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Video: iPhone and Manything app team up to catch burglars
Have an old iPhone or iPad laying around? You might want to turn it into a security camera for your home, as several folks have done recently using the free Manything home security webcam app. The developer alerted us to a recent TV news clip showing how the app and a repurposed iPhone teamed up to catch a young burglar in the act. This video comes courtesy of Phoenix, AZ ABC affiliate KNXV, showing what a Tempe homeowner saw on her work computer when she wanted to check on her dogs through Manything. var p = new anv_pl_def(); p.config = {}; p.config.width = 640; p.config.height = 360; p.loadVideoExpressV3('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|1000011|SPS'); The Manything app is free for a single iPhone/iPad and 12 hours of cloud recording, and then ratchets up through some very affordable pricing bands to a maximum of US$19.99 per month for unlimited cameras and 30 days of cloud recording. TUAW blogger John-Michael Bond reviewed the Manything app and service back in August of 2014, so be sure to read the review for more information on what can be an affordable way to keep an eye on your home.
LotRO starts beta test for Helm's Deep, talks Burglar changes
Lord of the Rings Online has begun the closed beta test for Helm's Deep, Turbine announced on Facebook last night. "Invites have already been sent, so make sure you check your spam filters," the studio notified fans. As the expansion contains changes to all of the classes, the team released the first of many developer diaries detailing what's to come for Burglars. The diary says that the three trait lines will home in on what makes each of them unique: massive burst damage (for Quiet Knife), control and attrition (for Mischief-maker), and the element of chance (for The Gambler). Finally, Turbine is compensating VIP players for the game outage this past weekend: "For any VIP accounts that were subscribed during the outage, we will be extending the subscription by two days. Lifetime accounts will receive 250 Turbine Points."
Massively's LotRO Riders of Rohan launch-day roundup
When you first heard about Lord of the Rings Online, you probably had an idea of which areas from the Lord of the Rings lore you'd want to visit and which events you'd like to take part in. Not all of the areas in Middle-earth were part of LotRO when it launched, but with each expansion the game world gets a bit more complete. Developer Turbine has been hard at work developing iconic areas like the Mines of Moria and Isengard, but the zone players have been anticipating the most is the Plains of Rohan. The Riders of Rohan expansion goes live today, opening the visually stunning Plains of Rohan area and introducing tons of new content, class updates and gameplay changes. Developers have been careful to capture the feel of the plains in not only the area's art style but also its impressive musical score. The Riders of Rohan expansion adds a new mounted combat feature that lets players fight on customisable war horses. The open plains are filled with roving warbands of orcs and other challenges to be overcome. Read on for a run-down of all the latest news on the Riders of Rohan expansion.
LotRO's Burglars get a heads-up about expansion changes
Turbine Developer Jonathan Steady is spreading the word through back alleys and in seedy taverns: Changes are coming for Lord of the Rings Online's Burglars when Riders of Rohan hits. The team's specifically looking to strengthen the mischief-maker trait line, although the changes don't stop there. Of probable interest to the game's Burglar population is the revelation of new high-level skills coming with the expansion. Burglars will be receiving Trick: Improved Disable, which adds a finesse debuff to the toolset; Improved Confound, another finesse debuff; and Improved Addle, a tactical damage debuff. Other changes include a 25% heal when the Burglar uses Find Footing, the ability to use Practical Joke outside of stealth, and a beefed-up Antidote skill that gets rid of all poisons.
The Burglar steals the show in latest Lord of the Rings Online dev diary
All right, all you sneaks and footpads, we've got some news for you. Tim "Raskolnikov" Lang posted a Lord of the Rings Online dev diary today, giving players a look at the changes coming to the Burglar class in the Rise of Isengard expansion. For starters, the Burglar now receives his Melee Offense Rating from Agility rather than Might, putting him more in line with what people expect from the sneaky-sneaky-stabby-stabby character type. Fresh Burglars now begin the game with dual-wield and the ability to equip medium armor, which should make the early levels considerably more enjoyable for new players. The class also has some quality of life changes coming its way as well as a few small adjustments to its traits. Overall, the adjustments seem quite favorable to Middle-earth's pickpockets and thieves, so keep a hand on your purse and watch your back!
