Summer LOTRO Executive Producer’s Letter

[Trixie_Me]

If "merger" makes a difference, then I propose the following.

1. 3 month voluntary move period for free from any server being identified as closed. Voluntary move name conflicts rules apply.
2. At end of the period, merge all of the servers being closed into a single new server. Resolve name conflicts by one of the sequences mentioned above.

This might work. I think 3 months is probably too long, but the idea itself has a lot of potential.

[danielbrown1969]

Do you really think so? I honestly believe that most people would be happier on a middle-pop server, not an overcrowded one.

The more crowded the server:

-the greater the lag (everywhere!)
-the more of a cesspit "World" or GLFF chat becomes
-the more competition for crafting resources
-the longer the queue to get into the server
-the less the immersion

I know "Grand Central Station" is required from some gamestyles (such as PvMP), but if you don't need to be part of the madding crowd, why subject yourself to it?

I agree. As a current player on CrickHollow (which is not expected to be closing), I would voluntarily move my 6 accounts to another less populated server IF it meant an increase in my FPS and a reduction in my lag/latency issues. While I wouldn't choose to be on a very low population server, I also would not like to be on a heavily populated server either.

[Sucamarto]

You will have 3 months past the date of the launch of the new service in which to continue playing on the smaller worlds while planning and or making your move to a larger server. After that point your characters will always be available to be transferred to one of the remaining worlds, however you will only be able to log in to the remaining servers. More details on all of this as well as detailed instructions on how to move will be provided in email, in-game mail as well as website and forums in the months to come.

Is there a list of Worlds that are going to be the ones closed down?

[Guardias]

Is it possible that the next update could also work on cleaning up the overcrowded and byzantine UI of the game?

[HeirOfNumenor]

Is there a list of Worlds that are going to be the ones closed down?

THIS......

Originally Posted by HeirOfNumenor

So are we to understand that by the end of September 2015 when the servers have moved to the new datacenters, that Turbine will then AT THAT TIME publicly announce the list of servers which are slated for closing?

No, the plan is for the announcement and the start of transfers to happen before then.

This is the best answer we have as to when we'll have the list of servers to be closed...

[Trobon]

Not if they haven't logged on since 2010 or earlier... that's not really established, that's inactive. lol.

Which is why I made a point to say that clearing inactives is a good idea. If you haven't logged on in over a year then you should get an email telling you that you need to log on to keep your name. It should have a 60-90 day window before the closures happen and then they're gone.

If a player is active then they shouldn't be renamed from under them when they have no options on who comes in.

[Senghound]

Even I don't have that many lol. I might have somewhere in the area of 50.

May horrify some of you, but over the 7 years I've played, as a lifer, I've created characters on almost every world. Most have 8-10. Did it to join friends/family who decided to start on a different world, but mostly to check out the different communities and play on some of the least populated worlds. Also meant I could save my favorite names on worlds I might spend a great deal of time on later. So it seems pretty easy to me...why don't those people so worried about keeping a name, log on to other worlds you might want to transfer to and 'reserve' your name, or an acceptable alternative? I'm not concerned at all about the mergers/transfers as I'll just decide which character I want to keep and rename then possibly delete the other after transfer. Or keep them both if they are offering extra slots. It might mean you do a little research and pick more populated worlds to create new toons, but its a better option than waiting for the rush. Maybe I got lucky but very few of my names were already taken when I created the extra characters, but even then it just took a letter change here or there to fix it.

As a side note I have a pretty good perspective on which worlds might be ending, but I'll leave it to all of you to think about the ways a player with access to all the non-EU worlds might figure that out...

Keep good thoughts. This isn't bad news for Turbine or us. It is a very well thought-out and fair way to strengthen and improve our playing experience and gives me hope that this wonderful game will endure for many more years!

[Celmet]

Very down-to-earth and beautifully said. Highlighted the importance of balance in the eyes of the devs and showed me exactly what problems that they were going to fix.

Thank you.

It's haiku. Frelorn just delivered it in one line.


Overall Balance

Is also something that is...

Being Worked on.


(feeling the urge to snap my fingers and nod in enlightened admiration)

[HeirOfNumenor]

If "merger" makes a difference, then I propose the following.

