*What's next? My wish is for them to **_Fix the Costuming system,_** so it shows what you want in your hands, regardless of what the main Costume has.*
Eu player here. If they update animations and fix the lag... Almost perfect game for me. Landscape and general graphics, I can pefectly live with. In fact, many scenes out there in the game are beautiful. It would be nice also if all group content was made available to lone wolves like me. I don't really care about the gear but feeling that I'm missing out on story content because I like to play the game at my own pace is kind of sad.
What would happen if all us lone wolf players got together and raided? We'd probably dominate for the simple fact that we will smash our teeth on bricks to achieve group content solo
As an EU player I can't get back to it until the lag is fixed. It's awful at times and breaks the immersion completely, not to even mention gameplay side of it.
Same, The UI looks like a N64 game lol The graphics arent that bad maxed out. So if they updated UI and Attack Animations I would loveeeee to commit alot of time to this game.
That is a bad idea and is actually the reason for the downfall of WoW: dungeon finder and making everything accessible to solo players. I have never seen a more supportive community as the one of LotRo. Some of it may have to do with the the universe it is set in, attracting a specific type of people. But a much bigger reason is probably that at some point, people will know your name on a server. They will know who you are and remember the bad things you say or do. You may ask "So, what? I don't care if people think I am an douche." but if so you clearly can't see the bigger picture: if you want to progress and do group content, you are depending on people actually wanting to bring you along. Nobody is going to invite the guy who is a douche to everyone. Having group content and a reputation to your name automatically reduces in a very organic way the amount of toxicity in an MMO. If you make more or all the content available to lone wolfs, this self checking system is not necessary any more. If you implement a system where you can easily find members from other servers to fill up your group for a dungeon (i.e. dungeon finder) you still have group content, but the necessity for a good reputation also disappears because nobody knows you anyway, which will also lead to more toxic players remaining unchecked. So, as much as I sympathise with your problem, sometimes it is better to take a hit to win a battle.
It's true, LoTRo has the absolute kindest most generous player base. Just a bunch of LotR fans being fans together. It's basically a perma LotRs convention lol
I wanted to get into the game but is it really about LotR (or it's universe in general) 'cause there is so much MMOs right now that with all those issues I don't want to start a random MMO that has nothing to do with it's name.
A new engine be nice, but I'd be surprised though if that even happens, lotro right now runs on a very old engine that has been upgraded over time, I learned this from old community manager (who no longer on lotro) that the engine is from 1997 nearly 24-25 years old.
You're thinking of Asherons Call 1&2 game engine, it's still owned by Warner Bros. There are some basic landscape elements that used part of that engine. In all reality LoTRo uses Havock mainly, but it is sparsed with 2 other partial asset engines. It is 98% 2007 Havock Engine.
Having recently come back from final fantasy XIV myself, I believe another thing that would be greatly helpful would be to have a party match system and roulette to bring in older players into older content to help newer players. Similar to the way final fantasy does it.
@@josephdonais4778 By older, I did not mean age. In FF, they have a party matching system that encourages higher level players to participate in random dungeons for rewards. High level players get something they want and lower levels get to experience the content.
The game desperatly needs proper UI scaling and squished level cap. It's really bad on high resolution screens. While some windows you can scale up, some windows like inventory just stay TINY. And quest text is also tiny, unless you use the scaling option in the window (which new players wont see). The other thing is how the game bombards you with all those gift boxes that end up filling your inventory with things that you don't know if you should keep or destroy as a new player. I started playing on a lower resolution, so I could have a UI that's not tiny, but I eventually stopped playing after a weird anxiety started to creep up from the overfilled inventory. Maybe it's because it's an old account and I'm getting anniversary gifts, but my god it's bad. It's especially bad, because the tooltip also doesn't scale and is TINY! There are many people who love old school type MMORPGs, but the fact that they haven't overhauled the UI scaling is absurd. There is another big issue: The level cap is way too high. 140... the level cap is 140. That is insane on multiple levels. First of all it's extremely daunting to think that you're looking at 139 level ups when you join the game. The other issue is that level ups feel less rewarding. Squish the level cap to a good ol 60 and adjust the exp rates so it takes maybe 75% of the time it takes to 140. Hell, have it take 100% of the exp required to reach 140 now, I don't care, just don't do 140, because it leads to the last issue: It splits up the player base. If the level cap was 60, you would be looking at multiple zones that are level appropriate. Say you're level 24, you could choose between 6 or more zones, instead of only having 3 to choose from. This leads to players being able to go different zone routes to level cap. It also means that players would have an easier time forming dungeon groups, because the level ranges of dungeons would stay relevant for longer and you would be level appropriate for way more dungeons than it would be if you're leveling through 140 levels. Imagine if all the level 120 - 140 zones were around 50 - 60, 100 - 120 zones around 40 - 50, 70 - 100 zones around 30 - 40 etc etc... I don't like it when zones scale, I like that old school design where zones have levels, but I like bigger selections of where to go explore and quest. I see these two things are the main points that is holding the game back. New players will 100% quit if they can't deal with the horrible UI scaling and deal with a 140 level cap. It's a shame, because this game does so many things well.
A new graphic engine for the game would be incredible. I just hope that means that players on older PC's (my PC is coming on 7 years old) wont have to do too much to upgrade the rig
how about an 12 year old computer that was the best at its time, with 4 8GB ram sticks, with 3 fans, that is 72 times 72 times 24 cm by size and has been used for lotro for 11 years
@@r3mxd Not everyone has the money, dude. Believe me, if I could I'd be getting a brand new gaming pc but I'm stuck with a computer that's got Intel 4400.
Wow it’s people like u that holds games back. Stop saying that crap. I’m poor and I have a 10 year old computer. Blah blah blah. Just stop. U are the reason some games look like hell and nobody is playing them. Period. It isn’t expensive to upgrade dude.
I always think if they could just make some way of making a game of this scale in UE5 they would create a masterpiece, the sheer realism and detail would draw players in from everywhere
My understanding of the Unreal Engine is that it would blow up if it had to handle an MMO. It creates very graphically impressive games, but not at scale.
Don't know if you reread old streams, but I want to thank you for your streaming of LOTR, I played as Elf Champion to lvl 27, but left game for 2-3 months, because of your enthuasim I reinmstalled, bought Before the Shadow, restarted and am loving Swanfleet. I don't why people complain of graphics, redone areas are beautiful and at age 70 I walk and take my time to be immersed into this beautiful world. In no rush to level up, will do quest, explore, and anyways thanks again. You have my subscribe and like.
i really, really hope they don't do a level squish. I've been playing since 2020 with a group and we've all about reached level 120 for the first time, so it does take a while (especially if you are casual) but I honestly really like that. I love feeling like a lot of the game exists before endgame. And I've kind of grown attached to the slow feel of leveling. So many games rush it that I think Lotro can hold its own, now, simply by offering something different. It doesn't need to get in line with the other big players necessarily - we could use a little variety in the field. Rest of these i definitely agree on though! (minus endgame since, obviously, haven't gotten there yet to tell). The biggest pain points that I have, I think, are the maps and the 3-man quests. We are a group of 4 so it always sucks having to split 2-2 just to do something - and the maps not lining up with barriers etc can definitely get frustrating. Would love to see them overhaul and update those to give some better navigation!
I'm enjoying a Bright new Life in lotro 😎 awesome game. I highly encourage other ppl who have been bound to "mmo shackles" to give it a go instead of being tied to just one. Expand your horizons and try new ones! Before I only played WoW for years, but then I gave FF14 and now LOTRO a chance. It felt like a second "golden era" of gaming for me 😄 only just finishing up Mines of Moria so have a looot of things to do 😙
I hope you're right regarding the lag and what the devs have mentioned. I've already expressed my opinion on their forums under the same user name. Fix the lag, it was the number one reason I stopped playing. This game still has a lot of potential, I enjoyed everything about the game, other than the aforementioned. Your content is still top notch, keep it up, the numbers will continue to grow.
Changing the trait system and connecting it to levels should have cleaned up a lot of lag issues. ESO had this same problem storing so much irrelevant data on the server side and not the user side. In essence LoTRo did the same thing. By making minimal achievements tied to account level it freed up a ton of tabulation power. That being said, they still have a way to go...
@@jasonwilliams6696 I've read on their forums that some of the lag issues have been addressed with more coming next year. I wouldn't mind heading back to the game down the road, but until then, I'm off playing other, more modern games where lag isn't an issue. Having more MMO's on the market is always a good thing and if LOTRO can fix most, if not all of the lag, great. I started playing ESO about a year and a half ago, never noticed any lag, but that might have been well after those issues were addressed from ZOS. I stopped playing that game maybe six months after I started, good game, just wasn't a game I wanted to invest time and money in, and from what I've read on their forums of late, they've monetized the game more than it was... When you have a streamer, such as Lucky Ghost, an avid ESO player bringing it up on his YT channel, probably not a good thing. lol I understand these companies wanting to make money, it is a business, but reinvesting that money back into their game and trying to attract more players should be the goal.
