Has LOTRO Lost its Way?

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After the initial shock of Update 41 and the radical revisions it made to the Lore-master class, I recently returned to The Lord of the Rings Online to experiment with new Master of Nature’s Fury (red line) and Keeper of Animals (blue line) builds. It is odd to find that skills I’ve been using for years are now gated behind specific trait lines. Furthermore, the consolidation of skills has left the entire class somewhat overpowered. Some players may argue that this is a good thing. However, for me it has rendered what was a subtle class requiring skill and intelligence to use effectively, into what is just a blunt instrument. Since playing tactically is now redundant, instances and skirmishes no longer poses any significant challenge. PVE content has been easy in LOTRO for a long time. Post update 41 it is now trivial and nothing more than a minor diversion.

For all the good aspects of LOTRO, of which there are many, developer’s Standing Stone Games have a habit of making wrong calls when it comes to adding new systems to the game. Consider mounted combat, fellowship manoeuvres, destiny points and pipe weed. Some of these are interesting ideas that were just poorly implemented. Others are things no one ever asked for. All of which took time and resources to develop. The latest addition to this list is the woefully implemented “Birding” hobby which arrived with Update 41. This bird spotting activity seems somewhat ill conceived and is certainly underwhelming. The fact you don’t actually see any birds during the process is odd, to say the least. Again I return to this notion that those making decisions at SSG seem very removed from what players want.

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LOTRO is a 17 year old game. The MMORPG genre and gaming per se have changed a lot during that time. LOTRO looks “old”. Some may argue that is part of the game’s inherent charm and in some respects I would agree. However, the ageing technology that LOTRO runs on is a reality. Although the game has an impressive scope of vision when it comes to its world design, the implementation is looking dated. The low resolution textures, the incessant pop-in and the constant recycling of assets is very noticeable. If you take time to set up a screenshot in LOTRO, especially one that involves an interesting vista, you’ll often find that the game struggles to load appropriately scaled trees, shrubs and buildings. The game engine also cannot cope with the waves and breakers along the coast of Umbar. The game’s UI is also from a different era and struggles to be readable at modern resolutions. Yet plans to address these issues appear to have been abandoned.

LOTRO players will often focus on the game’s strongest asset; the lore and the way that SSG draws upon it so effectively. This is not something I would dispute. If you are a Tolkien fan, you’ll find SSG’s vision of Middle-earth to be very authentic. If you’re a new player starting LOTRO today, you’ll find a wealth of content to get lost in. However, at level cap it is a different issue. You can either embark upon group play and tackle all the respective raids that are available. Or you can simply play new story content and slowly upgrade your gear. I have stated in the past that LOTRO has reached a point in its lifespan where “what you see is what you get”. However, I now feel that the game has begun to run out of steam. Narratively, the game has entered Umbar, which is an interesting region from a lore perspective. But aesthetically it is a visually uninspired zone and it sits uncomfortably with the rest of SSG’s vision of Middle-earth.

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Looking at the bigger picture, in recent years there have been a lot of changes with regard to who owns SSG. Initially EG7 appeared to be keen in investing and invigorating the game. However, changes to the internal company hierarchy appear to have reversed this policy. I get the impression that the bean counters are at present happy for LOTRO to continue in the same vein as it always has. It generates revenue consistently and has a robust core playerbase. But I think no one wants to invest any further resources into the game, beyond those allocated. This issue, when combined with SSG’s “mother knows best” outlook, says to me that the game is just marking time. Rather than operating within modest parameters it now feels like lacklustre meandering. Has LOTRO lost its way? Can it be saved and given a new lease of life. Or is it simply entering the final stage of its life cycles.

LOTRO: The Lore-master is Broken

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I started playing The Lord of the Rings Online on On Monday 22nd December 2008. I still have the receipt in the box set that I bought, which included the base game Shadows of Angmar and the newly released expansion, Mines of Moria (it had been out about a month). This was my first MMORPG and unlike many other gamers, I had not previously played World of Warcraft. Hence, this was very much a new experience for me. I spent a lot of time pondering what race and class I would play and after reading the game manual thoroughly, (remember them?) I decided upon a human Lore-master. This proved to be a wise decision because I immediately took to the class with its mixture of ranged fire attacks and combat pets. As I am not an “altoholic” this has been my primary character in LOTRO for the last 15 plus years. I have played through every update and expansion with this Lore-master. A total time investment of 7 months, 1 week, 3 days and 5 hours.

Over the years I have enjoyed both the good times and bad times with LOTRO. There have been occasions when I have indulged in marathon sessions and other times when I’ve taken several months break from the game. But because of my love of Tolkien and my connection with the character that I’ve created, I always return. Over the years our Fellowship (guild) has waxed and waned. Many friends have come and gone from the game and sadly, some have passed away. Such is the nature of communities within the MMO genre. 15 years has also seen a lot of changes in the games development. Systems have been added and game mechanics have been changed. Mounted combat and epic battles proved unsuccessful. The change from a flexible trait system to a generic skills tree proved problematic. Yet despite various bumps along the way, the road continues to go on and on for LOTRO.

On July 31st, I logged into LOTRO as Update 41: On the Wing was being released that afternoon. I had been away from the game for several months and read that there were to be some class changes included in the latest patch. I took screen captures of my current build, so I could quickly return to it after any system reset. I then logged out, with a view to returning later. It was not until a few days ago that I logged back into LOTRO and I quickly discovered that developers, Standing Stone Games, hadn’t made minor adjustments to the Lore-master class but had radically retooled it. In the past I would have known chapter and verse about this matter well in advance. Nowadays, I have a more casual relationship with the game, so I was blissfully ignorant of the changes. Needless to say, I wasn’t the only player who was confused and frustrated by this decision to alter a class in this fashion.

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I won’t belabour casual readers with an excess of detail but all classes in LOTRO have the option to spend their skill points in three distinct skill trees. All of  which offer different abilities and play styles. These are colour coded. Blue is weighted towards buffing the Lore-master pets and making them a major focus of gameplay. Red is DPS specific, buffing most fire skills and such like. Yellow line is designed to make all Lore-master buffs and de-buffs more robust and is the favoured skills tree option for those playing group content. All of these have now been nerfed by SSG with certain skills being combined or removed altogether. The most egregious changes are to the red line option. The option that I’ve always favoured. Combat pets which could previously be summoned until manually dismissed, are now relegated to short term skills. You summon them, they fight for a short period and then vanish. These skills now have long cooldowns. Considering that the Lore-master is a pet class, this decision is illogical. It also spoils having these pets as companions when out of combat.

As a mature gamer, I am not prone anymore to gaming related tantrums. They are unseemly and ultimately change nothing. But as a player of LOTRO with 15 years plus standing, who has solely played the Lore-master class for that period, I am “disappointed”. Something that wasn’t broken to begin with has been diminished and is now demonstrably inferior to how it used to be. The irony is this isn’t the first time such decisions have been made during LOTRO’s lifespan and I suspect that it will happen again. SSG developers have a habit of being tone deaf to players’ likes and dislikes and indifferent to any upset or inconvenience they cause. They have an unedifying habit of “always knowing better”, regardless of whether they do or not. As for me, I spent a little time experimenting with the new red line build and then abandoned it. I have not at present chosen an alternative option and have logged out, with no immediate plans to return anytime soon. Nothing remains the same forever but this was a crass decision by the developers and it has now degraded mine and other players’ gaming experience. Bravo SSG, bravo.

MMO Tropes: Loot

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Where is the phat loot?

“The MMO genre is rife with its own set of tropes; recurring themes and motifs that have become established and ubiquitous. All of which are ideal material for a hastily produced, lazily conceived, recurring blog post”. One of the integral game mechanics of the MMORPG genre is the acquisition of loot. As you travel your virtual world of choice, committing random murder against all forms of flora and fauna, you acquire miscellaneous items by looting the corpses of the slain or stealing from houses and NPCs. Oh it’s a glamorous genre, the MMORPG. These random items can be crafting resources such as hides or ore. They may be food items or healing potions that provide some kind of statistical buff. If you’re fortunate, they may be gear that corresponds with your class or specific build, providing a much needed upgrade. Loot may also be the in-game currency, thus boosting your respective wealth. As you can see, loot comes in all shapes and sizes but how important is it?

Loot has multiple purposes as a game mechanic. For many players of MMOs, looting is their primary means of earning in-game currency. Loot is farmed and then sold, providing “gold” that can be spent on other requirements. It is a cornerstone of MMO economies. Many of which are fair and equitable when a game is launched, only to go off the rails as players learn how to game the system. But that is another blog post. Returning to the matter of loot, its acquisition goes beyond the practical in some games, instead providing the actual raison d'etre for playing. Games such as the Diablo franchise are an exemplar of this concept and let us not forget that there is an entire genre of games that falls under the banner of “looter shooters”. There is something that appeals to many gamers on a very fundamental level, with regard to acquiring what is colloquially called “phat loot”. I can remember grinding for ages to get a 1st age weapon in The Lord of the Rings Online circa 2009. I was beside myself when I finally got one. I enjoyed it for a week until an expansion invalidated it with new and superior gear.

