A Letter from Executive Producer Aaron Campbell

[Snowlock]

By speaking to him. Feel free to talk to him yourself though.

Him who? Kate is female

[nifrawen]

You may have heard some long time players refer to it as "chicken ball". it's pretty much field hockey, except you use a chicken for the ball. It's one of those things that long, long time players who played since beta remember fondly and have long asked to see restored and returned to the game.
Here's a screen shot from a recent dev play test.
https://www.facebook.com/LOTRO/photo...type=1&theater

Wow I am really excited about the changes mentioned above

My plea is for you guys to not forget us over in Europe. Honestly, all the fun competitions and the history ( "Chicken ball" for example ) etc is all for the American servers it seems. We in Europe used to have our own deals and GM events on our servers but that seems a long time ago now. For example, we could request GM involvement to celebrate a kinship event )kin anniversary or the like) with spectacular results, a Troll in Bree or similar lol. Now I seem to read about events or competitions only to find they are available only to the Americans.

It would be good to see such events coming back into Europe. After all we have played for just as long. Been just as loyal.

It would also be great to see events fitting in more closely to Tolkien's lore, the game of golf invented in the Shire may justify the Chicken Ball theme. The game has always tied in quiet well, imo, with the books details and i hope that this is not forgotten. Please keep those Tolkien scholars advising the progress of the game. Some of us will indeed notice. lol

Many in my kin have played since pre launch days and I personally have never even taken a break from the game, I love it that much! So you see even though we keep playing and really enjoy the game and our amazing friendships that we have made thanks to the game, I wonder if we are often forgotten.

I do love and approve of the references to Oxford in Michael Delving. The Bird and Baby is indeed a local term for the Eagle and child and the characters with in tie in so brilliantly with the publishers and historic figures related to Tolkien and his works. This should not be lost. And this is just one of the details that makes this game stand out in the MMO world.

Ah so much in this game is just outstanding with the many many things you can do in game. Playing music, crafting, housing, pvp, monster play, etc. I am getting off topic sorry, but please keep up with all the areas that makes this game so different from others.

In summary, you guys have done a brilliant job and created a fantastic game that mostly follows with Tolkien Lore, book lore not film lore. You attract not just those who only want to complete instance and level up or do pvp but many many who enjoy the friendships and the fun side of lotro. So please dont forget about the wholeness of the game.

And finally please dont forget about us in Europe. We do matter. Dont we?

[Thornglen]

Wow I am really excited about the changes mentioned above

My plea is for you guys to not forget us over in Europe. Honestly, all the fun competitions and the history ( "Chicken ball" for example ) etc is all for the American servers it seems. We in Europe used to have our own deals and GM events on our servers but that seems a long time ago now. For example, we could request GM involvement to celebrate a kinship event )kin anniversary or the like) with spectacular results, a Troll in Bree or similar lol. Now I seem to read about events or competitions only to find they are available only to the Americans.

I took Hobnanigans to be an event that would be on all servers, not just specific ones. Also, what events have there been only on some? The last thing I saw was Sapience's taking the hobbits to Isengard and I think he scheduled that so he'd be on all servers. Maybe I missed some exciting things.

[nifrawen]

oops my apologies I think you are right about the Taking the hobbits to isengard. my mistake. Maybe things are looking up. Hurray.
I think i just got so used to reading about competitions etc and then seeing that you had to be in America to enter I eventually gave up and just stopped even reading about them all. Now i feel a bit encouraged. thanks.

[Crell_1]

She is no longer on the team.

Hopefully we can get some things done with the game now.

But is she still at Turbine? Perhaps on Infinite Crisis?

[LethalLethality]

Wow I am really excited about the changes mentioned above

My plea is for you guys to not forget us over in Europe. Honestly, all the fun competitions and the history ( "Chicken ball" for example ) etc is all for the American servers it seems. We in Europe used to have our own deals and GM events on our servers but that seems a long time ago now. For example, we could request GM involvement to celebrate a kinship event )kin anniversary or the like) with spectacular results, a Troll in Bree or similar lol. Now I seem to read about events or competitions only to find they are available only to the Americans.

It would be good to see such events coming back into Europe. After all we have played for just as long. Been just as loyal.

I'd not be surprised if that GM lost their job, as Sapience has stated when asked previously if he could spawn enemies in Bree or other places like that and he said something along the lines of it being a sure-fire way of him losing his job. Stuff like that can happen in Bullroarer, but on any live server, that's a major abuse of powers.

