The regular Weta newsletter talks about the restoration of Hobbiton as well. The team at Weta including Daniel Falconer are happily involved in modelling a collectible sculpture of Bag End at them moment, which should be ready for purchase in 2010. “>Read Weta’s “News from the Shire”.

Tourists at Matamata’s Hobbiton will soon see Middle Earth come to life before their eyes, according to a recent report on Stuff.co.nz. Vic James of Red Carpet Tours says he is “delighted” by confirmation that Lord of the Rings tourists will continue to be able to visit the site of Hobbiton as filming approaches.

Hundreds of items of science fiction art and collectibles created by Weta Workshop began their journey to China Friday night for a fundraising exhibition set to be visited by up to one million people. About 150 paintings by artist and Weta designer Greg Broadmore, along with props and rayguns, would be exhibited in The Exceptional [...]

The folks from WIFI, a network of independent film artists based in Wellington New Zealand, send this in: We recently did an interview with Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger from WETA and we thought you may or may not be interested in sharing it with the TORN community. PS:Keep up the fantastic work!!! PPSS: We recently [...]

Filed under: Screenshots, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, News items Lord of the Rings Online is well known for its story, which it has Tolkien's works to thank for -- although Turbine does a great job of making it all come alive. These new Siege of Mirkwood screens depict a few of the new epic story moments players can expect come December 1st when the expansion is made available for purchase. From giant spiders to cozy campfires, much about these new screens inspire. Whether thick with peril or cool and mellow, Siege of Mirkwood looks set to offer its community wonders unparalleled. Yes, we're kind of rhyming on purpose. We blame the poetic imagery seen in the gallery below; its vistas both terrible and cold.Gallery: LotRO: Siege of Mirkwood - Epic story momentsStory moments in new Siege of Mirkwood screens originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink�|�Email this�|�Comments

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, News items Siege of Mirkwood is nearly here, and Codemasters is offering former European Lord of the Rings players a chance to jump back in and do some catching up before it arrives. Welcome Back Week begins November 23rd and continues through the 30th -- any former LotRO player can return and enjoy a week of free play, courtesy of Codemasters. They're also offering a bonus: those taking advantage of Welcome Back Week will get a 25% XP boost that week. Players interested in returning for the event need only download the game, or patch to the latest version. Codemasters has re-activated the accounts, so you'll find your characters ready and waiting to head back into Middle-Earth and prepare for the arrival of Siege of Mirkwood. Codemasters is also using this week to remind players to get in on the Siege of Mirkwood pre-order deals. The expansion is set to launch in Europe on December 3rd.Lord of the Rings Online offers Welcome Back Week for EU players originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read�|�Permalink�|�Email this�|�Comments

Filed under: Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, Opinion, The Digital Continuum There are many wonderful features within Lord of the Rings Online, especially with Siege of Mirkwood edging upon the horizon like a merchant's ship carrying treasure chests full of shiny new features. However, for many a person, the game just doesn't click into place. Whether it's because of a missing feature or the pace of combat, some people find themselves unable to acclimate a groove. So let's talk about features and changes that would help attract fresh blood while keeping the old guard happy -- because changing the core of an MMO is never truly a good idea, but bring in fresh blood doesn't hurt.Continue reading The Digital Continuum: LotRO's feature futureThe Digital Continuum: LotRO's feature future originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink�|�Email this�|�Comments

Legendary weapons were a wonderful addition to LOTRO. Some claim the system is broken, or a game breaker, but I disagree…at least for now. For example, as much as I liked this post, I do not agree with allowing players legendary weapons earlier than level 45. My greatest fear is that upcoming changes may lead players to discard these gems. There is nothing worse than working hard to get radiance gear or a First Age Weapon (FAW) only to dismantle it because the developers want to march us further into Middle Earth and up the level ladder. My suggestions also have positive implications by linking them to players in different ways. So, here are my simple ideas for 2^nd and 1^st age weapons.

Customizability: Weapons should have a little more customizability. Maybe this would be some control over legacies or the visual effect (ooooh, a yellow glow!). The ability to name your item is fantastic but more control would be double delicious.

