Topic: Lord of the Rings Online going free-to-play

[idolminds]

Neato

Basically the entire base game will be free, and you can buy the expansion stuff in the new online store. Similar to what they did with Dungeons & Dragons Online, which has been doing much better as a F2P game than a subscription one.

I've got a collectors edition of LOTRO sitting here that I never played. Guess I'll have no excuse now.

[MysterD]

I have the Mines of Moria - CE and it's a gorgeous one w/ all its extra non-game content and stuff. I ain't even touched the game yet.

I can't wait for this to be Free-to-play. Awesome.

[idolminds]

This is kind of amazing:

Since its free-to-play relaunch in September 2009, Dungeons & Dragons Online has attracted one million players, boosted revenues by 500 per cent, and even doubled the number of traditional subscribers to the game. A recent survey put it as the third most-played MMO in the US after World of Warcraft and RuneScape.

[Pugnate]

As great as that sounds... I have no idea what runescape is.

[MysterD]

Off-topic:

As great as that sounds... I have no idea what runescape is.

From Wikipedia, here's Runescape...
It's a free-to-play MMORPG.

EDIT:
Back on-topic:

This is kind of amazing:

Since its free-to-play relaunch in September 2009, Dungeons & Dragons Online has attracted one million players, boosted revenues by 500 per cent, and even doubled the number of traditional subscribers to the game. A recent survey put it as the third most-played MMO in the US after World of Warcraft and RuneScape.

W/ that kind of success w/ DDO Unlimited, imagine what they can do by having the LOTR brand-name behind their game...

Plus, I think most people have WOW accounts (and that numbers in the millions) who want to play other MMO's probably don't wanna keep adding on more $15 per month fees. Buying content from Turbine as they go is probably a much better business model for those gamers, as they can buy it when they feel like it. Plus, if you get e-mails from Turbine, they often have small sales for some their extra content and in-game points racked-up can used towards purchases for premium content - sounds like a good business model for a MMO to me to try and compete w/ WOW.

Has anybody actually here played LOTR Online, back when it was pay-to-play? If so - how was it?

[idolminds]

So the free to play is launching...oh....now. So Im installing my collectors edition to finally play.

Sometime in February when its done updating I'll give my impressions.

[Xessive]

Holy.. It's a 10.5 GB download!

[MysterD]

So the free to play is launching...oh....now. So Im installing my collectors edition to finally play.

Sometime in February when its done updating I'll give my impressions.

Holy crap @ 10.6 GB download.

I have LOTOR: Mines of Moria - Collector's Edition. Never touched it, installed it, subscribed, nor anything.

My question is - call I install the game right off the disc and then just let it run updates and then join the F2P portion?

Or is that 10.6 GB download a totally different downloadable client and all?

[idolminds]

Yes, I believe the games patching system will update your game to the F2P version. The only version that wont be updated to it was the beta version.

At least I'm hoping thats the case. I just installed from my own Mines of Moria collectors edition and am running the updater. Which looks like its currently updating the updater, heh. I'll see how much I'll actually have to download. Hopefully much less than the 10GB.

[W7RE]

Is anyone playing this? If so, what server? My brother is giving it a try and I may too, might as well join a server where I know people.

[Xessive]

I will as soon as I can register a LOTRO username. I have a Turbine account from DDO but I need to register a LOTRO key (probably a free key once they release it later today).

[Ghandi]

Just started and it says it's only 7 gigs. I'm guessing updates account for the rest?

[MysterD]

Yes, I believe the games patching system will update your game to the F2P version. The only version that wont be updated to it was the beta version.

At least I'm hoping thats the case. I just installed from my own Mines of Moria collectors edition and am running the updater. Which looks like its currently updating the updater, heh. I'll see how much I'll actually have to download. Hopefully much less than the 10GB.

After installing MOM CE, how many more GB did it have to DL through the updater?

Also - did you input your MOM CE product key then? Or did you skip that and just start w/ the F2P and gonna input your MOM CE product key later?

If I'm reading this correctly - inputting MOM CD-Key gives you 30 days on the VIP treatment - and you get Eriador content.

