



Personally, what I think keeps people playing is the ability to help shape community economically. Being able to be your own "self-made man" is what makes people become attached so long. I think you fail to see that even with new dungeons coming out, it's still not keeping the people's interest. DDO may come out with a new dungeon in two months, but how will take for veterans to shoot through content then new players? You see, you're at this from a newbie persepctive in which a new person creating a new character would take a month or 3 to burn through the content while a veteran who has already been through all the other content can burn through it less than 2 weeks and doing the quest under different conditions.



What I'm saying is...to burn through all the dungeons, it would take months, to get all the armor sets can take a year, but to burn through all the content: create an economy, do all side quests, crafting skills, collect armor sets etc. can take years and I think that's what kept EQ going for all these years and maybe WoW too. These types of game can be created, but I think gamers like yourself (no insult intented) tend to expect less and overlook flaws and think if they stick it out, it'll only get better, but they never do.

we3ster

Originally posted by Lastera

The average causal player plays an average of 1 to 2 hours a day and the powergame plays 4 a day. I play 2 hours on weekdays and 4 hours on weekends. It took me one Saturday to finish the whole harbor area, all quests. You don't have to be play like a madman to get through the content, but I think what the poster is indicating that DDO leaves much to be desired. I don't think it's just DDO either, but other games as well are doing this.



Personally, what I think keeps people playing is the ability to help shape community economically. Being able to be your own "self-made man" is what makes people become attached so long. I think you fail to see that even with new dungeons coming out, it's still not keeping the people's interest. DDO may come out with a new dungeon in two months, but how will take for veterans to shoot through content then new players? You see, you're at this from a newbie persepctive in which a new person creating a new character would take a month or 3 to burn through the content while a veteran who has already been through all the other content can burn through it less than 2 weeks and doing the quest under different conditions.



What I'm saying is...to burn through all the dungeons, it would take months, to get all the armor sets can take a year, but to burn through all the content: create an economy, do all side quests, crafting skills, collect armor sets etc. can take years and I think that's what kept EQ going for all these years and maybe WoW too. These types of game can be created, but I think gamers like yourself (no insult intented) tend to expect less and overlook flaws and think if they stick it out, it'll only get better, but they never do.

I like your comment about being a 'self made man' as this was the exact reason that made me leave WoW many moons ago, my character just felt too pre-planned, no variety in spells etc as I levelled up, gaining a level was not exciting, oh, fireball rank 3 now, it was no different than fireball rank 2 (apart from increased damage of course). At least in DDO I have more choices as to how I shape my character and it feels less 'cookie cutter'.

Turbine are addressing some concerns people have about repetition, all new dungeons are now being randomised, in a game like WoW, killing a lvl 1 spider when you are lvl 1 is no different than when you are killing a lvl 60 spider when you are lvl 60. The only difference there is that the spider may be a different colour.

It seems ALL MMO gamers accept flaws within a game (not that they should), look at the mess EQ2 was when launched, developers too are becoming lazy, look at NWN2 and the flaws it launched with, I have even read about some xbox 360 games which are launching with flaws and having patches within days which is unheard of for a console.

Some flaws though are a matter of a person's perspective. You maybe feel that a major flaw of DDO is 'limited content', whereas some people think a major flaw in WoW is the repetitivness of killing 10 spiders over and over.

neuronomad

Originally posted by Lastera

I was looking through DDO boards when I found this topic: http://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82799



I was shock to see people admitting they were bored with the game. I'm also shocked to see players suggesting people to play other games until DDO can get more content. This isn't good a good sign for DDO player base. What do you guys think?

Personally you are going to see this with any game.  People power game their way through the content and then have little to do.   Check out the WoW forums or any other MMO.  It's a fact of life, power gamers are going to fuss about lack of content.   Developers can't keep up with these type of players. 



That said, I think that there is plenty of content in DDO.   I work my way thru dungeons on each level before I move on.  Some dungeon's like WW I repeated run if for nothing else the loot at the quest turn-in.  To me this is fun.  I like being able to know a dungeon like the back of my hand.   After I learn it grouped, I then like to see how far I can push myself solo in that dungeon.    For example the fighter that I just started, I have already put at least 10 hours into her and haven't even left the harbor yet.   Matter of fact I haven't even completed all the harbor quest.    If nothing else I always make sure that my toons have 75 favor with the Coin Lords before reaching the marketplace.  That extra bag slot comes in handy.

 

DDO wasn't meant as a power gamers game.  It was designed to be casual.   I fit the mold somewhere between the power gamer and the casual player.   I put at least 2-3 hours a weeknight and at least 10 hours on the weekend.    And still I have never got bored of DDO like I did in WoW grinding mobs.  I think the quest in DDO are fun.  Learning the dungeons are fun. 

 

And that's not even to mention playing different classes and multiclassing.   Playing a different class can be like playing a totally different game.

 

So I don't think it is a bad sign for the DDO player base.   Those type of comments are common with every MMO.

drgenocide

"The one thing that does surprise me alot is that people expect to play a MMORPG for years at a time. "



I think the answer will be opening new dimensions up, allowing players to play in their beloved realms like Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, etc...  Some of those games could be entirely new and different.  Different races, different worlds, different rules.



To get people to play, the game has to be fun in the players eyes.  I don't think of DDO as boring because I dont play it like I did other MMORPGS, I dont grind day in day out.  I play with my group of buddies at specific times.  I have a guild that adds friends to my list so I might play for a few hours here and there.  There is NO point to grinding to top level, because it is not important in order to play the game.   it is only important to some players. 



Play the game, don't live it.