November 4, 2009 Leave a comment
Here is the original source
This is unheard of in the mmo world a game that is releasing a new server after being out for over 3 years. I hope that this success lets them move the F2P model to LoTRO, I would really enjoy that being free any time I wanted it. I think it would be a lot more work to convert but I think it would be worth it.
October 13, 2009 Leave a comment
This is a repost of one of my earlier blog post. I did not have many readers at this time so most of you probably have not read it. I thought of it when I was writing my last post and I thought that the related post plugin would link to it but it did not so here it is!
I played Lord of the Rings Online a lot this weekend and I have decided to stay with WAR. While LOTRO has a lot of things that it did right and it is a superb game it is missing a few things that would make it stick for me and has one HUGE glaring problem.
As I have stated in a previous post I do not like quests that take a long time to complete and LOTRO is full of them. There are so many crappy quests to do that you can’t even count them. I DO NOT WANT TO DELIVER A DAMN LETTER TO A HOBBIT! Who thought it was a good idea to make people run all over the freaking country side (Beautiful as it may be) for a quest? Who thinks it is fun to do this? WHO? I want exciting quest, I want to kill things. I don’t want to be a damn post master. All of the exciting quest are group based and they are few and far between in the first 10 levels. I spent 20 minutes trying to find a rabbit hole. Then after I found it I had to run 15 mins to the other side of the zone to show it to some dude who then sent me back to investigate further. This is an example of how to not make quests. A few quests like this may be necessary to move people on to the proper locations, but don’t make this part of the main epic story line. Please show me where to go. I don’t want to figure it out. I don’t want to read why Betty is missing her little kitty. I don’t want to wonder around for 20 minutes trying to find the stupid cat.
I am not saying that LOTRO is a bad game. There are people out there that want to stick their hands into bunny holes and deliver letters while avoiding nosey hobbits, they like to run around, hold hands, and sing kum bi ya. I am not one of those.
October 13, 2009 Leave a comment
I just recieved this in my email
Offering a free expansion if you purchase a certain subscription seems like a pretty good idea. 3 months of subscription is more than the expansion and it really cost them very little. I do not know if they are offering this to current customers, if they are not they should. I will probably be logging in during the free week and depending no how that goes I may subscribe. So there you have it email marketing does work. Not only am I going to try it again I am going to post about it on my blog for all of my many readers (all 25 of you) to read.
April 8, 2009 1 Comment
1. Quest Based Advancement
All current major MMOs advancement is based on completing quest. This started with WoW and that trend has continued. In the beginning of MMOs this was not the case. UO did not have any real quests and while Everquest had that in its name questing was not the main way to earn experience. Everquest relied on the camping mechanic, stay in one spot and kill lots of things for hours. The quests were a way to get loot not advance your character. Every game after that point used this mechanic in some way. They all tried to stop the camping problem but none of them were very successful.
Then the “Next Generation” of MMOs were released, these were World of Warcraft and Everquest 2 both of these games brought quest based advancement as the main way to level. There was still some camping involved but most experience was gained through completing quests. Now every game that comes out tries to take this to the next level and does it wrong. The problem with quest based advancement is that you spend to much time getting to and from the quest objectives. They are really just running exercises. They are all the same, go here and kill this, go here and talk to him. Camping has pretty much disappeared entirely.
A middle ground should be reached where camping is still an option. Camping was a good way to build community because you get to talk to your group mates instead of running around trying to find the last sick bear. I think they should mix up camping and make more instanced dungeons for groups. Maybe make them random with a token system so that you can pick what you want. This way they could make some generic story lines and make some really cool instances. DDO does this very well. You could also combine the questing and grinding by giving out xp rewards for killing 1000 spotted owls. They would need to bring back static spawn points to make this work. Players need a wide variety of play options and each one needs to be about equal to keep a play type from dominating the other.
