NDA Lifted on LOTR MMO.

[fastitocalon]

We can feel free to express our opinions now. Only one I have is this game sure does run better than Vanguard did.

[posthumous_GRIN]

Do you have a link saying NDA lifted - didn't see anything at MMORPG or with a quick google.

[spamjedi]

We can feel free to express our opinions now. Only one I have is this game sure does run better than Vanguard did.

So this means you were part of a beta and can now talk about it?

[posthumous_GRIN]

Ok, I just confirmed, it has been lifted (went to LOTRO beta forums). I played the beta for a total of about 5 hours (trying different toons and completing some quests etc) and overall, I wasn't very pleased. I think it has the best graphics of any MMO out there and the environments are really nicely detailed but there is a ton of lag, especially in cities, and you will need a beefy machine to play this game smoothly. Plus, at least for the first 7 lvls or so, all quests are basically of the kill this - bring me this variety. I just couldn't get into the game, it didn't feel unique or LOTR-y to me, given that you can't play as any of the known characters. Again, I didn't play a ton of time with the game but that is partly due to the fact that I couldn't really get into it (I had it installed on my machine for months but rarely touched it).

[fastitocalon]

Only link I know of is the splash screen when you start to play. I will try to find another.

And yes, that means we can talk about the entire game now legally.

[fastitocalon]

I'm hoping that for open beta they make us redownload the entire client again. From the original I was in it ran pretty crappy ( Nov-Jan ) then after they had us redownload a new client ( Jan-Current )it ran tons better. If they can optimize it some more I will be very happy. This will be my next mmo, I've been playing like I said since Nov on and off and I like the feeling of the world. I plan on playing extremely casually ( 5 or so hours a week ) so this is from that standpoint. I have no idea how a "hardcore" player views what the game has to offer.

[posthumous_GRIN]

From the beta forum:

Important News about the LOTRO Beta Non-Disclosure Agreement!
Greetings everyone!

We’re pleased to announce that the non-disclosure agreement for The Lord of the Rings Online(tm): Shadows of Angmar(tm) has been lifted from the Preview Agreement! The updated Preview Agreement will be displayed the next time you log into the game, and can viewed at http://www.lotro.com/article/148.

What does this mean? As of today (February 12th) you’re free to talk about The Lord of the Rings Online and your experiences in our beta - in person and online. The closed forums at XXXXXX will remain active for support and detailed discussions about the game including bugs or gameplay issues.

We appreciate your cooperation during our closed beta quiet period, and we’re excited to be able to share the game with a larger audience.

Go LOTRO!

[monroeski]

I just couldn't get into the game, it didn't feel unique or LOTR-y to me, given that you can't play as any of the known characters.

One of the main problems I have with the LotR universe is that since it basically kicked off a whole new genre of storytelling, and created so many of the things we just take for granted today, it's practically generic by definition.

The irony here is that I'm looking forward to the Conan MMO.

[fastitocalon]

Some screenies from my lvl 10 champion *hopefully*.





I need a new processor, game runs the same on ultra high or low. Though i'm not entirely sure fraps is correct as I know what 17 fps feels like and what i'm running at feels like 30.

[Timman_24]

Looks nice. Every new MMO's UI looks like wow's haha. Lets hear some more details! Is it easy to lvl up? Plenty of quests? Soloable content?

[fastitocalon]

It does bear a lot of similarities in the gui department. The game reminds me more of Dark Age of Camelot and Guild Wars though than WoW.


This is the Character creation screen, I believe that is all the classes in the game, No dedicated healing class ftl


This is the deeds page, think of these as achievements in 360 games. I think this right here is the best thing in the game and is what makes me wanna play it. As you can see on my picture that bar is about 20% filled up. What it is is say you kill a spider and then you unlock this achievement and now if you kill say 50 more spiders you get the title "Spider-Foe". You can unlock all kinds of titles and new abilities. Once I use my haste something like 750 times I get a new upgraded haste to use. All of them tabs at the top are different achievements you can obtain.


You start the game with 5 15 slot bags. Nice way to keep early frustration to a minimum.


And this is just from original beta lol, lag used to be quite the problem

There are more than plenty of quests and I have only grouped a few times. There is the wow equivalent blue bar and i'm not sure what the max blue is. I would say so far it is slower than WoW leveling wise but not hard. So far I don't have much to complain about other than the lack of a dedicated healing class.

[ImaNihilist]

Eh. Same crap, different day. Wake me up if UO: Reborn ever makes it to market.

IMO, there's only ever been five original MMORPGs: UO, EQ, DAoC, FFXI and EVE. Everything else is just a clone of one of those five. Sadly, most games can't even seem to improve on the originals.

[ksuohio]

I was part of the beta and I can sum it up quickly, the games sucks. I wouldn't even play it if I was actually paid.

[brblx]

am i the only one that thinks the graphics look like crap?

i'd rather have simple and colorful (WoW) than detailed and bland.

it looks like they spent a bunch of time on the engine and the modeling of the environments, then textured them about as well as super mario 64.

[posthumous_GRIN]

am i the only one that thinks the graphics look like crap?

i'd rather have simple and colorful (WoW) than detailed and bland.

it looks like they spent a bunch of time on the engine and the modeling of the environments, then textured them about as well as super mario 64.

No, the graphics look nice, IMO, better than any MMO I have played. For me, one of the deal breakers was the combat - I hated it and felt like I was just watching my character fight, rather than feel like I was an active participant (and no, it wasn't on auto-combat). Part of the problem is you don't really feel like you are hitting the enemy, nor do you feel yourself being hit, hard to describe but it made killing stuff unsatisfying.