This will be the first of at least two, maybe three reviews I will do on Dungeons and Dragons Online. I am writing this in multiple sections because there is a lot to cover, it wouldn’t be ethical to discuss what I haven’t experienced firsthand, and because I want to be able to give the proper attention and time to all the aspects of Dungeons and Dragons Online (DDO) which I wish to discuss.

Until recently, I didn’t play DDO for quite a long time. For those unfamiliar with the game, the level cap is now 20. When I played, it was 10, and it was a very different game. We used to joke that it should be called Dungeon and Dragon because there was only one dragon in the whole game. My best guess would be that I quit shortly after the release of Module 3 in October 2006.

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I wouldn’t consider myself a Trekkie. I’ve enjoyed the shows over the years, having watched all the episodes of Next Generation, Voyager, and Deep Space Nine, but I don’t speak Klingon. When I first heard about Star Trek Online (STO) I was excited for about a minute. Then I realized that a MMO would never come close to offering what Star Trek is really all about. Ask any fan to tell you what the top themes are of Star Trek, and they should in their first or second answer, tell you it’s inherently about exploration. It’s about exploring new planets, meeting new species, coming across new, unseen sights, and going, as they say, “where no man has gone before.” So what’s the problem? The problem is that no MMO, no matter how big it is, no matter how many development teams are out there making new content, will ever be able to give a player that feeling of freedom and exploration for more than a very short period of time.

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Dark Age of Camelot (DAoC) is a game that many new gamers have never heard of. Why? It is undeniably old, released in 2001 by Mythic Entertainment. Though old, DAoC has an alive and booming server still, because of one reason: Realm v Realm (RvR). No, not that RvR in Warhammer - but real RvR, because DAoC has three realms instead of two, something that I think current game developers have overlooked. You may think that it’s all well and good, but there is no way that DAoC could still be a viable PvP game after all this time. Wrong, in February of this year, Ten Ton Hammer rated DAoC as #1 pay-to-play PVP game. Whether you are a DAoC veteran who hasn’t played the game in years, or a new player, who like many of us, are unsatisfied with PvP and the current MMO options, I will attempt to bring you up to speed on the current state of Dark Age of Camelot.

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I have been playing MMOs since 2002, and before that, MUDs, and in all that time I have never become actively engaged in what we would describe as a free-to-play (F2P) MMO that are so popular today. F2P MMOs vary, but the basic premise is that the game is free to get, has no monthly fee, but has some sort of shop that you can buy in game resources with. The shop varies between games, some having mostly cosmetic stuff (new shiny mounts), others having the best items in the game, and anywhere in between.

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Warhammer Online PQs – A good idea gone bad

An author’s note: Why am I writing about Warhammer, particularly about something that largely took place during its early days? Because I am truly passionate about the mechanics and systems within MMOs – How developers approach various aspects of their games and how different those mechanics turn out to be compared to another games. Where one fails (or succeeds) another will often pick it up and improve upon it. Hopefully this is a simple start; a review and critique of why one great idea turned into a major disappointment.

I was very excited for the release of Warhammer Online. First and foremost, because it was made by Mythic Entertainment, and it was only natural for me to think they might have learned from their mistakes and time with DAoC. Of course I was dead wrong, but Warhammer did launch with some new and exciting features largely unseen to the MMO world. I want to discuss one in particular that seemed to have so much potential, yet ended up so bad: Public Quests.

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With the launch of World of Warcraft 3.3.5 patch players were let into the world of Real ID. Real ID offers the ability to put in more personal information that is available to all Battle.net users which includes anyone who plays Blizzard games online. Players can chat across different servers/games, create a friends list, message players and other social networking type add-ons.

Real ID has raised some concerns as of late. Based on the fact that you must input your personal information to use Real-ID, you can’t remain anonymous such on other gaming/social communication tools like Steam’s universal chat. Due to this, people are far more at risk for cyberstalking and other information leaks and scams.

Considering a good portion of Blizzard’s gaming public may be young and influential, the ability to post your personal and private information including email and name can be used as an in for such frauds as identify theft, sexual misappropriations and other terrible actions from the bowels of the internet.

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Beta Testing is not just a way to play a game for free. It gives players a chance to get a top down look at the way that MMORPGs are made and have a hand in their development. I’ve participated in many beta tests for all sorts of different games. Often, it’s very fun and rewarding; other times it may feel as if I am playing a broken game that needs another year or two in the cooker. I’ve isolated three fun and interesting games that are entering both closed and open beta phases.

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As the EVE Online Alliance Tournament VIII moves forward into the finals, CCP has published a teaser video to get players excited. I have to say it has got some potential but needs a few tweaks. One, lose the dude and put a pair of headphones on the lady. Show me some action in regards to a female getting involved with EVE-style PVP. EVE Online is a game that is noted for a few things, but its female population is not one of them, except for the Hellcats. They are a lean, mean, all female pirate machine in the Metropolis region.

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Back in March of this year, Quest Online (QOL) announced that veteran developer Derek Smart was put in position to head the company as President. His main duty was to head the Alganon team in completion of the game that had suffered under the mistakes that former lead developer David Allen had created.

Consequentially, independent contractor, Allen, was removed from the company during this time. In two separate, unanimous votes, Allen was removed as Managing Member of Quest Online LLC and then as a Voting Member due to over-budgeting, missing deadlines and a terrible December 2009 Beta launch. As a result, Greg Wexler (investor/co-founder of the company) became the sole acting Managing Member.

In response to these actions, Allen filed what the Quest Online LLC members called a “frivolous” lawsuit in Arizona (Case #CV2010-010391 ) against Quest Online, 3000AD and other parties. It was announced today that QOL has fired back at Allen with their own counter-suit, claiming that Allen was responsible for Alganon’s mismanagement and sewed his own fate and troubles by acting in an unprofessional and generally faulty manner.

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Lord British himself, Richard Garriot will be on massively.com’s webchat, Massively Speaking episode 100. Garriot will join hosts Shawn and Rubi for some chat on the past, present and future of MMOs. Topics will range from the early days of Ultima Online to the possible reinvention of Tabula Rasa and beyond.

To send an email, or sign up for the Massively Speaking episode 100 with Lord British podcast visit their website.