@@MacMc691 ESO had a shit ton of lag problems in PvP bc it was programmed by mentally handicapped monkeys. No lie - they made mistakes a 13 year old inexperienced programmer would know to avoid.
They would need to give a lot of effort to make that happen. It's not impossible because on console u already have mmo like ESO and it is good, controls are not hard, so it is possible to put it on console
@@davidoks1335 EsO have 2 bars with 5 skills on each bar /+ult/ eso have 50. Will never be converted to console. Will never get graphical updated, because server can barely run the game as it is now. Lag wont be fixed, because without new engine they cant do much, and they will never buy new one. SSG just milking it.
You are a very talented streamer. I wish you well, and I wish Lotro well. I was inspired by the music from it because I loved a flute track that chance Thomas added years ago to it with an alto flute. The lag was always an issue. The 64-bit client was a fabulous addition, and the recent fixes to lag etc. Mounted combat was horrible because of the lag, even just travelling through a town on it due to rubberbanding. Lotro is one of those games I can relax in and enjoy the scenery and music. I don't play it anymore because I feel inspired to create lately. But I will probably pop back in the future without having to get a sub.
I have played this game for fifteen years, It's great, but it needs the new engine and graphics updated, so enough of chat and get it done is what I say!
I love lotro, and I would love to see it finally getting the recognition it deserves. A new engine and console port would bring so many people to the game which would be exciting. The only is how would they play on console without a keyboard, are they also revamping the skills to be more like FFIVX and ESO? I guess time will tell.
I think a poll about what people think on posibly changing the game's combat or gameplay would be very interesting, I for one would have no problem in a more updated take on the abilities and combat, like in new world or ESO, buuut I also think that going down to just 4-5 skills would be too much, this needs to be kind of a middle ground.
Consoles allow for a ton of abilities, bc a shoulder button can become a type of toggle which turns other buttons into more buttons. For example, DC UO just uses L2 & R2 to transform the 4 buttons into 12. And that game only allows an 8 button bar. The top 4 alone can turn the 4 main buttons into 20 abilities. And you still have the remaining 8 buttons on the controller on top of that. All in all, a console controller could easily have 44 keys that are easy to perform.
@@nowayjosedaniel I completely agree with that but lotro has soooo many skills for just one character. My Guardian has at least twenty skills in the hot bars and atleast 10 more miscellaneous potions and food that i use in battles. I think the sheer amount of skills wouldn't be able to be used like you mentioned. And when I say over hall I don't mean completely change the class but rather has more passives and maybe more skills that need to be triggered by something else happening.
The funny thing about calling it a small game is that it was mid-sized in the very recent past. If memory serves, when Daybreak/SSG was bought by EG7 2-3 years ago, I think MassivelyOP reported that EG7 said in some presentation that LOTRO had something like 100k monthly users and something like 40k subs (no idea how many are 'lifers' though). I don't know how much that shrank since but that sounded to me like the game was healthy. I do hope you are right about the engine but I'm really not sure they'd convert the game over to a new engine, it is such a big task that even WOW has settled for overhauls and upgrades their current engine rather than porting to a new one. I'd love a new one simply because it'd likely solve a lot of issues because they could make sure it has the features they need to maintain the game easier. I'm at a point where I'm just hoping they can make some nominal gains over time. So long as they get the lag under control, I'm not picky about the rest :) PS: If I remember correctly DCOU was Daybreak's biggest game with LOTRO coming in second when EG7 took over. I could be mistaken though.
Getting an IP like this is a once in a lifetime deal if you're lucky. I've always felt they treated the material seriously and did a great job immersing the player. Doing anything to keep it relevant is a smart move that shouldn't be wasted.
You prolly don’t remember me but I’m that guy that told u I was reading the books at the same time and I invented that workout with that tree.. well it’s almost been two years since I’ve been able to play pc games and I just found out I can play the switch after finding that out I find out about the steam deck !!!!!! Wat a godsend I’m gona be on arkenstone and joining ur kin if it’s stil a thing for sure can’t believe I’m finally gona get to play lotro again
I played when it first came out in 2007. Got as far Mines of Moria expansion and stopped before Mirkwood. Now I am back after ten years and just got past Mirkwood and now onto Isenguard (singing the 'taking the Hobbits to Isenguard' whe playing it).
The new expansion interests me! Before I buy it, I have a question: how do I access it? If I start a new character, will it be the default quest line? Do I need to do something specific? Thanks in advance to whoever can answer me.
@@BrightlifeMMOs you get an option which to choose. BTS or classic. But you have to click on it. It doesnt just take you to BTS. even though it says before the shadow. you still have to click on it and choose.
I'm genuinely excited about the future of this games development, and blown away by the amount of free content in place to get you engaged. It's a world worth exploring, and I love your enthusiasm with bringing new faces into the fold. See you all in game!
I play this game since 2008, on russian servers, I hope the game will give many more good updates and attract more players. Thank you lotro for the most heartfelt game and community
Closer to 20 year old engine I was in the alpha tester group 18 ears ago and I was not in the first group so I would guess they made the engine at least 2 years before that time. Also I thing if they do go the route of a new engine I dont think there will be down time. Most likely they will just have a test server running in tandem where you as a current player can download a client on the version they are building and testing. This is how they did it in the past. I do think there will be a few years where they do not release any new content perhaps though. unless they keep a few Devs on the current version or maybe rotate the devs so that they all have experience on the new platform as well.
If they tunnel that glut of cash from the Marvel cancellation and spend it on the game and not marketing the amount of content and engine/graphical enhancements (plus their current cash stream) they could do anything with the game. Absolutely anything.
I can't believe you didn't mention that LOTRO needs a user interface overhaul. It's too small. Many of the assets are not scalable. Those that are scalable are in low resolution.
This, this, and more this! The UI scalability makes playing at high resolution and sitting back a bit from a large monitor and trying to view the small text with the eyes of a fifty-something....Impossible! Not a good combination!
I would love to see a level system by zone like gw2 that allows higher lvl players to play on level with gear that scales down. It would fix that cricket zone and potentially grab more players (edit: typo)
Very nice Videos mate, always wanted to get the game and glad i just looked you up. You‘ve got a nice voice too listen too and you really give some nice insight Deserves a Sub, keep it up
Your Reckless Optimism is LEGENDARY, and the reason I forgive a lot of your algo-chasing habbits ;-} Now this is a WHOLE NEW LEVEL!!! And know what? I'm here for it! :D
1 more like for your hard work and incredible energy and for the sake of the algoritm of RUclips so more ppl watch your vids brother, you well deserve it!!!
Goodness I hope your speculation becomes true. I personally thought the before the shadow should’ve been free and maybe add a donation tab for players to donate to SSG for the content if they wanted. My only concern is What if all these new players coming to the game don’t pick up the expansion since they aernt invested in the game yet. Or maybe do a free to play through lvl 7 in swan fleet to atleast excite those new players to come in and purchase it. Right now I think it’s great for running alts but I feel as though a new player will auto select the free starter zone since they are just getting in the game. Graphics and console port would be so huge for this game. If this game was on Xbox gamepass I know a lot of new players would download it just to check it out because to them it be a brand new game for lotr content and which console has starved for lotr big open world content.
The console port would mean a complete combat overhaul. They would absolutely have to tie the current 3 engines the game uses into a modern game engine. Maybe buy/lease the rights to Cry3 or something. I could see LoTRo molding well with that engine. Building their own from the ground up would be a task, then again that may be their only path as many assets are from Asherons Call which is a dead engine still owned by Warner Bros.
Not a chance the game engine will be updated. What's more likely is that the engine will be modified to run on modern operating systems, databases etc and so take advantage of the best that cloud-based platforms can offer and allow for higher def textures & animations. The codebase that the game is built on - so the tools that the devs use etc - will be the same.
@@bobthedonutman404 I never said they were updating the engine you moron - read my OP where I specifically stated that they would be updating the O/S and DB versions and not the engine & dev tools. Do you even read?
If I‘ve learned one thing in life its the fact that if something sounds to good to be true in most cases it isn‘t. And graphics overhaul, new engine sounds like that. I hope I‘m wrong tough. Really hope it :D
I think we need to remember that SSG has ~40 employees--not all of them are devs either. If they switch engines--they'd have to participate in training--for anyone not familiar with it. I believe a new engine would be a long way off and to have it implemented even longer. Probably looking at 6 months of training then a year or more of porting and anything that can't be ported over needs to be re-programmed from the ground up. Also any third party integrations they may have like the payment system and store would need to be remapped. It's a gargantuan undertaking and it's important that people are able to take in the full scope of the processes involved.
