LOTRO is a great game, but it suffers from the same problem most MMORPGs suffer and thats that it has been allowed to get old. Tossing a new coat of paint doesnt hide from the fact that there have been many advances in gaming that LOTRO cant take advantage from which would otherwise allow it to be a more interactive game that feels like a living breathing world, as well as provide better more fluid gameplay. An LOTRO 2 has been LOOOOOOOOOOOONG overdue and, in my opinion ( and I say this in regard to all MMORPGs), it should not allow a full decade to go by before getting the next one up and running. And it doesnt help the fact that they charge monthly sub for a game that's 16 years old, which deters new players or old players from coming back, when they could be going for newer MMOS or MMORPGs that only charge for the purchase of the game.
If this guys fix the lag, give me the UI scaled for 4k gaming and keep restarting those legendary servers, like treebeard from the start over and over again, i will come back no questions asked.i really really need 4k UI to be able to play this BEAUTIFUL game at it's best!
LOTR online , World/Environment aged well best part of the game.. would had like too see the Character model be updated, the create a player got a 2007ish PS2 look..
There are a lot of problems with the media fervour created by the EG7 report (which did not give the details or context necessary to understand exactly what that decision was about). 1. The cancelled plans were largely about the console port, not the graphics updates or performance improvements. Indeed, even the console port is potentially still on the table if they can find a different approach, according to the Executive Producer Severlin. That is a very different picture to how this was painted by many in news reports, etc. 2. The graphics updates are still happening, albeit gradually rather than in one big update. We've seen some of that this year with revamped player avatars for the Race of Man and the cosmetic refresh to the Last Homely Home, and arguably the improvements we'll see in Corsairs of Umbar (with new water textures, waves, and an entirely new biomes) fall under this category too. These kinds of changes will continue next year and in future years, with more avatar revamps, new lighting and shadow tech, as well as upgrades to DX12, 4k support (including UI scaling and icon up-scaling), among other things. Improvements to earlier low-fidelity textures are likely also. 3. Performance updates are also still happening, with several Engineers working on these right now. While these come slower than we'd like, they have already chipped away at some inefficient ways of doing things behind the scenes, and hopefully all of these fixes will snowball into noticeable improvements in the relatively near future. Other improvements coming include 64-bit servers, a new launcher, 2FA, and something that may make European players happy. The recent Store update was also a necessity, not for cosmetic reasons, but because of outdated technology, and it is significantly faster than the old Store. 4. LOTRO continues to deliver major updates and expansions on a regular basis, with one of the biggest expansions just a week or so away. This is on top of a feature-packed year that largely surpassed the promises made in the Letter to Players earlier this year (with, among other things, the new Race of River Hobbits and Lyndelby Housing not even on that roadmap). This is the very opposite of "life support", and I think many players of other MMOs would be jealous of the amount of updates and content LOTRO players continue to get after 16 years. 5. There is far too much unfounded doom and gloom about LOTRO's future with the upcoming Amazon LOTR MMO. Aside from the fact that that game is likely years away (and LOTRO may turn 20 before that even launches), both games will likely take such drastically different approaches that they will both be successful in their own ways. Sure, Amazon's game will have better graphics (though LOTRO looks remarkably good for its age, as I think anyone who plays the upcoming expansion will attest), but the gameplay will likely be comparatively simplified (with fewer skills for combat, for example), and the world will be significantly smaller. At the end of the day, MMOs need lots of content, existing and new, to keep players engaged, and that is a major strength LOTRO has, with 16 years of regions, systems, classes, etc. added to the game. Amazon will have a tough time competing with that. Finally, we should look to DDO, LOTRO's sister game from SSG, as a good example of how a popular license can go to another developer (Neverwinter, in this case) and yet the older game can still survive and thrive. Sure, player numbers won't be phenomenal, but DDO also gets yearly expansions and multiple other updates per year, among other things, which shows that this can still happen for LOTRO when there's a direct competitor out there. I have heard cries about LOTRO dying since even before it launched, with yearly "it'll be gone this time next year" predictions for the past 16 years. While eventually the game will sail into the West, with a further decade or two of ideas for content, and lots of the map still to fill in, plus the feature-packed year of 2023 (which largely already factored in EG7's decision much earlier than the public presentation), there are a lot of reasons for players to be very optimistic about the game.
Greetings! Yep - LOTRO was doomed right from the start and it was dying ever since, if you wanted to believe the doom and gloom crowd. Graphics are, as you said, still fine, considering the age of the engine. Would we like to have the game running on an Unreal 4 engine, of course we would. But that is never going to happen. The biggest problem was and still is the abysmal "lag-problematic". That´s the isssue they have to fix and of course bring the European servers back to Europe! It was an asinine move in the first place to haul them away. The game is still far away from life-support, and as long it is profitable it will stay! Concerning Amazon - lol - they already stated that they will play fast and loose with Tolkeins lore. That´s a dealbreaker for me from the get-go. A MMO placed in the First Age would be a great thing - but Amazon doesn´t have the rights nor the expertise to pull something like that off! And considering the absolutly terrible job the did with RoP, I´m not afraid that the Amazon game will spell doom for LOTRO.
Excellent reply man! Thanks so much for engaging!! Definitely not trying to seem doom and gloom - the biggest thing I’m hoping to emphasize is that if EG7 isn’t willing to commit to something “big,” then there likely won’t be a big bump in players as any of the needed changes will need to be seen as too expensive. The game is still awesome and I’ll love it forever! But my solution will come in part 2, can’t wait to hear what you think!
LOTR online would be awesome if they update , just the created Heroes and PVP Monster models.. the World graphically age well .. isn't a new class coming out (The Mariner) ? I hope amazon makes a good mmorpg and it's not Botched up like Rings of Power and New World , if it ends up sucking atleast we got the old school LOTR online and the awesome EA beat em up games 😅
@@callum105 why would that be wrong?, why would it be unthinkable that elves and dwarves would have different cultures, skin tones and facial features, much like humans do?
@@artsveiman7776cuz they are either racist, or so miserable the need to find an enemy around every corner. Feel sad for these people. They really are pathetic.
I’m optimistic. The community is bomb. Also there is no way that an LOTR MMO by Amazon will launch with half of the features that Lotro has. Loving the new Content and Mariner class. Excited.
the main reasons people play this game is because of how true it is to tolkien, how engaging the story is & for great RP-ability - the amazon lotr mmo will do none of these things, and if the combat is anything like new world, that will suck too lol. Amazon are far too up themselves to produce good, honest games and shows imo @@jakoby256
I am confident that LOTRO will still prevail since Amazon couldn't get it right with Rings of Power. They literally threw Tolkien's material out the window to overwrite it with their own. It will be very much the same with a game. New world only had moderate success and only sustained for a year before plummetting quickly in player numbers. I ain't too worried about it honestly.
@@jakoby256 no, there are tons of games with combat systems that people like you consider fun. They aren't playing LotRO. Therefore, there will be no players leaving, because they already left long ago.
The only part of LotRO Remastered that is cancelled is the console port, the rest will be slower without external (outside of SSG) investment but SSG is still committed to graphical improvements. While I am disappointed that EG7 pulled back from the investment I'm also not surprised, financial groups are focused on money above all. If anyone is curious what LotRO's Executive Producer has to say about it here's his answer from a recent Q&A: ruclips.net/video/a-1MrT55gIY/видео.htmlsi=DP6NRKlEunLS8E4V&t=1790
I love LOTRO just the way it is. Maybe I'm just old, but it has given me some great memories. It's like life was simpler back then, and the love that was put into this game, to me, is still there. I love new graphics like every one else, but to me, LOTRO is just special.
Lag is an ongoing concern. It had gotten pretty good for awhile there. The last month, it’s crept back in the last month. I’m afraid that’s due to folks coming back to prepare for Umbar. That probably means it’ll be back with a vengeance. Hopefully I’m wrong on that because that might mean the the first few months of the expansion will be rough :(
Having heard that Delvings were a big part of the problem is grim, because I'm not sure they are an important part of most players' experience. Just getting rid of Delvings is an obvious solution. It is remarkable how uneven the problem is: can go an hour with no lag, then 9 seconds standing there, not sure if disconnected it's so bad, then 3 seconds 10 seconds later, then nothing for hours. Very odd.
I played until 4-5 years ago. I left to concentrate on other things. I returned about a month ago and I have never experienced such terrible lag in this game. I hope they fix it because this is still a good game with tons of stuff to do.
THE INTERFACE IS IMPOSSIBLE TO READ! I'm 63 years old and I love Lord of the Rings but the LOTRO user interface is 20 years old and it doesn't scale. They are so eager to be "inclusive" but don't seem to care about older people with bad eyesight. Shame on them for not fixing this! If I can't see the game, I can't play.
They are fixing this now. Save up for the right monitor for it.... I only have a 1920 x 1080 24" and of course it's perfect. But will get a 1440 240 hz in January to transition to the new interface they are working on. (I'm 68 and squint a bit myself.) Let's hope they get there by early 2024.
