tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7560657494372167482023-06-20T06:51:48.633-07:00The Middle-Earth AdventurerA LOTRO Blog. Happy adventuring!Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.comBlogger436125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-23055325894873007662010-02-09T17:11:00.000-08:002010-02-09T17:39:10.381-08:00Social Scientist as Game Designer<div style="text-align: justify;">I have wondered for a while now if a social scientist, given the proper training, would make a good game designer. Heck, give him a double major in psychology and I think one might have the next super dev.<br /><br />This thought sprout out of my recent break from LOTRO (and blogging). Why did I just drop the game? Well, I started getting bored. I played LOTRO since August of '06 when I was invited to the closed beta. That's three years to the point that I stopped playing (a little longer). I don't think anybody could fault someone for taking a break after that sort of investment. But why was I bored?<br /><br />It's that kind of question that speaks to a social scientist. I happen to be one, or my degree is in social science. Perhaps armchair social scientist is a better term for what I do. I'm certainly not employed in the field. I digress. If we can answer those types of questions then I think MMOs can be designed to with greater sticking power.<br /><br />This type of discussion came up in the latest <a href="http://www.virginworlds.com/podcast.php?show=5&ep=57">Shut Up We're Talking</a>. Interestingly enough, this is the latest episode after Darren (the host) took a break from MMO playing and podcasting/blogging. Coincidence? I don't think so. Every guest agreed that there is (was?) a general discontentment amongst the blogosphere about MMOs through no fault of the games. Instead, it's the player's attitudes that are changing, rather than the games themselves. Perhaps that's the problem? Shouldn't the games adapt to what the players want?<br /><br />I speak in generalities, of course. Not every MMO player is burned out. The industry is still going strong. And MMOs do try to cater to what their population wants. So what's the missing link here - the muscle tissue, bone structure, that can lead the way to better design?<br /><br />I think the answer lies in understanding how people think, particularly players. One way they think is that not all of them think the same thing. SUWT touched on this and I think they're right: MMOs cannot cater to all audiences. WoW is the exception to the rule, the fluke, the unrepeatable success (well, maybe another Blizzard MMO). Instead of sending a dev team off with 50 million dollars to make the next WoW how about a few million and focus on a particular playstyle? Darkfall anybody?<br /><br />Seriously. Darkfall did that. So did Fallen Earth. Both are successful in their target audience. And those who don't like PvP or post-apocalyptic worlds don't care. That's fine. Ideally there will be a MMO for you.<br /><br />So what does all this have to do with LOTRO? Yes, this is still a LOTRO blog and I will not post without somehow linking it back to my beloved game. And yes, I still love this game. As a wise parent once told me, love is a choice, not an emotion. I choose to love LOTRO even though I'm not feeling it right now. Eh, more digression.<br /><br />LOTRO seems to be lacking something for me - I'm not quite in their target audience. Oh, sure, I look like it on the outside. I love the Lord of the Rings. I love RPGs. I'm a completionist. I can't stand PvP. Still, I'm straddling the line.<br /><br />I game for story. LOTRO has an awesome story. But all the other mechanics have impeded me in my quest to experience the story. Not because they're bad mechanics, or cumbersome. No, they're just required to use in order to play the story. So am I complaining that I can't just watch the LOTRO story passively? No. That wasn't what LOTRO was designed for. My increasing appetite for story out of my games is my own problem, not LOTROs. But I think games can be designed for people like me: The Longest Journey for instance. Or even the Bioware RPGs - heavy on talking and story (which is what I have been playing instead of LOTRO).<br /><br />Those are single-player examples. Can MMOs focus on story to the extent I want? Sure. The better question is "Is the target audience large enough to sustain such an MMO?" Let's go back to that money thing: Yes, if the budget and development take into account target audience size. What would that MMO look like? Good question. One I'm going to save for later.<br /><br />In any case, a social scientist understands personal and group motivations (or attempts to understand them). Considering MMOs deal with both motivations shouldn't we consider the value of such perspectives when developing these games?<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-1039998390554803492009-10-30T19:52:00.001-07:002009-10-30T20:34:06.905-07:00Of Fading Journeys<div style="text-align: justify;">If I hunted as much as my character hunts in LOTRO, I'd either be the world's best hunter or spending my life in prison for single-handedly killing off the world's food supply. Or both. You've all probably heard the gripe before - why do we kill so much wildlife? It's not just predators. We're slaughtering flies, deer, elk, neekers...<br /><br />I'm not really bothered by this. I just bring it up to illustrate a larger point about LOTRO being very much a game. I think now that I've been playing for a few years the magic has worn off and the virtual world skin has faded to reveal the true game beneath. There's very few MMOs, if any, that can truely be called a virtual world. That's because when we say MMO, or more correctly, MMORPG, we're stressing the G. The loss of the G is probably a side-effect of taking out RP. Very few of us actually role-play and there's hardly any structured support for that type of activity in the game anyway.