LOTRO is killing me

I knew I should not have tried it. 3 strait nights till 4AM.

I've got 2 hobbits and a dwarf at level 10. Its as addictive as I feared. The art design is amazing. The Shire, Thorin's Gate etc. I'm constantly amazed! This is my first MMO so I have no complaints about how its better or worse than any other MMO. My only complain is that I wish the combat was more involving like the Gothic Series.

*gives Todd an resurrection spell*

LotRO can be very addictive. Though I quite liked the combat. It was calm but yet not boring as the combat in NWN and KotOR.

I'd like to give LoTRO more time than the trial allowed, but my significant other's computer isn't up to spec for the game (mine is above spec but it still doesn't look great, a min spec machine makes the game look horrible), so we stick with WoW.

What I liked about LoTRO was the more realistic art design and the lore-based quests, there were little stories in the quests that often tied to official LOTR history and that added something.
On the down side, the game didn't quite feel "all there" in some weird way, like it wasn't finished (not in terms of content, but rather in polish or refinement). Dialogue boxes look clunky and out of step with the rest of the design, and combat was pretty bland. For the latter they seemed to copy WoW far too much, and while I play WoW, I was looking for some more innovation rather than more of the same.

Still, if we get the computers replaced or upgraded I may take a look at LoTRO again.

Its hugely addicting. I think the world is very well developed. I've spent about 20 hours in the Shire alone and its very alive with players, NPC's, creative quests and graphically its a stunner. The graphics engine really strikes the perfect balance between smooth gameplay and beauty. I'm only using an x850XT and I'm at 1680 x 1050 on high detail.

My dwarf is in Thains Valley and Thorins gate and the architecture there is stunning. I don't think I'll be sick of this game for quite some time. Everyone I've met is incredibly helpful too which is a pleasant surprise. Overall I'm astonished by what Turbine has accomplished.

Too bad this engine wasnt used for the Gothic series or Oblivion. "Loading Area" my ass!

Not touching it. Seriously, they couldve made the entire world map of Middle Earth. Its just extremely lame that they didnt. And they couldve had an amazing PvP system between the good guys (dwarves, humans, elves) and the bad guys (Sauron and orcs, ect). What they do have, however, is nothing special. Nice graphics aside, what does it improve over World of Warcraft? Nothing, IMO.

Originally Posted by Ammon777
Not touching it. Seriously, they couldve made the entire world map of Middle Earth.

Just lack of time. Instead of quantity they went quality. They are introducing more of the lands as we speak iirc. It will just take time to model the entire Middle Earth in fine detail.

Lotro is a bit weak when it comes to innovation, but nonetheless they did add some stuff. Epic quests that explain to the player what is going on (partly scripted) and movie sequences make this mmo seem to be more rpgish than any other mmo on the market atm.
The gameplay is really a bit weak compared to WoW, they copied a bit to much and the fact that actions are keyed and cannot really be interrupted certainly makes the game less dynamic than WoW. But let's face it, the lore is way superior. I'm pretty tired of the kindergarden crap that WoW has to offer, so I'd say this is clearly Lotro's strength.
For me the most striking feature of Lotro isn't a feature at all. It's Turbine. Before I had a closer look at the game I looked a bit down upon them, but considering what they have achieved since the game went live I totally changed my mind. The speed at which they deliver new content is stunning. This month book 13 will go live and it's again a major update to the world. Blizzard cannot even scratch on that.

Also, there people playing LOTRO seem to be more my type frankly. All the negative peeps can have WOW. I totally agree about the quality over quantity comment as well. I'd prefer them to take their time modeling Middle Earth.

Originally Posted by zakhal
Just lack of time. Instead of quantity they went quality. They are introducing more of the lands as we speak iirc. It will just take time to model the entire Middle Earth in fine detail.

Thats a weak excuse that I have heard before by the developers themselves. Its weak because they shouldve done it in the first place and they did not. Seriously, lack of time? How about lack of effort. And they shouldve delayed the game's release if they didnt have enough "time." You guys are making excuses for their lack of competence in honoring Tolkien's world. It shouldve been faction warfare in an immense world of Middle Earth, just like what was planned for the original Middle Earth Online project. When Turbine took the project, everything went downhill.

I dont think its quality is any more impressive than the quality of other games. In fact, despite what excuses its developers make, LOTRO = WoW clone without PvP.

Yup that's the negativity I'm talking about. Meanwhile, I'm just logging off LOTRO and its 3AM once again! The game is killing me slowly.

The world is plenty huge. I'm up to at least 50 hours in the Shire alone. Heading to Bree tomorrow night to upgrade my Woodworkers skill.

Originally Posted by Ammon777
Thats a weak excuse that I have heard before by the developers themselves. Its weak because they shouldve done it in the first place and they did not. Seriously, lack of time? How about lack of effort. And they shouldve delayed the game's release if they didnt have enough "time." You guys are making excuses for their lack of competence in honoring Tolkien's world. It shouldve been faction warfare in an immense world of Middle Earth, just like what was planned for the original Middle Earth Online project. When Turbine took the project, everything went downhill.

You forget that Turbine changed the name of the game for a reason. This is not about massive warfare in Middle Earth. It's about the story "The Lord of the Rings". Turbine chose to stick to the perspective of the heroes - just as Tolkien did. "The Lord of the Rings" is simply not about the bad guys killing the good guys, but about the good guys killing the bad guys.

Originally Posted by Ammon777
I dont think its quality is any more impressive than the quality of other games. In fact, despite what excuses its developers make, LOTRO = WoW clone without PvP.

That entirely depends on how you define quality. If quality for you means that a modern MMO needs PvP, then you might be right. If it means a living and breathing world that actually "feels" like Middle Earth then Lotro definately IS a candidate.

Yeah youre probably right. I am just still bitter because they canned the old Middle Earth Online project for this one. Obviously I liked the old project a lot better.

Map all of Middle Earth in one project? In one release?

Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly.

Why not? I dont see why a company couldnt take 5 years to do it. I think they are lazy for not doing it!

Originally Posted by Ammon777
Why not? I dont see why a company couldnt take 5 years to do it. I think they are lazy for not doing it!

The problem with Turbine is (at least if I remember right) that they did not only develop the game, but also published it (at least in the US, in Europe it's Codemasters). That means they had to finance it all on their own which isn't an easy thing to do since Turbine is not a big company like Blizzard or SOE.

I can understand why you are disappointed that you cannot play the bad guys (apart from monster play), but Turbine made clear that this would have meant to develop a lot of redundant content (different starter zones, etc.) and I would guess they simply didn't have the funds to do it. Maybe they'll do it in a future expansion - you never know, after all a lot of people playing Lotro like monster play.

Well last night wasnt 3AM for once. 5AM instead.

I presume you're having some kind of vacation?

Me too, I didnt get to sleep until 7:00 AM and I woke up today at 5:00 PM with mom yelling "you gonna sleep all day?"

but then I am always on wacked-out sleeping schedules…

Actually no. No vacation. 2-4 hours of sleep a night all week. I'm a wreck. I've got kids and of course work.. Tonight I just quit at 11:30 which is VERY early! Gonna go sleep so the jitters go away…