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The Captain wasn’t happy with the quality of the loot

However, not all loot is equal. MMOs usually have various types of loot on an ever increasing scale of rarity and importance. Quality gear and useful item upgrades tend to be scarce, often tied to high level bosses or harder missions. Low value items are commonplace and are accurately labelled “vendor trash”. Many MMOs struggle to get the balance right when it comes to the quality and frequency of loot drops. Star Trek Online is a terrible offender when it comes to this. Specific missions have very good gear rewards but random loot acquired while fighting random mobs is usually of no value at all. It is often pointless low level items and selling them yields little financial reward. Conversely, in The Lord of the Rings Online, a level cap player can make a lot of gold, just by farming zones ten or so levels below them. Especially if they are pursuing deeds, such as killing 200 of a particular species.

MMOs also have another source of loot. Namely raids. These complex, time consuming group events have always been the favoured means for game developers of this genre, to gate the best quality gear. For many years MMO players would invest hours of their time, participating in raids in the hope of getting an opportunity to roll on a unique item. Yes, you read that right. Often there was only one item of high end gear in the loot. It may not have even been relevant to your class at all. If so you got nothing. If it was something you could use, then there was usually a random number generating facility in the chat window and you rolled a virtual dice. The person with the highest number got the item. Everyone else went home with nothing. Assuming the raid leader didn’t steal it for themselves, and then quit the game and the guild. As you can imagine this was the very definition of “fun”. If any old school gamer tries to convince you that MMOs were meritocracies back in the day, tell them to remove themselves to the nearest body of water.

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Cheech and Chong themed cosmetic skins and weapon blueprint

However, things change. Video games have become more popular and game developers have gotten wise to the fact that a lot of their paying customers are buying an experience and an entertainment service. They don’t care about punishing rules and failure conditions. Hence we now live in an era where quality loot can be bought. It is a phenomenon that isn’t to everyone’s liking but again we need to step back from our own preferences and see video games as the transactional business that they are. Call of Duty sells weapon blueprints that are often superior to those available in the base game. Star Trek Online has a multitude of ships available in-game but the most desirable are those from lock boxes. As for me, whenever The Lord of the Rings Online raises the level cap, thus invalidating your current gear, I just spend my monthly subscriber stipend on loot boxes and be done with it, rather than re-gear by grinding. 

Most people like getting loot when playing MMOs. Or at least they like the concept. Not necessarily the way the mechanic is implemented. I have often thought that we get superior gear at the wrong time. You don’t need it when you hit level cap (unless you buy into the maxim that the real game only begins at level cap) but rather as you’re levelling. Personally, I like upgradeable loot and the ability to keep a much loved item, as seen in Star War: The Old Republic. However it is implemented, loot is a constant in the MMO genre and that is unlikely to change. I don’t think any specific game has a system that is 100% perfect. Perhaps that all seeing oracle and minor deity, Raph Koster, will bring forth a definitive loot related game mechanic in his up and coming game, Stars Reach. Until then we’ll just have to endure the systems that we have. Now please excuse me, I have to sell 3 hides, a kumquat and a rusty ear trumpet for 4 gold.

LOTRO: What You See Is What You Get

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As many of us suspected, the proposed “remaster” of the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online has been formally cancelled. Daybreak boss Ji Ham touched upon this project in EG7’s latest investors pitch video and stated that the proposal was a poor return on investment. The estimated cost of $30 million could well be spent more effectively elsewhere, possibly the development of new games. As a console release of LOTRO would be dependent upon a remaster, I think it is safe to say that idea is similarly no longer an ongoing concern. Sadly, it would appear that all the ideas regarding LOTRO that were floated during Robin Flodin’s tenure as EG7 CEO, have now all been quashed. It will be interesting to see if developers Standing Stone Games push ahead with support for 4K gaming and revisions to the game’s GUI or whether that also will be abandoned.

 16 years on from its launch LOTRO remains a money-making concern due to its relatively stable playerbase. The licensing arrangement is as secure as it can be and so the game continues. There is an ebb and flow to player engagement with LOTRO, usually centred around the release of new content. The release of Amazon Prime’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power certainly produced a spike in activity around the MMO. This will no doubt happen again when the next update is released. However, LOTRO appears to have a finite capacity to yield revenue and as a result of this fiscal limitation, it would appear that Daybreak has no interest investing any further in the game. Hence the scope of future development for LOTRO is fixed. The MMO will continue to get new updates, expansions and monetised content. But there will not be anything outside of existing parameters.

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 Having played LOTRO since 2008, the game has changed significantly over the years. It has tried to embrace some of the attributes of modern MMOs and that has not been to everyone's liking. However, the loyal, steadfast, playerbase yields sufficient revenue to keep the lights on. It reminds me of a popular TV show that maintains an audience and so gets continued funding but never enough to break out of its creative lane. The steady release of new story content, new classes and races is sufficient to keep loyalists engaged. But the “more of the same” business model is also the reason why a percentage of players leave. New players arrive to find a dated game that offers a huge amount of old school, progressive, narrative content that they need to catch up on. However, it is clear now that this is the way LOTRO is going to be until the servers are closed. These are the terms that you play the game.

LOTRO: River-hobbits Preview

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There have been four test previews of Update 37 for the MMORPG, The Lord of the Rings Online, recently on the Bullroarer test server. I only managed to briefly log in on the 1st of August, specifically to check out the new River-hobbit race. During my brief time on Bullroarer I investigated their respective character creation options and after quickly throwing together a new alt, logged into the game itself. Because I have been absent from both LOTRO and the official forums of late, I was not aware of any of the details surrounding River-hobbits. I was somewhat surprised that they hailed from Lyndelby in the Wells of Langflood. As I was short on time, I didn’t play through the new bespoke starter story associated with the new race. I logged out with the intention of returning during the next beta test but sadly I missed it. Hence I have spent the last few days reading several blogs and the official game forums to find out more about River-hobbits and how well they’ve been received so far.

Let it suffice to say, River-hobbits as they exist after 4 rounds of testing, have not met with universal acclaim. Broadly speaking I would say opinion on the official forums is equally divided on the matter. However, I tend to be ambivalent of this particular platform as it is not sufficiently representative of the wider LOTRO community. There are a lot of personalities who regularly contribute and participate in the various discussions there who struggle with objective criticism and acceptance of contrary opinions. That notwithstanding, based upon what I’ve seen and more importantly read so far, the objections raised are as follows. 

• The current River-hobbit character models are not sufficiently “hobbit” like. They look more akin to scaled down human assets.

• The representation of River-hobbits seems to be canonically problematic and the associated in-game lore seems deliberately ambiguous.

• The overall level and quality of development of this new race seems to be “minimal”. IE Too many reused and repurposed in-game assets. Indifferent writing and insufficient effort being put into the undertaking.

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All of which tallies with what I’ve seen so far of River-hobbits. I was surprised to see how “un-hobbit like” the character models were when I logged into the test server at the beginning of the month. I was somewhat disappointed that Lyndelby had been chosen as the starter location for the new race. This remote and deliberately hidden village is already established via a prior update and is clearly an agrarian settlement. There is a river for irrigation purposes but the environment does not immediately seem an ideal fit for this new race. For me, River-hobbits conjures up images of a community specifically linked with waterways. IE One that uses boats, fishes and has homes on the river bank or on a boardwalk. Perhaps even a few adventurous denizens have houseboats.

One of the reasons that I have drifted away from LOTRO is that it never seems to be able to step beyond the technical and creative confines it has made for itself. I applaud wholeheartedly the fact that new content is continuously added to the game. But it is always “more of the same”. No more, no less. I appreciate that trying to do something radical with a game running on code from before 2007 is not easy. Yet, the developers seem to have a mindset of not even trying to think outside the box. Using the blanket excuse of “old code and technical difficulties” to absolve themselves from trying anything new is far from edifying. But it can be argued that Standing Stone Games have always been their own worst enemy. In the meantime let us wait and see if any further meaningful changes are made to River-hobbits. I suspect that after 4 beta tests, apart from some aesthetic tweaks, what you currently see will be what you get in the final release. How it is received by regular players will be interesting.

