Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: What Update 7 means for you]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/12/the-road-to-mordor-what-update-7-means-for-you/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/12/the-road-to-mordor-what-update-7-means-for-you/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/12/the-road-to-mordor-what-update-7-means-for-you/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

LotRO
Without fail, the second I'm done writing this column for Massively, Turbine releases the big news of a major patch, and I have to wait a whole week to talk about it. In the case of Lord of the Rings Online's Update 7, I'm not that upset. I definitely was underwhelmed by it all initially, but now that I have had a whole week to digest it, read through the test server notes, and scope out the Moria dev diary that was posted, I feel like I'm in a much better position to talk about it.

So what does this game update mean for you? That's a good question, and it really depends on where you are in your leveling journey. New players won't be fazed by it whatsoever, but both mid-game and endgame adventurers are going to have some new (and reworked) content to devour. I am heartened that Turbine doesn't have tunnel-vision for the endgame and is still willing to go back and examine what does and doesn't work about its earlier content.

So let's walk through the major highlights of Update 7: Shades of the Past and give it the ol' Road to Mordor analysis, shall we?

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: What Update 7 means for you

MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: What Update 7 means for you originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 12 May 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>f2pfantasyfeaturedfornostfree-to-playinventorylegendary-itemlegendary-item-systemlegendary-itemslilord-of-the-ringslord-of-the-rings-onlinelotromoriaopinionroad-to-mordorsapienceshades-of-the-pastskirmishstar-lit-crystalstar-lit-crystalsStorm-on-Methedrasthe-road-to-mordorturbineturbine-entertainmentupdate-7Sat, 12 May 2012 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Turbine responds to LotRO store armor controversy]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/25/turbine-responds-to-lotro-store-armor-controversy/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/25/turbine-responds-to-lotro-store-armor-controversy/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/25/turbine-responds-to-lotro-store-armor-controversy/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

LotRO
Following the community uproar over the selling of premium armor with stats in the Lord of the Rings Online store, Turbine has posted an official response to the matter in the form of a Q&A post on the forums.

Community Manager Sapience says that Turbine is "very aware of the controversy" and wanted to address specific points of concern. According to the post, Turbine said it never intended to promise that it would abstain from selling statted gear to give low-level players a boost, but the studio promised that this would not happen with endgame armor. The company admits to being "too generous" with the stats in question, and may adjust the item's power levels or possibly remove them from the store after further observation.

The studio took the opportunity to clarify its "convenience not advantage" stance. "Anything that's compulsory to be competitive in ranked play or achieves something by degrading another player's experience. We have not and will not make that part of our F2P offering," Sapience writes.

He concludes by promising more transparency going forward: "We'll take this as a sign that we need to do a better job in clear and open communication. In the future we will take more time to explain why -- not just what we're doing."

Massively previously reached out to Turbine for an interview on the subject but the studio declined to participate.

[Thanks to Whitewolf for the tip!]

MassivelyTurbine responds to LotRO store armor controversy originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>convenience-not-advantagef2pfree-to-playin-game-storelord-of-the-rings-onlinelotrolotro-forumslotro-storesapiencestat-armorstat-armor-controversystatted-armorturbineWed, 25 Jan 2012 08:30:00 EST<![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: Convenience, not advantage]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/21/the-road-to-mordor-convenience-not-advantage/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/21/the-road-to-mordor-convenience-not-advantage/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/21/the-road-to-mordor-convenience-not-advantage/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

LotRO
Prior to Lord of the Rings Online's free-to-play implementation, players were raising concerns of potential abuse of the F2P model and the LotRO store in particular. The CM at the time, Patience, posted a now-infamous response stated that Turbine was about selling "convenience, not advantage" in the store. I thought it was a terrific stance to take (and still is, for any F2P MMO dabbling in microtransactions). It wasn't long, however, before the thread was purged from the forums entirely, although the playerbase has held on to those three words to this day.

