Hobbits to Isengard - Q/A with Sapience notes on what was said

**frickinmuck** · Jan 17 2014, 09:23 PM

**LunisequiouS** · Jan 17 2014, 10:13 PM

Originally Posted by frickinmuck

Could we get an Arena for sparring?
There is one in the new HD area that was built with the hope that players would use it for sparring. I have no idea where it is - if anyone has any ideas let me know. There is also one in Evendim (at Ost Forod, the second Stone Marker quest takes you there).
Will there ever be a Bracketed Sparring Tournament?
Players have tried doing it. It takes a lot of work but it can be done (by players).
Disable sparring timers for tournaments?
Not likely they will be disabled, but he will pass on the suggestion to make them longer. Someone suggested that if they are extended then sparring should be removed from crafting and auction houses and he said that sounded reasonable.

It was suggested that the time limit for spars was removed or extended to a minimum of 10 minutes. Also he mentioned there was already a spar arena of some sort added in HD, if I recall correctly. Also people suggested they implemented group spars so fellowships and kinships could spar against each other.

**Occum** · Jan 17 2014, 10:17 PM

Originally Posted by frickinmuck

Please note: I am paraphrasing here. Anything said here is coming through my interpretation of what he said, and is subject to being corrected by him so don't take all this as gospel.

Thanks very much for doing this.

I'm hoping Turbine can post actual responses, or better yet transcripts on this forum so that customers don't have to do the work of summarizing what they say during an event that relatively few people can attend.

**whheydt** · Jan 18 2014, 12:42 AM

Originally Posted by frickinmuck

Disable sparring timers for tournaments?
Not likely they will be disabled, but he will pass on the suggestion to make them longer. Someone suggested that if they are extended then sparring should be removed from crafting and auction houses and he said that sounded reasonable.

I could go for that tradeoff.

**frickinmuck** · Jan 18 2014, 06:00 AM

Originally Posted by Occum

I'm hoping Turbine can post actual responses, or better yet transcripts on this forum so that customers don't have to do the work of summarizing what they say during an event that relatively few people can attend.

It's an extremely informal event - just casual in-game fun with people being able to chat with Sapience and a dev or two from time to time, and ask some questions. Not something where there needs to be official transcripts. I did this as a favour to people who couldn't attend, not 'as a customer doing the work of a company.' What an attitude.

There are going to be 29 of these in total, so there will be plenty of time for people to hop in one and ask a few questions of their own.

**Glumposneak** · Jan 18 2014, 09:53 AM

Originally Posted by frickinmuck

When will players council members be changing up?
They will be changing at anniversary time. A few exceptionally helpful members will be staying on, but the rest will be replaced. Applications will be posted in the forums.

They appear to be making it up as they go along. there are only a few members on the players council, and for them to keep some of them on, goes completely against what they said last year.

It also means that, even if this isn't factually correct, it certainly gives the impression to most of us that they want to keep a few of the council members on as they are both very good friends, and they agree with what Turbine are doing (yes men/women) etc etc etc.

What does exceptionally helpful mean? Turbine introduce an idea that other council members say wont go down well, but these exceptional people grovel and say it's the best thing since sliced bread?

if certain members stand a chance to be permanently on the council if they suck up to Turbine, I think that is likely to affect what they say to Turbine about their decisions.

My views on the council have got me in trouble in the past, so I wont repeat them here, what I will say is that this decision makes a very bad thing a lot worse.

**Isharra** · Jan 18 2014, 01:30 PM

Originally Posted by Glumposneak

They appear to be making it up as they go along. there are only a few members on the players council, and for them to keep some of them on, goes completely against what they said last year.

It also means that, even if this isn't factually correct, it certainly gives the impression to most of us that they want to keep a few of the council members on as they are both very good friends, and they agree with what Turbine are doing (yes men/women) etc etc etc.

What does exceptionally helpful mean? Turbine introduce an idea that other council members say wont go down well, but these exceptional people grovel and say it's the best thing since sliced bread?

if certain members stand a chance to be permanently on the council if they suck up to Turbine, I think that is likely to affect what they say to Turbine about their decisions.

My views on the council have got me in trouble in the past, so I wont repeat them here, what I will say is that this decision makes a very bad thing a lot worse.