2. WoW
The Juggernaut World of Warcraft is going to destroy MMOs. Every game since WoW has followed them. Just like EQ before, it sets the bar and is the game that every new game is judged against. The problem with this is it is not a very good game. It is not revolutionary. It looks like crap. The classes are all generic. It is really a casual EQ. But it has become so big that any game that does not manage to get 1 million subscribers is considered a failure. Before WoW EQ was king with 400,000ish players. This is what every one strives to be and if you got half of what eq had you were considered a success. No one can ever dream of getting half of what WoW has. They would need 4 million players to reach half the numbers that WoW has, and I am not sure that it would even be considered a success then. WoW was a fluke and will not be duplicated for some time to come.
The industry is striving to reach an unreachable goal. They are coping WoW to try to reach that goal. Any new game that comes out should hope to get over 100k and budget every thing for that many people. Expecting to much really hurt WAR and forced it to do server merges not even 6 months after release. It did the same for Age of Conan. A subscriber base of 100k will bring in $1.5 million a month. If you can’t claim success with that kind of revenue you are aiming too high. When publishers start aiming lower they will start to see more chances being taken and with those chances we will get the real innovations that are needed to take this genre to the next level.
3. Casual Players
I happen to be a casual player I play maybe 10 hours a week. Casual players are what made WoW so successful. But what makes WoW push the boundaries of game design are the hardcore players. They are the ones that eat through the content and demand more. They are the ones that find the bugs and exploit them. They make the guides, websites, and plugins that really make the game. Because of them we get interesting instances and new content. They are the ones that complain on the message boards and test the new changes. They are the raid, guild, and group leaders that make a lot of instances and raids possible for most players.
They play to be the most uber player on the server. With out them the game would go stale and die. I do not think that you should have to be a hardcore player to get the items that you want. But the games MUST be made for these people. The raids must exist the new content must be put into the game to keep it fresh and growing.
April 6, 2009 3 Comments
I played Lord of the Rings Online a lot this weekend and I have decided to stay with WAR. While LOTRO has a lot of things that it did right and it is a superb game it is missing a few things that would make it stick for me and has one HUGE glaring problem.
As I have stated in a previous post I do not like quests that take a long time to complete and LOTRO is full of them. There are so many crappy quests to do that you can’t even count them. I DO NOT WANT TO DELIVER A DAMN LETTER TO A HOBBIT! Who thought it was a good idea to make people run all over the freaking country side (Beautiful as it may be) for a quest? Who thinks it is fun to do this? WHO? I want exciting quest, I want to kill things. I don’t want to be a damn post master. All of the exciting quest are group based and they are few and far between in the first 10 levels. I spent 20 minutes trying to find a rabbit hole. Then after I found it I had to run 15 mins to the other side of the zone to show it to some dude who then sent me back to investigate further. This is an example of how to not make quests. A few quests like this may be necessary to move people on to the proper locations, but don’t make this part of the main epic story line. Please show me where to go. I don’t want to figure it out. I don’t want to read why Betty is missing her little kitty. I don’t want to wonder around for 20 minutes trying to find the stupid cat.
I am not saying that LOTRO is a bad game. There are people out there that want to stick their hands into bunny holes and deliver letters while avoiding nosey hobbits, they like to run around, hold hands, and sing kum bi ya. I am not one of those.
April 3, 2009 Leave a comment
I played Lord of The Rings online when it was first released. I liked it but did not stick with it. So now with the welcome back weekend I decided to give it another go. I must say it has changed and the changes have been good.
There are a few things that I really like about this game. The environment is just spectacular. It runs smooth and looks great. It is great to be able to see all of these places that you dreamed of as you read the books. Turbine has done a tremendous job of bringing middle earth to life. I can spend hours just sight seeing, this is a welcome change for me after WAR, it is really very boring.
The servers are full of people. This is probably my number one problem with WAR right now, there is no one to do the great PQs with. The region chat is very active and the world just feels like it has a lot of people in it. It makes getting groups and questing a breeze. I do not know if it is because of the welcome back promotion or if this game is really that active.
The story line, I like to have a story line to follow. The epic quest line is a great story that lets you follow your heroes through the game. I have not experienced this with WAR it would be a very nice touch. There is so much lore to build on it is a shame that WAR has not used it.
Now the things I did not like. PVP stinks! It is pretty much crap compared to WAR. WAR’s pvp is far superior to it, and almost all other games I have played and is the sole reason that I will continue to play WAR. Nothing compares to to hunting other humans.