It's a tricky situation that Lotro has gotten itself into... It will take a gamer with a lot of spare time on their hands many months to reach the level cap, and then even longer to gear the character. The end-game weapon-tracery-system is just a grind that doesn't need to be there. Games that are as non-alt-friendly as Lotro tend to only really cater to a very niche group or people. PVMP - devs are totally clueless and don't play the pvp themselves and are therefore making changes that are both unpopular and totally nonsensical. This pushes a lot of the end-game community away. Lag - totally unacceptable levels of lag, and only those who are totally addicted or those who refuse to play anything else will opt in to play Lotro in it's current state. They keep releasing updates to the game which just makes the lag worse. It's pretty evident that the game needs a fix for the lag, rather than expansion after expansion. I mean where does the level cap end? Will it just keep on increasing indefinitely? Who knows - certainly not the devs. Store - rip-off prices in the store. P2W isn't great in any game and really isn't conducive to creating a far-reaching, well-populated MMO... and this sort of ties into my first point regarding the silly level cap - you can buy your way up to almost level cap, and they charge you an absolute fortune for this. It's daylight robbery because the alternative is to spend thousands of hours maxxing an alt, which just isn't an option for most people. Like you, I would consider Lotro my home, but I don't know whether it has the staff or budget required to bring it into the modern era. I really wish it did, but I am personally now spending more of my time on other MMO's like WoW as they seem to be more willing, at least at the moment, to actually listen and cater to the wants and needs of the players.
They shouldn’t need to have downtime as there should be a load balancer in front and they can just change the direction of traffic to a new pool of servers.
I hope you are right, but I don't think so because they already said they would have to redo all the artwork if they got a new engine. It would cost too much to do that.
I hear some dungeons can take 3-4 hours total if you're not with a balanced and skilled group. But apart from that I'd assume you can play as slow as you want. Smell the flowers on the way :) there is no rush. Try out a bunch of classes before you get too far to feel their playstyle. Free to play the first levels too so there is no initial cash investment. Find a good server with a good guild (don't remember their name in lotro) that also play slow and enjoy the story, if there is such a guild. If you don't enjoy the game just move on - easy peasy :P
are they still using the predatory monetization tactics where you had to pay money to start some of the main story quest lines? or how is the monetization nowadays?
Just a question because its not completely clear. Do I have to buy the latest expansion to take part in the new player leveling experience or its avaible for everyone?
new engine?!? i think that is a very big task for Standing Stone Games to take on, but if it's true, then LOTRO with better graphics & less lag is what i believe the game needs to get the attention of other MMORPG gamers🧙🏼♂️
I can GURANTEEE you that SSG will NOT be taking on putting LOTRO on a new engine. The only way LOTRO gets a new engine overhaul, is if someone , somehow decides to investy HEAVILY into this game. ANd I mean it would have to be a heavy hitter of a company, with LOTS of capital, and resources. They would buy the rights from SSG. The unfortunate thing about that happening is, almost can gurantee you that it will be an Asian owned/based company. And they will absolutley micro transaction and pay to win the hell out of the game.
There's no need for LOTRO to compete with any other MMO whatsoever. You're forgetting one simple fact; LoTRO is based on Tolkien, and the ONLY MMO based on this kind of lore. This game is here is to stay, and it will stay as long as there's fans of the books (which means forever). It's been up and running since 2007, and honestly it's been great so far. Ppl who are loyal to tolkien and ARE gamers will always be playing this game no matter what. Currently LoTRO is ranked at position 29, and it has about 3mil registered players, and daily logins about 55k (not counting steam). More healthy than that it cannot be. This game is made for the fans of LoTR, and obviously isn't for everyone.
You're such a lovely bloke. keep up the good work :) I've just joined lotro after re-watching LOTR movies with the wife and your videos have been a great help. Cheers!
Actually I do not believe that they will build an entire new engine however I do imagine that they will heavily update the current one. Making an engine from scratch takes much more resources than just investing in reengeneering the current one. Technically speaking Unreal Engine 4 is more of a rework of UE 3 rather than work from scratch (I guess this image of software has become very popular event though it is not necessairly accurate, you never throw away code that works to restart from scratch as far as I am aware of). The adventage would also be that migration of the game would be much easier. I believe if they just stop working on the game for some time and focus on modernizing their engine in many aspects that would already help. If they did a new engine from scratch there is no way they could just "migrate" all the content in the game. They would have to redo the game step by step. Which could work like the legendary worlds, so you got the game working on the old engine and the then the game running on the new engine on a different server that will be updated step by step until they finished reintegrating all of the content of the game. When they reached this point they will role out a big shutdown for the old worlds and then migrate all the data they have to the game engine. Also to add to your points - they also announced that they plan to build a new launcher with better protection and phone verification features. Since the launcher is most likely very engine dependent - I do believe they are already working on making important changes for that. Besides that I totally agree with everything you brought up and great metaphors btw ;)
@@jamesmaclennan4525 it will be optional anyway. Besides many people have requested two factors authentication because of the additional security it offers
Honestly, it entirely depends. It can often be waaaay easier and faster to start over from scratch than update an old piece of software riddled for 10+ years with problematic updates and spaghetti code by 100's of people.
I played LotRO at launch and have come back a few times over the years. It's a fantastic MMO! About year ago I started anew on one of the two new time-locked servers (the one with faster xp gain). I had a great experience and, as you say in your video, there is no better MMO community that in LotRO. Unfortunately, the population of that progression server dwindled pretty fast and I eventually took a break for D2R, as I recall. I keep thinking about going back but haven't puled the trigger. One thing that would definitely bring me back for a more committed amount of time would be to see a new engine and updated graphics implemented. The graphics in LotRO has always been one of my sticking points. It would be nice to see them modernized. Great video!
Had a similar experience - played LOTRO for 9+ years but stopped. My computer crashing and lag was frequently a problem. The new server and updated graphics sound great - I'll definitely keep up with the news and see how things develop. It would be nice to return to ME again ☺
I'd love a graphics and mechanics update. The faces of the characters aren't much different to the faces on Goldeneye on the N64 lol. In fact, they should just roll with unreal engine 5 and I just would not play any other game ever haha.
really enjoyed this one, especially the speculating!! I'm really hoping we get rewarded with a brand new engine and graphics re-haul. Along with opening it to consoles I really would love that because it would help grow the numbers even more!!
I have been jumping back into lotro very casually(maybe an hour or two every couple of days) and have been enjoying it. I played it back when moria was the latest xpac and quite around the time Rohan was about to release. I never got past level 60 lol. I've been enjoying it but I am finding myself getting a bit frustrated woth the inventory management. I was flooded with a bunch of gifts(birthday gifts and xpac bundles). I want to open all of these things but they just fill my inventory with cosmetics I can't store somewhere without spending money lol. I have no clue what I should delete and what I should keep.
Since the new patch, I can't get past the patch update failing and not being able to start the game. The error is vague but I was really enjoying myself.
I disagree that the middle game should be compressed. LOTRO is not a "raiding" game.. sure, there are some raids, but it's not like WoW where everyone rushes to end game and then gets on the raid treadmill. LOTRO is overall (for me, anyway, and I think most players) about spending a lot of time in a carefully crafted world. Is it to a certain demographic of modern gamers' tastes? Maybe not. But it is kinda ridiculous to talk of it rivalling WoW or Final Fantasy 14 at this point in its lifespan... it's a great game, don't get me wrong, and I think it can get a lot more players who fall in love with it, but it's sort of a niche at this point. Drastically changing the scope and "feel" of the game to match some perceived "modern way" of doing things would be counter productive... Just my opinion. Maybe they could add a second "fast track" to end game, going through different questing paths to get to end game would work, if they wanna add more raids and try to attract that sort of gameplay style. As far as massive engine/graphics overhaul... I'm not holding my breath, but I think incremental and meaningful improvements will be made. It's an old code base and a smaller team; it'd be a shame if people not familiar with development or project lifetime cycles expect something that I don't think is realistic. But hey I'd love to be proven wrong! LOTRO is gorgeous anyway...
Haha just as I thought, I go down into the comments "Yeah new engine! Redesigned real-time combat like New World! Do it in Unreal 5!" These people will be disappointed...
I'm also concerned that everyone looked at language in an investor presentation and assumed it's a definite thing that will happen. The community got whipped up into a froth... I know they made further announcement about working on these things, but none of it is written in stone. We shall see.
I so agree... its about the epic quest line for me. Which is why the " missions " thing is a turn off. You must play them if you want nice stuff, so its becoming less and less about the story and more about the upgrade treadmill. Its actually getting more boring and grindy.