1. 3 month voluntary move period for free from any server being identified as closed. Voluntary move name conflicts rules apply.
2. At end of the period, merge all of the servers being closed into a single new server. Resolve name conflicts by one of the sequences mentioned above.

I actually like #2 as a concept.... I might be able to get all toons from both Vilya AND Nimrodel together at last

[Linathrial]

Hello again residents of Middle-earth!

I hope that you are enjoying Update 16: Ashes of Osgiliath as much as we are. The flowers of Ithilien are as beautiful as the destruction of war-torn Osgiliath is haunting.

Now that Update 16 is out, we are turning our attention to the next suite of work before us and I want to share some of those exciting developments with you. Our major content initiatives for the remainder of the year are:

• New PvMP Map: It is true, we are currently working on a new PvMP map which will take place in a version of Osgiliath. We are designing this space now and it should be going through its first round of feedback with the Player’s Council in the near future. It will also be getting extensive Beta feedback on Bullroarer when ready and released this summer.
• Adventures of Bingo Boffin: Also set for a summer release is this new episodic quest in which you will follow the trail of a new Hobbit friend Bingo Boffin as he traverses Middle-Earth. Each week a new episode of the quest will unlock showing you where Bingo is off to next.
• Minas Tirith: For the late Fall World Designer Chris Pierson is already hard at work carving this shining example of Middle-Earth beauty from stone…errr…ummm…code…a nd laying the ground work of an exciting and surprising take on the Siege of Gondor that will be unlike anything you have seen before. We are really excited about the plans, but won’t spoil them here.

In addition to our new content, we are kicking off a series of major service upgrades for The Lord of the Rings Online which should be completed by end of September of 2015. Let me outline the details of those changes.

• New Store: At the end of the month of June we will be transitioning to a completely new store that features more payment options, one click buys and a cleaner interface. As part of this transition, those of you relying on certain alternative payments will lose access to those payments beginning June 12th for a short amount of time. Within a month of that date, however, we should have a new store online that will provide many more payment options than we have had previously. We are also taking advantage of this opportunity to update and streamline the in game store to be a better experience all around.
• New Servers and Datacenters: We spoke about this Turbine wide upgrade at the beginning of the year and had expected to have it done by now, but weather and other obstacles set us back. We finally have some progress and we can safely say that by the end of September of 2015 we should have the servers moved to our new datacenters with upgraded hardware and Operating Systems. The US servers will operate from our new datacenter in New Jersey while our EU servers will move back to Europe and reside in our new datacenter in Amsterdam.
• Transfer Systems and Server Merge: To support the move to the upgraded server hardware we will be implementing an improved server transfer service that will run from the game launcher rather than a website. Once implemented, server transfers can be account or character based so that all your account level items including marks, Mithril coins, etc. can be transferred. We are also adding functionality that will allow Kin leaders to disband their Kin on one world and then recreate it on another maintaining status and achievements earned by that Kin over its lifetime. More details and breakdowns on all of this to coming in the next few weeks as we move into final phases of development and testing.

You will have 3 months past the date of the launch of the new service in which to continue playing on the smaller worlds while planning and or making your move to a larger server. After that point your characters will always be available to be transferred to one of the remaining worlds, however you will only be able to log in to the remaining servers. More details on all of this as well as detailed instructions on how to move will be provided in email, in-game mail as well as website and forums in the months to come.

• Other Features: There are a number of other features we are still developing and are not at the point of talking about yet for the remainder of the year. More on all of these things as they come closer to fruition.

So as you can see it will be a very busy few months. We are really excited for these changes and what they mean for the future of Lord of the Rings Online and we hope you are as well!

More from me and the team soon,
Athena “Vyvyanne” Peters
Executive Producer

Well done Turbine! This all sounds excellent.

The future of Lotro....I like that sound....because I'm a big fan.

Cheers.

[Xhiu]

... Also meant I could save my favorite names on worlds I might spend a great deal of time on later. So it seems pretty easy to me...why don't those people so worried about keeping a name, log on to other worlds you might want to transfer to and 'reserve' your name, or an acceptable alternative?

