LOTRO: Producer's Letter March 2022

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According to Oleg Brodskiy (AKA Raninia) in his latest Producer's Letter for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online, there are some major changes coming in April. These are part of the ongoing restructuring of the game’s monetisation. Previously, in the last content update, the Premium Wallet, Gold Currency Cap, and Virtue, Race, and Class trait slots were made free to all players (prior to this, all were chargeable unlocks). In Update 33, which will be coming in April, “all quests, areas, instances, and expansions released between the original launch of LOTRO back in 2007 and up to – and including! - the release of Helm’s Deep will be available for free to everyone”. Furthermore, subscribers will be able to access the standard versions of the Mordor, Minas Morgul, and War of Three Peaks expansions.

Another change is that the following classes Rune-keepers, Wardens, Beornings as well as the High Elves race will be free to all players. All were previously tied to the purchase of expansions and as those are now to be accessible free of charge, Standing Stone Games thought it fair to follow suit with these. To put these changes into perspective, from April F2P players will now be able to play through all the games content, at no cost, up to level 95. Players who do not wish to subscribe after level 95 will still have to buy the last three expansions. However, subscribers will be able to play through all of the game’s content, apart from the latest expansion Fate of Gundabad. These changes finally resolve the issue of content gating which has been a major source of complaint from new and returning players for years. 

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The next update will also see the addition of a new area within The Shire. “The northern region known as the Yondershire, a sparsely populated region of moor, thicket, and fen that has long been home to Hobbit recluses and troublemakers. Since the time of Bullroarer Took, the Yondershire has squabbled with the more comfortable parts of the Shire. The upstart Lotho Sackville-Baggins aims to bully the local Hobbits, but they’re none too keen on his designs. Explore the Yondershire, and experience some more delightful Hobbit adventures, our first expansion of the Shire in years”. April will also see the return of the Anniversary Festival as LOTRO reaches 15 years old. A new instance, A Flurry of Fireworks, will be added to the existing events.

These forthcoming changes have been very well received by the LOTRO community. The streamlining of content access and previous changes regarding removing the cost key quality of life items now means that the game is extremely friendly to new and returning players. Many people play MMOs to be with friends and to play through content together. Hence many games such as The Elder Scrolls Online have level scaling content so players of different levels can still play together equitably. LOTRO at present does not have this facility and due to the previous gating of content behind paid expansions, it would often feel that there was a huge gulf separating players from their friends if they were of differing levels. These changes certainly help address this with the prospect of not having to pay for any content up to level 95. It will be interesting to see if there will be an influx of new and returning players in April.

Getting Stuck in Video Games

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Before I begin, this post comes with a massive caveat. In fact let’s go so far as to say it is a massive, highly polished and lavishly tooled caveat. There are gamers out there that play video games to challenge themselves and to be the best. Some do it for bragging rights. Others just do it for their own self satisfaction. This is fine. You do you. As long as your gameplay and gaming philosophy doesn’t impact anyone else negatively, then that’s fine. Let me state for the record that I am not that kind of gamer and this post is aimed very much at the average person who plays for entertainment, fun and to unwind. You know, the majority of people who play video games. So any responses to this post that fall into the “git gud” school of thought are irrelevant and can politely “go forth and multiply. Now we have established our frame of reference, let us proceed. 

Every now and then all of us who play video games to varying degrees, will encounter a task, mission or boss fight in our game of choice that they cannot complete. It may be due to not having the right gear or an unexpected increase in difficulty. And if we are brutally honest with ourselves, it may all come down to our own reactions and lack of dexterity. Whatever the reason, it is never a good thing to encounter. For example, recently while playing Star Wars: The Old Republic (specifically Knights of the Fallen Empire. Chapter XII: Visions in the Dark) I got stuck on a boss fight. The NPC, Vaylin, uses ranged and melee force attacks. You have to avoid ground based AoE attacks and do damage at close quarters, as they have a force bubble that reflects damage. I play a class that does ranged DPs (Smuggler) but this fight is better suited to a Jedi. The story restrictions means there’s no companion present to do healing. So I lost health faster than I could do damage. Hence I died. A lot. 

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Now this is a classic example of how a “one size fits all” boss fights can leave some classes at a distinct disadvantage. I don’t mind a challenge to a degree and don’t expect things to be continuously tickety-boo in games. However, there comes a point where having to repeat something that you are patently struggling with, ceases to be enjoyable. Due to the way SWTOR is designed, if I couldn’t complete this bossfight, I could not progress any further through the expansion. From a business perspective, this is not a good situation. An unhappy customer is likely to stop playing and paying. I came dangerously close to this. I was frustrated and also annoyed because I take a very transactional approach to gaming. I am not paying to challenge myself and to be the “best I can be”. I am paying to be entertained. I don’t expect to be impeded by a game.

Now I would like to draw your attention to several single player games that I have played that take a very proactive approach to “players getting stuck”. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 politely asks whether you would like to lower the difficulty setting, if you keep getting your butt kicked. Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, as well as many other big, action RPGs, has a “Story Mode” which radically dials down the difficulty of the content to allow players to focus on the narrative. Now SWTOR does have three modes of difficulty but sadly it doesn’t seem to be a finely tuned system. Even in the basic story mode, there are several fights throughout the game that are disproportionately hard. They seem to penalise some classes. So perhaps there needs to be more than just a choice of difficulty.

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I eventually completed this problematic content in SWTOR. It took 17 attempts. I succeeded mainly by luck and using a medpack and came out the other end with just 7% health. I don’t consider this to be a moral victory and even now, when reflecting upon this experience it antagonises me. Simply put, this is poor game design. Games are a business and I see no merit in pissing off customers and driving them away. I believe the games should track how many times you have failed and adjust accordingly. Offering an optional buff seems the most expedient solution. At the very least the developers could offer the player the option to skip content. Getting stuck in a game is not just bad for the player, it is bad for business. Don’t punish the player. Facilitate the player.

Revisiting Star Wars: The Old Republic Part 2

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I returned to the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic a month ago. After a few days orienting myself as to how to play my primary character, I quickly got back on the levelling treadmill and started playing through all the story content that I’ve missed since 2013. Yesterday, I reached the new level cap of 80 and spent some time and money trying to get the best gear I can from the Galactic Trade Network. I’m not especially concerned about having the best build I possibly can but I don’t want to gimp myself. Hopefully I made appropriate choices. I now have a healthy item rating of 305, for what it’s worth. Broadly speaking, I haven’t run into too many tricky situations as I’ve levelled, although every now and then there’s a boss fight that seems disproportionately one sided. The Ugnaught Leader in “Little Boss” being one example with their annoying one hit kill, knock back.

In my previous post, I posed the question as to whether I’d maintain my enthusiasm for SWTOR for a month and whether the Star Wars “feels” would remain. I’m happy to report that both of these aspects of the game have prevailed. However, that is not to say that I’m not without some criticisms. SWTOR does a shocking job of explaining itself to its players and I habitually have to have a web browser open on my second monitor so I can find out about something mundane. Some of the barter items and reward systems are impenetrable. I may well be sitting on multiple sources of good gear but I am conspicuously ignorant if this is the case. The game also takes liberties with reasonable assumptions that players will naturally make. I had to find a way to shut down a forcefield in one Chapter of Knights of the Fallen Empire and the first three power couplings were clearly in the vicinity of the bunker and easy to find. The fourth was obtusely placed a substantial distance away, rather than cunningly hidden. Stuff like that is annoying.