Player Forged: Weaponsmithing has been crippled by the FAW system. Let weapon crafters take some part in the process. Allow them to do new reforging at level 5, 15, 25, 35, 45. Or maybe visual effects and added bonuses are only available via weapon smiths. We could even make the FAW NPCs expensive and allow weapon smiths the chance to do the same thing for less. Weaponsmiths could be responsible for crafting components necessary for such upgrades. Why not include Lore Masters in the mix with the ability to craft the runes, settings, and gems? Clearly there would be many balance issue but that’s Turbine’s job

Show Off! Let us bring the gloat boat into harbor now and again. First, make the FAW stand out a little by providing diversity of design. Make them visually obvious in-game. I got my first FAW the other day but no one can appreciate my little song book unless they inspect me. Snoops! Second, create a second weapon’s panel that you can link to players. This would be a 3D rotating close-up that showcases everything about the implement: design, statistics, effects, etc. Why not add a history panel that players can edit?

Stability: Don’t make FAWs any easier to get than they will be in Book 8 but insure us that they can stay with us, grow with us, and become our most cherished item. You don’t think Bilbo is going to turn in Sting, his legendary weapon found on the trolls, do you?

When I have been slaving away at the “Turtle Instance” and I see the upcoming changes in Book 8, I become a bit sad for times gone by. The good news is that the sadness passes because Turbine is making this easier. The melancholy lingers if you have been grinding away for First Ages. If you read the section on First Age Legendary Weapons you can see the HUGE statistical difference between pre-post Book 8. Wow! I guess my question is…Why make the drops so horrid in the first place? Turbine expected players to do an average of 100 runs (at 0.8% of a drop you can use) to get a First Age? That seems punitive for the sake of being punitive. Is Turbine run by my 4th grade teacher? I know their philosophy on starting out with the hard core players in mind and easing up, over time, for the more casual players, but this seems unreasonable. The raids that drop those items are already radiance gated so this strikes me as a bit much. Had I known the odds were this bad I would have moved on to other things after experiencing VM and Turtle once.

I always support the refinement of terms so the article “WoW, Casually: What is casual?” was a fun read as it attempted to clarify the definition of the “Hard Core” MMO player. The only thing I could add to this well constructed article is the idea that maybe a categorical (2 group) system is not adequate. Obviously, for ease-of-conversation it makes more sense than using a continuum or range of “hardcoreness.” However, hard core vs. non-hard core is probably too simplistic. The language and mentality just happen to be rooted in the MMO culture deeper than that chasm of Khazad-dûm. Nonetheless, it seems that even a non-raider could be hard core if they sink as much time into questing and crafting, especially if they are passionate about the game. If, as the author (Robin Torres) says, having a yardstick of measurement for “better and worse” is the key variable we simply have to add more variables: time spent, items crafted, marriages ruined (kidding), gold earned, weapons advanced, characters at level cap, PvP rank, passion, etc. Measuring this is clearly difficult. It could end up looking like the Drake Equation but let’s keep forging the term. Who knows, maybe we’ll get a new legacy out of it!?

Praise to Vala and the new in-game GPS to be featured in busty Book 7. We’re going to get a visual quest tracker with aids in the form of arrows for quest locations and NPCs. For those who think this makes the game too easy I say “meh” to your elitist espousal. There is an option to turn it off. Issue closed. For those of us with major cortical memory leaks this is the perfect way to ease the agony of finding that blathering dwarf who’s taken refuge down a dark hole in Timbuktu. Once you’ve played through the game a couple times the LOTRO GPS becomes a beacon of guidance direct from Illuin and Ormal.

Now if they will just fix the travel routs I will be Turbines best friend. And I still hate the direction of the crafting changes. But wait, this is a positive post! I will be positive. I will, I will, I will…in-game GPS!

There are so many things to focus on with this huge update. Most of the changes appear to be good to OM-Freaking-G excellent! However, I do have concerns about the crafting changes. They are making things too easy instead of giving us more options for crafting quality items. See the idea of Crafting Instances that will make all materials easier to come by and therefore lower market prices. Also see the Crafting Section for all the details. I just question the decision to make things more accessible verses more worth the effort.

