lord of the rings
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Amazon’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ reportedly has its first cast member
Amazon may have picked the first cast member for its upcoming Lord of the Rings TV series. Sources told several media outlets today that Australian actress Markella Kavenagh will be a series regular in the streaming giant's high-budget rendition of the J.R.R. Tolkien work. Engadget has reached out to Amazon for comment, and will update if we hear back.
Amazon is co-developing a 'Lord of the Rings' game
Lord of the Rings fans have been patiently waiting for the long-promised Amazon series. While we still don't know when the show will debut or who will star in it, Amazon has more Lord of the Rings news. Today, Amazon Game Studios announced that it's working on a Lord of the Rings massively multiplayer online game.
Jurassic World's J.A. Bayona to direct Amazon's Lord of the Rings series
Amazon's highly anticipated TV rendition of Middle-earth has secured some directing talent. Spanish director J.A. Bayona will direct the first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings series and serve as executive producer, reported Deadline. The young director has plenty of experience in the world of big budget fantasy dramas; he most recently directed 2018's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Also under Bayona's belt is tree monster flick A Monster Calls, natural disaster movie The Impossible and Spanish horror film The Orphanage.
Gollum is the star of Daedalic's new 'Lord of the Rings' game
The Lord of the Rings universe just keeps on expanding. Even though the original blockbuster trilogy finished up 16 years ago, and the subsequent Hobbit films sort of bombed, entertainment giants think there's still mileage in the franchise. Amazon has announced a forthcoming TV series, and now Daedalic has revealed it's working on a new game, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum.
Amazon teases when its 'Lord of the Rings' series will take place
Amazon has offered precious little information about its forthcoming Lord of the Rings series, but some Twitter and Instagram teases that started last month are finally bearing fruit. Previous posts showed the map of Middle-earth slowly being filled in with more info, and today's reveal gives a good idea of where the show will focus. The island of Númenor was added to the map, something you won't usually find on most Middle-earth maps. That's because the island was destroyed at the end of the Second Age, thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings.
Amazon's first 'Lord of the Rings' teaser is a minimal Middle-earth map
As things stand, we know very little about Amazon's Lord of the Rings Prime Video series. We do know it will last several seasons and it will include some familiar characters from J.R.R. Tolkien's books, though Amazon was clear it's not remaking Peter Jackson's movies. The release timeline, as well as the aspects of Middle-earth history the show will cover, also remain a mystery. However, we have a little more movement on the project, as the first official teasers for the show have started to trickle out.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: pod homes and electric highways
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. When we first saw the tiny off-grid Ecocapsule pod home, we thought it looked too good to be true -- but last week Nice Architects announced plans to produce the self-sustaining dwelling next year. The Ecocapsule harvests the sun, wind and rain, and it can be easily moved practically anywhere in the world (sort of like a super-futuristic Airstream). Speaking of portable housing, this past week M2C unveiled a series of modular POD tents that can be connected together to create camping communities, and we showcased eight buses that have been converted into amazing mobile homes. Meanwhile, a smartphone-controlled spaceship home landed in Spain, and a team of architects and engineers launched a crowdfunding campaign to build a real-life Lord of the Rings city in England.
Jukebox Heroes: The quieter side of LotRO's soundtrack
Yes, I'm kind of nuts about the Lord of the Rings Online soundtrack. It could be because I've played this MMO more than most any other at this point, but I like to think that it's also due to a really well-done score that does more for world-building than most soundtracks. Even though I've talked about the soundtrack as a whole, interviewed Composer Chance Thomas, discussed my favorite housing themes, and reviewed both the Riders of Rohan and Helm's Deep scores, there's still more that I wanted to cover. Today, I want to share with you exactly why I love this soundtrack: for the quiet moments. There are a select few tracks that are nearly ambient but are also perfectly immersive. I can't help but get kicked in the feels every time one of these comes on, and I know that for years to come I'll have fond memories of LotRO whenever I play them. Let's get a little mellow and hear the whispers of Middle-earth today.