I think that amazoon will probably benefit lotro as I predict many will be dissappointed by it, but want to try a lotr mmo and therefore thy try the classic one. Star Wars BF 2 2005 also received a multiplayer revive as EA failed with star wars bf 2 in 2017.
Amazon cursed us with ROP....I just want them to disappear and keep their influence off of classic masterpieces. They're trying to associate themselves with anything big-name but they got no soul or conscience. 🏃♂💨
The Turbine engine code is not multi-threaded optimized, meaning any graphics improvements that put further stress on the CPU would result in more lag client-side.
one of the best things they could do is spend time improving their plugin api framework and let the community make the huge enhancements that could be made with such ability. their current api is pretty terrible though some amazing people have built some great plugins. One, two developers, a full year of effort ($300k salary + overhead for 2 roughly) and a lot of life and improvement could be breathed into this game
@Illthallion right because the lifespan of games like fallout4, skyrim etc haven't been extended by all the work the player community did with plugins so why would it work here...
That's a really good way of putting it, "franchise mmos" because they are a genre within a genre. If you look at the big 2 -- World of Warcraft and FF14, they both are non-franchise projects. I would assume that being part of an existing franchise -- books, tv, etc., -- would be an advantage, but it is interesting that most of the MMORPGs above LOTRO are not franchises...
Star Trek online has the brightest future, Lotro is good but it will not survive much longer it cant afford to do anything because revenue is literally a few thousand a month at best.
As a new LOTRO player I'd say the character models need updating and the free to play needs to be more generous. Only 2 slots just leads to you deleting characters to try new classes but then you feel less invested in the game.
I'm going to be a little pessamistic about this Amazon version of LotRMMO. They really screwed up with Rings of Power. I see them doing the same with the MMO.
Well, for me LOTRO will always have a special place on my heart. I love the end game and the community on that game, but let be honest SSG can't handle this game. Server lag is a problem since lv 120 was the cap, the class balance is bad for years and the game is full of pay walls even to the players that have the last expansion and monthly pay the VIP membership. They literally make you pay for one big expansion, one mini "expansion" and want you to buy the high end raid. The game is on full monetize mode these days, milking the player base that love this game. Its sad, but the time has come, lets wait for the Amazon MMO.
The level cap is a huge problem for me and some of my friends at the moment. 140 or whatever it is/will be is too much. I won't even buy the new expansion and can't play the new class because I refuse to pay for an expansion I might never actually get to play at the rate I'm chugging through the content and levels. It's taken me a good half a year of casual play to get to level 80 and Rohan with exploring, trying out new classes, crafting, etc. Now that's not necessarily a bad thing, but when your new expansions are gated behind a HUGE grind to get a character high enough level to play it, it's going to put a lot of people off Other MMOs either ditched increasing level caps, or made it so you play the game on one character, or, and something I think LotRO desperately needs, had a level squish. At the very least, they could take a leaf out of FFXIV's book and make the epic story quests give a lot more EXP than regular quests as a way to speed up levelling a bit for people that want to play and enjoy the story.
I fail to see a problem. The point of LOTRO is not to rush to endgame. The point of LOTRO is to chill and slowly grind your way up by doing countless quests. To enjoy the surrounds that are, albeit dated graphically, still gorgeous and offer kind of atmosphere that I rarely or almost never found in MMOS... It's an MMO to enjoy and take your time with each and every zone, not one you tryhard or rush to the endgame... Just the base content of Shire, Ered Luin and Bree Land takes more than 20 hours to fully complete. In a time where a COD campaign lasts around 4 hours and costs around 70 $, isn't nice to have something so full of content you feel it was worth your money?
@@lardosmug I feel where you're coming from, but really, many if not most people play MMO's to play WITH people, and the massive dearth of players between levels 1 and cap means the social aspect of the game is very nearly dead. Other MMO's have ways to try to fix that such as level scaling and functional instance finders that let people play together. LOTRO just doesn't.
@@comradezy All my characters are on Laurelin server. One of the most populated areas in the game is Shire. You will always find players there, because player hosted events are held there. Sometimes its hard to even play the game how many players are there and the game lags terribly. You can also find a lot of players in Bree, but very few in Ered Luin. The world chat is constantly talked in, people will answer your questions if you ask and will even help you. I never had any problems with finding instances, but I admit i didn't play a lot of them. All in all, I never felt that I'm behind in LOTRO and I just loved that there's so much content and that the world is really massive. If there exists an MMO where it's worth to read the quest texts and enjoy the atmosphere, it's LOTRO. Only and only reason you could feel overwhelmed by the content in LOTRO is if you are playing in "WOW mentality" of getting to the raids as soon as possible. But if you are playing like that, you are missing the point and yes, you will feel bogged down by hundreds upon hundreds of quests...
So there is a new bug, more of an effect of bad servers, that's rearing it's head in LOTRO: people refer to it as the "loading screen of death". Basically once you get to the character selection screen, pick your character, and press "enter middle earth", the game stalls and soft crashes on the loading screen. This, as stated by a LOTRO support person, is a direct result of old crappy servers on lotros end. The solution isn't always the same for different people. Some folks can simply log onto a different alt and that will reset everything, some people have to log onto a different server, some people have to delete the user preferences folder, and some people, like me, have to RESET AND RESTART THEIR ENTIRE NETWORK. Meaning every time I want to log in to LOTRO, I have to turn off my computer and everything on my network (wifi), unplug my router and modem, wait 120 seconds (and not one second less), restart the modem and router, wait for that to bootup, the. Turn back on my computer. Doing anything out of order or earlier than 120 seconds and I have to restart the whole process from the beginning. I love lotro. I've played for over a decade. But I cannot subscribe to a game that makes me do this every time I log on, sometimes I even have to do this when I switch characters. Unless they fix this, LOTRO will die quicker than Amazon can cancel the next game they've planned.
For me what keeps LOTRO at bay is not having a PvP aspect per say. Not having Battleground, Arenas and PvP Events are a huge issue for me. I've been playing LOTRO since 2012 and i never got to level cap because i always quit midway gameplay because the devil in one of my shoulders keeps remind me that my progression will be for nothing without the competitiveness of PvP. But because i love Tolkien's lore so much i always come back to try another run, and everytime the same thing happens (played this around 7 or 8 times since 2012). This game is amazing i love everything about it but an MMORPG without PvP is like a child's birthday party without chocolate (at least for me and a lot of players, most of my gaming friends never even tried LOTRO cuz it doesn't have PvP).
my biggest issue was the slow levelling. doing quests for hours , and barely seeing the xp bar move. i quit wildstar for the same reason. and if the levelling process is grindy, how will the endgame be?
As someone who actually 'doesn't' play LOTRO, I NEVER hear about it, at all. For just about an hour ago, I thought "Oh yeah, LOTR has an MMO, let me just see if it's still kicking" and I found your video. The player-count will keep dropping when the game isn't getting advertised at all. I'm a MMO player first and foremost and I rarely ever hear about lotro unless I see "Top 10 MMO lists". They are not promoting their new expansions at all, so I would have never known they were ever even released.
Standing Stone Games has been very quite about anything EG7 has said/stated, however last week during a Q&A Livestream serverlin (LOTRO's Executive Producer) said he was going to answer a hard question and this was first time they even directly talked about EG7 plans, basically said the scope of it was way out of bounds for them and therefore canceled, but nice to hear from head of SSG themselves on it.
Here's the link to that Q&A (with the answer timestamp) for anyone curious: ruclips.net/video/a-1MrT55gIY/видео.htmlsi=DP6NRKlEunLS8E4V&t=1790 The big loss is the console port but SSG is still moving forward with graphical improvements (albeit slower without the external investment).
I played it from 2006-2011 and had a fantastic time. I just returned a few weeks ago and I really hope there is still a future for LOTRO. This game has such a special place in my heart and I've enjoyed coming back to it so much.
Considering the shitshow that Rings of Power turned out to be, I have no intention even giving the Amazon's mmo a try. The stench of agenda is too strong and it goes so hard against everything Tolkien's writings stood for. I already find it baffling when I found out that you can give women a beard in LotRO. I really hate these modern times...
I really hope it doesn't go away because I only just found out its still going strong!!! I'm planning to come back to the game next week after being away since 2012!! I've been so excited that I think about it everyday lol. So i truly hope things are not about to get bad for my beloved LOTRO
This is exactly the kind of game that will go on and on. Even if the game were to be discontinued by the present developers/publishers, the player base will have enough dedicated people in it to make it a private project, as was done with Star Wars Galaxies. Somebody may even figure out the algorithm to convert the present game to an Unreal Engine 5.x -- well, I can dream at least.
@@gameburn178 Thanks bro. That puts me at ease :) Your comment blew my mind because I just searched up SWG after you brought it up and you're right! It's still goin! haha Now I'm going to be busy between LOTRO and SWG It's like 2008 all over again :)
I loved LOTRO many years ago. I've played New World close to 4k hours since beta. It's come so unbelievably far in two years. If AGS can pour everything they've learned from New World into their LOTR game and stay true to the lore, then it'll be an incredible game. I'll only be sad because it'll mean the end of New World.
