All Posts by Krogg

Originally posted by arobi

You forgot Mordor!

I kind of threw it in with Barad-dûr, I did forget Helm's Deep though.

Originally posted by Narug

Originally posted by Yeebo

 

I actually really enjoy the crafting.  I like how easy it is to make gear that's useful for your level.  Have to agree on some of those resource grinds,though.  Getting to grand master in anything is absolutely brutal.

 

LoTRO is nowhere near perfect.  But I like the direction that is has gone compared to the other level/ quest based/ PVE focused MMOs.  And I like where the game is headed. 

Yep I was going to write that to agree with what you and Jmgmail said but was about to write a post on another thread so I hesitated.  Nothing is perfect that's man made and never will be no doubt.

Don't get me wrong I just re-subbed this month so I'm playing again.  I left after playing Pre-Order/Open Beta Time with 1 or 2 months subbed.

It's just the Expert tier began to get on my nerves and I'm currently in Artisan.  So I can't speak for the Master tier but the tiers I just mentioned have started to get on my nerves enough.

I'd still like to keep some of the elements of crafting even though I like them and dislike them all that the same time. 

For example I'm an armoursmith.  I need 2 dwarf-iron ores to make a dwarf-iron ingot.  I need 2 dwarf-iron ingots to make a dwarf-steel ingot with a lump of coal also required.  I need 3 of those dwarf-iron ingots and that dwarf-steel ingot I just made to make a dwarf-iron chain. 

I need 3 dwarf-iron ingots and another dwarf-steel ingot to make a dwarf-steel plate.   

I need all that to make a helmet or other part of the Heavy dwarf-iron set.  I think I like all that but I guess I wish it would auto-caculate all that so I'd know how many ores I need to gather to make a whole set.

Don't know how a middle ground would work in any case and it would probably break it for me if they made it too simplified.  Guess I'm just shooting the breeze/letting off steam at some aggervation. lol

I'm an armorsmith as well, and the way I see it is it's like character levels, it's a long road to the top but then you get there you can go back and do anything you want.  I craft economically until I've mastered a tier.  As for calculating what I need.. I grab a pen and paper=)  Don't be afraid to learn your art.  If you grab every node you see while running about you should have well enough metals for your craft, a horse and a house.

And I appreciate that these recipes have to be somewhat difficult, or we'd have the market flooded and it would be a no-profit business.

Originally posted by Oyjord

Hi all,

 

It seems that LOTRO is almost the perfect game.  It has great graphics, great storyline, a nice loot system, and fun crafting.

 

It seems to me if Turbine just added a class or two, and really did something to ramp up PvP play, then they'd have the perfect MMO.

 

Sadly, it seems their greatest asset (the LOTRO IP), might also be their greatest restraint and downfall.

Are you for serious? No way LOTRO is the perfect game!! Everyone knows that title belongs to UNO. 

LOTRO comes in a close second.

Originally posted by Wrymstrum

There's nothing wrong with the game having solo content.  Even people that like to group a lot sometimes just get in the mood to do their own thing.  I do wish that the game rewarded grouping and helping others more.  For example the group could get a bonus whenever someone gets xp for turning in a quest.  That way if I go out of my way to help people even though I might have done the quest already, I can still get xp out of it.  AC used to do this, and it really encouraged grouping. 

 

 

A small xp bonus for each player in the fellowship would be interesting to test.

Say 3% for every member..if there are 3 members everyone gets +9%, if there are 6 members ~ +18%.  Or would that be too low/high?

..or it could rise in preset increments: 2 players = 10%, 3 = 12%, 4 = 14%, 5 = 16%, 6 = 18%.   Of course the number could be set to the umpteenth decimal.

Any other ways it could be done well?

edit: I meant those numbers as a general bonus on kill xp, not really quest turn in, but up t 18% seems high, maybe somewhere a bit lower, but it would definately encourage people to group..and for the record I solo more then I do group.  Not because of the xp, I just have time issues some days (on call with hospital, and I'm a Tank...so I solo when I have the phone).

I'm just swimming across Lake Evendim on my way to hunt down some Gauredain and I'm dreaming of future updates and the even more fantastic places they'll be bringing into the game. 

Book 12 just hit, I still haven't seen everything in the current game.  I'm in no rush for more content myself yet, but I know it's coming.  I know what I want to see..but I'm curious what everyone else is looking forward to.. I love hunting in the Misty Mountains at dusk.

Originally posted by Scottc

Originally posted by Krogg

 

Originally posted by Hrothmund

Originally posted by Vrika
Most of Lotro players probably wouldn't like the idea of real-time dodging.

Which is kind of sad. People prefer the easy, care-bear style of playing, and I think this is one of the pitfalls that has caused much of the decline in the quality of recent MMO releases.