<br /><br />Back to game vs virtual world. Beyond any other reason, I picked up LOTRO because I wanted a virtual Middle-Earth. With Shadows of Angmar, I got that, in so much as what was in at release. Now we're moving away, and while we see more of Middle-Earth, it's simply because that's where the fellowship is going and where we can introduce fun and cool and engaging content. The space serves the game rather than the game serves the space. I'm not arguing that this is not the way it should be. Indeed, LOTRO is a <span style="font-style: italic;">game</span> and should be developed towards a game. Furthermore, the recent and future content is and will be engaging. But it's not what I came to LOTRO for. I found fun, but not quite the fun I wanted. Only now that I've nearly exhausted that fun, have I seen this.<br /><br />To that end, the very gamey nature of LOTRO stands out for me more and more with each passing moment (boars, boars, and more boars). There will come a time, and quite quickly I'm afraid, where I'll cease to see it as a virtual representation of Middle-Earth at all, but rather a MMO with a Lord of the Rings skin. This saddens me in a way. First, because I really do love this game. And second, because despite such love, I cannot be sustained by it.<br /><br />All this, I think, is at the core of my recent apathy towards logging in and keeping current with this blog. It is with deep regret that I make what might seem like an abrupt about-face with The Adventurer, and say good-bye to blogging. It is not that I do not have anything to say, or that I'm quitting LOTRO, or the community. This blog cannot be maintained at the level of my current interest and investment. One should not feel forced to write, or pressured to keep up with the news enough to post every time a new bit of information is released. It might be said I've lost the passion that started the Adventurer. I don't think that's the case - rather that passion has been redirected. Strike that, the passion has continued on its course, the Adventurer and LOTRO simply didn't follow.<br /><br />Insert a lamentful sigh. I started writing this post with a completely different end-point in sight. I honestly did not start with the intent to make this a good-bye. But that's where it naturally flowed.<br /><br />What does that mean for my future as a LOTRO player? As I said, I will not stop playing, but I won't feel compelled to play for blogging, or to keep up with what's going on in the game. I will not disappear from the community - I still read the fellow LOTRO blogs, and will comment more often now that I'm not posting here. What this does offer me is an opportunity to pursue other forms of writing. I've aspired to be a professional fiction writer since high-school and yet have done little to further that goal. Perhaps now is the time to revisit this.<br /><br />Take care my fellow adventurers. May your journeys be forever blessed. I leave you last with a blessing from Elrond to the Fellowship as they departed:<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial;" class="postbody"><span style="font-size:100%;">"Ála</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> tira acca haiya! Mal<span lang="pl"> si</span> a vanya as márë órelyar! Namárië, ar nai aistalë Eldar ar Atani ar <span lang="pl">ilyë </span> Léralieron <span lang="pl">hilya le</span>! Eleni sílar antalyannar!</span>"</span><br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-65413393682113554982009-10-25T19:58:00.001-07:002009-10-25T20:16:06.080-07:00LOTR Day<div style="text-align: justify;">This isn't LOTRO related except for sharing the mythos. Yesterday (Saturday) I had my 6th annual LOTR Day. The previous 5 years comprised solely of a movie marathon, the first culminating with a trip to the midnight showing of Return of the King. This year, however, I decided to do something a little different. Instead of sitting on the couch or floor for 13 hours straight, I thought we'd mix it up a bit. Inspired by a post on <a href="http://stephaniedoes.com/2008/hobbit-meals/">another blog,</a> I set up a menu of 8 hobbit meals to have throughout the day as we watched the movies. The list went as followers:<br /></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Breakfast - Omellets with various filling including cheese, bacon, chives, and red peppers</li><li>Second Breakfast - Berries with whipped cream and/or yogurt</li><li>Elevensies - Bread and cheese (sharp cheddar and Gouda)</li><li>Luncheon - Chicken stuffed pastries</li><li>Afternoon Tea - Assorted teas and seed cake</li><li>Dinner - Green salad including spring mix, carrots, cucumber, egg, olives, and tomatoes</li><li>Supper - Lamb stew with potatoes, carrots, and onions</li><li>Dessert - Vanilla and peanut crunch cheese cake<br /></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;">We also had games going, predominantly LOTR Risk. The event was a huge success. 17 people attended, most for the whole duration - starting at 7:30 with Breakfast and ending at 10:30 with the completion of Return of the King. Of course, with 8 meals we ate every 2 hours or so, but the portions were small. Actually, they were perfect. Small enough to not overfill us but large enough to keep us satisfied until the next meal. With different people bringing a different meal, no one person was stuck in the kitchen the whole time or dropped a lot of coin on a lot of food. It's hard express in words how pleased I am with how everything turned out - everybody had a great time. Both pictures and video do not do it justice either, but I have both: a <a href="http://s179.photobucket.com/albums/w287/Jaxom92/LOTR%20Day%202009/">photobucket set</a> and a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsUDCXKKSPY">YouTube vid</a>. Enjoy.</div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-37219876601147078342009-10-20T21:14:00.001-07:002009-10-20T21:16:36.253-07:00Middle-Earth Chronicles<div style="text-align: justify;">I've found another LOTRO blog. I saw it linked in two separate places tonight so I definitely need to mention this before I call it a night. This one is called <a href="http://middleearthchronicles.wordpress.com/">Middle-Earth Chronicles</a>. They've been blogging since June this year, so they're pretty new, but the more the merrier I say! Do check them out.