Looking Back: The Ballad of Bingo Boffin

[Brandon_Blackbird]

Hello all

I realise im a little late to the party as i only recently returned to LOTRO and although ive gone through some of the Bingo story im not sure if i should carry on as im still not sure what this is, im a little confused by people saying its finished. Is this a permanant feature in the game and the story has ended or is it about to be removed from the game all together ?

Sorry if im a bit behind on this i was away for sometime and there is alot about LOTRO i dont know about at the moment.

It's a permanent addition. We're only saying it's "ended" because it was a serial adventure that went on for 52 weeks, and is now finished.

[HunterGreen]

One thing I loved, loved, loved, loved about the Bingo quest and its finale that doesn't seem to have gotten a lot of mention either here or on the other thread is seeing the Maur Talhau hobbits and the Shire hobbits meet one another. And getting to see that from both sides, each of them seeing some kindred, and some oddness, in the other, and ultimately finding a lot more common ground than strangeness. Such a beautiful testament to the essence of hobbitness. That comfortable contentment with the normal and distaste for the strange, but also that strong sense of kindred and community, all wrapped up into a single thing. I really think that, while J.R.R. might well find LOTRO itself baffling and off-putting, he would take that particular story (if presented as a story), puff on his pipe, and conclude, "Yes, that's right."

[LordKernigit]

It's a permanent addition. We're only saying it's "ended" because it was a serial adventure that went on for 52 weeks, and is now finished.

ok thanks for clearing that up for me, after reading the OP im glad i havent missed out on anything.

[Feirlain]

One thing I loved, loved, loved, loved about the Bingo quest and its finale that doesn't seem to have gotten a lot of mention either here or on the other thread is seeing the Maur Talhau hobbits and the Shire hobbits meet one another. And getting to see that from both sides, each of them seeing some kindred, and some oddness, in the other, and ultimately finding a lot more common ground than strangeness. Such a beautiful testament to the essence of hobbitness. That comfortable contentment with the normal and distaste for the strange, but also that strong sense of kindred and community, all wrapped up into a single thing. I really think that, while J.R.R. might well find LOTRO itself baffling and off-putting, he would take that particular story (if presented as a story), puff on his pipe, and conclude, "Yes, that's right."

Indeed.

(Who knows...we may even have to attend a wedding in the future... :P)

[OldMadeOfLions]

Thanks for the kind words, everybody! There were a few things I forgot to mention in my Looking Back post, and one of those was the teleport between Enedwaith and the Andrath that happens during 'Through the Blockade.' That was always going to be the case, because building a zone to connect the two in time for Bingo's adventure was way out of scope, but I had thought of connecting the two with a continual teleport just like the Gap of Rohan.

And then I didn't. One of the reasons I didn't is because I didn't want the existence of Bingo's journey to preclude us from actually building a zone there. It wouldn't be a huge thing to take out a teleport if we did add the connecting land, but the existence of a teleport does make it easier to say, 'Nah, players can already travel between these two areas... why do we *really* need it?'

The Last Bert was originally going to be an All-In-One Bert, but when everybody on our end got excited about making Bingo rewards, we ended up having too many of the things, and the Last Bert had unique rewards that would have been lost in the list of Every Bingo Reward Ever. I've been thinking about having an All-In-One Bert show up for future festivals, if that's a thing that people want.

MoL

[Arnenna]

Thanks for the kind words, everybody! There were a few things I forgot to mention in my Looking Back post, and one of those was the teleport between Enedwaith and the Andrath that happens during 'Through the Blockade.' That was always going to be the case, because building a zone to connect the two in time for Bingo's adventure was way out of scope, but I had thought of connecting the two with a continual teleport just like the Gap of Rohan.

And then I didn't. One of the reasons I didn't is because I didn't want the existence of Bingo's journey to preclude us from actually building a zone there. It wouldn't be a huge thing to take out a teleport if we did add the connecting land, but the existence of a teleport does make it easier to say, 'Nah, players can already travel between these two areas... why do we *really* need it?'

