LOTRO: What is Going On?
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?
The Lord of the Rings Online: Echoes of Angmar
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.
A Month in Gaming
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.
Guilds Are Not Group Therapy
I was recently trawling through some screen captures from 2009, taken when I was a very active player in the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. Several included the chat window as I hadn’t turned off the GUI when I pressed “print screen”. Hence I read a few fragments of chat which subsequently reminded me of a problematic situation our guild experienced for a couple of months. That being when someone joins your guild and at first seems like a good fit but later starts becoming difficult and unreasonable with regard to their expectations and online behaviour. The person in question in this instance eventually stated that they had mental health issues but by the time this was raised a lot of harm had been done to all parties concerned. They ended up leaving after an argument centred around perceived personal slights and a lack of support for their needs. It was an upsetting experience that was poorly handled, although it wasn’t any particular person’s fault.
Naming Your Character in SWTOR
Star Wars: The Old Republic is over a decade old. That is quite a significant achievement for an MMORPG. Maintaining a stable player population is not easy and a lot of MMOs find themselves in a state of managed decline and then eventually shut down long before they’ve reached such an age. However, that is not the case with SWTOR. I recently returned to the game in February and as far as I can see, there is still a very active player base. However, I did come back just as a new expansion was launched. Conversely, as well as active players, there is also a lot of evidence of inactive players, by dint of the fact that I have really struggled to secure a “suitable” character name for one of my new alts. Specifically a Sith Warrior. It would appear that a lot of names are currently taken. I tried over thirty names before I found one that was available.
A Month in Gaming
I have confined my gaming to three MMORPGs in recent months and have not strayed into anything new. Time has been an issue due to a great deal of change in my domestic life. Hence The Lord of the Rings Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic and Star Trek Online have proven suitable for my needs. Being able to log into a game and commence an activity without any complicated preamble is convenient and currently suits my schedule down to the ground. I will be buying Sniper Elite 5 at the end of the month as this is a franchise that has always proven entertaining and engaging. While recently perusing the various game launchers I have installed, I took the opportunity to remove several games that I’m no longer playing or that have proven to be a “five minute wonder”. Hence I said goodbye to GreedFall, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and Days Gone. Their removal is no reflection upon their quality.
The Capricious Nature of “Lazy Writing”
A little over two months ago I returned to the MMORPG, Star Wars: The Old Republic. I have written recently about how this has been a pleasant experience and I certainly haven’t wanted for content to play through. SWTOR has always offered well conceived and complex stories. This is essentially the MMOs primary appeal to me. Hence I have recently caught up with Rise of the Hutt Cartel, Shadow of Revan, Knights of the Fallen Empire and Knights of the Eternal Throne. The episodic nature of the last two expansions have both good and bad points. However, the central story was solid and engaging. However, when I moved on to the next instalment of the main story, everything changed. Essentially, the plot had backed itself into a corner. So the writers took the easy way out and pursued a new storyline that completely invalidated everything that had happened previously. This infuriated me so I’ve stopped playing.
LOTRO: Bullroarer Update 33 - Yondershire Beta #3
Standing Stone Games have a third preview of Update 33 for the MMORPG, The Lord of the Rings Online, available on the Bullroarer test server which ends tomorrow. This latest build includes all stables for the new zone. There are six in total, four of which are based in the Hobbits villages of Gamwich, Tighfield, Nobottle and Long Cleave. The mob population has increased since the last preview and all enemy encampments are now accessible. Most importantly, a map of Yondershire is now available clearly showing how the zone fits between The Shire and Ered Luin. Hence players now have sufficient details to be able to accurately appraise Yondershire which has a challenge level of 20-23. Furthermore, the map of Eriador has also been adjusted to show the new zone.
LOTRO: Bullroarer Update 33 - Yondershire Beta #1
The first preview of Update 33 for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online has been available on the Bullroarer test server for the last three days. The update features the new region of Yondershire which connects the North-west of The Shire with Ered Luin. Yondershire has a challenge level 20-23 and continues with Standing Stone Games recent trend of not just adding level cap content to the game. Yondershire can be reached by travelling West out of Little Delving or North-west out of Needlehole through Rushock Gate. Alternatively, if you are travelling South-east out of Ered Luin then follow the Eastway. If returning from Evendim, travel South-west out of Oatbarton through Bullroarer's Sward. At present a map of the new zone is not available in the current test build. However it is not too difficult to get orientated, due to the way Yondershire neatly fills the gap between The Shire and Ered Luin.