<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-67461904249175813742009-10-20T20:47:00.000-07:002009-10-20T20:53:39.276-07:00Hearing My Voice<div style="text-align: justify;">I know I've tweeted about it, but I don't think I've posted anything about my recent podcasting guest spots here on the blog. Over the course of three weeks I appeared on three different podcasts. Two were LOTRO related, one was not. The links are below if you're interested:<br /></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.virginworlds.com/podcast.php?show=5&ep=54">Shut Up We're Talking - Episode 54</a></li><li><a href="http://www.casualstrolltomordor.com/2009/10/episode6/">A Casual Stroll To Mordor - Episode 6</a></li><li><a href="http://lotroreporter.wordpress.com/2009/10/17/lotro-reporter-podcast-009-show-notes/">The LOTRO Reporter - Episode 9</a></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;">I definitely recommend the last two if only because they're LOTRO related and this is a LOTRO podcast. When guesting on SUWT, I was a little "star struck" and nervous. Hence I talked way too fast. And I cannot recommend A Casual Stroll to Mordor enough. Merric and Goldenstar are just hysterical. And I'd be remiss not specifically pointing out the awesome guys over at the Reporter - excellent podcasters, those two. Enjoy!<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-33577973635278089652009-10-20T20:05:00.000-07:002009-10-20T20:37:39.313-07:00What is Content?<div style="text-align: justify;">I got into a lively discussion on Twitter the other morning. And by morning I mean 5:45 AM. I like to check my overnight tweets before work (I follow quite a few people significantly outside my time zone). Anyhow, since I didn't ask permission to give out the name, this follower shall remain anonymous, but had a few gripes about <a href="http://my.lotro.com/orion/2009/10/16/factionreputation/">Orion's post</a> on some improvements to the rep system. The contention, if I didn't misunderstand, is that additions to the rep system, notably deeds for completing rep, doesn't constitute "content" where content is new activities for the player to partake in. Of course, we're arguing about the definition of "content." I assert that content is anything added to the game. My follower would prefer a more narrow reading of the term. I don't think this definition needs to be hard and fast. I can accept his opinion. Where the discussion became more dynamic was in the idea of too much non-content. And by non-content, I'm using the narrower definition.<br /><br />Indeed, the whole of Orion's post was about improving the reputation system, in some cases with what could be termed fluff content. That is, rewards that don't directly affect your ability to combat mobs or complete content. This is not to say the improvements won't include useful rewards, but Orion wanted to also implement these fluff items as well - albeit a ways in the future. Notable in my Twitter conversation was deeds for completing reputation. Not trying to put words into my follower's mouth, but it seemed that he would prefer resources devoted to more significant content. As a completionist, I would love deeds/titles for reaching kindred in rep. But I can understand why someone would be disappointed at seeing effort devoted to this type of content.<br /><br />On the whole, the reputation absolutely needs a steroids shot. It's pretty flabby now, and I think that's a relic of it being added post release, and with limited resources amidst a host of other content additions, many more significant or impacting than rep. The later rep "factions" (for lack of a better word) such as Forochel and Lothlorien implement reputation much better and more fluidly with the rest of the world - quests, deeds, gear, etc. But we're getting a piecemeal system, visible in the game. I would love to see Orion take putting all the reputation factions on the same level. This is especially important regarding rewards. Breeland and the Mathom Society, off the top of my head, have utterly useless rewards, almost entirely comprised of fluff. And this brings me to my last point: I agree with my follower that fluff is disconcerting - but only if all we're getting is fluff. Orion's post clearly points out we'll be seeing the more significant and impactful improvements first, and fluff stuff such as the deeds/titles much later on. He's got his priorities right.<br /><br />Content, whether fluff or not, is always welcome so long as it's well designed. I think we've seen some hiccups lately with some content, but Orion's work on the early zone revamps gives me supreme confidence that the content improvements we see in the reputation systems will be of excellent quality.<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-73140605915906531312009-10-17T18:04:00.001-07:002009-10-17T18:22:23.532-07:00Developer Q&A Part 2<div style="text-align: justify;">Not sure if I linked to the first part of <a href="http://www.lotro.com/gameinfo/feature-articles/504-feature-article-qask-the-dev-team-part-2q">the Q&A</a>, but you can find that link <a href="http://www.lotro.com/gameinfo/feature-articles/485-feature-article-qask-the-dev-teamq">here</a>. This post will pretty much be a run down of the questions I personally find interesting and my thoughts. To simplify, I'll just quote the answers. So, here goes...<br /><br /><em>AMD’s recent announcement of their first DirectX 11 video cards included a mention that LOTRO was adding DX11 support. You will not see it with Siege of Mirkwood, but you should expect it to arrive sometime next year.</em><br /><br />I'm really stoked that the dev team is putting effort into adding support for the next gen technology in an previously existing game. There's no doubt LOTRO has some amazing graphics. Anything to further enhance that is good, so long as it doesn't seriously hamper performance. The great thing about the DX10 support is it is activated via check boxes in the graphics options. There's no forcing players to use DX10 cards. I hope their comitment to their graphics engine continues as the game does - perhaps a ways down the road we can see a graphics overhaul similarly experienced in Eve and Ultima Online. This kind of work can certainly prepare them for such an endeavor.