The Last Bert was originally going to be an All-In-One Bert, but when everybody on our end got excited about making Bingo rewards, we ended up having too many of the things, and the Last Bert had unique rewards that would have been lost in the list of Every Bingo Reward Ever. I've been thinking about having an All-In-One Bert show up for future festivals, if that's a thing that people want.

MoL

I don't really thing a teleport from Andrath to Enedwaith would be used that much. After all, it's much faster to just stable from South Bree to Lanuch, than to ride all the way to Andrath, then ride the Enedwaith end on arrival. It would be great though to see an actual zone in there sometime.

As for Bert, I would like to see an All-in-one version at some point. I have two characters fully loaded with points, but the thought of riding around all the locations to pick up rewards keeps making me say - "yeah, I'll do that tomorrow/" lol. My lazy side coming out That said, I can live without it.

[thinx]

My feedback on this one:
A great story, well laid out characters, nice dialogs, well embedded in the existing stories. I liked it. It was also great that story end locations were close to milestons every week.

Of course there is room for improvement:

• Less running. Some quests were of the to and fro style. There is a kind of running that is good for the story, but there is also the other one.
• full translation. Some people from my kin that do not speak english were dissapointed.
• better layout of some "riddles". I did not like the ones at Wildermore. The ones at weathertop were fine, but there finding the right path to an already found object was difficult.

Still, these types of stories, helping out another adventurer on whatever quest, were definitely those things I liked in many other RPGs (e.g. Baldurs Gate). There you had the possibility to have them as members into your group, but the bingo implementation was also fine.
A person looking for an old piece of family heritage (compare to lost inn), a person looking for fortune (or just a new life) somewhere else, continuing the story of the couple in Cliving, a merchant delivering stuff from Bree to DA, hunting a thief, whatever.

[Saintjoan]

Thanks for the kind words, everybody! There were a few things I forgot to mention in my Looking Back post, and one of those was the teleport between Enedwaith and the Andrath that happens during 'Through the Blockade.' That was always going to be the case, because building a zone to connect the two in time for Bingo's adventure was way out of scope, but I had thought of connecting the two with a continual teleport just like the Gap of Rohan.

And then I didn't. One of the reasons I didn't is because I didn't want the existence of Bingo's journey to preclude us from actually building a zone there. It wouldn't be a huge thing to take out a teleport if we did add the connecting land, but the existence of a teleport does make it easier to say, 'Nah, players can already travel between these two areas... why do we *really* need it?'

The Last Bert was originally going to be an All-In-One Bert, but when everybody on our end got excited about making Bingo rewards, we ended up having too many of the things, and the Last Bert had unique rewards that would have been lost in the list of Every Bingo Reward Ever. I've been thinking about having an All-In-One Bert show up for future festivals, if that's a thing that people want.

MoL

Having an all in one Bert at festivals would be great.

[Oelle]

i agree, having an all in one bert would be great.
i bought nearly nothing on the adventure, but think about putting all (or as many as possible) maps in my home. in a way, that you can walk around the house and can rethink about the journey.
still, i dont feel like i like to chase after every bert to look which maps he has and if i can afford all big ones or have to buy small ones partially etc. if all was in one, i'd need much less time for that :P

[Ardineck]

Thanks for the kind words, everybody! There were a few things I forgot to mention in my Looking Back post, and one of those was the teleport between Enedwaith and the Andrath that happens during 'Through the Blockade.' That was always going to be the case, because building a zone to connect the two in time for Bingo's adventure was way out of scope, but I had thought of connecting the two with a continual teleport just like the Gap of Rohan.

And then I didn't. One of the reasons I didn't is because I didn't want the existence of Bingo's journey to preclude us from actually building a zone there. It wouldn't be a huge thing to take out a teleport if we did add the connecting land, but the existence of a teleport does make it easier to say, 'Nah, players can already travel between these two areas... why do we *really* need it?'

The Last Bert was originally going to be an All-In-One Bert, but when everybody on our end got excited about making Bingo rewards, we ended up having too many of the things, and the Last Bert had unique rewards that would have been lost in the list of Every Bingo Reward Ever. I've been thinking about having an All-In-One Bert show up for future festivals, if that's a thing that people want.