 

It's not sad at all, I wouldn't want it because it's not a dependable action.  I want to play on as even a playing ground as possible, and allowing movement to escape attacks would not be fair as not all players are capable of smooth, lag-free motion.

Nothing care-bear about it, but nice try.

I find it funny that the playing field in Asheron's Call was way more even with its open skill system where you had everything from run and jump skill to melee defense and sword skill.  When you say even, against what exactly?  The PvP like LOTRO is monster play, and thats definitely not even considering most monsters don't have a chance even in a 1 on 1 fight.  The freeps gear pretty much guarantees the outcome of the fight will be in their favor.  If your computer lags while playing LOTRO, then you need to turn down the settings or upgrade your computer.

Mine doesn't lag at all.  But I did spend $3k on it.  Not everyone can afford a decent comp.

TBH, if they did implement this change you seek, I'd quit the game.  

edit: and when I say 'even' I mean in everything.  PvMP or PvE.  I'd be a better tank than jimmy if jimmy couldn't time his movements right because he has a slower proc or less ram.  Right now jimmy and I tank based on skills with the attacks and blocks, which we can both use to equal effectiveness.

One last wee point to add before I level my Grd.

Even if the game recognizes movement and places the char where they are supposed to be accordingly, anyone who has ever played on a crap system knows that framerate can suck so badly that you often have a hard time even seeing all the live action, attacks, movements, spells, etc.  On low-end pc's it's like a stutter-fest and how can anyone be expected to time their movements to avoid attacks when they can't even see everything that's happening?

Originally posted by Scottc

 

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Originally posted by dragonace

 

 

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Originally posted by Scottc

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Originally posted by greenstumps

 

The combat is about stats and not skill.

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So why isn't there a run skill stat that the higher it is allows me to move faster thus allowing me to better dodge attacks by moving out of the way? This is a game, why can't I have control over my character? Asheron's Call (Turbines first game which made them rich and a big player in the MMORPG industry) was about stats but they allowed me to move out of the way to dodge attacks.

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Sorry, I don't think you'll find any MMO developers here. If you seriously want a discussion about this then post it over in LoTRo's official forums. The devs will occasionally drop by and give very detailed reasons on certain aspects of the game. I can't say if they will respond for sure, but if they do it may actually be an explanation that means something... as any of the responses here will just be opinions.

In the end it boils down to: That is the way the game plays. If it's not fun for you because of it... hopefully you can find a game that is fun for you.

That being said... LoTRo does a better job than some previous MMOs as far as the problem you are stating. It doesn't let you shoot through rocks, trees, walls, or closed doorways to hit your target. I'm sure you've seen the infamous "you have lost line of sight" message. Also, if you shoot a mob and then quickly duck out of sight; you will probably take one hit... but the mob can't continually hit you until it re-establishes line-of-sight as well. This means that it will come out and seek to find you; which works very well in certain situations.
So yeah, you have to put up with that first shot that might hit you when you are behind a wall, rock, or tree. However, once you get used to how it works it really is a great tactic to pull mobs to you. As to why even the first shot has to be that way... well, that's for a Turbine dev. to answer.

Edit:
I did a bit of digging and this is what I've learned. I don't have links or quotes yet, as it's mostly hear-say, or second-hand. So, remember it's just a theory; NOT fact.
LoTRo determines whether an action is "legal" or not at the time the action is initiated; NOT at the time the action completes. So, as long as an action is "legal" when it is "cast" it will finish. This goes for ranged shots hitting you or your target even though when the missile arrives it should no longer be legal. Once an action is completed it will hit it's target regardless of the conditions when the missile arrives.
So, if you want to "dodge" missile attacks... you can. You just have to make sure that the missile attack can never be initiated. Quite a bit more challenging than the other way around. See, LoTRo is even more challenging than you thought. Yes, that was said with a bit of tongue-in-cheek.

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Thanks for the good laugh. :D

 

 

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Originally posted by Krogg

 

 

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Originally posted by Scottc

 

I'm starting at the bottom. Why haven't any of the games on the market fixed this flaw? It'd be nice if I had some control over my character.

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It's no flaw. Diff comp speeds effect players abilities to 'move' often and should not be a factor in play. Movement can already be utilized by getting behind someone while they cast, getting out of bowshot range, or too close for it, etc, moving out of the way for an attack just isn't feasable in a program. Animations are usually just that, and the time you think you have to move isn't really there.

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Your computer speed should not affect your ability to move thanks to a beautiful thing called time delta, where the distance you move is based on how much time its been since the last time your position was updated rather than basing your movement speed directly on the framerate. This has been standard programming practice in game development since the quake series. If you want to argue that framerate affects your ability to move, then I'll argue that it also affects your ability to cast spells, use special abilities, and initiate combat.  You say its not feasible in a program, and yet the oldest games have it.  Please read the original posts.

