Mystic Worlds

Good Enough but Not a Keepr

Nine million or whatever the number is should say all there is to say, and yet it doesn't.  I hope one of the games releasing this year has something up its sleeve.  If they doesn't I'm done.  After two weeks playing LOTRO I can say with confidence - no brainer I'm sure, that WOW simply put, has the best leveling of any fantasy game I've every played bar none.  That is all and that is it. 

For all the things I like about the other games I've played since, and for the things that I HATE about the WOW end game, the journey to the end is best in WOW.  Oh well...  Doesn't mean I didn't have occasional fun in LOTRO.  Or that I love EQ2 crafting, housing and exploration any less.  It just means the road to leveling  isn't as much fun as it is in WOW.

WOW leveling is simple.  It's straight forward and then again not.  Because it is so simplistic it means you can do it anyway you choose and you can change your mind every day every session.  You can make it as easy or as challenging as you please.  As exclusive or inclusive as you please and change what you think pleases you, whenever it suits your fancy.  The only thing I'd change is to extend the leveling curve so that they can level of some of the hamster cages at the end.  Oh well - it is what it is and isn't by now and not changing drastically any time soon.

I'll continue hopping around on my Captain - which is really what the WOW Paladin always should have been.  I'll ride the month's subscription out but I won't be playing beyond that.  I recently received a BETA invite to a game that I was marginally interested in but I'm afraid to even download it.  What if the only two things on my list as options for 2008 don't even come close to the hype?  That would really suck!

I think the fates are conspiring to make me find something else to do with my precious free time.  That or I've out grown MMOs!?!  Gawd forbid.

LOTRO Tops the List

I'm tired.  Just one more day to go and I can hide out from work for the weekend.  Too exhausted to play anything, I decided to mosey on over  to MMORPG.com.  I haven't been there in many weeks. Figured it was time to see some new screenshots and videos of upcoming games.

I'm not much for their commentary.  It and their podcast always strike me as too biased toward the gaming development and publishing companies.  But they do keep the site stocked with photos, interviews and lots of videos.  In the past, EVE Online and GuildWars always topped the "Highest Ranked" MMORPG.  I mean, for as long as I can remember, EVE has been the top game according to that site's readers.  Imagine my shock and surprise to see LOTRO now occupying the top slot, followed by EQ2.

That's some kind of shake-up if you ask me. EVE has some how tumbled it's way into a two-way tie for sixth place with City of Heroes.  Something tells me that CCP's game has been tarnished by the continued accusations against their staff for assisting friends and favored corporations, in receiving ill gotten gains.  I don't enough about the claims to say more than that.  I liked the game but the learning curve was a bit steep for my time and tastes, so I don't keep up with the in game politics.  But whatever was or wasn't going on, has been conversed about all over the Internet.

No surprise the WOW isn't anywhere to be found on the list.  As I recall, it never ranked high with that particular audience.  But my, oh my, LOTRO - who'da thunk it?  I'm glad that the game is doing well.  I think many of us need a break from WOW and although I haven't found my vacation away from Outlands yet, I'm sure it's coming 'round the bend.

Players Mobbing Farms in LOTRO

You might be surprised to discover how many of the hardcore gamers that left their previous MMORPG to play the soon to be released, Lord of the Rings Online, are spending their time.  No, they’re not slaying Orcs.  No, they’re not battling the dark forces of Sauron.  No, they’re not racing off to aide in the quest of the One Ring – well, some of them are.  So just what is it that many of the LOTRO Tour participants are doing?  Farming, and I don’t mean grind mob style farming.  I'm talking about actual sling them seeds and bail them crops type farming. 

Farming is one of the professions available to players and from what I’m seeing, it's very popular.  I wanted to try farming from the minute I read about it on the forums but was hesitant to take something that would be high in production time but low in return on investment.  Like cooking in WOW, or the more elaborate cooking in EQ2, I enjoyed the professions but they weren’t money-makers.

I still remember the first time I read someone say in chat that they were farming, I thought, “Cool!  We can farm on this game?”  Yeah, I was fresh off the boat and still had visions of Mineral Town in my head.  In my early days of WOW, I spent plenty of time farming mobs and herbs, and always wished that I could actually just farm a plot of land.  Well low and behold; Turbine has implemented just that into their game.

The few people that I’ve spoken to about farming say that it requires funds, is a lot of work and doesn’t pay off until you hit Tier 3.  Given that my last two characters did Tailor/Enchanter in WOW, I’m not up for the long haul with slow payback profession at the moment.  I’m doing Explorer on my main which is harvesting wood, ore and tailoring.  On my Alt I’ll do Yeoman which is cooking, farming and tailoring. 