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Boss fights are often painfully slow,as I mentioned in a previous post. However, the end fight with Revan at the end of the second expansion, took this to a whole new level. I was simultaneously fascinated and bored by how staggeringly unengaging this climactic fight was. Another beef I have with SWTOR is starting a mission, only to find that it’s gated in some way or dependent on group content. This is frequently the case with Alliance Specialists and Companion Recruitment missions. Some require World Boss trophies and one was gated behind a yearly event. Again this is very annoying and I see no reason why these criteria aren’t clearly flagged in advance. However, I do applaud the game for the sheer number of companions you can access. I like to change mine regularly, depending upon my mood. I am especially fond of Blizz and Gus Tuno. I also appreciate the fact that I no longer have to acquire gear for them.

I have spent some time playing the PVE space missions, where you use your personal ship. I have progressed exactly as far as I did when I last played and have found that the same problems thwart my progress. Sadly my reactions are too slow in specific missions and I collide with too many objects, which is frustrating because I quite enjoy these “on rails” space battles. I haven’t yet looked into  Galactic Starfighter although I intend to give it a go. PVP is not usually my thing but I just want to see how equitable they make this aspect of SWTOR. Will a new player be grouped with players of a similar ability or will we just get “thrown to the Wolves”? We shall see. At the very least it will provide me with material for another blog post. Overall, I am pleased that SWTOR has managed to keep me engaged. That’s mainly down to the well written stories and interesting characters. And it must be said that this MMO has one of the best soundtracks in the genre. It certainly has kept those Star Wars “feels” coming. 

Playing MMOs Solo

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It’s just me versus Middle-earth

There was a perennial question being discussed over at Massively Overpowered recently. Justin Olivetti asked “why do you play MMOs solo” and as you would expect, there was a wide variety of answers. I have written about this myself in the past, as when I first started playing MMOs, I was very enamoured by the social element and therefore very disposed towards group content. However, that experience between 2008 and 2011, when I played The Lord of the Rings Online most days and dedicated Friday and Saturday nights to raiding, was very much down to circumstances. I had the time and inclination to spend hours online. That is something that I don’t have now. Plus the novelty of the social element has worn a little thin over the years. Nowadays, I do not have the luxury of waiting for a raid group to assemble, nor do I have the tolerance for the inevitable delays that always stem from any kind of human interaction.

Hence the primary reason I play MMOs solo is simply to be able to progress at my own pace and not having to be dependent on others in any other way, shape or form. The advantages are obvious, as are the disadvantages. I may well be able to clear through PVE content, level efficiently and manage my gear progression, but I also miss a substantial part of the game. I haven’t participated in any major group content in LOTRO for over a decade. The last raid I did was Draigoch’s Lair in 2011. But that is the price you pay for solo gameplay. By playing on my own I get to use my time efficiently. Raiding is a long, drawn out process that doesn’t come with any guarantees. It is this aspect of MMOs that bothers me. If I invest my time into something, I want to walk away with some sort of reward. Raids do not always hand out loot in an equitable fashion. Playing through PVE content on your own gives you clear and achievable goals.

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“Can you tell me where Bagel Street is?”

At present I play four MMOs. In LOTRO I have been in the same guild (or Kinship as it’s known in this game) since 2009. I know many of the other members and it is still active but certainly not to the degree it was a decade ago. In Star Trek Online I have my various alts in the respective Reddit based Fleets (guilds) such as Reddit Alert. I will chat with other members but I don't really know anyone nor ever group with them to play through content. I am in the Fleet simply for the benefits of accessing Fleet resources. which are mainly gear based in STO. With regard to Star Wars The Old Republic, I am in a guild which I created myself. This was mainly to stop me from getting swamped by guild invites from other players when the game first launched. It has two active members, myself and podcast co-host Brian. Beyond having a novelty name (Shaved Wookies) it serves no purpose. Due to my intermittent playing of The Elder Scrolls Online I see no reason to join a guild in that game. 

The most social interaction I have in an MMORPG at present is in STO. Task Force Operations are five man missions which last between 5 and 15 minutes depending on the ability of the group. When selecting the TFO of your choice you are then auto-grouped and ported immediately to the appropriate instance. More often than not there is no communication between players in Team Chat. Sometimes players will deliberately go AFK and wait just to get the TFO reward. Every now and then someone will say “hi” to the group. On other occasions someone will try and give instructions but that seldom goes well. But such is the state of solo gameplay in most MMOs. You only talk and group with people if you want to and if there’s no compelling reason, then you don’t. Any game where your progress is dependent upon others is a game that I’ll more than likely not play.

Combat in Video Games: How Long is Too Long?

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Many video games involve some sort of combat. It is a quintessential mechanic. The moral and ethical rectitude of this is a subject for another blog post and is not something I wish to discuss here. This post is about combat itself and specifically the amount of time that you have to spend to defeat an enemy. It may sound a somewhat trivial point but it becomes quite an important issue once you start playing a game for any length of time. Like many game mechanics, it often comes down to a matter of personal taste? Which then makes it a difficult matter to find the right balance from a game development point of view. If you make combat too brief, players will say it trivialises the game and diminishes the sense of challenge. Make combat too long and you’ll run the risk of boring your playerbase and driving them away. This is very much a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation.

Perhaps an example would be useful. I was recently playing Star Wars: The Old Republic and had to fight the final boss in a Flashpoint. They were a Mandalorian and the combat took place in an arena with a panelled floor. During the fight the floor would open to reveal flames. A droid would occasionally appear with a grappling hook and drag my character towards it, exposing them to further fire damage. Because I was tackling this Flashpoint solo, I had a combat droid that tanked for me. Hence I would stand on the periphery of the action, doing ranged DPS while my Companion healed. I would have to destroy the droid when it spawned and ensure I avoided fire damage. This was a manageable process. However, it took a while to take down the boss. Most of the fight consisted of slowing watching their health bar decrease. It took over 5 minutes to complete and became tedious very quickly.

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This highlights my point well. I appreciate that if developers accurately depicted the use of blaster weapons and lightsabers, then most fights would be a succession of one shot kills. Hence accurately depicting such weapons has to be tempered with a sensible reduction in damage to make the fights more challenging. Plus one has to remember that SWTOR is over a decade old and therefore its combat style is based upon the prevailing combat style of that time. There’s a lot of skills bloat, tab targeting and static combat. However, bearing all this in mind, a five minute boss fight or indeed any sort of fight of that duration as a single player activity is excessively long. Especially in light of the fact that I wasn’t in any major danger of failing. The main point of contention was simply the time it took to do damage. Watching a health meter go down slowly is not fun. Neither are ponderous combat mechanics or dealing with bullet sponges.

The main reason I stopped playing The Secret World was due to the tiresome combat mechanics, especially when using firearms. My objections hinged upon the time that it took to kill an enemy. In more contemporary games, such as The Elder Scrolls Online, combat is faster and critical chance and severity seem to play a more equitable role in proceedings. Boss fights tend to be faster paced. You have to be more mobile and cognisant of the damage that you’re taking. However, the combination of the right skills and a healthy dose of critical success means that the overall combat experience is more satisfying without being unnecessarily protracted. There’s a fine line between managing a fight and finding success and just endless plodding through a rotation of skills and then healing, like some uninspired line dance. Again I must reiterate that this is a very subjective experience. What I consider to be too long for me, may not be so for you.

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I have adjusted my build after reaching level 70 in SWTOR and I may run the very same Flashpoint again to see if combat is any quicker with increased stats. I suspect that the downscaling mechanics in the game means that the fight will still drag on regardless. Which then raises the question as to whether I want to continue playing because combat is a substantial part of gameplay. If fighting through waves of mobs becomes a dull chore, it does somewhat mitigate the point of playing, which is supposed to be a fun activity. I appreciate that combat should not be a walk in the park and that skill and being situationally aware should all play a part. But slowly wearing down a DPS sponge is not the same thing. I want to be moderately challenged, not bored. Finding the correct pace of combat is a challenge and I wish I knew what the answer was. Sadly many developers don’t seem to know either.

