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Dev Diary: Mirkwood Regions |
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Written by Vastin
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Tuesday, 27 October 2009 17:43 |
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Over the past several months, I’ve been focused on the development of the Mirkwood region, namely the quests, social centers and NPCs that you’ll be interacting with as you aid the Elves in their march against the tower of Dol Guldur.
In many ways, the development of Mirkwood was a relief compared to that of Lothlórien. There were a number of reasons; we had more space to work with, a hostile environment that made it easier to write quests (unlike the Golden Wood, where bad things never ever ever happen), and a relatively straightforward plotline around which to wrap it. That said, resources to do everything we want to do are (as always) limited and getting everything filled out has been quite a challenge. We’re still racing towards that finish line with much to do.
As usual, we’ve had to find ways to work within J.R.R. Tolkien’s world in order to fill in certain aspects of the game. Normally there would be very little reason for any friendly characters to be in Mirkwood at all, much less semi-permanent camps of Elves and Rangers within spitting distance of the tower of Dol Guldur. Thus the invasion of the Malledhrim (the Golden Host of Lórien) was born, giving us the tools we needed to fill out this particular region.
This change of pace does not preclude the events in the books, as this is a temporary incursion and not a full-scale invasion, a prologue to the assaults on Lothlórien by Dol Guldur as noted in The Return of the King; we’re just giving the Elves a more active role in events leading up to that point – which makes sense, as Celeborn and Galadriel are wise enough not just to wait in Caras Galadhon for the enemy to attack. They would send out spies, and scouts, and other infiltrators to find out what Sauron was up to, and maybe hamper and delay the inevitable onslaught. They just didn’t trouble poor Frodo with this business, because, well, he had problems of his own. And, as always, our regions are each a snapshot in the timeline of the War of the Ring, so you’ll technically be aiding the Elves with this pre-emptive strike for as long as you wish. Read more for the rest.
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Is Moria the promised land? |
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Written by Perthir
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Sunday, 25 October 2009 10:23 |
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The Angry Bear blog has just posted an interesting moral question. "Why do you attack us in our home?" say the Morroval usually just before the final killing blow. Allen Rausch, the author, proposes that with a post modern view, our sympathies should lie with the Morroval and Moria Goblins and draws an implicit comparison to the Middle East. What do you think? Read More for the rest.
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Written by Perthir
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Saturday, 24 October 2009 14:16 |
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Turbine have confirmed Lord of the Rings Online, Volume III will start with the first free content update in 2010. The as yet unnamed volume does not appear to be Riders of Rohan, although that will be in the next expansion pack. Turbine said ""Siege of Mirkwood will arrive in December and will mark the conclusion of Volume II of LOTRO's epic story. We will be kicking off Volume III in our first update of 2010...Volume III [will not be] called Riders of Rohan. Beyond the fact that Volume III will begin with our next update, we have not released any more details about our plans for the road ahead and we will do so when the time is right." Source
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Written by Amororgan
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Saturday, 24 October 2009 13:38 |
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Mali Beware! Read More here
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 25 October 2009 10:33 )
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Written by Perthir
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Thursday, 22 October 2009 21:05 |
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Orion, a key figure in the development of LotRO has been working through a rehash of reputation. I've previously reproduced his posts on the upcoming GA revamp - and it sounds like it'll be an area I'm keen to re-visit. Completing 'Red Maid' and the rest of GA right now is little more than a PITA - going back at max level, it's still painful but uber pulls make it interesting! Anyhow, back on track, in his latest blog post Orion outlines upcoming changes to the Eglain reputation faction and his thoughts on future rep changes. What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments. Over to Orion. Faction/Reputation, whichever moniker you choose the result is the same: a standing with a group of people with which you have or have no previous interactions. We have several of these in the game right now and all indications point to their inclusion in the future. We added this system a little later than usual and as a result it suffered from a little less love than it possibly could have received. As many of you know, I have been working on revisions to the game for the better part of a year now. The latest effort, the Lone-lands (full pass including the Epic Story and Garth Agarwen brings the area to level 22-32 and I threw in a dash of level 55+ for good measure), showed me that there was something missing in the game and through the assistance of beta testers I was able to cobble together the early stages of another undertaking - growing the Reputation system. I have been spending some cycles working out ways that we can make our Reputation/Faction system a little more robust and also finding ways to make the goal of kindred more appealing. To that end there are some minor additions coming to the Lone-lands’ new faction The Eglain, when the Siege of Mirkwood drop happens. Rather than holding this back, I figured I would get this out there now and get some feedback, figure out if this direction scratches an itch and explain how I arrived at this destination. Like all issues that come up for designers this one was laden with some red herrings and murky waters. Read more for the rest
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Written by Brian ZC
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Thursday, 22 October 2009 17:28 |
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In part four of his series on the skirmish system Brian "Zombie Columbus" covers the soldiers. Why Soldiers? Skirmishes represent the Free Peoples’ response to the increasing hostility across Middle-earth. All across Eriador, Skirmish Camps have sprung up to serve as mustering places for those willing to fight. Most of these people are not formally trained combatants; they are simple folk who have taken up arms to defend their homes and lands against the growing threat of the Enemy. Most of the formally trained warriors have been called away by their respective lords and masters to assist in the larger scale battles that are brewing. This leaves an opening for you, the LOTRO players, to help lead the way to victory! You’re a hero, act like it! LOTRO players represent someone a cut above average; a hero, whether by accident (like some Hobbits we all know) or intention. With this power comes responsibility -- not only to assist in these skirmishes, but to take some commoners under your wing and train them. In return, you will be able to bring these new Soldiers into battle with you. Unfortunately, they are not as well trained as the Captain’s Herald or Lore-master’s companions. In battle, they will act without your orders, engaging the enemy as they see fit. You can give them occasional orders, but they are not well-disciplined enough to be managed as much as seasoned soldiers. Read More for the rest
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