Overall an amazing game and probably the most immersive mmo I have ever played. My biggest issue with the game is indeed the lag and the somewhat lowish population. I play on the supposedly highest pop server and we peak at around 600-800 but hover mostly at around 500. I wish they would merge servers, but then lag would probably be even worse. Leveling is mostly a single player journey, which is fine because the worldbuilding and questing is amazing, but I am a dungeon lover and really enjoy to group up and grind dungeons. That rarely happens in this game while leveling.
It's a no-brainer that SSG should build a new engine based on UnReal Egnine 5.1. Recreating the entire content of 15 years is a titanic task, but it could certainly be done faster and with fewer limitations in UE5.1, with stunning photoreal or stylized results. May not be to everyone's taste ofc.
As an european player I have to say lately lag isn't that bad, it happens sometimes, but it's like one or two times per month on average where it really gets bad, so it's manageable, but minas tirith is definitively still a big no no for me, it just won't work properly in a responsive manner, ever
*raises hand* Yep, I have come back to the game over the years and played many years in total, but lag was one of the largest reasons I left. I like to do challenging solo/small group PvE and PvP, and with lag, it makes the difference between life and death, nearly every time. I'm competitive, so it's a dealbreaker for me. For more casual players, it doesn't matter nearly as much
Maybe one of the reasons is because some people have trouble logging in and accessing the game. I’m an old player that wants to go back to lotro but I can’t access the game
This is definitely a problem! I had a long-time player & close relative to help me access the game. Without that help, I would've given up entirely. This is a must-fix for sure.
I was an original Beta tester for LOTRO and played solid for a couple of years and have played a bit sporadically ever since. I'd love for LOTRO to be more successful but they need to work on the new player experience. The starter areas are great but once you get to Bree and can see all of the different currencies, it can be overwhelming.
I heard about fixes for lag for a decade ... so forgive me when I say I abandoned LOTRO last year for GW2 and they will have to mend a *lot* to get me to come back. And I am Lifetime VIP at that and spent an ungodly amount of money on the game before I finally called it quits. They had their first, second, third ... ad infinitum ... chances and they blew it every time.
Lucky on the lifetime VIP, I so wish I would have bought it. Then again, lifetime VIP usually kills a game. LoTRo got lucky in that they continued to make content and ofc the Hobbit helped majorly. Asherons Call... Not so lucky. That's why SSG didn't buy it, it was on life support.
Played it for couple months.. great game and community overall...but half the time when I enter combat I'm getting rubber banded by lag.. so often that it just breaks the game for me
Hi, I am new to the whole Lotro game. I am confused on what to purchase. I´ve been playing for free and have been starting in the basic zone. I do own the VIP, but I was thinking about buying the expansions. How does it work? Because for example in WoW, you have to buy the latest expac. I know that in the VIP, there are expansions until the Fate of Gundabad. So my question is, do I have to buy Fate of Gundabad asap, or do I wait until levels like 130? Same question is for the Before the Shadow. Thank you and sorry for these noob questions. :-) Edit: I figured out, that Before the Shadow is a mini xpac and Fate of Gundabad is the end game with a level cap of 140. Am I right?
Before the Shadows is an AMAZING new player experience for the first levels (2 zone). Gundabad is end game. Dont buy it until you get there. Everything else is free now I think, or was with a code. The difficulty slider is locked to the legendary servers, which are time locked, and require subs, but make landscaping very challenging (and thus fun, with your choice in difficulty). Best thing I've ever purchased was Mount Speed (max) and my favorite Account wide unlocked Mount. The mount speed (you only need the fastest, so dont buy both) makes ALL mounts you own as fast as you unlocked. So it allows you to use ANY mount, rather than only the fastest. Milestone skills are a really great use of your points (if you arent a hunter/warden) as well as the (4?) associated Traveller skills which bring the milestone and return to skills to essentially infinite reuse (no wait). (if you love alts) an account steed is mandatory but otherwise any steed you like (only some have account wide unlock options). The best universal for all characters IMO are the 3 (Thorins Hall, Rivendell, and Bree account steeds). I use Bree on all my characters bc I love it. My wife uses Thorins hall on all hers even tho she always uses Elves. Holiday Festivals also often have good "free" mounts. No points required. Best to wait for these things to go on sale, preferably after purchasing Double/Triple points. We only purchase double points. Triple points we spend the most. Then when wait for sales each week to spend them. If you love crafting, the 2 premium ingredient crates are great to find or get. One is free players, 2nd is vip players, and every single day you can loot it for the universal ingredient packs. Eventually if you login each day to nab the two on as many alts as you can get to lvl 10, you'll have so many you feel you have infinite packs. Bc every characyer you own can loot both crates each day, but the resulting looted ingredient packs are account (server) shared. But you can find both of these on other player's properties, so you dont necessarily have to buy them. We did bc we preferred crafting at our house in the Shire. Other good use of points are the handful of cosmetics only found in the store, or lalia's market. Also dont forget to get "Return to Lalia's Market" on any character you play, so you never need to waste a milestone for Bree.
@@nowayjosedaniel Wow, thank you so much Carter. I am having a blast so far, but the new starter zone is a bit confusing. But I am getting into it with my girlfriend.
IF they bring in a new game engine, but keep the CORE gameplay and game, this will be a MASSIVE upgrade and will REALLY inject a lot of life into this amazing game!
I played LOTRO way back, I think Rohan was about to be released when I stopped playing. I got a Hunter to max level back then. I've been wanting to jump back in, but the outdated graphics and performance issues keep me from coming back. I keep hoping the engine and graphics overhaul happens, cause I've been craving LOTR content. If they actually do it, I'll pay for a VIP sub.
SUBSCRIBE to make me study a calendar so that I can finally remember what day it is.
*What's next? My wish is for them to **_Fix the Costuming system,_** so it shows what you want in your hands, regardless of what the main Costume has.*
Eu player here. If they update animations and fix the lag... Almost perfect game for me. Landscape and general graphics, I can pefectly live with. In fact, many scenes out there in the game are beautiful. It would be nice also if all group content was made available to lone wolves like me. I don't really care about the gear but feeling that I'm missing out on story content because I like to play the game at my own pace is kind of sad.
What would happen if all us lone wolf players got together and raided?
We'd probably dominate for the simple fact that we will smash our teeth on bricks to achieve group content solo
As an EU player I can't get back to it until the lag is fixed. It's awful at times and breaks the immersion completely, not to even mention gameplay side of it.
Same, The UI looks like a N64 game lol The graphics arent that bad maxed out. So if they updated UI and Attack Animations I would loveeeee to commit alot of time to this game.
That is a bad idea and is actually the reason for the downfall of WoW: dungeon finder and making everything accessible to solo players.
I have never seen a more supportive community as the one of LotRo. Some of it may have to do with the the universe it is set in, attracting a specific type of people. But a much bigger reason is probably that at some point, people will know your name on a server. They will know who you are and remember the bad things you say or do. You may ask "So, what? I don't care if people think I am an douche." but if so you clearly can't see the bigger picture: if you want to progress and do group content, you are depending on people actually wanting to bring you along. Nobody is going to invite the guy who is a douche to everyone. Having group content and a reputation to your name automatically reduces in a very organic way the amount of toxicity in an MMO.
If you make more or all the content available to lone wolfs, this self checking system is not necessary any more. If you implement a system where you can easily find members from other servers to fill up your group for a dungeon (i.e. dungeon finder) you still have group content, but the necessity for a good reputation also disappears because nobody knows you anyway, which will also lead to more toxic players remaining unchecked.
So, as much as I sympathise with your problem, sometimes it is better to take a hit to win a battle.
Another step to a better LOTRO is getting creators like you behind it! I’ll be tuning in for more
Thanks my man! That means a ton to me!
It's true, LoTRo has the absolute kindest most generous player base.
Just a bunch of LotR fans being fans together. It's basically a perma LotRs convention lol
It’s so nice!! I love it!
I wanted to get into the game but is it really about LotR (or it's universe in general) 'cause there is so much MMOs right now that with all those issues I don't want to start a random MMO that has nothing to do with it's name.
@@enveloppe its more lore friendly than the movies. Literally can't be better in that regard
@@jovanjakovljevic7507 Thats great thank you! Also sorry I really didn't know how to say it but yes, "lore friendly" is what I wanted to say
@@enveloppe That's quite alright! Enjoy the holidays :D
A new engine be nice, but I'd be surprised though if that even happens, lotro right now runs on a very old engine that has been upgraded over time, I learned this from old community manager (who no longer on lotro) that the engine is from 1997 nearly 24-25 years old.
