In my opinion they need an NPC revamp too. They are really ugly. At least the npc's you find around in cities. More than ugly, they look subpar compared to the scenery.
"Ciccolini also mentioned that lag is the priority and has asked players for specific information about when they are experiencing issues."
Does that mean that EU servers in Amsterdam will be a fact, or will DBG keep them as they are now, leaving the majority of the EU players with lag/low ping?
By the way the game has had an animation revamp at one point and it was met with mixed reviews. It was a very limited pass and not a complete revamp, but some people like their familiar things. He makes good points.
They never did an animation revamp. They overhauled the combat system and reduced cooldown on some abilities and increased the speed on some animations to make the combat and it's animations look more fluid and faster.
All animations are still the same as they were at launch, just a bit faster with shorter global cooldown.
At launch the combat and animations were dreadfully slow, putting off a lot of people down the line.
Sounds like a bunch of hollow words to keep players excited and playing.
A little harsh. I don't think the words are "hollow" but nor will they mean what players might hope they mean.
The team was downsized last year can't see it expanding. They are independent and have to decide whether the cost of revamping the models will recoup the cost. In the long term it may extend the life of the game but in the short term? New company; uncertain future - their futures. Its one thing to argue enthusiastically to WB when "WB" are on the hook for the tab but when they are. I am sure they are "looking" at it!
(Personally I don't see the need but that is my view).
They never did an animation revamp. They overhauled the combat system and reduced cooldown on some abilities and increased the speed on some animations to make the combat and it's animations look more fluid and faster.
All animations are still the same as they were at launch, just a bit faster with shorter global cooldown.
At launch the combat and animations were dreadfully slow, putting off a lot of people down the line.
They may not have done a total animation revamp, but they did change dwarf & hobbit run/walk animations around 2010.
Sounds like a bunch of hollow words to keep players excited and playing.
A little harsh. I don't think the words are "hollow" but nor will they mean what players might hope they mean.
The team was downsized last year can't see it expanding. They are independent and have to decide whether the cost of revamping the models will recoup the cost. In the long term it may extend the life of the game but in the short term? New company; uncertain future - their futures. Its one thing to argue enthusiastically to WB when "WB" are on the hook for the tab but when they are. I am sure they are "looking" at it!
(Personally I don't see the need but that is my view).
It's just my experience with these old MMOs on partial lifesupport.
A proper revamp would take quite a bit of resources - and I honestly doubt they'd be willing to fund that kind of change.
That said, they might half-ass it somehow, which would be a complete waste of time.
Sounds like a bunch of hollow words to keep players excited and playing.
A little harsh. I don't think the words are "hollow" but nor will they mean what players might hope they mean.
The team was downsized last year can't see it expanding. They are independent and have to decide whether the cost of revamping the models will recoup the cost. In the long term it may extend the life of the game but in the short term? New company; uncertain future - their futures. Its one thing to argue enthusiastically to WB when "WB" are on the hook for the tab but when they are. I am sure they are "looking" at it!
(Personally I don't see the need but that is my view).
It's just my experience with these old MMOs on partial lifesupport.
A proper revamp would take quite a bit of resources - and I honestly doubt they'd be willing to fund that kind of change.
That said, they might half-ass it somehow, which would be a complete waste of time.
I agree. And like you I'm not sure they would fund it. If it was WB absolutely not.
I can see the SSG team considering it though. They were downsized before being spun off but they obviously still have some devs etc. working on the expansion. So lets say they release the xpac without the revamp then they have to decide what to work on next. (Things are not that sequential of course but I'm keeping things simple) They will then have a decision to make:
let staff go - quietly - which saves money;
produce yet another content patch - which should bring in some money;
work on DDO content;
do a revamp.
The only way the revamp would bring in money in the short term would be via publicity generating curiosity. Realistically though its value would be in keeping the game looking reasonable for longer. Which they might do if LotR was their only product. It isn't of course - they have DDO as well so maybe they will just alternate. And I am assuming no new game!
A revamp as part of the expansion? If the expansion includes the destruction of the ring maybe that would be an option - not sure it does. At some point however they could try a "re-launch" around the concept of taking the ring from The Shire all the way to Mordor. Doubt that would work though in the current LotR game - could they pull it out as a mini-game? Maybe just do enhanced graphics for some 20 or 30 hour single person epic journey?
Like you I can't see them doing it but I can see them thinking about it.
Geez I just don't get you people. Nothing wrong with the graphics, yep they are a bit outdated, but the content is still there, far more than most MMO's. Go play games like Black Desert, great graphics and absolutely little content. I get far more enjoyment of having tons of things to do than few. Give me Lotro any day.