[NinjaGranny]

Change in leadership hopefully is going to be a good thing , particularly as its an old head from before the HD debarcle.

Those of us who stopped playing and paying due to HD are still around and we do still check on the game and occasionally on the boards . IF some of the things that HD broke are repaired / rectified I am sure you would get the player base back , its not too late as we still love the game , its just the breaking of the mechanics really that made a lot of us bail . The jungle telegraph will sound out across the other boards and kin /alliance mailing list etc and we will return .

1. Ignore fluff for now ( housing cosmetics store etc.) as the core problems need to be fixed first
2. It looks like you will never repair the trait system to how it was but at least make the new thicko system have a chance of being useful and as good as it was before HD
3. Make at least some PVE a challenge - any of it , just some of it please
4. Stop treating people outside US as rubbish
5. Actually have benefits for founders as promised
6. Actually have benefits for VIP etc.

You still have a player base around - people have put years into this game and really dont want it to end - if you give some indication that you are going to fix the 2 main problems , the skills tree removing choice and builds and the PVE being 1 button monotony then the absent player base will keep watch and return .

To paraphrase a great film if you (re)build it they will come .

[avengingbananaslug]

https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthr...43#post7085843

We are looking to do another healing pass for update 13 for creep classes. The defiler is the top priority.

-Jinjaah

https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthr...50#post7087750

We can talk in more detail when things get closer as to what changes are coming, but one that I will mention on the creep side is some re-configuring of creep base stats and corruptions. Over the years, these haven't got a ton of love, which has caused many stats like finesse and b/p/e to lag behind their freep counter-parts. We hope to bring these back up to acceptable levels for update 13.

Once again, we can talk more in detail as we get closer, but a heads up is always nice.

-Jinjaah

Can these be addressed at all? Please don't make your own dev a liar.

[Night_Watchman]

VIPs will be able to open mail in the wilderness through your mail alert.

Double clicking the mail alert should totally summon an NPC Named Fedec to deliver your mail. Fedec's Delivery Service.

[Garan]

Double clicking the mail alert should totally summon an NPC Named Fedec to deliver your mail. Fedec's Delivery Service.

Only if Creeps get mail service from Ewpeyesse the Angmarim Sorceress...

[Sapience]

My plea is for you guys to not forget us over in Europe. Honestly, all the fun competitions and the history ( "Chicken ball" for example ) etc is all for the American servers it seems.

I'm not sure where this is coming from. Hobnanigans will be an event that is for all servers. I don't recall seeing anything that suggests we develop different content for different regions. This would be no exception. Exactly like the Take the Hobbits to Isengard event is scheduled for all 29 servers and has already taken place on a few former EU servers.

[PointyEaredBowTwanger]

Interesting changes. The mail thing will be very welcome. Looking forward to seeing how the inventory thing will work too.

Yay chicken football is coming back! I only got to play this a couple of times before it was removed. It seemed to come down after the more random knockback effects from mobs like trolls were introduced so you could be thrown anywhere rather than just backwards? I do remember playing chicken ball after this was introduced and the chicken never went where you actually aimed it to go (which it had done previously).

I might actually come back to the game for this. Been playing since a month or so after launch, but have barely played since October because of the horrible new trait system for skills. I do know that lots of people like this new system, but a higher percentage of those I know dislike it with a passion - is there any way to make it an option to use the old system? A VIP-only TP purchase even? It's generally felt among those I know that while it's a great system for new players, it penalises those who have been playing for years and have carefully crafted their class and play style to be the way they want - and now they can't play how they want.

[rosey21]

Him who? Kate is female

Ah Sapience....

[rosey21]

But is she still at Turbine? Perhaps on Infinite Crisis?

Now that I have no clue on & never asked.

[Crell_1]

I'm not sure where this is coming from. Hobnanigans will be an event that is for all servers. I don't recall seeing anything that suggests we develop different content for different regions.

I don't know how long Hobnanigans was allowed to run on live servers. Perhaps Codemasters never turned on the event for the same reason Turbine shut it down. Similiarly, I dont know if Codemasters ran the Moor's Chicken event (which earned the 'Fool' Title), after all it was on for so little time here.

[rosey21]

5. Actually have benefits for founders as promised

What was exactly said in regards to this promise?

I do know that lots of people like this new system, but a higher percentage of those I know dislike it with a passion - is there any way to make it an option to use the old system? A VIP-only TP purchase even? It's generally felt among those I know that while it's a great system for new players, it penalises those who have been playing for years and have carefully crafted their class and play style to be the way they want - and now they can't play how they want.