That phrase has echoed in my head over the past week, ever since we heard that statted armor was coming to the in-game store. I've been among those who have championed Turbine's F2P model as the way to do things right -- to offer fluff, a la carte content and convenience without straying into so-called "pay to win" territory that has plagued cheaper games. But now I wonder if the new motto is "convenience and advantage," especially in light of several other questionable store selections that have been pushed through despite player resistance.

But let's concentrate on one topic today, that being the stat armor that's now available in the store. Is this strictly a "convenience" item that is meant to aid struggling lowbies, or does it represent the sale of a clear advantage for those who are OK with letting their money game for them? Are we making a mountain out of a molehill by discussing this, or is it far past time that something like this needs to be brought into the public discourse?

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Convenience, not advantage

MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: Convenience, not advantage originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>a-casual-stroll-to-mordoradam-merskycraftingddodungeons-and-dragons-onlinef2pfeaturedfree-to-playin-game-storelord-of-the-rings-onlinelotrolotro-storepay-to-winsapiencestat-armorstatted-armorstoreturbineturbine-entertainmentSat, 21 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Lord of the Rings Online adding mount emotes]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/27/lord-of-the-rings-online-adding-mount-emotes/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/27/lord-of-the-rings-online-adding-mount-emotes/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/27/lord-of-the-rings-online-adding-mount-emotes/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Lord of the Rings Online
Emotes: They're not just for Elves, Hobbits, Dwarves, and Men any longer. Naaay, Turbine is preparing to give emote love in Lord of the Rings Online to player mounts as well. Players' horses and goats will soon be able to rear up, kick, and bow with the best of them.

While the emotes are not yet available in the game, CM Sapience announced on the forums that players have a chance to win one for free through the LotRO lottos:
All weekend long we'll be running lotteries for the brand new, unreleased, Mounted Rear Up emote. That's right, Mount Emotes are coming to the LotRO Store! Enter the lotteries this weekend and you could win it for free, before your friends can buy it. You'll have a few weeks to show it off and brag before it hits the LotRO Store.

Check back often as new lotteries will be starting randomly throughout the weekend and on Halloween!
The LotRO lottery system is available on the my.lotro website.

MassivelyLord of the Rings Online adding mount emotes originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>a-casual-stroll-to-mordorf2pfree-to-playgiveawaylord-of-the-rings-onlinelotrolotro-lotterylotro-lottolotro-storemountmount-emotemount-emotesmountsmy.lotropromotionsapienceturbineturbine-entertainmentThu, 27 Oct 2011 14:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Turbine confirms five new LotRO instances by the end of the year]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/24/turbine-confirms-five-new-lotro-instances-by-the-end-of-the-year/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/24/turbine-confirms-five-new-lotro-instances-by-the-end-of-the-year/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/24/turbine-confirms-five-new-lotro-instances-by-the-end-of-the-year/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Rise of Isengard
While a new expansion is usually a cause for celebration, some Lord of the Rings Online players have expressed disappointment that September's Rise of Isengard lacks new instances outside of the much-ballyhooed 24-man raid.

Between convention appearances, Turbine's Sapience confirmed on the forums that while Isengard players won't be enjoying any additional three-man or six-man dungeons, more will come by the end of the year in Update 5:
We are currently preparing five new instances for release post-Isengard.

Rise of Isengard will be released on September 27 along with a 24-player raid. There will be 3 three-player, 1 six-player and 1 twelve-player instance released in Update 5, the first update after the release of Rise of Isengard. These instances will be free to any player who has pre-purchased the Rise of Isengard expansion or who purchases after launch via the Turbine web store.

Update 5 will be available before the end of the year.
Rise of Isengard will be on display at Turbine's booth this weekend at PAX in Seattle.

