The Palantir Private Preview Program

[Kehleyr_SSG]

Come join the Palantir Private Preview Program!

Ask yourself this:

• Do you gain a sense of pride when you file bugs, knowing that you've helped us improve the game by doing so?
• Do you have time that you would like to volunteer as a consumer tester for LOTRO?
• Do you enjoy seeing things in an unfinished state and watching them develop?
• Do you like the idea of possibly having an influence on how those same things turn out in the end?
• Can you keep a secret (no matter how many bribes of <insert favorite vice here> you may get)?

If you answered 'YES' to all the above questions, then Palantir may be the place for you! We would love to have you on board, getting your virtual hands dirty with our new and upcoming content, and telling us what you think!

What is Palantir?

The Palantir Private Preview Program is an invitation only consumer testing program similar to a Beta Program but much smaller in scope. Volunteers in the Palantir Program have the opportunity to provide feedback on most LOTRO content before it is released.

How does Membership Work?

Interested LOTRO players may apply to the program online as described in the next post. Anyone who has a sincere love for the game and desire to help us make it the best it can be is encouraged to apply.

If you are accepted in the Program, you may remain a volunteer as long as you keep your account and participation (on both Live and the Preview Program) in good standing. (Disciplinary actions taken against your Live account will affect your participation in the Preview Program.)

Requirements of the Palantir Private Preview Program

• Must have a valid VIP or Premium account in good standing to The Lord of the Rings Online
• Must be at least 18 years of age
• Must be able to interact with the community in a mature and constructive manner
• Must be able to communicate well through forum posts and bug reports
• Must have a strong command of written English
• You must accept the terms of the Private Preview Program Non-Disclosure Agreement, the full contents of which will be provided during the registration process should you be accepted to the program

See the next post for more details and how to apply!

A note about our Preview Servers and the LOTRO Store:

• The preview test servers do not use the same LOTRO Store found on the Live worlds. As a result, your LOTRO Point balance does not carry over. If you see a 0 point balance when logged into Bullroarer or Palantir, this is expected. Your Point Balance on the Live worlds will still be correct.
• Points earned or granted on Bullroarer or Palantir do not carry over to Live.
• Do not use purchased point codes or cards on preview worlds! Any points granted to Bullroarer or Palantir by these cards will not be available to use on Live and will not be refunded!
• LOTRO points attached to your account on preview worlds can only be used on Bullroarer or Palantir.
• Bullroarer and Palantir are Test servers. We wipe all data from these servers between tests and at other times as our testing requires. As a result, any lost points, items, or upgrades will not be refunded.
• As test servers, Bullroarer and Palantir content will contain bugs and an unfinished gameplay experience. The servers may not be available at all times and patching will occur whenever SSG determines it is necessary.
• Reminder: Your test server characters, items, and LOTRO Store purchases will never be transferred to live.

Palantíri: The Stones of Seeing - powerful crystalline globes that enabled their users to witness events and communicate with one another over great distances

[Kehleyr_SSG]

Things to Consider Before Applying

• Participation in the Preview Program should enhance your LOTRO Live experience, not replace it.
• If real life obligations or hobbies (including playing on Live) take up the majority of your spare time, the Preview Program may not be right for you.
• We have an extremely aggressive development cycle, and only a short span of time to test the content. For this reason we need players who are strongly committed to helping us improve the game with little or no reward (other than our undying gratitude).
• If you feel you will not be able to regularly participate on the server, this program may not be right for you.
• Do you get a sense of accomplishment by reporting bugs or participating in forum feedback? Even if the suggestions you make or the feedback you give is not directly acted upon or implemented, you should be able to feel you have contributed just the same.
• If you feel your opinions or feedback don't matter if they are not implemented, then this program is not right for you.
• The Preview Program is focused on testing the content currently in development and as such you are expected to provide feedback on the requested topics.
• This is not an opportunity to bypass the Live forums with a personal campaign or as an attempt to directly communicate with developers about irrelevant topics. If you’re not interested in helping us improve the content we are currently working on, this program is not right for you.

If you think the Palantir Private Preview Program is right for you, we encourage you to apply! If you do not think you’re right for the program but would love to give your feedback, we encourage you to post to these boards with your ideas. Everyone who plays LOTRO matters to us, whether you are in this program or not.

How to Apply

Please fill in the Application Survey found here.

