f13.net

I seriously considered adding GO GO GO to the subject line, but I decided I want you to believe I'm classier than that.

http://www.massively.com/2010/06/16/e3-2010-lord-of-the-rings-online-vol-3-book-2-preview-of-enedwa/

I'm worried over the fact that there's so much talk about things that aren't coming in the next patch. It means those things are atleast five months away and that Book 2 doesn't contain enough to fill half a page article. Better housing, but not now. New hobby, but not now (it's NEVER now when it comes to hobbies.) New skrimishes, but not for this patch.

Don't get me wrong, a new zone is awesome and can have lots of fun content (Forochel was probably my favorite addon zone, it was wonderfully atmospheric) it's just that the patch is already long due. It would basically have to be a shitload of stuff to make up for the seven months that will have passed once the patch arrives.

Looking forward to seeing what they'll do with DX11. I can't really think of any DX11 feature off-hand that LotRO would benefit from, but we'll see I guess. Most of all I would just like better draw distance (less sprites and just farther in general) but I don't think we'll see it this time around. Reading up on the feature set of DX11 I find order independent transparency, the lack of which gives a rather prevalent artifact in LotRO since it has so much sprited foliage. Basically it would remove the weird-looking outlining of transparent sprites like grass. And tessellation, of course, although LotRO doesn't have much in terms of normal maps to work from...

Maybe I should be looking into that new hardware. :-P

new zone only makes sense if they raise the level cap, doesn't it?  That's an honest question -- I don't know.  We have to get SoM in order to finish Vol2, so what purpose will this new zone provide?  Could we skip SoM with skirmishes?

Still want details on LI and Radiance changes.

Biggest info I see there is scalable content, apparently that's the new horse to bet on since skirmishes didn't quite cover up the lack of content development.
There is a small treasure of old instances, if they can really make them relevant at endgame again it could be a semi-brilliant move (edit: although they are basically trying to copy WoW's dungeon finder it seems).

They'd have to add meaningful loot though, which probably means combining it with some sort of a grind for barter-items  :heartbreak:

I wonder how much they are going to be charging for those content packs and how prevalent they will be throughout the content we already have.

Also, where the fuck is Rohan?  :awesome_for_real:

Not necessarily. Evendim, Forochel, Eregion, and Lothlorien were added without level cap increases.

Soln, Forochel that I mentioned was added at cap as an alternative to Angmar/Misty Mountains. Then they revamped Angmar too. Then added Eregion. In fact, there's so much ~50 and ~60 content that you cannot possibly do it all with one toon without outlevelling it.

Turbine like diversity in content and have atleast for as long as they've developed LotRO. Enedwaith is just another zone with stuff to do in, in case you want a break from Mirkwood. Same deal as with Lothlorien. Whether it makes sense to spend development time on something like this is more dubious but I for one enjoy that LotRO doesn't follow the same strict progression model as WoW, where landmass is for levelling only and endgame happens in instances. I have many nice memories from doing "pointless" content in Forochel and Goblin Town, for example. So it's not senseless atleast.

It may be a lack of business sense but it's still one of the reasons I warmed to the game to begin with.

Some quotes I have scraped together about this zone:

http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?&postid=4732684#post4732684

Ah, was just about to post that, good thing i looked.

I enjoy the dungeon scaling change, I think its a great idea. Now perhaps I can go back and get my legendary trait at some point.

E3 summary / wrap-up from Massively. (http://www.massively.com/2010/06/18/the-road-to-mordor-enedwaith-exploration-expo/)

You can get it now easily enough, or are you determined to get it ONLY through the dungeon itself?

New preview at Massively. (http://www.massively.com/2010/07/02/the-road-to-mordor-touring-the-falls-new-content-with-turbine/)

I predict a lot of QQ from old school raiders.

Part two is now up: The Road to Mordor: Touring the fall's new content with Turbine (part two) (http://www.massively.com/2010/07/09/the-road-to-mordor-touring-the-falls-new-content-with-turbine/)

Tidbits of note:






(http://www.blogcdn.com/www.massively.com/media/2010/06/title5.jpg)

This is where they're going to get me. I'm a sucker for "micro"-transactions that provide me with cosmetic fluff, like mounts and costume parts and mini-pets and minor powers. I've gone for that stuff in both CoH and WoW, and if I can get some faction mounts in LotRO, thereby bypassing those awful faction grinds, then yeah. I'll be on board.

They should throw some pretty capes and hats in there, the better to reach directly into my wallet.

They are going to rape your wallet then. See that cosmetics tab?

Yikes, the mounts are 3-4 months worth of the free points you get as a VIP.

I want to see how this is implemented, i.e. whether I'll get credit, and how much, for having already finished some deeds on my existing characters.

The cosmetics tab better come with a dressing room, or something like it. For that matter, the mounts tab should include links to full, in-game pictures of the mounts. If I'm going to spend 2000 fake electronic currency on it, I want to see it first   :wink:

If DDO is a guide, then quite a bit for legacy deeds but not as much as the formula would suggest if one started over from scratch.

I believe the part after that said it is not retroactive. However as a VIP you get a ton of points anyway.


There was something about a wardrobe system, a new system for clothing/cosmetics and storage that does not use bag space (or bank for that matter). The game already has a preview/dressing room system, no idea if it works with the store or not though. It really should.


Humm? at the normal allowance (500 a month), yes. but if you are a VIP or lifer, you will be getting a huge chunk right off the bat anyway + the allowance.

Well - it isn't entirely clear yet how much they'll be giving us on top of the 500/month, is it?

I'll have to dig it up again, but quite sure if you currently have a subscription, or are a Lifer, you will get a large one time chunk of points when it switches over. Quite sure it as more than one of those mounts for some.



The outline, where two transparent images meet is a chosen technique for speed (sorting), its applied mostly on trees and foliage, other objects don't use it. LOTRO does use normal maps, but not where you would expect, its mostly in the distant terrain and water.

woops.  :facepalm:

To be fair, those mounts are all ones you get as faction rewards. You're buying a path around grinding reputation.

IMO as someone who "worked for them," the high cost sounds right to me. If they have new mounts that no one can "earn" in-game at that price point, I'd balk at the cost too.

Ah, ok. Does make a bit more sense that way. Still seems like for that many points the mounts should be sparkly and flying.  :wink:

Found it for you. (http://www.lotro.com/support/policies/loyaltyreward)

So something in the neighborhood of 5k points for someone who has had a lifetime sub since release, I guess.

1500 + about 2000 more for my little gang who started late last year.

Developer Diary: Enedwaith  (http://www.lotro.com/gameinfo/devdiaries/747-developer-diary-enedwaith)

Sounds impressive! They've put alot of work into Endewaith