LotRO players host Winterstock II music festival
Lord of the Rings Online is well-known for its player bands that take advantage of the in-game instruments, and this weekend you can hear a lot of musical acts with the return of the Winterstock player festival. Hosted by the Lonely Mountain Band kinship, Winterstock II will feature 31 bands playing over the course of four days from January 16th through the 19th. All shows will be set near Thorin's Gate on the Landroval server. There's a schedule posted on the forums, and if you really want to get into the swing of things, you can listen to the official Winterstock II theme song.
The Road to Mordor: Ten thoughts on LotRO's 2015 plans
This year I'm breaking my long-running tradition of posting a "wish list" for Lord of the Rings Online at the beginning of the new year. This is partially because I'll be in danger of repeating the same old items that I've been yammering on about for quite some time now, and partially because Turbine was on the ball and released a producer's letter this past week that lays out some of the year's plans (by contrast, last year the studio waited until the end of February to do the same). Tradition be hanged! Let's adapt with the events and spend some time evaluating the information we've been given! There's a lot going on in and around this producer's letter, so here are 10 thoughts that I'm taking away from all of this in regard to LotRO's future.
LOTRO maps out 2015, vows to address server populations [Update]
Lord of the Rings Online has a new head honcho, as former Executive Producer Aaron Campbell has transferred to "a new project" at Turbine. Stepping into his shoes will be former DDO Franchise Director Athena Peters. Peters delivered her 2015 producer's letter today with six major initiatives for the first half of the year. These include improvements to legendary items, new fellowship challenges, a possible new PvMP map in Osgiliath, and quality of life fixes. She said that the team will also be delivering episodic content during the year: "We are currently in development on a new type of quest content that will roll out like an episodic TV show, a little at a time, as you follow a new friend across Middle-earth seeing familiar places in a new light." Server merges of a sort are also in the works: "We're taking measures to get everyone onto the more populous servers, so that finding parties is easier and festivals and live events are more fun. We are working on both improved server transfer tools and upgrades to our environments to improve playability. Also we will be moving our European servers back to the EU!" In other LotRO news, an exploit that allowed players to create an overpowered character in the game has been addressed and fixed in a patch that went out earlier today. The hotfix puts level restrictions on a slew of reputation items so that players cannot use them at a lower level and gain access to gated vendor items before the devs intended. Update: Peters penned a follow-up post to clarify certain items in the producer's letter.
One Shots: Pumpkin rider
What better way to usher in the new year than to take a look back at Halloween? OK, so I'm still catching up on all of the terrific player-submitted screenshots in our email, but we're getting closer than ever! In any case, I would not want to let this gourd-headed hero go unnoticed. Reader JohnD is the man behind the mask: "Here is Frani, my level 29 Hunter celebrating the Harvest Festival in Lord of the Rings Online. She got the mount, clothes, and pumpkin mask all this season. Fun time was had by all." Want to be featured in a future edition of One Shots? Send your favorite MMO screenshots to oneshots@massively.com, and don't forget to include your name, the name of the game, and a description of the scene. Large, colorful, UI-free shots that tell a story and really show off the game make for the best images. Look ma, we brought back One Shots!
LotRO cracks down on superman exploit
An exploit that is allowing Lord of the Rings Online players to super-charge their toons is on the end of a stern warning by Turbine today. The studio says that it has already banned and will continue to ban accounts seen using this deliberate loophole. "It has come to our attention that some players have been utilizing an exploit to change how powerful their characters are in the game world," the studio posted today. "Upon receiving reports of the issue we began an investigation. Due to the way our log system works we can definitively detect every account that is taking advantage of this exploit." Turbine is currently working on a fix for the problem. [Thanks to Superswim for the tip!]
Global Chat: Die, DPS meters, die!
Hey you! Yes, you! Are you sick of damage meters ruining your life? Do you rebel against the virtual man by questioning such long-established gaming tropes as levels? Then have we got the column for you! In our last community blog round-up of the year, we've collected some fine pieces of discussion, debate, and introspection -- not to mention a first impression or two to tide you over until 2015. We've also got an essay about the joy of healing, what it's like to play an MMO as a bear, going back to the Isle of Refuge, and more!