MMO Tropes: Death

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I use to be alive until I took an arrow to the cerebral cortex

“The MMO genre is rife with its own set of tropes; recurring themes and motifs that have become established and ubiquitous. All of which are ideal material for a hastily produced, lazily conceived, recurring blog post”. Dying in an Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game is a clear and unambiguous fail state. A means by which to teach the player that they’re doing something wrong and that they need to rethink their strategy. IE Don’t mess with the foul Marmydons unless you have back up and are wielding the Sword of Kagnazax. Dying is a reminder to not get overconfident and maintain situational awareness. It teaches us to ensure you have the right gear and consumables, to be au fait with the mechanics of any fight you’re about to get into and that winning is not a given. Any enterprise that offers a tangible reward will come with potential risks and consequences. If you’re playing in a group then death provides a timely reminder not to rely on Colin.

Over the course of its evolution, the MMORPG genre has handled death in many different ways. There’s the scorched earth policy of permadeath, in which your in-game character dies for good. You lose everything you’ve accrued and have to create a new character and start from scratch. Then there was the infamous “corpse run”, in which your character’s spirit spawns at a designated point on the in-game map and has to return to their own dead body to re-animate it. In the meantime, any passing player can pilfer your loot from your unattended cadaver. However, such draconian rules have fallen out of favour with modern MMOs, although you will still find them in many classic games that still linger online. Death is now treated as a minor penalty that temporarily inconveniences you. It may incur damage to your gear but it is no longer the setback that it used to be.

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I’ve spent many a happy hour plummeting to my death in LOTRO

In the Lord of the Rings Online, death is politely called “defeat” and occurs when your morale reaches zero. While defeated your character remains immobile, unable to use any skills. You may then use a self-revive which has a two hour cooldown by default, assuming that the immediate area is safe. If however you cannot or do not wish to self-revive, you may “retreat” which will teleport you to the nearest rally point, which is a circle of stones in a safe area. This disadvantage of “retreating” is that it may take you a substantial distance from your previous location. This is particularly problematic if you are in an instance. However, if you are playing in a group you may be revived by a fellow player, if they are of a class that can revive others. It is not the best or worst example of death mechanics in an MMO but it can be managed. You can purchase an account unlock that reduces the two hour cooldown on “revive” to one or purchase additional consumable “revives” by using in-game currency.

Death is managed in a far more equitable fashion in Star Trek Online. During ground combat, if you are inconvenienced by dying you can simply respawn at the last unlocked respawn point. However, more often than not, your character is accompanied by your “away team”. This is a group of four NPC companions or “bridge officers”. While dead you may request “help”, in which case one will come and revive you. Depending upon the intensity of the ongoing combat, your companions may well all heroically die trying to save you. However, if you ensure that you have a holographic or android NPC on your away team, these have the ability to self-reboot. Hence if your entire group is wiped out, one will self-revive and then revive everyone else. Conversely, space combat in STO handles dying far more simply. There is a short 10 second cooldown and then you can opt to respawn in the combat zone.

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“He’s dead, Jim. Oh shit, it is Jim”

I have always liked the way that Guild Wars 2 has made reviving others a key social aspect of the game. Each player can use a self-revive when “downed”, the stage between zero health and “defeat”. Alternatively, while “downed” if you manage to kill an enemy you will “rally” back to a state of health. However, once dead, they can either retreat to the nearest waypoint or look to an ally or the kindness of passing strangers to revive you. In dynamic events, where there are lots of players, it is commonplace to help players who are “downed” or “defeated” as it is practical to have as many functional players attacking a target as possible. There are traits in the game that improve reviving speed and potency. Gear can be augmented with runes, some of which can improve revival mechanics.

The Elder Scrolls Online dispenses with the intermediate stage of being “downed” and once your health is exhausted, you are officially dead. At this point, you can retreat to the nearest wayshrine or self-revive using a soul gem. Soul gems are consumable items that are initially empty. However, if the player slots the right skills, they are filled with the souls of enemies they defeat. Hence soul gems come with a cost. The player has to either make them themselves or buy them pre-made from the in-game store. Reviving yourself with a soul gem will grant you a spectral form for a short time that is unable to attack or be attacked, before returning to full health. This allows the player to strategically reposition themselves. Soul gems can also be used to revive other players. However, unlike Guild Wars 2, as you are using a resource with a value, players may not always be disposed to help you.

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A poultry-geist

Most people are not overly enamoured by death mechanics. However, during solo PVE gameplay, it is broadly tolerated. However, in my experience, this changes significantly during group content. I jokingly mentioned earlier about death in instances or raids. It is a fact that players do not warm to dying in an MMO when it is due to the incompetence of another player. Group content in MMOs requires a substantial investment of time and resources. Death may lead to a wipe and failure to obtain the loot you desire. Which means when Colin fucks up and you all die, tempers will flare. It can ruin a game. Colin notwithstanding, death is a legacy penalty left over from the original hardcore days of MMOs. Its relevance seems to have diminished with age and continues to do so in this era of “live services”. It may eventually vanish from the genre as it ultimately stands in the way of player gratification. Unhappy players tend not to play or pay. Business doesn’t like that.

MMO Tropes: Running All the Way

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“The MMO genre is rife with its own set of tropes; recurring themes and motifs that have become established and ubiquitous. All of which are ideal material for a hastily produced, lazily conceived, recurring blog post”. I was in London recently, idly walking to the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, when a group of tourists started running for no discernable reason. Someone I was with asked “ I wonder why they’re running” and I replied “perhaps they think they’re in an MMO”. The quips fell on deaf ears but that is a cross I often have to bear. This anecdote highlights one of the points of this post. Namely, why do our avatars in the MMORPG genre run by default? I would also like to discuss the manner in which MMOs address the issue of travel around an ever expanding virtual world. Is fast travel lazy? Our mounts a boon or a bane? 

Although MMOs are often proud of the size and scale of the virtual world’s they’ve created, getting around is time consuming and at times a chore. Hence, running in an MMO is usually the most expedient way of travelling. It’s not mandatory though, which is why you will sometimes see role players walking everywhere for realism. The trade off is that it takes longer and you look like a fool doing it. Each to their own. When you’re new to a game, discovering and exploring a major quest hub, such as Minas Tirith in The Lord of the Rings Online, is a source of enjoyment. However, roll on a few weeks and it soon becomes a nuisance that has to be managed and endured. Mercifully, most MMOs have various means of fast travel, via waypoints, shrines, or stables. This is done for convenience, although some will argue it comes at the expense of immersion.

As many MMOs are fantasy based, animal or beast themed mounts can provide a suitable, lore friendly means to travel around. Although fast travel from point to point is convenient, riding around and exploring the immediate environment can be a major point of appeal for an MMO. LOTRO does this very well as Standing Stone Games’ virtual Middle-earth is one of the biggest gaming maps available. The world is diverse and richly designed and there are many iconic places to discover. The Elder Scrolls Online similarly offers a varied and immersive open world to explore. Cryptic’s Star Trek Online handles the vastness of the galaxy well. Sector Space is big and takes a degree of time to traverse. This situation does improve once you hit the level cap and can access Quantum Slipstream drive which allows for much faster short bursts of speed. Star Wars: The Old Republic has a far more practical point to point, hyperspace travel system but I never liked the way it cost you money for fuel.

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Another thing to consider about running in MMOs is that it does have some tactical applications beyond its functional use. For example, depending upon “aggro mechanics” it is possible in some games to run past or even through a group of mobs without alerting them. Even if you do trigger enemies, in many MMOs you can outrun them although such things do come with an element of risk. For example, in LOTRO it is entirely possible to run through Moria (with an alt at the same level of the content) from the West to East gates and survive, as long as you know the most expedient route. Then there are the practical benefits of a strategic withdrawal. Remember, “he who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day”. Temporary running buffs can also be useful when “retreating to victory”.

Single player games seem to handle travel differently and certainly have some advantages. I envy the fact that a game like Grand Theft Auto V or Red Dead Redemption 2 provide the players with access to public transport. I especially like riding the train between towns in RDR2 as it is very restful and highlights for a few minutes the detail of the open world. Similarly, using the L Train in GTA V adds to the illusion of a living city. It would be nice to see something like that in the MMOs genre. I also liked the way in LA Noire, if you don’t want to drive the car yourself from case to case, you simply use the passenger door and your NPC companion would be the designated driver. All goes to show that you can approach the matter of getting from A to B with a degree of creativity, rather than just running all the way.

A Month in Gaming

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Here we are again with another summary of my gaming activities in recent months. Or in this case since last September. It’s been a while but I’ve been on a blogging hiatus until recently. However, I’ve kept myself busy gaming wise and often I find the hunt for news video games, just as entertaining as I do playing them. Perhaps that could be a future blog post. Back to the matter in hand. Gaming wise, pretty much all things related to the MMORPG genre are currently on the back burner. I’ll give specifics later but I am taking a break from these for the present. I am currently looking at trying games outside my usual comfort zone and also trying to test whether you can or cannot teach an old dog new tricks. Fortunately, the answer appears to be yes you can. Enough summation, on to the specifics.

