LoTRO's new Senior Producer?

[Sapience]

Timetables. When an announcement is made that involves something happening at an indeterminate date, give a determinate date when we will have an update on progress. Paid services have been down for 4 months, with nothing beyond a sticky saying they are down and will be back, possibly with updates. Surely you know it will or won't be available in the next month. Maybe update us on this every month saying: 'this service is not expected to be available in the next month. We will update you at the end of the month about the status of paid services.' Does an update to the sticky of that nature every month really take more effort than having to lock dozens of threads asking for exactly that information?

Sounds awesome on paper, destroyed instantly in practice. Dates changes pretty rapidly. I literally did not know the forums, as an example, were being pushed again until today. So you knew within about 90 minutes of my knowing. Previous forum changes also had a 1-2 day lead time. So again, much of what you suggest here sounds great, but in practice isn't really how things work.

Paid services, which are CS who also post their own updates (I'm not CS, it's a different team entirely) is responsible for that. But I will poke them, again.

Edit: Maybe I need to read a little myself as it appears a notice was posted today about an hour ago (though again proving how quickly some things can change) about at least one Paid service returning, FOR FREE.

[BotLike]

Thanks for the updates Sapience :-)

It would be far easier for you to simply appear only when good news are to be announced ( like some do ), but you don't and that's appreciated ( for me at least ) even if reality is very very very disappointing! ( Again , for me at least )

Looking forward for more of the developer answers since i found the first 20 really interesting.I hope you can continue in the same pace and not spare any critical or 'tough' questions.

I would very much like to hear some sort of update or teaser on the Lotr rights license , since there is like a year left to go.

I think in the case if Helm's Deep information, people are expecting it far too soon. Probably because RoR feels over and done with for many. I've never seen this degree of "senior-itis" so far before an expansion.

That's exactly what i feel at least. I got tired really really early this time.
You can't just force duration into content with low quality RNG's.

Next ~5 months without Lotro - 7 months if you add my 2 month withdrawal i've already completed!
Sad news , but cyber-life goes on!!!!!!!! : )))

[spelunker]

Sounds awesome on paper, destroyed instantly in practice. Dates changes pretty rapidly. I literally did not know the forums, as an example, were being pushed again until today. So you knew within about 90 minutes of my knowing. Previous forum changes also had a 1-2 day lead time. So again, much of what you suggest here sounds great, but in practice isn't really how things work.

Paid services, which are CS who also post their own updates (I'm not CS, it's a different team entirely) is responsible for that. But I will poke them, again.

Edit: Maybe I need to read a little myself as it appears a notice was posted today about an hour ago (though again proving how quickly some things can change) about at least one Paid service returning, FOR FREE.

You thought new forums were being launched this week up until lunchtime today? If things are really that shoestring at Turbine I'm really worried for the future of the game.

I at least understand perfectly that things can change. This isn't a request that whenever you announce something is coming/changing you name a date that you will tell us X or Y. Using the Helm's Deep example: it was announced with some vaugue descriptions of what we would get and said it is coming out in the fall. I'm not saying this announcement should have come with a statement like 'july 8th we will have an update with pricing' or 'July 8th we will announce a release date.' But simply saying 'we will provide an update on July 8th' and (honestly) re-assuring us on that date things are on schedule (or not) along with a next date for further info and maybe a teaser or two. Obviously Helm's Deep has to be more tight-lipped than smaller updates, but regular updates to announcements and ongoing projects in an official and visible way are vastly superior to what we have now, even if they aren't overly forthcoming or informative.

[Sapience]

Looking forward for more of the developer answers since i found the first 20 really interesting.I hope you can continue in the same pace and not spare any critical or 'tough' questions.

I would very much like to hear some sort of update or teaser on the Lotr rights license , since there is like a year left to go.

The point of the 20 Questions is that the answers be very honest and, maybe as some may see it, blunt. If the answer is no, we'll say no. If the answer is "it's complicated" we'll try to explain why it's complicated. This all came out of discussions with the player council. We're really honest with them and sometimes, no they don't like the answers, but they all appreciate that we gave it anyway and suggested we should share this info more broadly. So that's the who point of that Q&A process (and yes, that also means that more often than not you're seeing pieces of discussions we're having with the Player Council)

I can give you two sneak peeks at questions that will be answered in the next 20 Questions Q&A (currently slated for the end of this week).


Q13: I wish I knew the real reason for the lags and if and when you are going to eliminate them. I suppose it is a problem in the server code/engine and/or client/server protocol which is not easy to fix?

Q16: Given player concerns about the license and Turbine's relationship with Saul Zaentz/Middle-earth Enterprises, can you say anything about LOTRO ending in 2014 as some have predicted?

[Mysterion]

The point of the 20 Questions is that the answers be very honest and, maybe as some may see it, blunt. If the answer is no, we'll say no. If the answer is "it's complicated" we'll try to explain why it's complicated. This all came out of discussions with the player council. We're really honest with them and sometimes, no they don't like the answers, but they all appreciate that we gave it anyway and suggested we should share this info more broadly. So that's the who point of that Q&A process (and yes, that also means that more often than not you're seeing pieces of discussions we're having with the Player Council)

I can give you two sneak peeks at questions that will be answered in the next 20 Questions Q&A (currently slated for the end of this week).


Q13: I wish I knew the real reason for the lags and if and when you are going to eliminate them. I suppose it is a problem in the server code/engine and/or client/server protocol which is not easy to fix?

Q16: Given player concerns about the license and Turbine's relationship with Saul Zaentz/Middle-earth Enterprises, can you say anything about LOTRO ending in 2014 as some have predicted?

The only question that matters:

Q1: When is HD being released?
Q2-20: irrelevant

[Eartholloth]

Q16: Given player concerns about the license and Turbine's relationship with Saul Zaentz/Middle-earth Enterprises, can you say anything about LOTRO ending in 2014 as some have predicted?

Please please please do not answer it's complicated to this question.

[Sapience]

The only question that matters:

Q1: When is HD being released?
Q2-20: irrelevant

Not on the list.

Already explained a number of times the 'why' behind it.

[Eartholloth]

The only question that matters:

Q1: When is HD being released?
Q2-20: irrelevant

Really??? You don't wanna know if this game is going to be going past 2014???

[bohbashum]

Q13: I wish I knew the real reason for the lags and if and when you are going to eliminate them. I suppose it is a problem in the server code/engine and/or client/server protocol which is not easy to fix?

Q16: Given player concerns about the license and Turbine's relationship with Saul Zaentz/Middle-earth Enterprises, can you say anything about LOTRO ending in 2014 as some have predicted?

wow, given the feedback in those doom and gloom threads I honestly didn't think these would even be on the table for questions. for some reason I don't think these will be very positive. it's be kinda depressing to know by technical difficulties MC or large raids (24 people) might not get much better. still I admire your honesty to discuss this. I can't wait to see what you pluck out

One of Aaron's primary responsibilities was to speak with the press during releases. Hannah Foell (one of our other LOTRO Producers) who has been doing this with Aaron for some time now will be taking that on solo now, though we may throw devs, other producers, and hapless community managers in there with her from time to time.

tbh, I feel we jumped the gun a little...

we need to all give Hannah Foell a good /clap

well deserved promotion if she's been doing it for awhile partly anyway ^_^

[Mysterion]

Not on the list.

Already explained a number of times the 'why' behind it.

The "why" should be, "Why doesn't turbine like taking my money for a prepurchase?"

Really??? You don't wanna know if this game is going to be going past 2014???

I would only laugh if it were to all end in 2014.

[Tarlywyn]

Please please please do not answer it's complicated to this question.

or no

[BotLike]

or no

Agreed , no no!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Crell_1]

Edit: Maybe I need to read a little myself as it appears a notice was posted today about an hour ago (though again proving how quickly some things can change) about at least one Paid service returning, FOR FREE.

And lest anyone be confused by the term "Free"=Your Kin leader is a 'VIP' or have purchased Turbine Points within the last 45
Days.

[GV-Tanith]

Congratulations, Hannah, on your new job responsibilities!

I don't think Hannah has ever been formally introduced to the LOTRO community before. Perhaps she could take a few moments to tell us about her history with Tolkien, Turbine, LOTRO, and gaming in general.

I heartily agree. I've been following her highly entertaining Twitter feed for some time now, but have never seen her post here.

Hoping she pops in to say hello before she gets too busy to do so.

[Frisco]

And lest anyone be confused by the term "Free"=Your Kin leader is a 'VIP' or have purchased Turbine Points within the last 45
Days.

One could always find one trustworthy VIP to transfer leadership to just to place the ticket.

That said, it's a little strange to see this go free. I can only imagine that it generated few dollars and involved so little work that it should never have been a paid service to begin with.

[Maximilan]

The point of the 20 Questions is that the answers be very honest and, maybe as some may see it, blunt. If the answer is no, we'll say no.
[/B]

Thank you Sapience for your bluntness, communication with customers should be neither optimistic nor pessimistic, just informative. Amazing how this thread started with a misstated fact, but generated a wealth of information. I'm just glad we have a Community Relations representative that actually knows whats going on AND will share it!

Thanks to the Players Council for pushing the issues!

[furtim]

The "why" should be, "Why doesn't turbine like taking my money for a prepurchase?"

Maybe because people complained about Turbine's money-grubbing when they allowed Rohan pre-orders at this time last year. Just a wild guess.

[Sapience]

The "why" should be, "Why doesn't turbine like taking my money for a prepurchase?"

I think you misunderstand. No one said there isn't going to be a pre-purchase. We just haven't said when it will be.

I suppose one could make the arguement we haven't announced when we'll start the prepurchase for next year's expansion, too... or the one the year after that, or that....and so on.

[Glenwin]

Lol, Sapience, you know where people will take *that* answer!

[Sapience]

Lol, Sapience, you know where people will take *that* answer!

Yes I do. The irony though is in where people won't take it.

[PoeticNightmare]

I don't understand the rage behind HD announcements. They've stated they are not ready to announce. It's that simple. What do you want them to say if they are obviously still working out the details?! Do you want the details for Mordor also? Because that makes as much sense as the raging for HD info in my opinion.

Please, for the love of all the gods, just let them take their time and develop/discuss their own way. Whether they talk about it now or later won't change what you're playing now will it?

[Lohi]

Who (if anyone) steps into this role is a significant indicator for the future of the game - both in terms of direction and longevity.

But only if you know a lot about that person. Generally I know a lot about all these names, but I don't know at all what they specifically did, or how they were better or worse than someone else, or what the difference between Jack Johnson and John Jackson is. Mostly we see posts from the senior producers, and they've all been vetted by PR departments, but there's no real substance to judge just how good or bad the person is for the most part (unless they stick their foot in their mouth).

Now where it can end up kind of weird is if it's someone you've heard of in another arena and then you try to extrapolate. Ie, someone who used to be developer who worked on feature X becomes senior producer; then people will note the bugs with feature X and predict doom and gloom, or note that feature X was cancelled therefore the new senior producer is likely to cancel more features, or that feature X will now be extended to work in the Ettenmoors (fishing for infamy!), and so on. If you get an old known name then you know the person has some history with the game, but not how that history will affect their job or if they will be better or worse than someone hired who has never seen LotRO before.

In practice though almost everyone at Turbine I am sure is working as a team and we really can't predict from their posts how things will change if they become senior producers.

(My dwarf parents dropped me on the head as a child, told me it built character. Needless to say it leaves me a bit slow at times. I knew Rowan was new DDO senior producer, but it didn't dawn on me that he'd stop being LotRO producer... I hadn't throught about it, I guess I assumed he'd do both jobs :-)

[cossieuk]

I don't understand the rage behind HD announcements. They've stated they are not ready to announce. It's that simple. What do you want them to say if they are obviously still working out the details?! Do you want the details for Mordor also? Because that makes as much sense as the raging for HD info in my opinion.

Please, for the love of all the gods, just let them take their time and develop/discuss their own way. Whether they talk about it now or later won't change what you're playing now will it?

Why announce an expansion if you are not ready to talk about anything that is coming with the expansion. The announcement was over 2 months ago and all we know now is the exact same as we knew 2 months ago. In fact most of what we know about Helms Deep is the very basic stuff people expect from Turbine ie level cap rise, new landmass and a continuation of the epic story. The only other thing is that you can start contributing to the war effort from level 10 but we have no more info on how.

So why make an announcement on 24th April and then say nothing for over 2 months, why not wait till you have a little bit more to say.

[Sezneg]

Yes I do. The irony though is in where people won't take it.

Let me take a swing at this:

You guys will provide pre-purchase information once you are further along in finalizing the features list for the various editions you intend to sell.

If you launched pre-purchase now without solid information as to what is included the whole "they told us there'd be/wouldn't be a raid/instance" crowd would go nuts.

[Ailedra]

#1 Because some don't like the answers they hear and start to write trollish propaganda just like you were above by claiming to know what "many" in the community think. Speak for yourself or else it sounds ridiculous.

#2 Because some don't take the time to follow the game, its news, or the dev tracker. It'd be much like a Yankees fan who never watches games nor reads newspaper complain that the Yankees don't release enough information or communicate enough.

#3 Because some lack reading comprehension, which is understandable because sometimes we all (myself included) skim or skip things because we are (in a good or bad way) excited.

#4 Because some can't handle the truth that in all pc games under development, features and systems either get cut or changed. Every computer game I've followed for the past 15 years goes through these type of development cycles and cuts. But if Turbine drops or changes a feature, some people act with such extreme anger over "broken promises." Get over it, every pc development house be it mmo or single/multiplayer game, in every genre, has to drop "promised" features. Or else realize that is why Turbine has to be very careful before they say anything, because heaven forbid it changes later they’ll be treated like they are war criminals on these forums.

#5 Because some are born complainers and are going to complain and be negative no matter how much Turbine communicates.

#6 Because some think they deserve an "insiders" level of information and communication despite a very small financial investment in this game. For other types of software products you'd be paying $1000's per year for this type of privileged, insider access.

Turbine has made communication blunders, don't get me wrong. Not immediately communicating up front for the RoR raids being in the initial release or not was one of them. But to claim that overall Turbine doesn't communicate in enough detail or amount is, in my opinion, just about one of the most absurd and false things I've ever read on these forums.

I'll add one:

#7 Just like with every business, the negative sticks out more than the positive. As you say, Turbine has had some communication...let's call them "opportunities" in the past, and unfortunately, a couple of those have been highly public. So, when people form their perception, they remember those highly public mis-steps, no matter how forthcoming they've been since.

Turbine could be great at communication 98% of the time, but that other 2% entirely overrides the rest in (some) people's minds.