For your weekend viewing pleasure and in honor of all the new players running through these areas as we speak...
Enjoy!
Video: Lunna The Burg
Soundtrack: Fathom
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
One Week In...
Well, it's been a week since the LotRO F2P Servers came up for the Headstart. Let's see what has happened in a week's time:
And now?
Most of the chaos and turmoil has settled down. Of course there still is some complaining about various issues, and every day there is a new "I have to pay for content as a Premium player?" thread in the forums, but overall things are smoothing out. The technical issues were addressed and now the servers are running much faster and with minimal queues in the evenings. New players are settling in and finding kins to join. Old players have been helping new folks out, giving them food, potions, gear, weapons, and advice to get them started. On Landroval, there have been several Welcome Concerts hosted, to the great delight of new players who had never seen the equivalent of an interactive arena rock concert in an MMO before. The Advice and OOC channels are hopping in the starter areas, as well as Lone-Lands and North Downs, since there's actually new folks in those areas again. The RPers are figuring out ways to work around the new Dynamic Layering system.
The only really bad day was Saturday, when a faulty network switch caused major lag spikes and client crashes on all the servers. The queues are something new that many folks are still getting used to, but they've been fairly short and even on Landroval, I've not had to wait longer than 5 minutes or so as a VIP.
I'm also really enjoying the new LotRO store. I ended up with 5000 Turbine Points due to being a 3-year Lifetimer beta-tester. I bought a few cosmetics, plus upgraded my Wardrobe and Shared Storage as high as they would go. I have to say that I'm really liking the LotRO store, so much so that I bought the 6900-Points bundle that was on sale over the weekend. I don't mind spending the money, considering that at this point I'm basically "freeloading" on their servers as a Lifetimer.
Overall the launch wasn't the smoothest I've seen, but it's certainly far from the worst as well. I've also met a LOT of new and returning players to the game over the past week. If the amount of new players that we're seeing is indicative of the game's future, I'd say it's looking very bright indeed.
- Servers came up.
- New LotRO community site launched.
- Community site had issues.
- Servers nearly came to a crashing halt due to network problems.
- Server queues were in the hundreds and thousands while network problems were addressed.
- People complained because they didn't get their points immediately upon logging in.
- People complained because they didn't realize they had to re-purchase the original content as non-subscribers.
- People complained because items were disappearing from the new wardrobe and vault system.
- People complained about the way the new vault system looks.
- People complained about the new Dynamic Layers.
- People complained because they couldn't get into the community site to complain.
- Veteran players lamented the introduction of "F2P Noobs" into LotRO.
- New players lamented the rude comments and treatment by veteran players.
And now?
Most of the chaos and turmoil has settled down. Of course there still is some complaining about various issues, and every day there is a new "I have to pay for content as a Premium player?" thread in the forums, but overall things are smoothing out. The technical issues were addressed and now the servers are running much faster and with minimal queues in the evenings. New players are settling in and finding kins to join. Old players have been helping new folks out, giving them food, potions, gear, weapons, and advice to get them started. On Landroval, there have been several Welcome Concerts hosted, to the great delight of new players who had never seen the equivalent of an interactive arena rock concert in an MMO before. The Advice and OOC channels are hopping in the starter areas, as well as Lone-Lands and North Downs, since there's actually new folks in those areas again. The RPers are figuring out ways to work around the new Dynamic Layering system.
The only really bad day was Saturday, when a faulty network switch caused major lag spikes and client crashes on all the servers. The queues are something new that many folks are still getting used to, but they've been fairly short and even on Landroval, I've not had to wait longer than 5 minutes or so as a VIP.
I'm also really enjoying the new LotRO store. I ended up with 5000 Turbine Points due to being a 3-year Lifetimer beta-tester. I bought a few cosmetics, plus upgraded my Wardrobe and Shared Storage as high as they would go. I have to say that I'm really liking the LotRO store, so much so that I bought the 6900-Points bundle that was on sale over the weekend. I don't mind spending the money, considering that at this point I'm basically "freeloading" on their servers as a Lifetimer.
Overall the launch wasn't the smoothest I've seen, but it's certainly far from the worst as well. I've also met a LOT of new and returning players to the game over the past week. If the amount of new players that we're seeing is indicative of the game's future, I'd say it's looking very bright indeed.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Annnnd in Blizzard country...
Operation Gnomeregan and the Zandalar event are LIVE today, with no advance warning whatsoever.
Tricksy, tricksy, Blizzard.
Tricksy, tricksy, Blizzard.
From the WarCry LotRO Chat...
