"I'm not saying Funcom would make a better game, just a better looking game because I think Middle Earth should be a dark gritty place (not saying T and A) and not so clean and ornate like Turbine's version." ~ rodingo
Well, you've apparently never read the stories, then. It should be exactly as it is.
Well actually I have read The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion so nice assumption but wrong. There was nothing in those that would suggest to me that everyone wore bright colored, clean, fancy clothing with Bree looking pristine. If Middle Earth looks like Turbine's vision in your head, so be it. Not in mine.
It still amazes me that people actually let Turbine make a Lotr game. It is very boring, character models are horrible, gameplay is clunky and the voice acting is horrible. I hate saying this because I do not wish bad on anyone but in order for the LOTR license to really make a great impression on the mmo market, Turbine needs to be relieved of this license asap. I'm a Lotr fan and someone else really needs to do the Lotr ip justice. Turbine is just bad.
I have a lifetime membership so I can go back and play everything whenever I want. The thing is that doesn't happen because I don't want to. Every time I go back and try to get into it I just can't.
The very same reasons I stopped playing in the first place, too grindy, power character progression system, travel is tedious, it takes way too long to get somewhere to do something and when you do get there it takes too long to do what you went there to do.
Really what kills LotRO the most is the combat, and the leveling both are far too slow and grindy. If they would address that I could live with the ugly models the other issues.
"I'm not saying Funcom would make a better game, just a better looking game because I think Middle Earth should be a dark gritty place (not saying T and A) and not so clean and ornate like Turbine's version." ~ rodingo
Well, you've apparently never read the stories, then. It should be exactly as it is.
Was about to say the same. Rodingo, keep in mind that you're at start about 6 months behind the Fellowship. By the time you hit chapter 6 in the 'original game' you actually meet the fellowship in Rivendell that's about to set off for Mordor. There's no reason to make Middle-Earth dark & gritty as you want it, because the actual doom is still far away.
If the Ring should fall in the hands of Sauron or Saruman, then we're talking about a complete different setting, one where evil is scourging the land's resources and putting people into slavery. Then we have what you're looking for, but that's not what Tolkien ever has written (or created).
LOTRO has taken up much of my time over the last few years, and much of y money as well. Still playing. I can lead every raid in the game, have thousands of gold, have the best equipment, and am gm max crafted in every craft. But ive seen it dieing. Every patch and upgrade since Rohan has been nothing more then ways to add grind. Grind forces exisiting players that love the game to play more. That's been their entire focus... log in for presents, log in to do daily quests for hours, grind for bounders tokens.. They have lost the ability to have players log into enjoy the game so fall back to just log in to get your stuff done. People get into the habbit of their chores.
Anyway I still play with it a bit but im ready to jump ship and have been looking for a life-boat. Shroud of the Avatar will be my replacement for LOTRO. Google it, check it out, if you like it use my referal id #147 when you sign up! Otherwise.. ill see you on Landroval.. for a little while longer, but nut much longer.
Well , ( not to upset any LoTRO fans ) , this is well deserved.
LOTR games should be in better hands , where turbine has failed pretty hard at making the online version, a big success.
When I first heard of LoTRO, I was SO excited and when I got my beta invite I SO happy....until I logged in. I was very disappointed that they didn't made a game by it's own, other then a copy/paste of WoW .
Anyway , I hope turbine loses his licence and that other company will take it and make a real , real ...REAL MMO , because LOTR fans deserve it. Imagine what and how many things can be made within a MMO game based on the lore.
One could dream ..
Going by the MMOs come out these days, LOTRO is the best LOTR MMO there is going to be. I doubt any body else will do any better.
"I'm not saying Funcom would make a better game, just a better looking game because I think Middle Earth should be a dark gritty place (not saying T and A) and not so clean and ornate like Turbine's version." ~ rodingo
Well, you've apparently never read the stories, then. It should be exactly as it is.
