Tag: Lord of the Rings Online

Lord of the Rings Coming To Europe: November 2nd.


Rolled a Natural 20

Lord of the Rings Online went free to play in North America on September 10th, leaving the European fans with nothing more than speculation on when Codemasters would follow suit. Original claims of technical difficulties spiraled into Codemaster’s General Manager Dave Solari announcing that the issues were contractual rather than technical, earlier this month.

Well the wait is finally over, as an announcement on the Codemasters LOTRO website revealed November 2nd as the official launch day for Lord of the Rings Online free to play, bringing with it Volume III: Book 2, the LOTRO store, and more. Those of you not currently playing on the American Lord of the Rings servers will certainly be happy to hear it.

MMO Fallout wishes Codemasters luck. We’re all counting on you.

Preview LOTRO Europe, Finally! Next Week!

Starting next Monday, the 25th, Codemasters will open up the test realms for Lord of the Rings Online’s transition to free to play, which you can sign up for here. Codemasters is saying that the more people who sign up, the faster the testing can take place (meaning the testing is likely for stability and population capacity under high stress) and the faster that the service can transition on the live servers.


Here's your dice, Europe

It’s almost Friday, which means we’re about a day early on the weekly Lord of the Rings Online: Europegate update, but who cares about keeping up to nonexistent traditions? We have good news finally! Starting next Monday, the 25th, Codemasters will open up the test realms for Lord of the Rings Online’s transition to free to play, which you can sign up for here. Codemasters is saying that the more people who sign up, the faster the testing can take place (meaning the testing is likely for stability and population capacity under high stress) and the faster that the service can transition on the live servers.

Is anyone still reading this? Good. Those of you who sign up and participate in the trial will receive 500 Turbine points (or would they be Codemaster Points?) towards the store once the game goes live. The only information we have on timing is “shortly thereafter,” which can mean anything coming from the company that told us over a month ago that the European service would go free to play in “just a couple weeks,” granted their issues were contractual and thus irrelevant to this new update.

Will this be enough to bring back European players who are on the North American servers, likely some of whom have invested both cash and time into their new characters? Only time will tell.

The Technical Issues Are A Lie: Codemasters Reveals


No Dice, Europe

I’ve been speculating for a while now that there is more to this delay of Lord of the Rings Online in Europe than Codemasters has been explaining. On my earlier articles, I noted my thoughts that Turbine had something to do with the delays, although my assumption that Turbine was attempting to take back LOTRO in Europe was obviously incorrect. Codemasters’ General Manager David Solari put out a notice today that the issues were not, in fact, technical, and that Codemasters was having contractual issues that were delaying the launch of LOTRO F2P EU.

“This is the reason why we have been unable to provide you with any substantial information as to when we will go Free-to-Play, despite the desire to share this with you.
Unfortunately a contract was required in order to go Free-to-Play and this has taken much longer to conclude than expected.”

My money says this can be traced back to money, namely how much Turbine wanted in royalties and how much Codemasters wanted to pay under the new contract. Either way, the contract has been concluded, and Codemasters is on their way to a full free to play launch.

We can confirm the launch is imminent and we should be able to announce the dates later this week/early next week.

You can read the rest of Solari’s comments at the above link. More on Lord of the Rings Online as it appears.

LotRO America Seals Deal Sucking In EU Players…


No Dice, Codemasters

MMO players are subjectively patient. As any player can tell you, delays happen for many reasons. An update that wasn’t tested properly, a wayward system that was unable to handle the server load, maintenance that had to be extended longer than expected. As players, however, we have our temporary ways around this system. Our server going offline may lead us to an alt we have on a more reliable server, or if the game is down universally we may go play another game. Often times, however, these events build up until our temporary fix becomes permanent. The guild might be relocating to this new server, or a player might quit the game out of frustration and go join another.

I’ve been entertaining the idea that Turbine must be loving the fact that Codemasters has fully bugged up the Lord of the Rings Online relaunch in Europe, because my research into both the European and American LOTRO forums turns up a lot of disgruntled European players packing bags and downloading the American client, foregoing their current characters and achievements in return for a system that should have been in place a month ago. Of course, one might expect that players coming over to the American servers will be less inclined to stay when Codemasters makes their move, over server location and lag issues.