<br /><br /><em>Mirkwood is roughly 75-80% of the size of the Northdowns.</em><br /><br />A little disappointed in the size, but oh well. I guess I'm just partial to a grand experience in size and scope of Middle-Earth.<br /><br /><em>Not for Siege of Mirkwood, though we’d love to revisit [housing and guilds] at some point in time.</em><br /><br />Vague enough that I'm pretty positive they do not have any plans in the works yet. I too would love to see this "at some point in time" but previous posts from the dev team have pretty much said housing isn't a priority because it would require enough resources to cut significant work in other areas of the game. Still, at some point in time that priority has to change.<br /><br />Many of the questions are very specific and reminiscent of dev chat type responses, rather than a press release. That's a good thing. I hope to see more of these types of articles in the future. Perhaps a better method then a dev chat? Maybe that's where they're going. I haven't seen a dev chat in quite a while, now that I think about it.<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-80247871369630652482009-10-17T17:20:00.000-07:002009-10-17T17:59:06.381-07:00Skirmishes Dev Diary 3<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.lotro.com/gameinfo/devdiaries/505-developer-diary-som-skirmishes-randomization-and-scaling">Here's the part</a> I was most interested in regarding skirmishes: randomization and scaling. These two features combined offers so much potential for content that will retain players beyond the typical instance or raid progression. I'll let the dev diary speak for itself, but I have to mention I'm not keen on the idea of the fellowship leader being required to set the group level (i.e. solo, 3-man, 6-man, and 12-man). I'd rather see it auto set. Why? Because it puts the UI and system in between the player and the world/content. Certainly setting the difficulty, if you will, is a small and painless step in the process. That isn't the point. Instead I think a philosophy of transparency is better. Completely subjective design opinion on my part so long as the UI interaction is as painless as I'm assuming. I'll leave the thought here, but I have a post in the works that delves more into this design philosophy. For now, know that I'm still excited about skirmishes. It's my biggest anticipated feature. Well, the horse change too but just because I want to collect all the horses. It should be a pretty awesome system.<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-41614569064173462682009-10-13T17:08:00.001-07:002009-10-13T17:22:59.506-07:00Skirmishes Dev Diary 2<div style="text-align: justify;">To sum up <a href="http://www.lotro.com/gameinfo/devdiaries/499-developer-diary-som-skirmishes-story-instances">this second part</a> of the Skirmish dev diary series: "Skirmishes are..." Zombie Columbus (author of the dev diary) details exactly what skirmishes are and the goals behind which they were created. In a nutshell, the War of the Ring is advancing into Eriador at the current time point we leave off the story: In Lothlorien with the resting Fellowship. However, Eriador as a persistant zone in LOTRO does not move beyond the time frame assigned to it and its quests when it first entered the game. As such, we cannot see Bree come under assault, for example. With skirmishes, we'll be entering an instanced space where we <span style="font-style: italic;">can</span> move time forward (i.e. winter snow in Bree). And the world immersion factor isn't broken by suddenly having an assault while quest NPCs continue to direct you <span style="font-style: italic;">away</span> from their location to fight evil.<br /><br />In reality, we're not seeing much more information here than we already know. Part 3 will delve into the technology and systems used in skirmishes. This is actually the part that interests me the most. I'm very much excited about how Turbine is handling their randomization and scaling. I think these two techs/approaches can be applied in other arenas to great benefit. I won't go into detail here (save it for a separate post - gotta get my count up. Hehe.)<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-16404399193525517802009-10-13T16:36:00.000-07:002009-10-13T17:04:52.677-07:00A Year in Review<div style="text-align: justify;">I can't believe it. Today it has been exactly one year since I started blogging. A lot has happened in that one year. Let's take a look:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Personal</span><br /></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Got a new computer</li><li>Got a job</li><li>Turned 24</li><li>Sister moved out</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">LOTRO</span><br /></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Mines of Moria released</li><li>Three festivals</li><li>Two book updates</li><li>One new zone</li><li>A double birthday party</li><li>Pirates invade Middle-Earth</li><li>Next expansion announced</li><li>Two-year anniversary<br /></li><li>I've played the game for over 3 years</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Blogging</span><br /></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Total Posts: 427 (counting this one)</li><li>Average Posts Per Month: 32.8</li><li>Slowest Month: July 09 with 12</li><li>Busiest Month: March 09 with 77</li><li>Three new podcasts found (with blogs)</li><li>Appeared on three podcasts (not all same as above)</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Where I've Been</span><br /><br />I started The Middle-Earth Adventurer because I couldn't find a good LOTRO blog. From then my blogroll has grown by leaps and bounds. There's an amazing and active group of LOTRO bloggers and podcasters out there. From humble beginnings as a newbie blogger to a member of a vibrant community.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Where I'm Going</span><br /><br />With my life changing and going to change some more, I can almost guarantee that I'll be blogging less frequently. Indeed, we've seen this at the present. However, I fervently hope The Adventurer continues strong for another year. You might see me less frequently, but hopefully none of the quality is lost. However, there is one area of growth that may be of interest: podcasts! After participating in two podcasts as of this writing (three by the end of tonight), I've been infected with podcast fever. In that vein, I'll be creating a podcast version of The Middle-Earth Adventurer.