Feedback: Producer's Letter March – 2011

[cicdle]

lol sorry i never read the books so was not sure never knew there was talking animals in lotr like chronicles of Narnia

They let dwarves talk, why not more intelligent creatures?

/couldn't help myself

[Sapience]

lol sorry i never read the books so was not sure never knew there was talking animals in lotr like chronicles of Narnia

You can run across a couple of them in the Shire.

[Draken-Korin]

So far I am very pleased with the Free to Play transfer. I am a beta lifetime account member, I can say Turbine has done a very good job of keeping LOTRO a top MMO on the market. However I am not happy about the LI relic scroll issue. I would rather spend my Turbine points on perks. I don't wish to rant but on it, but keep it simple. So here it is.

I feel that if there was a in-game quest to gain a scroll it would solve many hard feelings some players have about being forced to buy this item. As a lifetime member I can pool my TP(500 per month), but for new players..this seems like a cash grab to me.

I have faith in Turbine. This from a AC2 player

[Laire]

lol sorry i never read the books so was not sure never knew there was talking animals in lotr like chronicles of Narnia

Go read them! Start off with the lighter "Hobbit" to encounter a few talking animals... ravens and a great dragon especially stand out... and then go to the denser, larger LOTR

[MurkyMajare]

I wonder if the delayed raid will replace the raid promised with Isengard, or if it will be in addition to the Isengard raid. (Whether a part of that package or not).

Also, am I to understand that there will be no updates between May and Isengard in December?


As for the quote
"The improved Morale potions and Battle potions of Restoration have also found permanent places on my hot bar, as have my new milestones."

I fear that these pots will be "required" in the new raids/instances, as they would be balanced towards using them and tested with characters that has access to them.

Which makes me wonder... how is content tested on Palantir anyways? Are instances run with characters with average or low quality equipment, or just high/maxed characters?

[TaintedEvil]

Store Plugins - definitely a turn off. I fear the day that this game is completely built around the store, and unfortunately it seems like its getting closer every day. That turned the entire post sour for me at least. That and the new update being full of little advertisements for the store. Little buttons that jump out and say "buy me! buy me!"

I just hope Isengard is not another Mirkwood.

[spikeywikey]

Hi, thanks for the info about coming updates! I would like to take a second to respond.
I also enjoy the new content like many other people. It is challenging yet fun and not overly tedious. I play on crickhollow primarily and started with F2P, so my gear is a bit lacking for tier 2 stuff, but I am working on it!
My main issue is the PVP content. First, the free people's armor requires shards from the delving of fror, which to be honest is not the most fun place. Also it would be nice for free peoples to get their pvp ranks and flat out buy the gear with coin, not pve grinding. A lot of people tend toward one side of the other.
Secondly, I think the creep changes are a step in the right direction... I honestly would like to see creep raids and freep raids almost on equal footing. With the new update and future updates free peoples dps is going to far surpass creep dps... I would like to see creep skill and passive updates to keep up with freeps. Some kind of a pvp skirmish with even teams would be a nice addition to the raid zone too ^_^. And lastly, it seems that some undergeared free peoples complain about well... being underpowered. Please try the pvp out for yourselves on both sides and come to equally fair decisions.
Keep up the good work
P.S. Stealth class with 50% healing debuff? What were you thinking? May as well give freeps a lightning bolt that instantly vaporizes a creep of choice.

[JasonEvan]

I think the Store generally puts people off. Don't get me wrong, I like to peruse the items, but when a high ranking employee starts their letter off with a store plug or two, it leaves a sour taste. I have really enjoyed the new content, but have had some pretty bad issues with it as well. Getting locked out of the gate for the Tree Wing in OD was more than off-putting and not getting a GM response when 4 of us posted tickets and waited 45 minutes. When the producer cites that as our "patience" it's kind of a slap in the face. I had a similar issue with Stoneheight. I still haven't gotten credit for beating the final boss on Tier 1 or 2. These issues all seem like Class "A" bugs to me. They are as game-breaking as a crash/lock. I would even go so far as to say they are worse, because if my game client crashes in town, I can just restart. A gate in the game NOT opening at the final boss fight for 12 people is worse in my opinion. So to have the Producer in the letter just "thank me for my patience", it feels like a really canned, insincere response to the problem.