LOTRO Update 34: Before the Shadow. Let me state for the record that I still consider The Lord of the Rings Online to be a robust and entertaining realisation of Middle-earth. It has kept me entertained since late 2008. If you are new to the game there is a ton of content, a huge amount of lore references and a supportive and friendly community. But the last update had very little to offer veteran players. The new content was aimed at level 1 to 32 players. So apart from a new story, nothing much of note was added to the game for those with level cap characters and that is pretty much why I’m tired of this game. All it ever offers is “more of the same”. 

Due to changes within EG7, I suspect a lot of the promised updates like the graphics overhauls and the console version will never be carried out and LOTRO is fated to remain essentially as it is. No major new systems or gameplay mechanics will be added. Just variations on existing content. For me that is no longer sufficient to hold my interest. Hence I played through some of Update 34: Before the Shadow when it was released last November but after a few days I just stopped logging in. I didn’t feel especially upset. In fact it felt like the right response. When you’re done, you’re done.

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Red Dead Redemption 2. I returned to this RPG in January and picked up exactly where I left off in 2020. The plot was still familiar to me so it really was a seamless continuation. I played through the main story and was amazed at what a compelling experience it was. As I’ve already written a blog post about this remarkable game I won’t repeat myself too much but I consider this to be one of the best video games ever. Great game play, a compelling narrative and a feeling of immense satisfaction when you reach the end. It also keeps you thinking and reflecting upon it for days afterwards. As all great art does.

Hogwarts Legacy. Controversy aside, I really enjoyed this game. It offered everything I personally wanted from a Hogwarts themed video game. I was surprised at the quality of some of the companion side quests, especially the Sebastian Sallow story arc. I will happily return to the game if further DLC is released and I may at a future date play through the entire thing again with a new character. If they are in another house there are some unique storylines. In the meantime, the only content left to me to do is some completionist, busy work, so for the present I’ve finished with this title. It did provide over 70 hours of entertainment.

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Sniper Elite 5. Nowadays, most games have a relatively short life cycle. One year is usual, so I was quite surprised to discover that Sniper Elite 5 was to get a second season pass with another “years worth” of content. New maps, new weapons, new cosmetic skins. Some may argue it’s all a bit thin but I just fundamentally like the concept behind this game. Slow, measured and tactical driven gameplay for those who want it. For those who like to run and gun, that is still an option. This fifth iteration of the game has really refined the sniping mechanics and the weapons customisation means you really can create a loadout that suits your need and style. I like the stealthy approach and setting booby traps and the game excels at this. Invasion mode where another player can gatecrash your game and hunt you down, still keeps me on my toes. I’ll happily play for another year.

Star Trek Online. What I like about this MMORPG is that you know exactly where you stand with it. You can complain about the monetisation, the ground combat and “lack of diplomatic missions” but the game doesn’t lie to you about its nature. STO is the gaming embodiment of a quid pro quo. If you grind a new event, you get a reward. If you grind all the events scheduled throughout the year, you get a bigger reward. There’s always something to do in this game. If you have time to kill, then you can play through all story arcs on all factions. There’s a lot. Alternatively, if you just have 30 minutes of gaming time, why not do the latest Task Force Operation? This is why STO is always in my gaming rotation.

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Warzone 2.0 DMZ. I ended up buying a new graphics card because of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, when it was released last November. The latest iteration of the franchise also saw the release of a new version of Warzone, its free multiplayer counterpart. I’m simply not a good enough player to get the most out of the battle royale mode but the new DMZ variant, which is an extraction shooter, is damn compelling. Yes the game is flawed at present and a lot of the community are sociopathic but occasionally you get a game that hits the spot perfectly. You find a good squad, play in a coordinated fashion and gain some phat loot. And any fool that crosses your path, gets wrecked. You then exfil in the helicopter, under the cover of smoke, back in time for corn flakes. These are the days when gaming is good.

The Hunter: Call of the Wild. Finally, I bought this hunting game after watching a “let’s play” video on YouTube and am happy to report that it is a very interesting alternative take on the "first person shooter" genre. The game is slow, methodical and surprisingly immersive. It rewards patience. I didn’t think this genre would have any appeal for me but it is certainly holding my interest at present. It also has a substantial playerbase and community on reddit who are happy to share tips and information. I wasn’t expecting any of this which is an added bonus.

LOTRO: Cardolan and Swanfleet Preview

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The Bullroarer test server for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online, recently had a three day preview for Update 34: Before the Shadow. Beta #1 provided an opportunity to explore the new regions of Cardolan and Swanfleet, as well as the new tutorial which starts in the village of Mossward. I shall write a separate article about the latter as it merits more than just a cursory paragraph. This post however, is specifically about the new zones themselves. The test held between Wednesday 19th and Friday 21st October, presented a fairly complete version of Cardolan and Swanfleet, which provide level 1- 32 content. The “mob” density was somewhat low in open areas. However, as this was a beta test there is scope that this will change in the final live release on Wednesday 9th November.

Perhaps the most significant aspect of the addition of Cardolan and Swanfleet is the way these new zones fit so well into the existing LOTRO world map. The new zones fill in a major geographical gap in Middle-earth and link The Shire, Bree, The Lone-lands, The Angle of Mitheithel, Eregion and Enedwaith seamlessly. As a result, the Lonelands, Eregion and Enedwaith maps have now been updated and reflect the new visual style that has been established in recent years. Overall, there is little left of Eridor now that isn’t included in the MMO. The two regions of Lindon and the Grey Havens being the most prominent locations that remain outstanding. It will be interesting to see if these areas feature in any future updates.

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Players can enter Cardolan, the first of the two new zones, via the South Farthing in The Shire. This leads to Sarn Ford. Alternatively, access can be gained via the Andrath Gate in Southern Bree. This will take the player to Southern Andrath. There is also a road South from Lone-lands which passes Minas Eriol. There is also access from The Angle of Mitheithel and the Southern Trollshaws. Cardolan has five areas. The first is Ruddymore which extends from Sarn Ford on the borders of The Shire, Eastward to the town of Herne. This area is filled with Ruffians and the environment is similar to that of The Iron Hill, with a lock of dark brown rock formation. To the North of Ruddymore lies the area of Tyrn Gorthad. This is filled with Cardolan ruins, the most substantive of which is Dol Ernil on the borders of the Old Forest. The area is home to Wights and Gaunt men and is in a similar idiom to the North Downs.

The next area is Andrath. The Northern hills in this location afford views of Bree-land Homesteads, Midgewater Marshes and Weathertop (depending on your draw distance setting). Moving to the East, Cardolan is separated from the Lone-land by the South Downs. There are two remote farming communities, Scurloc and Hove, which are similar to those we see around Bree. The Barrow of Gond Orchal and the Cardolan ruins of Haudh Nirui are home to Wights and Orcs respectively. Travelling further East to the borders of The Angle of Mitheithel, there is Amon Firn. This area is filled with both Wights and Spirits and overlooks the river Hoarwell. At the heart of the Cardolan map is the decaying fortress of Caranost. Orc infest the Western side. Rangers and Elves have an enclave on the East side. I suspect that due to the size of Caranost it may be the epicentre of several major quests or instances. The area of Sedgemead lies to the South East of Cardolan, along the banks of the river Greyflood. It is wild and overgrown with flowering plants and bushes (Like Ithilien).The ruins of Nimbarth and the Nagenstones are found here. The latter being a former Elven settlement

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Herne is a major settlement of Men and main quest hub that lies on The Greenway road that runs diagonally through Cardolan. It seems to be the equivalent of Combe. The Crossway House Inn is a prominent feature and the architecture in Herne is once again similar to Bree.  The road South out of the town leads to an area marked on the map as Minhiriath but you cannot access it due to an invisible barrier in ruins. To the East of Minhiriath there is the Cardolan ruins of Gaervarad and a stronghold of ruffians. The Greenway runs down to the Greyflood and the expansive ruins of Tharbad. There is an encampment here of Rangers and Elves but Tharbad itself is a major enemy stronghold. The bridges across the river are broken but there is a ford across the Greyflood into the neighbouring zone of Swanfleet.

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Upon crossing the Greyflood you find The Old South Road, which spans the zone from the West to the East of Swanfleet. Mossward is the first settlement you encounter and it is a small town like Archet. This is the new starter area featured in the new tutorial included in Update 34: Before the Shadow. To the North of the town are the fens and wetlands of Wadewater. So named as the water levels are navigable by foot or on horse. This is filled with water fowl, insects and Bog Lurkers. The area is reminiscent of Enedwaith and features the village of Lhan Garan which is similar to Galtrev. Nearby are the Elven ruins of Caras Gelebren. The road East leads to Echad Mirobel in Eregion. Western Eregion lies North of Caras Gelebren and is adjacent to The Angle of Mitheithel, so shares a similar environment. Tham Lasgol and Thamn Celechir are additional Elven ruins populated by Wood Trolls and Huorns. 