Oof. Given what Amazon has done with the IP so far, I'd be VERY cautious 😬 Will they make a good MMO? Potentially! Will it be lore-accurate? Probably not lol
Daybreak is pretty much just maintaining games at this point. I would not call LOTRO on life support since its getting an xpac - ie devs are working on the game (very suprised when i came back and saw the Mariner class!) I think the next route for LOTRO needs to be evergreen parts of the game. old raids/events need to be touched on and allow for scaling with player level (or the reverse like ff14) I'd also say that LOTRO could definitely try hardcore servers - theres already people attempting this in game because of the titles. Another thing to be done is merging servers to consolidate the player bases. Anyway, loving the game as a 50~ Captain on Arkenstone
I really hope the Amazon lotro doesn't come out . Amazon only made bad games so far and they will shut down the original lotro .because they don't want to run 2 mmos based on the same thing. it's like when starwars the old republic came out .and they shut down star wars Galaxy
I think the pessimism set in when EG7 said they couldn't see how they might recoup the cost of a 30 mil LoTRO revamp when they have access to one of the world's most highly valued IPs. AGS (Amazon Game Studios) is not nearly as well positioned as they make themselves out to be. I would say they are at least 5-7 years away from any serious offering, and given the way they have monetized New World in the past few months, you can expect a hot mess of buggy microtransaction overhyped features with a development team that believes they know better than their players. They are consistently short on PvE content, unable to meet their own release dates, and unable to balance their core systems and game mechanics. They claim to have learned from past mistakes, but they don't. They just believe in themselves way more than they should. Except their landscape / botanical artists. Whoever they have doing that is producing pure bliss.
@@eboethrasher Sadly, yeah. The New World model is heavily transaction based and imho just way worse. They nickel and dime you over very basic features. It is such a disappointment...
Maybe another Company could be found to invest into LoTRO then? I probably won't get into any Lord-of-the-Rings-Game, that doesn't offer an immersion into Tolkien's Lore since the Series on Amazon I could only "endure" when I reframed my perception and telling myself, it's an entirely completely Story being told and not anything related to the World and Books we all love and know. Implausibility of Characters and not very imaginary plots will not be countered by cool Special Effects, after all! But, I guess it's the "Zeitgeist" of our Times: "shiny, sparkling appearances" trying to distract from the hollowness of everything and many people even (sadly so)! Yet, no World can persist (even the *real* one!) only on shiny surfaces, that crumble all too quickly when challenged... I would hope and wish for the Game to be remade - if not by the current "Guardians" of it, then maybe there will be found new ones...who knows? Also, I think @DeanFWilson is correct in pointing out, that Graphical Updates are launched, but incrementally (much like WoW did back in the days, if I remember correctly?). And the new Human-Character Editor (accessible either on Character Creation or any Barber in-game!) is really looking *awesome* a.f.! I just hope it's gonna be implemented for Beorninger, Elves and all other Species/Sub-Species, too (I don't like "Race" really - it's something, that's officially only supposed to be used for Animals these days where I live).
I know the day is coming when I can't access the game anymore. I love this world, I love everything about LOTR, and I will be VERY sad the day that is no longer available.
I played Lotro years ago. I had to stop once the cash shop was being pushed in your face with everything. The devs refuse to change or update anything recommended that have been known to be issues for years. I live Lotr...I think Lotro is just going into its "dying" days sadly.
I started when I was fourteen back in 2008. I came back two years ago and I've not stopped. It feels like an actual world, and the community is amazing.
I still think that this Game looks beautiful as it is. Ofc there are old character models for npcs that could be revamped. But for the rest? I think - and this is no offense - that people nowadays are spoiled with good graphics despite the fact that many good looking games today have horrible story and gameplay elements. Imo this is not the case for lotro. There is one Major problem that needs to be fixed and that is lag. The problem with that is just that the gamecode is too old and to hard to get around for the devs nowadays to make significant changes to the games systems. SSG , compared to other studios, is fairly small and they re trying their best to still make great content and fixing issues - even if it comes down to -sometimes- making the game even more unplayable, because the code causes then problems on other things in the game. Allthough, i think that amazon cannot and will not deliver either a good story, nor good gameplay that is significantly better then most MMO's nowadays. Also the arrogance of this studio makes it even more likely to me that this will just be another cashgrab on the back of LoTR Fans, same as RoP. They even called it out, that they wont stick to the books AND that they dont even care about lotro and the community despite having nothing to show of (of course because their just in planning stags). They think everybody will just hop over and thats it. The problem they will have is when the story and lore is not respected, people wont stay long. And also they will not be able to hold a community that you have in lotro rn and that growed for many many many years. Oh and btw. Remember NewWorld? That game wich had big ambitions for the market and is now just like any other new mmo, that lost its players after a few months ? The game whee you couldn't even swim kekw?😅
I do not believe for a second that Lotro is going to die or that Amazon will kill the game it's like saying this will be the next wow killer, and wow is still alive and doing better now that it's under new management. SSG is not milking it's player base as you can do deeds to unlock content if you so choose. as far as the bundles and expansions go they need to make money somehow sure it is expansive to get the ultimate bundles but you have to consider the amount of work those developers go through to make those items it's not simple coding. Also I do not believe they milk the player base if any company does it's going to be Amazon I am almost willing to bet anyone on that to prove me wrong. My two cents here.
I agree. And given how expensive and short-lived (uncertain) so many single player games are these days (see Diablo IV, lol), it's not that bad of a purchase. And the V.I.P. cost if purchased on the annual basis is one of the cheaper ones, money well spent. Also, and this isn't talked about for obvious reasons: the player base is not poor. Tends to be older, tends to be better off/more secure I think, and would be more than willing to pay even more for this game if it were to offer the improvements it has begun.
@@gameburn178 My guess amazon will screw it up with their IP for lord of the rings online just as they did with rings of power, just an assumption I could be wrong but given Amazons history of fucking up it won't surprise me.
Even though LotRO is and will remain the best game in this area (the only true one!), there were simply too many flaws in the game or on the server. Lags are only one point of many. The battle system is anything but fluid and the animations of the characters are rather mediocre. The beauty of the world cannot compensate for everything. I stopped at some point despite a good story. I still wouldn't want to play a new Amazon MMO in Middle Earth. I don't have as much time as I did back then either :)
I'm so nostalgic for this game, having played it since I was 8 or 9 years old (now 21 lol), I honestly just hope that they ultimately find a way to create an offline version of the game, because yeah eventually this game, like most online games, will lose enough players that SSG doesn't see profit and has to stop running the servers. Even though SSG is awesome at supporting the game and producing content for it, at this point I just want them to release something that can be archived and played forever haha (selfish, I know). Glad Echoes of Angmar exists :)
companies do not look at the numbers like that they dont say ok the game made us 200m lets spend 30 m to overhaul it and hope it pays off they say ok well if i pay 30m right now to overhaul will i make that 30mil back in the future and the truth is most likely even with a pop boom 30m will be a loss for em
Unless I'm mistaken the potential cost to a new player to obtain all of the zones/quests is a hefty sum to put it mildly. This in and of itself is a barrier to entry for many and lessons could be learned from other companies when it comes to the barrier for entry in relation to the required cost to the player. If I'm mistaken then I'd love to be corrected but new players would be looking at approximately $140 usd just for the basic editions of each expansion/content pack... and that's without Umbar taken into consideration. The barrier to entry is constantly increasing for new players. At least for those who are looking to invest in a new MMO experience.
Amazon would do better if they paid lotro to do it’s original remaster plan and then add massive new expansions while letting them handle it so it stays true to form and lore
LOTRO is the LOTR mmo. It's not new. It doesn't have the best combat or the best graphics. But it has the world right. It does the lore justice. For all these years they could have changed or altered things to make it more like other MMOs to compete but they didn't they chose the world. They make content updates just for low level players instead of raids because it's not about the endgame it's about the journey and the roleplaying immersion. Amazons MMO they make may look pretty but all that glitters isn't gold.
IIRC: they are gonna be working on the graphical/ui/performance enhancements overtime, it's just not a priority, and a console port just isn't possible
To be honest when they originally announced that they would remaster it, I thought it would be a hurcelean task, and I didn't really care for it, because the game is what it is. I think if they wanted to make changes moving forward it would be way better. For example the graphics of Umbar are really stunning, especially how they did the waves, colors etc. I personally think that LOTRO is here to stay, but raiding is probably dying out. Fewer people are returning to do endgame content, because of how the botched up going almost 2 years without new content. Raiders moved on to other games with new content constantly dripping out. left a like.
I have never had an issue with the graphics. After-all, graphics don’t make a game. Even so, lotro has always been a charming game appearance wise. I’d personally just look into the engine stability issues/ sever issues.
Standing Stone Games would do well to position LOTRO in the same category as "WoW Classic" and sell it like that versus whatever Amazon comes up with. At that point, they can just run it as F2P classic. But in no way should they just throw in the towel.
They think 30 mil is a bad investment for updating this game. If they nail it I think they would gain more new players that are willing to spend more than 60$ for a ultimate pack or fan pack. I don't get why they are so afraid to risk it. LOTR is not just an another franchise. It's LOTR. After seeing Amazon changing lore to fit their narrative I think people were more excited about this game than Amazon new lotro. I hope they would change their mind. This is the only lotr mmo and I can't believe they won't capitalize on it. One of the major turn off for new players to play this game is the engine and the graphic. It took me at least 7-8 years to really consider playing this game.