Sometimes I feel there is a distinct disconnect between player>Community Support>Turbine Decision Makers and feedback. The store comments at the beginning of this producer letter kind of cement that for me.

One last thing: There should be a "Custom Stat Pack" to mix and match 5 different Tomes of Agility/Vitality/Might etc.

[Lohi]

While saddened to hear about the raid not being finished,

But the current raid is less than two weeks old...

[Lohi]

Well to be fair the letter was a little forum trollish. It plugged the store heavily, it brought up a cool raid that is being pushed back a release, it mentions more skirmishes, and its biggest news was low level and fluff stuff. That is practically a bingo.

It hyped the store very slightly only at the start. The majority was not about the store. It brought up a raid that I hadn't even heard of, there's no reason to trash them based on the time since I think most raiders haven't even finished the current one yet, and this has never been a raid-heavy end game. It announced more instances and skirmishes. This sounds like BIG news. I'm baffled why it makes people angry.

[Macfeast]

lol sorry i never read the books so was not sure never knew there was talking animals in lotr like chronicles of Narnia

Ah, that explains the question, my apologies. Well, there are a fair number of talking animals in Middle-Earth, some of which we even see speaking in-game (the warg-chief in the Misty Mountains, for example).

I must admit, I did not believe we would see another dragon with the next raid. Still, the part about the lip-synching caught my interest; Thorog, being a wight, was not very articulate. Encountering a dragon speaking, and in general acting more like Smaug, and less like a wild animal gone berserk, ought to be an interesting experience.

[Travisimo]

I don't get it. Some people are never happy... we have updates almost double as quickly as before, and still some people are scorning Turbine. I didn't much like the gap between instances either, but now they have picked up the pace a ton.

Another thing I glanced at higher in the thread... why does Isengard=December? Last I checked, it was "Fall".

I'm curious about the dragon raid too... Thorog, like above, was more a wild beast than dragon. So how does this fit with the Isengard plot... well, Saruman's known for breeding and experimenting, so maybe he somehow created a dragon? Or perhaps Dunlendings have a dragon in the mountains that they worship, but are jealous and don't want to tell anyone about it directly (remember the extinct Enedwaith tribe of the Algraig with their symbol a "Dragon"? [seems most likely in my opinion])? Maybe there has been a dragon in the southern Misty Mountains, unnoticed until now?

[Tholinstronginthearm]

Im happy that story line is continuing south but as a fan of the hobbit id rather start to see expansion in the north go north into mirkwood and see the palace of the elven king (legolas' father) I think the game fluffed with mirkwood because they did a quick fix of only the southern section and didnt expand the whole way through also they're missing the entire wilderland between mirkwood and the mistie mountains through goblin town. Then again i havent yet gone through all of goblin town myself but never the less i havent seen any section on the map where you can get through the mistie mountains and into mirkwood. I understand that going to rohan will be key but i do believe the game has forgoten the war in the north. Besides id rather see what the town of dale and the lonely mountain and the iron hills look like before i start to go south i've seen all that in the movie why not something new?

[Goondalf]

I don't know if this one has been asked yet. First things first, love the update. Lots of cool stuff, I was right in the middle of evendim quests when the update came out, and I love all the new stuff there.

Ok now that that is out of the way, when are we getting flying mounts? Srsly, get with the program. That's what we want. Giant Eagle mounts, Fell Creature mounts, and Dragon Mounts. No excuses about it not fitting with the lore or whatnot, it's you guys' interpretation, so I am sure you can figure out a way to make it work. They should be immensely difficult to earn, but still possible, and only for 65's. And I say this without even having a 65, yet.
I mean cmon, that reject that we murder in siege of gondamon rides in on some flying beast, and he's a pushover. If he can get a flying critter to bend to his will, I don't see why players shouldn't be able to also.

Oh, I also think that monster players should be able to acquire Warg mounts. This seems much more reasonable, alot easier to code, and it fits with the lore even. It's a win-win. Oh, and for Warg and Spider monster players, just give them a "travel" mode that they could just toggle on to allow them mounted speed also.

So, again thank you for all your hard work. Look forward to the day when we can fly in middle-earth. Wouldn't want to be shown up by WoW eh, they made it work there, surely it can be done here.