• Please assure all the requested information is accurate and current.
• NOTE: If you have multiple Accounts, please apply for only one of them. We are granting only one subscription to Palantir per player.
• If you are accepted to the program, you will receive an email with instructions on how to get started. Applications will be reviewed on a regular basis, with invitations sent to accepted applicants shortly thereafter.

If you have any questions feel free to post to this thread. Also, see our FAQ below or send an email to lotropalantirpreviewprogram@st andingstonegames.com.

Please do not ask questions regarding the program via Private Message.

Please note the Palantir Program is run completely by Quality Assurance. OCR and Customer Service cannot assist you with this program, so please keep all communication in this thread or through the email address given above.

[Kehleyr_SSG]

Q: So how does this work if I was on Palantir before?
A: If you were part of the Preview Program prior to September of 2019 your account has been 'retired'. If you would like to be part of the program again, you must fill out the survey here asking to be reinstated.

This does not have to be a full-fledged application, just a statement of the required information and your desire to be part of the community again.

Q: Why can’t I apply unless I’m 18+??? I’m more mature than a lot of adults I know!!
A: We don’t like the age limit, either, but it’s a legal matter that we cannot bypass.

Q: Will a Mac client be available for testing?
A: As MacOS is no longer supported we do not have an installer for Palantir. If this platform is all that is available to you to play LOTRO you will not be able to participate in the program.

Q: How soon after applying will I know if I got in or not?
A: There is no set time limit. A post will be made in this thread when Application Acceptance Emails have been sent. That is your cue to check the email address you have registered with https://myaccount.standingstonegames.com and see if an Invitation has been sent to you. If you did not get an email, then your application was not accepted this round.

Q: I have a few infractions and even a little ban or two in my forum history. Can I still apply, or am I doomed?
A: People make mistakes, we understand that. Explain the situation as part of your application and we will take this into account.

What we are looking for is a community that can participate and interact with other people without resorting to insults and misbehavior to get their point across. Palantir is about being a safe place to state your opinion where others can be free to agree or disagree and not have to suffer consequences for it.

Q: If I have previous beta experience with LOTRO will that affect my chances in any way getting accepted into the Preview Program?
A: Unless you behaved in a less than constructive manner in that program, we can't see where it can hurt.

Q: Would I get a ported character, autoleveled character or a character to start from scratch?
A: The answer is 'yes'. All those choices are available to you. The Eyes and Guard Tavern, which you will be familiar with if you participated in any of our Beta Programs, Stress Tests, or on the Preview Servers, is usually open full blast 24/7. You can autolevel characters or start characters from scratch. We also offer character copies from the Live servers.

Q: If I do not get accepted the first time I apply, should I bother to reapply? If my original explanation wasn't enough to get me in, maybe I could include additional information and be accepted later on?
A: Yes, we definitely encourage this. We have had several participants that applied more than once. If, upon hindsight, you think your application may have been lacking, by all means revise it and try again. What we don’t encourage is submitting the exact same application each time. We do read every application, and if we deny acceptance the first time it's submitted, it will most likely be denied again.

Q: My (spouse/roommate/cat) doesn’t want to apply to Palantir, but I do. Can I tell my significant other(s) that I'm playing on Palantir?
A: We pretty much expect that people you live with or significant others are going to be aware of your participation. You have to make the call as to whether you can trust these people to keep that information to themselves, or use it against you.

While we aren't going to ban you if your housemates/companions learn you are on Palantir, if some confidential information was leaked and it was traced back to you then yes, it will affect you. This is a choice only you can make.

Q: But WHAT IF! Say my significant other was to log in on my Preview account and then on their OWN [Live] account say things about Palantir. They technically hadn't agreed to the NDA, so would they be held responsible for it?
A: Another party knowing about your participation is one thing. Those parties having access to your account is entirely another.

YOU are held ultimately responsible for maintaining the security of your Preview account. So you would be held responsible for the leak. Depending on the severity of the leak, the other party may also suffer repercussions to their own Live accounts as per the Violations Section of the Forum Guidelines:

Originally Posted by LOTRO Forums Guidelines and Code of Conduct
19. Posting, reposting or linking to, any information, including but not limited to spoilers, screen shots, and videos of materials covered under a Non-disclosure agreement."

