Originally posted by AgtSmith

After a few weeks, and a couple characters to 10+, I am left with a couple observation.

 - The game is much improved in many small ways although still desperately broken in the big ways.

- The server merges make population just healthy enough to find groups although at higher levels it becomes a game of 'who has a cleric'.

- This is still nowhere near close to an MMO and ultimately its greatest failure is that it is sold as one.

 The MOBs regularly 'cheat' casting spells through walls and floors with no line of site or even proximity, MOBs that are KD'd attack and move, MOBs that are paralyzed attack and move - in short the MOBs and players play by different sets of rules and it is a pitiful excuse for a game in this regard.   

I just left a dungeon where a MOB was randomly casting hold spells on players 4 and 5 rooms away with, of course, no line of site and well outside any reasonable proximity -  And it happens allot.  Unlimited mana, chain casting with little to know cooldowns, nearly impossible to interup, ridiculous saves that even as high as they are are obvious not randomly decided at that, etc, etc. 

 

On top of that the servers run so poorly it is hard to believe this is a pay to play game.  Constant and persistent lag is a widespread problem affecting entire parties.  How can a game where no more than 6 people, excepting raids, play together lag so badly that it regularly becomes a stuttering slideshow and is often impossible to accurately tell your position in relation to MOBs during melee.  Given that everything in the game and everywhere is instanced this is absolutely inexcusable.

 

So while I acknowledge some nice additions to the game - the new sub pricing, the slayer/rare/explorer areas (really good), and other user friendly type improvements what has not changed is that the game is still painfully broken, easy, and rigged by the DEVs to 'fake' challenges.  It is sad that such a milestone IP as D&D has DDO to carry its name in video games - I think it ranks right up there with SWG in terms of gaming tragedies.

 

 

Several characters above 10 after a few weeks?  Well now, then that's a case of power leveling and not having a life more then it is a problem with the game mechanics of DDO. 

There are only 2 mobs that I am aware of which have occasional line of site issues.  One would be the Earth Elemental's grab effect which can occasionally bug out and hit you anywhere on the map, but this mob DOES NOT attack you in any other way when this occures.  The other potential issue is Beholders going wacky with all their effects. 

Creatures are not actually attacking after they get Hold/FleshToStone/KnockedDown, it's simply going through the action queue that was instigated just prior to the state was applied to them.  The "sliding" is obviously annoying but does not hamper game play in any way, and they really don't move more then a couple scale feet anyways. 

Lag is nebulous.  There are times when the server causes hitching.  There is also the plethora of issues a user is responsible for in regards to their PC.  There had been a nasty lag issue a few weeks ago which was resolved and other then that the occasional lag spike, that's experianced in EVERY online game, isn't prelevant.

Stuttering slide show?  You must be speaking of that lag week when Turbine tried fixing the summon-bug-exploit.  I have never seen lag as bad, not before and not since. 

Fake challenges?  Not a one.  Are you upset about something else 'cs you're not making a case?  I suspsect you're mad.  You have several character leveled "10+" after a "few weeks" and all I get from this is you don't have a life. 

Sorry, but that's how it reads.

AoC isn't going to be any different in the manner you profess.   Good luck, go outside and get some fresh air.  It's much better then sitting at your keyboard and leveling as many characters as possible in a few weeks. 

Originally posted by Riddikulus

Originally posted by AgtSmith

Apologists and deniers - you cannot play this game past mid level and not recognize the severe frequency with which MOBs 'break' rules as I have described.  Heck, if I had a dollar for everytime I died for no apparent reason in game only to find the combat log saying 'you where killed by something' with no other information, even with no MOBs present .

Actually if you are literally saying you got a message that "you were killed by something" I think that is a known bug where you somehow (through jump, beholder telekenesis, or knockdown/up/back) manage to break out of some part of the landscape geometry and end up "falling" to your death.

I see "You were killed by something" freguently.  I can also tell what it was that killed me when i've recieved that message. 