MoL

Yes, I do want an all-in-one Bert. In fact, I posted that very suggestion (along with one much less likely to be considered) already on one of the threads containing responses from you.

Maybe inside Bingo's home (just Bert, of course) or add one small "quest" (just so players can be made aware of the vectoring) to escort Bert from outside his house up to the Mathom House or inside the Michel Delving Inn, where he could stay permanently. It would be nice to be able to find a one stop shop, available after completing all phases.

[Vilan]

Just put a bulletin board beside the final Bert that has all the items available. Done.

[Thorwynn]

Maybe we could have a special Bert Backarack to do hat rack trade-ins.

[Tirian-Hammerfist]

Thanks for the kind words, everybody! There were a few things I forgot to mention in my Looking Back post, and one of those was the teleport between Enedwaith and the Andrath that happens during 'Through the Blockade.' That was always going to be the case, because building a zone to connect the two in time for Bingo's adventure was way out of scope, but I had thought of connecting the two with a continual teleport just like the Gap of Rohan.

And then I didn't. One of the reasons I didn't is because I didn't want the existence of Bingo's journey to preclude us from actually building a zone there. It wouldn't be a huge thing to take out a teleport if we did add the connecting land, but the existence of a teleport does make it easier to say, 'Nah, players can already travel between these two areas... why do we *really* need it?'

MoL

While I would have loved to have seen a connection between Enedwaith to Andrath, I'm glad that this wasn't put in place if it would have precluded developing a zone there in the future.. While, having looked at the TerrainMap, I realised that it is a pretty large area to cover, I feel something in the vein of Western Gondor (using mountains to cover a fair chunk of the area, particularly closer to the borders with the Lonelands and the Trollshaws, but still allowing a fair amount of terrain around them), would ensure that we got to see key things like Tharbad and up to Sarn Ford, but would reduce the scale of the task of developing the area.

That said, I'd still like to see the Minhiriath/South Cardolan and Southfarthing regions come into the game at some point, and the lead up to the Scouring of the Shire seems like a perfect opportunity!

[Skro-Noleth]

And then I didn't. One of the reasons I didn't is because I didn't want the existence of Bingo's journey to preclude us from actually building a zone there. It wouldn't be a huge thing to take out a teleport if we did add the connecting land, but the existence of a teleport does make it easier to say, 'Nah, players can already travel between these two areas... why do we *really* need it?'

Of course we do! It's the zone where Tharbad's in (and many a roleplayer knows what it is about when we utter this name...)

Regards,
Skro

[Valakircka]

i really want all the closed areas ! why dont you open the area between andrath n enedwaith!
make a southerns npc(not attacking) southerns establisment n place Bert there in his shop with all the items!
start a new quest line with new heroes from there!
tks a lot, again, for your effort n the nice BB quest line!

[Feirlain]

MoL, I love your work, so don't get me wrong about the following...

I just don't see the logic behind not including swift travel between Andrath and Enidwaith.

It will literally be years before the development team gets around to this area (there is still Mordor, etc. that needs to be created). The swift travel option between these two areas would only be available to those that have completed the Bingo quests and would be an awesome perk/incentive for playing the whole chain (not that the terrific story and fun experience of Bingo's travels isn't enough already )

It just doesn't make any sense that Turbine would never develop this area simply because there was a single NPC that only some people could use (or even see) that would provide swift travel. That's like saying the Lonelands and a good chunk of the Trollshaws would never been developed because there is a swift travel option to Rivendell from South Bree.

So please, reconsider opening up the Royal Road for use. It would certainly be a great reward for finishing the Ballad of Bingo and make travel to the south much more convenient.

[Olgomil]

So please, reconsider opening up the Royal Road for use. It would certainly be a great reward for finishing the Ballad of Bingo and make travel to the south much more convenient.

/totally signed.