MassivelyTurbine confirms five new LotRO instances by the end of the year originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 24 Aug 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>12-man12-player24-man-raid24-player-raid3-man3-player6-man6-playerdungeondungeonsexpansionf2pfree-to-playinstanceinstancesisengardlord-of-the-rings-onlinelotropaxraidrise-of-isengardsapienceturbineturbine-entertainmentupdate-5Wed, 24 Aug 2011 18:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Updates on migration issues for Lord of the Rings Online]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/09/updates-on-migration-issues-for-lord-of-the-rings-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/09/updates-on-migration-issues-for-lord-of-the-rings-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/09/updates-on-migration-issues-for-lord-of-the-rings-online/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

It's been about a week since European players of Lord of the Rings Online began the migration over to Turbine's servers, and the transition has not been nearly as smooth as one could hope. That having been said, the team is working diligently behind the scenes to try to address the issues many players are experiencing, with community manager Sapience making a post today outlining the two major fixes coming up to try to alleviate the issues.

The first fix will be a simple patch to the migration tool itself, which is expected to be live on Friday or shortly thereafter. The other fix will require some server downtime as the team works at fixing some database issues. Sapience also explains that Codemasters had previously flagged some accounts incorrectly with the database migration, and he promises that the players missing VIP time will be addressed sometime next week. While it won't remove the Lord of the Rings Online migration issues, it's at least a step in the right direction.

MassivelyUpdates on migration issues for Lord of the Rings Online originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 09 Jun 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>codemasterscommunityeueuropelord-of-the-rings-onlinelotromigrationregionsapienceserver-migrationserversturbineturbine-entertainmentThu, 09 Jun 2011 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Turbine upgrades LotRO's compromised account reimbursement policy]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/26/turbine-upgrades-lotros-compromised-account-reiumbursement-poli/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/26/turbine-upgrades-lotros-compromised-account-reiumbursement-poli/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/26/turbine-upgrades-lotros-compromised-account-reiumbursement-poli/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Account security is a worrysome topic in Lord of the Rings Online these days, especially following a reported rise in hacks and thefts among the playerbase. A couple months ago Codemasters implemented a stronger policy to help players recover lost property, a direction that Turbine followed yesterday when it revised its compromised account reimbursement policy.

Sapience announced on the LotRO forums that this policy is significantly updated and expanded from the old one. Now when a player's account is hacked, Turbine gives a seven-day window to report the issue, during which the company can restore "most" of the lost items and compensate players for items that cannot be replaced. This, however, is not a true rollback and does not cover accounts compromised before February 24th.

Turbine also reassured players that the studio is making it much tougher for unauthorized intruders to delete or sell rare items like raid gear, which should add another layer of protection from losing one's goods.

MassivelyTurbine upgrades LotRO's compromised account reimbursement policy originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 26 Feb 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>codemasterscompromised-account-reimbursementcompromised-account-reimbursement-policycompromised-accountshackhackedhackerslord-of-the-rings-onlinelotroreimbursementrollbacksapiencetheftturbineunauthorized-third-partySat, 26 Feb 2011 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[LotRO ramps up to Echoes of the Dead with new dev diaries]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/03/lotro-ramps-up-to-echoes-of-the-dead-with-new-dev-diaries/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/03/lotro-ramps-up-to-echoes-of-the-dead-with-new-dev-diaries/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/03/lotro-ramps-up-to-echoes-of-the-dead-with-new-dev-diaries/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Speculation is on a head-on collision with fact, as Turbine has started to roll out information about the next Lord of the Rings Online update, titled "Echoes of the Dead." As players wonder whether the mysterious runes of a couple weeks ago indicate a new raid hub, or whether Echoes of the Dead is the name of the next book in the epic storyline, Turbine has at least shed light on class changes scheduled for this next update.

Ken Burd caters to the thieves, er, treasure-hunters in the LotRO crowd with his Burglar dev diary. Several improvements and buffs for the class are in order, including additional stealth stances, bleed effects matching weapon damage types, beefier Fellowship Maneuvers, the ability to go faster in stealth, and a "Safe Fall" skill to safeguard against falling injuries (although Burglars can still be killed by falling too far).