Regards,
Goon

[jewahe]

First, I'm glad to hear that we'll get another update before Rise of Isengard expansion. New Skirms and maybe new instances will be good things (I've been saying we need more "formal" group content between 20 - 50). I hope there's a bit more too it (like an update to housing, wardrobe/shared storage, and crafting).

But come on, yet another store exclusive? Can we please have these things drop in-game (at a slightly higher rate than .0000000001% chance)?

Sigh.

[Lohi]

Encountering a dragon speaking, and in general acting more like Smaug, and less like a wild animal gone berserk, ought to be an interesting experience.

I'm sort of imagining a raid level session-play in Lake-town :-)

[joev]

I don't know if this one has been asked yet. First things first, love the update. Lots of cool stuff, I was right in the middle of evendim quests when the update came out, and I love all the new stuff there.

Ok now that that is out of the way, when are we getting flying mounts? Srsly, get with the program. That's what we want. Giant Eagle mounts, Fell Creature mounts, and Dragon Mounts. No excuses about it not fitting with the lore or whatnot, it's you guys' interpretation, so I am sure you can figure out a way to make it work. They should be immensely difficult to earn, but still possible, and only for 65's. And I say this without even having a 65, yet.
I mean cmon, that reject that we murder in siege of gondamon rides in on some flying beast, and he's a pushover. If he can get a flying critter to bend to his will, I don't see why players shouldn't be able to also.

Oh, I also think that monster players should be able to acquire Warg mounts. This seems much more reasonable, alot easier to code, and it fits with the lore even. It's a win-win. Oh, and for Warg and Spider monster players, just give them a "travel" mode that they could just toggle on to allow them mounted speed also.

So, again thank you for all your hard work. Look forward to the day when we can fly in middle-earth. Wouldn't want to be shown up by WoW eh, they made it work there, surely it can be done here.

Regards,
Goon

If I wasn't laughing so hard, I'd be crying.

[Dokomo33]

Thanks for the update, the Dragon encounter sounds really exciting.

On another note, if anyone from Turbine is reading who may be interested in knowing more about the effect of their current marketing strategy, I'd just like to let them know that, for this particular customer, it is extremely off-putting.

I can only assume that you have data that suggests otherwise, since you've committed to spamming the store button on nearly every game screen, and have decided to awkwardly weave the cash shop into this latest communication. However, as a big supporter of LOTRO's continued success, I'd like to encourage you to reexamine this strategy in due time. If it is in fact raking in the dough, awesome, more power to you. But, if this new strategy hasn't significantly increased sales, could you please relent for the sake of all our sanity?

[trancejeremy]

I don't get it. Some people are never happy... we have updates almost double as quickly as before, and still some people are scorning Turbine. I didn't much like the gap between instances either, but now they have picked up the pace a ton.

Because for some people, there's nothing in the updates for them?

I don't group (not by choice, but that's just how it's worked out), so that leaves me out of raids and instances. So there was nothing in this recent update, there is nothing in this upcoming update, and apparently won't be until Isengard...

Beyond that, if you had played the game before Moria, there were real updates to the game every couple of months...just because content stopped almost completely after Moria, and now it's gone back to a slight drip, means that people should be satisfied.

[tkdyoo]

Well, I want to start out by saying thanks for the update, it is good to be getting communication across. As most others have said, Im glad there is for sure going to be another update before Isengaurd, it would be nice if a bit more story came with it too so everyone gets really ready for it.

BUT as others have also stated...those blatant store pulls are really annoying. We know they are there, you dont have to plug them more These news letters are suppose to be about showing your love to the fans and for the game itself, leave the marketing to the marketing people please.

To the poster a few posts up..no flying mounts kthxbai.

[Sardonyx]

It hyped the store very slightly only at the start. The majority was not about the store. It brought up a raid that I hadn't even heard of, there's no reason to trash them based on the time since I think most raiders haven't even finished the current one yet, and this has never been a raid-heavy end game. It announced more instances and skirmishes. This sounds like BIG news. I'm baffled why it makes people angry.

"Very slightly"? I guess that's in the eye of the beholder. I counted four store plugs in the first paragraph.

I hope you all have been enjoying the new Book 3 content and changes! We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on the new Instance Cluster for Eriador and Enedwaith, as well as on the changes to Evendim and the new additions to the LOTRO Store. I’ve been particularly enjoying the Northcotton Farm instance (who doesn’t love saving hobbits from poison pies?) and the Gorthoron Raid (thank goodness the wings stay unlocked once finished – I just can’t quite hack those all night raids anymore). The improved Morale potions and Battle potions of Restoration have also found permanent places on my hot bar, as have my new milestones.