So I would like to try lotro. Never played it before but I absolutely love Tolkien’s works, having said that is there a community in discord or wherever that I can join? I’d like to be able to play with other people if possible.
This is a similar situation where as Starwars galaxies was overshadowed by The old Republic, unfortunately this is the way of (IP)'s though admittedly SWG had its problems with its remake halfway through that discouraged many players returning. Today there are so many new MMO's coming out keeping your player base intact and interested is a real issue.
Wait, did you actually say that console play lends to MMO credibility because there are more people are willing to download a F2P game?!? 1. PC gamers vastly outnumber console gamers. There are an estimated 1.4 billion PC gamers Desktop/Laptop 2. Consoles have very VERY limited storage space thus making console gamers very picky. 3. Consoles almost always destroy MMOs. Only FF14 managed to not fuck itself thanks to Square knowing how to develop both without gimping one of them. Case in point, ESO. ESO fucked itself by being made for both at the same time and the morons making it not understanding how to keep it as deep as a PC game and what happened? The game lost so many players so fast it dropped its subscription model in RECORD TIME with its trash 6 active skill shit console combat. LotRO has the honor of sharing something in common with WoW. Having developers so disconnected from the players and THE GAME ITSELF it has no clue the royal shitshows their games are for NEW PLAYERS. And, they have both actively tossed their old content under the bus. WoW doesnt even want their players playing their old content and have actively made it hard to try to experience and learn the damn story which is why their new player retention is so horribly low...LotRO? They made their game so end game would take ages...then released a new xpac so its end game would take ages...then again...then again...and again. Coming in as a new player? You cant even get REMOTELY decent gear going from a spot that was at the end of an xpac and hitting the newer xpac expansion zone is like getting kicked in the teeth by a dragon which gets far far worse with each expansion. The game loses most new players at those points in the game and there is often so much regret and bitching on their forums, reddit and twitter from those that were loving the game, bought Mordor, and literally cannot even progress because the mobs are too hard because their gear, which was OK for right before that, was meant to be upgraded with 100 end game dungeon runs in the previous expansion to bring them in line with the weak mobs of the new expansion...you cant even buy gear let alone make it with crafting because THAT was also turned into a gated design. The wall for new players is insanely high past the first expansion and it just keeps growing with each one. THAT is LotRos biggest problem. It is not made for new people, its made for the few remaining veterans and that is how its going to stay.
Been playing w wife for 16 years, now. From an investor's standpoint, a graphics upgrade probably won't draw enough people. I was miffed but I understand. Also unfortunately, I don't think I'll be buying anything after Gundabad. Wife's most recent is Mordor. We just don't play it anymore and honestly, it isn't necessarily about the game. Life is demanding and time is short.
Amazon sucks. The shows suck, the games suck. It's for a "global audience" or even, "modern audience". Gross lol. Thanks for the video brightlife!! Good to see you
As much as i like LOTRO 30 million$ is nuts and if you think the game is in maintenance mode you're nuts. The game has as much content releasing as other games in the genre. They'd likely never make 30 million back. It's Daybreaks second most profitable game besides Everquest with consistently strong revenues.
A voice of reason... you are quite right, they will spend the money the game will recoup, and it will recoup some. Also... and Bright missed this entirely: Everquest is being looked at again: either a remaster or a proper sequel/reboot, been a big topic lately. Daybreak isn't going to look at this game in isolation... if Everquest is open to major work, so might this game.
I used to play LOTRO back between 2010-2014 i remember Brandywine server in Bree was crowded it would cause server lag. I think i got stuck at not having Moria and left to play other games. Then in 2020 I wanted to get back into LOTRO when i left off, but the servers were different my characters were lost the stuff i had paid for was lost and the servers were basically dead. I remember like i couldn't find anyone using English in chat. I checked a few of the servers it was basicaly the same dead game. I played DDO too back when, so I check them out, and its basically the same. Dead games dead guilds only a few die hards in Europe or Asia who dont use English, playing at hours i dont keep.
Hey welcome back Brother! Great vid man! I know I miss all your streams, but I'm always working when you stream. I'm hoping Amazon will bring Middle Earth to life. Seeing Khazad Dum with modern graphics would be amazing!
it sucks but it was written on the walls for yeaaarss. Anyone who thought otherwise was unfortunately kidding themselves or just super out of the loop.
They say they looked into the numbers... But coming up with a 30M$ number out of their ass for a 3 stage overhaul remaster towards the game and they say returns wont happen or profits I should say.. Is just short sighted. It's going to be harder to add onto the current game as it is and take longer to do patches onto older content if they dont clean up and overhaul the foundation. It also drives away new players from ever getting past level 20 because the newest zones they added for "story" reasons was just a ploy to keep new players engaged enough to get past that 20-30 lvl gap. Their excuse that 30M$ could be used to make a whole new game is also out of their ass because a new game can cost up to 100M$+ to fund/make. Let alone a new MMORPG if they choose to. Cancelling this is such a short sighted mistake they'll soon regret when they are forced to shut down servers and crunch everything to 1 mega server for NA/EU players to enjoy whatever time left the game has and drive the rest of their fans away for good. I was banking and hoping at least a performance patch would get done so I can return because the FPS drops in random zones and the cluster/GRID lvl system they have in place for connection/ping is so bad if you are the only person in a zone leveling then the server allocates resources to other zones making yours feel like you're playing at 500 ping until more players join you. Guess I'm sticking to WoW classic or find something else to sink time into.. This is beyond sad.
I really like the idea that sometimes, some things just need to come to an end. I think especially in the mmo space there are alot of games that should close up shop not in a malice way but they kinda did their thing and its time to move on. Things move forward and its honestly nice to close a chapter on a high note then a low one. I think alot of games out stay their welcome because of this. And just have the lotro servers up for those who want to play the classic experience etc.
I love this game, my all time favourite MMO. That said, they need to do something serious, that probably involves investing money, about the latency experienced by players outside the US. Some classes like the warden are just not ideal to play with how things are currently, and that's putting it mildly. And even if that issue was sorted, the game still really is showing it's age. At the very least, they need to do something about the UI so it looks like it was actually meant for modern systems and not for a resolution of 1024x768. It's just not really good by 2023 standard. It is a real shame, as the storytelling and gameplay are really enjoyable.
LEAVE A COMMENT - are you optimistic or pessimistic about LOTRO’s future??
Optimistic with new launcher and 2FA. They are going to start working on 4K UI
LOTRO is a great game, but it suffers from the same problem most MMORPGs suffer and thats that it has been allowed to get old.
Tossing a new coat of paint doesnt hide from the fact that there have been many advances in gaming that LOTRO cant take advantage from which would otherwise allow it to be a more interactive game that feels like a living breathing world, as well as provide better more fluid gameplay.
An LOTRO 2 has been LOOOOOOOOOOOONG overdue and, in my opinion ( and I say this in regard to all MMORPGs), it should not allow a full decade to go by before getting the next one up and running.
And it doesnt help the fact that they charge monthly sub for a game that's 16 years old, which deters new players or old players from coming back, when they could be going for newer MMOS or MMORPGs that only charge for the purchase of the game.
If this guys fix the lag, give me the UI scaled for 4k gaming and keep restarting those legendary servers, like treebeard from the start over and over again, i will come back no questions asked.i really really need 4k UI to be able to play this BEAUTIFUL game at it's best!
seems like this game will never die
LOTR online , World/Environment aged well best part of the game.. would had like too see the Character model be updated, the create a player got a 2007ish PS2 look..
You lost me at giving Amazon any benefit of the doubt after proving they don’t know or care about the lore at all.
There are a lot of problems with the media fervour created by the EG7 report (which did not give the details or context necessary to understand exactly what that decision was about).
1. The cancelled plans were largely about the console port, not the graphics updates or performance improvements. Indeed, even the console port is potentially still on the table if they can find a different approach, according to the Executive Producer Severlin. That is a very different picture to how this was painted by many in news reports, etc.
2. The graphics updates are still happening, albeit gradually rather than in one big update. We've seen some of that this year with revamped player avatars for the Race of Man and the cosmetic refresh to the Last Homely Home, and arguably the improvements we'll see in Corsairs of Umbar (with new water textures, waves, and an entirely new biomes) fall under this category too. These kinds of changes will continue next year and in future years, with more avatar revamps, new lighting and shadow tech, as well as upgrades to DX12, 4k support (including UI scaling and icon up-scaling), among other things. Improvements to earlier low-fidelity textures are likely also.
3. Performance updates are also still happening, with several Engineers working on these right now. While these come slower than we'd like, they have already chipped away at some inefficient ways of doing things behind the scenes, and hopefully all of these fixes will snowball into noticeable improvements in the relatively near future. Other improvements coming include 64-bit servers, a new launcher, 2FA, and something that may make European players happy. The recent Store update was also a necessity, not for cosmetic reasons, but because of outdated technology, and it is significantly faster than the old Store.