For the musically minded, Tim Lang has you covered with his Minstrel dev diary. Lang lists a huge amount of tweaks and fixes for the class, including shorter cooldowns for select skills, several new legacies, and an additional skill called "Anthem of the Third Age," which buffs either damage or healing, depending on whether you're in War Speech stance or not.

Finally, in response to this past weekend's game and forum outages, Sapience announced that NA players will enjoy increased +5% XP gains from monster kills as well as token drops that can be exchanged for gift boxes from now through Sunday the 6th.

MassivelyLotRO ramps up to Echoes of the Dead with new dev diaries originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>anthem-of-the-third-ageburglarclassdev-diaryechoes-of-the-deadfellowship-maneuversgift-boxesken-burdlord-of-the-rings-onlinelotrominstrelsafe-fallsapiencestealthtim-langturbinewar-speechThu, 03 Feb 2011 15:30:00 EST<![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: Hacked!]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/21/the-road-to-mordor-hacked/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/21/the-road-to-mordor-hacked/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/21/the-road-to-mordor-hacked/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

"My kinship had just finished an instance run about a week-and-a-half ago and was in the process of reloading back into the world when I got the message that I was being disconnected because I had just logged into the Brandywine server. Huh? Suspecting the worst, I immediately hit up the Turbine Account page and changed my password then re-logged back into the game, which would boot the hacker offline just like I had been booted minutes earlier.

"I was lucky and did that before the hacker had time to switch servers to where my active characters are. Other kinmates have not been so lucky."

So goes the frightening tale of Pumping Irony's Scott, who shares this in the hopes that others may avoid a similar scare. Unfortunately, it seems as though stories such as these are becoming more and more common in Lord of the Rings Online, where the worst threat to your quest may not be the eye of Sauron but the malicious intent of hackers gutting your account while you're offline.

Today we're going to step off the path for a temporary side trail into the gloomy undergrowth of account security and an MMO under siege.

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Hacked!

MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: Hacked! originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>a-casual-stroll-to-mordoraccountaccount-securityauthenticatorblizzardblizzard-authenticatorCodemastersCompromised-Accountcracked.comffxivfinal-fantasy-xivfirewallhackedhackersiphonelord-of-the-rings-onlinelotromalwaremiddle-earthparanoiapasswordpasswordspumping-ironysapiencesauronsecurityspywarethe-road-to-mordortokensturbineturbine-accountTurbine-Entertainmentvirus-scannerworld-of-warcraftwowFri, 21 Jan 2011 19:30:00 EST<![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: A year in Middle-earth]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/31/the-road-to-mordor-a-year-in-middle-earth/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/31/the-road-to-mordor-a-year-in-middle-earth/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/31/the-road-to-mordor-a-year-in-middle-earth/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

What a difference a year makes, eh? One year ago, and you didn't have to put up with me yammering at you every Friday like a hyperactive badger with a personality disorder. One year ago, and we weren't free-to-play-anything, Turbine was its own company, the festivals were nowhere near as cool as they are today, and shrews freely roamed the land without fear of reprisal.

So in my last Road to Mordor (of the year, stop rejoicing over there!), I thought it'd be great to look back at the wild rollercoaster that was 2010 in Lord of the Rings Online. I also thought I'd get an easy column out of all this, but that was before I had to read through 1,337 posts and my eyeballs began to lose pressure.

January

Stuff happened. Let's move on.