I found this interesting also, since it says here:

"How long will the council serve? Can you be on the council forever? Who has oversight of the council?

The council will serve for a period of one calendar year. No player may serve on two consecutive councils. Towards the end of each year the council will be responsible for making recommendations for a small council that will be responsible for suggesting changes and improvements to the council system. "

I'm not saying I have a problem with changing things up to make things work better. This player's council is a new thing and some changes to how it works can keep it working the way it is intended to work. I am glad to hear that some members have proven themselves exceptionally helpful.

However, I am also a fan of consistency and keeping to your word. They made this council 150% of the initial proposed size because it was incredibly difficult to choose so few from such a large pool of awesome applicants. I would think they would be excited to choose a whole new crew to maximize their exposure to the aforementioned awesome factor. I also think it builds integrity to say you're going to do something and then follow through with it. It builds trust. Keeping some members but not others also sends a message that you appreciated some members' contributions less than others', and that seems like a likely start to some hard feelings.

Since it remains mysterious what goes on in the secret council room, we can't really say what constitutes 'more' or 'less' helpful in terms of what they are doing, but I bet those members are more the sort to produce long write-ups and thorough analyses of proposed ideas, people who say 'yes' or 'no' followed by detailed explanations. At least, I hope that's what's going on.

**frickinmuck** · Jan 18 2014, 02:54 PM

Originally Posted by Glumposneak

They appear to be making it up as they go along. there are only a few members on the players council, and for them to keep some of them on, goes completely against what they said last year.

It also means that, even if this isn't factually correct, it certainly gives the impression to most of us that they want to keep a few of the council members on as they are both very good friends, and they agree with what Turbine are doing (yes men/women) etc etc etc.

What does exceptionally helpful mean? Turbine introduce an idea that other council members say wont go down well, but these exceptional people grovel and say it's the best thing since sliced bread?

if certain members stand a chance to be permanently on the council if they suck up to Turbine, I think that is likely to affect what they say to Turbine about their decisions.

My views on the council have got me in trouble in the past, so I wont repeat them here, what I will say is that this decision makes a very bad thing a lot worse.

Yes, it does go against what they said last year. Thankfully some people, when trying out a new thing, take what they learn from the experience and use it to modify their strategy. If everyone stuck with their initial plan all the time, arbitrarily for no other reason than because it was their initial plan, then everything would be a gong show.

And this is a perfect example of how attitude defines our interpretation of things. You read "exceptionally helpful" and interpreted it as "people who grovel and suck up to Turbine" and I read "exceptionally helpful" and interpreted it as "people who challenged Turbine and gave them insights they didn't have before" or "people who put an exceptional amount of time and commitment into giving a lot of solid constructive insight and feedback."

Of course, at this moment we have no real way of knowing which interpretation is closer to the truth, but we won't have long to wait because I've no doubt they will give some explanation when it comes time to post the applications and let the players know who will be staying and who will be replaced.

And just to comment on "permanency." There was NO statement or implication that anyone would be there permanently. It could be that some members were helping with particular projects and will be staying on to see them through, or it could be that they will do another term and then be replaced as well. We have no information on that yet.

Also, "exceptionally helpful" was my phrase. I cannot remember his exact words, so I've given my best shot at conveying what he said.

**Palentian** · Jan 18 2014, 03:11 PM

Originally Posted by Glumposneak

They appear to be making it up as they go along. there are only a few members on the players council, and for them to keep some of them on, goes completely against what they said last year.

It also means that, even if this isn't factually correct, it certainly gives the impression to most of us that they want to keep a few of the council members on as they are both very good friends, and they agree with what Turbine are doing (yes men/women) etc etc etc.

What does exceptionally helpful mean? Turbine introduce an idea that other council members say wont go down well, but these exceptional people grovel and say it's the best thing since sliced bread?

To a certain extent, we ARE making it up as we go along. Well, I guess it would be more accurate to say we make adjustments as we go along. Sometimes things work well on paper, but in practice become wonky. Those who think that Turbine has hand picked a group of "yes men" will probably continue to think that, and holding a few over won't change that opinion one way or the other. But neither would starting with fresh faces. My understanding is that holding a few over is also to help get the next group started and smooth the transition. Once again, I invite you all to apply for the next term.