But, what if Turbine made an offer that would entice European players to keep their American accounts, and even fork over some cash? As I write this, the Turbine sale is going to end in one minute. Today, Turbine placed three major quest packs on sale for 75% off each, offering 300 quests combined, a few new factions, and new instances.

Granted, this wouldn’t be the first time a developer sucker-punched one of its publishers right in the teeth, but for some reason I never saw such an event coming from Turbine. Yes, Turbine has a masters degree in “hey let’s give this a shot,” but (assuming my theory is correct) I don’t think we could have seen such an event coming where Turbine would be actively drawing subscribers from Codemasters.

Hopefully this works out for Turbine, and LOTRO worldwide. More on Lord of the Rings Online as it appears.

Trolls Beware: Lord Of The Rings Online Is Thriving


You have defeated a level 20 troll.

There is still a group of players who cling to the old ideology that free equates to terrible community, imminent shut down, and dying developer. I don’t think I need to count out how many people were screaming on forums before the Lord of the Rings Online free to play shift about how this would ruin the game, and that current subscribers would drop the game like a sack of rotting flesh-bricks, and how the community would be inundated with children and social deviants who would do nothing but grief (read: making Chuck Norris jokes over region chat).

So when I forward Turbine’s announcement at GDC that their revenue has doubled, with over half of players using the Turbine store, I recognize that people will simply deny this information as Turbine misrepresenting facts to inflate their figures. There is no convincing someone who flat out denies Turbine’s figures of the free to play launch having a bigger reception than the game’s original launch, or that 20% of past subscribers have returned to the game, or that peak player counts are triple their previous level.

I personally have a premium account, seeing as I bought the Lord of the Rings special edition for $1 in a Christmas sale some years ago, but I have yet to put any money into the Turbine store. One can argue long term stability, but ultimately all we have to go on is speculation as to whether or not the game will sustain these figures. Over half of your game’s population using the cash shop is an incredibly high figure, however, presuming Turbine doesn’t include the VIP subscribers who receive an “allowance” of Turbine points each month.

Perhaps this is just a boom for Lord of the Rings Online, but Turbine can worry about how the population levels out as it happens, rather than listening to screams more frantic than the children playing in traffic outside my window.

Codemasters: No F2P Yet, No More Welcome Back


No Dice, Europe

It’s time for another weekly “When Is F2P Coming To Europe?” update. Unfortunately, not only is there still not estimated time, Codemasters announced last week that they would be unable to sustain the Welcome Back promotion that LotRO Europe had been enjoying up until this point, although the 5% bonus promotions will still pop up from time to time. The following was posted today on the European forums.

Dear players,

Whilst we don’t have any dates or concrete information to share with you as yet, the good news is that it looks like the major challenges we were facing are nearly resolved and we will be moving forward with the next step of Free to Play implementation for the European service shortly.

At this stage we are optimistically looking to have plans finalised sometime next week at which stage we will be able to give you more solid dates of when we hope to proceed with the launch.

As always we thank you for your patience and do apologise for the continued delay of this launch.

You can sticky up that link for direct updates, and hopefully Codemasters will remain on track for next week’s burst of information. MMO Fallout will continue your weekly updates on Codemaster’s transition to free to play. In the meantime, European players have been playing on the North American servers. There are, as of yet, no IP restrictions on creating an account and signing in, although you will need the North American client.

F2P Vs P2P: Making The Food Comparison


(How) do you pay?

October here on MMO Fallout is all about free to play (a topic I intend to touch upon this month) vs pay to play, but I wanted to start this month off by giving an analogy between the two systems. By this point, I don’t think anyone takes free to play verbatim, as in not having to pay to play the game. Nowadays, free to play generally means supported by some form of VIP subscription (freemium), cash shop, or combination of the two. There is something to be said about the real meaning behind free to play, but that is a discussion for another day. Today, I want to make the food comparison between free to play and pay to play, to give a better understanding as to why both systems can coexist in a game like Lord of the Rings Online or Everquest II.