Have you tried to reserve:
Fhianna
Wulf[anything]
Lorieth
Alasse
Tyrion

I'm sure I'm forgetting some I've tried to reserve. (one on that list even)

[Xhiu]

It's haiku. Frelorn just delivered it in one line.


Overall Balance

Is also something that is...

Being Worked on.


(feeling the urge to snap my fingers and nod in enlightened admiration)

You are missing a syllable.

[Fumanciu]

To Frelorn:

Thanks for the reply. But I meant something else in my question, sorry for my english!
I asked if we could get a discount at least now on transfers from dead servers.
Gilrain is completely empty, we can't play anymore neither manage to make a raid with people from world, its crazy. Lots of people are stopping to play.
Please save it now before its too late, allow us some discounted transfers. Hope this goes into the feedbacks as urgent because its completely gone now.

[Steadfast11]

........ok

[Scirocco]

This might work. I think 3 months is probably too long, but the idea itself has a lot of potential.

3 months is what Turbine said in the Producer's Letter. I just went with it. All I suggest changing is that at the end of the period, instead of closing all the servers and leaving the characters remaining on those servers sitting in limbo, sweep them all up into a new "merged" server. They can even add in the server that just made the initial cut, so the total number of servers remain the same (effectively, it would be better to just move the "cut" up one server, so that everyone on those servers knew that that at the end of the road, everything left would be merged).

It probably would be better from Turbine's perspective to do this as well, rather than maintain some sort of database of characters-in-limbo, and a system that prompts them to choose a server when they log in. They'd have to maintain that in perpetuity.

[Solastrion]

Turbine has a working model to what they want to achieve with the resources available.

Why worry about things we have no control over.

There are no answers to date to your questions. Move on.

[Rufkin]

3 months is what Turbine said in the Producer's Letter. I just went with it. All I suggest changing is that at the end of the period, instead of closing all the servers and leaving the characters remaining on those servers sitting in limbo, sweep them all up into a new "merged" server. They can even add in the server that just made the initial cut, so the total number of servers remain the same (effectively, it would be better to just move the "cut" up one server, so that everyone on those servers knew that that at the end of the road, everything left would be merged).

It probably would be better from Turbine's perspective to do this as well, rather than maintain some sort of database of characters-in-limbo, and a system that prompts them to choose a server when they log in. They'd have to maintain that in perpetuity.

In the end, I don't like this idea because if someone does choose to start up lotro a year from now, and they were forced into a server merger instead of left to transfer wherever they please. They will have to pay to find their friends, unless they get lucky and their friends were merged as well. Add to that, if all the inactives were somehow enticed to come back, they would probably make a much larger over-population than Brandywine. Thankfully, at the moment it is not the plan, as they've laid it out to us.

Something that many posters in this thread completely forgot or are trying to ignore:

Naming Priorities: One of the main concerns is of players keeping their names. We are looking into a change in the way name conflicts are handled to give priority to the active characters. More details as this feature develops.

So it is obvious to me; Turbine agrees that leaving the naming convention as it was is not the most fair option in forced transfers. I hope they have been successful and that they will be releasing those new guidelines with the coming list of server closures soon.

[Rhoewyn]

In the end, I don't like this idea because if someone does choose to start up lotro a year from now, and they were forced into a server merger instead of left to transfer wherever they please. They will have to pay to find their friends, unless they get lucky and their friends were merged as well. Add to that, if all the inactives were somehow enticed to come back, they would probably make a much larger over-population than Brandywine. Thankfully, at the moment it is not the plan, as they've laid it out to us.

Something that many posters in this thread completely forgot or are trying to ignore:



So it is obvious to me; Turbine agrees that leaving the naming convention as it was is not the most fair option in forced transfers. I hope they have been successful and that they will be releasing those new guidelines with the coming list of server closures soon.

That isn't really what was said. It did not say naming rights would not be similar to what is in place, aside from the caveat of activity being mentioned. So what it will come down to is the definition of active. If you have created characters a month ago to reserve names and never entered the world, is that inactive? If you have a played a character to level 40 then stopped 3 years ago, is that inactive? What if you play on your account but just not that character? On same server? On different seer? Turbine will establish a criteria but I think it's reading too much into it to say they are going away from current right-to-name-er-server convention. They will establish the definition of inactive, and those folks will lose their rights. Doesn't mean after that one exception it won't still be first on server gets the name.