Never gonna happen... They would be running two different systems & that is just one big cluster you know what plus allot more work & resources they don't have. Like having a separate server with the old system. People have asked for something like that & been told no.

[LordVoronturEU]

I don't know how long Hobnanigans was allowed to run on live servers. Perhaps Codemasters never turned on the event for the same reason Turbine shut it down. Similiarly, I dont know if Codemasters ran the Moor's Chicken event (which earned the 'Fool' Title), after all it was on for so little time here.

I think it was part of the first Summer Festival, and yes, I remember playing it on Snowbourn, so it was definitely run on the European servers.
I think my team lost though.

And, it seems my memory is correct. It was part of the Summer Festival, the very first one. I'm not entirely sure it was back the year after though.

[NinjaGranny]

What was exactly said in regards to this promise?

the 4 in game items the horse the titles and ongoing benefits .

Never gonna happen... They would be running two different systems & that is just one big cluster you know what plus allot more work & resources they don't have. Like having a separate server with the old system. People have asked for something like that & been told no.

But they could roll back to the old system and just admit that the new one was a failed experiment .

[Sapience]

5. Actually have benefits for founders as promised

What was exactly said in regards to this promise?

I can answer this. Before I worked for Turbine I was a player and I was in fact a founder. The founder's program said that if you signed up during the open beta period and subbed you'd get a guaranteed $9.99 per month subscription price for as long as you kept the account open and paid the monthly fee. Miss one month, you lose founder status. Founders were also given the option to purchase the $299 lifetime offer for a discounted price of $199. You also got a head start and were allowed to level your character to level 15 and have it carry over to live when the release date hit. In addition you were allowed to invite 10 friends who you could also grant founders status to during the first few months after launch.

That was the full, sum total and complete offer or "promise" made as part of the founders program. Later that year a mount was given as a special gift to founders (not mentioned in the original offer, but as a thank you for being a founder after the fact). That was the Bree Horse.

[NinjaGranny]

I can answer this. Before I worked for Turbine I was a player and I was in fact a founder. The founder's program said that if you signed up during the open beta period and subbed you'd get a guaranteed $9.99 per month subscription price for as long as you kept the account open and paid the monthly fee. Miss one month, you lose founder status. Founders were also given the option to purchase the $299 lifetime offer for a discounted price of $199. You also got a head start and were allowed to level your character to level 15 and have it carry over to live when the release date hit. In addition you were allowed to invite 10 friends who you could also grant founders status to during the first few months after launch.

That was the full, sum total and complete offer or "promise" made as part of the founders program. Later that year a mount was given as a special gift to founders (not mentioned in the original offer, but as a thank you for being a founder after the fact). That was the Bree Horse.

Sorry didn't know the Turbine founder program I was codemasters - Thanks for clearing that up - was wondering why new chars that I made after the change to Turbine had different stuff to my original ones .

[Bill_the_Cat]

Epic Book: We’re going to Flooded Isengard! MadeofLions has put together an epic experience, where you finally get to experience life as an Ent.

OMG, Entplay for real, I never thought this day would come!

[LethalLethality]

OMG, Entplay for real, I never thought this day would come!

Technically, we've had Entplay already, haven't we, when we played as Nurzum? Though he was a stone giant,he seemed very "ent-like". I wouldn't expect Ent Play to be much different, though I could be wrong.

[anthonyx]

OMG, Entplay for real, I never thought this day would come!

I think the best story line of the overly redundant East Rohan was that of fanghorn. It was done superbly. I really enjoyed watching the awoken Ent squishing the orcs! So if we can session play an ENT I am all for it!

[TheCrossbow]

The player council doesn't speak for the community so that is a bad example of listening to the community.

Not sure how many times this has to be... repeated...

The player council was never intended to speak for the community in the way you imply. Yes, they may bring up discussions about issues that are "near and dear to the heart of the player base" but the PC was never intended to speak for the community in any way.

IMHO, the "player council" was a good addition in terms of bringing the players more on board and allowing some of us to have a more direct impact on the future of the game. Now, as to whether or not the "big cheeses" at Turbine truly take advantage of the PC as a valuable resource... that is something we don't know enough about to judge how effective the PC has been.

[rosey21]

But they could roll back to the old system and just admit that the new one was a failed experiment .

Yeah they could, however i don't see that happening.

For me I am happy with the new system & allot of the new skills we got with the trait trees I like better then some of the older skills we had.