4. LOTRO continues to deliver major updates and expansions on a regular basis, with one of the biggest expansions just a week or so away. This is on top of a feature-packed year that largely surpassed the promises made in the Letter to Players earlier this year (with, among other things, the new Race of River Hobbits and Lyndelby Housing not even on that roadmap). This is the very opposite of "life support", and I think many players of other MMOs would be jealous of the amount of updates and content LOTRO players continue to get after 16 years.
5. There is far too much unfounded doom and gloom about LOTRO's future with the upcoming Amazon LOTR MMO. Aside from the fact that that game is likely years away (and LOTRO may turn 20 before that even launches), both games will likely take such drastically different approaches that they will both be successful in their own ways. Sure, Amazon's game will have better graphics (though LOTRO looks remarkably good for its age, as I think anyone who plays the upcoming expansion will attest), but the gameplay will likely be comparatively simplified (with fewer skills for combat, for example), and the world will be significantly smaller. At the end of the day, MMOs need lots of content, existing and new, to keep players engaged, and that is a major strength LOTRO has, with 16 years of regions, systems, classes, etc. added to the game. Amazon will have a tough time competing with that. Finally, we should look to DDO, LOTRO's sister game from SSG, as a good example of how a popular license can go to another developer (Neverwinter, in this case) and yet the older game can still survive and thrive. Sure, player numbers won't be phenomenal, but DDO also gets yearly expansions and multiple other updates per year, among other things, which shows that this can still happen for LOTRO when there's a direct competitor out there.
I have heard cries about LOTRO dying since even before it launched, with yearly "it'll be gone this time next year" predictions for the past 16 years. While eventually the game will sail into the West, with a further decade or two of ideas for content, and lots of the map still to fill in, plus the feature-packed year of 2023 (which largely already factored in EG7's decision much earlier than the public presentation), there are a lot of reasons for players to be very optimistic about the game.
Thank you for this...I was wondering what all the negativity is.
Greetings!
Yep - LOTRO was doomed right from the start and it was dying ever since, if you wanted to believe the doom and gloom crowd. Graphics are, as you said, still fine, considering the age of the engine. Would we like to have the game running on an Unreal 4 engine, of course we would. But that is never going to happen.
The biggest problem was and still is the abysmal "lag-problematic". That´s the isssue they have to fix and of course bring the European servers back to Europe!
It was an asinine move in the first place to haul them away.
The game is still far away from life-support, and as long it is profitable it will stay!
Concerning Amazon - lol - they already stated that they will play fast and loose with Tolkeins lore. That´s a dealbreaker for me from the get-go.
A MMO placed in the First Age would be a great thing - but Amazon doesn´t have the rights nor the expertise to pull something like that off! And considering the absolutly terrible job the did with RoP, I´m not afraid that the Amazon game will spell doom for LOTRO.
Excellent reply man! Thanks so much for engaging!!
Definitely not trying to seem doom and gloom - the biggest thing I’m hoping to emphasize is that if EG7 isn’t willing to commit to something “big,” then there likely won’t be a big bump in players as any of the needed changes will need to be seen as too expensive. The game is still awesome and I’ll love it forever!
But my solution will come in part 2, can’t wait to hear what you think!
LOTR online would be awesome if they update , just the created Heroes and PVP Monster models.. the World graphically age well .. isn't a new class coming out (The Mariner) ? I hope amazon makes a good mmorpg and it's not Botched up like Rings of Power and New World , if it ends up sucking atleast we got the old school LOTR online and the awesome EA beat em up games 😅
Maybe the new mmo can even revive classic LOTRO just like people atm like classic wow more then retail
I'm not trusting Amazon to create a good LOTR MMO after the joke of a show that they made... they'll have to do some serious work on that
Imagine if they just remade LOTRO in Unreal Engine 5 - they could even keep everything else in terms of content.
Given the Rings of Power it is very difficult to be optimistic about an Amazon Lords of the Ring game.
get ready for black dwarves and elf's
@@callum105 why would that be wrong?, why would it be unthinkable that elves and dwarves would have different cultures, skin tones and facial features, much like humans do?
@@artsveiman7776cuz they are either racist, or so miserable the need to find an enemy around every corner. Feel sad for these people. They really are pathetic.
@@callum105 Ready and hyped
@@artsveiman7776 You're right, it is more realistic.
I’m optimistic. The community is bomb. Also there is no way that an LOTR MMO by Amazon will launch with half of the features that Lotro has. Loving the new Content and Mariner class. Excited.
I love playing LOTRO because of the great community!
That only thing the new MMO needs is a fun combat system and its already gonna be superior to this outdated mess.
the main reasons people play this game is because of how true it is to tolkien, how engaging the story is & for great RP-ability - the amazon lotr mmo will do none of these things, and if the combat is anything like new world, that will suck too lol. Amazon are far too up themselves to produce good, honest games and shows imo @@jakoby256
I am confident that LOTRO will still prevail since Amazon couldn't get it right with Rings of Power. They literally threw Tolkien's material out the window to overwrite it with their own. It will be very much the same with a game. New world only had moderate success and only sustained for a year before plummetting quickly in player numbers. I ain't too worried about it honestly.
@@jakoby256 no, there are tons of games with combat systems that people like you consider fun.
They aren't playing LotRO.
Therefore, there will be no players leaving, because they already left long ago.
The only part of LotRO Remastered that is cancelled is the console port, the rest will be slower without external (outside of SSG) investment but SSG is still committed to graphical improvements. While I am disappointed that EG7 pulled back from the investment I'm also not surprised, financial groups are focused on money above all. If anyone is curious what LotRO's Executive Producer has to say about it here's his answer from a recent Q&A: ruclips.net/video/a-1MrT55gIY/видео.htmlsi=DP6NRKlEunLS8E4V&t=1790
My father and I played LOTRO for about 7-8 years straight from the original Angmar beginnings. Great times, lots of fond memories.
I love LOTRO just the way it is. Maybe I'm just old, but it has given me some great memories. It's like life was simpler back then, and the love that was put into this game, to me, is still there. I love new graphics like every one else, but to me, LOTRO is just special.
Agree, there is a special charm to it.
Miss seeing this guy on RUclips and streams. Just vanished one day. Hope your doing well
If they could fix that dumb stutter the game suffers from it be alot better.
Lag is an ongoing concern. It had gotten pretty good for awhile there. The last month, it’s crept back in the last month. I’m afraid that’s due to folks coming back to prepare for Umbar. That probably means it’ll be back with a vengeance.
Hopefully I’m wrong on that because that might mean the the first few months of the expansion will be rough :(
Having heard that Delvings were a big part of the problem is grim, because I'm not sure they are an important part of most players' experience. Just getting rid of Delvings is an obvious solution. It is remarkable how uneven the problem is: can go an hour with no lag, then 9 seconds standing there, not sure if disconnected it's so bad, then 3 seconds 10 seconds later, then nothing for hours. Very odd.
I played until 4-5 years ago. I left to concentrate on other things. I returned about a month ago and I have never experienced such terrible lag in this game. I hope they fix it because this is still a good game with tons of stuff to do.
Missing your content - hope you are well!
THE INTERFACE IS IMPOSSIBLE TO READ! I'm 63 years old and I love Lord of the Rings but the LOTRO user interface is 20 years old and it doesn't scale. They are so eager to be "inclusive" but don't seem to care about older people with bad eyesight. Shame on them for not fixing this! If I can't see the game, I can't play.
They are fixing this now. Save up for the right monitor for it.... I only have a 1920 x 1080 24" and of course it's perfect. But will get a 1440 240 hz in January to transition to the new interface they are working on. (I'm 68 and squint a bit myself.) Let's hope they get there by early 2024.
Thank you so much friend. This is what I wanted to hear. I love Middle-earth!!! @@gameburn178
@@gameburn178 I'm only 40 and the UI is terrible on my 34" 3440x1440p monitor. It's mid 2024 and unfortunately, still nothing. :(
But you can scale many different elements of ui and move them around.
Ctrl. + \ to enable movement
UI settings are available in options.
I believe there are ui skins as well to download.
I think that amazoon will probably benefit lotro as I predict many will be dissappointed by it, but want to try a lotr mmo and therefore thy try the classic one. Star Wars BF 2 2005 also received a multiplayer revive as EA failed with star wars bf 2 in 2017.
Starfield has benefitted No Man's Sky.
Amazon cursed us with ROP....I just want them to disappear and keep their influence off of classic masterpieces. They're trying to associate themselves with anything big-name but they got no soul or conscience. 🏃♂💨
I am optimistic, just wish they had more backing to do what they want to do..I think they are doing pretty well for the small team they have
The Turbine engine code is not multi-threaded optimized, meaning any graphics improvements that put further stress on the CPU would result in more lag client-side.
one of the best things they could do is spend time improving their plugin api framework and let the community make the huge enhancements that could be made with such ability.
their current api is pretty terrible though some amazing people have built some great plugins. One, two developers, a full year of effort ($300k salary + overhead for 2 roughly) and a lot of life and improvement could be breathed into this game
@Illthallion right because the lifespan of games like fallout4, skyrim etc haven't been extended by all the work the player community did with plugins so why would it work here...
