Invitation-only Lamannia Preview and Preview 2

[Cordovan]

UPDATE: Lamannia is now open for the creator preview!

We are preparing to host our second Lamannia preview of Update 81 starting around 10:00 AM Eastern (-4 GMT) on Tuesday, July 7th. This preview will be your first look at the upcoming wilderness area!

We are preparing for a special exclusive invitation-only preview next Monday, July 6th, starting at 4pm Eastern (-4 GMT) on Lamannia to give selected participants a first look at the Terror of Demogorgon wilderness area. IF YOU HAVE PREVIOUSLY ATTENDED A LAMANNIA CREATOR PREVIEW you are good! Your access remains. If you are a content creator who is not part of our DDO Creator Program, and who has not attended a Lamannia invitation-only preview in the past, you will need to get in touch with me by end of day Thursday, July 2nd with the following information IN A PRIVATE MESSAGE TO ME:

Game Account Name:
Link to your creator channel(s) and platform(s):
Why do you want to attend the preview:

Send the above to me in a forum DM. Note that not everyone who applies will get in, but we will do our best to provide creators who have a decent sized audience with access. We are opening Lamannia to everyone around 10:00 AM Eastern (-4 GMT) on Tuesday, July 7th for this same preview. Close timing will be something like Thursday, and we'll have more information and release notes next week. Thanks!

 

[dur]

So 'Creators and Makers' get president over regular players?

:(

*Just as Gygax imagined it.

 

[Cildar]

"Precedence" If you are going to whine, at least get the word correct.

 

[Cordovan]

So 'Creators and Makers' get president over regular players?

:(

*Just as Gygax imagined it.

Yes, this is something we have done for a few years now, motivated not just by getting a bit more hype out there but also in response to an understanding that some of this video and related content takes time to make, so if we want to encourage content creation it helps to give people a bit more time. Over the years we've also been able to add a few Wiki folks and other creators, which has been helpful especially for people volunteering their time and effort.

There is a critical bit missing from the announcement as well, sorry I didn't catch that yesterday: We are opening Lamannia to everyone around 10:00 AM Eastern (-4 GMT) on Tuesday, July 7th for this same preview. Close timing will be something like Thursday, and we'll have more information and release notes next week.

 

[dur]

Opening Beta to everyone is great but if they are the only ones who get say....
I don't have time to play Lamannia. I work. Plus, many players do not post here and then there's Discord.
What **audience gets the say in these Major changes? Sounds like "creators."
Am I supposed to dedicate time to a beta server when I'd really like to deal with my Live toons?
Do I need to be a Creator?
***Ridiculing the short-comings of a great game to bend it to their will? [ref: tumble change]
We're dealing with that IRL.

 

[PurpleTimb]

Opening Beta to everyone is great but if they are the only ones who get say....
I don't have time to play Lamannia. I work. Plus, many players do not post here and then there's Discord.
What **audience gets the say in these Major changes? Sounds like "creators."
Am I supposed to dedicate time to a beta server when I'd really like to deal with my Live toons?
Do I need to be a Creator?
***Ridiculing the short-comings of a great game to bend it to their will? [ref: tumble change]
We're dealing with that IRL.

None of the people in question "get a say" as you term it, in any changes. Lamania is a preview server, not a test server or a request for comments.

The creators in question are only getting a 12 hour head-start with the new content to make videos and stir up extra interest in the release. They don't get any special attention of the devs to decide what to change or how.

We've seen time and again that major problems, bugs and unintended consequences make it to the Lamania server, are pointed out to the devs by players and then get implemented into the live game release anyway. Occasionally when a change is discussed on the forum proir to the Lamania release, if enough people think it's bad and post convincing arguments the devs will reconsider a change. But that's usually only prior to a Lamania release. Once a change makes it onto Lamania it's almost a guarantee that it's going to show up in the game.

 

[Christhemiss]

Opening Beta to everyone is great but if they are the only ones who get say....
I don't have time to play Lamannia. I work. Plus, many players do not post here and then there's Discord.
What **audience gets the say in these Major changes? Sounds like "creators."
Am I supposed to dedicate time to a beta server when I'd really like to deal with my Live toons?
Do I need to be a Creator?
***Ridiculing the short-comings of a great game to bend it to their will? [ref: tumble change]
We're dealing with that IRL.

so "im lazy and dont login to lamannia"

but also

"im going to complain about people accessing lamannia even thought i wont"

?????????????

 

[Gruben]

Am I supposed to dedicate time to a beta server when I'd really like to deal with my Live toons?

you can transfer over a toon that's been parked at cap to test stuff out or transfer your main and talk to the guide to instantly level up to max. if you have a spare 30 minutes during a lammania preview can be really fun to test out the changes when there is a preview. Anyone can hop on Lammania, its open for the entire day so you can check it out after work. The devs are quite receptive to feedback when you aren't starting from a place of hostility. The devs are the ones that decide the major changes and I'm sure you're ignoring all the feedback we gave them on the DC initiative and oh wow were getting more DC initiative with this patch too on top of enabling every caster build.