Perhaps the most entertaining area in Swanfleet is the Stoor-vales. This area includes three settlements quite close to each other. Glen Helyg, Clegur and Lintrev are Stoor villages set among the hills away from The Old South Road and hidden from prying eyes. Aesthetically, they are similar to Maur Talhau in Enedwaith, which they link to. Hobbit settlements have a tendency to be whimsical areas and these are no different. They also provide the practical benefits of being a major crafting hub. With regard to The Old South Road, this leads to Gloomglens and Windfells in Enedwaith. It should be noted that despite its substantive in-game map appearance, Swanfleet is another region where a lot of the terrain is inaccessible and the player is funnelled to specific areas. In reality it is not a big and open zone as Cardolan. However, it does have an immersive environment.

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To conclude, Cardolan and Swanfleet provide a great sense of in-game continuity. There are lots of repeated assets from other locations, but that makes perfect sense when you consider that the new zones have borders with six other existing regions. I would like to draw special attention to the ambient music for Cardolan and Swanfleet, composed by Bill Champagne. It is very appropriate and memorable. Whatever criticisms you may raise against LOTRO, its musical score is not one of them. It remains the one to beat within the MMO genre. Overall, Cardolan and Swanfleet offer an interesting addition to LOTRO, filling in a long time gap in SSG’s virtual Middle-earth. Having a new tutorial set in these zones makes creating new alts a far more appealing prospect. 

In addition to the pictures in this post, here is a link to a gallery of screenshots via Google Photos. All are available at the original screen resolution of 1920 x 1200.

LOTRO: Coming Changes to Race and Class Choice

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Standing Stone Games are currently testing the second beta build of Update 33.2 on their The Bullroarer Test Server. The latest patch notes indicate that there are some major changes coming to the MMORPG, The Lord of the Rings Online. The proposed Minstrel class changes are proving controversial and I suspect that there will be a strong degree of pushback from players. As I have not played this particular class, I am not in a position to express an informed opinion but reading comments both on the official forums and on Reddit, I think players have legitimate concerns. Changing and rebalancing class skills and in any way altering the status quo, never goes down well as you can never please everyone. It will be interesting to see if SSG take on board player comments or push ahead with their proposed changes regardless.

However, there are some positive changes included in Update 33.2 such as the removal of racial restrictions to the class system. To date the various classes in LOTRO have been subject to a specific set of race restrictions (please see the image below), which have been justified over the years on lore grounds by SSG. This has always been debated by some of the player community, who feel if the game can be “flexible” with the lore in some areas, why not in others? It would appear that SSG have listened and the update now allows for the following race and class permutations. Dwarf/Stout-axe Captain and Warden. Elf/High Elf Burglar. Hobbit Lore-master and Champion. Human Rune-keeper. The Beorning race remains unique These changes bring the remaining classes inline with the Brawler which is available to all permutations of Elf, Dwarf, Hobbit and Man.

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Naturally, there are some players who object to these changes, considering them non-canonical, but I feel that LOTRO departed from lore purity a long time ago. I am just happy that players are getting more choice. Hence, in the spirit of such change, I created a Hobbit Lore-master on Bullroarer last night and played through the first few levels of the game. It was interesting to see all the bespoke Lore-master skills induction animations as a Hobbit and I really didn’t think it an odd addition to the game. The first Lore-master pet is the bear and it is rather comical the way it towers over its Hobbit companion. So far I haven’t encountered any issues, although other players have found some minor anomalies when playing the new Dwarf/Stout-axe class variants. But that is the entire point of beta testing.

A Month in Gaming

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I last wrote a post in this series in June. Back then I wanted a break from MMOs as I had invested heavily in Star wars: the Old Republic and The Lord of the Rings Online. Because I was still enjoying the Star Wars vibe, I decided to try Jedi: Fallen Order. Sadly, despite the story showing a lot of promise, the PC version of the game handles poorly and the controls are sluggish. Often it felt like my character was wading through mud and there was a tangible amount of skills lag. So I uninstalled it and moved on to something else. One of the odd things about gaming is that despite amassing a library of free and discounted titles, we often end up buying something new, instead of playing that which we already own. And that is exactly what I did. I purchased Stray amid all the excitement surrounding the game, but to date I still haven’t played it. Make of that what you will.

So what exactly have I been playing? Sniper Elite 5 for starters. I feel this is by far the best iteration of the franchise and as such it kept me busy in June and July. I like the weapon customisation, especially the addition of non-lethal ammunition. I finally feel that weapons choice makes a tangible difference to your play style. I also like the pace of this game or more specifically, the fact that you determine it. You can spend ages lining up a shot or you can go in all guns blazing. And the maps are by far the best that developer’s Rebellion has come up with so far. They lend themselves to continuous replay due to the variety of potential routes you can explore. Invasion mode, which I wrote about at length in a proper blog post, offers a new and interesting spin on PvP, with another player entering your campaign game and trying to hunt you down. Sniper Elite 5 has provided me with some of the best gaming I’ve had this year. 

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It was nice to see Fall Guys go free-to-play, in so far that it makes the game more accessible to players across multiple platforms. This is a fun game; something you can jump into and quickly start enjoying, with little or no impediment. However, the business model is based upon the selling of cosmetic skins and the pricing structure is far from generous. Running about with a default character will be a problem for some players, so they will naturally want to customise their look. Earning the in-game currency is a long grind (when is it not?), so the only alternative is the game store. FOMO is not an ethically ideal foundation for your game’s business model, but it doesn’t seem to bother publishers that much. If you are content to just play with the default skins, then Fall Guys is certainly still an enjoyable game. But sooner or later, you will want a chicken outfit or something and will have to reach for your wallet.

Despite my overall fatigue with LOTRO, I have been intrigued by the Echoes of Angmar private server and the debacle that has accompanied it. Despite a politely worded and somewhat wishy-washy cease and desist notice from Middle-earth Enterprises, the developers of this project have pushed ahead with several stress tests and delivered (so far) exactly what they intended. A version of LOTRO as it was back in November 2007, shortly after its launch. I found the few hours that I played to be entertaining, although that mainly came from the sense of nostalgia. I’m not so sure if I’d enjoy the game in this form quite so much, as I did back in the day. However, I am curious to see how this project evades the “legal issues” arising from its situation and what sort of long term audience it can sustain. 

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The other gaming development of note that I’ve enjoyed over recent weeks, has been my return to Guild Wars 2 after a seven year absence. There are still several elements of the game that infuriate me, but after a further two expansions there is sufficient content for me to do and enjoy. I have set about collecting mounts and earning mastery for their various skills. I continue to enjoy the various events that regularly occur and the fact that you can always find something to do if you’re pushed for time. Playing through the main story is another matter altogether. I await to see if my interest in the game lasts. As autumn approaches, the immersive nature of MMOs and their requirement for time investment becomes both appealing and sustainable. If Guild Wars 2 cannot fill that gap, there’s always The Elder Scrolls Online. The next post in this series will indicate which game prevails.

Navigating in MMORPGs

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The Lord of the Rings Online was my first major MMORPG. I started playing in late 2008 and quickly discovered that there was a necessity to become familiar with the game world. Although the game provides quick travel options they were not ubiquitous at that point and often a player would simply travel on foot to travel costs down and to take the most direct route. Back in 2008 you could not own a mount until level 30. Hence I began “learning the maps” in the game and to this day still remember how to travel from one side of Moria, to another. The maps in the base game remain clear in my mind as they were so well trodden. Not so those in the regions. There are far more stables with fast mounts present in the game now and so convenience trumps any requirement to become so familiar with newly added zones. Nowadays Standing Stone Games designs new zones that tend to funnel players through them from quest hub to quest hub.

After considering the wider matter of maps in general in the MMO genre, it seems that most of them seem to be lacking in some fashion. The biggest problem is that traditional in-game maps are two dimensional views of three dimensional environments. LOTRO, Star Wars: The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2 are prime examples of this. Furthermore maps in this genre tend to be initially devoid of specific detail. This is to encourage exploration which then populates a map with NPC, fast travel points, crafting stations etc after they’re discovered. Another issue, especially in fantasy games, is that the maps themselves are designed in a stylised manner and are frequently not accurate in the sense that an Ordnance Survey map is in real life. The Elder Scrolls Online at least addresses the issue of multi-layers maps, allowing players to switch between levels. But it is far from perfect. The MMO does allow you to set a waypoint which can be a godsend. 