Q: Why should I bother with Palantir? I’ve been on Bullroarer and other SSG Beta programs – I’ve filed bugs and offered feedback and nothing was done. Clearly no one listens – it’s just a huge waste of time.
A: This is one of those questions that is difficult to answer because we can’t tell you the ins and outs of how things are prioritized or addressed here. All we can tell you is this program works – we’ve seen it work – and while it may not seem like it on the outside, all decisions are made with the best intentions for the game in mind.

Not all bugs you report will be fixed before the patch goes to Live. Not all feedback that you offer will be acted upon or implemented. However, this does not mean any of it is ignored or considered a waste. We have a schedule, we have to prioritize. Sometimes we make the right decisions, sometimes we don’t. But we all have the same goal – to make LOTRO the superior experience it deserves to be.

Q: How thoroughly is forum post history reviewed? Is it like a brief glance at the last 20 or so posts? Just wondering... cause as someone with 3000+ posts, not all of them can be "high quality" or whatever the criteria you guys use is.
A: We take a sampling of your posting as well as consult with the Online Community Representatives and Customer Service.

Q: Why no F2P members?
A: We simply do not have the resources to open the program to the entire LOTRO Community at this time. If, as time goes on, we find that we do we will explore the option of bringing in our Free to Play members as well.

If you have a question that is not answered here or somewhere else in this thread, feel free to post or send an email to lotropalantirpreviewprogram@st andingstonegames.com.

Please do not Private Message us with questions regarding the Program. We will not answer questions regarding this program through PM's.

In the meantime, just because you aren’t part of Palantir does not mean you cannot voice your opinion. These forums are here for you – use them!

[Kehleyr_SSG]

We are pleased to announce that a fresh batch of invitations to the Palantir Private Preview Program has just gone out!

If you have applied to Palantir at any time in the past year prior to September 10, please check your email inboxes for an invite.

For those who applied on or after September 10, we will be reviewing your applications in the coming weeks.

Good luck to all that applied, and we hope you are enjoying your time in Middle-earth!

[Kehleyr_SSG]

Happy Holiday Season to you all!

We've had a couple inquiries about the program and bringing on new recruits, so I figured I would address them here.

The program is very much alive and we are collecting and reviewing all applications, but have decided to put bringing in new members on hold for the time being.

I apologize for not communicating this to you all sooner - things have been a little hectic on our end! I hope to have more positive news for you all soon, and please continue to apply! We're always excited to bring in new members!

[Starbuck1771]

Happy Holiday Season to you all!

We've had a couple inquiries about the program and bringing on new recruits, so I figured I would address them here.

The program is very much alive and we are collecting and reviewing all applications, but have decided to put bringing in new members on hold for the time being.

I apologize for not communicating this to you all sooner - things have been a little hectic on our end! I hope to have more positive news for you all soon, and please continue to apply! We're always excited to bring in new members!

What about bringing back old members or the original F&F Alpha testers from Shadows such as myself?

[Brinuw]

Any updates as to when another batch of applicants will be chosen? This program has been more or less silent for nearly 9 months and given there was announced more content for Q3/4 2020 and a large expansion is set to come in Q1 2021 it seems worrying to not have heard anything

[Kehleyr_SSG]

Thank you for the inquiry!

A Series of Unfortunate Events has been getting in the way of progress being made to bring new applicants into the program.

As you know our office has faced a series of challenges over the past several months (some specific to us, some global). Because bringing new applicants in requires the resources of 3 different departments, the bandwidth just isn't there.

Rest assured we have continued to gather the applications as they come in and process them for invitations. I know 'soon' is getting old for everyone, but as soon as we have our environments in a happy place again we fully intend to get this program moving once more.

Thank you for your patience and support, and if 2020 would just calm down a bit we should have good news for you in the near future.

[Shirewhistle]

Thank you for the inquiry!

A Series of Unfortunate Events has been getting in the way of progress being made to bring new applicants into the program.

As you know our office has faced a series of challenges over the past several months (some specific to us, some global). Because bringing new applicants in requires the resources of 3 different departments, the bandwidth just isn't there.

Rest assured we have continued to gather the applications as they come in and process them for invitations. I know 'soon' is getting old for everyone, but as soon as we have our environments in a happy place again we fully intend to get this program moving once more.

Thank you for your patience and support, and if 2020 would just calm down a bit we should have good news for you in the near future.