Hmm, interesting![13:19] Jalessa: We are not currently planning on adding new tiers of crafting at this time. However, each book cycle has tons of crafting love and we will continue to fully support crafting guilds and add new recipes to the game. We have some very nice things coming for crafting soon! Two letters: U and I.
[13:32] katepaiz: isengard is tentatively slated for next year, and we'll be approaching the zone in the timeline in which saruman has already denuded the area, and has created his orc factory.
Sounds like possibly a Tower Raid?[13:32] katepaiz: players will likely have access to some of the underground areas, but obviously with saruman in the big tower, access to the upper regions is likely to be challenging :)
Yay for Lore-Masters![13:34] raskolnikov: Sort of, we're introducing new appearances for the Eagle, Sabercat, and Bog-guardian. We're also changing around how Lore-masters can change their pet appearances: instead of needing to equip a necklace to change the way your pet looks, you'll now get a new separate skill.
This was in response to a question about a BlizzCon-styled Turbine Convention.[13:35] sapience: PAX East is returning to Boston next year, and we'll definitely be out in force on the show floor. We'd love to get something put together for our fans, but that's it's own massive undertaking. So yes it's something we'd love to do, but we'll have to see what happens. Of course, if our fans put something together for PAX East, I'd show up! Plague and all!
This was in response to a question about more mini-games such as chicken play, freeze tag, etc.[13:36] Ransroth: You can definitely expect more fun minigames, particularly associated with festivals. I've seen some very neat specs lately.
[13:38] Ransroth: The intent with Lua is to make it possible for players to create custom interfaces for information that's already available to them, not to give an actual advantage.
No Deadly Boss Mods for you! ;)[13:39] Ransroth: Jwbarry is threatening bodily harm if we make addons that trivialize his content
And the peasants rejoiced![13:53] Jalessa: We took Radiance outside, tied it up to some railroad tracks, and...well...I think you saw the end of this in Red Dead Redemption. Look for this in the future - we will be removing Radiance from LOTRO.
LotRO F2P - Live Tomorrow!
As of 4am EST this morning, the LotRO servers came down to prepare for the launch to F2P. Most likely they'll be back up sometime tomorrow for the head-start folks. Everyone else will be able to start on September 10th. Even the LotRO website is down for maintenance, presumably to get the F2P shop set up and possibly incorporate some new features.
It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine!
I've been playing LotRO for the past week, and it's been enjoyable. Mostly I've been leveling my minstrel a bit and catching up on deeds in the starter areas, North Downs, and Lone-Lands. Yes, I know I'll get Turbine Points for deeds finished after F2P launches, but I wanted to get those out of the way, and as a Founder/Lifer, I'll already be getting a large chunk of Turbine Points tomorrow, which will likely be spent on as much wardrobe space and vault space as I can get.
I also rolled a new Champion alt. Originally my champion was to be a human from Rohan, but the more I thought about it the more I like the idea of an elf Champion (from Lorien). They're a bit more unusual and the elf racial stealth skill should add an interesting element to the class.
Also, for anybody starting LotRO on the 10th: Paislea will be on Landroval, in the Shire, crafting up fresh organic fruits and veggies, cooking up some yummy buff and healing foods for the new folks, and answering questions in the /advice channel. If I have enough leathers I'll also be happy to craft up some light and medium armor sets, although I don't know how much better they'll be than the quest rewards. I hear that there will be other folks on hand in the various starter areas with music, armor, jewelry, food, and other goodies, so we hope to see you there!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Going into the Ethics file...
Yesterday the gaming blogosphere got all hot and bothered over an issue that was kicked off by an article regarding a wrestling game that is shipping with a one-time-use code that unlocks online content for the game. The question everyone is now asking is: If a consumer purchases a used game (from a friend, from GameStop, etc.), is that basically the same as piracy? The developers aren't getting their cut, so it's basically the same, right?
Oy.
I admit that I've sold used games back to GameStop in the past. Sometimes a game just isn't that good, and I'd rather recoup some of that cash back into my pocket... which then goes into buying more games, thus supporting my game-buying habit AND the developers who make the games. The economy is tough on all of us, and games aren't a must-have item, so my budget is limited.
If I have $100 to spend, I can buy one $60 game. Now, if I don't like that game, I can take it back, get $20 for it, pair that $20 with the remaining $40 and get another $60 game. On that second game, the developer is still getting the full wholesale price of their game, probably 50% or so of the retail price. GameStop "ate" the $20 that they gave me for the original game, but they'll make it back when they resell it, plus an extra $15-$20 for their trouble and overhead.