The quest system, it is fairly clunky and really does not show you where the quest objectives are. I do not like running around looking for the objective. I want it to point me to it. I have a very limited amount of time to play and I do not want to spend that time trying to find a spotted bear in a forest that has a rotted toe nail.
I will play this game a bit more and see where it takes me. I plan on continueing with WAR but some times you need a little change.
March 17, 2009 Leave a comment
http://www.lotro.com/gameinfo/vol2-book7
This game gets better with every patch. I really enjoyed this game when it first come out. The PVE is second to none but the PVP is really boring. Patches like these make me want to return to Middle Earth and take a look
January 27, 2009 Leave a comment
Source From the guy that inspired me to blog.
The biggest problem with vertical progression is it makes your current content obsolete and useless. By expanding out you do not kill your high end raids. This makes it so they do not have to recreate a bunch of new raids for the new level cap. They can just change current raids a little to keep them fresh. I do not know another company that has been able to successfully do this I wish WAR luck.
January 20, 2009 Leave a comment
Original:
Feature Article: The Lord of the Rings Online™ Solo Play, 40th – 60th Level
As your adventuring career crests at 40th level, your strength and renown reaches epic proportions. You are needed more than ever to help purge the land of the forces of the Dark Lord Sauron.
You might think that with the increased strength of Orcs, Goblins, Drakes, and other savage beasts that soloing is no longer an option—quite the contrary! With the addition of the Moria expansion, opportunities for solitary play abound beneath the Misty Mountains in the lands the Dwarves once called Khazad-dûm.
Soloing Quests Before Moria
While you can’t trace the path of the Fellowship of the Ring and begin your exploration of Moria until you’ve completed quests in the western lands of Eriador, you’re not required to follow that same path. You don’t have to complete Volume I quests before you start on Volume II. Access to Moria is gated by the start of Volume II of the epic storyline. This series of solo quests leads up to the gates of Moria itself and prepares you for the challenges that lie ahead.
Below are some quest hubs where you can find solo adventuring.
Men of Bree
The lands of Bree have served as a stronghold of commerce and military might for the Race of Man since the start of the Third Age. Since the tragic fall of the lands of Arnor, the Men of Bree have kept a watchful eye on the evil festering in the hills of the Barrow-downs. With the rise of Lord Saruon, vile things have begun to stir once more.
The Men of Bree is a series of reputation quests that send your hero deep into the heart of the Barrow-downs and the dungeon of Haudh Iarchith. There are other lower level reputation quests, but you cannot access the barrow-wight infested catacombs of Haudh Iarchith by finishing them. The Hunters of Bree need help driving the evil from the dungeon and surrounding area, and the reputation gained from these quests can help your hero with crafting powerful items, gaining travel to neighboring regions, and accessing unique vendors.
To start this series, find Thomas Thistlewool near the Bree Vault who starts you on the quests Tad’s Request and Thistlewool’s Sullied Name. In addition, the Deed quests Brood-hunter and Grave-digger can be accomplished within the tunnels of Haudh Iarchith. Gaining reputation with the Men of Bree can get you swift access to Suri-kylä and the lands of Forochel.
Lossoth of Forochel
Forochel is a large expanse of ice and snow north of Evendim and Angmar, settled by a group of people known as the Lossoth. Solo quests here are for heroes of 44th through 50th level and involve building a rapport with the Lossoth. The primary town is Suri-kylä, located on the northern shores of the Ice Bay of Forochel; this is where most of the solo quests are. Hunters especially will find Forochel an excellent place for challenging adventures.
Within Forochel, you can also find several series of solo quests that can gain your hero reputation points with the Lossoth. There are many quests of every variety here, with the majority being kills and discovery – sending your hero into the frozen wastes in search of items. If your hero can achieve Ally or Kindred reputation level, you can gain access to a Superior Workbench used for crafting, several rare recipes, and even the ability to buy a tundra horse or pony. Other rewards include unique armor and weapons, housing decorations, and a few class-based items. Some of the quest-specific hubs in Forochel are:
Rivendell and the Misty Mountains
Protected by the legendary House of Elrond, Rivendell and the Misty Mountains to the north are two of the most famous regions of Middle-earth where your hero can venture. Solo quests typically begin in Rivendell and move north and east toward the legendary birthplace of Durin the Deathless, First Father of the Dwarves.