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Currency Caps

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This post is a public service announcement. One that I’m making because of a lesson I learned the hard way. I am talking specifically about the two currency caps as they currently stand in the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic. I’m sure many long term players will be aware of the current status quo. However, there may be many others who are not. If I can stop someone from making the same mistake that I made, so much the better. I would also like to highlight how developer’s BioWare has done very little to address these in-game issues. When using a vendor in SWTOR, if you are approaching the currency cap, you do get a message in the chat window. If you are not aware of the currency cap, or do not see the message and you’re moving Credits between characters then there is scope for problems. There should be a far more clear in-game alert.

Free-to-Play and Preferred Players (those who have previously subscribed then cancelled or bought Cartel Coins) have a Credit cap of 1 million Credits. Anything you earn over that is held in Escrow. This is pretty much standard practice for most MMORPGs. The important factor here is that there is an Escrow facility, so that surplus Credits are not lost. However, a subscribing player can hold a maximum of 4,294,000,000 Credits in their inventory. If a player is selling items or moving Credits between characters by in-game mail, then they need to be aware of this cap. Once you have hit the currency cap, if you open an in-game mail and remove any attached Credits, they will be deleted. There is not any form of Escrow in this case. I was not aware of this and opened several mails recently, transferring the Credits directly to my character’s inventory. I ended up deleting a substantial amount of Credits, much to my annoyance.

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According to a discussion on the SWTOR forums, this issue stems directly from the way the game was written in 2010. “It is a programming limit. The highest possible number in a 32 bit integer is 2^32-1 = 4,294,967,295”. I’m quoting here as this is not my field of expertise, however, I have no reason to doubt this explanation. I’m sure this limitation was perfectly reasonable when the game launched over a decade ago. Inflation is always an issue with MMO economies and you only have to look at prices of high end gear or cosmetic items on the Galactic Trade Network (the auction house) to see how costs have spiralled. Hence, it is not unusual that dedicated players of SWTOR have substantial amounts of Credits that they’ve built up over the years through trading and speculating. In the meantime, it is unlikely that BioWare is going to address this issue, which raises the question as to whether there’s a workaround?

Legacy Stronghold Storage that players have in their Stronghold does not have the same limitations as the player inventory. Through reading the SWTOR subreddit, it would appear that the Legacy Stronghold Storage is “likely a 64 bit float, so it can hold ridiculous numbers but starts rounding down the lowest digits once you're past 15 zeroes”. Hence players who wish to store more than 4,294,000,000 Credits, need to transfer them from their inventory to their Legacy Stronghold Storage in suitably sized increments. For convenience it may be wise to place one’s mailbox close to the Legacy Stronghold Storage in your Stronghold. Although it can store larger sums, this doesn’t address the practicalities involved in moving around Credits, nor the trading of items with a price over the Credit cap. High value items have to be sold face-to-face and payment made in multiple parts. Again, BioWare and the game does little to appraise the player of these restrictions, so be aware and act with caution.

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Legacy of the Sith

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As well as a new central story, Legacy of the Sith has also introduced some major system changes to the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic. From my own perspective as a returning casual player, these changes are measured and appropriate. Firstly, my Smuggler has had some of their skills rationalised. Some buffs which you previously chose to use, such as Smuggler’s Luck, are now passive skills. Other minor skills, such as Flash Grenade, have been removed. I don’t consider any of these changes to undermine the class and welcome the decluttering of my quickbars. Perhaps more advanced players may take a different view. Change is not always welcome, especially if it removes choice. I however approve of these alterations and the way the UI has been redesigned to display your gear, outfit, combat style, loadouts and companion details. 

Secondly, another major addition to SWTOR in this expansion is Combat Styles. Prior to Legacy of the Sith, each class had two advanced classes, with three disciplines to choose from as they progressed through the game. My primary character in SWTOR is a Smuggler that has chosen the Gunslinger advanced class. I have then selected a DPS focused discipline by allocating points into a skills tree. Now I can select a second Combat Style (the new term for an additional advanced class) and hot swap between them. There are some limitations. As a Smuggler I can only choose Combat Styles from the Trooper and Bounty-hunter and Agent class. Similarly Jedi and Sith characters can only choose from each other. This new system offers a great deal of flexibility and variety. Once a player has completed chapter 3 they are offered a second Combat Style. New characters are now offered this option upon creation.

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At present I have decided not to rush into choosing a second Combat Style. I am still trying to refine my current default one and determine what is the optimal skill rotation. When playing MMOs I tend to focus on one task at a time. I recently completed the Makeb story arc from Rise of the Hutt Cartel. Although I accepted the Seeker Droid and Macrobinocular missions I have yet to undertake them as I find that travelling back and forth between multiple tasks detrimental to following the various narratives. I decided to do some solo Flashpoints but found accessing them a little confusing. I wasn’t sure where to find the appropriate NPC to bestow them but eventually discovered I could access some via the Groupfinder panel. I recently discovered the Swtorista website and it has become an invaluable resource. SWTOR, like many other MMOs, doesn't do especially well at providing essential information in-game.

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From my personal perspective, I have chosen a good time to return to SWTOR. I have managed to refamiliarize myself with the game and my existing characters skills quite quickly. The latest expansion has rationalised those skills making combat easier. I have a wealth of content ahead of me. SWTOR is also a very solo friendly MMO which suits me as I do not have the time to join a guild and participate in social gaming. My next goal is to play through Shadow of Revan. I am currently level 63 and will see if I can reach the level cap just by playing through the main stories of the game. I am also trying to keep abreast of the lore, which can get confusing at times. My Gunslinger defeated Darth Malgus on Ilum but it would appear that he returns in later expansions. This is why I try to do content in chronological order to maintain narrative continuity.

Revisiting Star Wars: The Old Republic

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Star Wars is an interesting franchise in the way it elicits such a strong emotional reaction among those that venerate it. To cut a long story short, I recently reinstalled Star Wars: The Old Republic and the moment I reactivated one of my previous characters and logged into the game I was immediately smitten with what I can only describe as Star Wars “feels”. There is something about the aesthetic associated with the franchise, both visually and musically (the latter is in many ways unique to Star Wars) which taps into my subconscious and prompts a wave of nostalgia. The Star Wars theme is a unique piece of music, insofar as whenever I hear it, it never fails to make me feel like a ten year old boy again. A boy who was enamoured with the Star Wars universe. Perhaps I still am on some level. 

The reason I mention this is because nostalgia and having an emotional attachment to Star Wars certainly contributed to my decision to download the 45GB client for SWTOR. And let us not forget the very selective way our memory works. Hence I was focused on all the positive aspects of this MMORPG, such as the detailed stories, the immersive worlds and the allure of the franchise. There is something very satisfying in firing a blaster pistol in SWTOR and the fact that it makes exactly the same noise as they do in the movies. Returning to this game is at first like returning to a favourite restaurant. Familiarity is indeed comforting. I was pleased to see my previous characters just as I left them. A level 50 Smuggler from 2011 and a level 54 Bounty Hunter from 2013. I rolled a new Smuggler and it didn’t take long for me to orientate myself and remember how the controls work. The sumptuous soundtrack washed over me and I was briefly floating in a sea of nostalgia and joy. Several days later I have a more realistic attitude towards the game.

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You to can run through endless corridors

Never let emotions and sentiment get in the way of critical thinking. SWTOR had some major flaws at launch and despite 10 years of updates, expansions and streamlining, there are still issues today. The game suffers from skills bloat, especially with regard to the original content. Modern action combat in MMOs has seen a rationalisation of skills, usually on one quickbar. SWTOR swamps you in skills, most of which are of varying relevance. Then there are the expansive planetary maps. Travelling from A to B can be exhausting sometimes, becoming a chore. Often you feel that it’s busy work for its own sake as you fight your way across Alderaan or Corellia just to get to a quest location. And then there is the perennial MMO problem of getting the gear progression right, as you level. At present my new Smuggler is level 22 and although I am adequately healed by my companion, my twin blasters feel somewhat lacklustre. It takes a little too long to kill enemies with gear from quest rewards. Yet modifying weapons is financially prohibitive at this level.