LOTRO: Producer's Letter March 2022
According to Oleg Brodskiy (AKA Raninia) in his latest Producer's Letter for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online, there are some major changes coming in April. These are part of the ongoing restructuring of the game’s monetisation. Previously, in the last content update, the Premium Wallet, Gold Currency Cap, and Virtue, Race, and Class trait slots were made free to all players (prior to this, all were chargeable unlocks). In Update 33, which will be coming in April, “all quests, areas, instances, and expansions released between the original launch of LOTRO back in 2007 and up to – and including! - the release of Helm’s Deep will be available for free to everyone”. Furthermore, subscribers will be able to access the standard versions of the Mordor, Minas Morgul, and War of Three Peaks expansions.
Getting Stuck in Video Games
Before I begin, this post comes with a massive caveat. In fact let’s go so far as to say it is a massive, highly polished and lavishly tooled caveat. There are gamers out there that play video games to challenge themselves and to be the best. Some do it for bragging rights. Others just do it for their own self satisfaction. This is fine. You do you. As long as your gameplay and gaming philosophy doesn’t impact anyone else negatively, then that’s fine. Let me state for the record that I am not that kind of gamer and this post is aimed very much at the average person who plays for entertainment, fun and to unwind. You know, the majority of people who play video games. So any responses to this post that fall into the “git gud” school of thought are irrelevant and can politely “go forth and multiply. Now we have established our frame of reference, let us proceed.
Revisiting Star Wars: The Old Republic Part 2
I returned to the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic a month ago. After a few days orienting myself as to how to play my primary character, I quickly got back on the levelling treadmill and started playing through all the story content that I’ve missed since 2013. Yesterday, I reached the new level cap of 80 and spent some time and money trying to get the best gear I can from the Galactic Trade Network. I’m not especially concerned about having the best build I possibly can but I don’t want to gimp myself. Hopefully I made appropriate choices. I now have a healthy item rating of 305, for what it’s worth. Broadly speaking, I haven’t run into too many tricky situations as I’ve levelled, although every now and then there’s a boss fight that seems disproportionately one sided. The Ugnaught Leader in “Little Boss” being one example with their annoying one hit kill, knock back.
Playing MMOs Solo
There was a perennial question being discussed over at Massively Overpowered recently. Justin Olivetti asked “why do you play MMOs solo” and as you would expect, there was a wide variety of answers. I have written about this myself in the past, as when I first started playing MMOs, I was very enamoured by the social element and therefore very disposed towards group content. However, that experience between 2008 and 2011, when I played The Lord of the Rings Online most days and dedicated Friday and Saturday nights to raiding, was very much down to circumstances. I had the time and inclination to spend hours online. That is something that I don’t have now. Plus the novelty of the social element has worn a little thin over the years. Nowadays, I do not have the luxury of waiting for a raid group to assemble, nor do I have the tolerance for the inevitable delays that always stem from any kind of human interaction.
Combat in Video Games: How Long is Too Long?
Many video games involve some sort of combat. It is a quintessential mechanic. The moral and ethical rectitude of this is a subject for another blog post and is not something I wish to discuss here. This post is about combat itself and specifically the amount of time that you have to spend to defeat an enemy. It may sound a somewhat trivial point but it becomes quite an important issue once you start playing a game for any length of time. Like many game mechanics, it often comes down to a matter of personal taste? Which then makes it a difficult matter to find the right balance from a game development point of view. If you make combat too brief, players will say it trivialises the game and diminishes the sense of challenge. Make combat too long and you’ll run the risk of boring your playerbase and driving them away. This is very much a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation.