Look I think you should hire people and pay them to do this. I had no idea this program was going on. But seriously you expect too much of volunteers, imo. And the punitive stuff is laughable. NDA? And to protect your secrets? If you're really serious about that, you won't create community drama by putting volunteers at risk like this. This is an obvious attempt to curtail negative comments on the forums so people can hope to join Pallantir, which is a small hope indeed.

Instead, you should read the negative comments and produce an internal report with a summary in neutral terms that helps your development team know what players really care about right now. The same QA that should be doing previews for pay, should be scanning and bringing a summary to development periodically when there's nothing to preview. Also for pay. It could be QA's job to take the acrimony out of things like a recent flame war about guardians and deliver only the content of the opinions shared to the people interested in guardian design or class design. For instance.

And you have the money to do this. In two months, I can personally drop $250 on this game and I know I'm not alone. That level of investment in LOTRO is not rare. LOTRO has been, over time the most expensive game I have ever played because you've monetized very well. Please invest it in real QA and listen to my and my fellow player's complaints and compliments. We've never been shy about giving feedback.

The only thing you're going to get from a Pallantir program is rah rah feedback and that's not going to help you. Some issues have gone un fixed for a long time. Please don't just ignore them. People are expressing frustration, not always trolling. And your Q&A for this program seems to reflect that you know this already.

So my 2 cents on this is, please hire full time QA people, just 6 would make a fellowship and would dilute the work so they don't get thoroughly depressed by our expressed frustrations on the forums. Offer a bonus to people who want to test raids, people who already work for you and already play. Bullroarer is enough for the community, imo.

I'm just one person. But I can't be the only one wishing you had "real QA" for LOTRO which is a game I care about and have returned to over the years, and started second accounts, etc, so I could relive the challenge. I really don't want volunteers doing it. I think you'll get better results from employees. And by extension I will get a better game. What makes you think volunteers are a better idea than employees? It seems illogical and just cost cutting.

[Gelim]

Look I think you should hire people and pay them to do this. I had no idea this program was going on. But seriously you expect too much of volunteers, imo. And the punitive stuff is laughable. NDA? And to protect your secrets? If you're really serious about that, you won't create community drama by putting volunteers at risk like this. This is an obvious attempt to curtail negative comments on the forums so people can hope to join Pallantir, which is a small hope indeed.

TBH I don't think anyone actually believes their NDA is enforced at all. There's simply no way to actually prevent players to share info.

I'd prefer if SSG went for more employees too instead of players.

[gildhur]

Look I think you should hire people and pay them to do this.

They do. Kehleyr is literally the head of the QA department. They do internal QA, private preview testing, and public beta testing. No, it's not enough to catch every bug. It never has been and never will be. It isn't in any MMO.

[Sezneg]

It isn't in any MMO.

In any game, really. Even if they have 20 people working full time for 2 months = 8 hours x 20 people x 40 (let's call it 40 working days in 2 months for simplicity) thats 6400 hours divided over the sum total of the content being checked by QA by full time dedicated employees.

If even 7,000 players run the same content as QA for 1 hour each, they have already logged more time in that content than the paid QA team.

That's the story for all modern game work - QA is mostly going to catch critical path bugs, and are going to be prioritized to fix the ones that break the content. They won't have the manpower to do minor stuff and won't have the hours logged to find most of the odd bugs that are difficult to replicate.

[Kehleyr_SSG]

... even though I know you think we have.

A lot of you are wondering what is going on with this program. And I noticed the question was even asked in Severlin's live stream on Twitch yesterday.

This program is alive, and we do continue to take applications.

"But it's been FOR.EV.ER since you've brought new people in!!!!"

This is true, and I did address this a few months ago. The truth is, those same answers still apply today. We just don't have the resources to process new applicants right now. As much as we would love to bring new people in, the departments required to help with this process have far too much on their plates to assist.

We really do hope to have this resolved 'soon' (I know, I know) and I know this is not what everyone wants to hear (even if it's what you expect).

I hope if you still have interest in the program that you apply.

[Moondog548]

... even though I know you think we have.

A lot of you are wondering what is going on with this program. And I noticed the question was even asked in Severlin's live stream on Twitch yesterday.

This program is alive, and we do continue to take applications.

"But it's been FOR.EV.ER since you've brought new people in!!!!"

