Will LOTR be similiar to D&D (all instanced) ?

admriker444

I gotta say I was quite disappointed in D&D with all the instancing. It just doesnt feel like a mmorpg to me. And there's not much else to the game besides grouping in instances.

Since D&D and LOTR are being developed at the same time, I have a great fear that Turbine will make LOTR similiar in design. I sure hope not cause frankly D&D stinks

warfarin

The faq is here and talks a little about it: (not sure if it still applies)

What is instance technology? How is it used?

We're using instancing in two basic ways in the game.  As has become more common in other MMO's, instances place Fellowships (parties) in an environment that is private to them, so we can craft a compelling adventure that will not be interrupted or interfered with by other players.  We have also developed a more complex use of layered instancing, to "change the world" as part of special moments in the story.  In layered instances, the player will encounter an area that during the course of a series of adventures will be forever altered in the "public" persistent world.  For example, an attack on a town might result in the town being consumed in flames during a battle – returning to the town later, the player will discover the buildings are burnt to ashes.  This will remain the open, public world from that point on for any player that had experienced those events in the game. We'll explain this exciting mode of gameplay in further detail in the future.

How much is it used?

The majority of the game will occur in open, persistent scape.  We anticipate 10-20% of the world will be instanced in one fashion or another.

AlienShirt

Have had the oppurtunity to play DDO since mid-alpha test I sure hope LOTRO is NOTHING like DDO at all. DDO is another Turbine disappointment like AC2 was. I am hoping LOTRO is Turbines next AC1. If not...they need to call it quits and not make anohter game.

ironore

Wait a minute, did I get that right? If a town gets burned during a quest or instance or whatever those that experienced it can see those changes thereafter but others can't? That is CRAZY!!! You will be talking to one player about how that town burnt down and they will be all confused cuz it didn't happen for them yet. It is like having multiple realities. What happened to the shared reality? You might as well play a single-player game or just a multiplayer game for a few people like your immediate party. This is the whole problem with instancing, now they are just instancing things on the 'actual' game map. A whole new low. This kills many other aspects of the RPG experience. What is needed is a game where REAL change can take place on the map for EVERYONE at the same time. This would be a dynamic world. What is being aimed for here is just an overlapping single player game where you can hook up with some people playing the same game in their own separate reality version of the game-world. I suppose the only point of the actual game-world that is different for everyone is a sort of glorified chat-room where you can meet other people to play these individual instances and separate realities with. This is of course so that it can say MMO on the box. We've been had! Go on over to the developers corner and see if we can't change the sad direction all the newest titles are headed.

warfarin

As I read this and eventually posted a copy of here I thought that these guys must not have thought this out, or maybe I don't understand it fully.  Because it almost sounds like the post before, it sounds like they says that if I go with a group and our small village is destroy and later go back with a  different group to me the village will be destroyed but to them it will be standing and they will want to explore it.  It is an odd idea of instancing.  Maybe the more info to come later will explain what they really mean.

I am watching this game close becuase I am not really sure what to expect.  At every turn the good seems to have some bad point to it.  No long runing distances, but no real explanation why you dont need to run those distances.  Less instance but character specific instance zones, so you effect the world around you but not others - well then you are not really effecting the world.

So there is a lot of potential but still not sure what to think, just need to watch it some more I guess.

Now if on launch there is a wall being built around the castle and a month later when a  big patch comes out that wall is 100 meters longer and 3 stories tall then that would be cool.  Something that grows and changes with a game even if is not daily would help keep things fresh.

Slaggg

The event described by the Devs occurs at the end of the Human newbie orientation area, just after you are let out into the open newb area proper.  Anyone who is a Human will have gone through that first Bandit quest which culminates in the partial destruction of the town.  Anyone that is not a Human will not have access to the main Human newb area.

That first quest will be instanced and once you complete it, the impact you had will be seen as you are let out into the world.  I can see this sort of thing happening in other areas.  Say, you get to the Gates of Moria, and you've been tossed around by the Watcher and he takes down the mountain blocking the gates to you.  Does this happen for all of the other players?  No, it'll be so for you and change how you go about your quest.  I don't see much wrong with that, as there are subtle other such things that happen in other MMOs.  My example there is probably pretty extreme and won't happen but you can see why it wouldn't be a good idea for that kind of dynamic impact to be in effect.  If it were, then Moria would be closed to everyone till the expansion came out allowing players to move beyond the Misty Mountains and enter Moria from the back way to finish their quest.

MMOs with such dynamic real-time player impact cease to be MMOs and become world simulators.  Not much game fun in a world simulator.

ironore

MMO just means lots of players.  RPG means playing a role (not a class).  A 'world simulator' as you call it can both be massively multiplayer and can actually promote a variety of roles that can actually be played.  This is of course if the design is well thought out.

Unfortunately MMORPG already means what it means as applied to these games that more and more simply resemble online action games that have a large community for finding people to play with.  All these scripted quests and instanced dungeouns and contrived story lines aren't RPG.

I suppose if anyone ever really came up with an MMORPG they would have to call it something else like a 'world simulator' in which there could be plenty of dynamic game fun.  In such a game if something changes it changes for everyone and affects the world.  If a dungeon gets blocked it is blocked, and probably for good reason.  However change goes both ways.  If the players really want to get back in there then they simply unblock it.  A game like that isn't over once you have done all the pre-programmed content and finished grinding to the max level.

Then again it might not work for a predetermined world like MiddleEarth.  They ought to just change things as it progresses through history and let the players participate in those epic events.  Unfortunately they won't do this either, the whole thing takes place at a specific point in time so the only things that can really happen are things they make up that have nothing to do with the story.  I mean players aren't going to be in the fellowship so why set it at that time?  There were lots of other interesting events in the history of Middle Earth that could be participated in.

Maggon

As i get it, it will be like that if an villiage is attaqcked in the Public area and will stand to get into flames it will get burned down and later when you return to that village its properly burned down, also for others. That was how i got it really:/