The Road to Mordor: 10 things to do in the Shire before you die
A couple of weeks ago I decided to embark on a long-planned project to play through the entirety of Lord of the Rings Online -- or at least a whole heck of a lot more than I ever have previously. My thought was that in the rush to level and progress, I had been skipping much of the content that makes LotRO so unique, and I wanted to force myself to slow down, take it all in, and get over the desire to hit endgame as quickly as possible. Thus, I created Slyppi, a brand-new level 1 Hobbit Burglar with the intention of experiencing the game in full. My rules with Slyppi are thus: She will clear out every solo quest in a zone (including the epic storyline but excluding tasks) before moving elsewhere. She will go through all three newbie zones and ignore the fact that the quests aren't giving her much XP. She will take detailed notes, package them up, and send them back to me for the purposes of turning them into a guide to the interesting out-of-the-way quests and places in Middle-earth. If you're anything like me, you probably die a lot, usually in very embarrassing ways (hey, that cliff wasn't there a minute ago...). Since we all have a death warrant on our heads, we might as well get the most out of our journeys, which is why I've come up with 10 things that you should do in the Shire before the inevitable occurs. Why 10? Because it's two in computer-speak!
The Road to Mordor: Class graduation
Amid all of the hubbabaloo of E3, Rise of Isengard reveals, and pre-order madness, something equally as significant has been taking place on the Lord of the Rings Online scene: proposed class changes. Turbine's been fairly good giving each of the classes a pass over this last year, but it looks as though something even more significant is in the offering when the expansion hits this fall. As we all know, the level cap is going up to 75, virtues will increase to a new cap of 12, and stats will be expanded in several ways. But there's even more on top of that: Orion and Zombie Columbus have been posting a steady stream of proposed class changes on the forums. These aren't all tiny tuning measures, either. In many cases, weak elements of classes and class builds will be radically revamped, and how you play these classes will change forever. As with any prospect of change, these proposed notes are both exciting and scary to behold. I felt it was high past time we at least chew on the reveals thus far and see how our classes will be graduating to the next level when Isengard arrives. Of course, these are all proposed and highly subject to change between now and whenever they're implemented. As Orion said, "Blogs are coming out before the major changes so that we can get your feedback early, often and when we are still agile enough to respond to the valid reasoning behind concerns or true issues that are found." Read with a grain of salt (if you like, perch the salt on your shoulder so it can view the screen better).
The Road to Mordor: Making your alts work for you
I have a confession to make. My name is Justin, and I'm a Lord of the Rings Online altoholic. I know. I have a problem! I'm weak! DON'T STARE WITH THOSE ACCUSING EYES! I always start out in games with the best of intentions: I'm going to stick with just one character, at least until I hit the level cap. I'll only make new characters to reserve names I like. I won't get class envy and wonder what's on the other side of the fence. I'll stay strong! I'll be an oak! And then I turn out to be a willow tree, blowing about in the winds of whimsy, and suddenly I end up with alts staggered all over the leveling track. It's all right; I've come to embrace my altoholic tendencies because it really is who I am as a gamer. I like to sample everything, to try out different approaches to the game, and if I don't end up with a maxed-out uber-raider, then I can live with it. If you follow this pattern and are prone to rolling up a lot of alts in LotRO, there are several advantages you can gain over the monogamous players out there. Today I want to take a look at how you can make your alts work for you, if only to give you an excuse to keep rolling them!
