The Lord of the Rings MMORPG returns!

CrusaderX

First Post
Found on The Middle Earth Vault :

Hello there!

My name is Chris Taylor, and I work for Black Label Games/Universal Interactive on our Tolkien titles. Our games are based on the books.

Just wanted to drop a quick note letting you know that we are working on a LOTR based MMORPG. The final title of the game hasn't been decided (I saw some confusion in another thread and I wanted to clear that up.) I refer to it as MEO (Middle-earth Online), but it's also been called LOTRO (Lord of the Rings Online). Over the next couple of months, we'll settle on the real name.

We're still very far off from release, and lots of things are changing under the hood (so to speak), so we can't say a lot about the game at this point. However, I'll try to answer your questions as best as possible to the limit of my ability and what I'm allowed to talk about.

I'm not any more familiar with the previous incarnations of MEO than a fan (I followed it like many people did), so that particular topic is pretty much off limits. Also, I'd like to keep away from talks about the competition, but only because I really respect what other teams do and somehow those conversations never go right...

My background is primarily in design, which is why I'm producing now. I worked for Interplay for many years (on Stonekeep, Fallout, Starfleet Command and others). I did work on a couple MMORPGs that Interplay wanted to launch, but they never really got off the ground. My personal online experience starts in the mid 1980s, in the Apple // BBS world. I started playing online RPGs in the late 80s, and MUDed way, way too much in the early 90s. (I was Skuz on Genesis for a couple of years.) I'm currently playing EQ, and have tried all the major MMPs. We're very thankful for EQ and UO for opening the door for MMORPGs, but we are committed to not just making a clone of those games with different characters and graphics.

I think we have something really neat planned for you. And neat is good!

Go to the above link for more info.
 

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* sighs * :rolleyes:

So what's the friggin monthly fee?

Personally, why can't they follow the same model as NWN? No, I'm not talking about their software engine or the use of 3e rules, but the idea of hosting our own local online RPG session, only with more improvement (better than NWN) and a user-friendly toolset for the GM-Host.
 

Oh, I'd much prefer that, too.

I'd also rather play a Star Wars style game of that sort, rather than something like Star Wars Galaxies.

But I'm sure Universal Interactive is seeing dollar signs. In an ever-crowded MMORPG world, the LOTR name is one of the few guaranteed long-lasting money-makers.
 

If they do get this MMPORPG going, I hope they have some sort of name picking system based off the languages and regions of Middle Earth rather than letting the players come up with their own name.

I know that may sound like a silly idea. But really, if you're a big fan of LOTR would you want to log on to this world to meet guys named Bong Bluntweed, Darrk Nemeesis, and Ranndd Owl'Thorr?

Not sure how a game designer could fix this kind of staple in MMPORPGs, but perhaps a long list a surnames and other common first names to choose from would help. Perhaps in the character creation screen you get that huge list (based on your race and starting region of Middle Earth) of last names and you pick one, then it gives you a huge list of first names and all their slight variants. Then you can look at the 'phonebook-esque' list of players and their existing chosen names to see which names haven't been taken yet so on and so forth.

Then you run into the problem where no matter how HUGE a number of names your lists provides, it could be that a year later when a newbie joins that server he is settled with a very small selection of last names to choose from. Ones that he doesn't like. Then you get players who are unable to pick a name they want.

I don't how this would solved. But I'm sure there's a way. Hope the development team tries to work on something. Adventuring through Gondor with a guy named Camaro HaflingEator would really take me out of the atmosphere.:)
 

But then they'll be over 10,000 users with the nickname "Aragorn."

"Hi, My name is Aragorn5002."

"Hello, 5002, I'm Aragorn235."

"Hi, 235. Have you seen AragornsLady?"

"Nope, but I have seen AragornsMistress. She had a spat with ArwenBlueEyes12."

:rolleyes:
 

Ugh. Hearing that type of thing in a game such as EverQuest is bad enough. But hearing it in the well-loved world of Middle Earth is stomach-turning. :eek:

Maybe I'll just stick with Decipher's LOTR RPG...
 

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