Been playing this game since the open beta started, and i must say, this is one the most boring and plain out dull games thats coming out to date. Graphically, it looks very nice, but thats where it all goes down hill, for me at least. This game makes alot of it's fellow genre games look like masterpieces. There's nothing new with this game, that hasn't been done over a thousand times before. The character customization is plain out dull and uninspiring. The combat animations are slow and not very good, and even though the world looks to be very big and spacious, it lacks the overall threatning enviroment of danger around every turn. The creatures you encounter are not very canon to what the LOTR really is about, and just lacks any type of true feeling that was portraid in the movies. The game just doesn't feel like your playing in the LOTR world at all, and this game is more linear gameplay than even WOW. Overall i just can't see this game holding alot of people for to long. This is not a rant, just my take on the game.
1. The game is based on the books not the movies
2. The hook of LOTRO is the epic storyline ( imo ), the fact that a major MMO has a questline/storyline that takes you from level 1 to 50 is something new.
3. Other than the 2 above, it is ( just another MMO ) i would agree, if the story doesn't hook you, then look at it as you would any average MMO out there.
The story is really the difference for me. Playing an MMO and not worrying or caring what my level is, is something i have never experienced and always wanted to.
2. The hook of LOTRO is the epic storyline ( imo ), the fact that a major MMO has a questline/storyline that takes you from level 1 to 50 is something new.
The story is really the difference for me. Playing an MMO and not worrying or caring what my level is, is something i have never experienced and always wanted to.
-Allegria
I agree fully on this. There are plenty of MMO's who have had a SIMILAR structure(Guild Wars certainly has an overarcing storyline as you advance.. but it barely has other MMO elements supporting it =P), but I think LOTRO has really done a great job with the main quest line. To me, it is so much more fun to group up with people and "grow up" together advancing the story. Rather than everyone grind to 50/60/70 and then put on 40man raids at a giant monster every Monday night. Tuesdays we can zerg the BG's.. Wednesday we can pharm some gold =P
I am sure we gotta wait a bit to see how the end game of LOTRO shapes up before I can fully take stabs at WoW, but I think the system is exponentially better
Well on April the 24th i am sure the massive amount of pre-orders Lord of the rings has seen in America and Europe will certainly help it on its way.
The Box Sales and Subscription numbers will speak for themselves in time i am sure whether for good or ill.
Personally, LOTRO is one of the most content heavy and polished closed betas i have ever had the pleasure of being invited too and i think personally that this game will do very very well with three main concerns...
1. Turbine must get behind this game fully and commit to constant increases in patched in additional content and ultimately explansion packs as on release middle earth is limited to Eriador. (Albeit a very large Eriador). On release i have no doubt its subscrription numbers will be high, but Turbine need to maintain the momentum i believe they will have to sustain the health of middle earth for its players and ultimately subscribers.
2. Stick true to their original design principles and promises, which are some of the most solid i have seen from an MMORPG developer in a long while...they have certainly maitained a very highly customer feedback driven project where possible and i think this is hard to refute.
3. Depending on release is their server infrastructure prepared and load balanced to handle a larger than expected demand to avoid detraction of that first time play experience.
I think the initial success of LOTRO will be excellent basically due to the fact that Turbine for good or ill have taken alot of Blizzardian design methods and added there own ideas and flourish. They are releasing the "Building Blocks" of a title with potential in my opinion....
1. Solid Graphics engine that scales well on multiple levels of hardware including alot of advanced graphical features available too todays Graphics hardware.
2. Solid Release Code to maximise first impressions on the market and playability for subscribers. Polished and tested mechanics no matter how basic or advanced they appear what is there is solid with no "Gamebreaking" bugs to resolve.
3. Good if somewhat small touches and innovations that are genuinely exciting to experience for the first time. Excellent Emotes, Music System, Smart Individual and Fellowship based instancing, Quick load times due to Clever use of Zoning and Instancing, Good Scripting of NPC's which make the world feel alive.
Of course all this is in my opinion and i thank you for listening.
On a final note if i was an average jo public gamer and i had the choice of an Online game that offered mind blowing complex Roleplaying and Economy mechanics (SWG for example) but was marred and tragically flawed by unoptimized code, a stretched engine operating in an irratic fashion, performance related issues that required advanced tweaking to irradicate and didnt play well with my hardware, or on the other hand an Online game that whilst starting small and basic in its design elements with capability to expand but offered a great implementation of solid code, graphics and playability with an almost out of the box ability to play and enjoy then i must say i would take the latter because it is offering what i believe are the core principles of any game design and building blocks upon which later complex mechanics and player features can (Depending on the complexity of the code) can be built.