Was about to say the same. Rodingo, keep in mind that you're at start about 6 months behind the Fellowship. By the time you hit chapter 6 in the 'original game' you actually meet the fellowship in Rivendell that's about to set off for Mordor. There's no reason to make Middle-Earth dark & gritty as you want it, because the actual doom is still far away.
If the Ring should fall in the hands of Sauron or Saruman, then we're talking about a complete different setting, one where evil is scourging the land's resources and putting people into slavery. Then we have what you're looking for, but that's not what Tolkien ever has written (or created).
You are mistaking from what I'm saying. "Dark gritty" doesn't mean doom and gloom. The setting of the game and the Lord of the Rings books is well into the history of Middle Earth. Many kingdoms, battles and wars have been fought. Ruins are scattered throughout the land. The intricately crafted items from the dwarves and elves are rare ancient treasures and mostly lost to locations unknown. There are settlements of men that either don't come near the architecture of the eldar races or are ancient ruins that are occupied by all source of creatures. Creatures that have been roaming the world for ages. LOTRO takes place in the Third Age and the Misty Mountains have been swarming with orcs and goblins since the First Age.
So, dark and gritty means just as that. When I picture walking through the streets of Bree, I picture myself wearing a muddy and torn cloak, worn leather boots, and a sword that has many chips and dings in it from fighting for my life out in the wilds and mountains. Maybe even some caked blood from a bandit during an encounter a few nights ago on my scabbard. Yeh, that's mostly the description of Strider that Tolkien writes (minus the blood on the scabbard). That's I how envision the typical adventurer would look. There is also plenty of reasons during that setting and time frame for people to be scared shitless to go wonder out to far into the country side, specially at night, that have nothing to do with Sauron or Mordor. Dark and gritty.
Like I said. If you think Turbine nailed it with their vision, then fine. Just go back and check your source material and notice that there really aren't descriptions of people wearing clean ceremonial clothing to go adventure and fight in the wilds.
I loved the idea of LOTR being an MMO, and I subscribed before the game was F2P but the changeover just killed it for me. I really tried to enjoy the rest of the game, but feeling like I had the store shoved in my face at every chances was just obnoxious, and I was a subscriber.
Full disclosure I haven't played in over a year so things might have changed but when I was playing It got the point where I felt like there was no point in my subbing every month. The package they offered at the time just wasn't worth it in my opinion.
I really would love to see a good company take one of the most amazing IP's ever and make and amazing MMO. Sadly that company won't be turbine/wb.
This game was going to be my new EverQuest when it first released, it was actually the first MMO since EQ that I hit the level cap in. But then the inevitable dumbing down came along, where book and group quests became solo instances, where the raids became a single group instance, then even less than that. I play an MMO because of the players, the games are too simplistic to hold my attention for long periods, it's the players that have me log back in every day. Take that away and LOTRO became like every other modern MMO; a simple solo grind to max level then move on.
Let's be fair: the character models were subpar back when the game first released. Now, they're borderline unacceptable.
I loved this game back during it's early days, but it seemed to just nosedive shortly after the Lothlorien update. At this point I'd much rather another studio try their hand.
Originally posted by IceAge Well , ( not to upset any LoTRO fans ) , this is well deserved.
LOTR games should be in better hands , where turbine has failed pretty hard at making the online version, a big success.
When I first heard of LoTRO, I was SO excited and when I got my beta invite I SO happy....until I logged in. I was very disappointed that they didn't made a game by it's own, other then a copy/paste of WoW .
Anyway , I hope turbine loses his licence and that other company will take it and make a real , real ...REAL MMO , because LOTR fans deserve it. Imagine what and how many things can be made within a MMO game based on the lore.
One could dream ..
I agree. Now is a good time to get our hopes up, transfer that license to someone else's care, and get a fresh, serious start on LOTRO. The whole "let's copy WoW" ship has sailed and sunk. Now, time to get serious with newer solutions.
Seriously, in light of how bad Turbine's version of LOTRO is doing right now, a renewal of that license would make no sense and be utterly ridiculous.
I wait eagerly for more news on this issue.