However, these criticisms stem from the fact that the base game was released in 2011 and SWTOR certainly follows the MMO trends of that time. However, much has been done to try and rectify this. The levelling experience has changed immensely and a player can progress through the game just by undertaking their class story. I remember back in 2011/12 having to do every quest available to try and get as much XP as possible. And developer’s BioWare has made many quality of life improvements over the past decade. Quick travel is now on a 6 minute cooldown instead of 30 minutes. You can port out of a story instance now conveniently back to a safe haven without having to fight all the way on foot. Taxi travel and personal speeders are cheaper and more accessible. The game also uses a lot of “standard” mechanics so if you’ve played other MMOs or, like me, have been away for a while, it is not too difficult to pick up where you left off.

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Galactic Starfighter is not as bad as you think

As for content and activities, there are now so many additional things to do. Strongholds, the player housing system, is enjoyable and very intuitive to figure out. There’s the Galactic Starfighter system as well, along with all the other raids and instances that have built up overtime. And if you like to tinker with armour and weapons you do so to your heart’s content. One of the first things I did was investigate the cosmetic options for both my new alt and their companion. I also seem to have qualified for a lot of “free stuff” over the years as I had over a dozen in-game mail alerts waiting for me when I first logged in. All of which had some sort of trinket and bauble attached. To my surprise I still had 3,500 Cartel Coins available from my previous time subscribing. The in-game store is filled with desirable items, from armour and mounts to cosmetic clothing and house furnishings. I bought a jetpack!

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No one told me they had jetpacks

For me, perhaps the most compelling aspect of SWTOR is the story telling. You can hide the chat window and play this game as a single player RPG if you see fit. I did this back in 2011 and took exactly the same approach when I returned to the game a few days ago. I rolled a new Smuggler so I could familiarise myself once again with the class skills. Having done this I am now using my original level 50 character as I want to play through The Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion, rather than repeat older content. Furthermore, I seem to have returned to SWTOR at exactly the right time, as there is a new expansion, Legacy of the Sith, due on the 15th February. So far I have subscribed for a month (as it removes a lot of the impediments that blight a free account) and it will be interesting to see if my enthusiasm for SWTOR is sustained longer than 31 days and whether those Star Wars “feels” remain.

A Month in Gaming

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It’s been a while since I’ve written an instalment of A Month in Gaming. Over Christmas and New Year I was busy with family issues and it’s only in January that I’ve started anything approaching a regular gaming schedule. The novelty of Forza Horizon 5 has run its course and I’ve grown tired of the game’s upbeat tone and neverending activities that litter the in-game map. It’s nice that the game tries hard to engage with you but it reaches a point where you never get a time to stop, think and take stock. I couldn’t find anything else included in the Xbox Game Pass which especially excited me. There were a few titles that did take my fancy but I then discovered that I already own them elsewhere via Steam or Epic Games. So I decided to cancel my subscription. I still think that the Xbox Game Pass for PC is very good value and my failure to find anything that I like is my problem and not Microsoft’s fault.

As ever MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online has kept me intermittently busy over the Winter months. I have continued with the central story arc that runs throughout the latest expansion Fate of Gundabad. Sadly performance issues still plague the new zone. I have experienced at least two instances, in which NPCs will not trigger the next stage of the story and remain unresponsive despite having flaming rings above their heads. Lag also persists in the Gundabad maps, especially in Câr Bronach. Handing in missions is also problematic and again you often find yourself having to wait for the game to catch up with what you’re doing. I also managed to visit the Bullroarer test server and take a look at the preview of Update 32 (Beta #4 and #5). So far I like what I’ve seen of the new zone, The Angle of Mitheithel. It’s biggest problem seems to be the correct pronunciation of the name.

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Star Trek Online has just started its12th anniversary celebrations. Kate Mulgrew is the latest actor from the television shows to reprise her character in-game. Furthermore, not only do we finally get to meet Admiral Kathryn Janeway in-game, we also encounter her Mirror Universe incarnation, Terran Marshal Janeway. I cannot emphasise how important it is to STO to have the presence of so many much loved characters in-game, portrayed by the same actors that did so on television. It certainly elevates the credibility and gravitas of the proceedings. The anniversary episode continues the new Terran Empire storyline and has some very interesting lore based surprises. One plot element that’s proving a major talking point is who exactly is the current Emperor of the Terran Empire. Will it be someone who has previously not featured in the game? Will there be a major voice artist surprise later in the year?

As for what I intend to play in February and beyond, I’m not quite sure at present. I suspect I’ll be done with LOTRO shortly and will then take a break from the game. I usually return to The Elder Scrolls Online for three months or so but I cannot at present muster much enthusiasm for the game. Should I revisit an older game such as one of the Sniper Elite series, or should I replay Hand of Fate 2; a game which still impresses me. I am reluctant to buy something new as the last few times I’ve done this it hasn’t proven a good decision. Prior to Christmas I bought Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint in a sale and it has failed to hold my interest. I sure I can find something in my ever growing libraries of “free” games to keep me amused. I shall have a trawl through them and hopefully may find a pleasant surprise.

Video Game Monopolies

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Less than two weeks after we learned that Microsoft would be purchasing Activision Blizzard for $70 billion, today it was announced that PlayStation Studios (AKA Sony) is to buy Bungie for $3.6 billion. Both Microsoft and Sony have extolled the virtues of their respective acquisitions and claim that gamers will benefit. Game passes will become better value for money with new titles added to them. Accessibility and crossplay may well increase due to each company’s technological innovations. Console prices could even be reduced. And at a company level, restructuring and streamlining presents a potential opportunity to purge some developers of many of the toxicity issues that blight them. If you believe the press releases from both Sony and Microsoft, then the future of gaming is in safe hands and looking good. And so far there hasn’t been one mention of NFTs.

However, if one steps back as a gamer and considers the nature of monopolies and their historical precedent, then things don’t look so great. Typical problems associated with monopolies are as follows. Higher prices than in competitive markets. A decline in consumer surplus. Monopolies have fewer incentives to be efficient. Possible diseconomies of scale. Monopolies often have monopsony power in paying a lower price to suppliers. All of which can lead to poor quality, unoriginal, expensive video games made by overworked developers in poorly paid and bad working conditions. And let us not forget the industry's ongoing and ever increasing infatuation with blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens. The days of paying once for a game are on the way out. The prospect of gaming being a second job is on the horizon.

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I find my interest in gaming waning on a daily basis. Have I outgrown gaming? No. Not at all. I still enjoy many aspects of playing a well conceived and implemented video game. But I have outgrown the hype, the tribal and partisan nature of video game culture and I’m as tired as hell with many generic, uninspired and frankly unenjoyable titles. Like good quality films, you need to cast your net far and wide to find decent video games these days. Or defer to older classics. The prospect of large monopolies dominating the video game industry hardly assuages my concerns. However, monopolies are not bulletproof institutions. When reflecting upon successful companies like De Beers, do not forget the fate of Pan Am, IBM and AOL. And if contemplating the machinations of big business is too depressing for you, consider The Very Big Corporation of America from Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life.

"The World Doesn't Actually Need 10,000 New Indie Games a Year"

One of the reasons I’m not that engaged with politics at the moment is because so many people’s opinions are based upon spurious data, misconceptions and logical fallacies.  There are too many hot takes that are based on bluster, faux outrage and a fundamental dislike or fear of change. Sadly, speaking before thinking seems to have become commonplace and has filtered down from political discourse into pretty much every other aspect of public discourse. The furiously hard-of-thinking dominate most public spaces and seem ready to pounce on any subject being debated with an angry, knee-jerk opinion. It is all very wearing. It would seem that being angry about someone or something is as addictive as heroin and a lot cheaper. However, it is equally just as damaging to society.