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: A year in Middle-earth

MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: A year in Middle-earth originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>anniversarybilboclosed-betacodemasterscontestcraftingddodungeons-and-dragons-onlinee3end-of-the-year-2010enedwaithexpansioneyeball-pressuref2pfall-festivalfree-to-playfrostbluff-theatrehaunted-burrowisengardisengard-private-preview-programjeff-jungejeffrey-steefelkate-paizlord-of-the-rings-onlinelore-masterlotrolotterieslotterylua-scriptingmoddingmodsoath-of-the-rangerspaxpax-2010pax-primeqareputation-mountsrise-of-isengardrune-keepersapienceshrew-stompingshrewssiege-of-mirkwoodspring-festivalsteed-of-nightsummer-festivalsyp-is-so-dreamytalk-like-a-pirate-daythe-road-to-mordorthird-anniversaryturbineturbine-entertainmentvaultvolume-iii-book-1wardrobewarner-broswbwinter-homeyule-festivalFri, 31 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: Luck be a lady tonight]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/24/the-road-to-mordor-luck-be-a-lady-tonight/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/24/the-road-to-mordor-luck-be-a-lady-tonight/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/24/the-road-to-mordor-luck-be-a-lady-tonight/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

During this past week in the wild world of Lord of the Rings Online, we were treated to a snippet of exceptionally good news: The LotRO lotteries are back.

Some of you might be indifferent to this news, some might be overjoyed, and some -- I'm guessing -- are totally puzzled about what this all means. Considering how many new players have immigrated to LotRO this year and how long the lottos have been out of commission (several months now), it wouldn't surprise me if a player hadn't even heard of these at all.

Simply put, the lotteries are a "for fun" bonus that Turbine implemented to give all players a chance to win some nifty in-game items. These winnings can include anything from beer to gold to housing items to mounts. It really depends on your luck and how generous the devs are feeling any given week. Some of the lottos have huge payouts, while others deliver prizes as silly and paltry as a single lump of coal.

So if you're new to the LotRO lotteries -- or just need a refresher course -- hit the jump and let's suss this thing out!

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Luck be a lady tonight

MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: Luck be a lady tonight originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 24 Dec 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>beerf2pfree-to-playgreen-beerlord-of-the-rings-onlinelorebooklotrolotro-lotterylotterylottery-widgetlottolottosmylotromylotro.comsapiencethe-road-to-mordorturbineTurbine-Entertainmentvipwelcome-wagonFri, 24 Dec 2010 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: Forum diving]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/04/the-road-to-mordor-forum-diving/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/04/the-road-to-mordor-forum-diving/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/04/the-road-to-mordor-forum-diving/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

[Special note: Obviously, the news that LotRO is going free-to-play hit after this article was already written, so stay tuned as we dissect what it means for existing and potential new customers next week!]

Lately, it feels like we're in a holding pattern for Lord of the Rings Online. The last major content patch, Volume III: Book 1, is fading into distant memory, and we're pushing into summer without definite news of the next update -- or better yet, the next expansion. Players are also nervous about any changes or new directions the game may take after the recent acquisition of Turbine by Warner Bros., and the silence certainly doesn't help any.

However, there's always hope in the darkest places of Middle-earth, and the same can be said for the game itself. The Summer Festival should be around the corner, and as for new news, Sapience handed out a bit of vague encouragement on the forums: "You guys know we're preparing an announcement. I can't give you a specific date as to when we'll make it, but I can say I just ran into Adam Mersky coming out of an E3 planning meeting and he was pretty stoked!"

While we continue the wait for the next step forward for LotRO, I thought it'd be a good idea to head over to the official forums and do a little diving for some of the more interesting topics and discussions bouncing around the LotRO community today.

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Forum diving

MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: Forum diving originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Jun 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>13371337-speekadam-merskyburglarclass-feedbackcodemasterscosmetic-outfitdx-11e3easter-eggseueuropeforumsiconsleet-speaklord-of-the-rings-onlinelotrolotro-lotterymicrotransactionsofficial-forumsprofanity-filterrivendellsapiencesummer-festivalturbinevolume-3-book-1volume-iii-book-1warner-brosweathertopFri, 04 Jun 2010 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Turbine bears proof of fan-power in LotRO]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/24/turbine-bears-proof-of-fan-power-in-lotro/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/24/turbine-bears-proof-of-fan-power-in-lotro/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/24/turbine-bears-proof-of-fan-power-in-lotro/#commentsFiled under: ,

"Powered by our fans" is the well-known motto of Turbine, quoted ad infinitum by said fans, both as proof of a company that understands and a company that's fallen out of touch. While gamers debate this, the devs stand by the company's efforts to keep in touch with what their players want and to deliver it to them. In a recent post on the Lord of the Rings Online forums, "TheStormKing" challenged Turbine to provide clear examples of how player suggestions have made an impact on the game.