When thinking of free to play, the first thing that comes to mind is likely cash shops. A free to play game is more akin to entering a restaurant with a free entrée coupon. You are enticed because you’ve always wanted to try that chicken souvlaki, and this is your perfect opportunity. Now, unless you go the cheap route and ask for a glass of water, odds are you’ll be getting a drink. I hear nothing washes down souvlaki like a good glass of red wine, but some of you might go for a soda, or perhaps a glass of milk (who drinks milk with dinner?). Either way, you’re up to a couple bucks on the table. The cute waitress asks you if you’d like an appetizer, and you are rather hungry thanks to your breakfast/lunch of the leftover lasagna someone left in the fridge, so you opt for the endless soup and salad bar. Finally the waitress gets your souvlaki order, and asks you if you would like to add any side dishes. Before you know it, your free Souvlaki entrée is now a meal consisting of soup, salad, red wine, roasted potatoes, grilled asparagus, that free cup of water, and a nice strawberry mousse for dessert. You walked into the restaurant preparing to be a cheap-ass, and now you’re looking at a $20+ bill. But the souvlaki was free.

That is essentially free to play in a nutshell. If you find a game you truly enjoy, odds are you’ll find yourself spending cash on it faster than you can even keep track. A few dollars here, a few dollars there, and suddenly you’re paying more than subscribers are paying on their pay to play games, only they don’t have the core game to go back to once they stop payment, and you’re having fun while you do it.

Subscription games, on the other hand, are like an all you can eat buffet. You throw the guy at the counter your ten bucks and sit down to four long tables of ever-replenishing food. Sure you would never pay money to eat those tiny octopus that are on the table, but why pass up the chance now? In the mood for chicken? You can have your choice of chicken, honey chicken, sweet and sour chicken, chicken wings, chicken fingers, barbecue chicken, roasted chicken, and that’s just one section of the table. Grab a slice of pizza, then a bowl of soup if you feel like it. Fill up your plate with barbecue ribs and crab legs, then head back for roast beef and potatoes. Just don’t leave anything on your plate, or you’re in for a long talking to about starving children in China. All in all, the buffet may not have your souvlaki and a drink like red wine will cost more than the included soda, but overall you can fill up whether you are among the sampler (try a little of everything) or the “the world is going to end tomorrow, I’d better store some body fat,” kind of person. The only difference is that here the tray of crab legs isn’t bum-rushed and cleared out in two seconds.

Subscription games allow you to try it all without having to pay extra. For the most casual of the bunch, you might be paying more than you are getting out of it, but the choice and availability of options makes paying the extra bit worth it. The hardcore will feel like they are eating like kings for the cost of eating like a peasant, and will clean their plates sucking down each and every bit of content that can fit into their gaping maws.

Neither system is intrinsically better than the other. With the free to play option, you are able to get your core gameplay, and still spend a few bucks on extras tailored to what you want, and can even save money over the monthly costs of a subscription game. On the other hand, subscription games offer you extras you might not have considered on the free to play game, and can open your eyes to features you may have missed out on or brushed off as unnecessary because they cost a few dollars.

Now: Does anyone know a good souvlaki restaurant in New York? This article is making me hungry.

Follow MMO Fallout on Twitter (@mmofallout) or subscribe in the upper left hand corner to get update notifications delivered immediately via email.

Looking Back, Moving Forward: September 2010


True next gen capabilities.

It’s time to change the MMO Calendar, which can only mean it’s time for another Looking Back, Moving Forward. September brought upon us life, as well as death, and a whole lot of free to play.

It’s been over a month since Earth Eternal shut down, following Sparkplay’s demise. Even though the game was sold off during an auction back at the end of August, there hasn’t been much word out of Earth Eternal’s Facebook or Twitter pages. MMO Fallout is still looking for news on this ongoing story, including just who bought up the game to begin with!

