Those are all just small things, and it doesn't set Lotro apart.
The quests, combat, crafting and for a large part character building (You know, the things that Lotro is all about) don't have a shred of originality in it. Its the same old thing. the things the OP mentioned are just small and little things. the vast majority of the game is not unique or different
The biggest factor that sets LotRO apart is quite simply, the community. I will guarantee that you eill not find a better community then the one what is is playing LotRO. With that said, if you come into the game with a holier then thou atittude, don't expect to be treated well, or even asked to group.
That was true when WoW first started out. Games like these degenerate over time.So you are saying that tolkein fans , fans of the lore for over 10- 30 + years are all of a sudden going to turn on LotRO like a bunch of starving lions? . I think I should of added "mature" some where to that post.
No, once this game catches on, you will find that the game will be rife with l33t kids and gold farmers. I'm not saying it's going to happen, but if this game is as good as everyone claims, it's very possible. Your correct in the hypothesis but your equation is wrong. You didn't equate Age of Conan, which will suck up all those you have just named as community downers. The downers gear towards things that can bring annoying suffering to other players, you will not find that in LotRO, but it will be in abundance is ggame like AoC, W.A.R. and even PotBS . I feel LotrO was released just at the right time inbetween the flops and the major heavey weights .
Coloring means coloring equipment. BTW I said it was there before, just hasn't been around for quite some time in a major MMO.
Hope and despair system: If you play a healer class, oh my god, I TELL You it DOES matter. And you are playing the free people of Middle-Earth. You can not choose evil, there ARE evil humans, but not playable. that was an announced feature...
What this all comes together to is the same old, same old, SAME old, same OLD endless lamentation about your next best precious sandbox MMO - Dammit already, LotRO is a commercial title, it wants to be successful. Successful means Pop instead of Death Metal, means Hollywood instead of Bulgarian Art Film, means Pool-Billiard over Snooker...
So, what I wanted to say, in its league, the league of successful, easy to play, fast fun-games (like WoW, GW or EQ2) it IS different. Sure, in "nameless MMO from 1997 nobody ever played" monsterplay might have occured, or random tune-glueing in SWG, or coloring in UO, which is basically pointless in a game where you see a pile of pixels rushing through a pile of pixels...
... what you just reinforced by trying so hard to deny it by pulling zombies from ages ago is, that LotRO actually IS different. As I said before, it shares successful basic game mechanics with other successful titles; Granted. But it does so much more than this to improve and individualize gameplay.
Oh, and world size. The first full scale zone will be added by June, and there are many more to come. While still, for one character to level up, the world is more than large enough (if you leveled an ally avatar in WoW you never saw 60% of the zones)...
Here are a couple more items that set LOTRO apart:
Bow-using class as the nuker. Most MMOs I've played, the archer has to perform some kiting and fill his opponent with dozens of arrows. This always struck me as stupid. Using the Bow in LOTRO actually feels more realistic.
Playing only 'good' characters for the main event (with monster play in the battle grounds) is quite innovative. If LOTRO truly wanted to copy other MMOs, I suppose they could have created evil character classes. But where's the innovation in that? Concentrating on the good characters allows for the content to be both extensive and focused.
Releasing a game that is stable and for the most part balanced so that the devs can concentrate on adding more content--you know, what our subscriptions are supposed to pay for.
As to the Original post, some of you point out that this system or that system has been done before in this game or that. But no game has brought all those fun aspects together in one package. Those aspects were fun when they appeared in other games. Bringing them together in one game generates a sort of fun synergy that pervades the game.
I'm sorry that some of you are unable to enjoy the game. I hope you find a game that you can enjoy. May I suggest Vanguard?
_____________________________ Currently Playing: LOTRO; DDO Played: AC2, AO, Auto Assault, CoX, DAoC, DDO, Earth&Beyond, EQ1, EQ2, EVE, Fallen Earth, Jumpgate, Roma Victor, Second Life, SWG, V:SoH, WoW, World War II Online.
Games I'm watching: Infinity: The Quest for Earth, Force of Arms.
All I want to say is - it is different from other major MMO titles.
