Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Eriador Online...
brihtwulf
Member UncommonPosts: 975
I have been in the LotRO beta since December, and I have to say it's a very enjoysble game. I made a few different race/class combinations. The storyline quests are great, and the starting areas are quite nice. I like the look of the graphics a lot; it reminds me a great deal of the look of DDO (only there is a world to explore). My only real complaint is this: YOU CAN ONLY EXPLORE ERIADOR!
The lands of Middle Earth are expansive, and Eriador is only one fraction of the world that includes areas like Rohan and the dreaded Mordor. After the years of development they have put into this game, WHY is it we can only play in one small region of the world? They are calling it Lord of the Rings Online, but you can't even follow the fellowship's progress through the first book! I can't even get beyond the Misty Mountains... And in the character creation, you can be a man from Rohan, but you can't even go there. You can be from Rivendell, but you need to be level 40+ to make it there safely...
I'll still be buying the game, because my wife enjoys playing it a great deal, but I was just sorely disappointed by this aspect. I took my level 10 character and transversed the entire playable world in under an hour. To me, this isn't nearly enough playable land. I can now see why they didn't really feel the need to access to mounts earlier on, as you can go anywhere you want with little travel.
I think the game will do well, but I just can't be satisfied with Eriador Online...
Comments
What I have heard is that the only area available for release will be Eriador.
You were moaning about this in a different thread yesterday...they already said they are adding other areas in the future. Be a little more patient. Play Vanguard if you want a huge world if you can get it to run.
Next time you are in the game look at the map of eraidor and look at how much area isn't in the game yet just for eraidor. They have to save something for the monthly patches. If they gave us all of middle earth at lauch we would have tons of empty area that they will have to fill in. And the whine about lack of content would be bigger and louder. They had to start somewere. They picked what they wanted to start with and are already working on the areas they are going to add.
Look at it this way. When you build a house you have blueprints. But you have to start with the foundation and add on to it. The end result is the house of your dreams that you wanted. It takes time to get it to the end product. Eraidor is the foundation for this game, we need to wait and see what the finished product will be. To me that is more exciting than haveing the whole game world to run around on launch.
People say they will add more areas "in the future"... That doesn't mean anything. You think they will add new zones with their patches? I don't think they will. Even with DDO they only expand their content once every 3-4 months. To say LotRO has sufficient content and space is rediculous. There is not a single MMO I can think of them you can cross the entire playable world in less than an hour. It would be like WoW releasing with only South Kalimdor available for play. That's about the same size area. Even if they add another "zone" to Eriador, it's still tiny. People are going to run into a similar problem that made DDO disastrous when your casual gamer could reach max level within about 4-6 weeks. Other than DDO, I don't think a single MMO out there has a smaller world. And things like "Well, they have said that sometime in the future you can play in different areas" is a poor excuse. How long did it take them to put Dark Elves in DDO? And they STILL haven't added in the monks and druids they promised...
My point is that they took a game with good mechanics and nice graphics and shot themselves in the foot by planning a release that leaves you stuck in one tiny part of the Middle Earth realms. It's just disappointing. Other than fighting random wildlife, the only "bad guys" you're going to find are a few goblins, orcs, and the occasional cave troll...
http://img70.imageshack.us/my.php?image=worldmapgg6.jpg
Eriador alone has 8 zones and 1 battlegroundzone
http://img108.imageshack.us/my.php?image=eriadorrc9.jpg
So later on after release i guess we will slowly see new areas open up and the major important zones such as Rohan,Gondor,Mordor i think will be released as Expansions and not free updates.
I'm not sure how this plan will work out.
In Eriador you have the possibility to level to 50 and then what when new areas open?
Will those new areas just be areas to get new loot?
Or are they forced to make new levels too like other games do?
If they just open new areas where we only can gain new equipments it's pretty booring.
Then it's just WoW all over again where the endgame is getting the best gear as possible.
Personally i think they are forced to open up atleast 1mainzone one or max two months after release(that has 9 minor zones in it like eriador has now) or else people will become boored as level 50's if there only is Eriador to live in.
I think that if i had the patience and didn't start playing before April 2008 i would enjoy the game a lot more when more zones and an expansion has released because having explored most of Eriador,i know that zone is not large enough to keep my interest for a long period.
I love the game but also have some wishes.
A larger world to play in.
More races.
More classes.
More opptions in battlegrounds.
That's my biggest worry.
A somewhat small world,only 4 races and just 7 classes is maybe not enough to keep my interest for a long time,but i hope Turbine pulls it off with their normal updates,patches etc.
___________________________________________
"Many nights, my friend... Many nights I've put a blade to your throat while you were sleeping. Glad I never killed you, Steve. You're alright..."
Chavez y Chavez
You cant really shoot them down for the world size just yet. Like many people are saying they need to leave stuff out for future expansions.