 

[dur]

None of the people in question "get a say" as you term it, in any changes. Lamania is a preview server, not a test server or a request for comments.

The creators in question are only getting a 12 hour head-start with the new content to make videos and stir up extra interest in the release. They don't get any special attention of the devs to decide what to change or how.

We've seen time and again that major problems, bugs and unintended consequences make it to the Lamania server, are pointed out to the devs by players and then get implemented into the live game release anyway. Occasionally when a change is discussed on the forum proir to the Lamania release, if enough people think it's bad and post convincing arguments the devs will reconsider a change. But that's usually only prior to a Lamania release. Once a change makes it onto Lamania it's almost a guarantee that it's going to show up in the game.

This is why I will never play another MMO. EVER.

so "im lazy and dont login to lamannia"

[]

That's 'what you got' from my post? You haven't been paying attention.

 

[TavernTails]

Along with several other content creators, I'll be participating in the preview. To add a little extra zing, I'll be giving away TWO (hmmm... maybe three?) WizKids Demogorgon plush critters throughout the event. Hope to see you at the sneak peek!

BTW, I think I look pretty good reimagined as a Myconid! (lol)

 

[Tanis]

So 'Creators and Makers' get president over regular players?

:(

*Just as Gygax imagined it.

Not a fan of the move myself however it makes sense to give the content creators a chance to promote the game it’s a minor annoyance getting delayed access

As far as I can tell this is entire advertising budget

 

[nicholas]

so "im lazy and dont login to lamannia"

but also

"im going to complain about people accessing lamannia even thought i wont"

?????????????

Because We know our feedback doesnt matter and goes in one ear and out the other... "Our Feedback doesnt Matter."

 

[FixBows]

Not a fan of the move myself however it makes sense to give the content creators a chance to promote the game it’s a minor annoyance getting delayed access

As far as I can tell this is entire advertising budget

From what I can tell when I check out Twitch Streams, there is maybe 1 or 2 streamers who routinely can get more than 10 viewers at once and even more rarely crack 100. Then, if you look more closely, it is folks who already play the game or some bots, etc.... That being said, I am also not too sure SSG spending money on mainstream advertising is going to help a 20-year-old niche game either. Tapping into the world of the tabletop gamers who don't usually play a lot of PC games seems to be where SSG might be aiming as seen with some of the newer content creators out there.

 

[nicholas]

From what I can tell when I check out Twitch Streams, there is maybe 1 or 2 streamers who routinely can get more than 10 viewers at once and even more rarely crack 100. Then, if you look more closely, it is folks who already play the game or some bots, etc.... That being said, I am also not too sure SSG spending money on mainstream advertising is going to help a 20-year-old niche game either. Tapping into the world of the tabletop gamers who don't usually play a lot of PC games seems to be where SSG might be aiming as seen with some of the newer content creators out there.

thats a Dumb path to take with an MMORPG

 

[FixBows]

thats a Dumb path to take with an MMORPG

Well, I know that is a new direction as I have seen on Twitch and YouTube that some folks who play this game, and are also involved with other stream formats, are new content creators. I am not saying it is the only direction either, but at least they are trying. To me, backing content creators who only stream to 6-10 current players, or sometimes just to themselves, is more of a 'Dumb path' as you put it.

 

[Christhemiss]

Well, I know that is a new direction as I have seen on Twitch and YouTube that some folks who play this game, and are also involved with other stream formats, are new content creators. I am not saying it is the only direction either, but at least they are trying. To me, backing content creators who only stream to 6-10 current players, or sometimes just to themselves, is more of a 'Dumb path' as you put it.

as a content creator myself, this is why i focus on youtube and long form content rather than streaming. its a lot more impressive to have a video with 600+ views (i have many) than having 5-15 twitch viewers. it also makes it easier to see how well im doing on any video at any time

 

[Solarpower]

So 'Creators and Makers' get president over regular players?

:(

*Just as Gygax imagined it.

Who honestly care ?
A preview for the "wilderness area" ? Sure, this IS the thing all the players are interested in !

also in response to an understanding that some of this video and related content takes time to make

And, actually, what's the point of this exclusive preview ? Yeah, creators can make a video riding around the wilderness area. But... who are going to watch them ?
Like, can you imagine more boring video about DDO then wilderness overview ?

 

[Indyanna]

We got access to the quests all at the same time.

Going to lam is great for testing and trying out so many things. Maybe look at it from that pov. Wanna try a new build and not have to actually TR and level it? Try it on lam.

We will all see the wilderness like a day later. DDO needs creators to spread the content.

Let it be, copy over and have a lil fun while you’re there. I just wish it was open longer as an Aussie with limited play time when it’s up lol

 

[Sylvado]

I can't believe there are people that would actually complain about this.

 

[FaceDancer]

When you don't have much of a budget, a wee bit of guerilla marketing is probably needed at a minimum (Gen Con this year is a good example).

I can wait a day.