Lord of the Rings - Beta Signups

[FatuousTwat]

10 is great imo. It's 2x my favorite number in fact. But I suppose a nice 11 or 58 (or dare I say 69) would have been better.

[Signe]

Twat.

[Xerapis]

Well, f69.orgy would be entirely too obvious, of course.

But I still don't like 10.  Not sure why.  But it doesn't feel right.  Maybe 11.  At least it's odd too.

You see, Mr Fatuous War Against Terrorism?  Learn from the Signe.

You could have typed it in as f13.orgy and then gone back and edited the post to explain how the spell checker changes while leaving it as f13.orgy.  That would have been cool too.

Still...you lost me at 10.  Feel free to keep trying, I'm here for about 13 more hours.

[Xerapis]

Oh, and in the future?

Never post while I am still typing up my advice.

Ever.

This is your only warning.

[schild]

I lol'ed at f10.org.

But I hate the word "lol'ed."

[Xerapis]

That's cause it should be l'edol.

[sigil]

I added myself to the fray.  I haven't touched a turbine game since Asheron's Call, so I'll be surprised with turbine if I see that my character has opposable thumbs.

[Xerapis]

Welcome to the fray!

Did you spell our name correctly?

Or at least spell it Signely, which is far more humorous?

[Kenrick]

I'm in.

That's about all I'm allowed to say at this point.

 

[Signe]

In what?

(and is my name so horrible that we have to make fun of it in numerous threads?  IT'S MY NAME!)

DAMMIT.

[edlavallee]

In what?

(and is my name so horrible that we have to make fun of it in numerous threads?  IT'S MY NAME!)

DAMMIT.

I have been dying to ask this.... how do you pronounce that anyway?

[Kenrick]

In what?

The thing this thread is about.

[Merusk]

I'm in.

That's about all I'm allowed to say at this point.

 

Ooh they started going out.. How did you list the guild name? I went back and made it match most of the folks here, but I dunno if it was in time.

[Kenrick]

I'm in.

That's about all I'm allowed to say at this point.

 

Ooh they started going out.. How did you list the guild name? I went back and made it match most of the folks here, but I dunno if it was in time.

Err.. perhaps i should have prefaced that by mentioning I haven't read this thread, just the title.  no idea what you're talking about re. guild names.

I meant "I'm in" the beta.  Didn't think that would cause so much confusion! 

[Hoax]

I've decided that there really needs to be a smiley of a panda asleep on the toilet, so I can use it any time I need to refer to LTRO.  Of course I'm not sure that would really count as a smiley any more but whatever.

Signe, can you help me out with that?

[Merusk]

I'm in.

That's about all I'm allowed to say at this point.

 

Ooh they started going out.. How did you list the guild name? I went back and made it match most of the folks here, but I dunno if it was in time.

Err.. perhaps i should have prefaced that by mentioning I haven't read this thread, just the title.  no idea what you're talking about re. guild names.

I meant "I'm in" the beta.  Didn't think that would cause so much confusion! 

No, I followed that you were in the Beta.  I asked about guild names because the app had a slot asking what guilds, if any, you were affiliated with and several of us listed F13.net

[Kenrick]

Oh... gee... didn't even see that part.  Well if you see me in game just holler.

[Broughden]

Oh... gee... didn't even see that part.  Well if you see me in game just holler.

Is Kenrick the only one who got in?

Damnit I want front row seats to the train wreck too!

[Signe]

I've decided that there really needs to be a smiley of a panda asleep on the toilet, so I can use it any time I need to refer to LTRO.  Of course I'm not sure that would really count as a smiley any more but whatever.

Signe, can you help me out with that?

Sorry.  I'm hardly around lately.  If I get 10 minutes or so a day on the computer, I'm lucky.  I've decided to try and get this new house in shape and it's taking all my time up.  Then I had a birthday to sleep through.  Oh, and I died for a short time but I'm better now.   Anyway, I know this isn't what you asked for but it's the best I can do right now.

How to make a Panda toilet roll holder:

Materials:
bullet   toilet paper roll
bullet   a printer
bullet   something to colour with
bullet   scissors
bullet   glue
bullet   and paper (I prefer construction paper).
   
   

Instructions:
bullet   Print out the template.
 
bullet   Colour (where appropriate) and cut out the template pieces.
 
bullet   Glue the large rectangular piece on first to cover the tube.  Toilet paper rolls come in different sizes, so if you find the rectangle is a bit too big, just trim it down.  If you find it's a bit too small, just cut out another small piece to fill in the gap.
 
bullet   Glue the smaller rectangular piece the same way (towards the top of the panda bear)... take a look at a picture of a panda to give you an idea of where he's white and where he's black
 
bullet   Glue on the head, arms, and legs.




Now just fall asleep on the crapper and it'll be kind of sort of almost like a panda sleeping on the toilet smiley face.  Mostly.