You're thinking of Asherons Call 1&2 game engine, it's still owned by Warner Bros.
There are some basic landscape elements that used part of that engine.
In all reality LoTRo uses Havock mainly, but it is sparsed with 2 other partial asset engines.
It is 98% 2007 Havock Engine.
After Amazon's Lotro cancellation this is a great time for a fully updated game with a new engine and more stability. Hoping for the best.
I haven’t played LOTRO in so long. I think Isengard/Mirkwood. Glad to see this game is still on going.
Having recently come back from final fantasy XIV myself, I believe another thing that would be greatly helpful would be to have a party match system and roulette to bring in older players into older content to help newer players. Similar to the way final fantasy does it.
YES! Great idea!!
No clue how FF does it. I am 60yrs old, many players are my peers. How old do you need us to be?
@@josephdonais4778 By older, I did not mean age. In FF, they have a party matching system that encourages higher level players to participate in random dungeons for rewards. High level players get something they want and lower levels get to experience the content.
The game desperatly needs proper UI scaling and squished level cap. It's really bad on high resolution screens. While some windows you can scale up, some windows like inventory just stay TINY. And quest text is also tiny, unless you use the scaling option in the window (which new players wont see).
The other thing is how the game bombards you with all those gift boxes that end up filling your inventory with things that you don't know if you should keep or destroy as a new player. I started playing on a lower resolution, so I could have a UI that's not tiny, but I eventually stopped playing after a weird anxiety started to creep up from the overfilled inventory. Maybe it's because it's an old account and I'm getting anniversary gifts, but my god it's bad. It's especially bad, because the tooltip also doesn't scale and is TINY!
There are many people who love old school type MMORPGs, but the fact that they haven't overhauled the UI scaling is absurd.
There is another big issue: The level cap is way too high. 140... the level cap is 140. That is insane on multiple levels. First of all it's extremely daunting to think that you're looking at 139 level ups when you join the game. The other issue is that level ups feel less rewarding. Squish the level cap to a good ol 60 and adjust the exp rates so it takes maybe 75% of the time it takes to 140. Hell, have it take 100% of the exp required to reach 140 now, I don't care, just don't do 140, because it leads to the last issue: It splits up the player base. If the level cap was 60, you would be looking at multiple zones that are level appropriate. Say you're level 24, you could choose between 6 or more zones, instead of only having 3 to choose from. This leads to players being able to go different zone routes to level cap.
It also means that players would have an easier time forming dungeon groups, because the level ranges of dungeons would stay relevant for longer and you would be level appropriate for way more dungeons than it would be if you're leveling through 140 levels. Imagine if all the level 120 - 140 zones were around 50 - 60, 100 - 120 zones around 40 - 50, 70 - 100 zones around 30 - 40 etc etc...
I don't like it when zones scale, I like that old school design where zones have levels, but I like bigger selections of where to go explore and quest.
I see these two things are the main points that is holding the game back. New players will 100% quit if they can't deal with the horrible UI scaling and deal with a 140 level cap. It's a shame, because this game does so many things well.
A new graphic engine for the game would be incredible. I just hope that means that players on older PC's (my PC is coming on 7 years old) wont have to do too much to upgrade the rig
Agreed on that - definitely want to make sure everyone can still play!
7 yeahs bruh time to upgrade
how about an 12 year old computer that was the best at its time, with 4 8GB ram sticks, with 3 fans, that is 72 times 72 times 24 cm by size and has been used for lotro for 11 years
@@r3mxd Not everyone has the money, dude. Believe me, if I could I'd be getting a brand new gaming pc but I'm stuck with a computer that's got Intel 4400.
Wow it’s people like u that holds games back. Stop saying that crap. I’m poor and I have a 10 year old computer. Blah blah blah. Just stop. U are the reason some games look like hell and nobody is playing them. Period. It isn’t expensive to upgrade dude.
I always think if they could just make some way of making a game of this scale in UE5 they would create a masterpiece, the sheer realism and detail would draw players in from everywhere
My understanding of the Unreal Engine is that it would blow up if it had to handle an MMO. It creates very graphically impressive games, but not at scale.
@@theoperator3712 I believe Ashes of Creation is using UE5
Don't know if you reread old streams, but I want to thank you for your streaming of LOTR, I played as Elf Champion to lvl 27, but left game for 2-3 months, because of your enthuasim I reinmstalled, bought Before the Shadow, restarted and am loving Swanfleet. I don't why people complain of graphics, redone areas are beautiful and at age 70 I walk and take my time to be immersed into this beautiful world. In no rush to level up, will do quest, explore, and anyways thanks again. You have my subscribe and like.
i really, really hope they don't do a level squish. I've been playing since 2020 with a group and we've all about reached level 120 for the first time, so it does take a while (especially if you are casual) but I honestly really like that. I love feeling like a lot of the game exists before endgame. And I've kind of grown attached to the slow feel of leveling. So many games rush it that I think Lotro can hold its own, now, simply by offering something different. It doesn't need to get in line with the other big players necessarily - we could use a little variety in the field.
Rest of these i definitely agree on though! (minus endgame since, obviously, haven't gotten there yet to tell). The biggest pain points that I have, I think, are the maps and the 3-man quests. We are a group of 4 so it always sucks having to split 2-2 just to do something - and the maps not lining up with barriers etc can definitely get frustrating. Would love to see them overhaul and update those to give some better navigation!
I'm enjoying a Bright new Life in lotro 😎 awesome game. I highly encourage other ppl who have been bound to "mmo shackles" to give it a go instead of being tied to just one. Expand your horizons and try new ones! Before I only played WoW for years, but then I gave FF14 and now LOTRO a chance. It felt like a second "golden era" of gaming for me 😄 only just finishing up Mines of Moria so have a looot of things to do 😙
LOVE IT!
I hope you're right regarding the lag and what the devs have mentioned. I've already expressed my opinion on their forums under the same user name. Fix the lag, it was the number one reason I stopped playing. This game still has a lot of potential, I enjoyed everything about the game, other than the aforementioned. Your content is still top notch, keep it up, the numbers will continue to grow.
Changing the trait system and connecting it to levels should have cleaned up a lot of lag issues.
ESO had this same problem storing so much irrelevant data on the server side and not the user side.
In essence LoTRo did the same thing. By making minimal achievements tied to account level it freed up a ton of tabulation power.
That being said, they still have a way to go...
@@jasonwilliams6696 I've read on their forums that some of the lag issues have been addressed with more coming next year. I wouldn't mind heading back to the game down the road, but until then, I'm off playing other, more modern games where lag isn't an issue. Having more MMO's on the market is always a good thing and if LOTRO can fix most, if not all of the lag, great.
I started playing ESO about a year and a half ago, never noticed any lag, but that might have been well after those issues were addressed from ZOS. I stopped playing that game maybe six months after I started, good game, just wasn't a game I wanted to invest time and money in, and from what I've read on their forums of late, they've monetized the game more than it was... When you have a streamer, such as Lucky Ghost, an avid ESO player bringing it up on his YT channel, probably not a good thing. lol I understand these companies wanting to make money, it is a business, but reinvesting that money back into their game and trying to attract more players should be the goal.
@@MacMc691 ESO had a shit ton of lag problems in PvP bc it was programmed by mentally handicapped monkeys. No lie - they made mistakes a 13 year old inexperienced programmer would know to avoid.
I remember when they updated the water with DX11. It was amazing for the time.
I'm still not sure how the console update would work. Since many mechanics in the game are not really designed for console.
They would need to give a lot of effort to make that happen. It's not impossible because on console u already have mmo like ESO and it is good, controls are not hard, so it is possible to put it on console
@@davidoks1335 EsO have 2 bars with 5 skills on each bar /+ult/ eso have 50. Will never be converted to console. Will never get graphical updated, because server can barely run the game as it is now. Lag wont be fixed, because without new engine they cant do much, and they will never buy new one. SSG just milking it.
Danke! From Germany
Danke from the US! Thank you for the support!
You are a very talented streamer. I wish you well, and I wish Lotro well. I was inspired by the music from it because I loved a flute track that chance Thomas added years ago to it with an alto flute. The lag was always an issue. The 64-bit client was a fabulous addition, and the recent fixes to lag etc. Mounted combat was horrible because of the lag, even just travelling through a town on it due to rubberbanding.
Lotro is one of those games I can relax in and enjoy the scenery and music. I don't play it anymore because I feel inspired to create lately. But I will probably pop back in the future without having to get a sub.
I also would like to ask what that very cool microphone you have is?
Hey thanks Sufy! I believe it’s from HyperX!
Their "lag solutions" have caused more lag so far.
Awesome video! I am a WoW/LotRO combo player but LotRO definitely has a special place in my heart :) Always happy to run into other content creators!