 

Yeah it effects those things as well, but they can be times outside of the client and occur when they are supposed to.  I play with someone who lags badly, and yes they often get stuck or stopped when trying to move about quickly.

And why do I need to enlighten you?  I don't even care about this thread really, I'm just killing time until my tea is ready then I'm playing some LOTRO, which I love.

Guess how many people I've heard complain ingame about this problem you have... ZERO.

So maybe it isn't us that have it all wrong, we are enjoying our game immensley, even without you gracing our servers.

So maybe YOU should enlighten us as to why this problem you think is important - a problem 200k LOTRO players don't have , and why you think it would improve the game.  Actually, nm, my kettle just started whistling.

CYA!

Originally posted by PezDSpencer

 

Originally posted by Hrothmund

Originally posted by Vrika
Most of Lotro players probably wouldn't like the idea of real-time dodging.

Which is kind of sad. People prefer the easy, care-bear style of playing, and I think this is one of the pitfalls that has caused much of the decline in the quality of recent MMO releases.

 

Or maybe some of us prefer to sit back and relax during a PvE exchange.  If I want to dodge or time my attacks, and all that BS, I'll play an FPS or a fighter.

 

Granted, there have been some s*** mmo's recently.

You have the coolest name I've seen yet here=)

Originally posted by tralla

because the current MMO market is totally Fu**ed up :/

I'm suffering with you.

Skillbased FTW

LOL... uh, what?

WTF does having a high speed comp enabling you to move faster than those with slower pc's or connections add up to skill????

Yeah, skill-based...

What?  You have the skills to earn more money in RL, or the skills to con your parents into buying a high-end machine? 

Originally posted by redcap036

DDO let you dodge out the way.

 

Not the way we are talking here.

Originally posted by Hrothmund

Originally posted by Vrika
Most of Lotro players probably wouldn't like the idea of real-time dodging.

Which is kind of sad. People prefer the easy, care-bear style of playing, and I think this is one of the pitfalls that has caused much of the decline in the quality of recent MMO releases.

It's not sad at all, I wouldn't want it because it's not a dependable action.  I want to play on as even a playing ground as possible, and allowing movement to escape attacks would not be fair as not all players are capable of smooth, lag-free motion.

Nothing care-bear about it, but nice try.

Originally posted by Scottc

 

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Originally posted by elvenangel

 

Most games haven't attempted to make online based games more 'real time' collision based with hits due to ... well honestly lag. The more accurate you try to make your hit the more FPS / lag based the game becomes.
Some games supplement with a sort of mix between collision, stats, & gear to determine if a hit lands. That way there's less chance of the NPC being half way across the area hitting you because the server still thinks your in the same place (has had this happen in Everquest 1 back in the days of dial up and it really really sucked when the server was lagged up but you weren't ).
Other games such as DDO are heavily instance so the packet needs & rates between you and the server are more complete & faster. This allows for more collision based mathmatics to take place but the game still has to take into account latency, stats, & etc. Not to forget that instanced games the server then knows exaclty which part of the map to check for you since the instance area is going to be relatively small compared to an entire world where the server then has to decide what part of the world your in and break it down from there (works with this sort of math all the time in real time simulations and its always a nightmare trying to make your math accurate but extremely fast so that it can cover several hundred meters of land at once).
In more open world games like Lord of the Rings its going to be decidedly harder to make such things work fairly between the computer, the player, and other players. Honestly frame rate based games just aren't that popular for MMOs, I'm not saying it can't work or won't ever work just that currently because alot of people are still on dial up (yes more than you can imagine are unable to get cable or dsl) developers prefer a more stat based percentage based math instead of real time accuracy (plus its just way cheaper when its not true real time).
More instanced based games on the other hand are able to handle real time accuracy somewhat better, though its still going to lean more infavor of who has the faster connection.

By the way, instancing kills what an MMORPG is. It destroys the fact that you have a massive open world. If DDO weren't instanced, I might be paying for it right now.

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Why is it that games 8 years ago could do it fine without much lag, and yet now we have multi-core CPUs and more bandwidth than ever. Yet doing the same thing we did 8 years ago will cause lag? There are more players, no doubt about that, but like I said, there is waaaay more processing power and way more bandwidth.

 

 

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Originally posted by Lazzerus

 

Most RPG's are turn-based. you hit, monster hits, you use skill, monster defends ect ect......... its just they way RPG's are. Action games have action and more skill involved, while an RPG will normaly take more strategy. And as far as I can tell most mmo's, especialy the big ones are RPGs, not action games.

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Well the games we're playing are real-time, so it doesn't make sense not being able to move out of the way to dodge. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Golden Sun. Turn-based RPGs can be great, but MMORPGs are not turn-based. I'm pretty sure you can even dodge missile attacks and magic attacks in Diablo, which is an RPG. You see, they're called MMORPGs, not Turn-based MMORPGs. Also, turn-based MMORPGs have to controlling a party of characters, and MMORPGs do not.