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As maps can prove so “unhelpful”, I find the most practical thing a game can do to help me with navigation is to provide a highly visible landmark which can be used to orientate players. Weathertop is a prime example of this in the Loneland region of LOTRO. The crumbling fortress on the highest hill in the region dominates the map. Having line of sight helps you make quick decisions when travelling and find the direction you need. Guild Wars 2 has gone all in on the concept of verticality and three dimensional environments. Does it make for interesting and complex world design? Yes. But the main problem is you cannot easily set a destination and travel there. As you seldom have any line of sight, often the only way to a location is through trial and error. Usually through “bandit territory”. It is intensely frustrating especially as there is much XP gain to be had via discovery. It makes me miss Neverwinter and its sparkly trails that can optionally lead you to your destination.

Navigating in Star Trek Online is the polar opposite of most other fantasy based MMOs and a very straightforward process. Especially after 2015 when developers Cryptic revised the galaxy map dividing it into four clearly defined quadrants, rather than sectors which were separate instances. The point and click navigation between planetary systems in sector space is simple and easy. If you wish to navigate by hand you can manually fly around at your own leisure. However, until you earn the transwarp travel skill it can take some time to get from one side of the map to another as a low level player. There is no cost associated with travel in STO. Unlike SWTOR which charges the player for the fuel used to travel across space. Both approaches are compliant with their respective lore of each franchise.

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I find travelling and exploration a major source of enjoyment in MMOs. If I’m confronted with a blank map, then the first thing I want to do is open it up and see its details. I’ll often go exploring first off, rather than playing through mission or quest content. This isn’t always a shrewd decision as I can find myself in zones I am ill equipped to travel. Bu for me, looking around the game world is part of a game attraction, especially if it has a rich and diverse environment. Sometimes I will log into LOTRO and ride around Middle-earth just for the pleasure of it. Sadly, that is not the case for all MMOs. Take SWTOR, which has some industrial themed, city based maps that are a never ending maze of corridors and walkways. Overall I would like to see more games in the MMO genre having some sort of Grand Tour option or game mechanic. A means for peaceful exploration as an alternative to the usual narrative driven progression.

Echoes of Angmar and “Classic” LOTRO

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Video games are evolutionary products that change over time, driven by technology, consumer preference and market trends. Furthermore, change is not always for the better. Video games are consumer products and all too often artistic and creative decisions are overruled by commercial considerations. Irrespective of the rectitude of such things, video games do not stay static. If you want a clear example of this, consider the MMORPG genre as it is today, as opposed to how it was in the late nineties. Compare the likes of Ultima Online with Guild Wars 2 of The Elder Scrolls Online and they are very different beasts. If you prefer a more specific example, then how about The Lord of the Rings Online as it is today with the game as it launched in 2007, fifteen years previous. Because the private LOTRO server Echoes of Angmar provides exactly that. 

Echoes of Angmar is currently undertaking stress tests. At present the server offers a version of LOTRO from November 2007. That is all content upto and including Book 11: Defenders of Eriador. For want of a catchy name and for convenience sake I shall refer to the game from this period as classic LOTRO. If you currently play this popular Middle-earth based MMO but have only done so in recent years, then the classic version differs greatly from the game as it stands today. Although running on an old game engine, LOTRO today still features a lot of contemporary, quality of life functionality that players expect from an MMO. Such things are conspicuously absent from classic LOTRO. Although released in 2007, LOTRO started development four years earlier and therefore was designed around the prevailing MMO trends of that time.

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When playing on the Echoes of Angmar server, after creating a character you log into one of the game’s three starter zones, Ered Luin (Elves and Dwarves), Bree-land (Man), and The Shire (Hobbits). The tutorial is currently disabled. By default the regional maps are subject to the “fog of war” and devoid of detail. You have to explore to reveal detail. Players do not get a mount until level 35 and the current test is capped at level 15. It costs a lot of gold in classic LOTRO to purchase a mount and is also tied to the successful completion of a specific series of quests. With regard to quests, the quest tracker simply lists what tasks you are undertaking and does not provide a waypoint on the in-game map. Players are given a broad location such as “visit southern Chetwood” and have to search to find the specific object or NPC. It is quite noticeable compared to the current version of LOTRO, how emptier the classic game world is. There are fewer buildings in Bree and The Shire as well as less cosmetic NPCs, designed to to create a sense of activity. The game textures, especially flora and terrain, are lower in detail.

Another very noticeable difference between old and new LOTRO is the acquisition of class skills as your character levels. Rather than automatically being bestowed the player has to buy them individually from an appropriate class trainer. Furthermore there are only seven classes available. Burglar, Captain, Champion, Guardian, Hunter, Lore-master and Minstrel. Levelling is also far slower. Gear comes primarily from quests, crafting or players trading via the auction house. Vendor gear is also an important stopgap. The trait system is also different, allowing for choices from different lines. Hence certain skills are not dependent on you solely following a specific trait line. There is no barter wallet so storage is more of a pressing issue. The current cosmetic system didn’t exist back in 2007, so the level of sartorial elegance in classic LOTRO is lower. Players often wear identical gear earned from the same quests. It’s worth noting that there’s no “autoloot” either. You have to manually collect dropped items.

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But classic LOTRO is not just about cataloguing the differences in game mechanics and systems. There is a major difference in the game’s pacing and play style. Although mobs are not quite so plentiful, they are far harder to deal with, even at lower levels. Hence even in the starter zones on Echoes of Angmar server, players will readily assist each other if they encounter a signature mob at level 5 because it is not a foregone conclusion that they’ll faceroll the fight. LOTRO in 2007 was heavily focused on group play and not all PVE content was designed to be soloable. There are also some other logistical benefits to be had from classic LOTRO. There is no skills lag or in fact any server lag. Having to travel the world on foot also means you tend to stay within the zones that you’re currently questing in. The slower pace of progression fosters greater focus on where you are and what you’re doing. 

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I have no idea whether Echoes of Angmar has a future or whether the legal reach of the Embracer Group will inevitably shut down the project. If the server does persist it will offer an interesting counter experience to the current iteration of LOTRO. Classic LOTRO is certainly not for everyone and will not necessarily excite the casual player who is looking for a quick and convenient gaming fix. In its original format, LOTRO was designed to be a game that you invest your time and effort into. A collaborative exploration of Middle-earth where you played through content at a measured pace, as it was presented to you. An MMO where you were dependent upon others but rather than that being a chore, it was part of the journey and a tangible selling point. There was no race to cap because it could take a year or so. Goals were long term and not immediately in reach. That is the difference between classic LOTRO and the game that exists today. Both represent the prevailing MMO ethos of their respective time.

Echoes of Angmar Stress Test Begins

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On Saturday 20th August the stress test began for the private LOTRO server Echoes of Angmar. This project is offering a version of the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online as it were in late November 2007. I have spoken to several players who have participated in this and other tests and so far the results have been positive. The server crashed on several occasions and the longest uninterrupted period of stability was two hours. Character creation is proving to be a slow process and some players have found that they cannot see other players when logging in. However, the majority of players could create alts and progress through the game as normal. The data generated from these tests has proven useful and the team overseeing the project are currently working on a revised build to improve stability. Further server tests are scheduled for Friday 26th August.

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All information regarding these tests and the private server Echoes of Angmar is in the public domain and can be found via a simple Google search. The recent cease and desist request from Middle-earth Enterprises seems to have had little or no impact upon the project which is continuing with its testing schedule. It will be interesting to see if the new owners of Middle-earth Enterprises, Embracer Group, escalate the matter or whether this grey project will continue unhindered, like many other private servers. There certainly appears to be a lot more interest in this “original” version of LOTRO than some may have initially thought, judging by the activity on the Echoes of Angmar Discord Server and subreddit. As and when the stability issues are resolved, I am curious to see what sort of population this private server sustains and whether people will be content with the original base version of the game

New Mini-expansion Coming to LOTRO in September

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Today Standing Stone Games formally announced their next mini-expansion for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. Before the Shadow will be available in September and as recent leaks have shown, will include Cardolan and Swanfleet as new zones for the game. The new content will be between levels 1 and 32. SSG press release stated “Before the Shadow will send players into two new regions, Swanfleet and Cardolan, as Boromir makes his way north to Rivendell ahead of the meeting of what will eventually become the Fellowship of the Ring while the Nazgûl search for “Baggins” in the peaceful land of the Shire. Players will discover the threat rising from Mordor and Saruman's Uruks as they explore the far history of Middle-earth!”

In addition to the new zones, Before the Shadow offers four new Epic Books for new characters. There is also a new six-person Instance for players with high end alts. Plus there is the addition of a new Skirmish to the game, something that hasn’t happened for a while. The press release also refers to a “Delving difficulty system that will offer new rewards and challenges”, although exactly what this is I am not sure. SSG have not at present clarified as to whether the mini-expansion will feature the River-hobbits race and that the new zone is a new starter area, although it is reasonable to assume so. Further information will become available as the pre-order date comes closer. At present, it may be relevant to consider the previous mini-expansion pre-order, War of Three Peaks, to determine what additional type of content and bonuses may be included.