All of which brings me to recent Tweets made by software developer and businessman Jeff Vogel. Please note I have combined three of these in chronological order so we can see the full context of the points he was making. According to Mr Vogel, “When I started writing games for $$$ (1994), it was a weird eccentric thing to do and I didn't think I would make a penny. If I was starting out today, would I write video games? Almost undoubtedly not. This is a whole lot of young, smart, driven people making things nobody wants. At what point does this become a profound waste of human talent? So pointing out the world doesn't actually need 10000 new indie games a year on Steam will make some people super angry. Note: that's almost 300 games a day. Suggestion: Think I'm wrong? Prove it by going out and actually trying 1% of those games. (Yeah, I didn't think so)”. 

It can be argued that if one overlooks the emotive element of Mr Vogel’s statement, there are indeed a lot of indie games produced for what is essentially a finite market. Therefore, many will fail commercially and struggle to get noticed. That part of his statement is correct on a logical basis. Beyond this point his words are personal and subjective musings on what people do with their lives and the projects that they invest their time into. He posits in subsequent Tweets that maybe people should put their efforts into other things as society still has lots of ills that need addressing. “The game industry doesn't care about this, it's too big. I think it's more about how it's a massive misallocation of talent. What forces are driving so many people to work so hard making something nobody wants, while so much of society in general is increasingly non-functional?”

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The point that Jeff Vogel is making is an old one. I’ve made it myself in past posts. Essentially wouldn’t it be nice if people put the same level of energy and passion that they do with personal projects, into other things that are beneficial for wider society? For example if a local football club is going to be closed, the supporters will lobby hard to prevent it. Would they show the same dedication for a school or a hospital? However, beyond speculation, there is no practical solution to this philosophical conundrum. Because people tend not to think in such terms. For example, when my caring duties end, I shall have to find work. Given my qualifications and skills, returning to the field of IT would be logical, practical and possibly lucrative. It could also be argued as being “beneficial” for the economy and society. However, I do not wish to do this and therefore will not do so unless there is no other option. I wish to pursue a writing career although that will be far harder and pays less.

One of the problems with neoliberalism is that it goes hand in hand with the American dream; the belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, can attain their own version of success in a society in which upward mobility is possible for everyone. Hence people pursue what they’d like to do, rather than what may be most beneficial and practical. Hence so many people aspire to be “influencers” on Twitch TV and YouTube, rather than become an administrator for a firm of quantity surveyors. Does this say something about the state of the job market and people’s relationship with everyday life? I’m sure it does. You only have to read the late David Graeber’s book Bullshit Jobs to get an overview of how broken capitalism is for those not at the top. Hence people will pursue the seemingly impossible dream of developing an indie game, rather than endure the iniquities of soul crushingly pointless, underpaid work and having to interact with sociopathic management and social dysfunctional work colleagues.

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Perhaps Jeff Vogel may wish to reflect on the following. Firstly, he and nobody else is the gatekeeper of indie games development or anything else for that matter. Any statement that directly or indirectly casts you in such a light is an error of judgement and will certainly provoke a reaction. Secondly, artistic endeavours and pursuing creative activities is enormously beneficial for both the artist and those who experience the resulting work of art. Creating something is not always about being financially successful. There is mental wellbeing, catharsis, mental discipline and a wealth of other benefits. This is why “the arts” are often subsidised in many countries. Art is a process of learning to create ourselves and experience the world in new ways. It supports the bigger view of life: beauty, symbols, spirituality, storytelling, and allows us to be present in the moment. Just because you can’t put a price on something doesn’t mean it’s invalid.

I don’t know that much about Jeff Vogel personally, so I can’t determine whether his Tweets are in good faith or deliberately designed to stir up an internet storm. If I assume that he meant what he said without malice, then perhaps his mistake was the way he phrased and presented his thoughts. If they had been less imperative and presented more as a point of consideration, then maybe they would have been met with less opprobrium. Perhaps such rhetorical questions as “the world doesn't actually need 10,000 new indie games a year” ultimately serve no purpose because of the nature of the human condition. We don’t run on pure logic. It is also a very problematic line of argument that can potentially be usurped to frame allsorts of other unpleasant concepts in a superficially “reasonable light”. Ultimately, the argument if taken to its inevitable conclusion would lead to group A dictating what group B does. That seldom ends well, especially in today’s political climate. People don’t take well to being told what to do. Irrespective of its rectitude.

LOTRO: The Angle of Mitheithel Preview Update

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Yesterday, Standing Stone Games made Bullroarer Update 32 - Beta #5 available on their test server and invited player feedback. This latest preview of the next content update for the MMORPG, The Lord of the Rings Online, focuses mainly upon The Legendary Item Reward Track. When the revised LI system was released last October as part of the expansion Fate of Gundabad, it was not fully integrated into the game. Existing LI rewards were not replaced with new ones and no decision had been made regarding potential compensation for obsolete LI related items. There were also outstanding changes to the user interface for the LI system. These are now being addressed in Update 32. The current build, Beta #5, also has some minor updates to the new zone, The Angle of Mitheithel. As ever with anything on the Bullroarer test server, it is subject to change and may be different in the final live release.

Beta #5 now features a new map for The Angle of Mitheithel as well as a revised map of the Trollshaws. In this test build, animals have been added to the region and there are boars, wolves and crows of a comparable level. There are now three additional stable-masters at the following locations; Gaerond, Tham Lumren and Tornhad. Gaerond is a camp to the Northern opening of The Angle of Mitheithel. Tham Lumren is a ruined Elven settlement to the West of the zone on the borders of Eregion and Tornhad is a village of men to the South of the region. Furthermore, two additional stable-masters have been added to the existing Trollshaw map. These are at The Last Bridge and directly outside The Last Homely House. The entire Trollshaw stable list has been updated to reflect these changes.

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In my previous post I thought that a log bridge and a settlement that I saw was the existing route from Trollshaw to Eregion. However, in this test build, the landscape has changed further and the log bridge made from a large fallen tree appears to be the entrance to the Elven settlement of Thamren. I confirmed this by travelling to Gwingris and looking out West over The Angle of Mitheithel. You can clearly discern three of these sorts of bridges (see the gallery of pictures at the end of this post for details). Now there is a map available, I believe that The Angle of Mitheithel is a smaller zone than the Wildwood region that was added to Bree-land last year. In the middle of the new zone is a deserted Hobbit settlement called The Warrens of Tun Melen. I suspect this may be an instance or a quest hub. Similarly there is also a farmer’s cottage to the Northwest of the region which may also be a quest hub.

Star Trek Online: The Captain’s Table

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If you are a lifetime account holder for the MMORPG Star Trek Online, you get a selection of tangible benefits, as well as unfettered access to the game without currency caps and other impediments. These benefits include exclusive ships and playable races, additional bank and inventory slots and a plethora of boots and buffs. Buried among these trinkets and baubles is access to The Captain's Table. An interdimensional bar which caters exclusively to captains and leaders of note throughout the galaxy. In the early 25th century, the bar appeared aboard a mysterious Sierra-class space station, inside the Aenigma Nebula. The nebula is accessible through ship-sized portals in the orbits of Earth, Qo'noS and New Romulus. The Captain's Table is a nightclub and social venue with the following services.

• The Tailor

• The Wholesaler (Ferengi Merchant with Mk I & II Personal Shields and Body Armor)

• Mail, Bank and Exchange Consoles

• Ship customization officer

• Ship repair officer

• Injury treatment officer

• Vendor for minor and major repair components and regenerators.