Waiting for:Citadel of Sorcery. Along the way, The Elder Scrolls Online (when it is F2P).
Keeping an eye on:www.play2crush.com (whatever is going on here).
Originally posted by ThomasN7 It still amazes me that people actually let Turbine make a Lotr game. It is very boring, character models are horrible, gameplay is clunky and the voice acting is horrible. I hate saying this because I do not wish bad on anyone but in order for the LOTR license to really make a great impression on the mmo market, Turbine needs to be relieved of this license asap. I'm a Lotr fan and someone else really needs to do the Lotr ip justice. Turbine is just bad.
Ok so name us a game company that isn't bad! Sheesh!! there aren't that many AAA studios out there and I have heard every one of them badmouthed on these forums.
Make the game yourself if you think you are so clever then.
FFA Nonconsentual Full Loot PvP ...You know you want it!!
Originally posted by Boneserino You guys spend a "LOT" of time waiting eagerly, don't you!
Well, if you expect an MMO to meet certain higher standards before you invest time and money in it, then, yeah, you're probably going to do a bit of waiting as you search for the MMO(s) which are right for you.
Waiting for:Citadel of Sorcery. Along the way, The Elder Scrolls Online (when it is F2P).
Keeping an eye on:www.play2crush.com (whatever is going on here).
I can see MEE's point of view though, it's a valuable IP and it's not their concern if WB don't feel it's justified for them to pay more. Somebody else may well be willing to. Just hope it's not PWE/Cryptic...
I like their games since CoH, but I have to agree on this. Same goes to the earlier mentioned Funcom, love their games, Dreamworld engine is awesome and they have great writers, but... rather not. I still love Turbine's Middle-earth. They should get their sh*t together though, or else they'll falling apart.
Originally posted by Boneserino
You said the game was challenging at the start. I am fairly new to the game. Exactly what did they do to "dumb" it down to my level?
Classes were pumped up, aggro reduced, some mechanics simplified, Inspired greatness, removal of crafting tier quests, added xp gain on everything, riding at lvl20, then riding at lvl5 with f2p, etc... For example, back then the Undying title ment a lot, it was an achievment indeed. Nowadays, unless you're disconnected or have some technical issues during a fight, Undying is almost received automatically.
I get your point Po_og, I can't argue the game is pretty easy from a combat perspective. However I doubt I will receive the Undying title. They lulled me in to being stupid and I have died, so that is gone. Sorry to hear about the crafting quests though. Oh and I have no problem with riding at level 15.
I don't know, I am not an endgame person so those concerns never bother me. I guess I am a glass half full person when it comes to games, whereas most people on these forums seem to be, the glass is completely empty and there is a hole in the bottom type of player. Pretty hard to be satisfied with anything when standards are this high.
FFA Nonconsentual Full Loot PvP ...You know you want it!!
Originally posted by Boneserino You guys spend a "LOT" of time waiting eagerly, don't you!
Well, if you expect an MMO to meet certain higher standards before you invest time and money in it, then, yeah, you're probably going to do a bit of waiting as you search for the MMO(s) which are right for you.
I am waiting for the human race to have higher standards. Pretty sure it will happen in the next six months or so.
Until then I refuse to be human!
J/k
FFA Nonconsentual Full Loot PvP ...You know you want it!!
Originally posted by Boneserino You guys spend a "LOT" of time waiting eagerly, don't you!
Well, if you expect an MMO to meet certain higher standards before you invest time and money in it, then, yeah, you're probably going to do a bit of waiting as you search for the MMO(s) which are right for you.
I am waiting for the human race to have higher standards. Pretty sure it will happen in the next six months or so.
Until then I refuse to be human!
J/k
It's okay. Don't get that pessimistic. I'm just waiting for MMO developers to get higher standards and cultivate fanbases around those higher standards. In other words, I'm ready for a bit of constructive social engineering on the developers' part. After all, as a social creature, humans can be manipulated quite nicely.
Waiting for:Citadel of Sorcery. Along the way, The Elder Scrolls Online (when it is F2P).