**Glumposneak** · Jan 18 2014, 03:26 PM

Originally Posted by Palentian

To a certain extent, we ARE making it up as we go along. Well, I guess it would be more accurate to say we make adjustments as we go along. Sometimes things work well on paper, but in practice become wonky. Those who think that Turbine has hand picked a group of "yes men" will probably continue to think that, and holding a few over won't change that opinion one way or the other. But neither would starting with fresh faces. My understanding is that holding a few over is also to help get the next group started and smooth the transition. Once again, I invite you all to apply for the next term.

Once again I have no interest in applying as I don't think the idea of the council is a good one.

What I will say is that if the council has to exist, if it wasn't such a secretive thing, then the opinion I have and the opinion many others have may well be very different.

It could be that the council are having a battle with Turbine, tearing their hair out at the way the game has gone, it could be they are best of friends and agree with each other and mock those that don't like the changes behind our backs (I have moderated a forum in the past and sadly many mods did just that), or it could be 1000 other things.

Thing is, we (non council members) don't know and when you have a secret society, rumors will naturally be rampant.

**Palentian** · Jan 18 2014, 03:58 PM

Originally Posted by Glumposneak

Once again I have no interest in applying as I don't think the idea of the council is a good one.

That's too bad. You clearly have a lot of ideas and suggestions. It is also the very best way to KNOW what happens on the council. Which I think is part of the reason many won't apply. Many people don't seem to want to know. They're happier with rhetoric.

What I will say is that if the council has to exist, if it wasn't such a secretive thing, then the opinion I have and the opinion many others have may well be very different.

This is a debatable point. It is entirely likely that even massive transparency would simply result in more focused attacks on us, rather than the general vagueness we get to deal with now. There's an old saying, "A man convinced against his will, is of his own opinion still."

Thing is, we (non council members) don't know and when you have a secret society, rumors will naturally be rampant.

First, use of phrases like "Secret Society" seem to be an attempt to inflate the ire. That's why we tend to ignore posts containing that. (yes, that means that sometimes good ideas get missed. Don't bury your good idea in rhetoric filled post.) Second, its the internet. Rumors run rampant regardless of facts. Sometimes, in spite of them.

**Sapience** · Jan 20 2014, 11:37 AM

Originally Posted by Occum

Thanks very much for doing this.

I'm hoping Turbine can post actual responses, or better yet transcripts on this forum so that customers don't have to do the work of summarizing what they say during an event that relatively few people can attend.

Because this is all conversation and spoken, there is no written transcript and none is planned. Anyone can watch these on twitch and they are also archived there so you can rewatch them

Originally Posted by frickinmuck

Yes, it does go against what they said last year. Thankfully some people, when trying out a new thing, take what they learn from the experience and use it to modify their strategy. If everyone stuck with their initial plan all the time, arbitrarily for no other reason than because it was their initial plan, then everything would be a gong show.

I think the selective quoting of the announcement should be properly addressed by spelling out that we are keeping our word as it was given as written in the full text of the announcement. The small council came and we are making changes based on their feedback and exactly what we said in the original announcement...

The Small Council Shall…

Participate in a face to face meeting with the LOTRO Team and Turbine staff if asked. Location to be decided by Turbine. (Travel expenses to be provided by Turbine.)
Provide feedback to Turbine and the LOTRO Team on the performance of the Player Council.
Suggest changes, improvements, or revisions to the Player Council.

So as you can see, we are keeping our word and the small council did exactly what they were supposed to do and we listened. No, for those who wish to continue to post false and misleading information, I remind you that it is a violation of the community guidelines.

**Thurallor** · Jan 20 2014, 01:46 PM

Originally Posted by Sapience

So as you can see, we are keeping our word and the small council did exactly what they were supposed to do and we listened. No, for those who wish to continue to post false and misleading information, I remind you that it is a violation of the community guidelines.

This response (and implied threat) seems a bit heavy-handed. Lying and misleading aren't the same as honestly misinterpreting.

**HoldumDown** · Jan 20 2014, 02:04 PM

Originally Posted by Thurallor

This response (and implied threat) seems a bit heavy-handed. Lying and misleading aren't the same as honestly misinterpreting.

These issues wouldn't occur if the whole process was transparent. Its Turbine's product to do as they see fit, but we can only guess and surmise at the reasons until we are told officially why certain changes are made as this process evolves. You adhere to the small print of the announcement while informing us that some council members will have their term of office extended. You can see how it looks.

This is another one of those intangibles that we've seen so often lately. Player suggested Mithril Coin hikes, Producers letters telling us they listened when vast numbers of us said we didn't want expansions any more.

**Giseldah** · Jan 20 2014, 02:30 PM

Originally Posted by frickinmuck

[*]Could we ever take a passenger on a horse?
It’s useful to think of horses as “horse pants” because that is essentially what they are, so that creates a technical issue that makes passengers extremely unlikely to ever happen.

I think it's possible.

Already from a year back maybe:

Weird back seat passenger.

**mykidstjz** · Jan 20 2014, 03:11 PM

Originally Posted by frickinmuck

I just wanted to post a bit of an update thread for people who couldn't be at the Hobbits to Isengard event today, with a few notes about what came out of the Q/A with Sapience. I will keep posting updates to this thread whenever I am able to attend a HtI event.

Please note: I am paraphrasing here. Anything said here is coming through my interpretation of what he said, and is subject to being corrected by him so don't take all this as gospel.

If anyone who was present has any additions or corrections, feel free to post.

Q/A Hobbits to Isengard - Elendilmir

Any updates to the Moors planned?
There is some stuff Jinjaah is working on that Sapience is not at liberty to discuss. Jinjaah talked at length about the Moors with a PvP player’s council member when they were out to Turbine, and it seemed a productive discussion.
Other questions re: Moors were around the visuals and graphics in the moors – will they be getting a significant update anytime soon, and Sapience was saying no, the focus will not likely be on the look or the graphics.
There were some fairly technical moors-related questions asked that I didn't quite follow, and Sapience said he's going to leave those to Jinjaah when he's able to come in and do the event, which he does plan on doing at some future point when he has time. A few players stepped in at this point and said that they did know the answers to some of those questions, and apparently a lot of the fixes for the issues discussed are coming next update, 12.2 (which Sapience said should probably be live next week sometime).
When will players council members be changing up?
They will be changing at anniversary time. A few exceptionally helpful members will be staying on, but the rest will be replaced. Applications will be posted in the forums.
Is there an age limit for players council?
Yes, you have to be 18+
Whatever happened to the global chat channel that was discussed before HD?
It is by no means dead – they are still working on it. A lot of it depends on when an engineer is available and has nothing else to do, which isn’t often. They need to also consider how many chat channels (if more than one) and what they might be.
Any update on the housing changes and what the timeline may be?
He has no news about that at the moment but will pass it on the second he does.
Could we get an Arena for sparring?
There is one in the new HD area that was built with the hope that players would use it for sparring. I have no idea where it is - if anyone has any ideas let me know. There is also one in Evendim (at Ost Forod, the second Stone Marker quest takes you there).
Will there ever be a Bracketed Sparring Tournament?
Players have tried doing it. It takes a lot of work but it can be done (by players).
Disable sparring timers for tournaments?
Not likely they will be disabled, but he will pass on the suggestion to make them longer. Someone suggested that if they are extended then sparring should be removed from crafting and auction houses and he said that sounded reasonable.
Bounders Bounty rewards, when will they be up?
As far as he knows they’re still working on getting the names together for the various statues on every server, so not quite ready yet, but will make a post when there’s more info.
Will Hobnobigans be returning? (this one comes up every HtI run)
Sapience says he will never give up on trying to get the devs to bring it back. It’s just one of those things that has to take a lower priority to other things so may take awhile.
Will the devs ever play huge trolls in-game?
Never say never. Could happen.
Could we ever take a passenger on a horse?
It’s useful to think of horses as “horse pants” because that is essentially what they are, so that creates a technical issue that makes passengers extremely unlikely to ever happen.
What is the likelihood we will someday get a boat or a horse cart ‘mount’ even just for fun?
He doesn’t think anything like that is in the works but he will pass the suggestion along.

Thank you for taking your personal time and posting this for other players to see.

**frickinmuck** · Jan 20 2014, 03:56 PM

Originally Posted by Thurallor

This response (and implied threat) seems a bit heavy-handed. Lying and misleading aren't the same as honestly misinterpreting.

I don't see anything heavy-handed here. I've many times seen people continue to post distortions even after they've been proved wrong. I'm glad Sapience has proactively tried to ensure that doesn't happen here. I started this thread and I am hoping to keep it going with more updates. I don't want to see it derailed by negativity and inaccuracies.