@@RH-of5cr mmo plugins and Skyrim plugins aren't even remotely comparable.
You can't mod Thanos into lotro
Lotro Classic.
i don't play lotro but among the franchise mmo's (swtor, lotro, sto) i feel lotro has the brightest future.
That's a really good way of putting it, "franchise mmos" because they are a genre within a genre. If you look at the big 2 -- World of Warcraft and FF14, they both are non-franchise projects. I would assume that being part of an existing franchise -- books, tv, etc., -- would be an advantage, but it is interesting that most of the MMORPGs above LOTRO are not franchises...
Star Trek online has the brightest future, Lotro is good but it will not survive much longer it cant afford to do anything because revenue is literally a few thousand a month at best.
where is part 2
As a new LOTRO player I'd say the character models need updating and the free to play needs to be more generous. Only 2 slots just leads to you deleting characters to try new classes but then you feel less invested in the game.
They want you to solve the problem by spending money on the game
Free to play is a total catatstrophe.
If i didnt receive the VIP-account my dad made in 2009 i dont think i would be playing.
you can literally go buy small packages for less than $10 that unlock multiple slots as a one time purchase.
I'm going to be a little pessamistic about this Amazon version of LotRMMO. They really screwed up with Rings of Power. I see them doing the same with the MMO.
Have played this since the beginning, my first MMO and still playing. So sad they wot remaster this :(
Well, for me LOTRO will always have a special place on my heart. I love the end game and the community on that game, but let be honest SSG can't handle this game. Server lag is a problem since lv 120 was the cap, the class balance is bad for years and the game is full of pay walls even to the players that have the last expansion and monthly pay the VIP membership.
They literally make you pay for one big expansion, one mini "expansion" and want you to buy the high end raid. The game is on full monetize mode these days, milking the player base that love this game. Its sad, but the time has come, lets wait for the Amazon MMO.
The level cap is a huge problem for me and some of my friends at the moment. 140 or whatever it is/will be is too much.
I won't even buy the new expansion and can't play the new class because I refuse to pay for an expansion I might never actually get to play at the rate I'm chugging through the content and levels. It's taken me a good half a year of casual play to get to level 80 and Rohan with exploring, trying out new classes, crafting, etc. Now that's not necessarily a bad thing, but when your new expansions are gated behind a HUGE grind to get a character high enough level to play it, it's going to put a lot of people off
Other MMOs either ditched increasing level caps, or made it so you play the game on one character, or, and something I think LotRO desperately needs, had a level squish.
At the very least, they could take a leaf out of FFXIV's book and make the epic story quests give a lot more EXP than regular quests as a way to speed up levelling a bit for people that want to play and enjoy the story.
I fully agree. Well stated.
True. 150 levels is absolutely ridiculous.
I fail to see a problem. The point of LOTRO is not to rush to endgame. The point of LOTRO is to chill and slowly grind your way up by doing countless quests. To enjoy the surrounds that are, albeit dated graphically, still gorgeous and offer kind of atmosphere that I rarely or almost never found in MMOS... It's an MMO to enjoy and take your time with each and every zone, not one you tryhard or rush to the endgame... Just the base content of Shire, Ered Luin and Bree Land takes more than 20 hours to fully complete. In a time where a COD campaign lasts around 4 hours and costs around 70 $, isn't nice to have something so full of content you feel it was worth your money?
@@lardosmug I feel where you're coming from, but really, many if not most people play MMO's to play WITH people, and the massive dearth of players between levels 1 and cap means the social aspect of the game is very nearly dead. Other MMO's have ways to try to fix that such as level scaling and functional instance finders that let people play together. LOTRO just doesn't.
@@comradezy All my characters are on Laurelin server. One of the most populated areas in the game is Shire. You will always find players there, because player hosted events are held there. Sometimes its hard to even play the game how many players are there and the game lags terribly. You can also find a lot of players in Bree, but very few in Ered Luin. The world chat is constantly talked in, people will answer your questions if you ask and will even help you. I never had any problems with finding instances, but I admit i didn't play a lot of them. All in all, I never felt that I'm behind in LOTRO and I just loved that there's so much content and that the world is really massive. If there exists an MMO where it's worth to read the quest texts and enjoy the atmosphere, it's LOTRO. Only and only reason you could feel overwhelmed by the content in LOTRO is if you are playing in "WOW mentality" of getting to the raids as soon as possible. But if you are playing like that, you are missing the point and yes, you will feel bogged down by hundreds upon hundreds of quests...
So there is a new bug, more of an effect of bad servers, that's rearing it's head in LOTRO: people refer to it as the "loading screen of death". Basically once you get to the character selection screen, pick your character, and press "enter middle earth", the game stalls and soft crashes on the loading screen. This, as stated by a LOTRO support person, is a direct result of old crappy servers on lotros end. The solution isn't always the same for different people. Some folks can simply log onto a different alt and that will reset everything, some people have to log onto a different server, some people have to delete the user preferences folder, and some people, like me, have to RESET AND RESTART THEIR ENTIRE NETWORK. Meaning every time I want to log in to LOTRO, I have to turn off my computer and everything on my network (wifi), unplug my router and modem, wait 120 seconds (and not one second less), restart the modem and router, wait for that to bootup, the. Turn back on my computer. Doing anything out of order or earlier than 120 seconds and I have to restart the whole process from the beginning.
I love lotro. I've played for over a decade. But I cannot subscribe to a game that makes me do this every time I log on, sometimes I even have to do this when I switch characters.
Unless they fix this, LOTRO will die quicker than Amazon can cancel the next game they've planned.
For me what keeps LOTRO at bay is not having a PvP aspect per say. Not having Battleground, Arenas and PvP Events are a huge issue for me.
I've been playing LOTRO since 2012 and i never got to level cap because i always quit midway gameplay because the devil in one of my shoulders keeps remind me that my progression will be for nothing without the competitiveness of PvP.
But because i love Tolkien's lore so much i always come back to try another run, and everytime the same thing happens (played this around 7 or 8 times since 2012). This game is amazing i love everything about it but an MMORPG without PvP is like a child's birthday party without chocolate (at least for me and a lot of players, most of my gaming friends never even tried LOTRO cuz it doesn't have PvP).
my biggest issue was the slow levelling. doing quests for hours , and barely seeing the xp bar move.
i quit wildstar for the same reason. and if the levelling process is grindy, how will the endgame be?
As someone who actually 'doesn't' play LOTRO, I NEVER hear about it, at all.
For just about an hour ago, I thought "Oh yeah, LOTR has an MMO, let me just see if it's still kicking" and I found your video.
The player-count will keep dropping when the game isn't getting advertised at all. I'm a MMO player first and foremost and I rarely ever hear about lotro unless I see "Top 10 MMO lists".
They are not promoting their new expansions at all, so I would have never known they were ever even released.
Standing Stone Games has been very quite about anything EG7 has said/stated, however last week during a Q&A Livestream serverlin (LOTRO's Executive Producer) said he was going to answer a hard question and this was first time they even directly talked about EG7 plans, basically said the scope of it was way out of bounds for them and therefore canceled, but nice to hear from head of SSG themselves on it.
Here's the link to that Q&A (with the answer timestamp) for anyone curious: ruclips.net/video/a-1MrT55gIY/видео.htmlsi=DP6NRKlEunLS8E4V&t=1790
The big loss is the console port but SSG is still moving forward with graphical improvements (albeit slower without the external investment).
I played it from 2006-2011 and had a fantastic time. I just returned a few weeks ago and I really hope there is still a future for LOTRO. This game has such a special place in my heart and I've enjoyed coming back to it so much.
Have they said anything about the consol port?
The "LOTRO to Consoles" Project isn't happening.
Just want my Skyrim lord of the rings game that respects the lore and the world.
MANIFESTING
Considering the shitshow that Rings of Power turned out to be, I have no intention even giving the Amazon's mmo a try. The stench of agenda is too strong and it goes so hard against everything Tolkien's writings stood for. I already find it baffling when I found out that you can give women a beard in LotRO. I really hate these modern times...
Arkenstone is pretty healthy we regularly have 6-800 ppl online during peak
I really hope it doesn't go away because I only just found out its still going strong!!! I'm planning to come back to the game next week after being away since 2012!! I've been so excited that I think about it everyday lol.
So i truly hope things are not about to get bad for my beloved LOTRO
This is exactly the kind of game that will go on and on. Even if the game were to be discontinued by the present developers/publishers, the player base will have enough dedicated people in it to make it a private project, as was done with Star Wars Galaxies. Somebody may even figure out the algorithm to convert the present game to an Unreal Engine 5.x -- well, I can dream at least.
@@gameburn178 Thanks bro. That puts me at ease :)
Your comment blew my mind because I just searched up SWG after you brought it up and you're right! It's still goin! haha
Now I'm going to be busy between LOTRO and SWG
It's like 2008 all over again :)
I loved LOTRO many years ago. I've played New World close to 4k hours since beta. It's come so unbelievably far in two years. If AGS can pour everything they've learned from New World into their LOTR game and stay true to the lore, then it'll be an incredible game. I'll only be sad because it'll mean the end of New World.
if amazon's Iotr mmo wiII be as Iore accurate and as fun as their series Iotro has nothing to worry about
Oof. Given what Amazon has done with the IP so far, I'd be VERY cautious 😬 Will they make a good MMO? Potentially! Will it be lore-accurate? Probably not lol
This was a great video btw, thanks Brightlife!