Keeping an eye on:www.play2crush.com (whatever is going on here).
this expansion i hope will bring alot of ppls in the game .One of the best pve games out there.I have played more than 6 mmorpg end games.There is a strong community , i suggest you to try it.You will love it.
if this game goes away it will e the greatest travesty of a shutdown since earth & beyond. it is a DAMN good game at its core and does a lot of things 100% right.
the Shire in LOTRO when i visited it for the first time literally brought tears to my eyes. it was so fucking perfect, down to the simple woodwind music.
it is a classic example of big bad company ruins great little game.
When I first saw the bridge in Moria (after fighting my way through too many stationary mobs) I exclaimed to my duo partner.... "Sati...it's the bridge!" ...it was one of those "wow" moments. Had a lot of them in LOTRO. I logged in last night and only 100 people in glff...used to be almost 500.
I miss those roaming nasty shard droppers...the ones that could wipe you out fast. Now there is no danger in open world. You see Devs there has to be a sense of real danger in the world as we explore, The legendary system is all wrong. I want to keep my bow and level it up as I go...not start over. I will see how Helms Deep turns out and then decide on whether to cancel my sub or not.
Just read long post above. Turbine would be VERY wise to scrap the changes to skills....or they will be out looking for new jobs (from what I have read).
its funny how these companies sell Lifetime subscriptions on third party IP games that have a license bound to end a few years later....
Anyway, i hope someone else that its not WB picks up the license and make a better mmo. LOTRO wasnt bad IMO but it had a lot of deal breakers that made me give up every time i tried it.
Classes were pumped up, aggro reduced, some mechanics simplified, Inspired greatness, removal of crafting tier quests, added xp gain on everything, riding at lvl20, then riding at lvl5 with f2p, etc...
Sorry to hear about the crafting quests though. Oh and I have no problem with riding at level 15.
I don't know, I am not an endgame person so those concerns never bother me.
I'm not an endgame one either, I love the story / lore part, exploration and stuff. All those things above were simplified the leveling, even the horses: being on foot until lvl35 in a world with nastier aggro than today... no simple "ride through them mobs" yet (btw. endgame was changed too, like the splitting of the Barrows, or Radiance removal, but that was a wise move imo)
Crafting quests were great, the remove wasn't tested or discussed or needed by the players, similar to the upcoming class changes it was an out-of-the-blue dumbing down move to make the game easier. Since then can you make lvl10 supreme crafters camping at their profession's superior workplace...
Technically they couldn't even remove the quests completely, you still need to visit the trainer for a quick quest. Earlier you were sent to create a masterpiece after every tier, from rare ingredients all around the world involving exploration and huge fights, and if you succeeded they granted you the next tier. Nowadays you just check in: "I'm done with this tier -Ok, go and start the next one". Lame...
Love the game, but wish Turbine releases a "sequel" in the future. I want a true open world Middle Earth, not walled off zones that are too small to be imaginative with the books. Sense of adventure and exploration rather than theme park progression. But I can dream.
Comments
Well actually I have read The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion so nice assumption but wrong. There was nothing in those that would suggest to me that everyone wore bright colored, clean, fancy clothing with Bree looking pristine. If Middle Earth looks like Turbine's vision in your head, so be it. Not in mine.
"If I offended you, you needed it" -Corey Taylor
I have a lifetime membership so I can go back and play everything whenever I want. The thing is that doesn't happen because I don't want to. Every time I go back and try to get into it I just can't.
The very same reasons I stopped playing in the first place, too grindy, power character progression system, travel is tedious, it takes way too long to get somewhere to do something and when you do get there it takes too long to do what you went there to do.
Really what kills LotRO the most is the combat, and the leveling both are far too slow and grindy. If they would address that I could live with the ugly models the other issues.
Was about to say the same. Rodingo, keep in mind that you're at start about 6 months behind the Fellowship. By the time you hit chapter 6 in the 'original game' you actually meet the fellowship in Rivendell that's about to set off for Mordor. There's no reason to make Middle-Earth dark & gritty as you want it, because the actual doom is still far away.