The High Pass, one of the more noted locations from Tolkien lore is also a solo quest hub. It is where Thorin’s party and Bilbo Baggins unlocked a way to Goblin-town. To make your way through the High Pass you’ll need the help of Gloin, a member of Thorin’s company and other NPCs, who’ll start you on the quests Into the High-pass, Goblin Hunt, Against the Pack, and Thorkell has Fallen, as well as other solo opportunities on your way toward Goblin-town.
Goblin-town, a network of caves and tunnels beneath the High Pass, east of Rivendell, is one of the largest gatherings of these vile creatures in all of Middle-earth. It is also the place where Bilbo first confronted the creature Gollum and came into possession of the One-Ring. Quests center on slaying Goblins and Wargs and bringing down the bosses that rule here – including the Great Goblin. The quests are difficult, but possible if your hero is near 50th level. Quests to defeat the Goblin leader include: A Missing Scout; Down, Down to Goblin-town; Memory of the Wargs; Order from the Darkness; The Undiscovered Path; Bilbo’s Buttons; and Leaders of the Deep.
The Quest Hubs of Moria
After completing Volume II, Book 1, your hero can delve into the Mines of Moria. The caverns of Moria are vast and seemingly endless, and throughout the sunless passages are many quests and opportunities to help the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm reclaim their ancestral home.
Once in Moria, your access to solo quests is immediate. In addition to gaining discovery Deeds as you explore these ancient halls, there are
chances to net reputation with the Dwarves (which includes the Iron Garrison Guards) as they struggle against Orcs, Goblins, and other wild and savage creatures that dwell here. Many of these solo quests also offer the chance for Legendary Item experience, as the legendary weapons you gain become more powerful and take on lives of their own. Soloing throughout Moria can be broken down into different regions and levels, as well as including the lands to the east. Beware of the different creatures that inhabit these regions as you move through tunnels and caverns to quest hubs.
Western Moria
As you pass through the Doors of Durin and enter Moria, you’ll find yourself in the western levels of the Great Delving and at the first of two hubs in this region, called Durin’s Threshold. Look for the quests Welcome to Moria and In Pursuit to get you started. Through the tunnels to the east is Dolven-view, the second of the two hubs. Here you can obtain several quests for reputation with the Iron Garrison Guards: A Gleam the Gloom, Cleaning the Slate, and Clear Tunnels. Heroes of at least 51st level are needed to survive in The Great Delving.
Below the Great Delving stretch the western depths of the Silvertine Lodes. The Dwarves of the Iron Garrison ask you to scout and report on Goblin activity here, as well as thinning out their ranks and defeating their leader. Look for the quests The Mark of Loyalty, Know Thine Enemy, and Lawlessness Among Goblins. Heroes of at least 53rd level are needed to fight the Goblins and dangerous insects.
Deep below the Great Delving and the Silvertine Lodes are the flooded levels of the Water-works. These ancient floodgates were once used to cool the fiery forges of Khazad-dûm, but today are filled with deadly spiders, salamanders, and slimes. At the Rotting Cellar at the heart of the Water-works the Dwarves require help with the quests Lying in Wait, Churning Froth, and Dark and Shallow Water. In addition to earning more reputation with the Iron Garrison, these quests offer Item Advancement as well as rare Rune-keeper stones. The Water-works are not for the faint of heart, and heroes below 54th level should beware.
Central Moria
North and east of the Great Delving are the passages of Durin’s Way, where the Dwarves of the Iron Garrison struggle against the Orcs of the White-hand. At the Chamber of the Crossroads, the Dwarves struggle to establish their presence, and your hero can help by completing Drums of War, Stronghold of the Goblins, Shattered, and Likmund’s Companions. To the east in Jazârgund, also known as the Stone Hall, the Dwarves ready themselves for reinforcements; help them with the quests Hope from the East and Crashing Down. These tasks are best completed once your hero has achieved at least 51st level.