This is true, and I did address this a few months ago. The truth is, those same answers still apply today. We just don't have the resources to process new applicants right now. As much as we would love to bring new people in, the departments required to help with this process have far too much on their plates to assist.

We really do hope to have this resolved 'soon' (I know, I know) and I know this is not what everyone wants to hear (even if it's what you expect).

I hope if you still have interest in the program that you apply.

Thanks for the update! Anything is better than uncertainty.

Can we be sure that an app we filled out long ago is still "live"?

[Kehleyr_SSG]

Can we be sure that an app we filled out long ago is still "live"?

Absolutely! Any application that was filed after September 10, 2019 (ugh) is safely in our database.

[Brinuw]

Absolutely! Any application that was filed after September 10, 2019 (ugh) is safely in our database.

So I should stop applying every month then?

[Kehleyr_SSG]

So I should stop applying every month then?

You don't need to do this anyway. You only need apply once - all applications are held until a review and invitation round is performed. Once the invitation round is completed and announced that invitations have gone out, then all applications are purged.

Please keep in mind this is not a lottery - sending the same application in over and over in the same invitation round is not going to affect anything - it just makes our job a little harder.

The only time you should re-apply is if you wish to add/change any information on your application, or a round has been completed and you were not invited to the server.

[Nanganark]

You don't need to do this anyway. You only need apply once - all applications are held until a review and invitation round is performed. Once the invitation round is completed and announced that invitations have gone out, then all applications are purged.

Please keep in mind this is not a lottery - sending the same application in over and over in the same invitation round is not going to affect anything - it just makes our job a little harder.

The only time you should re-apply is if you wish to add/change any information on your application, or a round has been completed and you were not invited to the server.

Is there already a new registration phase planned for the Palantir private server? Would be good to know how the current status is..., because the last registration phase was already more than a year ago..., I would be very happy if there is again a registration phase, or at least you know if there will be one this year.

[Daenirion]

Wanted to ask the same thing, especially after EG7's CEO announced that they want to improve the communication between the devs and the players of their games

[Kehleyr_SSG]

Stay tuned. ;-)

[Braer]

Wanted to ask the same thing, especially after EG7's CEO announced that they want to improve the communication between the devs and the players of their games

He didn't mention more transparency did he? So far it's just positive reinforcement from old game world-building, nudging MoL to reminisce and Sev going up to the usual line and no further. It's their default inference from such statements. Was he asking for the spin to be increased and done better or actual candour? I still think they are using very different vocabularies given the exposure in EG7 Investor Relations. The same people lapping it up changes nothing.

[BinaryTertiary]

To all, and I say this only as assistance.... only join this programme if you have no mind of your own or are happy to give blind assistance and be mute about how you really feel if it goes against the developers wishes.

Basically you are there just to bug test and not to help the developers no matter that the new developer asked the questions but the boss person didn't like the frank answers.

You will be kicked (and not even be told why.... I had to ask Cord) if you have a voice and with no recourse.... let me re-phrase that because I don't want to get banned... if you have the wrong voice...

This is a vital job which is obviously critically needed by the state of what we are being dropped nowadays but as long as you understand that you have no voice... that was my fault and I hold my hands up because the New Dev asked some questions and we got into very civil but frank dialogue in the forums and after a small break I came back and I was kicked. No thank you for your service or even a reason why.

So please bear this in mind when you give up your free time.

Good hunting !!

i think everyone already knew palantir is just a glorified echo chamber for terrible ideas presented to mostly terrible players and any attempt to say things that might ... interfere with the collective hivemind is swiftly dealt with

palantir serves one purpose only: leaks

[LabadalofDorlomin]

Lol

[Kehleyr_SSG]

... a new round of invitations will be mailed out this week!

As such, applications for this round are now closed. Feel free to apply, just keep in mind any applications filed from this date forward will be kept for the next round of invites.

If you have applied to the program at any time between September 12, 2019 and May 09, 2021 (yes, yes, I know) your application has been collected, reviewed and considered for this round of invites.

Keep an eye on your email for an invite! (Assure you have lotropalantirpreviewprogram@st andingstonegames.com unblocked in your email.)

I know a lot of you applied a LONG time ago, and a lot has changed since then. So if you get an invite and you're simply not interested in participating anymore we completely understand.

Best of luck to all who have applied!

[lockecd]

There is a name I haven't seen in awhile Kehleyr
Nice to see you. :-)