 

8 years ago, games didn't look like this.

Originally posted by Scottc

I'm starting at the bottom.  Why haven't any of the games on the market fixed this flaw?  It'd be nice if I had some control over my character.

It's no flaw.  Diff comp speeds effect players abilities to 'move' often and should not be a factor in play.  Movement can already be utilized by getting behind someone while they cast, getting out of bowshot range, or too close for it, etc,  moving out of the way for an attack just isn't feasable in a program.  Animations are usually just that, and the time you think you have to move isn't really there.

Originally posted by Player_420

This disgraces the point of MMO's...making a MMO more solo oriented. Also it totally ruins the point of Tolkiens work.

So I havent played in quite some time, but from the remaining player base, who REALLY want more solo focus?

This is not for trolling, I swear I REALLY wanna see this poll outcome.

UPDATE: I even voted for the "noobs only" option since I did at one time max to 50 in this game

BUT...I wish I had the rights to vote "bah I cat stand LOTRO"...because this game makes me very upset in many many ways.

erm, you don't play, haven't in some time, and don't like the game...

Troll in denial.

Originally posted by rikilii

Just because an event or a creature was never mentioned in the books doesn't mean it cannot have theoretically been part of Middle Earth.  The books don't purport to detail every gnat that every graced the land for it's miserable 4 hour life.

Now, that's not to say that I don't personally HATE some of the stuff they've put in the game, or how they did it, but overall, it's an enjoyable casual game, and at the current rates, a real bargain.

Damn, I used too many words.  I like the way you put it.

Originally posted by Player_420

Perfect, in all this time I havent seen any arguments against this with actual proof.

Odd, I just read the same string of posts and I saw some proof.  The fact that JRR didn't mention every single creature on the face of middle-earth, and just because he didn't go into detail about the location, history and status of every single balrog doesn't mean they aren't there.

The fact that we already have multiple Balrogs in the history of the world should be reason enough to accept the fact that there might still be one or two somewhere.  As with most fictional worlds, the original author often creates a landscape to be populated by the imaginations of others.  Tolkein's world is just a little more held down by legalities than some (like say Abeir-Toril), but to slam something just because JRR didn't actually put it into writing himself is short-sighted.

Middle-Earth is a world.  Even if he had another 50 years of writing in him, Tolkien would have been hard-pressed to fill in it's history in depth.  Turbine is doing that, and IMO they have been doing an amazing job of staying true to the nature of Tolkien's creation.

Besides all that... just chill out, it's only a game, if you don't like it - GTFO and play something else.

Originally posted by slannmage

If you're expecting PVP then I wouldn't hope for much because they arn't focusing on it and the classes are sooo unbalanced to the point that some classes wont even do damage to others. The problem also on PVP servers is it's very hard to find anyone and i played for a week or so and only ever saw about 4 or 5 people and that may sound crazy but it's true the population is sooo low and the cities are even more dead than EQ2.

Vanguard has alot of potential but it looks to me from the patches that SOE are just dumbing down the game instead of taking advantage of that giant world they woulda done alot with.

That's too bad, it looks interesting, wish I could have gotten into it a bit more.  I'll try again soon, just looking for some LOTRO action.

Update:  I started playing - and my PC started beeping at me.  Must be time to get the dust out.

More to come, I hope=)

...is just about to begin.  I'm going to post a small bit after every session and provide yet another viewpoint on this semi-controversial title.

If anyone cares, I started gaming with EQOA, moved to the good old SWG, then onto WoW and EQ2 when they launched.  Left EQ2 early due to unfinished content (my entire crafting prof recipe book was empty for over at least 2 months, couldn't make anything.. I think I was a provisioner, can't remember now) and stayed with WoW.  Played CoH upon release, but that was insanely easy with the character I built, and I found myself attending as many Paragon-Radio hosted parties as I did actually levelling..so I left that.  I was still playing WoW, went back to SWG for a bit, but it was done for me, played EVE for 4 months or so but got tired of the extensive training lengths... and DDO at release, I actually really like the essence of the game, just couldn't deal with the lack of open world exploration (and Im a realms fan, nay to eberron for me).  I did go back to EQ2 for a while when it was all fixed, and built up a nice Warden, but the amount of people running away from me to zoning points drove me nuts so I left that too.   I beta tested AA, TR, LOTRO and a few others.  About a month ago I started playing LOTRO again, I still love that game, although I did take a huge break.   And still playing WoW.  I just really like being able to PvP when I want, my schedule is tight these days and sometimes I only have a few minutes to play...

Anyway, now I'm going to try VSoH, finally.  I'm excited about this game, especially coming in after so many bug fixes.  But I am going in with open eyes, and I'll stop by here to tell you how I honestly feel, and at the end if I buy or not.

That's all, bbs.