Hey all,

The Lord of the Rings Online is perhaps one of the best, if not simply THE best Lord of the Rings video game availible. It stays true to Tolkien and has great gameplay value. Right now, LotRO is in the process of converting from a pay-to-play MMO to a free-to-play system. Anyone can sign up for the new format's beta. I believe you will still have to pay for expansions and special items and such, but I think everything else plays normally.

This is great. I played LotRO when it first came out, but gave it up shortly after because I had no viable way to pay for it, and it was quite expensive. From what I remember, this really is the best LotR video game. Conquest, BFME2, Tactics, and The Third Age are awful. The Hobbit, BFME, WotR, FotR, TTT, and RotK aren't very good either, but at least one could actually associate them with the realm of Middle-earth and the story of LotR. Aragorn's Quest looks really terrible and War in the North seems...wrong (I'm still curious as to what exactly is in this game that required an M-Rating, when the movies are PG13 and every other game is Teen, and why an eagle, who only intervened in the War of the Ring to save Gandalf from Orthanc and the hobbits from Mt. Doom, is worried about a random guy in the north getting attacked by some troll... ). I think I'll have to put down the Xbox 360 Controller, take a break from Alan Wake and Bad Company 2 and enjoy this FREE game.

Anybody else interested?

http://www.lotro.com/betasignup/

& where could I get this free game I ask?

I've played all the other games & yes I agree, there just not up to it. The Battle for Middle Earth was probably the best out of the ones so far that I know of. I would be keen to try this game out

Drum

I left a link in my post...did it not work?

As it stands now, Lord of the Rings Online and Lord of the Rings Online "Free Version" are essentially different games. One is still the "real" game, the other is in the Beta stage. If you follow the link, you can sign up for the Beta and help Midway test the new version of the game. Once the Beta is over, the original LotRO will be gone, replaced by the free version.

I signed up for the beta today, and have not yet recieved my key. I just thought I'd share the info with everyone. I perhaps spent far too much time talking about other LotR games, sorry.

oh yes I found it, sorry I'm blind So how long does it take to get the key?

The Battlefield Heroes Beta Key came within a few days, and that's the only beta I've played that had a waiting list and a key (ie, I was able to play the Halo Reach Beta due to the simple fact that I downloaded it using Halo ODST). So, a few days? I'll let you know when I get it. I'm assuming that this beta is going to be a lot more like the real game than most other betas due to the fact that they already have the game created, they're transitioning it from one version to another. I don't know exactly when the real, actual version of "Free" LotRO is coming out though.

I myself do play LOTRO online.

it is a TON of fun.

when it does go free to play it'll bring alot more people to the game.

but also it will bring tons of retarted names.

the game is great because the people that play it are tolkien fans. so they have real names. that makes it fun.

but itll be fun having more people around.

o yeah, by what do you mean the original LOTRO will be gone?

wont they just have the free peoples play and they wont let them do 1/2 the stuff pay players do?

The original game is being slightly reworked so that it accomodates the new free-to-play style, and in that way, the original game will be gone. Therefore, there is going to be an ongoing beta to test how well this new version of the game will work. Instead of using a subscription feature, LotRO Free-To-Play will feature a VIP system and a Turbine Store, which can be used to purchase the add-ons and such.

@Drumtastic: So apparantly the beta is very closed and selective, so even if you apply you may not get in. In addition, apparantly, the beta has not begun yet, but will begin "very soon."

Anyone who is interested in this at all, check out this faq, subscribers and n00bs alike: http://www.lotro.com/news/709-announcing-the-lord-of-the-rings-onlines-move-to-free-to-play-

Contains alcohol, tobacco and violence!

Oh no!

(As an aside, I suspect the War in the North will probably involve copious amounts of cinematic stabbing and killing, so probably safer to slap an "M" on it)

_________________
Dreaming of getting back to painting...any month now.

I think this sounds great!

I have seen LOTRO in the stores many times... but have never bought
it as i havent gotten the money to play it.

_________________
Eru was the one who on Arda is called Ilúvatar

-The silmarillion by J.R.R Tolkien, first line-

I just watched the "E3 Trailer." There's quite a lot of blood, and I can't imagine them putting any language, suggestive themes, or illegal drug use in there, so I guess that "Blood and Gore; Violence" and possibly "tobacco; alcohol" are what I should expect to see on the back of the box when the game comes out. But I also saw in that trailer that the wizard type character was killing most of the enemy. Why do some companies insist upon common spellcasters being a part of Middle-earth?

I don't know if I'll buy it. The graphics look good, and they've given the game a real context with that quote from Gandalf, but I have this feeling like its going to be some horrible, non-recognizable piece of trash like Conquest and BfMe2.