Originally posted by mindspat

You're just a tad bit off your rocker. 

 Several characters above 10 after a few weeks?  Well now, then that's a case of power leveling and not having a life more then it is a problem with the game mechanics of DDO. 

There are only 2 mobs that I am aware of which have occasional line of site issues.  One would be the Earth Elemental's grab effect which can occasionally bug out and hit you anywhere on the map, but this mob DOES NOT attack you in any other way when this occures.  The other potential issue is Beholders going wacky with all their effects. 

Creatures are not actually attacking after they get Hold/FleshToStone/KnockedDown, it's simply going through the action queue that was instigated just prior to the state was applied to them.  The "sliding" is obviously annoying but does not hamper game play in any way, and they really don't move more then a couple scale feet anyways. 

Lag is nebulous.  There are times when the server causes hitching.  There is also the plethora of issues a user is responsible for in regards to their PC.  There had been a nasty lag issue a few weeks ago which was resolved and other then that the occasional lag spike, that's experianced in EVERY online game, isn't prelevant.

Stuttering slide show?  You must be speaking of that lag week when Turbine tried fixing the summon-bug-exploit.  I have never seen lag as bad, not before and not since. 

Fake challenges?  Not a one.  Are you upset about something else 'cs you're not making a case?  I suspsect you're mad.  You have several character leveled "10+" after a "few weeks" and all I get from this is you don't have a life. 

Sorry, but that's how it reads.

AoC isn't going to be any different in the manner you profess.   Good luck, go outside and get some fresh air.  It's much better then sitting at your keyboard and leveling as many characters as possible in a few weeks.  

What won't you apologize away?  LOL, I still have 3 or 4 days left in my sub - care to meet me and be proven dead wrong inside 10 minute?  I can easily zip to Threnal and show you the beholder casting PKs around corners and through walls and from 2 to 4 times the actual range it should be able to cast.  I can easily take you to the Desert and show you the mummy that casts hold from 4 to 5 rooms away then wanders over and beats you down while you are powerless to act in any way.  As for the lag issue - please - this is so widespread and universal that not hardly a group doesn't complain about it and acknowledge it - even Turbine has claimed to have issues two patches to fix a problem you deny even exists.  Sad that you have to deny reality to defend the game, as I said it has many good qualities but being a real game challenge over mid level is not one of them and the cheating MOB thing is pretty obvious to anyone who plays the game and is even remotely familiar with the D&D ruleset and DDO rules.

Beholders have a very long visual range, which considering they are a big eyeball, seems fair enough. If you trigger a death attack it isn't a beam so will based on a LOS on casting, which would allow you to be around a corner. But to be honest if you go up against a BH without a deathblock item on you are sort of asking to get your arse kicked.

Same goes for a Mummy, if you don't have some seriously impressive rolls you need to get yourself a fear immunity item (Reaver's Ring) or you are going to end up feared and dead.

Every other fantasy MMO does basic LOS checks, that is why you get hit through walls and arrows, spells whatever curve through the air and home in on your position. The fact they don't in DDO is very impressive, so the fact it does a LOS on certain spells and for most you are able to use walls is really a massive credit to the engine.

You won't convince me the Turbine engine isn't the best for this sort of thing, even the much vaunted AoC engine, is just LOS on click and will quite happily shoot you through walls, other players and bend in mid-air if you move while the projectile is in flight.

I think that is why I have a big problem with your bellyaching you have chosen the best engine for projectile/spell pathing to come and rubbish, when just about any other MMO doesn't even try to do it correctly.

I suggest you go try another MMO and pay real close attention to how well they do it, see how many spells and projectiles you can dodge, how many times you can put yourself in the way of something aimed at someone else when it is in flight. I wish you luck because they are generally noddy crap at it.

p.s. I have done Invaders solo several times and I know Beholders very well, you just have to accept doesn't matter how well you plan, if you get unlucky they can fry you on the spot, but all but their dispel and death spells will be blocked by the scenery. I wouldn't even take on a Mummy without a fear immunity item, would be instant death.

