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PAX08: Hands-on with Mines of Moria
This weekend at PAX 2008, Massively had the opportunity to be a part of the first-ever public preview of Mines of Moria with Lord of the Rings Online Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel. During this showing, Steefel showed us many of the main features of this first expansion for LotRO, including the Legendary Weapon system, the two new classes, the vastness of the mines themselves and much more.The overall impression we got from this presentation was that this expansion is going to be epic. Just the sheer size of the world, which includes the mines themselves, more of Eregion and into Lothlorien, will be immense. This, combined with the game mechanic changes and additions to just about every aspect of gameplay, will speak volumes (pun!) about the potential of Turbine with this franchise. Follow along on our journey through Moria>>%Gallery-31017%
PAX08: Day three impressions
Day three is now behind us, marking the end of PAX 2008. Sunday showed a crowd of gamers just as strong as the first two days, and there is no doubt that the attendance numbers from this year blew away last year's figures. As far as panels for this last day, there was an interesting mix of MMO development-type panels with a particularly interesting one called "MMO and Virtual World Business Models" that we will be reviewing in more depth later. Plus, who could forget the intriguing "How to Get Your Girlfriend into Gaming" panel?So now we look forward to the future of this mega expo. If next year's PAX grows as much as the previous years have progressed, they're going to need a larger booth floor, no doubt about it. As this blogger sifts through the bags of free swag and begins the recovery process, you can look forward to more coverage of interviews with Jon Radoff of GamerDNA, Jeffrey Steefel of Turbine on Mines of Moria, Dane Caruthers of NCsoft on Tabula Rasa, Adam Powell and Aaron Matthew of Meteor Games on Twin Skies and much much more!%Gallery-30683%
Turbine offers last chance at Moria beta test, new screens
The first expansion to Lord of the Rings Online, the Mines of Moria, is quickly approaching a launch-ready state. For fans of the world of Tolkien, Turbine is offering a few final chances to enter into the Moria beta test. Interested players just need to navigate to the official Moria website, to enter their names into the hat. The official release calls for players to take up the banner, and quotes LotRO executive producer Jeffrey Steefel on his enthusiasm for the new content.Said Steefel, "The Legendary Items system where players can craft unique and powerful weapons and armor that will grow in power and value is just one of the breakthrough features that will further establish The Lord of the Rings Online as one of the world's premium online games." You can find the full release below the cut, along with five new screenshots of the upcoming expansion. Also feel free to click through to our Moria gallery, which has the new screens as well as all of our previous great looks at the mine under the mountain.%Gallery-18340%
Massively's exclusive interview with Turbine: Moria and more
Recently, we were fortunate enough to sit down with some of the fine folks at Turbine to discuss a few more details on their newest content patch and the future of Lord of the Rings Online. During this play session, we got a load of screenshots and an in-game video to document the amazing content that will launch with Book 14: The Ring-forges of Eregion.The details of that play session are coming soon in another post and gallery, but for now, we'll tide you over with an exclusive interview with Jeffrey Steefel, Adam Mersky, Meghan "Patience" Rodberg and Aaron Campbell of Turbine. In it, we cover everything from the challenges Turbine may face with global distribution, to the reasoning behind introducing two new classes with Mines of Moria. Follow along after the jump for the complete interview.
New information on LotRO: Mines of Moria
Lord of the Rings Online's Book 14 hasn't even released yet, and already we're getting previews of their first paid expansion: Mines of Moria. In a recent interview with Jeffrey Steefel, the folks at Total PC Gaming were able to squeeze out some new info on Mines of Moria, including the top question on everyone's mind: Will we fight the Balrog?Of course the answer is yes. How many global protests would erupt if players discovered they wouldn't have the opportunity to fight the mighty Balrog? Not only that, the Mines promise to be much more than were shown in the movie. Considering the fact that Forochel was created from a few paragraphs of Tolkien's work, Moria should be an amazing experience. Be sure to read the entire interview for more of Steefel's take on what Moria will bring and just how much further we still have to explore in Middle-earth.
LotRO interview reveals more on Book 14
In the second part of MMORPG's interview with Lord of the Rings Online's Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel, we learn more about the final stages of development with LotRO's Book 14. Steefel discusses exactly how this final book of the first volume will unfold before the Mines of Moria expansion arrives on the scene. He also mentions the fact that Moria will not be considered Book 15, but instead be referred to as the first book of Volume 2.Despite the wild success of the fishing system, there will not be another hobby introduced until Moria, he says. The live event system, which has been in under-the-radar development since launch, is the largest focus of Book 14 . With a little help from their cohorts at Asheron's Call, they will build a new event-triggering system based on a number of variables including a schedule, a time of day, a specific day or other in-game triggers. This feature seems to add more dimension to what has already proven to be one of the most incredible parts of this immersive game.