I can’t wait to hit max pre-release level on my main so I can quickly spin up a few level on my alt and join the crowds chucking seeds in LOTRO.  Everytime I pass through the countryside and run across farms crowded with players it makes me chuckle to think that some of these people where in Naxx a few weeks ago, raiding in EQ2 or dinging 70 in Outlands, and are now bent over tending their fields.  I can't wait to join them and it makes me pick up my step a little so I can get on my alt!

Day Two in the LOTRO Tour

Day two in the LOTRO tour was pretty good.  I connected via IMs with Darren from, The Common Sense Gamer.  He's several levels above me so we didn't hook up to quest.  However, we traded conversation back and forth for the better part of an hour, while we each tended to our own tasks.

When I logged of my Captain was level 11 and being followed about by her trusty Herald.  A few things have changed since the early beta.  None of which are unexpected but warrant a mention:

• They've lengthened the leveling curve.  I'm noticeably gaining less XP than I did previously.
• Almost every mob I encountered hits harder making solo combat take a bit longer
• Captain is no longer in God-mode able to take on 2 to 3 NPCs his level or one above and survive.  This one threw me for a loop for a while.  Since I was running the same quests as before, I kept trying to take on too many mobs then scratching my head when I ended up dead.
• Many more players causing a bit of lag.  During the beta the only time I had lag was in the towns.  Now with so many players roaming the countryside, I encounter pockets of lag while in combat.  Unresponsive combat commands are not pleasant.  I hope they're able to do something about this aspect of the game if the number of players is high.  AC2 had the worst lag I've ever encountered and they were never able to address the problem, leading me to believe the source must have been embedded in the fundamental design.  *Cough* Vanguard.

In all the questing I've done, I only encountered one bugged quest.  The quest giver, who you have to escort was working when I was passing thru the region earlier.  However, by the time I had the quest and went to help him kill some baddies his only reply was, "You don't have permission to use this object."  More and more players started milling around his hut.  It's safe to assume they were waiting to start his escort as well.  I went off and did other quests and came back twice, but he was still only spewing crap so I logged for the nite.

People of Color Game Too!

Thank you Turbine for including the option of making my character dark skinned in LOTRO.  Screw lore in all the other games that won't let me make any character, even humans, dark brown!  WTF.  I've always been irked by that fact.  I get there is lore, but you know what, get over it.  It's really exclusionary that many games won't allow someone to create characters that reflect their own skin coloring.

Sure, you can say it's only a game so why does it matter?  Then I'll say, it's only a game so why can't I? I don't get the problem with having dark skinned elves, dwarfs and especially humans.  And no, the ebony colored (black) evil ones don't count. 

All the reasons that it shouldn't matter, are the very same reasons that it does.  Why are we making false limitations in the skin tone variances in these games.  They're fantasy - a.k.a. not real.  They are worlds where all manner of impossible things exist, to the exclusion of dark skinned characters?  I can brandish a sword bigger than my body.  I can carry weapons that glow with fire but somehow never burn me.  I can manage to fell dragons and beasts of enormous size and strength.  Yet somehow, I can't be brown.  I don't like it. I never have.  And it sticks in my craw every time I make a new character in a game.

So THANK YOU TURBINE FOR ALLOWING ME TO MAKE A BROWN SKINNED HUMAN!

My LOTRO Pre-Release Key Information Arrived

I pre-ordered LOTRO via Amazon, my favorite online reseller of all things.  Sometimes they're prices are a bit higher but their service is excellent so I'm a big customer.  I've had items go missing in route to me and they replace them with no questions asked, and ship them next day!  'Nuf said, I'm an Amazon customer for life.

Anyhoo, I got an email today telling me how to get my pre-key so I can get on now and start leveling my character.  Hmm, I'm torn as to whether or not I'll actually login tonight.  I've had The Sims 2 Seasons on my mind and that arrived yesterday.  I wanted to play around with some modding tools I downloaded to create custom careers that would act as Sims Challenges that could be shared amongst players.

I'm not into doing the Legacy Challenges because I don't do kiddies in The Sims.  I have those in real life to manage. I'm not interested in micro-managing lil monsters in a game.  My plan was to build some custom careers around the Open for Business expansion and package them along with a family, house and starting money to create some business challenges.

Hmm, what to do, what do to... If anyone else has a pre-key and is playing drop a comment about which server your on.

Podcast #3 is Live

In this episode I give my impressions of the Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar beta.  LOTRO is being developed by Turbine and should be releasing in late March to early April time frame.

• You can listen to the episode online here.
• Or make use of the Downloadable Version.