Originally Posted by Sapience

I think the selective quoting of the announcement should be properly addressed by spelling out that we are keeping our word as it was given as written in the full text of the announcement. The small council came and we are making changes based on their feedback and exactly what we said in the original announcement.

Thanks for the clarification. I wasn't aware of the selective quoting of that letter.

Originally Posted by mykidstjz

Thank you for taking your personal time and posting this for other players to see.

You're welcome!

Originally Posted by Giseldah

I think it's possible.

Already from a year back maybe:

Weird back seat passenger.

Hehe - was that a glitch or something?

Ah, never mind. I think I know what happened - you and another rider were overlapping on a stable route. Hehe. Cute.

**Bel-Astarte** · Jan 20 2014, 05:51 PM

Originally Posted by Thurallor

This response (and implied threat) seems a bit heavy-handed. Lying and misleading aren't the same as honestly misinterpreting.

So I guess you missed the nasty bit about Turbine making the rules up for the Player's Council as they go along?

**Lothirieth** · Jan 20 2014, 06:02 PM

Originally Posted by Bel-Astarte

So I guess you missed the nasty bit about Turbine making the rules up for the Player's Council as they go along?

Did you miss the bit where a council member (Palentian) said that to a certain extent that's what they are doing? Or the bit where the poster in question said point blank "It also means that, even if this isn't factually correct"?

**frickinmuck** · Jan 20 2014, 07:02 PM

Can we please just stop the bickering? The issue has been clarified so let's just put it to rest.

**Widoch** · Jan 20 2014, 07:06 PM

Anyone can watch these on twitch and they are also archived there so you can rewatch them

Where would these be? http://www.twitch.tv/lotrostream/profile/pastBroadcasts doesn't have them.

**HoldumDown** · Jan 20 2014, 08:49 PM

Originally Posted by Widoch

Where would these be? http://www.twitch.tv/lotrostream/profile/pastBroadcasts doesn't have them.

Memory Holes, everywhere. Don't mention Glumposneak either, you know how the party is about discussing unpersons.

**Palentian** · Jan 21 2014, 10:45 AM

Originally Posted by Lothirieth

Did you miss the bit where a council member (Palentian) said that to a certain extent that's what they are doing? Or the bit where the poster in question said point blank "It also means that, even if this isn't factually correct"?

In any organic system, you kind of have to make it up as you go along. Sometimes you run into situations that were unforeseen, or the reality of an issue was something other than expected. You have to make alterations to a plan or idea to accommodate. In this way we are making it up as we go along. It sets a precedent for future councils, but I also fully expect future councils to make what ever adjustments they deem necessary. I did not mean that we are totally making everything up.

**frickinmuck** · Jan 22 2014, 05:18 PM

Please note: I am paraphrasing here. Anything said here is coming through my interpretation of what was said, and is subject to being corrected, so don't take all this as the final word.

If anyone who was present has any additions or corrections, feel free to post.

