Archive for April, 2009

LOTRO: First hints of volume 3?

Saturday, April 25th, 2009

Eurogamer recently interviewed Alan Maki and Jeffrey Steefel, in their two part interview (part 1, part 2) they covered much of the same old ground and discussed the upcomming volume 2, book 7 and book 8. We’ll be seeing some more attention made to the lower levels (15+ book 7 dealt with 1-15) in the Low Lands and North Downs. Looking further ahead (book 9 and beyond) the Trollshaws will get the new player experience makeover and there will be some revision of and new content to bring great player experiences in short play times. One instance of this appears to the Epic story line which will be made more fluid and the level gaps (I’m guessing here that they are referring to the last quest in Bree where Gandalf sends you to Radagast the Brown at the start of volume 1, book 2- an 8 level jump)

But what caught my eye was the following quote, something to look forward to in volume 3 perhaps?

Alan Maki: Unfortunately it has to stay a secret, because some of the things we have planned for the future are going to be evolutionary probably even in the way that MMOs are handled. We’re really looking forward to it, but that’s all I can say at this point.

And the whispers of a console MMO are definitely true but:

Adam Mersky: We’re not really saying what we’re going to be releasing, but we are working on one – it’s more than just talk.

For now though, book 8 will follow in the “early summer“…

Turbine through to the final round of the Escapist’s March Madness

Saturday, April 4th, 2009

The Escapist website is running a fan voted competition to name the best developer. Turbine are the favorites to win this year after winning last year due to the response of the communities of LOTRO, DDO and AC. And they have made it through to the final round again having beaten major players like Nintendo and Valve. The final battle which is sure to be tough pitches Turbine against Bioware, surely the best RPG developer on the planet. So which is to win? Well your vote will count! So head over on Monday or Tuesday to support your favorite developer!