<br /><br />Now, I go into this new medium with the goal of <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> doing the same thing as the other great LOTRO podcasts. Instead I'll be using the video medium. No, you probably won't get to see my ugly mug, however, my voice will be forever ingrained into your brains... muahahahahah! *ahem* The podcast will be called MEA Monthly. Clearly I'll be only releasing one every month (my schedule cannot take any greater frequency). The exact content is yet to be determined, but expect fancy flying text, screenshots, and video capture. Also expect a fairly short runtime (10 minutes max is my goal). And of course there will be more info to come as the release gets closer (aiming for end of October).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A Last Word</span><br /><br />Thank you all for reading and subscribing. Thank you to the LOTRO blogging and podcasting community for being such awesome people. I hope you'll continue to read The Adventurer in the year to come. Now, time for some cake.<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-42624726915323626932009-10-06T20:11:00.000-07:002009-10-06T20:22:58.845-07:00A Bit More Legendary<div style="text-align: justify;">A <a href="http://www.lotro.com/gameinfo/devdiaries/495-developer-diary-legendary-item-system-updates">legendary weapons dev diary</a> was released today and I must say, I'm excited. This is a much needed boost to a system that, after a while, felt worse than some of the upper level slayer deed grinds. Here are some of the highlights:<br /></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>All Weapons Lvl to 60</li><li>Legacy Modifying Scrolls</li><li>IXP Curve Altered</li><li>Crafted Relics</li><li>4th Runic Slot</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;">All these features combine to do a couple of things. First, the grind is significantly lessened. Second, we will have a good idea of a weapon's value to use right at identification, instead of after leveling it 20 - 30 levels. Third, less pressure to have a 2nd or even 1st age weapon - 3rd ages, at 60, should be pretty decent, especially if you used some of those scrolls. Fourth, crafters play a better roll in the legendary system.<br /><br />What this means is that we're seeing this system closer to what a "legendary" weapon really would be. While not perfect, we should be hanging on to our swords and bows and javelins a little bit longer now that we can foresee where they're going and significantly alter them at any point in the process. This is an excellent change to the system - and one that many have wanted for a while. Some of the changes were predicted, and others were a pleasant surprise. Quality work, Turbine.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-30363512092716717122009-10-06T19:59:00.000-07:002009-10-06T20:09:25.597-07:00Cor Pethroni<div style="text-align: justify;">Hey, it's about time I mention the third kinship I'm involved with, and let all you readers know you can join! The folks over at the <a href="http://lotroreporter.wordpress.com/">LOTRO Reporter</a> created a new kinship on the Brandywine server called <a href="http://my.lotro.com/kinship-brandywine-cor_pethroni/">Cor Pethroni</a>. It's Elvish for "Ring Narrators." Perfect for what this kinship is all about - we're full of LOTRO bloggers and LOTRO blog readers. So, if that fits you, you're welcome to join up. My character is <a href="http://my.lotro.com/character/brandywine/sharrien/">Sharrien</a>, an Elven huntress (yes, technically a "hunter" but I thought I'd indicate gender in my chosen class). I'll be on every Tuesday from around 7 to 9 PM Pacific Time in case you want an invite; just send a tell. However, there's a host of others that can recruit you as well. Check out the my.lotro page I linked above for who's an officer - they'll be able to conduct your hazing... er... entrance ceremony.<br /><br />While I won't be able to be on very much, many of us will have more time, so it shouldn't be a ghost town. Come on in. We don't have any big agenda or plan except to connect to our readers and each other in-game as well as in the blogosphere. But don't let our casual nature cause you pause. Perhaps you can be the one to organize some events, instance runs, or other group content.<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-92184112791333417372009-10-04T07:31:00.001-07:002009-10-04T07:38:48.016-07:00A Skirmish Overview<div style="text-align: justify;">This starts <a href="http://www.lotro.com/gameinfo/devdiaries/484-developer-diary-som-skirmishes-overview">a series of dev diaries</a> about the new skirmish system to launch with the Siege of Mirkwood expansion this December. While the first installment is just an overview, I think it gives a nice picture of how long a development cycle a major system like this requires. Zombie Columbus and Rhidden started musing about skirmishes just as Moria was launching last year. And even then, they were just under the deadline for getting something new into the next expansion.<br /><br />The overview here doesn't really give us any new info about the specifics of skirmishes. The <a href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/74019">Ten Ton Hammer interview</a> with Jeffery Steefle does a much better job of that at the moment. However, if any of the previous dev diaries are an indication, we should be getting a lot more juicy tid-bits soon.