Hi Joe.. See you are doing well..!
Thanks man!!
Daybreak is pretty much just maintaining games at this point. I would not call LOTRO on life support since its getting an xpac - ie devs are working on the game (very suprised when i came back and saw the Mariner class!) I think the next route for LOTRO needs to be evergreen parts of the game. old raids/events need to be touched on and allow for scaling with player level (or the reverse like ff14) I'd also say that LOTRO could definitely try hardcore servers - theres already people attempting this in game because of the titles. Another thing to be done is merging servers to consolidate the player bases. Anyway, loving the game as a 50~ Captain on Arkenstone
I really hope the Amazon lotro doesn't come out . Amazon only made bad games so far and they will shut down the original lotro .because they don't want to run 2 mmos based on the same thing. it's like when starwars the old republic came out .and they shut down star wars Galaxy
I think the pessimism set in when EG7 said they couldn't see how they might recoup the cost of a 30 mil LoTRO revamp when they have access to one of the world's most highly valued IPs. AGS (Amazon Game Studios) is not nearly as well positioned as they make themselves out to be. I would say they are at least 5-7 years away from any serious offering, and given the way they have monetized New World in the past few months, you can expect a hot mess of buggy microtransaction overhyped features with a development team that believes they know better than their players. They are consistently short on PvE content, unable to meet their own release dates, and unable to balance their core systems and game mechanics. They claim to have learned from past mistakes, but they don't. They just believe in themselves way more than they should. Except their landscape / botanical artists. Whoever they have doing that is producing pure bliss.
Are you insinuating that it will somehow be worse than the microtransactions that we have in LOTRO? LOL.
@@eboethrasher Sadly, yeah. The New World model is heavily transaction based and imho just way worse. They nickel and dime you over very basic features. It is such a disappointment...
Maybe another Company could be found to invest into LoTRO then?
I probably won't get into any Lord-of-the-Rings-Game, that doesn't offer an immersion into Tolkien's Lore since the Series on Amazon I could only "endure" when I reframed my perception and telling myself, it's an entirely completely Story being told and not anything related to the World and Books we all love and know.
Implausibility of Characters and not very imaginary plots will not be countered by cool Special Effects, after all!
But, I guess it's the "Zeitgeist" of our Times: "shiny, sparkling appearances" trying to distract from the hollowness of everything and many people even (sadly so)!
Yet, no World can persist (even the *real* one!) only on shiny surfaces, that crumble all too quickly when challenged...
I would hope and wish for the Game to be remade - if not by the current "Guardians" of it, then maybe there will be found new ones...who knows?
Also, I think @DeanFWilson is correct in pointing out, that Graphical Updates are launched, but incrementally (much like WoW did back in the days, if I remember correctly?).
And the new Human-Character Editor (accessible either on Character Creation or any Barber in-game!) is really looking *awesome* a.f.!
I just hope it's gonna be implemented for Beorninger, Elves and all other Species/Sub-Species, too (I don't like "Race" really - it's something, that's officially only supposed to be used for Animals these days where I live).
This mmo will never die!
The remastering would have been amazing for the game. You feel this games age when you play it.
I know the day is coming when I can't access the game anymore. I love this world, I love everything about LOTR, and I will be VERY sad the day that is no longer available.
The only thing that prevented me from sticking with lotro for more than a month was no euro servers. I didn't enjoy a cross-continental latency.
Ayyy it’s been a while! Good to see you mate
Good to be back bro!! It means the world to see you in the comments man ❤️
If they cannot be bothered to fix the lag then this game is doomed to be a low count fan game only and wont get the true numbers it deserves rip lotro
I played Lotro years ago. I had to stop once the cash shop was being pushed in your face with everything. The devs refuse to change or update anything recommended that have been known to be issues for years. I live Lotr...I think Lotro is just going into its "dying" days sadly.
The UI is unplayable for me on 4k Monitor. Its also not on the road map for 2024. Sad because i use to play it years ago.
Aint no way this game wouldnt also run on Switch! I would love to play this on my Switch!
I started when I was fourteen back in 2008. I came back two years ago and I've not stopped. It feels like an actual world, and the community is amazing.
I still think that this Game looks beautiful as it is. Ofc there are old character models for npcs that could be revamped. But for the rest? I think - and this is no offense - that people nowadays are spoiled with good graphics despite the fact that many good looking games today have horrible story and gameplay elements. Imo this is not the case for lotro. There is one Major problem that needs to be fixed and that is lag. The problem with that is just that the gamecode is too old and to hard to get around for the devs nowadays to make significant changes to the games systems. SSG , compared to other studios, is fairly small and they re trying their best to still make great content and fixing issues - even if it comes down to -sometimes- making the game even more unplayable, because the code causes then problems on other things in the game.
Allthough, i think that amazon cannot and will not deliver either a good story, nor good gameplay that is significantly better then most MMO's nowadays. Also the arrogance of this studio makes it even more likely to me that this will just be another cashgrab on the back of LoTR Fans, same as RoP. They even called it out, that they wont stick to the books AND that they dont even care about lotro and the community despite having nothing to show of
(of course because their just in planning stags). They think everybody will just hop over and thats it. The problem they will have is when the story and lore is not respected, people wont stay long. And also they will not be able to hold a community that you have in lotro rn and that growed for many many many years.
Oh and btw. Remember NewWorld? That game wich had big ambitions for the market and is now just like any other new mmo, that lost its players after a few months ? The game whee you couldn't even swim kekw?😅
how do you even play lotro on console?
You don't. The whole goal for "LOTRO to Consoles" was to make such possible. It didn't pan out.
00:05 The aniamtions are amazing... I love it
I do not believe for a second that Lotro is going to die or that Amazon will kill the game it's like saying this will be the next wow killer, and wow is still alive and doing better now that it's under new management. SSG is not milking it's player base as you can do deeds to unlock content if you so choose. as far as the bundles and expansions go they need to make money somehow sure it is expansive to get the ultimate bundles but you have to consider the amount of work those developers go through to make those items it's not simple coding. Also I do not believe they milk the player base if any company does it's going to be Amazon I am almost willing to bet anyone on that to prove me wrong. My two cents here.
I agree. And given how expensive and short-lived (uncertain) so many single player games are these days (see Diablo IV, lol), it's not that bad of a purchase. And the V.I.P. cost if purchased on the annual basis is one of the cheaper ones, money well spent.
Also, and this isn't talked about for obvious reasons: the player base is not poor. Tends to be older, tends to be better off/more secure I think, and would be more than willing to pay even more for this game if it were to offer the improvements it has begun.
@@gameburn178 My guess amazon will screw it up with their IP for lord of the rings online just as they did with rings of power, just an assumption I could be wrong but given Amazons history of fucking up it won't surprise me.
Sauce on the remaster cancellation caused directly by the Amazon announcement? Was that only an assumption? 🤔
do i spy... a PRS in the backround?! gimme that music gear review
Even though LotRO is and will remain the best game in this area (the only true one!), there were simply too many flaws in the game or on the server. Lags are only one point of many. The battle system is anything but fluid and the animations of the characters are rather mediocre. The beauty of the world cannot compensate for everything. I stopped at some point despite a good story. I still wouldn't want to play a new Amazon MMO in Middle Earth. I don't have as much time as I did back then either :)
the minimum for a good restart, LOTRO needs
1. united server
2. update graphic and sound
3. cross-platform support
I'm so nostalgic for this game, having played it since I was 8 or 9 years old (now 21 lol), I honestly just hope that they ultimately find a way to create an offline version of the game, because yeah eventually this game, like most online games, will lose enough players that SSG doesn't see profit and has to stop running the servers. Even though SSG is awesome at supporting the game and producing content for it, at this point I just want them to release something that can be archived and played forever haha (selfish, I know).
Glad Echoes of Angmar exists :)
companies do not look at the numbers like that they dont say ok the game made us 200m lets spend 30 m to overhaul it and hope it pays off they say ok well if i pay 30m right now to overhaul will i make that 30mil back in the future and the truth is most likely even with a pop boom 30m will be a loss for em
I only need a reworked UI!!
Unless I'm mistaken the potential cost to a new player to obtain all of the zones/quests is a hefty sum to put it mildly. This in and of itself is a barrier to entry for many and lessons could be learned from other companies when it comes to the barrier for entry in relation to the required cost to the player. If I'm mistaken then I'd love to be corrected but new players would be looking at approximately $140 usd just for the basic editions of each expansion/content pack... and that's without Umbar taken into consideration.
The barrier to entry is constantly increasing for new players. At least for those who are looking to invest in a new MMO experience.
Dude you obviously don't play Lotro.
MMORPG games have come and gone in its time.