[Arthur_Parker]

Looks like LOTRO is coming on well, it sounds virtually identical to the books. 

Linky

Re: Champions useless in a group??

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We just did a playthrough of one of our instances, and the champion was pretty key. He's not just about damage, he's specifically about AoE damage. When an Uruk sends a bunch of his pesky goblin buddies in at the party, it's the Champion who gets to go to town. When things have gone pear-shaped and there's baddies everywhere, the Champion can gather their attention in a hurry.

And when the loremaster carefully distracts and confuses key enemies during a big fight, the Champion is there to break each and every mez - after all, what fun is fighting foes one at a time? 

At one point in the playtest, the guy playing the champion said something along the lines of "You know, this would be easier if we were mezzing." I swear, there was almost a brawl. Heh.
__________________
Nik Davidson
Lead Game Systems Designer
Turbine, Inc.

[Kenrick]

Oh... gee... didn't even see that part.  Well if you see me in game just holler.

Is Kenrick the only one who got in?

Damnit I want front row seats to the train wreck too!

It actually isn't/wasn't beta yet, it was a closed Alpha 1.  Very limited participation so far -- I think it's just employees and people lucky enough to get VIP access codes from employees.  So the traditional "beta" is probably still a ways off.

[WayAbvPar]

At one point in the playtest, the guy playing the champion said something along the lines of "You know, this would be easier if we were mezzing."

I think I played with that douche in every other pick up group I had in EQ. Chanter rage!

[HaemishM]

At one point in the playtest, the guy playing the champion said something along the lines of "You know, this would be easier if we were mezzing."

I think I played with that douche in every other pick up group I had in EQ. Chanter rage!

I am saddened to hear the word "Mez" in any discussion of LOTR combat.

[shiznitz]

Crowd control should never again appear in an MMOG. While I have quibbles with EQ2 encounter system, I do like the fact that mezz is never needed against the appropriate encounter levels for your group. Mezz is just "nice to have" in case something goes to shit but it is usually a waste of time to mezz a multiple mob encounter in EQ2.

[WayAbvPar]

I thought crowd control was about the only interesting mechanic in EQ combat. I may be prejudiced, however.

[HaemishM]

I thought crowd control was about the only interesting mechanic in EQ combat. I may be prejudiced, however.

And thus my problem with it.

[Morfiend]

Im fully behind CoX combat. With huge groups of monsters. Tank and spank is so boring. So is massive CC combat. Tank and spank is ok for huge boss fights, but I wish more people would focus combat on AE and large groups. It feels so much more epic.

[NiX]

Does this remind anyone else of DAoC?

[Soln]

Does this remind anyone else of DAoC?

the old AOE Stun/Mez/DOT was awful -- that killed DAoC for me.  That and Hibbie turrets

[Hoax]

LoL, who is making this pile again?  Turbine?   

[Soukyan]

Does this remind anyone else of DAoC?

Yes and no. It certainly looks like Hibernia at a glance, but the water effects are distinctly AC2, as is the plethora of long wavy grass on the terrain nearby.

[vex]

Does this remind anyone else of DAoC?

The scene itself reminds me a lot of Prydwyn Bridge

[NiX]

Does this remind anyone else of DAoC?

The scene itself reminds me a lot of Prydwyn Bridge

That's exactly what it reminded me of. Also, it reminded me of the horrid ride up to the marsh. Fuck you, DAoC. Fuck you LOTRO for reminding me.

[Telemediocrity]

Turbine started out designing MMOs with absolutely no crowd control.

As best I've seen, DDO doesn't really have "hard" crowd control (mezzes, roots, and stuns, as opposed to just hits that draw aggro) to speak of either.

They had a good streak there of not adding crowd control and making interesting combat systems as a result.  A blissful change from all the stupid stuff other MMO companies are doing.

And now, what do they do?

They take LoTR, a setting which by nature is not crowd-control oriented, and shove it in.

Sigh.

Crowd control means predictability, and with predictability it's impossible to make combat truly interesting.

[Miasma]

Aside from raid encounters the only memorable battles I have been in come from EQ, and they usually involved a crowd control guy.  It could be quite intense worrying about wether or not his mezz would land and when it would wear off.  Playing a secondary healer in charge of keeping him alive when mezz broke and his HP bar instantly went to 7% was also interesting.  Not to mention if he had charmed a pet into the party - knowing that one of your own group is going to snap at some point and start attacking you always kept you on your toes.  I don't think I remember a single PvE battle in most of the other MMOs I have played.

Not that I want crowd control either, it makes forming groups so much harder.  Usually all you need is a healer and a tank and even just getting those two can be tough in pick up groups.  If crowd control is essential you need to find the holy trinity of tank/healer/chanter before even getting started.  It is a pain in the ass.