I have played this game for fifteen years, It's great, but it needs the new engine and graphics updated, so enough of chat and get it done is what I say!
Let’s get it done!!
Unless it's an update to the current engine the port will be very hard.
do you have a video on the jewel of Masal? The only one I find spins the camera around and can't tell which direction to go next
I love lotro, and I would love to see it finally getting the recognition it deserves. A new engine and console port would bring so many people to the game which would be exciting. The only is how would they play on console without a keyboard, are they also revamping the skills to be more like FFIVX and ESO? I guess time will tell.
It would be an interesting prospect! Here’s to seeing what happens in the future!
I think a poll about what people think on posibly changing the game's combat or gameplay would be very interesting, I for one would have no problem in a more updated take on the abilities and combat, like in new world or ESO, buuut I also think that going down to just 4-5 skills would be too much, this needs to be kind of a middle ground.
Consoles allow for a ton of abilities, bc a shoulder button can become a type of toggle which turns other buttons into more buttons.
For example, DC UO just uses L2 & R2 to transform the 4 buttons into 12. And that game only allows an 8 button bar.
The top 4 alone can turn the 4 main buttons into 20 abilities. And you still have the remaining 8 buttons on the controller on top of that.
All in all, a console controller could easily have 44 keys that are easy to perform.
@@nowayjosedaniel I completely agree with that but lotro has soooo many skills for just one character. My Guardian has at least twenty skills in the hot bars and atleast 10 more miscellaneous potions and food that i use in battles. I think the sheer amount of skills wouldn't be able to be used like you mentioned. And when I say over hall I don't mean completely change the class but rather has more passives and maybe more skills that need to be triggered by something else happening.
Absolutely true about community, thats why i've back in game after 10 years break
The funny thing about calling it a small game is that it was mid-sized in the very recent past. If memory serves, when Daybreak/SSG was bought by EG7 2-3 years ago, I think MassivelyOP reported that EG7 said in some presentation that LOTRO had something like 100k monthly users and something like 40k subs (no idea how many are 'lifers' though). I don't know how much that shrank since but that sounded to me like the game was healthy.
I do hope you are right about the engine but I'm really not sure they'd convert the game over to a new engine, it is such a big task that even WOW has settled for overhauls and upgrades their current engine rather than porting to a new one. I'd love a new one simply because it'd likely solve a lot of issues because they could make sure it has the features they need to maintain the game easier.
I'm at a point where I'm just hoping they can make some nominal gains over time. So long as they get the lag under control, I'm not picky about the rest :)
PS: If I remember correctly DCOU was Daybreak's biggest game with LOTRO coming in second when EG7 took over. I could be mistaken though.
Hello whats your favourite class
I have some old old characters from Windfola. Are they recoverable?
not played in a few years, but fingers crossed.
Getting an IP like this is a once in a lifetime deal if you're lucky. I've always felt they treated the material seriously and did a great job immersing the player. Doing anything to keep it relevant is a smart move that shouldn't be wasted.
Here's hoping for an engine update!
YEEEES! Great to see you as always Vault ❤
You prolly don’t remember me but I’m that guy that told u I was reading the books at the same time and I invented that workout with that tree.. well it’s almost been two years since I’ve been able to play pc games and I just found out I can play the switch after finding that out I find out about the steam deck !!!!!! Wat a godsend I’m gona be on arkenstone and joining ur kin if it’s stil a thing for sure can’t believe I’m finally gona get to play lotro again
I played when it first came out in 2007. Got as far Mines of Moria expansion and stopped before Mirkwood. Now I am back after ten years and just got past Mirkwood and now onto Isenguard (singing the 'taking the Hobbits to Isenguard' whe playing it).
The new expansion interests me! Before I buy it, I have a question: how do I access it? If I start a new character, will it be the default quest line? Do I need to do something specific? Thanks in advance to whoever can answer me.
Hey Rill! When you start a new character, the option to start your character in Before the Shadow is there in the character creation space :)
@@BrightlifeMMOs thanks for your answer!! I'll definitely give the expansion a shot then. :D
@@BrightlifeMMOs you get an option which to choose. BTS or classic. But you have to click on it. It doesnt just take you to BTS. even though it says before the shadow. you still have to click on it and choose.
I'm genuinely excited about the future of this games development, and blown away by the amount of free content in place to get you engaged.
It's a world worth exploring, and I love your enthusiasm with bringing new faces into the fold.
See you all in game!
I play this game since 2008, on russian servers, I hope the game will give many more good updates and attract more players. Thank you lotro for the most heartfelt game and community
Big LOTR fan can’t believe I haven’t played this yet 😅
I'm surprised the transition to renewable power is taking so long when we could easily run the world on this guy's positive energy!
Just noticed: from Shadows to Mordor, then from Lake Town to Gundabad, now from Swan Fleet to Oceana (whatever it'll be called).
Do I need to buy the latest X-Pac to level in the new starting area?
I hope you're right! A new engine would be welcome.
Closer to 20 year old engine I was in the alpha tester group 18 ears ago and I was not in the first group so I would guess they made the engine at least 2 years before that time. Also I thing if they do go the route of a new engine I dont think there will be down time. Most likely they will just have a test server running in tandem where you as a current player can download a client on the version they are building and testing. This is how they did it in the past. I do think there will be a few years where they do not release any new content perhaps though. unless they keep a few Devs on the current version or maybe rotate the devs so that they all have experience on the new platform as well.
If they tunnel that glut of cash from the Marvel cancellation and spend it on the game and not marketing the amount of content and engine/graphical enhancements (plus their current cash stream) they could do anything with the game. Absolutely anything.
I can't believe you didn't mention that LOTRO needs a user interface overhaul. It's too small. Many of the assets are not scalable. Those that are scalable are in low resolution.
I myself have a 4k capability but have to bring my resolution down to 1900. But it's still worth it.
This, this, and more this! The UI scalability makes playing at high resolution and sitting back a bit from a large monitor and trying to view the small text with the eyes of a fifty-something....Impossible! Not a good combination!
It would be SO cool to play LOTRO from the couch on my PS5.
The subtle PS5 flex is GREAT! :D
I would love to see a level system by zone like gw2 that allows higher lvl players to play on level with gear that scales down. It would fix that cricket zone and potentially grab more players (edit: typo)
Very nice Videos mate, always wanted to get the game and glad i just looked you up.
You‘ve got a nice voice too listen too and you really give some nice insight
Deserves a Sub, keep it up
What class should I roll as a long time mmo player but first time in lotro
If the new engine is there, i definitely gonna play the game again.
Right now it kinda hurts playing it with a monitor with more than 1080p
Your Reckless Optimism is LEGENDARY, and the reason I forgive a lot of your algo-chasing habbits ;-} Now this is a WHOLE NEW LEVEL!!! And know what? I'm here for it! :D
1 more like for your hard work and incredible energy and for the sake of the algoritm of RUclips so more ppl watch your vids brother, you well deserve it!!!
Dude that means SO much! Thank you!
Imagine if they migrated LOTRO to Unreal Engine 5 - one can only dream...
Saaame that would be awesome!
If the game is boring who cares about graphics..
If LOTRO gets a graphical remaster and it actually looks good , I'm in...
Goodness I hope your speculation becomes true. I personally thought the before the shadow should’ve been free and maybe add a donation tab for players to donate to SSG for the content if they wanted. My only concern is What if all these new players coming to the game don’t pick up the expansion since they aernt invested in the game yet. Or maybe do a free to play through lvl 7 in swan fleet to atleast excite those new players to come in and purchase it. Right now I think it’s great for running alts but I feel as though a new player will auto select the free starter zone since they are just getting in the game. Graphics and console port would be so huge for this game. If this game was on Xbox gamepass I know a lot of new players would download it just to check it out because to them it be a brand new game for lotr content and which console has starved for lotr big open world content.
I agree with that man!! Here’s to hoping those things come true! Love your suggestions!!
The console port would mean a complete combat overhaul.
They would absolutely have to tie the current 3 engines the game uses into a modern game engine.
Maybe buy/lease the rights to Cry3 or something.
I could see LoTRo molding well with that engine.
Building their own from the ground up would be a task, then again that may be their only path as many assets are from Asherons Call which is a dead engine still owned by Warner Bros.
Not a chance the game engine will be updated. What's more likely is that the engine will be modified to run on modern operating systems, databases etc and so take advantage of the best that cloud-based platforms can offer and allow for higher def textures & animations. The codebase that the game is built on - so the tools that the devs use etc - will be the same.