Speaking of delayed action, although Lord of the Rings Online in North America launched its free to play turnover on September 10th, its equivalent in Europe, hosted by Codemasters, has yet to follow. Going off of claims of lack of preparation, Codemasters is still giving no concrete date on when the transition will take place.

Speaking of free to play titles, Sony’s Pirates of the Burning Sea announced its transition to free to play, following Everquest II Extended and Lord of the Rings Online. There is no set date, but Pirates will be following the formula of its predecessor from SOE, Everquest II, with the cash shop.

Generally we’ve had some sort of prior notice to a game shutting down, usually between one and four months, sometimes longer. When Realtime Worlds announced that All Points Bulletin was shutting down, they gave us one week’s notice, with no real date given at the time. All Points Bulletin shut down just 90 days after it launched, making it the shortest lived (launched) mmo in history. Exteel, the mech-based MMO, was NCsoft’s latest MMO to shut down, a free to play venture with a cash shop and, as some players referred to it, a “pay to win” system. Exteel’s shut down, unlike APB’s, was rather unsurprising due to NCsoft’s past actions with the title.

Cryptic Studios revealed why the Klingon faction in Star Trek Online will not be pumped full of content to the point where it rivals that of the Federation: Because there aren’t enough people playing Klingon to justify setting resources on it. Of course, few players play Klingon, in a grating circular motion, because there isn’t enough content for the faction.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Adventures launched this month, to an odd reaction. Disregarding the idea that this is technically a kids game, much of the reaction appears to be from people far outside this game’s intended audience. As I pointed out in my article, there’s a very good reason you don’t see professional journalists going out and reviewing Imagine: Party Babyz.

Mortal Online’s Henrik claimed that the upcoming Epic Patch will be so big and change the game so drastically that it will be like Mortal Online 2. The so-called Epic Patch is set to go live at an unconfirmed date, but will contain everything including a new patcher, higher resolution, new inventory, new AI, new game master capabilities, and more.

The lawsuit between Quest Online and David Allen is finally over, with both sides wiping post after post off of the internet. Following the recent settlement, a few MMO Fallout viewers noticed that both Derek Smart and David Allen have had blog posts and comments on third party websites wiped clear, perhaps part of the settlement.

Final Fantasy XIV launched at the end of the month to mixed reactions, but luckily with Square Enix backing the title there is no chance of FFXIV heading underwater by the end of next month (November). The latest installment into the Final Fantasy MMO franchise won’t be making Aion or World of Warcraft flinch, but it will maintain a health population for many years to come. Those who would like to check out the game can do so via buddy invites.

Sorry Europe, Still No LOTRO F2P For Now…


Barcodemasters

Earlier this month, Lord of the Rings Online went hybrid-cash-shop in North America, with Codemasters’ European venture trailing behind due to perceived issues regarding preparation for this enormous event that would undoubtedly bring a major influx in population to the lands of Middle Earth. Earlier this month, Codemasters issued a release stating that they were aiming for the end of the month (September), but not to quote them on that estimation. Until that time, however, Codemasters has opened up all old accounts, granted a 5% experience boost, and have opened up free travel.

Well the end of the month is here, and if a notice from Codemasters is anything to go off of, the free to play launch is not coming today. Earlier last week, Codemasters updated their thread once again with a statement that the transition will not be coming for another couple of weeks. Until then, of course, European players can still enjoy either their own servers, or playing on North American servers.

More on Lord of the Rings Online as it appears.

Quote of the Week #2: Explaining LOTRO F2P To Non-Payers


Cheapskates will not enjoy F2P hybrid games. The point is not to make a quality product that costs millions to make and then allow everyone to run through it for free like charity. It is designed to make money.

You can either sub and avoid all the hassles. Or you can pay here and there to get past certain hassles. Or you can grind points in game to not pay a cent and get past hassles. The choice is up to you. But people expecting to have a game that they could just run around in and level all the way up etc. without having to either pay or grind are insane.

From the MMORPG.com forums, this one has been passing around for a couple weeks now, but I’m going to attribute it to user Snarlingwolf. Why? Just because.