If they don't do it first to name on server, and the window is open 3 months, do you all realize someone that has spent the entire last 6 years on Lando could be forced to rename a single character a half dozen times in theory as every couple weeks someone with 7 or 8 years transfers in and bumps them? Do people really think that is more fair to the player and server community that the 8 year player having to come up with an alternate spelling? To me that notion is absurd. Saying its account age as opposed to server tenure introduces all kinds of chaos like that. Maybe Turbine will surprise us all and come up with a new convention that allows for multiple "Bobs" via the introduction of a surname or user created title that works with the database.

[Vinteal]

Hi Frelorn and Vyvyanne,

I love all the new upgrades, especially with the payment options in the store. I am really excited and looking forward to everything. I've been playing for almost 3 years. I consider myself a casual gamer. My question is, will there ever be any new hobbies other than fishing? If not, I have an idea for a music-themed hobby called Barding. Music is heavily steeped in Tolkien lore, since he wrote several songs, ballads, poems, etc...

[Basics of Barding] So, players travel to Bard locations and buy sheets of music, which will show which instrument is required to play it. This requires the player to learn the instruments from other players who can mentor it, or pay mithril coins to have the Bard teach them. When they meet the proficiency requirements, then they travel to another location in Middle-Earth to perform it for Hobby points.

[Rewards] For fishing rewards, there were fishing trophies for housing decoration. I suggest that each region has a Barding deed that will reward you with Music for housing. However, this would require removing the Audio rewards from faction reputations. There could be a Meta-deed for performing at all the Bard locations in Eriador, Moria, Rhovanion, and Gondor. Maybe the reward could be a supreme/rare gold instrument set (or new instrument), or a new emote, or a new cloak, or something to entice people to want to pursue this as a hobby. And of course, there could be new titles, like "Bard of Eriador/Moria/etc..."

This kind of hobby would be simple to implement in my opinion. I always love to see more content for the casual gamers.

[Rufkin]

That isn't really what was said.

It is quite clear that you don't agree with changes to the naming convention. However, that quote is taken directly from what she said. Turbine wants to accommodate players instead of forcing name changes after forcing transfers. Yes, 'active' was not defined, and yes, the statement clearly is not a guarantee. You're right that some players will lose out if account age has any weight. The best way to avoid that is to leave as many of the original servers intact as possible.

Trixie_Me outlined quite well a version of what I hope the Turbine Team is trying to accomplish. Some effort to appease the players that will be losing there homes/kins/community should definitely be made, and then we can all share the burden of difficulty that we will face instead of one group treating the other as second class citizens with no hope of keeping anything, including their characters' names.

Tera has the right idea. Thanks for posting that. Assuming they can't accommodate people by requiring surnames (or similar solution - which would be ideal), here is what sounds fair to me for resolving a naming conflict:

1) Has one player not logged in on that character for 6 months (or longer)? If so, that is the player that should be required to find a new name. If both are currently playing characters with that name...
2) Has one player been a subscriber (in any form) for all of the last 6 months? If one player has not, that player should be required to find a new name. If both are current subscribers...
3) Is one of the characters under level 20 and the other over? If so, the under 20 should be required to find a new name. If both are over...
4) The character with the most /played time should be allowed to keep the name. That would allow rpers and crafters who don't necessarily make leveling a priority (I know some who don't have a max level character even though they play daily) to be considered fairly.

I would change the level in number 3 to 30 (because 20 is just too easy to reach).

[cdq1958]

Tera has the right idea. Thanks for posting that. Assuming they can't accommodate people by requiring surnames (or similar solution - which would be ideal), here is what sounds fair to me for resolving a naming conflict:

1) Has one player not logged in on that character for 6 months (or longer)? If so, that is the player that should be required to find a new name. If both are currently playing characters with that name...
2) Has one player been a subscriber (in any form) for all of the last 6 months? If one player has not, that player should be required to find a new name. If both are current subscribers...
3) Is one of the characters under level 20 and the other over? If so, the under 20 should be required to find a new name. If both are over...
4) The character with the most /played time should be allowed to keep the name. That would allow rpers and crafters who don't necessarily make leveling a priority (I know some who don't have a max level character even though they play daily) to be considered fairly.