Sergio :-)

[Thoroval]

The Last Bert was originally going to be an All-In-One Bert, but when everybody on our end got excited about making Bingo rewards, we ended up having too many of the things, and the Last Bert had unique rewards that would have been lost in the list of Every Bingo Reward Ever. I've been thinking about having an All-In-One Bert show up for future festivals, if that's a thing that people want.

MoL

Simple solution and one that shouldn't require a lot of work. Make the last Bert an all-in-one Bert using filters, just l like every festival barterer has had for years due to the accumulation of rewards. Use both Bert <location> (in reverse order so the last Bert is at the top) as well as categories of items. I'd also suggest a separate filter just for the Hatracks by themselves and that a separate line item is added to allow acquiring the Party Hatrack in just one transaction (60 Bingo Badges I think). Optionally, include the level of gear with each of the Bert <location> filters, e.g. Bert in Michel Delving (level 5).

So, for example...

Filter By Profile:

• Bert at Bingo's Home
• Bert in Andrath
• ... <list all other Berts in reverse order>
• Bert in Bree-town
• Bert in Michel Delving
• Cosmetic Pets
• Cosmetic Rewards
• Hatracks
• Housing Rewards

[myfreezr2]

Thank you, MoL, for making one of the most engaging questlines in the history of the game. Even though I wanted to toss Bingo off a cliff a few times, or have him die in that underground river, he kept me logging back in every week, even when I was going through awesomeness withdrawal. I am very privileged to have taken part in this story, and would be very happy to see another round of episodic content in the future

Btw, if you need other ideas for the story behind another EC questline, there have been several great ideas from other players in the main Bingo thread. Any of these would make for a great storyline on its own

[Silmelin]

While I would have loved to have seen a connection between Enedwaith to Andrath, I'm glad that this wasn't put in place if it would have precluded developing a zone there in the future..

Same here! I don't want anything to lessen the chance of a new zone in the future

[Ranatuor_Erutron]

Tharbad for a new zone - my vote goes to that! I always remember the ICE "Thieves of Tharbad" book for MERP with fondness

And I think it would be brilliant to see Bingo at future festivals, even stood by the Party Tree? He's a bit of a traveller now, what's a journey from Michel Delving to Hobbiton to him? Hehe.

[Fredelas]

Thank you to everyone at Turbine who made this adventure possible. There's nothing quite like it in any other game I've ever played. I've been playing through Bingo's story with our foster kids for the past year, and it's always a highlight of their week. (We did miss a few weeks, so we haven't quite reached the conclusion yet.)

Our kids aren't quite old enough to play LOTRO unsupervised yet, but if it's still around in a couple years, I know they'll be excited to go off on adventures of their own. This was a fantastic introduction to the world of Middle-earth for them.

[Amorey]

Thank you to everyone at Turbine who made this adventure possible. There's nothing quite like it in any other game I've ever played. I've been playing through Bingo's story with our foster kids for the past year, and it's always a highlight of their week. (We did miss a few weeks, so we haven't quite reached the conclusion yet.)

Our kids aren't quite old enough to play LOTRO unsupervised yet, but if it's still around in a couple years, I know they'll be excited to go off on adventures of their own. This was a fantastic introduction to the world of Middle-earth for them.

Welcome Back Fred *cheers*

[TharbadThief]

Of course we do! It's the zone where Tharbad's in (and many a roleplayer knows what it is about when we utter this name...)

Tharbad for a new zone - my vote goes to that! I always remember the ICE "Thieves of Tharbad" book for MERP with fondness

I know, right!? :P

Too bad the city isn't in such a good shape anymore as it used to be...

[Datheor]

I am not sure if anything can be added to the final Bingo/Bert vendor spot...

But could we please have a, um, unique mount? Maybe one that is accessible only if you did the entire story? Even if it is just a Rattlepacks add-on for warsteeds? Or a standard mount (even a blanket would do) I am pretty sure RP'ers, collectors and just plain fans of the series would like something along these lines added (if possible) to show that well, we did this! Many of us remember the fun (fun?) of grinding out Meta Deed mounts when on level (Steed of Eriador... before all the changes!)

Anyway, just my two cents.