I guess we should be grateful we didn't have to sit through a 30 second video on the wonders of the store before we got to read the letter...

[DarkCntry]

"Very slightly"? I guess that's in the eye of the beholder. I counted four store plugs in the first paragraph.



I guess we should be grateful we didn't have to sit through a 30 second video on the wonders of the store before we got to read the letter...

Actually, I count only two, one if you want to get technical. You see, you have an opening line, which is pretty much a commonality to include everything that the interior letter is going to have in a much more targeted form, that states the topics interior to the letter. Then she later continues about her preferences and likes, not a "ZOMG BUY NOW" thing.

But alas, marketing is something I know fairly well, as is writing up messages to a company of people (note: company as in group, not business). Either way, it's her secondary job of this letter to place emphasis on aspects that are 'current'.

[UndeadKing]

Im happy that story line is continuing south but as a fan of the hobbit id rather start to see expansion in the north go north into mirkwood and see the palace of the elven king (legolas' father) I think the game fluffed with mirkwood because they did a quick fix of only the southern section and didnt expand the whole way through also they're missing the entire wilderland between mirkwood and the mistie mountains through goblin town. Then again i havent yet gone through all of goblin town myself but never the less i havent seen any section on the map where you can get through the mistie mountains and into mirkwood. I understand that going to rohan will be key but i do believe the game has forgoten the war in the north. Besides id rather see what the town of dale and the lonely mountain and the iron hills look like before i start to go south i've seen all that in the movie why not something new?

According to the grapvine I've been listening too we were supposed to have Dale and northern Mirkwood already. Supposedly it was already on Palantir being tested, however due to the Hobbit Movie being pushed back and a rumored agreement in which Turbine is supposed to release Dale and the Hobbit(book) zones when the movie comes out we wound up getting a truncated Volume 2 and a hastily thrown together Enedwaith.

Hopefully these rumors are true and we can expect Dale in 2012 when the Hobbit movie launches. Also if the rumors are true then Turbine has had several years to make sure the content is well polished and full of goodness.

Ok now that that is out of the way, when are we getting flying mounts? Srsly, get with the program. That's what we want.

I sincerely hope you're just goofing around and aren't asking in any sort of serious manner. From what I've seen most LotRO players dislike the idea of flying mounts and dislike it vehemently. There are always a few WoW fanbois who come over here and start asking for flying mounts "because WoW has them", good for WoW their lore supports it.

LotR lore doesn't support any sort of flying mount no matter how you "interpret it". Eagles, the only viable free peoples mount are sentient beings in their own right. You are asking Turbine to enslave a whole race of people so that you can have a flying mount. The eagles carried Gandalf as a personal favor because of his actions and it was their choice and it was only done three times in LotR and once in the Hobbit.

So if you think slavery is a good thing then go ahead and keep asking for your lore breaking eagle mounts. Me I'm going to be looking forward to mounted combat in Rise of Isenguard, something WoW doesn't have btw. Something that is also fully supported by the lore.

[Drarin]

While I do so love the news of 2 new instances in the next update, I really don't like things unfinished. Anyone remember when they made GB, Helegrod, and Annuminas level scaleable? What's the news on that for the rest?

[jewahe]

Skirmish points reset, cool? Store only? What is the reason again for being VIP?

I have a feeling that, if not when RoI launches, then at least within 6 months of the launch, there will no longer be lifetime/VIP/Premium tiers. Everyone will be F2P. I include lifetimers because they have effectively paid for 2 years of play ($300.00/$15 per month subscription), and those 2 years will be almost over in December 2011 (I'm not sure when the lifetime option was discontinued, but I don't remember seeing it when I signed up in April 2010, and it was most certainly gone by the time F2P was announced - sometime in June 2010). I could even see Turbine simply "buying out" the remaining "lifetime term" with TPs.

By then, they will have a significant number of players who came aboard with the F2P move, and who are used to having the store as just another game mechanic, and it much more profitable for Turbine to have 1 player paying $20/month for points (or 2 players, one who buys the $8 package and one who buys the $30 package) than it is to have that player on subscription.