The Road to Mordor: Frozen in time
My goat snorted as it cleared the final rise, and I pulled its reins to bring it to a halt. Raising a hand to shield my eyes from the sun, I gazed at the decrepit ruins before me. A chill ran up my spine as I imagined the horrors that awaited me within the crumbling structure. For many days I had traveled the countryside looking for just this place, yet now that I'd found it, I was unsure whether I wanted to be here at all. My guides had long since fled in terror, abandoning gear and food in their haste to flee what they called "evil territory." I curled my fist and summoned all of the powers of determination that remained within me. It had to be done. I had come too far and shed too much blood to turn my back on the ruins' ancient secrets right as I was on the verge of discovery. Sure, it was the beginning of every scary play ever, but I knew completely that my destiny would be made or broken in the next few minutes. I kicked my mount into action, and we solemnly entered the deep shadows of the ruins' domain. It was do or die time. "FREEZE TAG!" I shouted. "GAME ON!"
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite non-combat skill?
It's weird, but I have to admit that I love any MMO that includes superfluous non-combat skills. For example, Lord of the Rings Online deals out class skills at level 40 that have no greater purpose other than to amuse. Captains can make others bow to them while Burglars can cackle if stealthed. Fun, if impractical in a fight. But MMOs aren't all about fighting, right? Right? Well, let us pretend that there's life beyond combat at least and take a look at the paltry few skills that aren't directly related to bashing an ogre's skull. Sometimes they might even be used to -- gasp -- roleplay! What is your favorite non-combat skill in an MMO? Is it a travel power? The ability to make a groovy glowy effect? The rare talent to track all nearby lichen? Today, scroll through your hotbar and tell us what non-combat abilities may not win the day against Sauron but could amuse him nonetheless. Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Road to Mordor: Echo... echo... echo...
Last night before I drifted off to sleep, I was idly wondering what it would be like to actually live in Middle-earth. Apart from the extremely high mortality rate due to wandering wolves, bold bandits, and orchestrating orcs, it might be a pretty excellent place to dwell, as long as one didn't mind a lack of Wi-Fi and Starbucks. I think Hobbit pies and Dwarf ale would be an acceptable substitute. Next week our virtual world will grow a bit in girth and depth with the Echoes of the Dead update. When all is patched and done, it'll be a truly big update containing meaty piles of content to devour. I think many of us are still scrutinizing Turbine as we go through this first year after the free-to-play switch, watching to see whether all of this additional revenue will be pumped back into the game or not. Echoes of the Dead marks the second post-F2P update for Lord of the Rings Online, following last November's Journey to Winter-home, and I have to say that I'm pretty impressed with just how much is being served up this time around. So in anticipation of the patch, let's walk through the major features of LotRO's latest update and see whether it was worth the wait!
The Road to Mordor: Just around the bend
It's been a few months since the November Update in Lord of the Rings Online, and the natives are restless -- as usual. Some folks are despairing the long wait until Rise of Isengard while others are itching for more challenges to their currently level-capped characters. Then there are the players who are hopelessly lost in Moria and would give their eye teeth for a flashlight. Happily, a new update is just around the bend, code-named Echoes of the Dead. The actual name is Echoes of the Dead too, so I guess that's not such a great code. Over the past couple of weeks, we've started to get a feel for just how large this update is, and after reading through the Bullroarer test notes on Wednesday, I think we're in for a tsunami of a patch. Of course, these patch notes come in the middle of Turbine's carefully spaced dev diaries dealing with each major change or addition, which means that we're a little in the dark as to the specifics of half of this update. That's not going to stop me -- or any of you -- from analyzing, speculating and gesturing excitedly to no one in particular. So let's dig in to this hearty meal of mushrooms and patch notes to see just how deep LotRO's rabbit hole goes!