Now i would rather have a smaller part of the world right now and play through that fully 100% without missing any details out of it, rather than having a huge massive world that i will only see parts of in 6 months time. See how that works, im pretty sure it will be there when its needed.
Garrik
________________________________
"once upon a midnight dreary, while i porn surfed, weak and weary, over many a strange and spurious site of 'hot xxx galore'. While i clicked my fav'rite bookmark, suddenly there came a warning, and my heart was filled with mourning, mourning for my dear amour, " 'Tis not possible!", i muttered, "give me back my free hardcore!"..... quoth the server, 404."
Here is an early screenshot of Bree-land
http://i79.imagethrust.com/images/3BuZ/view-image/breeland.html
And now it's this size.
http://img71.imageshack.us/my.php?image=breelandai1.jpg
___________________________________________
It really sounds like you're jumping the gun here.
A few things to remember:
1. The game is still in BETA (not that there will be any zones added before launch, but it is still in BETA.)
2. LOTRO is not a game for people who like to grind their levels and hit the cap faster than anyone else on their server. There's much too much content and quests that would be missed. Actually, this is the first MMO where I can say that I don't even WORRY about leveling, I'm too busy exploring and doing quests. There's plenty of content in the game for release for the average player. Grinders can hit level caps in any game in a few weeks if they want.
3. LOTRO is really hard to compare to DDO... DDO was no where near the level this game is prior to launch. I beta'd it... it was a mess. I think Turbine knows that they're very lucky to have the license and they're much more prepared for this one.
4. I certainly wouldn't want all of Middle Earth in at the launch of the game. You'd have too many people hitting Mordor and all the other cool places as soon as they possibly could. This way, if it's added as content... the world opens up slower to the entire playerbase.
I really think Turbine has done well with this game so far... it's gorgeous to look at, the quests are some of the best I have ever experienced, it's immersive, has a great beta community and is in better shape that some games are that have already been released!
_________________________________
JonMichael
Currently: AION, an MMO Beta under NDA
Played: WAR, LOTRO, Hellgate: London, CoX, GW, SotNW, DAOC, EQ2, SWG, WoW, AO, Horizons, Second Life, There, TSO
Beta'd: There, Second Life, EQ2, DAOC:LotM, LOTRO, Tabula Rasa, Gods and Heroes, Hellgate: London, Requiem:Bloodymare, AoC, WAR, DDO, Fallen Earth
Hm, I am kinda split over this "size matters" question. Playing VG now I see how difficult is is for a company to fill a big world with meaningful content. Much of VG is atm just empty mob space with no feeling or meaning whatsoever, wheras I can imagine any space in Middle Earth is FULL of story and meaning. A game company must stick to the size they are able to fill with their number of Devs and their money. I hope they will add many other parts of Middle Earth following the release.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
Dammit!
Do people just bitch for the sake of bitchn'?
The game hasn't even been released yet. You have absolutely no idea what will be added or won't be.
But to alleviate your concerns, I don't know of any successful major title that has not included an expansion.
So chill out and enjoy what's on your plate now.
I would rather see just Eridor at release and have it chock full of content than have a huge map like Vanguard and SWG and have it empty. There is quite enough in the game now to keep me busy for a couple of hours a night for several months, although I am sure that as happens in most games there will be level 50's by the end of the free 30 screaming there is nothing to do.
saw this after I posted and just had to add QFT, he said it better than I did
I miss DAoC
"Many nights, my friend... Many nights I've put a blade to your throat while you were sleeping. Glad I never killed you, Steve. You're alright..."
Chavez y Chavez
Bah, same people, same complaints.....different thread.
Bah, same people, same complaints.....different thread.
So true bro!
Bah, same people, same complaints.....different thread.
"Many nights, my friend... Many nights I've put a blade to your throat while you were sleeping. Glad I never killed you, Steve. You're alright..."
Chavez y Chavez
Pretty sure they have already stated that they plan to do free content updates just like AC1 and DDO though so I'm not really concerned.
And to reiterate what others have said:
I've been playing this since Beta Phase 1 almost a year ago now. The world has grown steadily over time. They may even get some more regions in before release (though I doubt it). I also played AC1. Turbine is VERY good at adding new content to their games.
I was one of their biggest critics when I first found out they were doing this title. But what I've seen during this beta has turned that around and I am very excited about this releasing. So much so that, as I said, I pre-ordered. Which, by the way, makes this the first game i've pre-ordered since Ultima Online.
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Sig image Pending
Still in: A couple Betas
Moria has -got- to be the first expansion. I need Moria. As soon as possible.
Well anyway, I essentially agree with Elnator.
While I don't think it is necessary, or even completely desirable, to go with outlines of areas to be filled in later, I am going to want to see stuff like the South Farthing, the Far Downs, the Tower Hills, etc.