LotRO patch nerfs essences, adds group Pelargir epic battle
A small but significant patch hit the Lord of the Rings Online servers last week, bringing with it a new fellowship-size version of the Retaking Pelargir epic battle. This version comes with additional secondary missions and tougher elite mobs (naturally). Also, the team announced that, "Aragorn's voice can FINALLY be heard summoning the dead to fulfill their oaths." Update 15.1 also nerfed essences by only allowing one of each type to be equipped at a time, as multiple copies were deemed too powerful and an obvious threat to Sauron's dominance over Middle-earth. Also, Beornings got a bear-load of tweaks, as well as the permission to use the "-beorn" suffix with names.
Barely Related: The Little Prince trailer, Serial winds down
Remember when "squee" was a thing? Is it still a thing? Because we're feeling a little bit like doing that today. Welcome to Barely Related, a conversational Friday column that presents the non-gaming news stories that we, the Joystiq staff, have been talking about over the past week. And no, we're not stopping our focus on industry and gaming news. Think of this as your casual weekly recap of interesting (and mostly geeky) news, presented just in time to fill your brain with things to discuss at all of those weekend shindigs. Grab a fresh drink, lean back in your armchair, and get ready to talk nerdy with us.
Professor to hold open course in Lord of the Rings Online, asks for bodyguards
Dr. Corey Olsen, better known as Washington College's Tolkien Professor, will be holding an open course in Lord of the Rings Online for any and all who would like to understand the lore of the books by exploring the game. The course will take place on the Landroval server. Here, Olsen (who has a mid-level Guardian) will go through the epic storyline, explore the areas, and compare those to passages from Tolkien's writings. He asked for players to help fight off mobs during his explorations so that he will be free to examine and lecture without distraction. Olsen's teachings will initially be livestreamed on LotRO's official Twitch channel, although the course will be recorded for viewing later on as well. No dates for the course have been set as of yet. [Thanks to Braxwolf for the tip!]
Chance Thomas announces official end to his LOTRO score
While the Lord of the Rings Online score will go on, Chance Thomas' contributions to it will not be a part of the future of the game. The composer announced that despite personal and fan efforts to bring him back, Turbine has declined to use him for future releases, citing tight resources. "Looks like we've come to the end of an era," Thomas wrote on a Facebook post. "I need to thank you for your remarkable support over the years. I'm not sure a composer could have a better playground than Middle-earth, or a more gracious community to share it with." Thomas composed the music for the base game as well as the Mines of Moria and Riders of Rohan expansions. He recently contributed to the score of Dota 2.
Turbine's customer support department spreads holiday cheer
Working customer support for an MMO means that even the best times of your job are still spent dealing with upset players. Sure, the player might recognize that whatever went wrong was just an accident or a bug, but you've still got player issues to manage. It's the sort of work that can make you bitter or cynical, but not so with the customer support team at Turbine Entertainment, which decided to reach out to fans in a slightly happier fashion with holiday cards. Seriously. Real ones. Players on the Lord of the Rings Online forums have reported receiving physical holiday cards from the game's customer service department with hand-written messages and gift cards for 500 Turbine points inside. The community team has stated that this is exactly what it seems to be: a random gesture of kindness and appreciation for the game's playerbase. That message also reminded players to keep their mailing addresses up to date, as this is unlikely to be the only such event. [Thanks to Fredelas for the tip!]
The Soapbox: Six reasons MMOs should abandon raiding, part 1
Raiding is no longer doing MMOs any favors. I've compared raiding to open PvP in the past, and the comparison still holds up. It's something that a lot of games developed in response to a specific genre-defining game have featured. But it's not doing those games any favors, and it might be time to take a hard look at this gameplay element that games survive in spite of rather than because of. If we learn nothing else from WildStar's issues when it launched into what should have been an ideal environment, it's that raiding certainly isn't driving players into a game's waiting arms. But I don't want to just say that and let it roll around on the floor. Let's actually break the argument down across a couple of articles this week. Why does raiding need to shuffle off of the main stage, definitely as the default endgame model, perhaps altogether? I can give you six good reasons.