Of course these are my opinions and thanks for listening. I wish all those whom find this implementation of middle earth is not for them the best of luck in finding an Online game to suit you and warm regards.
I think Turbine will certainly stay behind it 100% and give us great free content in the meantime, and giant expansions.. I wouldn't even mind seeing the adventure pack type business model that EQ2 used.. like $5-10 for a new region to be added. If it seems that you don't have any interest going there, then don't buy
I have to agree somewhat. I've only played the game for a few hours today, got my character to level 10 but I think I've got a decent idea of the feel of the game. Clearly they looked heavily to Warcraft and based alot of their game elements on it. They also looked at their previous works, namely Asherons Call 2, and tried to take some of those concepts and improve on them in this title. Pros:
Plentiful idle animations for NPC use (widdling, resting, fishing, etc..) Well scripted instances to make the newbie experience interesting, lots of lore and name dropping. Brush with key characters. Fast respawn for noobie experience Variety of helms and detailed armor right off the bat. Nice player made music system Group based tallents that benefit the entire party. Horse based taxi system. Rendered cut-scenes with narratives using in-game engine. Using a skill so many times rewards you with a skill bonus to that ability.
Cons:
No stats, advancment is only through item upgrades and leveling up to buy new skills. In some way the perks of reusing a skill function as advancment upgrades but these are long term goals through grinding if you make it an active goal.They're called traits. They give stats, and you earn them by performing deeds. One example being to complete x quests in y region. Lack of definable facial features, everyone pretty much looks alike sans the armor. One face with subtle elements to change it make hair style the only really definable feature.Yes, and I had to face my char it would matter. But I don't. Most body textures conform to a bloby player body, no deffinition of hips or arms. Player looks like he's made of clay. This is where Turbine always drops the ball for me. Their player character always have too much detail in the textures implying depth but it's plastered to the body-suite of the base model. It gives the characters a strange poser look, and the lack of detail makes everyone look like mr generic elf male, or mr generic elf female.The dwarves and hobbits look nothing, nothing at all like elves, male or female. Busy UI, so much fillitry and design in the UI that I can't tell icons from borders without looking hard. At first glance at the UI I had to take inventory to figure out where the buttons were, the UI is just a bit too busy, and while this might not be an issue later as I grow accustomed to it, I dislike the lack in consistancy in what icons represent tabs. Example being the deeds window using 8 unique icons up top colored for the areas in the game while the player character sheet uses tabs of another sort. Etc.Variety is the spice of life. Collection quests galore, this might be a pro but I feel like giving me 1000 collection quests so early forces me to feel like I have too many goals too early and am overwhelmed. Most of these are just rewarded with titles while others abilities. I could not easily discern which was which. The deeds tab seems to function like a collection quest teasing you with a reward of +1 something if you do all the quests or find all the Points of Interest in a zone. I was overwhelmed with so many diverse goals. I needed more structure so early in the game.One approach is to use the level and color coding to prioritize. Another is to take the top one first... it really doesn't matter. Choice is a key part of this game, allowing you to play as you wish. No clear lead to the NPC you need to find. Thankfuly the zones are fairly small and boxed in nicely but being told to find a NPC with a fantasy name and given little to go on as to where heis had me running around alot looking for the ring icon on my map.An issue for a lot of people although many like it this way. Directions are being clarified and improved as part of the beta process. Did you /bug the problem quests? Ass-tastic terrain textures in the snow, which is a big portion of the game. I gotta say Tubine did a good job on the forest/fields but the snow was worse then the snow in AC2. Depends on what you had turned on. Were you using the high-res files, or the download standard files? Title driven collection quests. I could care less if I'm Arioc the Just, Arioc the Flirty or Arioc the Whimsical I need to feel like my character is developing and a pallet of titles just dosn't interest me. Especilly since it's a fuff thing that dosn't give me much variety.It gives a LOT of variety. Slug smasher? Indomitable? Again choice, you don't have to go earn a title, and if you are so unlucky as to be awarded one, you don't have to use it. Delicate details in the enviornment and characters. I know not everyone likes WoW or Oblivions art style but things read well from a distance, while in this game I often felt things were busy, flat or too dull till I was right upon them. There was very little radial flora in some areas with a very flat looking grass texture, while others had it in abundence. Clearly the enviornment artists put alot of time into some areas and left others bland and untouched. Unfortunatly those bland and untouched ares were some I saw very early in the game and along the roads. For all the bells and whistles the terrain looked kinda low polygone with all the hard edges I saw. The terrain looked over-optomized (poly-wise), exposing alot of flat surfaces and such.You can't have it both ways. High poly=slow play. They chose moderate counts (though higher poly count than WoW, but much lower than VG) so that it does look good and runs well on older machines. I don't know what equipment you played with, you didn't say, but you ARE missing something.