So you can pretty much argue about where this has all been seen before (and I even LISTED SWG in the first place), or say that those are all small things. But this doesn't change the facts, it's not like the other major titles, because other major titles that are successful right now don't have these features. Period.
But what IS more important, and this is my personal experience, after having played SWG pre-NGE, EQ2, DaoC, WoW and all the nice little titles under my portrait, I found myself NOT doing the "same old" in LotRO. Why is that? - Because of the features I've listed. I don't grind because the game doesn't force you to, everything is quest-based. I don't grind instances, because the game doesn't force me to; I stand on the Bree marketplace for hours with friends playing live music, friggin REAL music, like in the next best jam session, because the game allows me to. I craft colors and go out all in olive, because the game allows this...
Sure, it's not WORLDs apart from the next best item-grinder judging by the game mechanics as a whole. But all those nifty little things in this game make every minute of the game worth it. It has the warm feeling of not brutally addicting you to do something overwhelmingly boring or forcing you to plan every step.
Its probably a carebears wet dream, a sologamers wish and a casuals evening liaison. I'm neither of the three, and I don't care. This game - and that's the final conclusion - draws the line between the McWoW-addiction and a fully conscious donation of large chunks of my lifetime: It's the essence of fun.
Comments
The quests, combat, crafting and for a large part character building (You know, the things that Lotro is all about) don't have a shred of originality in it. Its the same old thing. the things the OP mentioned are just small and little things. the vast majority of the game is not unique or different
No, once this game catches on, you will find that the game will be rife with l33t kids and gold farmers. I'm not saying it's going to happen, but if this game is as good as everyone claims, it's very possible. Your correct in the hypothesis but your equation is wrong. You didn't equate Age of Conan, which will suck up all those you have just named as community downers. The downers gear towards things that can bring annoying suffering to other players, you will not find that in LotRO, but it will be in abundance is ggame like AoC, W.A.R. and even PotBS . I feel LotrO was released just at the right time inbetween the flops and the major heavey weights .
I like pie !
Here are a couple more items that set LOTRO apart:
As to the Original post, some of you point out that this system or that system has been done before in this game or that. But no game has brought all those fun aspects together in one package. Those aspects were fun when they appeared in other games. Bringing them together in one game generates a sort of fun synergy that pervades the game.
I'm sorry that some of you are unable to enjoy the game. I hope you find a game that you can enjoy. May I suggest Vanguard?
_____________________________
Currently Playing: LOTRO; DDO
Played: AC2, AO, Auto Assault, CoX, DAoC, DDO, Earth&Beyond, EQ1, EQ2, EVE, Fallen Earth, Jumpgate, Roma Victor, Second Life, SWG, V:SoH, WoW, World War II Online.
Games I'm watching: Infinity: The Quest for Earth, Force of Arms.
Find the Truth: http://www.factcheck.org/
I never said it was innovative!
I never said it was original!
All I want to say is - it is different from other major MMO titles.
So you can pretty much argue about where this has all been seen before (and I even LISTED SWG in the first place), or say that those are all small things. But this doesn't change the facts, it's not like the other major titles, because other major titles that are successful right now don't have these features. Period.
But what IS more important, and this is my personal experience, after having played SWG pre-NGE, EQ2, DaoC, WoW and all the nice little titles under my portrait, I found myself NOT doing the "same old" in LotRO. Why is that? - Because of the features I've listed. I don't grind because the game doesn't force you to, everything is quest-based. I don't grind instances, because the game doesn't force me to; I stand on the Bree marketplace for hours with friends playing live music, friggin REAL music, like in the next best jam session, because the game allows me to. I craft colors and go out all in olive, because the game allows this...
Sure, it's not WORLDs apart from the next best item-grinder judging by the game mechanics as a whole. But all those nifty little things in this game make every minute of the game worth it. It has the warm feeling of not brutally addicting you to do something overwhelmingly boring or forcing you to plan every step.
Its probably a carebears wet dream, a sologamers wish and a casuals evening liaison. I'm neither of the three, and I don't care. This game - and that's the final conclusion - draws the line between the McWoW-addiction and a fully conscious donation of large chunks of my lifetime: It's the essence of fun.
Meridion