Lotr Mmorpg

[neighbortaru]

Re: Lotr Mmorpg

heh I guess I'll see you in open beta fastcart did you preorder?

[fastcart]

Re: Lotr Mmorpg

Small addition, one of LotRO's devs from Turbine did a live radio interview Wednesday night. One of the questions asked was from me. Cue the mp3 below to 1:06:50 (66:50) into the file. My five seconds of fame. d: I cheered when I got the shout out. d:

http://www.w00tradio.net/~w00tftp/Je...2007-03-21.mp3 Right-click and save as. Do not stream it. It's 76 megs. My Q/A thing is short, so you can hear it from 66:50 at anytime. But, if you want to hear the whole thing, listen to it while xping or limbussing or something. The whole interview is 112 minutes, but it's full of info.

Caveats: The Auction House bug the DJ mentions is not a bug, but his inability to properly use the Auction House interface. d: Also, players get there personal mounts at level 35, not in the 20s. However, they can use rented mounts at level 5 onwards (once they become a "Novice" [think certified adventurer]).

[fastcart]

Re: Lotr Mmorpg (I'm getting it)

I've decided I'll go with LotRO for retail. After four years of FFXI with only a four month break last year (and one month the year before that), my meritting marathon burnt me out (got like 300k XP). I heard there was little content added with the last update. Also, I've currently had enough of the way SE keeps end-game items out of the reach of players like me (HNM gear, Salvage gear, relic weapons). I figure I play LotRO, max out a character there in two months, do some end-game, then come back to FFXI during the summer after they've hopefully added more content.

I trashed LotRO at the beginning (the irony). Yet, whether because it's different or just a change of pace, my hunter (think ranger) grew on me as I got more levels. But, the thing that's really keeping me in LotRO is the storyline. It's very epic (more so than ToAU is currently, but hopefully that will change in SE's favor with more updates). Since I've already finished Zilart, etc., that's a real plus for LotRO.

The characters still look stiff compared to FFXI. However, LotRO's character have more emotes and movements. When something misses you, your character actually leans out of the way. And, after looking at the character for 20 levels, you get use to the stiffness.

Alternatively, the backgrounds and landscapes can't be beat...even by FFXI. You should see Rivendell in-game. Rivendell beats the pants off Blueblade Fell (that place in Lufaise Meadows that you see at the end of FFXI's intro movie). Blueblade Fell, in my opinion, has like the best scenery landscape-wise in FFXI. I'll see if I can youtube some of Rivendell before LotRO beta's end (youtube won't do it justice though, you must see it in game). It could be the difference between a game developed for DirectX 8 (FFXI) and 9 (LotRO), that LotRO has tons more graphic options compared to FFXI (FFXI has like 7 options while LotRO has like 25+), or that I play FFXI without bump mapping. But, I can play LotRO with all of the details on and the backgrounds look amazing...until the client crashes due to a memory leak every 3 hours. d:

Anyway, LotRO's closed beta ends the 26th and open beta starts the 30th. I'll pop into FFXI between then, but won't do any if the new assaults/missions (saving them for the summer). I still love FFXI, but I need a change for now. I thought I'd get satisfaction from Jade Empire, but no (wished I hadn't bought Jade Empire now).

[jwalton]

Re: Lotr Mmorpg

The official PSU forums are a cesspool, managed by moderators who are people like you and me that are generally no better informed than the players that frequent there. One of the admins posted that anything not published on the official website as being nothing but rumor when someone linked to bloody magazine scans with the info just two days before the Illuminus website went up. I don't think Famitsu magazine makes things up and doctors up screenshots on a regular basis.

The better part of a year before beta testing and the like is finished? I beta tested PSU. I have the video footage to prove it. I was one of the first 2000 people emailed with a serial code. It ran for three weeks. They cleaned up a bit of code on both client and server, and shipped the game two months later. The most aggravating thing about the beta test is that they enabled frameskip support on the beta client, but the official release shipped without it. I don't know how that managed to slip through the cracks.