On the flip side, sometimes there are games that come out that look interesting, but due to previous bad experiences with a particular publisher or franchise, I just don't want to spend $60 on that game. This doesn't happen that often, but it's usually a dealbreaker. 9 times out of 10, I'll skip purchasing a game that I consider a "risky" purchase, and then the developer doesn't make anything off of me. If I find a used copy of it for half-price... sure, I might give it a try. The developer still isn't making anything off of me, but if I try it and like it, then they've won back my trust and I'll be more likely to purchase something else from them in the future.
All that said, you'd probably think that I'm all "USED GAMES R TEH AWESOME!"... and really, I'm all for people being able to sell their used games. It's recycling and it's green and it's helpful for those of us who have families and limited budgets. But at the same time I do view game developers as artists, and I would agree that they deserve compensation for their work.
And honestly, I think the way that THQ is handling it... with the game content being playable solo but having a key to unlock online play... is brilliant.
Think about it: you buy a game used, for let's say $30. You play it, you like it, you want play against other people, but you can't because you don't have the key. The publisher can then sell the unlock keys online. Pay $10-$15, and voila, your online access is there. You've still spent less overall on the game, you've saved one more plastic cartridge/disk from being thrown into a landfill, and the developers got some compensation for their work. Like a 10-day free trial in the MMO world, used-game players would get to see if they like it first. If it's a good quality game, the companies get the cash from unlocking the additional features.
Maybe it would even encourage companies to, you know, make better games.
Oy.
I admit that I've sold used games back to GameStop in the past. Sometimes a game just isn't that good, and I'd rather recoup some of that cash back into my pocket... which then goes into buying more games, thus supporting my game-buying habit AND the developers who make the games. The economy is tough on all of us, and games aren't a must-have item, so my budget is limited.
If I have $100 to spend, I can buy one $60 game. Now, if I don't like that game, I can take it back, get $20 for it, pair that $20 with the remaining $40 and get another $60 game. On that second game, the developer is still getting the full wholesale price of their game, probably 50% or so of the retail price. GameStop "ate" the $20 that they gave me for the original game, but they'll make it back when they resell it, plus an extra $15-$20 for their trouble and overhead.
On the flip side, sometimes there are games that come out that look interesting, but due to previous bad experiences with a particular publisher or franchise, I just don't want to spend $60 on that game. This doesn't happen that often, but it's usually a dealbreaker. 9 times out of 10, I'll skip purchasing a game that I consider a "risky" purchase, and then the developer doesn't make anything off of me. If I find a used copy of it for half-price... sure, I might give it a try. The developer still isn't making anything off of me, but if I try it and like it, then they've won back my trust and I'll be more likely to purchase something else from them in the future.
All that said, you'd probably think that I'm all "USED GAMES R TEH AWESOME!"... and really, I'm all for people being able to sell their used games. It's recycling and it's green and it's helpful for those of us who have families and limited budgets. But at the same time I do view game developers as artists, and I would agree that they deserve compensation for their work.
And honestly, I think the way that THQ is handling it... with the game content being playable solo but having a key to unlock online play... is brilliant.
Think about it: you buy a game used, for let's say $30. You play it, you like it, you want play against other people, but you can't because you don't have the key. The publisher can then sell the unlock keys online. Pay $10-$15, and voila, your online access is there. You've still spent less overall on the game, you've saved one more plastic cartridge/disk from being thrown into a landfill, and the developers got some compensation for their work. Like a 10-day free trial in the MMO world, used-game players would get to see if they like it first. If it's a good quality game, the companies get the cash from unlocking the additional features.
Maybe it would even encourage companies to, you know, make better games.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Deathloc!
Today Blizzard announced the in-game pet that comes in the BlizzCon goodie bags, as well as being included with the live streams...
SQUEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! I have to admit he's pretty nifty. That chin cracks me up. I'm excited at the possibility of having a murloc pet, finally. I haven't ever been able to get to BlizzCon in person, and last year I let my husband have the space marine murloc that came with the live stream. This year it's finally my turn.
I'm hoping that he has a really excellent animation, or that maybe he interacts with the Lil' Deathwing pet. Maybe a little murloc roar would be in order.
Deathy the Deathloc!
SQUEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! I have to admit he's pretty nifty. That chin cracks me up. I'm excited at the possibility of having a murloc pet, finally. I haven't ever been able to get to BlizzCon in person, and last year I let my husband have the space marine murloc that came with the live stream. This year it's finally my turn.
I'm hoping that he has a really excellent animation, or that maybe he interacts with the Lil' Deathwing pet. Maybe a little murloc roar would be in order.
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