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The Captain's Table has been available in Star Trek Online since the game’s launch in 2010. On paper it’s a nice concept. A members only area offering alleged benefits. However, that isn’t really the case 12 years on. Travelling around sector space was a more complex process in 2010 with sector blocks, transition screens and then later transwarp gateways. Hence having an exclusive area with a range of services, away from Earth Spacedock, Qo'noS and New Romulus was a great way to avoid the crowds. I suspect that Cryptic may have had plans to add more functionality to The Captain's Table over time. Sadly this has never happened. The game has grown and the services available via the Aenigma Nebula can be found easily elsewhere. Furthermore, travelling in sector space was overhauled in 2015. Thus, The Captain's Table is now mainly redundant.

It would be nice if Cryptic did something with The Captain's Table to make it relevant again. Players are happy to offer suggestions and you’ll find plenty on the STO subreddit. Why not add unique missions, or allow players to refine some bonus Dilithium. Alternatively, make some exclusive gear available via the vendors there. Or at the very least add the Aenigma Nebula to the list of Transwarp destinations? Would any of these be difficult to do? Sadly, in the meantime The Captain's Table must remain as it has been for the last 12 years. A snapshot frozen in time. If you can, why not visit Aenigma Nebula, for old times sake. And reflect upon what it could have been. And while you are there, if you have any items to sell, use the vendor at The Captain's Table. He’ll give more Energy Credits for selling trash loot, than any other vendor in the game

Star Trek Online: Black Screen Bug

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Over the last year an intermittent bug has been plaguing the MMORPG, Star Trek Online. For most players it is not unresolvable and there is a workaround. However, it is one of those bugs that is a low level source of annoyance for most and for a few unlucky players a major impediment to playing Star Trek Online. The bug is as follows. If you use the Arc game launcher to log into your Perfect World Entertainment account and then start Star Trek Online from the list of games, you will randomly get a black screen rather than the Cryptic logo and the game loading. If this occurs, you need to press ctrl+alt+del to bring up the Task Manager and manually click “End Task” to terminate the frozen GameClient.exe file. Relaunching the game from Arc a second time often resolves the issue and the game starts. However, the problem may occur again after exiting the game or it may not. It does seem to be somewhat random and capricious.

As this has happened to me, I have spent some time trying to determine what factors cause the “black screen bug”. Does it occur after a Windows update? Or a Star Trek Online or Arc client update? A video driver update? I’ve tried doing a file integrity test on the existing installation of the game but the bug will occur again shortly afterwards even if everything checks out. However, if you go directly to the installation directory for Star Trek Online and bypass the Arc game launcher altogether and click directly upon the GameClient.exe file, then the game launches without a problem every time. This squarely points to the problem being caused directly or indirectly by the Arc game launcher. Playing Star Trek Online without using Arc is not a major inconvenience. Arc simply provides some additional services that make life easier, such as the ability to easily buy in-game currency and to redeem game related item codes.

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However, for a percentage of Star Trek Online players, the “black screen bug” is not so easily remedied and is a much larger problem. Not everyone finds launching the game directly from the GameClient.exe file bypasses the bug. I have found several subreddits and Steam discussions about this problem and some players have had to reinstall the entire game client to be able to continue to play the game. The technically minded have trawled through various log and error files but have not managed to determine a satisfactory explanation for this seemingly random problem. Perhaps it is time for Cryptic to look into this matter as it is obviously “a thing” for many players and may get worse overtime. It’s always best to try and get ahead of a problem than behind it. However, Cryptic are not known for their speed or decisiveness.

LOTRO: The Angle of Mitheithel Preview

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Yesterday, Standing Stone Games made Bullroarer Update 32 - Beta #4 available on their test server. Unlike the previous three test builds, this one allows players to visit the new area coming in Update 32 to the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. According to SSG “The Angle of Mitheithel stretches south from the Trollshaws to the junction of the Bruinen and Mitheithel rivers. It is a wild land of rocky hills and deep pine-woods, and a graveyard of ancient kingdoms. The ruins of Elves and Men alike crumble among the trees, and the Rangers steal through the shadows of the trees, ever watchful, carrying out secret assignments as the north grows more dangerous by the day. The Angle of Mitheithel will be for levels 40 to 45”. This is a very early build and as a result, there are no mobs at present in the new zone, nor have any new maps or stables been added to the game at present.

The Angle of Mitheithel utilises that same visual aesthetic last seen in the Wells of Langflood. It is a zone swathed in mist and it does lend an air of mystery to the dense pine-woods and rocky bluffs. There is a steep path to the East of the zone which leads down into a valley directly below Gwingris in Eregion. You can clearly see the fallen tree bridge that links Eregion and Trollshaw. The zone is hemmed in by high cliffs and several swift flowing rivers. As mentioned by Standing Stone Games in their press release, there are both Elven ruins as well as deserted settlements from the former kingdom of Arnor. There is also a small village populated by Rangers which will no doubt be a quest hub. At the entrance to the new zone, just south of the Last Bridge in Trollshaw, there is a camp with Elladan as an NPC.

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Aesthetically speaking the new zone is pleasing to the eye and has a suitable ambience. As this is a new addition to an established part of SSG’s virtual Middle-earth, it uses art assets and textures already seen in Trollshaw and the borders of the Lone-lands. So don’t expect any surprises in The Angle of Mitheithel, other than the topographical design. Beyond this, at present there is precious little to report about the new zone as much of its resources have not yet been added to the game. However, I do like the fact that SSG is not solely focused on creating endgame content and it is pleasing to see material added to LOTRO for levelling players. The Wildwood addition to Bree-land was most welcome. Hopefully The Angle of Mitheithel will be equally well received. In the meantime, here is a gallery of pictures taken from Bullroarer Update 32 - Beta #4.

LOTRO: Abandoned Game Mechanics and Systems Part 2

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In the previous post, I focused upon several major game mechanics that were added to the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online with much pomp and ceremony, only to fall into abeyance shortly afterwards. I cited such examples as mounted combat, epic battles and skirmishes. Their fate may well have been due to player indifference or the fact that the mechanics were complicated to develop and expensive to maintain. In this follow-up article I would like to discuss some additional systems that are somewhat smaller in their scope and relevance, but have similarly been abandoned by the developer’s Turbine/Standing Stone Games over the lifecycle of the game. Some are ancient history within the context of the LOTRO. Others are far more recent and that is a point worth reflecting upon.

Destiny Points. All LOTRO players earn destiny points after they have reached level 10, by progressing through the game’s content. The current award is 200 destiny points per level. The currency can be spent on perks that enhance gameplay and levelling. For example, points can be spent on accelerated experience. Similarly they can be spent on a combat run speed, power and morale regeneration, hope, damage and mitigation buffs. However, only VIP players can spend destiny points on perks and this system has never been extended to free-to-play customers. Destiny points offered tangible benefits between 2007 and 2010 but when LOTRO went F2P, the system was sidelined in favour of store based perks. Furthermore, the revisions made to the games levelling curve also impacted upon their relevance. As the LOTRO level cap has grown, levelling per se has become a lot quicker in earlier parts of the game and destiny points are not really required. However, they are still quite useful if applied wisely, although nowadays the system is buried within the game’s UI.

Episodic Content. This is possibly one of the best ideas Turbine/Standing Stone Games have ever implemented. Continuous player engagement is always an issue for the MMORPG genre. The Ballad of Bingo Boffin addressed this by offering players a weekly episodic story that ran for an entire year. The first instalment was set at level 8 so the episodic content could be used to provide a weekly goal for levelling, if a player so wished. Alternatively players could play all episodes in one session if they wanted to, once they had been released and as long as they had reached the level of the final episode. The story was fun and cleverly revisited a lot of existing zones that players may not have necessarily revisited. The weekly release also generated excitement and reason to log into the game. Yet despite the success of this game mechanic it has not been utilised to a comparable extent since its initial release in 2015. A decision that is somewhat baffling.

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Hobbies. Hobbies are a nice concept within the MMO genre. Something I’m sure Simon Quinlank would endorse. The idea of a non-combat based activity that can be progressed and developed over time is very appealing. Sometimes when playing a game such as LOTRO you just want some down time and to bask in the pleasant virtual sunshine. Hence hobbies were introduced to the game in 2008. The first one was fishing and sadly no further activities have been added in the ensuing 14 years. Furthermore fishing has been nerfed. Although it still yields prize fish that can be taken to the taxidermist and turned into trophies, the bait mechanic which improved critical chance has been removed. I miss the Red Wiggler bait.

Pipe-weed. For the Lore-master class in LOTRO, pipe-weed used to be an essential consumable that was required for any group content. Back in the early days of the game, the Lore-master skill Back from the Brink that can revive a downed player, was dependent on having a supply of pipe-weed. Perhaps that’s why the developer’s nerfed it and removed the dependency on actually having pipe-weed. Pipe-weed remains in the game as a farming item. The various varieties yield cosmetic smoke ring emotes but as a functional item it is now obsolete.

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Class Trainers. When LOTRO was first released, as a player’s character progressed through the game, class skills were not automatically bestowed and added to the quickslot bar. Instead you received notification to visit a class trainer and you bought the skill that you now qualified for. If you didn’t have sufficient in-game gold, then you couldn’t buy the skill. Hence you had to exercise a degree of fiscal prudence. However, this system has now been removed from the game and skills are bestowed directly to your alt as you level. The class trainer NPCs are now just relics of this system with no real purpose.

Currencies. MMOs love multiple in-game currencies and LOTRO is no different. As you level your alts through content there are multiple reputations factions offering unique currencies that can be used to barter for level appropriate gear. And therein lies the rub. Once you out level a reputation faction its currency can offer you precious little. Hence it can be very frustrating to have a barter wallet full of useless currency that you’ve worked hard for. It’s a similar story with regard to seasonal festival tokens. At one point Turbine/SSG talked about creating a universal token system and phasing out all the niche currencies. Sadly this never happened and more than likely never will. LOTRO continuously undermines the effort players put into the game.

LOTRO: Abandoned Game Mechanics and Systems Part 1

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According to Merlin, played by the great Nicol Williamson in the 1981 film Excalibur, “It is the doom of men that they forget”. A criticism that could be levelled both at me and Turbine/Standing Stone Games. The MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online is littered with systems, game mechanics and features that have been introduced to the game, proven unsuccessful, unpopular or too complex to maintain and subsequently abandoned. I can’t help but think that the last reason is possibly the most common factor in determining the fate of a new game system. Cryptic removed The Foundry system of player created content from Star Trek Online because the sole member of staff that curated it left the company, proving this problem isn’t unique to LOTRO. However, as it’s been my main MMO of choice for 14 years, I shall be using it as a point of reference. Here are a few examples.

Mounted combat. This remains the most obvious “experiment” which was introduced to LOTRO in 2012 and persisted only while the story progressed through Rohan. Although there are still plenty of areas in which you can still ride your mount and kill mobs, it is no longer a requirement that is written into the story. Mounted combat remains a clumsy game mechanic, with unwieldy mounts and a huge disparity in its effectiveness depending upon your chosen class. It has proven so unpopular with players that the developers had to integrate additional story missions as an alternative to the mandatory mounted combat quests.

The War Wolf. Effectively this combat pet functions similarly to a skirmish soldier and is equally erratic. However it does have some useful attributes and can be used as an aggro magnet, affording a speedy getaway for the Lore-master that pulls too many mobs. If used wisely (IE by a more competent player than me) it can be quite effective. The War Wolf is unlocked by spending skill points on the yellow talent tree and accessing the "riding companion" ability. Turbine should have done more with this and tried to extend it to all classes. It made mounted combat a little more interesting.

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Epic Battles. This is a system that was introduced in the Helm’s Deep expansion in 2013. Although far from popular, the developer’s persisted for another two years adding further epic battles in Gondor. It’s a great idea on paper, just like mounted combat but the reality is quite different. Epic battles only start to get interesting once you have amassed sufficient points to upgrade your Role Traits (Officer, Engineer and Vanguard). You then have skills that can make a difference during the 30 minute long battles. Many players never get that far. When you first start playing the enemy mobs pretty much ignore you and head straight for the ally NPCs. You’re left begging for someone to fight you like Connor MacLeod in the Highlander.

Skirmishes. Skirmishes which were added to LOTRO in 2010. They remain an excellent form of scaling instance with multiple achievements and goals. They can accommodate  1 or upto 6 players. They provide a great alternative means of levelling and the skirmish vendors also had a very robust range of intermediate gear upto level 105. Plus it is fun to have an AI companion. However, skirmishes stopped being added to the game after the Siege of Mirkwood, apart from some simple seasonal variations that accompany festivals. I suspect that Turbine was focused on other content at the time and later found that the staff with the requisite skills had left the company. Missions are now a watered down, poor relation to skirmishes which are far less exciting, only allow 2 players and offer war less of any worth. 

Fellowship Manoeuvres. Players who are new to LOTRO may well forget that upon its release in 2007, the game was heavily based around group content. This MMO was meant to be played in balanced teams and much of the content could not be played solo. Also known as conjunctions, fellowship manoeuvres occur randomly, or are triggered by Burglars or Guardians. They require that the target be stunned or knocked down, in any group encounter with a signature or higher enemy. If the conditions are met a menu appears on screen and each player can contribute by selecting one of four skills. Specific combinations offer advantages such as a morale or power buff to the players, an increase in outgoing damage or they can debuff the enemy. They can contribute an invaluable supplement to group healing. However, as LOTRO became more focused upon solo PVE content over the years, this game system ceased to be relevant or even known about anymore.

To be continued.

LOTRO: The Hytbold Experiment

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In 2012, developers Turbine embarked upon an interesting experiment as part of the Riders of Rohan expansion for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. I do not refer to mounted combat. Let us leave that debacle for another discussion. I was referencing the rebuilding of the burnt out village of Hytbold, which was promoted at the time as an alternative to raiding for solo players. Hytbold is a settlement located within the Sutcrofts in East Rohan, which was burned down in an attack by Orcs from the East Wall. Once a player reaches level 84 they can undertake repeatable daily quests, participate in mounted combat and other unique events. Over time a player can rebuild the two dozen buildings that make up Hytbold and access services such as Stable Master, Provisioner and Barber. The rewards for this task are class and trait-specific armour sets that are comparable to level 85 raid gear and the title of Thane of Rohan. 

At the time, there was a great deal of debate on the Official LOTRO Forums regarding access to top tier gear and that the developers were pandering too much to raiders. Casual players and non raiders requested alternative ways to receive raid quality gear and rebuilding Hytbold allegedly provided a solution. However, just like raiding, rebuilding Hytbold requires a substantial investment of time. Former Senior Game Designer Joe Barry argued the point thus. “The overall time commitment is on par though with the amount of play hours and overall time it would take to get a raid armour set from a cluster. However, instead of spending 5+ hours once a week for 6-8 weeks raiding, you're instead spending 30-45 minutes a day doing soloable dailies for a similar amount of weeks”.

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  The main method of time-gating the rebuilding of Hytbold is via reputation factions. There are four in Riders of Rohan. The Wold, Norcofts, Sutcrofts and Entwash Vale. Reputation XP is gained through doing regional quests. Although Hytbold can be accessed with lower rep, some of the quests are gated behind Ally status. Regional quests will only provide rep XP upto a certain level, so if you want to reach kindred, then playing through Hytbold is mandatory. The fact that faction rep cannot be supplemented by tasks is a major hindrance. Managing the rebuilding of Hytbold is also quite complex in itself and shortly after release, several equally complex guides appeared on the forums (like this legendary one from Fredelas) as players tried to find an optimal selection of quests which could be completed quickly and efficiently on a daily basis.

As a dedicated LOTRO player at the time, I undertook the task of rebuilding Hytbold and if memory serves, I believe it took me about one and a half months. It was an enjoyable experience initially doing dailies and speculating about how Hytbold would look when rebuilt. The burned out buildings were replaced with new ones through phasing. However, after about twenty days or so, it became a chore, especially as some of the dailies were less enjoyable than others. Admittedly once complete it was rewarding to see the town rebuilt and to be able to purchase one of three class specific armour sets. But once this lengthy task was finished there was little or no reason to return to the town of Hytbold. Furthermore, twelve month later the next expansion Helm’s Deep saw an increase in level cap and so new sets of armour.

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One of the worst failings of LOTRO is the way in which the game continuously invalidates gear and more importantly, the player’s hard work to obtain it as they progress through the game. I remember grinding through numerous Moria instances and raids to get a First Age Legendary Weapon back in Autumn 2009. I finally got my weapon a month before the release of Siege of Mirkwood. Once that expansion arrived it immediately became obsolete. My Hytbold gear suffered a similar fate although I did benefit from it a little longer. At present there are 221 stable-master in LOTRO. One of these is Hytbold and you only get it if you completely rebuild the village. I can’t remember the last time I went there but it’s a badge of honour that I have it. As LOTRO content doesn’t scale there often is no reason to go back to an older zone. Also because levelling is streamlined now, new players progressing through the game have no requirement to complete Hytbold if they don’t wish to.

Hytbold was an interesting experiment which genuinely attempted to address an issue that the player community had raised. Some people like progression, a clear path to a goal and repetition. Others don’t. Raiding doesn’t always guarantee obtaining the gear you seek but it probably offers a more exciting experience than the more structured path of Hytbold. Whatever your opinion, it should be noted that Turbine did not offer an alternative to raiding in later expansions. Perhaps they felt it was too much work or wasn’t particularly well received, just like mounted combat. Perhaps back in 2013, they were already considering an alternative system that could be monetised, as it is today with lootboxes and Embers of Enchantment. As for Hytbold, it remains one of many experimental systems that litter the game that have subsequently been abandoned. A curiosity from a decade ago.

Auto-manage

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I’m sure I’ve mentioned this issue before in previous video game related posts. But I don’t think I’ve devoted an entire article to the matter, which is what I’m going to do today. So to provide some context, I logged into The Elder Scrolls Online today as I’m fast approaching that point in the year where I spend a few months subscribing to the game. Due to some recent patch, once again all my Champion Points have been refunded. Judging by the change in graphics, it may be that the entire Champion Point system has been updated. Whatever the reason, I have to re-allocate 501points into three skill trees. I wasn’t au fait with the last system, so I followed a build I found online. Now that it has changed, I’ll have to find a new one and copy it. Until I do, my character will be gimped. Shame the game doesn’t offer a selection of generic builds that can be easily implemented at the press of a button. 

Back in 2003, I used to play a superb, squad based, tactical shooter called Hidden and Dangerous 2. A major part of the game was picking your team and equipment for the upcoming mission. The player was given a great deal of choice with regard to weapons, explosives, ammunition and such like. If you were planning a stealthy approach you would choose gear pertinent to such an approach. If you favoured a more direct approach you would select heavier weapons. However, the developers were savvy enough to understand that where this facility delighted some players, it also bored the shit out of others. Hence in their infinite wisdom and bountiful generosity they gave us a button that would automatically equip the “recommended selection”. And there was much rejoicing. Furthermore, they weren’t the only ones that did this. 

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Over the years many video games have included an “auto-manage” feature. I’ve never been a big fan of real time strategy games but I did play a lot of Star Wars: Rebellion in the late nineties. If the player found managing resources across multiple planets too tiresome or wished to focus on other elements of the game, you could assign your advisor droid to take care of these tasks. Naturally it didn’t yield the best results but it was adequate enough for new players or those who preferred other aspects of gameplay such as the epic real-time space battles. Again this comes down to a matter of personal choice, whether you wish to use such a facility. Naturally it will be an anathema to the purists and I totally understand such players being against such a game mechanic. From my perspective, I just like to have a choice and a means to bypass what I see as “chores” and unenjoyable “busy work”.

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People who play video games do so for lots of different reasons. Some love to micromanage excessively complex systems, meticulously reading the text and crunching the numbers in the hope of finding an optimal build. Others like extensive choices so they can try a variety of permutations. As for me, I prefer to get straight into the action and start shooting things in the face. Anything that impedes that is a pain in the ass as far as I’m concerned. Which is why I’d like to see a lot more games implement some kind of auto-manage facility. It is these kinds of quality of life services that can make the difference between quitting out of petty annoyance and soldiering on, possibly to find one’s second wind. I can’t see how including auto-manage does any harm to a game, although I’m sure there are some gaming zealots who do. In the meantime, I shall continue to live in hope and lobby for this game mechanic.

Star Trek Online: The Missing Missions

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On October 15th 2018, Cryptic released Season 15: Age of Discovery for the MMORPG Star Trek Online. As well as adding new Star Trek: Discovery themeed content to the game, the developers also overhauled the new player experience and as a result made some major changes to existing missions in the game. Several story arcs were taken from the “Episodes” tab of the game’s Journal and relegated them to the status of side-content. As a result, several well written and enjoyable storylines are now buried in the game’s UI  and are therefore easily overlooked. Some of them have been further gated behind a level 60 requirement to be eligible to play them. For more details of both these “side-content” story arcs and playing the entire game in narrative order, please see my previous post, Playing the Story Arcs in Order.

The other major change that Cryptic made with the launch of Season 15 was the removal of eight missions. At the time, Cryptic stated that this was to accommodate ongoing revisions and improvements to various content. This was confirmed as five missions were changed to feature revised graphics and the addition of canonical characters to the game, such as Commander La Forge (LeVar Burton). Cryptic initially stated that the eight missions would return at some point in the future. However, after three years this has still not yet happened. Furthermore, having recently played through the games complete content, it is apparent that many of the stories have been tweaked in such a way that they do not require the return of these eight missions. If it is the case that these stories have been permanently removed from STO, it will be a loss to the overall game. The missing missions are as follows.

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• Hide and Seek. Coded messages by an Undine infiltrator sent you to a distant nebula where enemies lie and wait.

• Stop the Signal. The player is ordered to the Bomari System to find and destroy a Klingon listening post in the area.

• The Kuvah'Magh. Ambassador Kas invited Miral Paris, who is said to be the Kuvah'Magh, as a mediator to a peace conference on Regulus IV. However, spurred by B'vat's propaganda, the talks are sabotaged by Klingons and their Orion mercenaries who believe Miral to be a false saviour. Although the talks have failed, Kas eventually assists the player in chasing B'vat away before he can abduct Miral Paris.

• Treasure Trading Station. Starfleet has received a communication from a servant of one of the Klingon great noble houses. She claims to have vital information about the Klingon's war plans and she is willing to exchange that information for relocation to a planet out of the Empire's grasp.

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• Task Force Hippocrates. There are more reports than usual about Klingon and Gorn attacks along the border of Federation space. Starfleet has created a task force to patrol the area.

• The Ultimate Klingon. After rescuing Julian Bashir from a Gorn ambush on his research lab in the Korvat System, the player has to investigate a genetic research facility on H'atoria and discovers Amar Singh creating genetically modified super warriors for the Klingon Empire.

• City on the Edge of Never. After helping Captain Thelin of the U.S.S. Kirk against a Klingon ambush, he reports that Miral Paris, the supposed Kuvah'magh, was kidnapped by B'vat. The player follows him to the Gateway System, where B'vat takes Miral through the Guardian of Forever.

• Past Imperfect. In Past Imperfect the player is transported to the past by the Guardian of Forever to defeat B'vat's schemes and preserve the present.