This is not to say the game is bad, simply that I am a jaded SOB who can't help but notice these things having played so many RPG's and MMO's and being a dev myself. THe typical user will probably never notice some of the art stuff I pointed out and be far more accepting. Overall I was a bit sad, half of me loved alot of the details like the npc emotes, they really made the world feel alive. But the other half of me hated all the fascade houses I couldn't walk into, the lack of interiors without it being a zone line. I wanna walk into a doorway, not zone into a 1 room house. Again, that makes the game much harder for machines to deal with, and you seem limited already. I feel this game is too "video-game"ey for me. More exposed game mechanics, more score-boards, more like a console game and less like an immursive world which is what I personaly crave from an MMO. Preferances vary greatly on this among us MMO players so I am in no way saying this game is bad, nor great. Just that is isn't my taste in what I want at this time. After playing WoW for so many years I'm looking for a more immursive world like Oblivion then a video game with a score-board. I find the game thoroughly immersive, and do not understand about the scoreboard. -Arioc
Very interesting reading and some very well laid out points to consider. But I wonder if folks made it to the first instance? The barrows , played in a fellowship? Got involved in a Kinship? Had pals that they were playing with or just played through the quest lines without reading the story behind the back drop?
While the begining area is purely tutorial and confining, once you move beyond that area there is alot there.
As far as enviroens, i saw grass swaying in the wind, leaves falling from trees, clouds moving, wolves howling , bears go to water areas.
Some of the quests that weren't combat were alot of fun to me. From the gather this that the other, find nodes and being albe to bend down see the animation and pick up something was also nice. Another plus was the polish. While it has the feel of been there done that most of the quests not only worked but credit was properly given when finished. While turely this offering may not fit alot of hard core folks that love pvp, there is still fun to be had with what it does offer.
As stated before, i do hope you all find something you love to play and something else in the near future captures your fancy for a while.
I dunno, after following around Legalizepot, Toreador, Psychobob(at least he spelled psycho right), Cpugeek, and others, I somehow think immersion is a foregone conclusion.
And if that doesn't do it for you, the conversation on ingame gay marriage in general chat certainly sparked a lively debate.
I totally agree, I dont feel either it's like the movies or the books for that matter. If you ask me, Im pretty sure this will be the follower to MxO, wait and see
I agree. Also, this game IS WoW. It was a good idea to get the LotR name because LOTR rocks; however, I don't like the immature setting associated with this game at all. You can already tell it will be a kid game. They should of just went skill based instead off level based!
Originally posted by Stellos Originally posted by jerkson I totally agree, I dont feel either it's like the movies or the books for that matter. If you ask me, Im pretty sure this will be the follower to MxO, wait and see
I agree. Also, this game IS WoW. It was a good idea to get the LotR name because LOTR rocks; however, I don't like the immature setting associated with this game at all. You can already tell it will be a kid game. They should of just went skill based instead off level based! Oh, so I wasnt the only one who noticed the.... Strange... Feeling of WoW cloning then.
Well, then again I believe people should've learned by now: Good movies / books never make good games.
Heck it works the other way around too.
With Stargate at hand too one might consider letting Uwe Boll produce a MMO just to put the final nail in the coffin for all game/movie relations.
Played so far: 9Dragons, AO, AC, AC2, CoX, DAoC, DF, DnL, DR, DDO, Ent, EvE, EQ, EQ2, FoMK, FFO, Fury, GW, HG:L, HZ, L1, L2, M59, MU, NC1, NC2, PS, PT, R:O, RF:O, RYL, Ryzom, SL, SB, SW:G, TR, TCoS, MX:O, UO, VG, WAR, WoW... It all sucked.