Star Wars: The Old Republic - Currency Caps
This post is a public service announcement. One that I’m making because of a lesson I learned the hard way. I am talking specifically about the two currency caps as they currently stand in the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic. I’m sure many long term players will be aware of the current status quo. However, there may be many others who are not. If I can stop someone from making the same mistake that I made, so much the better. I would also like to highlight how developer’s BioWare has done very little to address these in-game issues. When using a vendor in SWTOR, if you are approaching the currency cap, you do get a message in the chat window. If you are not aware of the currency cap, or do not see the message and you’re moving Credits between characters then there is scope for problems. There should be a far more clear in-game alert.
Star Wars: The Old Republic - Legacy of the Sith
As well as a new central story, Legacy of the Sith has also introduced some major system changes to the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic. From my own perspective as a returning casual player, these changes are measured and appropriate. Firstly, my Smuggler has had some of their skills rationalised. Some buffs which you previously chose to use, such as Smuggler’s Luck, are now passive skills. Other minor skills, such as Flash Grenade, have been removed. I don’t consider any of these changes to undermine the class and welcome the decluttering of my quickbars. Perhaps more advanced players may take a different view. Change is not always welcome, especially if it removes choice. I however approve of these alterations and the way the UI has been redesigned to display your gear, outfit, combat style, loadouts and companion details.
Revisiting Star Wars: The Old Republic
Star Wars is an interesting franchise in the way it elicits such a strong emotional reaction among those that venerate it. To cut a long story short, I recently reinstalled Star Wars: The Old Republic and the moment I reactivated one of my previous characters and logged into the game I was immediately smitten with what I can only describe as Star Wars “feels”. There is something about the aesthetic associated with the franchise, both visually and musically (the latter is in many ways unique to Star Wars) which taps into my subconscious and prompts a wave of nostalgia. The Star Wars theme is a unique piece of music, insofar as whenever I hear it, it never fails to make me feel like a ten year old boy again. A boy who was enamoured with the Star Wars universe. Perhaps I still am on some level.
A Month in Gaming
It’s been a while since I’ve written an instalment of A Month in Gaming. Over Christmas and New Year I was busy with family issues and it’s only in January that I’ve started anything approaching a regular gaming schedule. The novelty of Forza Horizon 5 has run its course and I’ve grown tired of the game’s upbeat tone and neverending activities that litter the in-game map. It’s nice that the game tries hard to engage with you but it reaches a point where you never get a time to stop, think and take stock. I couldn’t find anything else included in the Xbox Game Pass which especially excited me. There were a few titles that did take my fancy but I then discovered that I already own them elsewhere via Steam or Epic Games. So I decided to cancel my subscription. I still think that the Xbox Game Pass for PC is very good value and my failure to find anything that I like is my problem and not Microsoft’s fault.
LOTRO: The Angle of Mitheithel Preview Update
Yesterday, Standing Stone Games made Bullroarer Update 32 - Beta #5 available on their test server and invited player feedback. This latest preview of the next content update for the MMORPG, The Lord of the Rings Online, focuses mainly upon The Legendary Item Reward Track. When the revised LI system was released last October as part of the expansion Fate of Gundabad, it was not fully integrated into the game. Existing LI rewards were not replaced with new ones and no decision had been made regarding potential compensation for obsolete LI related items. There were also outstanding changes to the user interface for the LI system. These are now being addressed in Update 32. The current build, Beta #5, also has some minor updates to the new zone, The Angle of Mitheithel. As ever with anything on the Bullroarer test server, it is subject to change and may be different in the final live release.
Star Trek Online: The Captain’s Table
If you are a lifetime account holder for the MMORPG Star Trek Online, you get a selection of tangible benefits, as well as unfettered access to the game without currency caps and other impediments. These benefits include exclusive ships and playable races, additional bank and inventory slots and a plethora of boots and buffs. Buried among these trinkets and baubles is access to The Captain's Table. An interdimensional bar which caters exclusively to captains and leaders of note throughout the galaxy. In the early 25th century, the bar appeared aboard a mysterious Sierra-class space station, inside the Aenigma Nebula. The nebula is accessible through ship-sized portals in the orbits of Earth, Qo'noS and New Romulus. The Captain's Table is a nightclub and social venue with the following services.