I don't think you realize how hard it would be to modify a 15 year old engine like that
@@bobthedonutman404 and yet that's exactly what they're doing - ruclips.net/video/SBqEuID1e4s/видео.html
@@michaelreid5307 that's not the engine, that's the server and launcher, lmao
@@bobthedonutman404 I never said they were updating the engine you moron - read my OP where I specifically stated that they would be updating the O/S and DB versions and not the engine & dev tools. Do you even read?
If I‘ve learned one thing in life its the fact that if something sounds to good to be true in most cases it isn‘t. And graphics overhaul, new engine sounds like that. I hope I‘m wrong tough. Really hope it :D
Actually observer quests have been there since the beginning in Angmar!
How are you liking that prs?
The community is one of the best I’ve ever seen or have been apart of
It just shows how awesome this game is because haters can only ever cry about graphics and nothing else.
If they did a ue5 quality graphic update and added siege pvp in areas like Gondor, Mordor, Helms deep the game would have mass amounts of players
Love the PRS in the background! ^^
I think we need to remember that SSG has ~40 employees--not all of them are devs either. If they switch engines--they'd have to participate in training--for anyone not familiar with it. I believe a new engine would be a long way off and to have it implemented even longer. Probably looking at 6 months of training then a year or more of porting and anything that can't be ported over needs to be re-programmed from the ground up. Also any third party integrations they may have like the payment system and store would need to be remapped.
It's a gargantuan undertaking and it's important that people are able to take in the full scope of the processes involved.
It's a tricky situation that Lotro has gotten itself into...
It will take a gamer with a lot of spare time on their hands many months to reach the level cap, and then even longer to gear the character. The end-game weapon-tracery-system is just a grind that doesn't need to be there. Games that are as non-alt-friendly as Lotro tend to only really cater to a very niche group or people.
PVMP - devs are totally clueless and don't play the pvp themselves and are therefore making changes that are both unpopular and totally nonsensical. This pushes a lot of the end-game community away.
Lag - totally unacceptable levels of lag, and only those who are totally addicted or those who refuse to play anything else will opt in to play Lotro in it's current state. They keep releasing updates to the game which just makes the lag worse. It's pretty evident that the game needs a fix for the lag, rather than expansion after expansion. I mean where does the level cap end? Will it just keep on increasing indefinitely? Who knows - certainly not the devs.
Store - rip-off prices in the store. P2W isn't great in any game and really isn't conducive to creating a far-reaching, well-populated MMO... and this sort of ties into my first point regarding the silly level cap - you can buy your way up to almost level cap, and they charge you an absolute fortune for this. It's daylight robbery because the alternative is to spend thousands of hours maxxing an alt, which just isn't an option for most people.
Like you, I would consider Lotro my home, but I don't know whether it has the staff or budget required to bring it into the modern era. I really wish it did, but I am personally now spending more of my time on other MMO's like WoW as they seem to be more willing, at least at the moment, to actually listen and cater to the wants and needs of the players.
They shouldn’t need to have downtime as there should be a load balancer in front and they can just change the direction of traffic to a new pool of servers.
I hope you are right, but I don't think so because they already said they would have to redo all the artwork if they got a new engine. It would cost too much to do that.
i wanna play this game but i dont have a lot of time would 2 or 3 hours a week be enough? to play?
I hear some dungeons can take 3-4 hours total if you're not with a balanced and skilled group. But apart from that I'd assume you can play as slow as you want. Smell the flowers on the way :) there is no rush. Try out a bunch of classes before you get too far to feel their playstyle. Free to play the first levels too so there is no initial cash investment. Find a good server with a good guild (don't remember their name in lotro) that also play slow and enjoy the story, if there is such a guild. If you don't enjoy the game just move on - easy peasy :P
I wonder if it's better to wait for the 'remaster', before jumping in?
if a true remaster is coming and it's convincing yes for sure wait for it, you will have a better experience by playing it revamped.
are they still using the predatory monetization tactics where you had to pay money to start some of the main story quest lines? or how is the monetization nowadays?
Just a question because its not completely clear. Do I have to buy the latest expansion to take part in the new player leveling experience or its avaible for everyone?
You have to buy it but base cost of the expansion is like 19 dollars, and it has more conent than many other expansions (lvls 1 to 32)
@@TBPetitP Meh that sucks then, not a very good idea to put the new player experinece behind a paywall. Guess its a pass for me then.
new engine?!? i think that is a very big task for Standing Stone Games to take on, but if it's true, then LOTRO with better graphics & less lag is what i believe the game needs to get the attention of other MMORPG gamers🧙🏼♂️
MY MAN! Now I want it to happen even more - we need more Moo in LOTRO!
I can GURANTEEE you that SSG will NOT be taking on putting LOTRO on a new engine. The only way LOTRO gets a new engine overhaul, is if someone , somehow decides to investy HEAVILY into this game. ANd I mean it would have to be a heavy hitter of a company, with LOTS of capital, and resources. They would buy the rights from SSG.
The unfortunate thing about that happening is, almost can gurantee you that it will be an Asian owned/based company. And they will absolutley micro transaction and pay to win the hell out of the game.
There's no need for LOTRO to compete with any other MMO whatsoever. You're forgetting one simple fact; LoTRO is based on Tolkien, and the ONLY MMO based on this kind of lore. This game is here is to stay, and it will stay as long as there's fans of the books (which means forever). It's been up and running since 2007, and honestly it's been great so far. Ppl who are loyal to tolkien and ARE gamers will always be playing this game no matter what. Currently LoTRO is ranked at position 29, and it has about 3mil registered players, and daily logins about 55k (not counting steam).
More healthy than that it cannot be. This game is made for the fans of LoTR, and obviously isn't for everyone.
You're such a lovely bloke. keep up the good work :)
I've just joined lotro after re-watching LOTR movies with the wife and your videos have been a great help. Cheers!
Just started playing lotro for the first time last week. Enjoying it so far!
I tried it a few years ago and didn't make it long in the game. If they bring in an overhaul, I will definitely give it another go.
What class is he playing?
Would be nice to see the devs try to overhaul the graphics.
Actually I do not believe that they will build an entire new engine however I do imagine that they will heavily update the current one. Making an engine from scratch takes much more resources than just investing in reengeneering the current one. Technically speaking Unreal Engine 4 is more of a rework of UE 3 rather than work from scratch (I guess this image of software has become very popular event though it is not necessairly accurate, you never throw away code that works to restart from scratch as far as I am aware of). The adventage would also be that migration of the game would be much easier. I believe if they just stop working on the game for some time and focus on modernizing their engine in many aspects that would already help.
If they did a new engine from scratch there is no way they could just "migrate" all the content in the game. They would have to redo the game step by step. Which could work like the legendary worlds, so you got the game working on the old engine and the then the game running on the new engine on a different server that will be updated step by step until they finished reintegrating all of the content of the game. When they reached this point they will role out a big shutdown for the old worlds and then migrate all the data they have to the game engine.
Also to add to your points - they also announced that they plan to build a new launcher with better protection and phone verification features. Since the launcher is most likely very engine dependent - I do believe they are already working on making important changes for that.
Besides that I totally agree with everything you brought up and great metaphors btw ;)
Phone verification means I will have to stop playing LOTRO as I refuse to own a mobile phone.
@@jamesmaclennan4525 it will be optional anyway. Besides many people have requested two factors authentication because of the additional security it offers
Honestly, it entirely depends. It can often be waaaay easier and faster to start over from scratch than update an old piece of software riddled for 10+ years with problematic updates and spaghetti code by 100's of people.
I played LotRO at launch and have come back a few times over the years. It's a fantastic MMO! About year ago I started anew on one of the two new time-locked servers (the one with faster xp gain). I had a great experience and, as you say in your video, there is no better MMO community that in LotRO. Unfortunately, the population of that progression server dwindled pretty fast and I eventually took a break for D2R, as I recall. I keep thinking about going back but haven't puled the trigger. One thing that would definitely bring me back for a more committed amount of time would be to see a new engine and updated graphics implemented. The graphics in LotRO has always been one of my sticking points. It would be nice to see them modernized. Great video!
Had a similar experience - played LOTRO for 9+ years but stopped. My computer crashing and lag was frequently a problem. The new server and updated graphics sound great - I'll definitely keep up with the news and see how things develop. It would be nice to return to ME again ☺
It was lag, and UI scaling for a 4k screen that stopped me from playing
I'd love a graphics and mechanics update. The faces of the characters aren't much different to the faces on Goldeneye on the N64 lol. In fact, they should just roll with unreal engine 5 and I just would not play any other game ever haha.
I know I’m late, but they should really work on closed server transfers.
really enjoyed this one, especially the speculating!! I'm really hoping we get rewarded with a brand new engine and graphics re-haul. Along with opening it to consoles I really would love that because it would help grow the numbers even more!!
Yes dude! Love your videos, by the way!
What server does sir bright life play on?