I dunno, after following around Legalizepot, Toreador, Psychobob(at least he spelled psycho right), Cpugeek, and others, I somehow think immersion is a foregone conclusion. And if that doesn't do it for you, the conversation on ingame gay marriage in general chat certainly sparked a lively debate.
To be fair cold, as far as many MMORPG's have an unmoderated general channel this can happen in any game. And certainly has happened in many games across the genre.
Also naming conventions differ from MMORPG to MMORPG however ALL have there fair share of names that some players whom like immersion and roleplay would maybe consider a little rediculous.
I see your point and its a good one to make, but those items are potential immersion breakers in ANY MMORPG which i believe is my point. Certainly they did not start nor are they confined too Lord of the rings online.
I totally agree, I dont feel either it's like the movies or the books for that matter. If you ask me, Im pretty sure this will be the follower to MxO, wait and see
I agree. Also, this game IS WoW. It was a good idea to get the LotR name because LOTR rocks; however, I don't like the immature setting associated with this game at all. You can already tell it will be a kid game. They should of just went skill based instead off level based!
Yes.. any game that uses a normal leveling system, has quests, multiple bags, potions, etc, etc is unoriginal and probably copying WoW.
I really wish people would get over the fact that Blizzard found a good formula(that borrows from many many previous games in the first place) and it is in the limelight right now. LOTRO really does not feel like WoW at all. It doesn't feel like D&D:O at all. It is its own freaking game. There are only a finite amount of features and specifications, and they have likely been done many times before.
Comments
1. The game is based on the books not the movies
2. The hook of LOTRO is the epic storyline ( imo ), the fact that a major MMO has a questline/storyline that takes you from level 1 to 50 is something new.
3. Other than the 2 above, it is ( just another MMO ) i would agree, if the story doesn't hook you, then look at it as you would any average MMO out there.
The story is really the difference for me. Playing an MMO and not worrying or caring what my level is, is something i have never experienced and always wanted to.
-Allegria
I agree fully on this. There are plenty of MMO's who have had a SIMILAR structure(Guild Wars certainly has an overarcing storyline as you advance.. but it barely has other MMO elements supporting it =P), but I think LOTRO has really done a great job with the main quest line. To me, it is so much more fun to group up with people and "grow up" together advancing the story. Rather than everyone grind to 50/60/70 and then put on 40man raids at a giant monster every Monday night. Tuesdays we can zerg the BG's.. Wednesday we can pharm some gold =P
I am sure we gotta wait a bit to see how the end game of LOTRO shapes up before I can fully take stabs at WoW, but I think the system is exponentially better
--
psyconius Cthulhu
Gothika Studios
Well on April the 24th i am sure the massive amount of pre-orders Lord of the rings has seen in America and Europe will certainly help it on its way.
The Box Sales and Subscription numbers will speak for themselves in time i am sure whether for good or ill.
Personally, LOTRO is one of the most content heavy and polished closed betas i have ever had the pleasure of being invited too and i think personally that this game will do very very well with three main concerns...
1. Turbine must get behind this game fully and commit to constant increases in patched in additional content and ultimately explansion packs as on release middle earth is limited to Eriador. (Albeit a very large Eriador). On release i have no doubt its subscrription numbers will be high, but Turbine need to maintain the momentum i believe they will have to sustain the health of middle earth for its players and ultimately subscribers.
2. Stick true to their original design principles and promises, which are some of the most solid i have seen from an MMORPG developer in a long while...they have certainly maitained a very highly customer feedback driven project where possible and i think this is hard to refute.
3. Depending on release is their server infrastructure prepared and load balanced to handle a larger than expected demand to avoid detraction of that first time play experience.
I think the initial success of LOTRO will be excellent basically due to the fact that Turbine for good or ill have taken alot of Blizzardian design methods and added there own ideas and flourish. They are releasing the "Building Blocks" of a title with potential in my opinion....
1. Solid Graphics engine that scales well on multiple levels of hardware including alot of advanced graphical features available too todays Graphics hardware.
2. Solid Release Code to maximise first impressions on the market and playability for subscribers. Polished and tested mechanics no matter how basic or advanced they appear what is there is solid with no "Gamebreaking" bugs to resolve.