Q&A Hobbits to Isengard - Elendilmir

Any updates to the Moors planned?
There is some stuff Jinjaah is working on that Sapience is not at liberty to discuss. Jinjaah talked at length about the Moors with a PvP player’s council member when they were out to Turbine, and it seemed a productive discussion.
Other questions re: Moors were around the visuals and graphics in the moors – will they be getting a significant update anytime soon, and Sapience was saying no, the focus will not likely be on the look or the graphics.
There were some fairly technical moors-related questions asked that I didn't quite follow, and Sapience said he's going to leave those to Jinjaah when he's able to come in and do the event, which he does plan on doing at some future point when he has time. A few players stepped in at this point and said that they did know the answers to some of those questions, and apparently a lot of the fixes for the issues discussed are coming next update, 12.2 (which Sapience said should probably be live next week sometime).
When will players council members be changing up?
They will be changing at anniversary time. A few exceptionally helpful members will be staying on, but the rest will be replaced. Applications will be posted in the forums.
Is there an age limit for players council?
Yes, you have to be 18+
Whatever happened to the global chat channel that was discussed before HD?
It is by no means dead – they are still working on it. A lot of it depends on when an engineer is available and has nothing else to do, which isn’t often. They need to also consider how many chat channels (if more than one) and what they might be.
Any update on the housing changes and what the timeline may be?
He has no news about that at the moment but will pass it on the second he does.
Could we get an Arena for sparring?
There is one in the new HD area that was built with the hope that players would use it for sparring. I have no idea where it is - if anyone has any ideas let me know. There is also one in Evendim (at Ost Forod, the second Stone Marker quest takes you there).
Will there ever be a Bracketed Sparring Tournament?
Players have tried doing it. It takes a lot of work but it can be done (by players).
Disable sparring timers for tournaments?
Not likely they will be disabled, but he will pass on the suggestion to make them longer. Someone suggested that if they are extended then sparring should be removed from crafting and auction houses and he said that sounded reasonable.
Bounders Bounty rewards, when will they be up?
As far as he knows they’re still working on getting the names together for the various statues on every server, so not quite ready yet, but will make a post when there’s more info.
Will Hobnobigans be returning? (this one comes up every HtI run)
Sapience says he will never give up on trying to get the devs to bring it back. It’s just one of those things that has to take a lower priority to other things so may take awhile.
Will the devs ever play huge trolls in-game?
Never say never. Could happen.
Could we ever take a passenger on a horse?
It’s useful to think of horses as “horse pants” because that is essentially what they are, so that creates a technical issue that makes passengers extremely unlikely to ever happen.
What is the likelihood we will someday get a boat or a horse cart ‘mount’ even just for fun?
He doesn’t think anything like that is in the works but he will pass the suggestion along.

**frickinmuck** · Jan 22 2014, 05:30 PM

Please note: I am paraphrasing here. Anything said here is coming through my interpretation of what was said, and is subject to being corrected, so don't take all this as the final word..

If anyone who was present has any additions or corrections, feel free to post.

