Fire in the Hole Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Well, my interest in playing (and time available for) WoW has been dwindling, but I recently tuned into this little gem coming out of Turbine. Turbine is the latest (and, apparently, last) in a long line of developers that have been playing a sort of hot potato with this license to develop an MMO based on the books. This means that the game has technically been in development for over four years, and now it is finally set for release on the 24th of this month with. Live content is claimed to cover approximately the first book of Fellowship, with the playable region limited to Eriador and the final areas being Trollshaws (around Rivendell) and Angmar (Ringwraith city in the North), but Turbine expects expansions to follow Frodo's journey as a "parallel storyline" all the way through. LotRO is most directly (and often) compared to WoW in terms of play mechanics, but there are very big differences. Probably the most noticeable is the lack of true, honest-to-God PvP; as the four playable races are all of the Free Peoples (Men, Hobbits, Dwarves and Elves--Wood-Elves, mind you, not the High-Elves of Rivendell), combat on that front is limited to "sparring." Instead, Turbine has introduced a Player versus Monster Player system, in which players may travel to designated regions and either assume command of a monster character (Uruks as fighters and archers, spiders, and worgs at present) or simply use their standard character (level 40+) to battle it out. This makes PvMP separate from those who want to just go through the game free of harassment and incredibly available for more competitive types, which is just fine by me. Another big (but less noticeable at the outset) difference is the classes. Although many parallels can be drawn to traditional MMORPG classes, every class (except for Guardian, the tank class) seems somehow unlike those of any other game. One class (Captain) seems to be completely original to me, as I can think of no other class in any other game remotely like it. These differences are most probably because of the lack of traditional magic, which means there is only one real "caster" class (Lore-master) and only magic-like effects present in the abilities of each class. Hell, the squishy healers wear shields and sing songs! Other things to note include the graphic style (which is refreshingly beautiful and very well produced, coming out of the cartoony feel of WoW) and the challenge aspect (LotRO is supposedly one of the easiest MMORPGs to get into and begin levelling, but the challenge increases as you level to become very interesting and engaging closer to the level 50 cap). There are also cooperative abilities called "conjunctions" that may be used by groups of players (which, creatively enough, are called "fellowships" in LotRO, with guilds being called "kinships"). Anyway, the reason I'm opening this thread now is that LotRO's open beta is unlocked to the general public tomorrow (the 6th), so I figured I'd let everyone know about it who hasn't heard. It's nearly a 4-GB download, but I had it done and installed in 8 hours (and there's a Bittorrent option if your direct download speeds are suffering). Open beta is capped at 15, but from what I've heard about the time and challenge involved in getting to that cap, one should be able to try out several classes to the full extent of the beta before the game goes live. Anyone who pre-ordered becomes a "founder," and had early access to open beta (beginning last week on the 30th), but if you like the game enough there's no reason not to pre-order still, because other founder benefits include the option to transfer five of your beta characters to the live servers and access to a "special" $9.99 monthly subscription (normal subscription costs are yet to be determined, but almost certainly more expensive than that). If I really like the game I'll probably pre-order a few days before release just for those benefits. [sign-up and download for open beta can be accessed here (link).] This is the site for North American and Australian players only--link for Europeans is at the bottom. So, this thread is currently for anyone who plans on joining the beta, or simply wants to hear about it from those who do. Maybe if there are any founders on OCR who are already playing we can organize a server for everyone to join; if not, I'll be creating a Dwarf Hunter ASAP tomorrow and posting name and server for anyone who wants to join me. I've got a RL friend planning to join me as a Dwarf Champion already, but the more the merrier. For any tl;dr comments: stfu. ; / Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raenok Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Honestly, I hope this games does well enough to be a considerable alternative in the market. Not to say I haven't gotten bored with WoW, but in the business world, competition is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Orichalcon Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Looks intriguing. 11 hours? Will check it out tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire in the Hole Posted April 5, 2007 Author Share Posted April 5, 2007 Looks intriguing. 11 hours? Will check it out tomorrow. From the countdown on the sign-up page, it looks like it's starting at 2 PM EST tomorrow (23 hours). Also, they're opening up four new servers for all the open beta chaps, so I'll probably be joining one of those (Nimrodel is an... interesting name). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sephfire Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 I know it's shallow, but the fact that they aren't working off the movie license disappoints me a tad. On one hand, that gives them freedom to explore new artistic directions with the series, but on the other, the films portrayed Middle Earth so well, it's hard to look at it any other way. Just the same, I hope it sells well. Nothing like a little competition to bring new ideas into the genre and push competitors further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Instrumental Light Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 honestly speaking, i think its kinda cool that they are basing it on the book. because its the original, and there are things in the book that arent in the movie. sounds cool, gonna check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja-san Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Im not that intrested in the game even though I love the books. Imo theres already enough fantasy based mmorpgs out. Same races, same scenery, same gameplay; nothing new that makes me want to buy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 haha, i like all these music videos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supremespleen Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 Tom Bombadil better be in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire in the Hole Posted April 6, 2007 Author Share Posted April 6, 2007 Tom Bombadil better be in it. http://www.lotro.com/index.php?page_id=20&pagebuilder[module]=faq&pagebuilder[display_item]=19#adventuringinmiddleearth33 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 God I'm a sucker. D/ling the beta right now. I got really bored of WoW at lvl 66. I donno why Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire in the Hole Posted April 6, 2007 Author Share Posted April 6, 2007 God I'm a sucker. D/ling the beta right now. I got really bored of WoW at lvl 66. I donno why To me, WoW's end game just seems like too much work with too little challenge. But enough about WoW in this thread--LotRO (I hope) will be a different game entirely. My friend and I have decided to roll Dwarves, Hunter (myself) and