<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-63958545886736028142009-10-04T07:02:00.000-07:002009-10-04T07:14:10.896-07:00Shared Storage Overview<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.lotro.com/gameinfo/devdiaries/486-developer-diary-shared-storage">This dev diary</a> is small, as the system is quite straight forward. However, it is one of those much desired "extra" features that polish the game even more. I'm not the type of player this is catered to, though. Altoholism isn't my vice in this game. Rather I'm a completionist. There's no help or hope for that one. Anyway, the shared vault space is great for those of you who love your alts, specifically crafting alts. The coin to send stacks and stacks of mats in the mail adds up quickly, and it's a pain to have to retrieve all of those mats one at a time from your mailbox.<br /><br />One nice feature is the ability to put bound items into the shared storage. At first this might seem unnecessary but in effect the shared storage space becomes extra vault space for your characters. While only the character that an item is bound to can retrieve it from the shared storage, having it there means it's not taking up space in your regular vault, and visa-versa. Yay for more vault space!<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-83182762822527784022009-09-29T20:35:00.000-07:002009-09-29T20:53:52.818-07:00Mounts 2.0 Dev Diary<div style="text-align: justify;">It's the little quality of life improvements that make me the happiest in LOTRO. And seeing the new <a href="http://www.lotro.com/gameinfo/devdiaries/487-developer-diary-mounts-20">changes to the mount system</a> gets me almost as excited as trying out the skirmishes. I doubt any dev would call what they did for mounts in SoM a "little" update, but it is a refinement of content.<br /><br />And that's the best way to describe it. We can talk to NPCs on our mounts, go through doors or "portals" on our mounts, emote on our mounts, use certain skills on our mounts. It makes mounts less of a simple point-A-to-point-B device and more a part of our character. And as a skill, mounts no longer take up space, so that means we can collect as many as we like without having bags or bank space devoted to our stable. I know this will give me a new money sink on Jaxom. A horse of every color and variety for me please!<br /><br />One last thing: the dev diary has a little blurb at the end pretty much trying to say that this mount system change was not designed to take on mounted combat. However, despite this, they do say the system was designed for expandability and flexibility. I think mounted combat <span style="font-style: italic;">does</span> fit into that design feature.<br /><br />And lastly, at this point in LOTRO's life, it's a little known fact that mounts weren't going to be in release until quite late in the development process - the dev diary alludes to that as well. I for one am supremely happy they did make it in, even limited as they were. It would suck to run all the time and could have been a serious stumbling block to player retention.<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-55186387172452395862009-09-29T20:12:00.000-07:002009-09-30T06:27:13.771-07:00Siege of Mirkwood Release Date<div style="text-align: justify;">Hayo! We got <a href="http://www.lotro.com/news/pressreleases/488-siege-of-mirkwood-launch-offers">a launch date</a> for the Siege of Mirkwood digital expansion. And it is *drum roll* December 1st. This is actually a bit later than I predicted. I would have figured on a pre-Thanksgiving release. However, in hindsight the Thanksgiving shopping rush isn't as important to a digital only product as it would be to something in retail outlets. Black Friday is very much a traditional shopping event and digital distribution tends to even the field when it comes to when something is purchased. Indeed, if Christmas were earlier in the year, Turbine might have even passed up that holiday - gifts residing solely in a computer is hard to put under the tree. Really, the supreme guiding force for this was to stay in Fall (Winter beginning Dec 21st) and in 2009. December 1st is a perfect fit.<br /><br />Now, here's where things get a little chaotic. If you check out Turbine's <a href="http://www.lotro.com/news/pressreleases/488-siege-of-mirkwood-launch-offers">official press release</a>, you'll find a host of pre-order options. Yay for pre-orders! But what the heck is an Adventure Pack and how is it different from the Siege of Mirkwood expansion? Seriously, could they have made this any more complicated? Don't even bother trying to figure it out from Turbine's release. Check out <a href="http://www.casualstrolltomordor.com/2009/09/clearing-up-pre-order-confusion/">A Casual Stroll to Mordor's overview</a> of the whole thing; they do an excellent job of cutting through the marketing BS.<br /><br />And that's what it is. They're selling the Adventure Pack, which is basically the bonus goodies normally included with a pre-order and offering SoM for "Free"... if you buy the AP under certain conditions. Now, the AP is 19.99, the price-point previously stated for SoM. And that little similarity can lead to the question: is the AP the same thing as the expansion? Nope. It's not. And what if you don't want to pre-order (in other words, by the AP) but want to buy the Siege of Mirkwood when it releases? Well, apparently they'll now throw in the AP (minus one of the bonus perks) but tack on another 20 bucks.<br /><br />So really, the Siege of Mirkwood expansion is 39.99, not 19.99. What this should have looked like is this: Pre-order the Siege of Mirkwood now for a 20 dollar discount and a bonus item. Regular price is 39.99. The whole reason this Adventure Pack thing exists is so they can use the word "Free" in their advertising. We all like free. We jump at free.<br /><br />Seriously? Selling us the bonus stuff? And "lying" about the price? Cut the crap, Turbine marketing.<br /><br />And just because I hate ending good news on a bad note, I've got to say "Yay! We have a release date! And pre-order goodies!"<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-27331324067443314012009-09-26T09:17:00.000-07:002009-09-26T09:26:51.815-07:00Falling Behind<div style="text-align: justify;">I've not been able to make the last few Massive Hobbits events due to other things being scheduled during the play times. This Saturday again finds me busy. And I'm starting to fall behind - especially since the group is moving to Book 3.4+ and I haven't even started Book 2 yet. Not that I think they wouldn't mind catching me up, but I just feel less motivated to play when I know I'm behind. And that's sort of where I've found myself with Jaxom on Elendilmir.