LotRO ramps up to Echoes of the Dead with new dev diaries
Speculation is on a head-on collision with fact, as Turbine has started to roll out information about the next Lord of the Rings Online update, titled "Echoes of the Dead." As players wonder whether the mysterious runes of a couple weeks ago indicate a new raid hub, or whether Echoes of the Dead is the name of the next book in the epic storyline, Turbine has at least shed light on class changes scheduled for this next update. Ken Burd caters to the thieves, er, treasure-hunters in the LotRO crowd with his Burglar dev diary. Several improvements and buffs for the class are in order, including additional stealth stances, bleed effects matching weapon damage types, beefier Fellowship Maneuvers, the ability to go faster in stealth, and a "Safe Fall" skill to safeguard against falling injuries (although Burglars can still be killed by falling too far). For the musically minded, Tim Lang has you covered with his Minstrel dev diary. Lang lists a huge amount of tweaks and fixes for the class, including shorter cooldowns for select skills, several new legacies, and an additional skill called "Anthem of the Third Age," which buffs either damage or healing, depending on whether you're in War Speech stance or not. Finally, in response to this past weekend's game and forum outages, Sapience announced that NA players will enjoy increased +5% XP gains from monster kills as well as token drops that can be exchanged for gift boxes from now through Sunday the 6th.
The world's first shipped RED EPIC gets stolen in home break-in (update: $100k reward now offered!)
Remember just earlier this month when OffHollywood studio head Mark Pederson became the first man to own a RED EPIC? Well, now his $58,000 über camera is gone. According to REDUSER forums, the EPIC was heisted last night along with some cash from Pederson's chalet in France while he and his family were sleeping. Pederson shares on the forum that "there was a forced entry through the front door. The thieves actually entered the master bedroom while my in-laws were sleeping, and standing a foot from their bed - emptied wallet and purse. There were 6 children and 8 adults sleeping in the house." That's a scary caper worthy of a Hollywood script for sure, but thankfully no one was hurt. Here's hoping the movie-like storyline continues now with law enforcement gumshoes actually cracking the case. In the meantime, maybe Peter Jackson can lend Pederson one of his 30 RED EPICs until his own baby returns. Update: We just got word that RED honcho Jim Jannard is offering $100,000 to anyone who can provide information leading to the recovery of the device and a conviction of the thieves. In his words (from the RED forums): "We are now offering $100,000 for the safe return of EPIC #00006 and the rest of the system including the media with Mark's files... and the arrest and conviction of those that broke into Mark's chalet in France. We will ONLY pay this amount if there is an arrest and conviction of the parties as we are not interested to be ransomed by thieves." Now that is seriously putting your money where your mouth is! [Thanks, Derek and Cory]
The world's most annoying burglar alarm (video)
The UK's very own Alarm Monitoring Company has developed what it's calling the world's most annoying alarm. The cheeky VuVutech 5000 starts with the company's own AMCO alarm system attached to five powerful air horns topped off with a vuvuzella quintette pièce de résistance. The whole rig is attached to the telephone line where AMCO's interactive monitoring service will trigger 135 decibels of vuvuzella fury upon the unsuspecting intruder who, we imagine, will stand motionless, arms extended, staring skyward in the belief that he just won the 2010 World Cup until the police arrive. See it demonstrated on a "tea boy" after the break.
The Road to Mordor: Putting the "lass" back in "class"
With the not-so-recent NDA lift on the beta, LotRO players are fast at work discussing, analyzing, dissecting and pouring over all of the information coming from testers. Like a double Shire rainbow, the main question on everyone's lips is, "What does it mean?" We want to know how this is going to impact us, our future, and our gameplay, and the massive scope of this change is both unsettling and heady. Last week we sifted through the LotRO forums for testimonies about several aspects of the beta, which was treated with a stony silence from the lot of you. Oh, I kid! Nothing gets the tongues wagging around here like a good mouthful of free-to-play, although I've been informed by the leaders of the Global Conspiracy Against Gamers Having Fun that this topic has three days left on the clock until it's locked away in a vault forever. So even though I tried to touch on the relevant points of the beta last week, there's simply so much of it out there that I had to leave some behind. It's easy to forget that this fall's update contains more than the LotRO store, like a whole barrel of additions and fixes to the game -- including class tweaks. Grab my hobbity hand, and we will venture into the land of the unknown... the land of class changes.
