Lord of the Rings Online Interview With Rob Ciccolini - Legendary Servers, Classic And Beyond | MMOR

System · July 2021

Lord of the Rings Online Interview With Rob Ciccolini - Legendary Servers, Classic And Beyond | MMORPG.com

We recently sat down with LotRO's Executive Producer, Rob Ciccolini to talk about the recently released Legendary servers, as well as what the future might hold for LotRO's storytelling beyond Gundabad.

Read the full story here

vtravi · July 2021

I love the new difficulty slider. I tried +3 and was getting destroyed on my lvl 5 burg. I had to lower it to just dangerous until lvl 7 where I can make decent gear. It is nice to level up where gear matters again. Still lots if issues with the game but making it a challenge goes along way to making the old girl playable again.

Randomuser2020876 · July 2021

“Because the game has gone from Turbine to Warner Bros, to us – to Standing Stone, there’s code and technology for the servers that we don’t have and wouldn’t work on current hardware. So even if we wanted to set up a classic server and we thought there was a giant demand, I don’t know that a team of our size could technically do it and replace the code that doesn’t exist.”

Except that argument falls flat since SSG is the same team as WB and TB before it, outside of the ones who were smart enough to leave instead of becoming Daybreak lackies. So anything they had as Turbine or under WB they have now.

Sovrath · July 2021

Randomuser2020876 said:

outside of the ones who were smart enough to leave instead of becoming Daybreak lackies. So anything they had as Turbine or under WB they have now.

I'm sure keeping their job, especially this area where there aren't a huge amount of game developers (that I can see) was more important then becoming a "lackey."

They could have been sold off and then lost their job and been out of luck.

ashiru_1978 · July 2021

Sovrath said:

Randomuser2020876 said:

outside of the ones who were smart enough to leave instead of becoming Daybreak lackies. So anything they had as Turbine or under WB they have now.

I'm sure keeping their job, especially this area where there aren't a huge amount of game developers (that I can see) was more important then becoming a "lackey."

They could have been sold off and then lost their job and been out of luck.

I agree, unless they are mistreated or overworked and underpaid, there is no reason to leave their job. A job is a job regardless.

Nebless · July 2021

Randomuser2020876 said:

Except that argument falls flat since SSG is the same team as WB and TB before it,

I very much doubt the same entire team moved from Turbine to WB to SSG. Common practice seems to be that after X part is completed and they don't need them anymore they let those people go; probably to save money.

While some of the team is still present I'd guess they were the one's in the supervisor / manager spots.

Po_gg · July 2021

Randomuser2020876 said:

“Because the game has gone from Turbine to Warner Bros, to us – to Standing Stone, there’s code and technology for the servers that we don’t have and wouldn’t work on current hardware. So even if we wanted to set up a classic server and we thought there was a giant demand, I don’t know that a team of our size could technically do it and replace the code that doesn’t exist.”

Except that argument falls flat since SSG is the same team as WB and TB before it, outside of the ones who were smart enough to leave instead of becoming Daybreak lackies. So anything they had as Turbine or under WB they have now.

I wouldn't see too much into it, since I believe it was just some sort of PR damage control.

Players were asking for a "proper" legendary server since the first announcement of Anor, and the dodge of it was: "we can't, it's impossible, we don't have the code anymore".

Some believed them, others don't, but nevertheless that was the status quo for more than two years.

Then the Q&A happened a week ago, where Raninia said how much he likes what Wow did with Classic, and it'd be great to do the same in LotRO, and Cord replied with "it never was off the table", and it definitely ain't impossible just extremely difficult since SSG doesn't have the stuff and budget of Blizz.

Which spawned quite a rally on asking/demanding for a proper classic server, since "we don't have the money" is vastly different from the years long "we don't have the code" argument.

To the point of if they're this cheapskates, just give out the old code and allow a community run private server like CoH's Homecoming...

So, I just see that Rob reasoning as a counter to that chain of events.

Kinda like "we said the truth since Anor, we really don't have the code, scout's honor... and those two just meant by the budget/staff issue, that it'd be expensive to reproduce the code, which we really don't have, no code at all".