Originally posted by AgtSmith

 What won't you apologize away? LOL, I still have 3 or 4 days left in my sub - care to meet me and be proven dead wrong inside 10 minute? 

As for the lag issue - please - this is so widespread and universal that not hardly a group doesn't complain about it and acknowledge it - even Turbine has claimed to have issues two patches to fix a problem you deny even exists. 

Sad that you have to deny reality to defend the game, as I said it has many good qualities but being a real game challenge over mid level is not one of them and the cheating MOB thing is pretty obvious to anyone who plays the game and is even remotely familiar with the D&D ruleset and DDO rules.

Meet you ingame 10 mintues from posting?  You're proving my point by making that statement.  You even use "lol" in a sentence, and expect us to take you seriously?!?!

Only an idiot would come to these forums and accuse *ME* of being an ignorant fanboi.  I believe there's still a good thread with me ranting about the patch that was to fix the AI which inadvertantly broke something on Turbine's end, and it was fixed.  Fail at reading comprehension much?

Are you here to troll the forums 'cs the only quality of life you enjoy exists in videogames?

Originally posted by Dr.Rock

Beholders have a very long visual range, which considering they are a big eyeball, seems fair enough. If you trigger a death attack it isn't a beam so will based on a LOS on casting, which would allow you to be around a corner. But to be honest if you go up against a BH without a deathblock item on you are sort of asking to get your arse kicked.

Same goes for a Mummy, if you don't have some seriously impressive rolls you need to get yourself a fear immunity item (Reaver's Ring) or you are going to end up feared and dead.

Every other fantasy MMO does basic LOS checks, that is why you get hit through walls and arrows, spells whatever curve through the air and home in on your position. The fact they don't in DDO is very impressive, so the fact it does a LOS on certain spells and for most you are able to use walls is really a massive credit to the engine.

You won't convince me the Turbine engine isn't the best for this sort of thing, even the much vaunted AoC engine, is just LOS on click and will quite happily shoot you through walls, other players and bend in mid-air if you move while the projectile is in flight.

I think that is why I have a big problem with your bellyaching you have chosen the best engine for projectile/spell pathing to come and rubbish, when just about any other MMO doesn't even try to do it correctly.

I suggest you go try another MMO and pay real close attention to how well they do it, see how many spells and projectiles you can dodge, how many times you can put yourself in the way of something aimed at someone else when it is in flight. I wish you luck because they are generally noddy crap at it.

p.s. I have done Invaders solo several times and I know Beholders very well, you just have to accept doesn't matter how well you plan, if you get unlucky they can fry you on the spot, but all but their dispel and death spells will be blocked by the scenery. I wouldn't even take on a Mummy without a fear immunity item, would be instant death.

More excuses and apologies for blatant flaws.  Beholders cannot see around corners and through walls, or they are not supposed to.  No line of site means no line of sight regardless of how far you can see.  AS for the idea that a video game makes ANY sense whatsoever having MOBs that regularly cast death spells on you before you are even close to a range at which you can react to them give me a break.  That is precisely the point - they have had to buff MOBs so ridiculously because the base game is so laughably easy that it is now very much broken in terms of providing no real challenge in terms of outcomes being about what you do during the encounter.

And the mummy hold spell is despair, not fear.  Nevertheless, having it cast on you from across the dungeon when you are nowhere in range is ludicrous.  And you comment about immunity precisely demonstrates my point about why the game is a failure - it is about what you bring to the fight not what you do during the fight.

Originally posted by mindspat

Meet you ingame 10 mintues from posting?  You're proving my point by making that statement.  You even use "lol" in a sentence, and expect us to take you seriously?!?!

Only an idiot would come to these forums and accuse *ME* of being an ignorant fanboi.  I believe there's still a good thread with me ranting about the patch that was to fix the AI which inadvertantly broke something on Turbine's end, and it was fixed.  Fail at reading comprehension much?