As you travel south from Durin’s Way you’ll come upon the halls of Zelem-melek and the chambers of the Twenty-first Hall. The latter is where the Fellowship of the Ring discovered the Chamber of Mazarbul and fled the terror of the Balrog. In the monster’s wake a tribe of Mordor Orcs have established camps outside of the Twenty-first Hall. You can assist the Dwarves of Zelem-melek with the quests A Multitude of Durub, Balin’s Pride, and Lines of Power. Since these involve small mobs of Orc-kind, your hero should be at least 52nd level for these solo quests.
The Shadowy Abyss
Beneath the halls of Nud-melek and the Redhorn Lodes are the blood-stained caverns of the Shadowy Abyss and the deepest outpost of the Dwarves—the Shadowed Refuge. Dwarves and Elves fight a losing battle against the most powerful and vile servants of Dark Lord and Mazog. Your hero can help the Dwarves and Elves by taking on the quests Infestation, Eight-legged Insanity, Lurking in the Shadows, and Infected Samples. These are the most dangerous solo quests within the walls of Moria, and your hero should be 57th level or higher.
Dimrill Dale
The Eastern Gate of Moria is found beyond the Bridge of Khazad-dûm and the First Hall. It leads to Dimrill Dale, Lake Mirrormere and the lands of Lothlórien. Camped in the Nanduhirion is the last bastion of the Dwarves of Moria, trying to hold at bay the Orc-kind sending supplies to their kin beneath the mountains. The Dwarves have several hit-and-run quests here: Digging West and Sappers at the Stone. For those who have earned power within Moria and crested 58th level, the more difficult quests of Fuel for the Fire, Halting the Advance, and Silence of the Wargs present a great challenge.
I like how Turbine publishes this on the Lotro site. I am called to this game ever so often. It is very pretty and has very good PVE maybe the best.
Mission Based Questing
April 9, 2009 1 Comment
I am on a questing kick in my last few posts. I believe that questing and how it is done is what is breaking the MMO experience for me. If a company were to mix all of these elements together in some way, I believe that it would be the perfect MMO. Or I am just getting sick of the whole genre and I should go buy a Wii and play a bunch of shitty casual games.
Mission based questing is a quest system that uses personal or group instances a lot. City of Heroes uses this in most of its quests as does Dungeons and Dragons online. Anarchy Online was the first to to do it and it was a big selling point for them and it would of worked had you been able to play AO in the first 3 months. The idea is simple go to a NPC and they give you this quest/mission to go here and find some thing or do some thing. You then go somewhere on the map and zone into your own private questing area and complete the task. The areas are usually full of mobs and a few bosses. When you are done you get a reward.
The benefits of this type of system is the ability to control the encounter. You can have scripted events and mobs that act a little smarter because they are in a controlled environment. You can tell better stories and the experience is not hampered by other players. You also do not run back and forth much for the quest, you get there and you spend 20 -30 minutes completing your task. This is very good for casual players, it allows you to log on do a quest that you actually make some progress on your character on and log off.
A few recent games have dabbled in this and have had some success. Age of Conan does it pretty well in the first 20 levels after that it is back to the old fashioned run here and do this and run back type of questing. DDO relies extensively on this and as a result does not have a very large world to explore. LOTRO does this for its epic story line and a select few quest most of them are group based. WAR does not do this at all and it would be a very welcome addition.
I want this type of questing to be an option that you can do any time and do not need a quest to do. I want to be able to grind these if I want. The questing zones must be very well done not random like a lot of the previous games have done. There needs to be mini missions inside that grant you extra experience or gear, like killing all of the mobs, finding the rare chest, or finding the secret room. The quest giver needs to be stationary so all quest to this particular mission area are given by one person. You could create story arcs. Just the act of zoning in could start the quest. They must be repeatable.
All of this must be mixed with other types of advancement to give the player the option to level how they want to. This is all about choice, we play these games to have fun and we should be able to choose how we would like to play, and one person should not be penelized for doing something different.
Filed under Uncategorized Tagged with AoC, Commentary, LOTRO, WAR