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Some Assembly Required: Issue #4 -- Making music in LotRO

MJ Guthrie — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Game Mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Guides, Some Assembly Required

Music to my ears. The Sound of Music. It ain't over 'til the fat lady (er, Dwarf) sings. Time to face the music. Pay the piper.

There is no way around it -- music is such an integral part of our lives and culture that there is almost no way to take a step without its influence showing in some part of our lives, be it an idiom, a movie, a popular catchphrase, or even just a tune stuck in our heads that we cannot escape. Music is so woven into the thread of our beings that it is surprising that more music cannot be found in the world of MMOs. Luckily for us, one world has embraced this connection to music and made it an involved part of the game.

Unlike any other games, Lord of the Rings Online has moved beyond just adding a background score and a few canned clips of music to the game. In fact, it has introduced an entire system allowing players to not only play a variety of instruments in the game but compose original pieces and play together in bands as well. The musically inclined can either play live or convert popular music into ABC files, and the not-so-inclined can use said files files to play right along with their friends. When it comes to harnessing creativity, the music system in LotRO tops the charts.

Want to see how you too can strike up the band and show off your creative prowess with the lute, the theorbo, the clarinet, or even the cowbell? Tune in past the cut for Some Assembly Required's look at the music industry in LotRO.

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Some Assembly Required: Issue #4 -- Making music in LotRO originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Road to Mordor: Old school hobbits

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, The Road to Mordor

(Screenshot courtesy of Lord of the Rhymes)

Over the past couple weeks Lord of the Rings Online players' eyes have turned to the future, and this column with it. After all, with the beta for LotRO F2P edition in full swing and the recent news from E3 about this fall's offerings, it's kind of hard not to be focused on what's ahead.

However, I was tickled by a LotRO forum thread this week that looked back, not forward. It's one of those nostalgia threads that tend to pop up in a forum of any game more than a few years old, a place for veterans to reminisce about the olden days (whether good or bad). It's also an excellent chance for newbies to learn a bit more about the history of the game -- and perhaps thank their lucky stars they didn't have to walk uphill through three-foot snow with a Balrog on their tail just to log in to the servers every day.

The thread certainly makes for good readin', but I wanted to comment on a few specific examples of how the game's changed, and how it was back when we were in school. Old school, that is. Hit the jump, and we'll travel to the past in our hobbit tub time machine!

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The Road to Mordor: Old school hobbits originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Account thieves make mainstream news

Kyle Horner — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Exploits, News Items

Some determined hackers have gone to great lengths to steal MMO accounts. So much so that they've managed to get noticed by the mainstream news outlets. We guess that's what happens when you hack over 10,000 websites just to get your hands on somebody else's MMO account.

Essentially, these guys hacked into thousands of websites and added a small amount of code that redirects users into an invisible attack from some China-based servers. Apparently if you've got your antivirus program of choice up-to-date you shouldn't worry. Although the article points out that some of these attacks are directed at ActiveX controls, so update that as well if you haven't recently.

We all know how terrible it would be to have our accounts hacked into and stolen. Many of us spend hundreds of hours in our favorite worlds, which many of us also pay for through our credit cards. Strangely enough, Lord of the Rings Online is mentioned as one of the games targeted by the hackers.

[via TenTonHammer]

Account thieves make mainstream news originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ABC Island anniversary tonight!

Tateru Nino — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Events (In-Game), News Items, Second Life, Virtual Worlds

That's the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and not that other ABC in the United States of America. Partner and counterpart to the United Kingdom's BBC, "Aunty" ABC occupies a special place in the hearts of Australians. Oh, she gets some teasing sometimes -- but she's been with us since 1929 with Radio, Television, and the Web and has always excelled at embracing new media and finding ways to integrate old and new media together in new and compelling ways.

As public broadcasters go, the ABC sports an impressive catalogue of high-quality educational programs, news, music and entertainment, and isn't shy about finding new ways to deliver them, with an increasing amount of content available on the Web or via Second Life.

Continue reading ABC Island anniversary tonight!

ABC Island anniversary tonight! originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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