Hey dude! I play on Arkenstone!
@@BrightlifeMMOs most depressing, I play on Crick hollow with friends and I don't want to abandon them 😭
I have been jumping back into lotro very casually(maybe an hour or two every couple of days) and have been enjoying it. I played it back when moria was the latest xpac and quite around the time Rohan was about to release.
I never got past level 60 lol.
I've been enjoying it but I am finding myself getting a bit frustrated woth the inventory management. I was flooded with a bunch of gifts(birthday gifts and xpac bundles). I want to open all of these things but they just fill my inventory with cosmetics I can't store somewhere without spending money lol. I have no clue what I should delete and what I should keep.
I'd love a console port so I could just chill on the couch and explore Middle-earth
Since the new patch, I can't get past the patch update failing and not being able to start the game. The error is vague but I was really enjoying myself.
I disagree that the middle game should be compressed. LOTRO is not a "raiding" game.. sure, there are some raids, but it's not like WoW where everyone rushes to end game and then gets on the raid treadmill. LOTRO is overall (for me, anyway, and I think most players) about spending a lot of time in a carefully crafted world. Is it to a certain demographic of modern gamers' tastes? Maybe not. But it is kinda ridiculous to talk of it rivalling WoW or Final Fantasy 14 at this point in its lifespan... it's a great game, don't get me wrong, and I think it can get a lot more players who fall in love with it, but it's sort of a niche at this point. Drastically changing the scope and "feel" of the game to match some perceived "modern way" of doing things would be counter productive...
Just my opinion. Maybe they could add a second "fast track" to end game, going through different questing paths to get to end game would work, if they wanna add more raids and try to attract that sort of gameplay style.
As far as massive engine/graphics overhaul... I'm not holding my breath, but I think incremental and meaningful improvements will be made. It's an old code base and a smaller team; it'd be a shame if people not familiar with development or project lifetime cycles expect something that I don't think is realistic. But hey I'd love to be proven wrong! LOTRO is gorgeous anyway...
Haha just as I thought, I go down into the comments "Yeah new engine! Redesigned real-time combat like New World! Do it in Unreal 5!" These people will be disappointed...
I'm also concerned that everyone looked at language in an investor presentation and assumed it's a definite thing that will happen. The community got whipped up into a froth... I know they made further announcement about working on these things, but none of it is written in stone. We shall see.
I so agree... its about the epic quest line for me. Which is why the " missions " thing is a turn off. You must play them if you want nice stuff, so its becoming less and less about the story and more about the upgrade treadmill. Its actually getting more boring and grindy.
Overall an amazing game and probably the most immersive mmo I have ever played. My biggest issue with the game is indeed the lag and the somewhat lowish population. I play on the supposedly highest pop server and we peak at around 600-800 but hover mostly at around 500. I wish they would merge servers, but then lag would probably be even worse. Leveling is mostly a single player journey, which is fine because the worldbuilding and questing is amazing, but I am a dungeon lover and really enjoy to group up and grind dungeons. That rarely happens in this game while leveling.
It's a no-brainer that SSG should build a new engine based on UnReal Egnine 5.1. Recreating the entire content of 15 years is a titanic task, but it could certainly be done faster and with fewer limitations in UE5.1, with stunning photoreal or stylized results. May not be to everyone's taste ofc.
As an european player I have to say lately lag isn't that bad, it happens sometimes, but it's like one or two times per month on average where it really gets bad, so it's manageable, but minas tirith is definitively still a big no no for me, it just won't work properly in a responsive manner, ever
Dude that’s GREAT to hear! I know they’ve been doing big work in that department, so it makes me excited to hear that things are going better! ❤️ EU!
*raises hand* Yep, I have come back to the game over the years and played many years in total, but lag was one of the largest reasons I left. I like to do challenging solo/small group PvE and PvP, and with lag, it makes the difference between life and death, nearly every time. I'm competitive, so it's a dealbreaker for me. For more casual players, it doesn't matter nearly as much
Maybe one of the reasons is because some people have trouble logging in and accessing the game. I’m an old player that wants to go back to lotro but I can’t access the game
This is definitely a problem! I had a long-time player & close relative to help me access the game. Without that help, I would've given up entirely. This is a must-fix for sure.
New zone is great, but only odd thing, no random food/cook drops or recipes. I have several characters in that zone and have yet to see or receive one
I was an original Beta tester for LOTRO and played solid for a couple of years and have played a bit sporadically ever since. I'd love for LOTRO to be more successful but they need to work on the new player experience. The starter areas are great but once you get to Bree and can see all of the different currencies, it can be overwhelming.
Theyve already completed the first new player experience. It is the best two zones in the game.
It's called Before the Shadows.
I heard about fixes for lag for a decade ... so forgive me when I say I abandoned LOTRO last year for GW2 and they will have to mend a *lot* to get me to come back. And I am Lifetime VIP at that and spent an ungodly amount of money on the game before I finally called it quits. They had their first, second, third ... ad infinitum ... chances and they blew it every time.
Lucky on the lifetime VIP, I so wish I would have bought it.
Then again, lifetime VIP usually kills a game.
LoTRo got lucky in that they continued to make content and ofc the Hobbit helped majorly.
Asherons Call... Not so lucky. That's why SSG didn't buy it, it was on life support.
Played it for couple months.. great game and community overall...but half the time when I enter combat I'm getting rubber banded by lag.. so often that it just breaks the game for me
Hi, I am new to the whole Lotro game. I am confused on what to purchase. I´ve been playing for free and have been starting in the basic zone. I do own the VIP, but I was thinking about buying the expansions. How does it work? Because for example in WoW, you have to buy the latest expac. I know that in the VIP, there are expansions until the Fate of Gundabad. So my question is, do I have to buy Fate of Gundabad asap, or do I wait until levels like 130? Same question is for the Before the Shadow. Thank you and sorry for these noob questions. :-)
Edit: I figured out, that Before the Shadow is a mini xpac and Fate of Gundabad is the end game with a level cap of 140. Am I right?
Before the Shadows is an AMAZING new player experience for the first levels (2 zone).
Gundabad is end game. Dont buy it until you get there.
Everything else is free now I think, or was with a code.
The difficulty slider is locked to the legendary servers, which are time locked, and require subs, but make landscaping very challenging (and thus fun, with your choice in difficulty).
Best thing I've ever purchased was Mount Speed (max) and my favorite Account wide unlocked Mount. The mount speed (you only need the fastest, so dont buy both) makes ALL mounts you own as fast as you unlocked. So it allows you to use ANY mount, rather than only the fastest.
Milestone skills are a really great use of your points (if you arent a hunter/warden) as well as the (4?) associated Traveller skills which bring the milestone and return to skills to essentially infinite reuse (no wait).
(if you love alts) an account steed is mandatory but otherwise any steed you like (only some have account wide unlock options). The best universal for all characters IMO are the 3 (Thorins Hall, Rivendell, and Bree account steeds). I use Bree on all my characters bc I love it. My wife uses Thorins hall on all hers even tho she always uses Elves.
Holiday Festivals also often have good "free" mounts. No points required.
Best to wait for these things to go on sale, preferably after purchasing Double/Triple points.
We only purchase double points. Triple points we spend the most. Then when wait for sales each week to spend them.
If you love crafting, the 2 premium ingredient crates are great to find or get. One is free players, 2nd is vip players, and every single day you can loot it for the universal ingredient packs. Eventually if you login each day to nab the two on as many alts as you can get to lvl 10, you'll have so many you feel you have infinite packs. Bc every characyer you own can loot both crates each day, but the resulting looted ingredient packs are account (server) shared. But you can find both of these on other player's properties, so you dont necessarily have to buy them. We did bc we preferred crafting at our house in the Shire.
Other good use of points are the handful of cosmetics only found in the store, or lalia's market.
Also dont forget to get "Return to Lalia's Market" on any character you play, so you never need to waste a milestone for Bree.
@@nowayjosedaniel Wow, thank you so much Carter. I am having a blast so far, but the new starter zone is a bit confusing. But I am getting into it with my girlfriend.
@@nowayjosedaniel as vip I think its free through rohan then everything after is expansion. ( mordor, Eribor, 3 peaks, gundabad etc..)
IF they bring in a new game engine, but keep the CORE gameplay and game, this will be a MASSIVE upgrade and will REALLY inject a lot of life into this amazing game!
They can change everything they want, just keep the story intact, that needs no fidgeting
I played LOTRO way back, I think Rohan was about to be released when I stopped playing. I got a Hunter to max level back then. I've been wanting to jump back in, but the outdated graphics and performance issues keep me from coming back. I keep hoping the engine and graphics overhaul happens, cause I've been craving LOTR content. If they actually do it, I'll pay for a VIP sub.