<br /><br />Perhaps I'm suddenly moving away from being hardcore casual to just casual. With a new job, my time is even more limited now. I have a host of activities I used to fill up my excessive free time and now I need to make the choice of which ones are most important. It would seem from the outside that LOTRO would be high on the list but even high on the list doesn't change the amount of time in the day. I also want to get into the habit of regularly writing fiction, which I've dabbled with on and off for years now to no finished projects. Indeed if I could discipline myself enough to push a piece or pieces off for potential publishing, that would be fantastic. That means a lot more time spent writing rather than playing.<br /><br />There's some other life choices I need to make soon, which I won't get into here because it's not important for the gaming side of this. Regardless, I'll be blogging less, and playing LOTRO less. the idea of having two kinships (three with the blogger kinship The LOTRO Reporter has been discussing.) is out of the question. I'll have to stick with my first. I just cannot devote the time and effort (I'm a big believer in helping the kin as much as possible). I'm already torn about missing so many Massive Hobbits events.<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-73037693303280915452009-09-24T17:51:00.000-07:002009-09-24T17:53:26.466-07:00A Job<div style="text-align: justify;">Just to let everybody know I finally have a job. It's not what I'd like to be doing, or in my field, but it's what I need to be doing because I need to get some money into the bank and to fill the gap in my resume. Not sure yet on my long term goals, but for the short term, this means I'll be pretty busy during the day and as such blogging less - not that my rate has been high lately anyway.<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-29735465057065059132009-09-24T17:49:00.000-07:002009-09-24T17:51:38.275-07:00Siege of Mirkwood Summary<div style="text-align: justify;">Alas, I never got around to summarizing all the news and information about the Siege of Mirkwood expansion. Instead, I'll point you to LOTROLife for that. They've got <a href="http://www.lotrolife.com/siege_of_mirkwood/">a nice run-down</a> of all the features revealed so far in SoM.<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-62201752991160360382009-09-21T11:41:00.001-07:002009-09-21T13:42:47.532-07:00Docholiday's LOTRO Blog<div style="text-align: justify;">Found <a href="http://docholidayj.wordpress.com/">a new LOTRO blog</a> for you all. Seriously, my blog roll and reader are fast filling up with LOTRO related content. But that's not a bad thing! Docholiday plans on focusing most on end-game content and classes he plays, specifically the Warden. Do check out the blog as it looks like he has some great ideas for future content.<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-26733000438832769592009-09-21T09:23:00.000-07:002009-09-21T12:06:19.467-07:00MMORPG.com SoM Preview<div style="text-align: justify;">There's nothing really new in <a href="http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm?page=1&game=45&feature=3527&bhcp=1">this preview</a>. Not even new screenshots. So, it wouldn't even rate mentioning except for a line right near the beginning that's a bit ambiguous:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"This expansion ends the epic story of Moria and the land mass that players will be able to explore is Southern Mirkwood. Dol Guldor, Elves and Olog Hai, oh my! What about Northern? Well yes, if there's Southern Mirkwood, Northern will follow. Soon. Okay, it's not Rohan, but we'll get there eventually."</span><br /><br />The question is, does this comment reflect something said to the interviewer or did MMORPG.com just assume that Northern Mirkwood would be soon because Southern Mirkwood is coming soon? I'm inclined to go with the latter myself, because I'm hard pressed to see Turbine deviate so far from the Fellowship's journey. Then again, if we're a year out from the Rohan Expansion (i.e. <span style="font-style: italic;">next</span> fall) then there should be one or two landscape additions from free Book updates between now and then. Where would these landscape additions go? They could be south along the Anduin to prepare for Rohan. Or they could be north farther into Mirkwood, exploring more of the evil there. Or maybe into the fields of Gladden.<br /><br />It's an interesting question, at any rate, and based off of the MMORPG.com quote, there's very little to point us in the right direction. It actually just confuses the matter even more.<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-6389092933141968642009-09-20T06:58:00.000-07:002009-09-20T07:07:27.126-07:00A Blogger Kinship<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://lotroreporter.wordpress.com/">The LOTRO Reporter</a> has come up with the idea of forming a LOTRO blogger and readers of LOTRO blogs kinship. They have <a href="http://lotroreporter.wordpress.com/2009/09/19/kinship-poll-2/">a poll up</a> on their site for which server people would be interested in. Go ahead on over there and vote if you're interested in such a kinship. I know I'm a fan of the idea. Not sure how much I'll be participating since I really want to get back to Jaxom on Elendilmir (poll is leaning towards Brandywine or Landroval at the moment), but it's a cool idea, similar to Massive Hobbits except there's no choose my adventure part of it.<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-18518365376426809532009-09-18T09:56:00.000-07:002009-09-18T10:01:22.360-07:00Massive Hobbits Take Weathertop<div style="text-align: justify;">Alas due to those client crashes I was unable to attend the Weathertop night. However, there's a<a href="http://www.massively.com/2009/09/16/choose-my-adventure-weathertop-has-been-taken/">n excellent write-up</a>, probably the best yet, over on <a href="http://www.massively.com">Massively.com</a>. Do check it out for some screens of the event. It's an interesting read not having participated in it. Seems more adventurous reading the narrative without having gone through the gameplay motions of the event. If I were reading this as someone who hasn't played LOTRO, I'd be completely sucked in and very tempted to subscribe. Kudos to Gibbi/Shawn for the superb presentation.