The Champion is to _____ play as the Minstrel is to _____ play. If you answered solo/group then you know where I’m going with this diatribe. My main is a Champ so I’m used to cutting through orc hide like Richard Simmons through quality TV. I really love playing the Mini but the tedium of waiting around for DPS/Protection help has turned me into a mouth breathing chair potato. Here I am, spamming my willingness to lick wounds and no one bites. When people want a healer for instances I know they’ll be sending those golden “tells” to get my attention, but where are they now? Part of this is no doubt the lack of traffic in the mid-ranged areas. Most people are now off venturing, it seems, in Moria territory.

By the way, it occurred to me to complain about this because a Good Samaritan named Tubolard joined me in the Misty Mountains after I pleaded to the ether for help. He stated that he felt my pain as a frequent player of a Minstrel. “It’s slow going,” he said. I really enjoy healing in a full group, maybe more than I have being the double fisted blade master as a Champion. However, the waiting part is a bit anti-game for me. It’s hot and cold without Minstrel love.

Every now and then you find a resource that is so helpful it would be wrong not to pass it along. If you want the best information on virtues, PvMP, hidden emote deeds, and Warden gambits BurgZerg is the one-stop website for you. Head over to BurgZerg now, create a membership (you don’t have to be a member to use the site), and get the scoop. It works brilliantly on a 2nd monitor while playing LOTRO. Explore the interface, you won’t be sorry.

It can be argued that MMOs are a microcosm of so-called “real life” (seriously, it’s all real life, right? Otherwise, we’re talking about death). If the idea holds, it simply means that a sampling of in-game behavior represents the person behind the avatar. In a concrete way this makes sense as you see personalities outshine pixels. In my experience most LOTRO people in-game are kind and helpful, maybe more so than any other game I have played. This post is not about them. It is about those known as “resource pigs” or in this case the “ore pig.”

The ore pig is an opportunist who exploits others when they can. Most people would agree that racing to a resource like wood or ore is a fair contest. The competition is clear – first one there, wins. I hate losing that race but it’s part of the game. You move on until you find an uncontested node. On some occasions a mob interrupts you from extracting the goodies. It is at this moment an ore pig strikes. In this case it was Tulipia on the Brandywine server who swooped in and took the ore I was fighting for.

I messaged the culprit. Tulipia said he did not see me complaining when we were racing to nodes earlier. I don’t remember that but the rule is always in place: a race is a race but you don’t ninja ore that someone is fighting for. An attempt at explaining the difference between the two scenarios fell on a dull cortex. Someone’s parents had failed him. It is difficult to understand this vulture mentality in, well…non-vultures. There is strong evidence that most people understand these simple rules. Almost everyone passes by when they see someone fighting next to a pointy node. I would guess approximately 97% of people in that situation understand this.

Once I stopped to help a person in such a fight. I then got yelled at for trying to take the ore so I explained that I had not in fact taken anything but was mounting up to leave. It just goes to show how frustrating the situation can be.

Right and wrong are not obvious to everyone. In LOTRO the best we can do is use the ignore list and hope not to cross paths with such hateful hogs.

If anyone is interested in how to build wealth in LOTRO while you play the game naturally I have posted a guide at my Kinship website, the Council of Eriador. See the FORUM post here.

I made a really dumb mistake. Maybe you can avoid this one if I put it out there, but you’re probably smarter than me to begin with so you won’t do this. As many people know, you can get a goat mount in Moria. To do so you must be KINDRED status with the Iron Garrison MINERS (see rewards here) and not the Iron Garrison Guards. I pumped all my rep items into the wrong place. While I’m kindred with the guards, I can’t get the mount until I now become popular enough with the miners so they trust me with their livestock. I hate buying reputation items so it means more quests and grinding places like the 16th Hall. The Iron Garrison Miners got my goat and they’re not giving it up because they know I misplaced my priorities with the Guards. Huff!