More Jeffrey Steefel goodness regarding the Korean LotRO launch
In line with the recent interview at MMORPG.com, Lord of the Rings Online's Jeffrey Steefel speaks in another interview with Ten Ton Hammer regarding the plans to bring LotRO to Korean audiences. This is something that has been discussed for quite a long time now, but with the Korean release imminent, we now get into the details of this launch and what LotRO hopes to offer to this specific audience.One of the most important points made in this article is the projected number of players who could potentially be involved with this game at launch. While Steefel is reluctant to give figures, he says that with half the population of Korea playing online games (which would be a potential market of almost 37 million people), "the numbers could be astounding," he says.
LotRO's Korean launch may alter western business model
Turbine is busy gearing up for its Korean launch of Lord of the Rings Online. The title is currently in closed beta in Korea and moving toward limited open beta. Fantasy titles are hugely popular in the country, but the enthusiasm with which beta testers are greeting LotRO has likely been spurred on by the popularity of the films directed by Peter Jackson. MMORPG's Jon Wood recently caught up with LotRO Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel to discuss Turbine's plans in the east. They discussed some of the details about LotRO's forthcoming Korean launch, which revealed how this might impact North American and European subscribers.
New LotRO Book 13 developer diary video is released
If you feel you've missed out on some of the features from the recently-released Book 13: Doom of the Last-king for Lord of the Rings Online, where the heck have you been? Well, not to fret because we have a new developer diary in video form starring LotRO's Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel. In it, he talks about their fifth major update since launch, and some of the new features that have been introduced.The details of their newest region is discussed a bit, including the new environmental effects and creatures you'll encounter there. Plus, now you'll know the proper way to pronounce Forochel without embarrassing yourself on voice chat! Fishing is also discussed, as is the new fellowship enhancements to the quest log and the mustering horn which is used to summon group members quickly. Be sure to check out this new video below for all the exciting information.
Turbine's Jeffrey Steefel looks ahead to the Mines of Moria
The CVG site has up a talk with Turbine's Jeffrey Steefel, looking out to the future of Lord of the Rings Online. It's a good discussion of not only the issues facing the game in the coming months, but the entire subscription-based MMO marketplace. The site asks some tough questions and Steefel has some good answers: like, why is an expansion for a primarily patch-supported game even neccessary?The Turbine Executive Producer was upfront about their reasoning: "At the end of the day so much is going online, but retail is still very important. It's still a place where people learn about games, it's a place where if you're not on the shelf, at least from time to time, somehow there's implication you're not viable." Steefel also touches on how they keep their community as convival as it is, the 'world vs game' problem very MMO faces, and the ever-present console question. In his mind, the problem isn't how to get MMOs on consoles. The problem is, why aren't the big three helping companies like Turbine to get their products onto couches?
Massively interview with LotRO's Jeffrey Steefel on Book 13
Recently we sat down with Lord of the Rings Online's Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel to shake him down for every last bit of Mines of Moria expansion info he was holding back from us. We were confident his resolve to deny us exclusive information would crumble under our steely gaze and he would gush forth with exhaustive overviews of the new classes as well as divulge the closely held secrets of the Middle-earth adventures that would await us this Fall.Ok, it didn't quite go like we planned, but at least we learned more about what they had planned for their upcoming Book 13 free content update. And that's just as good as leet beta infoz, right? Right?
More on Moria: Massively interviews Turbine's Jeffrey Steefel
After last Friday's exciting announcement from Turbine -- the Mines of Moria LotRO expansion -- we were hungry for more. Fortunately, we got it: we managed to sit down with executive producer Jeffrey Steefel, the man behind the news, to quiz him on MoM and all things LotRO. Read on for more on Volume II, nerfbats and an insight into Turbine's development process. For more LotRO coverage don't miss our player Q&A report, teasers and rundown of the teaser site -- and keep your eyes glued to Massively, as we'll bring you all the MoM news we can over the coming months!%Gallery-18340%
Double video goodness from LotRO Book 12
After extended maintenance yesterday, the Lord of the Rings Online servers are finally up with the Book 12 The Ashen Wastes content patch locked and loaded. We've already drooled over all the new features in our earlier post, so we'll spare you the rehash here. Instead, you can watch a trailer for Book 12 where LotRO's Executive Producer, Jeffrey Steefel, rehashes it for us. What a sweet guy.We also have a second video that tells the story behind the latest content. Even if you're not a LotRO fan, it's worth a look. The voice work and storytelling are very good.The videos can be clicked full screen and are embedded after the jump.
Lorebook entry looks at the heart of evil in LotRO
Carn Dûm -- the seat of evil in western Middle-earth. 'Twas in this fortress that the Witch-king of Angmar reigned as an oppressor of men, elves, dwarves, and hobbits alike until he was chased off by two heroes. It's home to evil men, orcs, trolls, and some evils that do not sleep. In other words, it's awesome, and you can read all about it in Turbine's new official Lorebook entry.Carn Dûm is one of the places that Turbine has expanded beyond what was contained in the books. While Angmar (of which Carn Dûm is a part) was, as the entry says, "only mentioned in passing in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings," Turbine has filled in the gaps with their own bits of gameplay and lore in The Lord of the Rings Online. The entry also utilizes the Google-based map of Middle-earth that Jeffrey Steefel was talking about in the Ten Ton Hammer interview we covered yesterday.
Turbine talks Korean LotRO, Book 11, Book 12, and more
There's a lot of buzz going for The Lord of the Rings Online. Book 11 was recently released, and it was the game's biggest update so far. Book 12 is in the works. Most importantly from a big-picture standpoint, Turbine has secured deals to launch the game in the Korean and Chinese markets.Turbine's Jeffrey Steefel and Adam Mersky talk to Ten Ton Hammer about all these things and more in a new interview. The Korean launch looks like it might go very well, and it appears that Book 12 will be all about "customization." We've already picked up some details about new options for player housing, but that's only the beginning. Players will soon be able to change their characters' hair at a barber shop.Book 12 will also introduce some sort of system that will allow players to "maintain what they present outwardly to the other players and modify their stats in two different channels," meaning a player will have options if he or she really wants that new piece of armor that has great stats but that looks ridiculously out of place on his or her character.Cool! No details yet on how exactly that will work, though.
New LotRO dev diary video: Player housing
Lord of the Rings Online producer Jeffrey Steefel has released another one of his video dev diaries. These are a series of short videos that explain different features of the game for people who haven't played before.This installment covers the newly introduced Player Housing of Book 11. Jeffery covers the Neighborhood concept, the different racial homes, the various housing sizes as well as decorating, permissions and upkeep. It's an excellent introduction for those interested in this aspect of the game.
LotRO reps talk demographics, casual play, console plans
Yesterday Gamasutra published a five page interview about The Lord of the Rings Online with Turbine's Jeffrey Steefel and Adam Mersky.According to the interview, one third of LotRO players are over 35 because the license drew people new to MMOs -- people who came for "The Lord of the Rings first, the MMO second." Fans of LotRO often claim the game's community is more mature than that of competing games. "Sometimes game communities can be rough, just because of the nature of the competitiveness and the nature of the age range of people playing, and this is a pretty mature, fun place to be a part of," said Steefel.Steefel and Mersky also talked about the challenges of dealing with gold farmers, what the real definition of "casual games" might be, the pluses and minuses of adapting a famous work of literature, the competition, and Turbine's option to produce massively multiplayer games for consoles. As is the case with most Gamasutra interviews, the discussion is an excellent read if you want an inside look.
LotRO dev video diary: Raids
A new Lord of the Rings Online developer diary has been posted on IGN.com, under the title of Raids. Upon watching it, however, it seems that it is more about explaining the basics of Fellowships and Kinships, only touching on raids briefly. If you're an experienced LotRO player, this video won't contain too much to excite you, but it is a nice introduction to the game's partying and guild systems for any beginner. Fellowship Maneuvers are brought up, and this is probably the best nugget of information that anyone starting out in the game could take from the video.So if you feel like some informative light entertainment -- and aren't too busy decorating your new crib -- click below and let executive producer Jeffrey Steefel fill you in on LotRO's team features.
Jeffrey Steefel on all things Book 11
Tentonhammer have got a great interview up on their site with the executive producer of Lord of the Rings Online, Jeffrey Steefel, discussing all things Book 11. (LotRO Books are roughly equivalent to major content patches in other MMOs)A lot of the new content in the update is discussed, ranging from the three-piece, 12-man Balrog raids, to... usable cowbell & bagpipe musical instruments. Blue Öyster Cult would be proud. It also features player characters first encounter with the wonderfully crazy Gollum, with promises that he'll play a major role in the LotRO storyline -- although what kind of role is still being kept under wraps, it's probably not a wild guess to assume he'll be causing a lot of trouble. Nassty hobbitses!Player housing (covered just a few days ago by us) is discussed too. It's a strange -- risky? -- move incorporating player housing into a patch, rather than an expansion pack or, as in certain popular other MMOs, not at all -- yet Jeff comes across as enthusiastic about the subject, and Turbine appear to have thought it through carefully. He also does everything except say "there will be an expansion!" without ... actually saying it. But we all know it's coming, amiright?Book 11 also included some love for the Loremaster & Minstrel classes, the latter of which sorely needed some outside of healing.The interview is three pages long, and definitely worth a read if you're a LotRO fan.