<br /><br />And due to a crammed schedule this week, I wasn't able to attend Wednesday's, last night's, and this Saturday's event. Which kinda sucks, but ya know, that's the sacrifice we make when trying to catch up with some friends I haven't seen in a while. Real Life (TM) has to be the priority.<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-74540611691841668532009-09-16T21:52:00.000-07:002009-09-16T22:15:41.345-07:00Theme Park vs World<div style="text-align: justify;">I haven't touched on the topic of the world in LOTRO for quite a while, which is surprising considering that's one of my favorite topics. In any case, I'm mentioning it today because I'm starting to see a pattern I'm not 100% pleased about.<br /><br />Today while out gathering journeyman tier ore (silver for my tinker) I traveled from <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Area:Bree">Bree</a> across the <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Area:Brandy_Hills">Brandy Hills</a>, through the woods, and down to the banks of the <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Lore:River_Brandywine">Brandywine</a>. If I was so inclined, I could have made a boundless journey from <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Landmark:Weathertop">Weathertop</a> in the <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Region:The_Lone-lands">Lone Lands</a> to <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Landmark:Needlehole">Needlehole</a> in the <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Region:The_Shire">Shire</a> with my only moment on a road being the crossing of the <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Lore:Greenway">Greenway</a> in <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Region:Bree-land">Breeland</a>. In other words, that journey would feel like I was in a world, rather than a collection of zones in an MMO - a theme park if you will.<br /><br />What I mean by theme park is a series of zones where the travel to and from is fairly strictly channeled and the experience highly organized and planned. We're seeing much more of this in LOTRO lately. From the <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Region:The_Trollshaws">Trollshaws</a> into the <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Region:The_Misty_Mountains">Misty Mountains</a> or into <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Region:Eregion">Eregion</a> to <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Region:Moria">Moria</a> to <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Region:Lothl%C3%B3rien">Lothlorien</a> to eventually <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Region:Mirkwood">Mirkwood</a>, the process becomes an exercise in changing themes, rather than actually moving about a landscape. Oh sure, these zones are very good sized, and within them the world is very well crafted. Yet I can't escape the feeling that I'm on the greatest hits tour of Middle-Earth rather than a summer long backpacking trip through the countryside.<br /><br />The fact that a seamless connection between zones (Shire, Breeland, Lonelands, Northdowns, <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Region:Evendim">Evendim</a>) exists only heightens the sense of what's missing in later developments. <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Region:Forochel">Forochel</a> itself is wide open, but the connection between it and Evendim is like two triangles precariously balancing on their points together - it's tenuous and contrived, not altogether stable. Or the trip east after the Trollshaws.<br /><a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Lore:Middle-earth"><br />Middle-Earth</a> has so much potential to be more than just a series of zones following the <a href="http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Lore:Fellowship_of_the_Ring">Fellowship</a>. There's the key, though. Following the Fellowship. That's the main idea of the development pattern. And it's one that makes sense. It's the most famous set of places in Middle-Earth. It's where the peak of the story takes place. It's where we can really connect with the core journey and struggle.<br /><br />I do hope we will go back and visit the rest of the landscape at some point. It'd be a shame not to. An awful waste of space. Middle-Earth hovers on the edge of theme park territory. Perhaps when the game expands into Rohan we'll see a more broad and seamless set of zones. This adventurer can only hope. For him, Middle-Earth is a world, not just set of zones.<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-756065749437216748.post-73500350963377773972009-09-16T10:07:00.000-07:002009-09-16T10:14:53.652-07:00The Other Bounty Quests<div style="text-align: justify;">We've had <a href="http://middleearthadventurer.blogspot.com/2009/08/bounty-quests-problem.html">a discussion about</a> <a href="http://lotro-chronicles.blogspot.com/2009/08/let-not-thy-left-hand-know-what-thy.html">bounty quests</a> before, but did you know that in addition to the IXP bounty quests in Esteldin, there's crafting related bounty quests in Breeland (and perhaps other places)? While adventuring with Massive Hobbits in the Barrow downs I ran across three repeatable bounty quests that reward single-use recipes to whichever type of crafter you are. One of them even rewards the particular shard (in this case sapphire) that you need to complete these recipes. Of course, that means you'll have to find two other shards for the other two recipes you get, but that's not unreasonable. Indeed, these quests are an excellent way to get some good recipes for some nice jewelry early in your tier when you couldn't otherwise make a crit item with good stats. I do hope to see more of these for the later tiers.<br /></div>Jaxom92http://www.blogger.com/profile/17264802321534830379noreply@blogger.com3