Geez I just don't get you people. Nothing wrong with the graphics, yep they are a bit outdated, but the content is still there, far more than most MMO's. Go play games like Black Desert, great graphics and absolutely little content. I get far more enjoyment of having tons of things to do than few. Give me Lotro any day.
The animations are just not enjoyable to sit and watch for any length of time. No amount of content can fix that.
I have a lifetime VIP, how does that work these days?
It works perfectly, with a large amount of added envy You have all the content avaliable (expect the expansions if you haven't purchased them), and what was added later, like the premium bag or the beorning class, you can purchase from the stockpile of points you've accumulated while you were gone. (you can get the missing -if any- expansions from those points too).
This dev team is now fighting for their jobs and lives.
There's no safety net anymore, no parent company that will provide monthly paychecks even if the game is not making enough money.
If WB "didn't want to pay for" revamp X, that money will now have to come directly out of the profit generated by Lotro. No profit, no revamps or expansions, because without profit there won't be any devs left to do the work.
How is that different from when they were a private company "before" WB bought them? They still had to get players and keep them (as long as they could be kept).
All I see here is that they have returned to their former state.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
Will never go back to Lotro until they get rid of quest packs. Hopefully with Daybreak the game will have a business model like EQ2. I have bought six expansions for this game but if i don't sub. i have to buy quest packs for lower level zones for new characters. Its a freaking rip off.
You're wrong. Some races have had their animations revamped and even those small tweaks caused no amount of bickering especially around hobbit running. This was a few years ago and wasn't a complete animation replacement, but still a revamp of certain race animations. They have not gone untouched.
Yep, that's correct, I was too in the camp who didn't like the changes and had complaints about it new hobbit run was if like s/he'd keep stumbling after every 4-5 steps... Not to mention the NPC revamp when they changed our good old hobbit residents in the Shire... or the map revamp, I spoke against that one as well.
Hmm, thinking back I was quite grumpy against all the cosmetic changes over the years except maybe Bree, the new Bree is pretty nice. But still I liked the old Bree more. Khm, grumpy mode again no wonder Sev specifically mentioned our group in his post, we're legion... (when wrote "...and even some of the best received game revamps have a percentage of players who prefer the old look.")
Comments
Does that mean that EU servers in Amsterdam will be a fact, or will DBG keep them as they are now, leaving the majority of the EU players with lag/low ping?
They never did an animation revamp. They overhauled the combat system and reduced cooldown on some abilities and increased the speed on some animations to make the combat and it's animations look more fluid and faster.
All animations are still the same as they were at launch, just a bit faster with shorter global cooldown.
At launch the combat and animations were dreadfully slow, putting off a lot of people down the line.
Sounds like a bunch of hollow words to keep players excited and playing.
The team was downsized last year can't see it expanding. They are independent and have to decide whether the cost of revamping the models will recoup the cost. In the long term it may extend the life of the game but in the short term? New company; uncertain future - their futures. Its one thing to argue enthusiastically to WB when "WB" are on the hook for the tab but when they are. I am sure they are "looking" at it!
(Personally I don't see the need but that is my view).
A proper revamp would take quite a bit of resources - and I honestly doubt they'd be willing to fund that kind of change.
That said, they might half-ass it somehow, which would be a complete waste of time.
I can see the SSG team considering it though. They were downsized before being spun off but they obviously still have some devs etc. working on the expansion. So lets say they release the xpac without the revamp then they have to decide what to work on next. (Things are not that sequential of course but I'm keeping things simple) They will then have a decision to make:
- let staff go - quietly - which saves money;
- produce yet another content patch - which should bring in some money;
- work on DDO content;
- do a revamp.
The only way the revamp would bring in money in the short term would be via publicity generating curiosity. Realistically though its value would be in keeping the game looking reasonable for longer. Which they might do if LotR was their only product. It isn't of course - they have DDO as well so maybe they will just alternate. And I am assuming no new game!A revamp as part of the expansion? If the expansion includes the destruction of the ring maybe that would be an option - not sure it does. At some point however they could try a "re-launch" around the concept of taking the ring from The Shire all the way to Mordor. Doubt that would work though in the current LotR game - could they pull it out as a mini-game? Maybe just do enhanced graphics for some 20 or 30 hour single person epic journey?
Like you I can't see them doing it but I can see them thinking about it.
I have a lifetime VIP, how does that work these days?
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee
You have all the content avaliable (expect the expansions if you haven't purchased them), and what was added later, like the premium bag or the beorning class, you can purchase from the stockpile of points you've accumulated while you were gone. (you can get the missing -if any- expansions from those points too).
All I see here is that they have returned to their former state.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Not to mention the NPC revamp when they changed our good old hobbit residents in the Shire... or the map revamp, I spoke against that one as well.
Hmm, thinking back I was quite grumpy against all the cosmetic changes over the years