3. Good if somewhat small touches and innovations that are genuinely exciting to experience for the first time. Excellent Emotes, Music System, Smart Individual and Fellowship based instancing, Quick load times due to Clever use of Zoning and Instancing, Good Scripting of NPC's which make the world feel alive.
Of course all this is in my opinion and i thank you for listening.
On a final note if i was an average jo public gamer and i had the choice of an Online game that offered mind blowing complex Roleplaying and Economy mechanics (SWG for example) but was marred and tragically flawed by unoptimized code, a stretched engine operating in an irratic fashion, performance related issues that required advanced tweaking to irradicate and didnt play well with my hardware, or on the other hand an Online game that whilst starting small and basic in its design elements with capability to expand but offered a great implementation of solid code, graphics and playability with an almost out of the box ability to play and enjoy then i must say i would take the latter because it is offering what i believe are the core principles of any game design and building blocks upon which later complex mechanics and player features can (Depending on the complexity of the code) can be built.
Of course these are my opinions and thanks for listening. I wish all those whom find this implementation of middle earth is not for them the best of luck in finding an Online game to suit you and warm regards.
For all the others, see you in middle earth.
Mag
I think Turbine will certainly stay behind it 100% and give us great free content in the meantime, and giant expansions.. I wouldn't even mind seeing the adventure pack type business model that EQ2 used.. like $5-10 for a new region to be added. If it seems that you don't have any interest going there, then don't buy
See you in ME
--
psyconius Cthulhu
Gothika Studios
I'll have to agree with most of the posters in this. WHen i tried the game 2 or 3 months ago, i instantly knew it was not for me.
Why is there a nazgul on my ass? What the hell is this?.... and so on.
eqnext.wikia.com
While the begining area is purely tutorial and confining, once you move beyond that area there is alot there.
As far as enviroens, i saw grass swaying in the wind, leaves falling from trees, clouds moving, wolves howling , bears go to water areas.
Some of the quests that weren't combat were alot of fun to me. From the gather this that the other, find nodes and being albe to bend down see the animation and pick up something was also nice. Another plus was the polish. While it has the feel of been there done that most of the quests not only worked but credit was properly given when finished. While turely this offering may not fit alot of hard core folks that love pvp, there is still fun to be had with what it does offer.
As stated before, i do hope you all find something you love to play and something else in the near future captures your fancy for a while.
I dunno, after following around Legalizepot, Toreador, Psychobob(at least he spelled psycho right), Cpugeek, and others, I somehow think immersion is a foregone conclusion.
And if that doesn't do it for you, the conversation on ingame gay marriage in general chat certainly sparked a lively debate.
Oh, so I wasnt the only one who noticed the.... Strange... Feeling of WoW cloning then.
Well, then again I believe people should've learned by now:
Good movies / books never make good games.
Heck it works the other way around too.
With Stargate at hand too one might consider letting Uwe Boll produce a MMO just to put the final nail in the coffin for all game/movie relations.
Played so far: 9Dragons, AO, AC, AC2, CoX, DAoC, DF, DnL, DR, DDO, Ent, EvE, EQ, EQ2, FoMK, FFO, Fury, GW, HG:L, HZ, L1, L2, M59, MU, NC1, NC2, PS, PT, R:O, RF:O, RYL, Ryzom, SL, SB, SW:G, TR, TCoS, MX:O, UO, VG, WAR, WoW...
It all sucked.
To be fair cold, as far as many MMORPG's have an unmoderated general channel this can happen in any game. And certainly has happened in many games across the genre.
Also naming conventions differ from MMORPG to MMORPG however ALL have there fair share of names that some players whom like immersion and roleplay would maybe consider a little rediculous.
I see your point and its a good one to make, but those items are potential immersion breakers in ANY MMORPG which i believe is my point. Certainly they did not start nor are they confined too Lord of the rings online.
Regards
Mag
Yes.. any game that uses a normal leveling system, has quests, multiple bags, potions, etc, etc is unoriginal and probably copying WoW.
I really wish people would get over the fact that Blizzard found a good formula(that borrows from many many previous games in the first place) and it is in the limelight right now. LOTRO really does not feel like WoW at all. It doesn't feel like D&D:O at all. It is its own freaking game. There are only a finite amount of features and specifications, and they have likely been done many times before.
--
psyconius Cthulhu
Gothika Studios