The Road to Mordor: Forum diving
[Special note: Obviously, the news that LotRO is going free-to-play hit after this article was already written, so stay tuned as we dissect what it means for existing and potential new customers next week!] Lately, it feels like we're in a holding pattern for Lord of the Rings Online. The last major content patch, Volume III: Book 1, is fading into distant memory, and we're pushing into summer without definite news of the next update -- or better yet, the next expansion. Players are also nervous about any changes or new directions the game may take after the recent acquisition of Turbine by Warner Bros., and the silence certainly doesn't help any. However, there's always hope in the darkest places of Middle-earth, and the same can be said for the game itself. The Summer Festival should be around the corner, and as for new news, Sapience handed out a bit of vague encouragement on the forums: "You guys know we're preparing an announcement. I can't give you a specific date as to when we'll make it, but I can say I just ran into Adam Mersky coming out of an E3 planning meeting and he was pretty stoked!" While we continue the wait for the next step forward for LotRO, I thought it'd be a good idea to head over to the official forums and do a little diving for some of the more interesting topics and discussions bouncing around the LotRO community today.
The Road to Mordor: Shopping for your skirmish soldier
Every Friday, The Road to Mordor brings you the latest in Lord of the Rings Online news, guides and analysis. Breaking up, as the song goes, is hard to do -- but sometimes very, very necessary. I'll admit that I have recently settled into a bit of a skirmish funk, firing up a session here and there merely for the XP and the privilege of filling my bags with 576 different types of marks (seriously, Turbine, couldn't we switch from this confusing British-like currency to something more streamlined, like the Euro?). When I couldn't find a partner for a skirmish, the sessions seemed like a drag, and even though I dutifully stabbed my way through them, I grew to resent their length and my death-prone Herbalist soldier. It wasn't until the other day that a friend challenged my choice of soldier, and in so doing, freed me up for a more enjoyable skirmish experience. "Why are you sticking with the Herbalist?" he asked. I shrugged -- I thought that's what you picked when you were DPS-y and lacked a lot of self-heals. After doing a bit of research on the forums, I made the switch from the decaf healbot to 100% caffeinated Archer goodness, and I couldn't be happier. Pew pew, stab stab, win win. The choice of a soldier companion for skirmishes may be the tipping point between a painful slog and a joyful battle, as it was in my case. If you're still trying to figure out which soldier might work best with your class, then hit the jump and see what other players recommend you try.
The Road to Mordor: A class made just for you
Every Friday, The Road to Mordor brings you the latest in Lord of the Rings Online news, guides and analysis. In some MMORPGs, picking a class to suit your taste and playstyle is as uncomplicated as buying your favorite beverage. Do you want something fizzy? Then get a soft drink. Something to make you think you're way more witty than you actually are? Beer will do. Something to fill your bladder in under 0.2 minutes? Ice tea, baby. So it is in many MMOs, where players find that game's version of their favorite class and hit the "play" button without thinking. It's a sad commentary on the tired and bland class design that's come from the Holy Trinity of game design, but that's a discussion for another day (or column). Instead, I want to devote today's Road to Mordor to sorting out the nine playable classes of LotRO, because they are very often not what you'd expect from MMORPG class stereotypes. I've met a lot of players who end up playing -- and falling in love with -- a class that they would never touch in another game, due to that unique Turbine Twist™ that's put into each class. So whether you're rolling your very first character in LotRO or thinking about taking a walk in another class' shoes, hit the jump for a handy guide to these nine classes.
Android photo backup app reveals burglars' identities, stupidity
Burglaries are an unfortunately commonplace event in daily urban life, but on some very rare occasions their outcomes give cause for celebration and maybe even a smile. Two young men from the Portland area, keen to get on the smartphone bandwagon without paying, broke in and stole a pair of Motorola Android handsets (along with other electronics) from a nearby household. What they didn't foresee, however, was that one of the phones would have the free Lookout app, which automatically backs up all photos taken with the handset to a user-accessible server every night. So, in the midst of testing out their ill-gotten loot, the criminals provided the phone's legitimate owner with enough visual clues for the police to swoop in and apprehend one of them. The search for his partner in crime continues, but the "gadget versus man" fight has already concluded with a clear win for what we presume was a Droid. [Thanks, John]