Champion (him), on the new Firefoot server (assuming it's up in time for the public open beta tomorrow). If anyone wants to join us there, let me know. I'll drop a line with my character name here as soon as I secure it, although he'll be away most of the day so we probably won't get into it much until later tomorrow night. The saddest part about this is that I was seriously considering dropping a pre-order today, just to play 23 hours earlier, even though the whole reason I want to play the beta is to see if I want to pre-order it so I can get the $9.99 monthly long-term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire in the Hole Posted April 6, 2007 Author Share Posted April 6, 2007 Looks like Turbine decided to spring public beta open a few hours ahead of schedule! I'm playing a Dwarf Hunter named Othur on the Firefoot server right now. So far so good, but damn is this thing resource-intensive. I've got to turn everything on low not to drop framerates like flies, and even then I still do at times (but more likely connection lag because I'm downloading Heroes episodes through BT right now). Anyone who wants to join me feel free to drop a line in-game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkwing Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 so lets all decide to just play on Firefoot then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 I would if I could get video to work. Everytime I log on I get a black screen with sound. I tried everything the site told me ( at least I think) but I still have the black screen : ( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkwing Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 i get to the select a world screen and it wont let me choose a world? any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire in the Hole Posted April 6, 2007 Author Share Posted April 6, 2007 i get to the select a world screen and it wont let me choose a world? any ideas? Are you waiting for it to ping the worlds? I.E. Do the icons just do nothing or do they turn into red circles with a white dash? If you wait a while they should become green checkmarks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkwing Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 they were just blank diamonds, and i went and clicked account and they turned into green checkmarks...musta just been glitching Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire in the Hole Posted April 7, 2007 Author Share Posted April 7, 2007 So... has anyone else got the feeling that this game is very, very unpolished, clumsy and awkward to control, and simply not original enough to warrant playing? I think the only excuse I would find to keep going with it is if I orgasmed at the sound of Tolkien's name or something. It's sad because I feel like the game has so much potential, it just doesn't execute it well, or perhaps only executes it at later levels when the challenge and uniqueness of the classes overcomes the annoying interface and otherwise bland mechanics. I get the sense that if only I could try the game at level 25 or even 50, like if I were in the old closed beta, I'd think differently--maybe. But maybe just doesn't cut it when to find out I'd have to shell out at least $60. I'll probably play it sparingly to try out the rest of the levels (at 10 currently), PvMP, and perhaps some other classes (Burglar, Captain, and Minstrel look somewhat more involving), but unless I find some miraculous hook, the game is just disappointing. (Fastest OP turn-around in game thread history?...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRedBob Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 So I have a level 7 Elf hunter. Got him all the way there two days ago, and only played for about fifteen minutes yesterday. I was having fun at first, but now it just seems like WoW without magic, a different storyline, and a more annoying interface. I love the books...but I've been playing WoW too long. I may even quit that. Curse you, MMO developers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The wingless Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 That's right, cattle. Keep playing that wonderful Midway published game. Yes... You don't need that job. That girlfriend? Pointless. Food? It would only slow down your rise to power and glory... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyne Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 Load times are taking forever, but then again, I have less than the recommended system requirements. Not that it matters, I just wanted to play the beta to see what it's like. It's not bad, graphically, it's pretty much on par with current MMORPGs. However, I think the music could use some work, as it sounds very bland. I understand though, that it's not the movies. Therefore, they didn't hire the same music producer that they did for the movies. Still, all in all, I like the experience so far, and the Hunter class is interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 So... has anyone else got the feeling that this game is very, very unpolished, clumsy and awkward to control, and simply not original enough to warrant playing? I think the only excuse I would find to keep going with it is if I orgasmed at the sound of Tolkien's name or something.It's sad because I feel like the game has so much potential, it just doesn't execute it well, or perhaps only executes it at later levels when the challenge and uniqueness of the classes overcomes the annoying interface and otherwise bland mechanics. I get the sense that if only I could try the game at level 25 or even 50, like if I were in the old closed beta, I'd think differently--maybe. But maybe just doesn't cut it when to find out I'd have to shell out at least $60. I'll probably play it sparingly to try out the rest of the levels (at 10 currently), PvMP, and perhaps some other classes (Burglar, Captain, and Minstrel look somewhat more involving), but unless I find some miraculous hook, the game is just disappointing. (Fastest OP turn-around in game thread history?...) I agree. This game has more bugs than uncle Jeb's garden shed, and only four races? Jeez. I can run oblivion on max settings no problem, yet in a tiny town on extreme minimum settings I get 2 fps? What the hell guys. I do like being a minstrel though, with the songs. But this thing lacks originality. It has WoW written all over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Just a lil bump. This game is really fun. On max settings everything is gorgeous. And while this game is really buggy, we have to keep in mind that this is the REASON it is open beta. Lots of games are horribly broken in open beta, and companies do this to improve. If this game is polished in the live version...I think I might buy it. I did a little thinking and while it takes a whole bunch of stuff on WoW, it sort of improves upon those things. The stuff it got from WoW weren't bad things either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citris Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Just a lil bump. This game is really fun. On max settings everything is gorgeous. And while this game is really buggy, we have to keep in mind that this is the REASON it is open beta. Lots of games are horribly broken in open beta, and companies do this to improve. If this game is polished in the live version...I think I might buy it. I did a little thinking and while it takes a whole bunch of stuff on WoW, it sort of improves upon those things. The stuff it got from WoW weren't bad things either. Not to mention it's an MMO, so it will update constantly. I left Guild Wars for 9 months and was stunned at the improvements when I got back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.