But Gavin, howsabout LotRO? Gonna give it a try?

yeah, really. why does there always have to be a "spellcaster."
in middleearth there were only a few left who could use magic enyways. if they didnt have a ring of power.
especially not a human.
but mabye an elf?
i dont know. thats my view on it.
but it does look neat.

Why the magic?

Something to do with online game theory - the worlds, adventures and character classes are constructed based on the old Dungeons and Dragons model* - of a fighter, healer, sneaky bloke, artillery and maybe someone social. The mage represents artillery. In an MMO environment, moreso than a table-top roleplaying environment, each character "needs" the ability to do something flashy - be it big fights, exploding whatnots, sneak attacks or whatever. By giving each class a flashiness, they make each class attractive. And the only way to make a mage type character in a Lord of the Rings online environment is to strip out the Gandalf and replace him with someone who shoots actual fireballs.

Pain in the neck, so 'tis.

Weirdly, the decision to include magician characters in the Decipher Lord of the Rings roleplaying game gave us one of the most beautiful, evocative and Tolkien-esque magic systems ever written. Somehow I suspect that LOTRO won't have anything close.

_________________
Dreaming of getting back to painting...any month now.

The LotRO classes do feature a couple of spellcaster-ish options, which are very Tolkienesque. I was referring to War in the North's mage class, which looks to me like a revamp of the Conquest mage class. Those type of characters are a blaspheme on magic in Middle-earth and do not fit in with the setting, imo. I think I probably will get War in the North, though, recanting my previous statement, but unless achievements require it, I will avoid using the mage class at all cost.

thanks for the tip i just signed up.

Actually,
it is stated in The Hobbit that the Eagles would often attack goblins: “stop(ing) whatever wickedness they were doing”. In the Lord of the Rings it is said that the Eagles of the Misty Mountains help the Elves of Rivendell to watch the land and gather news of Orcs – I don't think it's a stretch to say that they might help out someone who was being attacked by evil creatures.

I realize that you think alot of LotR games are "awful" and the rest "aren't very good either". But cmon - lets not bash games before any of us have actually played them

_________________
[SBG] Profile Locations:
http://www.terrainguild.com/thelastalli ... f=9&t=1069

I have played almost every single LotR video game--granted, these are mostly under EA, so I'm keen to see what Warner Bros can do with LotR. I actually will now most likely purchase War in the North, but Aragorn's Quest has honestly generated no interest in me. Concerning the M rating for War in the North, Halo Reach just got their M Rating for "Blood, Violence." If anyone hasn't noticed by now, the M rating is now a very effective marketing strategy, and it also seems that if you ask the esrb for that rating, they will give it to you.

Now I have some sorta bad news, I guess, for me at least. My beloved laptop seemingly died in the blink of an eye...right now, I'm on a much older machine, that could in no way handle the intensity of an online game such as LotRO. Basically, as it stands, I won't be able to participate in the very news item I just told you about.

A brief update; the official release date for the new Free-To-Play model of Lord of the Rings Online is September 10th, according to the LotRO website. Also, if anyone cares, the reason my laptop, an IBM Thinkpad, died is because the motherboard fried, from overuse. A new motherboard costs $300. It is a really good computer, and I think its worth getting fixed, but thats too expensive right now. In the meantime, my grandparents gave me their old Inspiron 600m. I plan on installing LotRO on a 16gb flashdrive, which I have yet to buy, to play it on this laptop. Hopefully that'll work, and if not, I'll be left with a great flashdrive for school.

I think we should start a guild for OR members when its released, that'd be cool, imo.

Bump.

I just wanted to remind everyone that LotRO Free-To-Play is out TODAY.

I've been playing with a free 30 day membership included in my Special Edition that I purchased three years ago. It turns out, to take advantage of it, I just had to click "I do not have a card, but I will buy one later" which is a non-binding commitment with no obligation whatsoever. So I got to play for free before Free-To-Play came out.

My character's name is Fraigo. He is a level 8 Guardian on the server Arkenstone. I'm still lolling around in the introduction section, doing everything I can before I leave. If anyone would like to join me, that'd be great, just a warning, I do have lots of lag. I did not buy the flash drive like I said I would and instead downloaded it directly to the Inspiron 600m. It lags terribly every so often, but for the most part I can deal. I was also told that a flash drive would save memory on my computer, but it would not remove lag, which is why I passed.

It really is a good game, and if your cpu can handle it, I'd strongly recommend it. However, Halo Reach comes out in 4 days and I have a ton of schoolwork this year, so, because of the lag and the amount of time this game requires, I'll probably be an irregular player, but again, its the best LotR game, strongly recommended.

What are you waiting for? Download it right now! Its FREE, precious!

Got it. I'm Ambur a hunter, though I'm not in Arkenstone. I can be!

_________________
No one sculpts Chuck Norris - Chuck Norris miniatures are created by acts of God.
~ Dagorlad