Are you here to troll the forums 'cs the only quality of life you enjoy exists in videogames?

Sorry you don't want to take me up on my offer to prove exactly what I am saying - it seems a perfectly reasonable thing to do in the face of people denying the facts.  As for all your personal attacks, it must be sad to want to counter and argument so badly yet only be able to muster childish personal attacks.

Just post a SS or better yet, xfire now supports video capture. You could then upload that to xfire or youtube.

I personally don't care. The trial is there for anyone to see for themselves if they like the game. I would tell anyone who reads this thread that try the trial if your thinking about playing the game. Don't go by what people on these forums say, who knows you may like the game, and you may not.

I personally haven't had the problems the OP states, but that's just me.

Originally posted by Dr.Rock

 

 

I have had the odd clicky not respond immediately, but it is very rare and only in the middle of a totally mad battle, but I honestly don't see this lag apart from entering new areas or when I have pushed my frame rate too low. Even during the world event it was playable with dozens and dozens of people all fighting at once. Bit of a slideshow when everyone turned up in the single instance, but that would be 100s of players.

I know they are rather basic questions, but you aren't expecting changing of weapons to respond quickly (unless you took the feat), and you don't have auto-attack on?

WoWs tech is different, it is click and forget, targetted with very basic LOS, that is very server light and just animation in the client. DDO actually tracks objects in space, which requires a lot more interaction between client and server (even with a bit of illusion is pretty amazing they can do it at all).

So is really chalk and cheese, tech wise.

I wasn't changing weapons or autoattacking or anything.   Just running around the vale meleeing stuff with my pally and hitting the occasional cure mod which wouldn't fire maybe a quarter of the time.   Just annoying.

I know DDO's engine does a lot more than WoW's, but I think that it has a lot of room for improvement.    The fact that it can't handle even the typical 12 person raid very gracefully speaks to that.   I have seen terrible lag in that big battle beyond the door we used to fireball in TS for instance.... there are just too many mobs and players interacting at the same time and the DDO engine can't handle it.    I think if they improve the engine/data transfer to the point where it can handle full 12 person+mob groups with almost no lag that it would go a long way toward improving the whole general lag "feel" to the game.

Originally posted by Riddikulus

 

I know DDO's engine does a lot more than WoW's, but I think that it has a lot of room for improvement.    The fact that it can't handle even the typical 12 person raid very gracefully speaks to that.   I have seen terrible lag in that big battle beyond the door we used to fireball in TS for instance.... there are just too many mobs and players interacting at the same time and the DDO engine can't handle it.    I think if they improve the engine/data transfer to the point where it can handle full 12 person+mob groups with almost no lag that it would go a long way toward improving the whole general lag "feel" to the game.

 

See that is what I find interesting I do at least 2 full 12 man raids a week (normally Reaver and Shroud) and I don't get lag, at least nothing I have noticed. Maybe it is a US thing.

Happy to go through settings, frame rates (my machine is pretty ancient, so I am sure yours will be higher) and locations see if I get the same results, and are just not noticing.

I assume you are not suffering from the shearing problem where it feels like your characters leg and body are not quite moving in sync., and your forward movement sort of stutters. I posted the fix for it in another thread.

Originally posted by Dr.Rock

See that is what I find interesting I do at least 2 full 12 man raids a week (normally Reaver and Shroud) and I don't get lag, at least nothing I have noticed. Maybe it is a US thing.

Happy to go through settings, frame rates (my machine is pretty ancient, so I am sure yours will be higher) and locations see if I get the same results, and are just not noticing.

I assume you are not suffering from the shearing problem where it feels like your characters leg and body are not quite moving in sync., and your forward movement sort of stutters. I posted the fix for it in another thread.

I rarely have lag and it's usually nothing more then a 1 second lag spike - maybe 2 or 3 times a week?  The whole party tends to comment on it: "Woah, nice lag spike!"

The game plays VERY smooth for me since they fixed that issue a few weeks ago.  :)

p.s. The typic