As far as the US release being behind the Japanese release, the translation aspect is kind of irrelevant. For the record, PSU's localization was finished back in 2005. Recording for all the voices were done way in advance. Sonic Team generally aims for a worldwide release when they make their games. While they aim for it, they always end up being seperated by a month or two instead, but the releases are usually pretty close. This has been the case with every online Phantasy Star since the Dreamcast debut in December of 2000. The closest to a worldwide launch they've ever done was Sonic Adventure 2, which released just days apart from each other.

The gist of it is that there is no bloody way PSU's expansion will ship a year or more from now. Interest in the game is already waning due to a lack of content, and there is not much left TO unlock. Sure, there's some audio files in there that I ran across that include songs from Burning Rangers, NiGHTS, Sonic Heroes, and so on for silly events, but that's about it. PSU shipped out like FFXI did when it first came out... serious content issues. Rise of the Zilart made FFXI not suck, and it's likely this PSU expansion will make PSU not suck because it's going to multiply the amount of stuff that players will have.

[Telera]

Re: Lotr Mmorpg

Well, at the official PSU forums, as well as posts and links I've seen there, it doesn't even have a tentative release in Japan, much less America. Yes, beta starts in Spring. But that's all they say. Considering we were a few months behind them on the original, yes, it will be the better part of the year before beta testing and the like are finished. Couple months in beta. Then translation, etc. 4-6 months, which is a good span of time.

The mods there have been locking any threads that spread rumors similar to this because so far as SoA knows, there is NO release date or any vague idea of when it's coming here. And people's rumor mongering just makes things worse.

[jwalton]

Re: Lotr Mmorpg

Methinks you're way off on the "year or more" part. They're conducting a network trial for the expansion shortly, which means for all intents and purposes, the product is finished and it's time to iron out any last minute bugs.

[Telera]

Re: Lotr Mmorpg

Well, as I said, the hacking has become less main-stream and noticable. There are, so far as I know, no way to hack weapons any longer. The amount of money in the system has drastically dropped as there are many, many in-game money sinks that have siphoned it off and Sega *has* indeed been banning people who are noticed for hacking. Honestly, I've never seen a 'hacker'. And while I don't party with pick up groups on my main (it has a static thankfully) on my alts, I do, and I've met nothing but regular folks, even on the 'main' universe.

As for waiting on the expansion: it won't be out for the better part of a year or more.

[jwalton]

Re: Lotr Mmorpg

I'd hold off on PSU. Sega announced a big expansion of the game, and it'll do to PSU what Rise of the Zilart did to FFXI, i.e. make it a lot less shallow of a game.

[Rostum]

Re: Lotr Mmorpg

Jei: Yes.

Telera: Thanks for the information, it does seem alright, but I'm on PC so I'd have to put up with the hacking. ><;

[Telera]

Re: Lotr Mmorpg

I agree Telera, and LotR is very much just the same as WoW, but with a Middle Earth setting -- so you get the majority of people starting out, who haven't really play any MMO before, that have always wanted to explore Middle Earth in some way.

Either way, it's an easy grind, with the same kind of questing system.

I haven't ever played WoW, but SWG had skill trees, and if there's something similar in LotRo, I would enjoy it. I liked the levelling/advancing system in Galaxies much moreso than I do XI. It was seemingly more enjoyable, somehow. And I am a LotR fan. Not enough to have ever gone writing fanfiction, but I would enjoy playing in that universe for a while.

Tell me though, how is PSU? I had thought about getting that at one stage, but thought I might finish it too early and move on.