If the Ring should fall in the hands of Sauron or Saruman, then we're talking about a complete different setting, one where evil is scourging the land's resources and putting people into slavery. Then we have what you're looking for, but that's not what Tolkien ever has written (or created).
The MOBA isn't dead
LOTRO has taken up much of my time over the last few years, and much of y money as well. Still playing. I can lead every raid in the game, have thousands of gold, have the best equipment, and am gm max crafted in every craft. But ive seen it dieing. Every patch and upgrade since Rohan has been nothing more then ways to add grind. Grind forces exisiting players that love the game to play more. That's been their entire focus... log in for presents, log in to do daily quests for hours, grind for bounders tokens.. They have lost the ability to have players log into enjoy the game so fall back to just log in to get your stuff done. People get into the habbit of their chores.
Anyway I still play with it a bit but im ready to jump ship and have been looking for a life-boat. Shroud of the Avatar will be my replacement for LOTRO. Google it, check it out, if you like it use my referal id #147 when you sign up! Otherwise.. ill see you on Landroval.. for a little while longer, but nut much longer.
Going by the MMOs come out these days, LOTRO is the best LOTR MMO there is going to be. I doubt any body else will do any better.
Star Trek Online - Best Free MMORPG of 2012
You are mistaking from what I'm saying. "Dark gritty" doesn't mean doom and gloom. The setting of the game and the Lord of the Rings books is well into the history of Middle Earth. Many kingdoms, battles and wars have been fought. Ruins are scattered throughout the land. The intricately crafted items from the dwarves and elves are rare ancient treasures and mostly lost to locations unknown. There are settlements of men that either don't come near the architecture of the eldar races or are ancient ruins that are occupied by all source of creatures. Creatures that have been roaming the world for ages. LOTRO takes place in the Third Age and the Misty Mountains have been swarming with orcs and goblins since the First Age.
So, dark and gritty means just as that. When I picture walking through the streets of Bree, I picture myself wearing a muddy and torn cloak, worn leather boots, and a sword that has many chips and dings in it from fighting for my life out in the wilds and mountains. Maybe even some caked blood from a bandit during an encounter a few nights ago on my scabbard. Yeh, that's mostly the description of Strider that Tolkien writes (minus the blood on the scabbard). That's I how envision the typical adventurer would look. There is also plenty of reasons during that setting and time frame for people to be scared shitless to go wonder out to far into the country side, specially at night, that have nothing to do with Sauron or Mordor. Dark and gritty.
Like I said. If you think Turbine nailed it with their vision, then fine. Just go back and check your source material and notice that there really aren't descriptions of people wearing clean ceremonial clothing to go adventure and fight in the wilds.
"If I offended you, you needed it" -Corey Taylor
I loved the idea of LOTR being an MMO, and I subscribed before the game was F2P but the changeover just killed it for me. I really tried to enjoy the rest of the game, but feeling like I had the store shoved in my face at every chances was just obnoxious, and I was a subscriber.
Full disclosure I haven't played in over a year so things might have changed but when I was playing It got the point where I felt like there was no point in my subbing every month. The package they offered at the time just wasn't worth it in my opinion.
I really would love to see a good company take one of the most amazing IP's ever and make and amazing MMO. Sadly that company won't be turbine/wb.
This game was going to be my new EverQuest when it first released, it was actually the first MMO since EQ that I hit the level cap in. But then the inevitable dumbing down came along, where book and group quests became solo instances, where the raids became a single group instance, then even less than that. I play an MMO because of the players, the games are too simplistic to hold my attention for long periods, it's the players that have me log back in every day. Take that away and LOTRO became like every other modern MMO; a simple solo grind to max level then move on.
When will the developers ever learn?
Let's be fair: the character models were subpar back when the game first released. Now, they're borderline unacceptable.
I loved this game back during it's early days, but it seemed to just nosedive shortly after the Lothlorien update. At this point I'd much rather another studio try their hand.