The answer was a bit shocking and awesome -- Sapience came back with a massive list off the top of his head of changes made to LotRO because of demands and ideas by the playerbase. These included revamping mounts, housing, fishing, shared storage, new travel routes, being able to skip the tutorial, the quest tracker, UI customization, the Rift skirmish and a whole lot more. You can read the whole list here, and see whether it gives credence to Turbine's motto.

And if you ever wondered whether devs played the same game the players do, Sapience sets the record straight on that as well: "Someone asked if I play. Yes I do (and have for a long time, even before I started working for Turbine). My entire family does. Between us we have almost every class to 65."

[Thanks Lotro Weekly!]

MassivelyTurbine bears proof of fan-power in LotRO originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 24 May 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>fishinghousinglord-of-the-rings-onlinelotromountsplayer-suggestionspowered-by-our-fansquest-trackerrift-skirmishsapienceshared-storagetravelturbinetutorialuiMon, 24 May 2010 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Festival horse vendor removed from Lord of the Rings Online]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/30/festival-horse-vendor-removed-from-lord-of-the-rings-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/30/festival-horse-vendor-removed-from-lord-of-the-rings-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/30/festival-horse-vendor-removed-from-lord-of-the-rings-online/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Did your goals for Lord of the Rings Online's Spring Festival include getting yourself a spiffy horse? Well, you're going to have to wait just a little while in order to get your hands on one. How long? We don't know yet. What we do know is that the vendor has been removed entirely, thus preventing players from even gazing longingly at the listing in the menu. As Sapience explained on the forums, the issue wasn't really the vendor so much as the horse itself.

To wit: the way the game is handling mounts is being changed. As a result, they need to change the item, remove the item from the vendor's list, or remove the vendor entirely until the issue is resolved. However, the former two changes require a patch, and the issue is kind of small for an entire patch -- not to mention that it's the sort of fix more easily rolled into a larger patch. While it's bad news for Lord of the Rings Online players, it's at least nice to get a quick and clear explanation on why the vendor got yanked.

[ via A Casual Stroll to Mordor ]

MassivelyFestival horse vendor removed from Lord of the Rings Online originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>horsehotfixin-game-eventlord-of-the-rings-onlinelotrolotro-spring-festivalmountremoved-from-gamesapiencespring-festivalspring-festival-2010turbineturbine-entertainmentTue, 30 Mar 2010 19:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Turbine's RMT Manager position not for any current games]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/05/turbines-rmt-manager-position-not-for-any-current-games/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/05/turbines-rmt-manager-position-not-for-any-current-games/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/05/turbines-rmt-manager-position-not-for-any-current-games/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


With RMT being the hottest topic of 2009 MMO gaming news so far, we recently ran a post about Turbine's job listing for a Microtransaction Manager. This news was not met with many open arms, as the most vocal RMT detractors spoke up against the speculation that this position could be for one of their favorite Turbine MMOs.

Well fret no more, oh saviors of the subscription plan. In a recent post on LotRO's official forums, Turbine's Sapience clears up the confusion and speculation: "We know the recent job listing has caused a bit of a stir, but please be aware that this posting is for an unannounced future project. We appreciate the thoughts and feedback on both sides thus far."

[Thanks Tony!]

MassivelyTurbine's RMT Manager position not for any current games originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>breakingnewsjobslord-of-the-rings-onlinelotromicrotransactionsrmtsapienceturbineMon, 05 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST