Lord of the Rings Online: Beta Signup open.

Post by **superwizard** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 9:59 pm

Not me

Post by **Alatar** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 10:31 am

It hasn't been announced yet. Still hoping!

Post by **superwizard** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 10:57 am

Ohh then great!!

Post by **Alatar** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 9:30 am

First user reviews of the Alpha

LOTRO’s Alpha is well underway, and we’ve asked players to tear themselves away from Middle-earth long enough to write up a quick summary of their overall impressions of the game so far. Below are some of those summaries. If you haven’t completed your Beta Application yet , what are you waiting for? Sign up for the LOTRO Beta Program http://www.lotro-europe.com/beta, and a chance to start forming your own impressions! US players, sign up for Beta at http://www.thelordoftheringsonline.com
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This alpha is truly amazing. Last night I loved every minute of the eight hours straight I played it! Right off the bat, the graphics felt like they came right out of the head of Tolkien himself. The animations of the alpha are very smooth and well designed. It's very interesting how the characters of each race end up in Archet in a very unique way; and the story of Archet itself is very captivating.

Speaking of Archet, as crowded as the place was, the server stability was terrific. The quests in Archet set a good pace to learn some of the environment, fight enemies, and gather plants and other items. After leaving Archet and going back to the Shire with my Hobbit burglar (great class design so far, by the way), I did some quests for the Bounders. The quests may not have been epic, but you felt like you were doing something great for those who live in the Shire. The Shire has a great feel to it. The music is superb and fits the area well. I'd continue to write more praise about the game, but I'm afraid I've been away from it to long writing this to begin with!
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Today was my first day testing LOTRO and I just can’t believe how much fun I’m having! It’s almost ridiculous to call LOTRO just a game after experiencing such a vast and interesting world that responds and shapes itself to my character. I have never played a game that does this so well and this is just the Alpha 3 phase! I can only imagine how wonderful LOTRO will be upon release.

When I first entered the game, after creating my first character, I was quickly swept up in a very interesting and exciting quest. Amazingly enough, while completely immersed in this quest, I also learned several functions important to playing the game, such as: how to fight, how to open a container, how to equip items, where to find my quests and lore and how to interact with NPCs.

Arriving at my starting town, I quickly found my first contact to begin yet another series of quests. Each quest was fun as well as interesting and believable for my character. Unlike many games that have you run around and do things for no apparent reason, LOTRO quests make sense and really make you feel like you are a part of the story. You can imagine my surprise when after fighting to save a certain town, I discovered that the Inn had burned down and that it was to remain that way for the rest of my game play! I was, and still am, very impressed and fascinated by this.

Overall, LOTRO is smooth, intuitive, immersive, interesting, challenging and fun. I can tell this game is loved by those who are creating it and that it will continue to grow and benefit from that love. Having Turbine staff members in game to answer questions as soon as they were asked was a great help to me on my first night when I had tons of newbie questions.
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Neither rain nor sleet nor nosey hobbits…
I must begin this entry by first stating a personal bias – quite simply, I love the shire as Turbine has created it for Lord of the Rings Online. From the gently rolling hills and lush farmsteads to the low stone walls and fields of flowers; from the quaint round hobbit-holes to the cobbled paths that wind their way across the land- the shire is beautifully and appropriately rendered at every turn. And at no time is that statement truer then when one considers the substance and nature of the quests that are presented to a fledgling hobbit adventurer in The Lord of the Rings Online.

From the very beginning, an aspiring hobbit is challenged with all manner of grave issues that have befallen the peaceful, idyllic towns of the little folk. There are pies to be delivered, hiders to be found (at the bequest of lazy seekers), chickens to be rescued from the clutches of hungry wolves and even (for the more martially inclined) bandits hiding in the marshlands. The quests are appropriate to the lore and feel of the Shire and THAT is what sets them apart and truly makes them wonderful to experience. Certainly hidden behind the whys and the wherefores of these endeavors are elements to which one can assign standard classifications – FedEx, Kill, Collection and the like. But it is the manner in which these quests are implemented, the story written around them and the fashion in which they have been crafted that truly will set Lord of the Rings Online apart from its competitors.

I constantly find myself enthralled by the simplest of tasks – such as delivering mail between towns in the shire, rushing to avoid nosey hobbits by streaking behind hobbit-holes and hedgerows. I enjoy it because it's appropriate, because it's well conceived and most importantly – because it feels like Middle Earth.
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We’ll bring you more Alpha Journals soon, so stay tuned!

Post by **narya** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 3:03 pm

I'd love to be able to stay in FedEx mode, and not have to kill anyone. Sounds like a game for the rest of us.

Post by **superwizard** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 3:09 pm

Why narya? killing is fun

also I have recently come across another LOTR game called The Ring Wars. Its a pretty nice game try it:http://theringwars.com/TRW/recruit.php? ... 1157030147

Post by **Alatar** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 3:52 pm

Narya, thats the beauty of a MMORPG. You don't have to do anything you don't want to. If you want to spend your time fishing and playing postman, nobody's going to stop you. Of course, if you want to visit Bree and you're travelling from Hobbiton there's a pretty good chance you'll run into trouble on the road, at which point you'd want to be in a position to defend yourself.

I suppose the point is that these are not the games of yesteryear (by which I mean last year) where you have to follow a predetermined path to win. These games are truly open and your course of action is decided by you, not some game AI.

Oh, and there's really no such thing as winning and losing in a MMORPG either. If you're enjoying it, you're winning.

Post by **Alatar** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 1:54 pm

Gundo’s wounds were serious. The dwarves had beaten the poor hobbit soundly with maces and axes. He’d lost a lot of blood. The corpses of his friends littered the field, but he was almost in the clear. His heart was beating fast; he had sent several dwarves to their bloody end, and he could hear their angry yells behind him. He ran - ran as fast as his stubby little hobbit legs could take him, his hands white-knuckled, gripping the flag. At last, he crested the hill, and the great horn sounded. Victory! Victory, but at what cost?

Yeah, so that’s what we’re NOT doing.

When we announced there would be PvP in LOTRO, I knew some people immediately would come up with the above nightmare scenario. (Or worse. You guys are hella creative.) As such, we just sort of shook our heads as people concluded that we were turning our game into "HOBBIGEDDON: SLAUGHTER AT BAG END." Nothing could be further from the truth. What I’d like to do today is clarify what we mean when we talk about playing evil races, and PvP in LOTRO.

This is a story about a world at war. The War of the Ring is the central focus of the narrative; through a series of narrow victories, unlikely discoveries, noble sacrifices and selfless alliances, a war is won or lost. And to truly explore that conflict in the context of the game, we wanted that war to be fought, in part, player versus player as well as player versus environment.

Now, from time to time we’ve dropped the phrase "monster play," and then quickly scampered back to our island fortress and pretended it never happened. As the astute among you may have guessed, this is the cornerstone of our PvP solution.

What does this mean? Players will have a chance to take on the role of a minion of darkness, a dark creature such as a goblin, orc, troll… or maybe even something fouler! Your monster player character is temporary – as a monster player, you have quests to complete, but you don’t level up as an orc. At launch, this is the only method by which players will be able to play as a member of an evil race.

So why walk on the dark side? Success as a monster player allows you to gain a number of different benefits, "Monster Points," if you will. These points can be used to gain access to bigger, meaner monster play avatars, but can also be used to give benefits to your main characters. Accumulating monster play points will allow you to benefit your persistent characters, giving everyone a reason to give evil a try every now and then. More on this later, but that’s the essence of the cycle – jump in as a monster, do some damage, earn some points, and spend those points to either play bigger monsters (which can in turn earn more points) or buy some nice little perks for your characters.

Players, on the other hand, will have optional series of quests that will pit them against monster players, giving them reasons to go out and mix it up. PvMP is optional and consensual – you won’t "stumble across" a monster player. PvMP will be allowed in specially delineated areas of the game. Some of these areas will be instanced, others will be accessible only through travel NPCs. Either way, you won’t need to worry about an orc running through the Shire smacking Hobbits who are just minding their own business and eating pie.

As I’m fond of doing, this article covers the general "shape" of the system – more details are forthcoming. Personally, I’m pretty excited about this system. It’s a compelling PvP system that fits very well with the world we’re building, it’s a very different take on an age-old system, and it will give players an opportunity to experience Middle-earth from a very different perspective than they might be used to!

Stay tuned for more details!

Post by **Impenitent** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 1:47 am

At which stage of development is this game now? Is it "live" already? And how much does it cost?

I quite like the idea of hanging out in Lórien whenever I need some respite from life.

Post by **Alatar** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 9:06 am

Its in open Beta at the moment, so I'd expect it to go "live" withing a month or so. Unfortunately, you won't be able to hang around in Lórien just yet. At launch only Eriador will be available. Other areas will open up over time.

Post by **Impenitent** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 1:17 am

Well, elves have patience.

Post by **Frelga** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 1:20 am

Oh dear Eru, please don't let my husband see this!

Fri Sep 15, 2006 2:23 am

How much is worth to you to keep me from telling him about it this weekend.

Post by **superwizard** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 10:13 pm

Voronwë_the_Faithful wrote:How much is worth to you to keep me from telling him about it this weekend.

Now that´s just plain evil V

Post by **Alatar** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 2:03 pm

Celebrating round the Party tree

http://www.lotro-europe.com/news.php?id ... etype=News

Post by **Alatar** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 4:40 pm

Beta Players discuss being a Hobbit!

After Archet burned, I didn’t stick around to help with the clean-up. I went directly to The Shire to begin exploring. I found that even as a low level Hobbit Burglar, I could safely wander just about any where I wanted as long as I stayed on the roads. Now mind you, if I saw a wolf just off my right side, I veered off the road a little to the left side J. Of course there was no way I was going to actually STAY on the roads, but it was nice to know I could get from point A to point B by myself if I wanted. But, let me tell you every foot of the way there is something alluring just off the path in just about every direction. As a chicken burglar, err, Hobbit Burglar, I could sneak around the beasties and thugs with a little effort. So I adventured off the roads often, and I had countless opportunities to engage in battle if I chose.
I don’t want to boast, but I have a Widescreen LCD monitor and 5.1 surround sound, and let me tell you I was immersed. The sound cues of birds and animals all around me in the woods are fantastic. I could hear a gentle breeze blowing as an occasional leaf or two fell from the trees. I can’t believe the diversity of the NPCs. As I trotted along I would see workers on the roof of a shop making repairs, people sitting under a tree picnicking, and I came across an Inn where there were 3 minstrels performing on an outdoor stage while others danced. There were big tables with food, and people eating, drinking (pints), talking, and laughing, and there was even one guy passed out at the table hugging his pint. The amazing thing was that none of these people were anywhere near any of the major Points of Interest.

I decided that I could probably work on a Quest or two while I was exploring. I thought I would try some of the delivery quests and lo and behold, some things needed to be addressed in an urgent manner! I found myself with a mail satchel and a little timebar letting me know how long I had to get to my destination. Along with all the distractions, it was also necessary to avoid nosey Hobbits and as I hurried with my parcel, the list of things I wanted to go back and look at later became longer and longer. Lots of fun, little mini-game type things collecting eggs without getting spotted by the rooster are fun, although it took me several attempts before I finally succeeded.
I found a variety of challenges with varying levels of difficulty, and a couple times I did get frustrated enough to walk away from something. There were always at least five or six other things I was doing as well, so I just would come back to it later. Many of the frustrations came from the fact that it is Beta, so not everything is labeled correctly yet etc. and yet I repeatedly forgot I was actually in Beta. Farming was something I was very anxious to try. It took a bit to get things going and figure out how things work but I am proud to say I now have a nice stash of Longbottom Pipeweed Tobacco in my inventory. Now if I could just find my pipe…
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I chose a Hobbit so as to play in a different area than Combe and Bree, where I have spent extensive time already. I also wanted to explore the Shire and find such revered locations as Bag End. While I was expecting a different geography and even NPC representations of characters as the Gaffer, I was not prepared for the charm of the quests.

I believe that the personality of the Hobbit race is well captured in the quests. The majority of the quests I have undertaken as a Bounder give wonderful insights into the everyday life of the Shire’s denizens. From saving some chickens from encroaching wolves, to delivering eggs, to a postal delivery series (that helps to teach you where the towns are) - the quests were fun and allowed the explorer in my blood to concentrate less on killing X-quantity of Y-threat, and more on exploring and discovering.

The sights themselves were rather captivating as well. I popped over a hill heading out of Hobbiton and I was greeted with an unexpected rainbow in the sky. I found there to be many small surprises such as this, such as the Hobbit lad that is having an adventure by paddling a canoe a few hundred yards down a shallow creek.

This is not to say that the questing is all community relations. Beyond Scary and the Greenfields, there is the danger of two Goblin encampments that I helped to uncover. As I move upwards in the responsibilities of a Bounder, I am beginning to see more of Sauron’s work tainting the Shire. Hobbits are the Shire and the Shire is the Hobbits, so it’s no surprise that I like my Hobbit as much for the location as I do for the race.
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Concerning Hobbits.

I created my Hobbit and entered Middle-earth not knowing what to expect. Sure, I have read the books (many times), and seen the movies (again, many times), but what would I see in LOTRO?

In short, the world is absolutely beautiful! As I was wandering around in the Shire, I was totally blown away by how everything looked. Turbine has captured the Shire perfectly. Every building, the landscape, the people, all seem so familiar to me. Honestly, I wish I could buy a house and live there.

As I began my questing journey (and thank you so much for making the quests in the Shire mostly non-violent!), time and again I was impressed by the actions, motivations, and dialog of the local Hobbits. Each 'clan’ of the Hobbits have their own issues, reactions, and ways of dealing with their problems. While running back and forth completing quests I ran into so many of the people I knew from the books. I really enjoyed seeing the Sackville-Bagginses standing out front of Bag End.

I began doing the quests, but in all honesty, I didn’t get very far before I started just running around and exploring. Crossing the Brandywine into Buckland. Taking the Great East Road to Bree and the Prancing Pony. It all was just fantastic.

I haven’t gotten very far with my Hobbit yet. It seems I just get started playing and it is time for bed. I get so immersed in Middle-earth that time just flies. There are so many things I still have to learn how to do in this game it is going to take me a long, long time. I found, and reported, a few things I found wrong, but the general state of this game is way ahead of where I thought it would be in a Beta.

I love the look and feel of my Hobbit. The size is right, the clothes are right, and the world is right.

Post by **superwizard** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 8:24 pm

Wow that's truly amazing Al!

Post by **Impenitent** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 1:51 am

I went to the game site and nosed around as much as I could as non-registered person (and on a Mac; some links didn't work and I suspect that was due to operating system problems) and it looks so lovely! It's the sort of game that I'd feel very comfortable for my kids to play. I wonder when it will be formally launched? And then I'll have to invest in a PC for my kids.

Post by **Alatar** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 4:33 pm

So I've been playing the Beta as part of the "Stress Test" this weekend.

The game certainly is not as smooth or polished as WoW, but its also only in Beta so I'm willing to cut them some slack.

In brief, I don't think WoW can be topped at doing what it does best, so the question becomes how does LOTRO rate as a Tolkien themed WoW.

Well, in addition to the usual "kill 5 groundsnappers" type missions there are many that have a more Tolkien feel. One of the nicest features is the instanced intorduction, even if it takes more than a few liberties with Tolkien. Before I continue with this it has to be said that you can't make a purist Tolkien game. If its purist, it has to stick to canon only, which leaves you nothing to make a game out of. As such, all you can hope for is that they won't contradict canon and that the additions feel right. Of course, thats going to depend on the player, so its impossible to keep everyone happy.

The storyline of the Dwarven introduction goes something like this. In the 75 years since Thorin left his halls in Ered Luin to follow the quest for Erebor, a faction of Dwarves known as the Dourhands took control of Thorins Halls. In the introductory quest you arrive as Dwalin and others of Thorins company are attempting to retake Thorins halls. In the final introductory quest we learn that the Dourhands have brokered a deal with the Witchking of Angmar to return one of their old Kings to life. In a nice purist/revisionint touch Dwalin tells you that although the Dwarves believe some of their ancestors are reborn this is a perversion of that, and that he believes the spirit that will be returned will be a barrow wight and not the spirit of the King. Its a clever mingling of "fact" and "fiction" if you'll pardon the terminology.

One of the other nice features is that this whole section is run as an "instance". So, all new players arrive in Thorins hall when the Dourhands are in charge, but by the time they finish the quest cycle the Dourhands have been driven out. This gives a nice persistent feel to the world and gives the illusion that your actions have consequences. After the introductory quests you return to Thorins halls in the "real world" where the Longfathers (Thorins people) are in power.

This is one of the real strencths of LOTRO so far. While WoW is essentially a quest to the next highest level, LOTRO has "Epic Quests" in addition to the standard quests. These Epic quests seem to be all about moving the story forward, so instead of questing for more money, or better gear, or your mount, you're actually questing to get to the next chapter of the story. Its working well so far, but how long they can sustain it will be the real test.

From a technical standpoint, the stress test was a dismal failure, as it took over a day to even get connected and even once on there was a lot of lag in populated areas. Still, given the nature of the test there was always going to be a lot of people in the same places rather than spread out as they would get over time. Also, every time a building or cave was entered, the door would show a Black opening then a loading screen. It makes you really appreciate the seamless nature of WoW, where all loading seems to be cached in the background. I hope this is something that is changed for launch. Graphics were fine, but nothing startling. I ran at the default settings of "medium quality 1024x768" with no problems on my Athlon 2800 with Radeon 9800 Pro.

I found the Tolkien "feel" to be ok, but not brilliant. Creatures like the Cavesnappers were very un-Tolkieny (good word huh), but the Architecture felt good. Accents are all British which helps a lot, although there are few enough of them. More voice acting would flesh this out dramatically (in both senses of the word).

One huge caveat! Only Eriador is covered at launch. Only when you zoom out the map do you realise how small an area that is. The opening area is not huge by any means and is only one of 8 or 9 areas in Eriador. An active player could probably get through all those areas in a month or so. Only time will tell.

Overall, I can certainly see myself playing more of the Beta and I'll definitely buy the game.

Post by **superwizard** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 10:35 pm

Thanks for sharing your experiences with us Al! It seems like a pretty good game once they get the kinks out of it...