It's up to you whether you believe it or not

Viper482 · July 2021

Literally no one cares about a LOTRO classic version, the game is simply better now. The only complaint typically heard is difficulty has gone way down....which they just addressed with the new servers.

olepi · July 2021

I got onto Treebeard and am having fun again. Set it to a hard level, turn off nameplates, and try to run around ignoring the overland mobs.

You can't. They will kill you quick.

And with a slower leveling progression, you have to spend more time in an area, do most or all the quests.

It's like a different game now.

Sovrath · July 2021

Nebless said:

Randomuser2020876 said:

Except that argument falls flat since SSG is the same team as WB and TB before it,

I very much doubt the same entire team moved from Turbine to WB to SSG. Common practice seems to be that after X part is completed and they don't need them anymore they let those people go; probably to save money.

While some of the team is still present I'd guess they were the one's in the supervisor / manager spots.

I think that was at the very start.

At the start they had a larger team and then once the game was done it's possible that they sent others to other projects (which never seemed to finish) and then they were sold to Warner Brothers and then they broke from Warner brothers.

It's my understanding that they are next to or "down the hall" from their Warner bretheren.

There really aren't a lot of game developers in this area so not many choices other than to pack up and go elsewhere.

So, for example, Geoffrey Stieffel isn't there anymore and then there was that husband/wife team whose names I just can't remember. I think they stayed on with Warner Brothers.

Po_gg · July 2021

Viper482 said:

Literally no one cares about a LOTRO classic version, the game is simply better now. The only complaint typically heard is difficulty has gone way down....which they just addressed with the new servers.

That's the problem with absolutes...

Even if ignoring all the threads about it, the ingame chat, etc., here's the thing, I can tell you in confidence that I do care about a classic version - and with it your "literally no one" is moot already

Same for the second part, the "game is simply better".

Not at all, and it ain't just the difficulty.

Trait trees instead of original traiting, essences, skill removal, class changes, map changes, group vs. solo changes, stat changes... the list could go on.

Sure, the content was extended, and the game is still fun more or less, community is great (again, more or less), that's why I still play fairly regularly.

But calling it "is simply better now" is quite an exaggeration.

(and no, it doesn't mean automatically, that it was perfect in its original form... that had flaws as well. Still, a lot of players care about a classic version.)

lahnmir · July 2021

Po_gg said:

Viper482 said:

Literally no one cares about a LOTRO classic version, the game is simply better now. The only complaint typically heard is difficulty has gone way down....which they just addressed with the new servers.

That's the problem with absolutes...
Even if ignoring all the threads about it, the ingame chat, etc., here's the thing, I can tell you in confidence that I do care about a classic version - and with it your "literally no one" is moot already

Same for the second part, the "game is simply better".
Not at all, and it ain't just the difficulty.

Trait trees instead of original traiting, essences, skill removal, class changes, map changes, group vs. solo changes, stat changes... the list could go on.

Sure, the content was extended, and the game is still fun more or less, community is great (again, more or less), that's why I still play fairly regularly.
But calling it "is simply better now" is quite an exaggeration.

(and no, it doesn't mean automatically, that it was perfect in its original form... that had flaws as well. Still, a lot of players care about a classic version.)

OG loremaster is better then the entire new version of LoTRO and all of its features combined. I would kill to be able to play that version of the class again. No joke.

/Cheers,
Lahnmir

Po_gg · July 2021

lahnmir said:

OG loremaster is better then the entire new version of LoTRO and all of its features combined. I would kill to be able to play that version of the class again. No joke.

Kill for it may be a tad bit harsh (it's only fair to mention since I mocked Viper's use of "literal" above

), but I agree.

I'd love to play my pre-Orion minstrel, or the captain before the stat changes.

And of course any class before the trait trees...

Also, with the Lore-masters cited, playing in a setting where CC really was a role still, and it actually mattered.

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Lord of the Rings Online Interview With Rob Ciccolini - Legendary Servers, Classic And Beyond | MMOR

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