Q&A Hobbits to Isengard - Evernight

Hobnanigans
He reminds the team of the desire to bring it back as often as he can
Best system to play the game
The best system you can afford. He recommends 64 bit OS, fastest processor you can afford, discrete video card.
Update 12.2 when is it up and will it affect the HtoI event
Live tomorrow. No, nothing in the update should affect the event.
Balancing
12.2 does have some balance changes to it, especially to monsters. They are well aware that it’s going to be a need for the next few updates. They recognize things are a bit too easy in most places and will continue to adjust as needed.
PVP server recommendation
Depends on your time zone, etc. and when the server is most active. Impractical to make any official recommendations.
Are some zones inherently more laggy
Yes, the more graphically intense an area, the more foliage, etc. and the higher your graphic settings, the more lag there will be. When you add players, mounts, etc. all of that is going to add to your fps load because your computer is having to work a lot harder.
What about on servers where 80% of players are in the Ettens at one time
There is no such server.
Kate Paiz surprise
No, he will not be spilling the beans on that.
Plans to make an android or ios app
No current plans to make an app, but never say never.
Do you deal with Inifinite Crisis community at all
No he does not
Most desirable and least desirable part of job
Most desirable - Interacting with, meeting members of the community, coming out of the meeting where he has been vocal about what the community would want and coming away knowing they’ve made the right decision, one the community will like. Least desirable - being called names. Not fun but it doesn’t rise to the level of dislike that people doing it probably hope though. He lets it roll off.
Where do you get feedback to bring back to the dev team
Everywhere. Forums, comments in the HtoI events and ones like it, twitter, facebook, comments on gaming articles, fansites, kinship sites, even youtube comments.
Archive of the streaming event
Last one didn’t archive but this one and the rest moving forward will be
This years goals for the game
Kate Paiz’s letter gives a good overview. As we get closer to the big updates – 13, 14 etc, there will be a lot more detail.
Will Captain yellow line be adjusted
Doesn’t know about specific lines, but does know that they are looking at each class and making adjustments as needed.
Turbine contributing prizing for events like Winterstock
A lot of people aren’t aware, but if you send Sapience a PM on the forums and let him know your event and when it is, if he can get any prizing for you he will.
Update 13 when will we hear more
Sooner than you probably think. He’s actually working on stuff right now. There are area revamps planned (yes, plural). Another 20 questions call for questions later this week.
Will we ever be able to mail more than one item (attachment) at a time in-game
Significant technical issues to doing so, but never say never. Mail is a complicated system that requires lots of engineers. As a rule, the more simple and easy a change seems, the reality is often the opposite.
Favourite class
Hunter, ranger type on any MMO or RPG he plays.
Do the difference in the databases between North America and EU servers impact lag on the EU servers
No they aren’t those kinds of issues. The main thing that tends to affect EU servers is connectivity.
How long has he been playing LotRO
As a player since closed beta.
Borderless windowed mode, windowed full screen mode, multi-screen
No current plans to do that as far as he is aware. Does not know of any plans to support dual screen or multi-screen natively
Do all servers have the same specs
Yes, pretty much
Do some servers need more storage
some require more yes, based on population
Most populated server in the game
Changes based on time of day
Oculus Rift
He’s tried it. Doesn’t know of any current plans to support it in LotRO
Item XP runes converted to item xp points instead
Not aware of any immediate plans for that, but does know there are discussions happening about the legendary system in general
Legendary armour
There have been some discussions about it, there are significant challenges to that. He doesn’t know the status of that or the likelihood it will happen
Can we get a deed log update
He will pass along the suggestion
Custom skins
Go to lotrointerface.com and you can download some player-made ones there
Emerald shards in skirm camps
Not sure what the plans are with those, but will pass it on to the team
Are there any plugins officially supported by Turbine
They do not QA plugins, they just provide the API and framework for skinning. They tell people before calling customer support, try disabling them. Some plugins call a lot of data in memory and hold them in memory, contributing heavily to lag. If the plugin is well coded and maintained it should be fine, but if you find after installing a plugin you find you are having performance problems, uninstall it. Turbine does not debug or manage the plugins in any way so it’s really up to the plugin developer to deal with that.
Making a plugin into a feature
They are aware of a lot of the plugins, but don’t have any specific plans to turn any of them into official game features.
Which plugins do you use
Wallet plugin that keeps gold onscreen, uses onebag. Doesn’t personally endorse any plugin over another, doesn’t want any impression that he endorses one because they have no control over the plugins or their coding.
Where did the HD music come from
Helm’s Deep music was done in-house, and the soundtrack is available online https://soundcloud.com/turbinegames/...e-rings-online
Why do healers offer salves and not draughts
Doesn’t know, will bring that up to the devs, there may be a reason for it
Are there any Lotro babies
Not aware of any but he’s met some of the married couples and knows of many people who met through the game. He thinks Merric and Goldenstar were together before LotRO so their baby doesn’t count. He doesn’t know of anyone who met, married and had a kid via LotRO.
Any mount design contests coming
Nothing currently planned, but they do talk about it from time to time
Are there any German/French community managers, will they help when HtoI gets to those servers will they be there too
There are and you will find them on the forums. They may well be a part of the event when we hit those servers to help with translations.
Cosmetic weapons
Not something they’re looking at doing at any time in the near future
Any talk about letting creeps into other areas
Nothing he’d call serious talk, no
Does the team ever feel restricted by the lore
The content team wouldn’t likely tolerate going too far off the lore. They are as heavily invested in the lore as the players. They are dedicated to bringing the lore to life, and bringing key moments in the story to life is a big thrill to them. They are their own worst critics on lore and they know their stuff really thoroughly.
Housing updates
Can’t comment on that yet, but Soon™.
Do you plan to somehow connect Isengard with West Rohan
Doesn’t know at this point
Fiddles/Violins
Doesn’t know of any current plans to add more instruments, but it could happen
Visual updates to old regions
Not sure how much of it is visual, but there are revamps to regions happening with update 13, and there will be more info on that as we get closer to that update
Prizes for this event
Nothing apart from bragging rights at this point, although he has made a couple of suggestions, such as turning on a server-wide event that the other servers don’t get, or an XP weekend that the other servers don’t get or something like that, but nothing is set in stone. Someone in Twitch chat made the hilarious suggestion for guardrails in Rivendell for the winning server.
Someone suggested that Laurelin would have to camp if nightfall hits when they are doing their run, which would kill their time. LOL
Do people need to be on Facebook or Twitter to be in on the next closed Beta
No. The bulk of those on the Helm’s Deep beta were not from Facebook or Twitter, they were invited. A lot of VIP but also a sizeable group of free and premium players.

Thread: Hobbits to Isengard - Q/A with Sapience notes on what was said

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