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Over the course of the last fifteen years, there have only ever been two content releases formally designated as mini-expansions for The Lord of the Rings Online. The first Siege of Mirkwood was released in December 2009 and the second War of Three Peaks launched in October 2020. Both were met with a degree of controversy, not so much over the quality of their content, but more so over their respective value for money. It will be interesting to see if the usual three tier price model is still used and whether prices will remain the same or increase. If this mini-expansion does offer a new starter zone, are developers SSG expecting an influx of new players due to interest stemming from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power? Such a thing was mentioned by owners EG7 in their investor presentation nearly 2 years ago. I look forward to learning more about Before the Shadow in the immediate future.

Cardolan and Swanfleet Are Coming to LOTRO

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While perusing the The Lord of the Rings Online subreddit today, I stumbled upon an alleged leak from the Palantir Test Server. Palantir hosts material that Standing Stones Games is currently in “Alpha Testing”. Those invited to preview such content are subject to an NDA. However, leaks happen because one of the defining characteristics of human beings is that they can’t keep their mouths shut. Setting aside the ethics of such matters, it would appear that regions coming to the game are Cardolan and Swanfleet. Maps have been posted on the LOTRO subreddit and one enterprising individual, CMuenzen, has gone so far as to use photoshop to see how well they integrate into the existing game world. As you can see from the picture, Cardolan and Swanfleet fill the gap between Sarn Ford to the West, The Angle of Mitheithel to the North and Enedwaith to the East.

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Apparently the maps have been leaked for a while but pretty much contained within the subreddit and therefore not necessarily known to the wider LOTRO community. Naturally, when information is in the public domain without any specific explanation or context, speculation becomes rife. There is plenty of such to be found on the LOTRO subreddit and I must say, not all of it is fanciful or founded purely in a fan’s boundless optimism. Game Producer Rob Ciccolini (AKA Severlin) referenced a "new 1 -30 levelling experience" coming to the game in a recent live stream. Players are also aware that the race of River-hobbits is coming to the game. As Swanfleet features an area called Stoorvales, it is a reasonable assumption to make that this could be a new starter zone. It is also worth remembering that new races or classes have been included in recent LOTRO expansions.

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There are some other theories being discussed regarding a new Ranger Class being added to the game. Cardolan is part of Arnor and territory of the Dúnedain. And as this region is the route that Boromir took to get to Rivendell, perhaps new players will meet him as part of the new levelling story arc. However, these speculative musings remain just that. It is best to remember that anything that hails from a test server is potentially subject to change and alteration. But there is some comfort to be found in the fact that there is major new LOTRO content in development. Will there be an expansion this year after all or are these new zones destined for a 2023 release? Does SSG have something up its sleeve to capitalise upon the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power this September? Quarter 4 of the year has just got a lot more interesting.

NB. Other LOTRO players have written about these leaks. A similar post to this one has been published on the website Ferrets of Gondor. Great minds think alike or fools seldom differ. Take your pick.

Middle-earth Enterprises and Echoes of Angmar

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Last month I wrote about a private server that is based upon an early iteration of the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. The project named Echoes of Angmar, is currently in development by a third party outside of the auspices of Standing Stone Games and will contain content up to and including Book11: Defenders of Eriador. Effectively this will be a version of the game as it was eight months after its initial release in 2007. Naturally, this private server has attracted a great deal of attention, as many LOTRO players have expressed an interest in a “classic” version of the game. However, the official developers of LOTRO have indicated that they have no desire at present to pursue such an undertaking. Some sources have claimed that it cannot be done, however video footage of Echoes of Angmar posted on YouTube seems to contradict such statements.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the team behind this project have been quite open about their work. There is a website for Echoes of Angmar which provides full details of this “unofficial” version of LOTRO as well as how to install the software to play on the private server, which will be undertaking stress tests on 19th August. There is also an active Discord server associated with the project. As a result, Echoes of Angmar has been discussed on numerous blogs, subreddits, and other online platforms. Someone even saw fit to create a thread on the official LOTRO forums a few weeks ago, although it was removed by Community Manager Cordovan. Hence, it was inevitable that sooner or later there would be a formal response by the owners of the intellectual property. The following post appeared on the official LOTRO forums this evening. It is a copy of a letter from Middle-earth Enterprises regarding Echoes of Angmar.

Dear Echoes of Angmar team,

We have noted the Echoes of Angmar game that you have posted and we appreciate and share your enthusiasm for the Tolkien works, and specifically for the developers and creators of the epic MMO, The Lord of the Rings Online. Judging from your website and Discord, you are individuals who possess a boundless enthusiasm for LOTRO, J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings. We’re here to acknowledge your enthusiasm, and thank you for your fandom. Unfortunately, we, as trademark holders and stewards of the Tolkien works, more often than we’d like, must deliver some potentially difficult news. As your business is using the Tolkien works and trademarks in an unauthorized manner without benefit of a license, we must ask you to cease.

As stewards of the Tolkien works, we take our role very seriously in order to protect the works for all time, on behalf of fans everywhere. As owners of the intellectual property rights, we are charged with protecting those rights both morally and legally. Unfortunately, Echoes of Angmar uses specific content from the books and from our Licensee for The Lord of the Rings Online without the benefit of a license. Honestly, it breaks our hearts to post letters like this one. It is not uncommon for fans to create things reflecting an affection for the Tolkien works. It is thus with a heavy heart that we must ask that you immediately cease all of your unauthorized use of Echoes of Angmar, and all other Tolkien-related IP on all platforms, including Discord, Youtube and on https://www.echoesofangmar.com/.

We welcome the opportunity to answer any questions you may have on the subject, and wish you all the best in your future duly authorized endeavors.

Kind regards,

Middle-earth Enterprises

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This raises several questions. The Echoes of Angmar team have clearly spent a great deal of time and effort developing this project and know that it’s a copyright violation. Yet they do not seem to be concerned about this statement from Middle-earth Enterprises, implying they do not fear legal action. Will the server be based outside of Europe and North America? At present there are private servers for other games such as World or Warcraft and Star Wars: Galaxies which have escaped being shut down. Considering how litigious Activision Blizzard are as well as Disney, there must be some loopholes somewhere which are being cunningly exploited to prevent closure. I suspect that the Echoes of Angmar team have looked into this “grey” area carefully and have contingency plans or have taken a carefully calculated risk.

I was also struck by the conciliatory tone of this letter from Middle-earth Enterprise. It doesn’t sound like the sort of curt and bellicose statement usually associated with the legal profession. I was sent a snotty letter once myself when I posted screen captures from an advance online promotional event for a film back in 2015 and it didn’t mince its words. It makes me wonder what Middle-earth Enterprises are up to here. Is their reply just an arbitrary response to show they’re going through the motions of protecting their IP. Or is this a polite shot across the bow before a more robust follow up? Has the fact that an independent third party has done something that the official developers implied couldn’t be done, caused some embarrassment? Do Middle-earth Enterprises see the Echoes of Angmar project not so much as a threat but a potential business opportunity?

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I must admit, I do find this entire situation very intriguing. I do have an interest in what Echoes of Angmar is trying to do but it is mainly out of intellectual curiosity. Revisiting LOTRO as it were in 2007 is something I would like to watch and observe. Personally, I don’t know if I would be able to play the game beyond a few levels as I don’t think I’d like being dependent on other players to progress. However, I do find the machinations and shenanigans of the video games industry just as engaging (and sometimes more so) as the games they create. I certainly have a lot of unanswered questions regarding the people behind this private server and their provenance. However, due to the nature of this undertaking I suspect they’re not going to share such information. All things considered, I don’t think this project is going to go away easily and I’m curious to see what happens next.

LOTRO: What is Going On?

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For the last three years developers Standing Stone Games have followed a twelve monthly expansion schedule for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. Sadly that has not been the case this year. All we had so far in 2022 is two generic new zones that offer “same meat, different gravy” content. Both Update 32: Rangers and Ruin and Update 33: Yondershire, although enjoyable, have not brought anything substantially different to the game. A further small release, Update 33.1 The Further Adventures of Elladan and Elrohir, went live on Tuesday 19th July offering 5 new themed missions. To say that they are lacklustre is being generous. All of which raises the question, what is going on? 18 months ago there appeared to be a LOTRO renaissance after the game was acquired by EG7. Is the lack of an expansion this year an indication that things have changed and not for the better?