After 8 years, there are just too many inactive players taking up good names - and too many reserved names that will never see the light of day. And that is just not fair to active players. My guess (and yes it is a guess) is that 1-3 will handle 90% of the naming conflicts that will arise. If it comes down to 4, well, we'll all just have to put our big girl panties on.

My own case is a perfect example. Of my 7 characters, 1 seems to have been added to the LOTRO reserved list, 3 are available and 3 are taken on what would be my server of choice. After adding them to my friends list, I can see all 3 of the taken names are under level 20. One is level 1, another is 3 and one is 15. None of the 3 have recent log ins - at a minimum 5 months, but possibly several years and 5 mos since they don't show the year.

Freeing up these inactive and unused names is the fairest solution for all active players. And if you do end up loosing your name to someone else, under rules like this you have have a much greater chance of getting your second or third choice.

Also, after giving it some thought, I sincerely hope they do not allow people to transfer to just any server. If they do, it will probably going to be a mad rush to the two most heavily populated servers and will not have any real benefit for the other servers that are left without healthy populations.

I have a question, and if what I'm thinking of is possible; there could be major discontent. What if ./played has a display or other bug that results in an incorrect value? Would Turbine then have to put up a disclaimer akin to "Malfunctions void all plays and pays"?

[Beaniemooch]

I have a question, and if what I'm thinking of is possible; there could be major discontent. What if ./played has a display or other bug that results in an incorrect value? Would Turbine then have to put up a disclaimer akin to "Malfunctions void all plays and pays"?

What if someone has a little farmbot toon that's on 24/7 and has a higher /played than a standard toon who plays only when the individual is actually there? So many holes in the cheese of naming issues.

[cdq1958]

What if someone has a little farmbot toon that's on 24/7 and has a higher /played than a standard toon who plays only when the individual is actually there? So many holes in the cheese of naming issues.

Only too true. That's why I am of a mind that optional additions to names combined with make everyone rename with a first come is first served policy that is the only 'fair' thing to do. The next 'fair' thing to do is for server incumbents to have priority. They keep their names unchanged, if they wish. Tie-breakers could then apply to immigrants as needed or as feasibly implemented.

[Trobon]

Only too true. That's why I am of a mind that optional additions to names combined with make everyone rename with a first come is first served policy that is the only 'fair' thing to do. The next 'fair' thing to do is for server incumbents to have priority. They keep their names unchanged, if they wish. Tie-breakers could then apply to immigrants as needed or as feasibly implemented.

If server incumbents do have priority and there are few changes to the system in place then I think they need to do a name trashing for anyone who has been inactive for over a year. They can send out an email warning people, but in the end they should clear some space from those who aren't playing any longer.

[Mortal_Effects]

Hi Frelorn and Vyvyanne,

I love all the new upgrades, especially with the payment options in the store. I am really excited and looking forward to everything. I've been playing for almost 3 years. I consider myself a casual gamer. My question is, will there ever be any new hobbies other than fishing? If not, I have an idea for a music-themed hobby called Barding. Music is heavily steeped in Tolkien lore, since he wrote several songs, ballads, poems, etc...

[Basics of Barding] So, players travel to Bard locations and buy sheets of music, which will show which instrument is required to play it. This requires the player to learn the instruments from other players who can mentor it, or pay mithril coins to have the Bard teach them. When they meet the proficiency requirements, then they travel to another location in Middle-Earth to perform it for Hobby points.

[Rewards] For fishing rewards, there were fishing trophies for housing decoration. I suggest that each region has a Barding deed that will reward you with Music for housing. However, this would require removing the Audio rewards from faction reputations. There could be a Meta-deed for performing at all the Bard locations in Eriador, Moria, Rhovanion, and Gondor. Maybe the reward could be a supreme/rare gold instrument set (or new instrument), or a new emote, or a new cloak, or something to entice people to want to pursue this as a hobby. And of course, there could be new titles, like "Bard of Eriador/Moria/etc..."

This kind of hobby would be simple to implement in my opinion. I always love to see more content for the casual gamers.

This is one of the first great suggestions I have heard with regards to another hobby. I like the idea.