I agree. Now is a good time to get our hopes up, transfer that license to someone else's care, and get a fresh, serious start on LOTRO. The whole "let's copy WoW" ship has sailed and sunk. Now, time to get serious with newer solutions.
Seriously, in light of how bad Turbine's version of LOTRO is doing right now, a renewal of that license would make no sense and be utterly ridiculous.
I wait eagerly for more news on this issue.
Waiting for: Citadel of Sorcery. Along the way, The Elder Scrolls Online (when it is F2P).
Keeping an eye on: www.play2crush.com (whatever is going on here).
FFA Nonconsentual Full Loot PvP ...You know you want it!!
Ok so name us a game company that isn't bad! Sheesh!! there aren't that many AAA studios out there and I have heard every one of them badmouthed on these forums.
Make the game yourself if you think you are so clever then.
FFA Nonconsentual Full Loot PvP ...You know you want it!!
Well, if you expect an MMO to meet certain higher standards before you invest time and money in it, then, yeah, you're probably going to do a bit of waiting as you search for the MMO(s) which are right for you.
Waiting for: Citadel of Sorcery. Along the way, The Elder Scrolls Online (when it is F2P).
Keeping an eye on: www.play2crush.com (whatever is going on here).
I get your point Po_og, I can't argue the game is pretty easy from a combat perspective. However I doubt I will receive the Undying title. They lulled me in to being stupid and I have died, so that is gone. Sorry to hear about the crafting quests though. Oh and I have no problem with riding at level 15.
I don't know, I am not an endgame person so those concerns never bother me. I guess I am a glass half full person when it comes to games, whereas most people on these forums seem to be, the glass is completely empty and there is a hole in the bottom type of player. Pretty hard to be satisfied with anything when standards are this high.
FFA Nonconsentual Full Loot PvP ...You know you want it!!
I am waiting for the human race to have higher standards. Pretty sure it will happen in the next six months or so.
Until then I refuse to be human!
J/k
FFA Nonconsentual Full Loot PvP ...You know you want it!!
Waiting for: Citadel of Sorcery. Along the way, The Elder Scrolls Online (when it is F2P).
Keeping an eye on: www.play2crush.com (whatever is going on here).
When I first saw the bridge in Moria (after fighting my way through too many stationary mobs) I exclaimed to my duo partner....
"Sati...it's the bridge!" ...it was one of those "wow" moments. Had a lot of them in LOTRO. I logged in last night and only 100 people in glff...used to be almost 500.
I miss those roaming nasty shard droppers...the ones that could wipe you out fast. Now there is no danger in open world. You see Devs there has to be a sense of real danger in the world as we explore, The legendary system is all wrong. I want to keep my bow and level it up as I go...not start over. I will see how Helms Deep turns out and then decide on whether to cancel my sub or not.
Just read long post above. Turbine would be VERY wise to scrap the changes to skills....or they will be out looking for new jobs (from what I have read).
its funny how these companies sell Lifetime subscriptions on third party IP games that have a license bound to end a few years later....
Anyway, i hope someone else that its not WB picks up the license and make a better mmo. LOTRO wasnt bad IMO but it had a lot of deal breakers that made me give up every time i tried it.
I'm not an endgame one either, I love the story / lore part, exploration and stuff. All those things above were simplified the leveling, even the horses: being on foot until lvl35 in a world with nastier aggro than today... no simple "ride through them mobs" yet
(btw. endgame was changed too, like the splitting of the Barrows, or Radiance removal, but that was a wise move imo)
Crafting quests were great, the remove wasn't tested or discussed or needed by the players, similar to the upcoming class changes it was an out-of-the-blue dumbing down move to make the game easier. Since then can you make lvl10 supreme crafters camping at their profession's superior workplace...
Technically they couldn't even remove the quests completely, you still need to visit the trainer for a quick quest. Earlier you were sent to create a masterpiece after every tier, from rare ingredients all around the world involving exploration and huge fights, and if you succeeded they granted you the next tier. Nowadays you just check in: "I'm done with this tier -Ok, go and start the next one". Lame...