 Two developments have occurred recently that may shed some light on the matter. The first being the recent departure of producer Oleg Brodskiy (AKA Raninia) from SSG after just one year. He was brought in to work with the executive producer to facilitate change and streamline the business model. During that time a lot of older, chargeable game content was integrated into the free to play business model. Oleg was also far more accessible than other staff at SSG and certainly happy to talk about the game. However, coming from a mobile gaming background he may have been behind the release of the supporter packs that accompanied the latest patch. These are cosmetic bundles of the kind that usually accompany the various different tiers of an expansion pack. It will be interesting to see how they’re received. However, no explanation has been forthcoming as to why Oleg Brodskiy has moved on, apart from a vague comment about an “incredible opportunity”.

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Secondly, there are the interesting internal politics of Enad Global 7. The company purchased Daybreak Game Company and its portfolio in December 2020. It subsequently became apparent that DGC was not just the publisher for Standing Stone Games but in fact their owner. EG7 appeared to have plans for LOTRO as the game had at the time 108,000 active players, of which 37.9% (41,000) subscribed generating nearly $10 million per year. Yearly revenue was $26.7 million making LOTRO the third-biggest playerbase out of DGC’s (now EG7’s) game portfolio. Circa March 2021, then CEO of EG7 Robin Flodin spoke positively about developing the newly acquired titles, fueling further speculation about a console version of LOTRO and a new game engine, which were previously mentioned in an investor briefing. However, Robin Flodin stepped down as CEO, five month later after a poorly received press interview. This paved the way for Ji Ham of Daybreak to take the reins as temporary CEO. In May this year Flodin sold his shares in EG7 changing the dynamics of the company as majority ownership effectively became controlled by senior DGC staff.

If you’re interested in more detail of this potential “reverse acquisition” then Wilhelm Arcturus has written a detailed post on his blog, The Ancient Gaming Noob. Obviously a lot of detail  regarding corporate machinations doesn’t make it into the public domain but it’s hard not to speculate that the departure of Oleg Brodskiy and the changes within EG7 as well as DGC indicate that something is afoot behind the scenes with LOTRO. If the people who previously drove LOTROs development are back in control it doesn’t bode well for such ambitious plans as a console port or a revised game engine. Furthermore, I cannot see the new Amazon Prime show, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, getting released without some sort of gaming tie-in or related product. Is there another product waiting in the wings that may undermine LOTRO? Either way, after three consecutive expansions it is a little worrying that a successful formula should end so abruptly.

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Finally, I return to the matter of the recently announced private LOTRO server Echoes of Angmar. If you do a little digging around online it appears that those involved with the project seem very well versed in the intricacies of the 15 year old MMORPG. Are these people who were directly or indirectly associated with the game at launch? The somewhat open manner in which this “rogue” server is being referred to seems to imply that those managing the project are not worried by the prospect of legal reprisals. This may be naivety but I’m not so sure. Is the timing of this independent project based upon something that LOTRO players don’t know about? Also, apart from the lack of an expansion there are still a lot of technical issues plaguing the MMO. The GUI still doesn’t support modern screen resolutions and the perennial issue of lag is a blight. I worry that the second coming of LOTRO so many hoped for, may have stalled before it even started and that as per usual, the player base will be the last to know.

The Lord of the Rings Online: Echoes of Angmar

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Much to my surprise I recently discovered that there is a private server currently in development, based upon an early iteration of The Lord of the Rings Online. Called Echoes of Angmar, this is a version of the popular Middle-earth based MMORPG as it was in late October 2007. The team that is managing this project, which recently completed alpha testing, wishes to make available a free version of LOTRO based on original code from the time. Echoes of Angmar will include all content upto and including Book 11: Defenders of Eriador. Hence there will be no cosmetic items, no quest tracker and no streamlined levelling. The level cap will be 50. PvMP will not be available upon initial release but will be implemented later. Echoes of Angmar will therefore be a very different experience compared to LOTRO as it is today on the current live servers.

There are numerous talking points stemming from this project. Perhaps the most obvious is the fact that Standing Stone Games have stated clearly on several occasions that they have no pressing desire to release a “classic” version of LOTRO themselves. Furthermore, for technical reasons it would be a complex project which would be a drain on development resources. Some long term LOTRO players have inferred that SSG may not even have access to the appropriate code or that they have necessary in-house expertise to undertake such a task. Yet, despite all these claims and counterclaims, we see a third party quietly going ahead and creating a so-called “classic” server. If the recent YouTube video which features alpha footage is anything to go by, the project seems to be progressing very well. The Echoes of Angmar team have stated that a more in-depth reveal and sneak peak will be coming “soon”.

A perennial question associated with the release of any “classic” MMO server, is whether there is a genuine and sustainable player base available to support the game. Or are players simply allowing a sense of nostalgia to cloud their judgement and desire something that may not ultimately hold their interest.  SSG developer Jeff Libby (AKA MadeOfLions) has often made this argument, as did Blizzard with regard to WoW “Classic”. However, I frequent a multitude of LOTRO based online communities, such as forums, subreddits and Discord servers and I regularly encounter players who express a desire to return to the base game as it was at launch. These are players that currently confine their activities to Eriador on the existing liver servers and continuously re-roll alts to exclusively play the Shadows of Angmar content. Therefore I suspect that there is sufficient interest within the wider LOTRO community to justify the existence of Echoes of Angmar.

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Perhaps the biggest elephant in the room is the fact that LOTRO is still an active MMO. It is actively being developed and makes money for its corporate owners. It is one thing to create a private server for a game that has been officially closed such as Star Wars: Galaxies. It is a different matter altogether to create an unofficial version of an existing product. I will not wade into the ethics or legality of this matter, not only because I am unqualified to do so, but because I do have an interest in seeing Echoes of Angmar come to fruition. So I am not an impartial observer. However, I am curious to see if there will be any pushback from either SSG, Daybreak or EG7. The team behind Echoes of Angmar have been quite open about what they’re doing, having published the aforementioned video. They didn’t object to me writing this post. So there is a chance that the rights holders already know. It will be interesting to see what happens in the meantime.

A Month in Gaming

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Usually I keep subscribing to an MMORPG, even if I’m not playing it that much. I like to have options in case I decide to log in on a whim. Especially if an absent friend returns to a particular game presenting an opportunity to catch up. However, the current economic climate is no longer something that I can ignore. Although far from having a low income, the current ongoing increase in the cost of living is becoming apparent, so I have been fiscally prudent and cancelled my monthly subscriptions to Star Wars: The Old Republic and The Lord of the Rings Online. Both have provided me with a lot of entertainment over the last three to four months but until new content becomes available, I can happily dispense with them for the meantime. Not only have I saved £17.98 on subscriptions, I shall no longer be making ad hoc purchases of in-game currencies. Something I have been doing a lot more than usual of late.

May saw the release of Sniper Elite 5 and as ever, I have found the game thoroughly engrossing. I have written a more substantial review elsewhere but I just want to reiterate how this franchise is the complete opposite of the fast paced insanity and lightning reflexes of Call of Duty. I find taking my time in Sniper Elite, tagging all targets and waiting for as long as it takes to make the right shot, is immensely satisfying. All too often, modern gaming is excessively frenetic, bombastic and overwhelming. Sniper Elite is the antidote to this. I also made a brief return to Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout recently. It is still fun in small doses and the cosmetic aspect of the game is a major contributor to that enjoyment. As a Prime Gaming customer (part of being an Amazon Prime subscriber), there are frequently free outfits to claim each month. Despite having played this game for two years now, I still haven’t achieved being the “last player standing” and thus won a complete tournament.

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I surprised myself recently by reinstalling Guild Wars 2. Again I’ve written at length in the past as to the point of returning to a game that requires me to spend time in a zone I loathe. However, unlike some other MMOs that require you to tinker with your client once it’s downloaded, or update a plethora of third party addons, installing Guild Wars 2 is really simple. The game launcher downloads at a reasonable rate and once done, you can jump straight back into the game. It even remembered all my personal settings. I quickly found my favourite character, a human ranger, where I left them in Queensdale and jumped into an event that used to be part of the “Champion Train”. I noticed that everyone now has mounts and was briefly tempted to look into this. I suspect that it will require a grind of some kind, so I’m going to nip this flight of fancy in the bud, immediately. Plus, why do I need a mount when I have a flying carpet?

Over the forthcoming summer, I intend to tackle some of the games I have amassed across various platforms such as Epic and Steam. The first title I intend to explore is Jedi: Fallen Order as it has enjoyed a lot of praise and flown in the face of EA’s numerous claims over the last decade that single player games are “finished”. I’m also tempted to play through another Assassin’s Creed game, as I enjoyed Black Flag so much last year. I recently spotted that I had a copy of Control: Ultimate Edition, which has piqued my curiosity as I have no idea when or where I got a copy. This is what happens when you arbitrarily claim any free games offered to you. Hence I’m not lacking anything to play in the months ahead. It will be a pleasant change to be able to write about something new in the next instalment of “A Month in Gaming”, rather than the usual MMOs.