It has survived. Cya
Amazon would do better if they paid lotro to do it’s original remaster plan and then add massive new expansions while letting them handle it so it stays true to form and lore
LOTRO is the LOTR mmo. It's not new. It doesn't have the best combat or the best graphics.
But it has the world right. It does the lore justice. For all these years they could have changed or altered things to make it more like other MMOs to compete but they didn't they chose the world. They make content updates just for low level players instead of raids because it's not about the endgame it's about the journey and the roleplaying immersion.
Amazons MMO they make may look pretty but all that glitters isn't gold.
IIRC: they are gonna be working on the graphical/ui/performance enhancements overtime, it's just not a priority, and a console port just isn't possible
Frankly, the only updates I'd care about is an update where you don't have to pay for every expansion separately
To be honest when they originally announced that they would remaster it, I thought it would be a hurcelean task, and I didn't really care for it, because the game is what it is. I think if they wanted to make changes moving forward it would be way better. For example the graphics of Umbar are really stunning, especially how they did the waves, colors etc. I personally think that LOTRO is here to stay, but raiding is probably dying out. Fewer people are returning to do endgame content, because of how the botched up going almost 2 years without new content. Raiders moved on to other games with new content constantly dripping out. left a like.
God I wish they would fix the engine and clean the lag, it's still really bad in England at least where I am 😭
I have never had an issue with the graphics. After-all, graphics don’t make a game. Even so, lotro has always been a charming game appearance wise. I’d personally just look into the engine stability issues/ sever issues.
Standing Stone Games would do well to position LOTRO in the same category as "WoW Classic" and sell it like that versus whatever Amazon comes up with. At that point, they can just run it as F2P classic. But in no way should they just throw in the towel.
They think 30 mil is a bad investment for updating this game. If they nail it I think they would gain more new players that are willing to spend more than 60$ for a ultimate pack or fan pack. I don't get why they are so afraid to risk it. LOTR is not just an another franchise. It's LOTR. After seeing Amazon changing lore to fit their narrative I think people were more excited about this game than Amazon new lotro. I hope they would change their mind. This is the only lotr mmo and I can't believe they won't capitalize on it. One of the major turn off for new players to play this game is the engine and the graphic. It took me at least 7-8 years to really consider playing this game.
So I would like to try lotro. Never played it before but I absolutely love Tolkien’s works, having said that is there a community in discord or wherever that I can join? I’d like to be able to play with other people if possible.
This is a similar situation where as Starwars galaxies was overshadowed by The old Republic, unfortunately this is the way of (IP)'s though admittedly SWG had its problems with its remake halfway through that discouraged many players returning. Today there are so many new MMO's coming out keeping your player base intact and interested is a real issue.
What happened to this channel?
LotrO is in dire need of a visual update
Cautiously optimistic, although equally disappointed about the cancelled remaster. Appreciate you buddy! 🥰
Same bro - appreciate you too man!
@@BrightlifeMMOs 🥰
Wait, did you actually say that console play lends to MMO credibility because there are more people are willing to download a F2P game?!?
1. PC gamers vastly outnumber console gamers. There are an estimated 1.4 billion PC gamers Desktop/Laptop
2. Consoles have very VERY limited storage space thus making console gamers very picky.
3. Consoles almost always destroy MMOs. Only FF14 managed to not fuck itself thanks to Square knowing how to develop both without gimping one of them. Case in point, ESO. ESO fucked itself by being made for both at the same time and the morons making it not understanding how to keep it as deep as a PC game and what happened? The game lost so many players so fast it dropped its subscription model in RECORD TIME with its trash 6 active skill shit console combat.
LotRO has the honor of sharing something in common with WoW. Having developers so disconnected from the players and THE GAME ITSELF it has no clue the royal shitshows their games are for NEW PLAYERS. And, they have both actively tossed their old content under the bus.
WoW doesnt even want their players playing their old content and have actively made it hard to try to experience and learn the damn story which is why their new player retention is so horribly low...LotRO? They made their game so end game would take ages...then released a new xpac so its end game would take ages...then again...then again...and again. Coming in as a new player? You cant even get REMOTELY decent gear going from a spot that was at the end of an xpac and hitting the newer xpac expansion zone is like getting kicked in the teeth by a dragon which gets far far worse with each expansion.
The game loses most new players at those points in the game and there is often so much regret and bitching on their forums, reddit and twitter from those that were loving the game, bought Mordor, and literally cannot even progress because the mobs are too hard because their gear, which was OK for right before that, was meant to be upgraded with 100 end game dungeon runs in the previous expansion to bring them in line with the weak mobs of the new expansion...you cant even buy gear let alone make it with crafting because THAT was also turned into a gated design.
The wall for new players is insanely high past the first expansion and it just keeps growing with each one. THAT is LotRos biggest problem. It is not made for new people, its made for the few remaining veterans and that is how its going to stay.
Been playing w wife for 16 years, now.
From an investor's standpoint, a graphics upgrade probably won't draw enough people. I was miffed but I understand.
Also unfortunately, I don't think I'll be buying anything after Gundabad. Wife's most recent is Mordor. We just don't play it anymore and honestly, it isn't necessarily about the game. Life is demanding and time is short.
Amazon sucks. The shows suck, the games suck. It's for a "global audience" or even, "modern audience". Gross lol. Thanks for the video brightlife!! Good to see you
Most important was to implement diverse characters. At least we got this now. 😂
As much as i like LOTRO 30 million$ is nuts and if you think the game is in maintenance mode you're nuts. The game has as much content releasing as other games in the genre. They'd likely never make 30 million back. It's Daybreaks second most profitable game besides Everquest with consistently strong revenues.
A voice of reason... you are quite right, they will spend the money the game will recoup, and it will recoup some. Also... and Bright missed this entirely: Everquest is being looked at again: either a remaster or a proper sequel/reboot, been a big topic lately. Daybreak isn't going to look at this game in isolation... if Everquest is open to major work, so might this game.
I used to play LOTRO back between 2010-2014 i remember Brandywine server in Bree was crowded it would cause server lag. I think i got stuck at not having Moria and left to play other games. Then in 2020 I wanted to get back into LOTRO when i left off, but the servers were different my characters were lost the stuff i had paid for was lost and the servers were basically dead. I remember like i couldn't find anyone using English in chat. I checked a few of the servers it was basicaly the same dead game. I played DDO too back when, so I check them out, and its basically the same. Dead games dead guilds only a few die hards in Europe or Asia who dont use English, playing at hours i dont keep.
ok?
Did anyone truly believe they were going to overhaul the graphics on such an old game??
They just shot themselves in the foot. Unfortunately. Really sad news.
Maybe do a new expansion that rolls these out slowly
Hey welcome back Brother! Great vid man! I know I miss all your streams, but I'm always working when you stream. I'm hoping Amazon will bring Middle Earth to life. Seeing Khazad Dum with modern graphics would be amazing!
it sucks but it was written on the walls for yeaaarss. Anyone who thought otherwise was unfortunately kidding themselves or just super out of the loop.
They say they looked into the numbers... But coming up with a 30M$ number out of their ass for a 3 stage overhaul remaster towards the game and they say returns wont happen or profits I should say.. Is just short sighted.
It's going to be harder to add onto the current game as it is and take longer to do patches onto older content if they dont clean up and overhaul the foundation. It also drives away new players from ever getting past level 20 because the newest zones they added for "story" reasons was just a ploy to keep new players engaged enough to get past that 20-30 lvl gap.
Their excuse that 30M$ could be used to make a whole new game is also out of their ass because a new game can cost up to 100M$+ to fund/make. Let alone a new MMORPG if they choose to.
Cancelling this is such a short sighted mistake they'll soon regret when they are forced to shut down servers and crunch everything to 1 mega server for NA/EU players to enjoy whatever time left the game has and drive the rest of their fans away for good.
I was banking and hoping at least a performance patch would get done so I can return because the FPS drops in random zones and the cluster/GRID lvl system they have in place for connection/ping is so bad if you are the only person in a zone leveling then the server allocates resources to other zones making yours feel like you're playing at 500 ping until more players join you.
Guess I'm sticking to WoW classic or find something else to sink time into.. This is beyond sad.
amazon + tencent = transaction simulator mmo
I really like the idea that sometimes, some things just need to come to an end. I think especially in the mmo space there are alot of games that should close up shop not in a malice way but they kinda did their thing and its time to move on. Things move forward and its honestly nice to close a chapter on a high note then a low one. I think alot of games out stay their welcome because of this. And just have the lotro servers up for those who want to play the classic experience etc.
Honestly I'd sign up for a monthly subscription today if it was avalible on Xbox
LOTRO remastered was never going to be a thing. Anyone who looked into it at all knew that
I love this game, my all time favourite MMO. That said, they need to do something serious, that probably involves investing money, about the latency experienced by players outside the US. Some classes like the warden are just not ideal to play with how things are currently, and that's putting it mildly.
And even if that issue was sorted, the game still really is showing it's age. At the very least, they need to do something about the UI so it looks like it was actually meant for modern systems and not for a resolution of 1024x768.
It's just not really good by 2023 standard. It is a real shame, as the storytelling and gameplay are really enjoyable.
Greetings from Germany. I love your videos and your fancy shirt 😊