Well. It's not got a whole lot to it. All 'areas' or dungeons or w/e are instanced to your party. All levelling is done inside these little zones, the only free roam there is, is in towns. (I don't know how much you looked into it, so forgive me if you know any of this already.) Levelling is your generic FFXI-esque thing. Kill enough things until you ding. However, your skills or 'Photon Arts' have to be levelled by usage, but they have no bearing on your levelling up, etc. Depending on your server, you've got a crazy economy or a not so crazy one. PS2 and PC are on the same server. And of course the PC script kiddies hacked themselves lots of money and duped items. There have been wipes of items hacked in that are not yet released, but the tons of money floating about makes things from player shops very expensive. Photons and Copernia are the big sellers, and if you do get your own shop and sell those, you can make enough money to level your Partner Machine to make your own weapons, so that you no longer have to deal with the overpriced weaponry. It's what I've done.

360 has no hacking, but only because of the safeguards Microsoft has on XBL, not because of better security in the game itself. If you're a PSO vet, you know how Sega is with stopping hackers. They're about as useful as a wet paper sack. However, to be honest, the 'hacking' has not affected my enjoyment of the game. It's made it vaguely easier to buy things off NPCs (which is all I do, or farm my materials), but I closed my player shop during the great PM Bomb scare and now am quite broke and rely on mission rewards for my money. Hackers briefly found a way to get into your room and make the game think that they were the owner. They would then feed a PM Zero device (a legit item used to reset your PM if you change your mind on what you want it to be) and ruin your hard work. I haven't heard of it happening in months, though, and believe it to be patched, so I wouldn't let that stop you from opening a shop, should you go PC/PS2. It's about the only way to be able to keep up with the weapon prices, to be honest. However, it's not too hard to make your own stuff, like I said, if you have the appropriate PM or know someone with one to make it for ya.

All in all, it can get repetitive, and it is more reminiscent of Monster Hunter in some aspects, almost. But I have played since a few weeks after launch (had the game at launch, had to wait on my b/f to get it as well before I went online) and I'm still enjoying it. Updates add a little here and there and there's supposedly an expansion in the works. If you make good friends, that will make all the difference in the world. Current lvl cap is 70. It will eventually hit 100. Depending on your tastes, it will bore you, or it will be fun.

[fastcart]

Re: Lotr Mmorpg

There are still enough people without MMO experience out there to become majority of LoTR player base?
Maybe I've been playing online game for too long...

More likely they'll get mot of the based from other games like WoW of course. But, there can still be the occasional curious MMO virgin who strolls in because of the lotr name. Or the pre-teen/teenager who never played another mmo.

[Jei]

Re: Lotr Mmorpg

There are still enough people without MMO experience out there to become majority of LoTR player base?

Maybe I've been playing online game for too long...

[Rostum]

Re: Lotr Mmorpg

I agree Telera, and LotR is very much just the same as WoW, but with a Middle Earth setting -- so you get the majority of people starting out, who haven't really play any MMO before, that have always wanted to explore Middle Earth in some way.

Either way, it's an easy grind, with the same kind of questing system.

Tell me though, how is PSU? I had thought about getting that at one stage, but thought I might finish it too early and move on.

[Telera]

Re: Lotr Mmorpg

I think it looks interesting, and a less intense grind is more my flavor. I tire of months to get anywhere, months to get enough gil to finish getting somewhere, and dealing with the general elitism, rules, and bullshit XI has thrown at me in the two years I've played. This is, largely, why I haven't levelled in 5 months or so. I just can't care enough to make the effort anymore. PSU is something I can pick up, grind, lay down, and not have to worry about it. If LotRo is similar in that aspect, or at the very least less intense, I probably will jump ship.

The other upside is if I get in at the start, get to the top fast, I can get out of whatever bullshit cookie cutters and rules are sure to follow. And can just wander about doing my own thing while the newbs have to stress over it.

You have to do this, you have to be that, you have to wear this, this is the ONLY good zone to exp in at this lvl, blah blah blah...

Love XI, but after a while it becomes more of a love/hate thing than straight love.

[Rostum]

Re: Lotr Mmorpg

That was a fairly long time ago though. I am defenately willing to give them another chance -- as they could have very well learned their mistakes from the past.