[idolminds]

I have no idea. The updater doesnt show filesize, just number of files. Which is pretty useless.

And it hasnt asked for a key yet. Im not making the account until its updated so I'll deal with it when I get there.

[W7RE]

I started last night, on the Nimrodel server. I'm a level 10 human... champion? I dunno, a melee dps class. (non stealther)

My total file size (with just the base game) is 12.6GB

Also, my brother was telling me that if you install a retail copy of the game and make a new account, yea you get VIP for 1 month and 1000 Turbine points. And I guess just installing MoM is what gives you the 1000 points. He was telling me that if I ordered it I could still get the 1000 points, but I would have to create another account to get the 1 month of VIP.

[Ghandi]

Downloaded, started a level 7 hobbit rogue (or whatever they call it). Basically WoW for free so far, although not nearly as polished of a game.

The real downside is that the servers are laggy as hell. I'm pretty sure that it's not only on my end because I see people all the time complaining on the in-game chat.

[W7RE]

The real downside is that the servers are laggy as hell. I'm pretty sure that it's not only on my end because I see people all the time complaining on the in-game chat.

My brother was playing on the Brandywine server, which is the most populated server I think. He said it was really laggy, almost always had a queue time, and even crashed a few times. Also due to severe congestion, draw distance was reduced for all players. (noted by a pyramid like icon to the right side of the screen somewhere)

We started on Nimrodel and all seems fine now.

It is really similar to WoW in structure but a lot of the small design decisions sort of bug me. This like using grey rings for minimap quest markers, which are far less visible than a yellow exclamation mark. Also the combat feels really unresponsive. Half the time I don't know if my skills went off or not due to lack of recognizable animation or sound associated with primary class skills. Also if a creature is running it's really hard to tell where it is, because what's you're seeing is usually lagging behind what's happening on the server, making melee combat against anything that's not standing still a huge pain.

[Ghandi]

So I'm a little addicted to this game. Just played for 6 hours straight.

I can see now how the "free-to-play" model with purchased content is actually viable. If you want a mount in this game, for instance, you have to buy it for a few bucks (they let you try it for free for 24 hours just to get you used to it lol). Kinda tempting.

[Xessive]

It's pretty sweet so far.

I've played DDO (Dungeons & Dragons Online) and I can see a lot of its influence on LOTRO in terms of infrastructure, but LOTRO definitely stands out and demonstrates a higher tier of quality. It's certainly among the top 3 in my list of quality MMOs (with no monthly fees).

I went with the recommended "Gladden" server but I'm still pinging at >200ms. It's not too bad. If anyone's up there my character is a hunter named Vindwulf.

[MysterD]

Joystiq -> LOTRO's revenues have doubled since going F2P w/ micro-transactions

[PyroMenace]

Alright D so what's your take on this after you have vocalized your hate about being nickel and dimed with micro-transactions?

[MysterD]

Alright D so what's your take on this after you have vocalized your hate about being nickel and dimed with micro-transactions?

From a dev stand-point: It's great for them that they did double their profits, as it will obviously keep them afloat and making games...

From a consumer stand-point: I still don't like nickel-and-diming. It's one of the many things that I feel are ruining gaming - as it's often questionable if the consumer is getting good bang for their buck, especially when it comes to DLC and/or micro-transactions.

Side note: I do have LOTOR F2P installed - just been too busy w/ sinking ridiculous amounts of hours on vacation here w/ Gothic 3 right now to check it out - I've spent around 87 hours w/ this game, so far - according to XFire.

[idolminds]

Well, there is a difference between nickel-and-diming and going free-to-play. It all matter how the microtransaction store is handled and what it sells. Some games/companies do it right, some don't. Some are a ripoff, some aren't.

There are a lot of F2P MMOs that get it wrong. You can't do much of anything without having to buy something from their store, or you're doomed to a grindfest without some store item, or you're at a complete disadvantage without paying. But LOTRO seems to be OK. You can play a lot without having to buy a thing (and you may not ever have to buy anything? I dont know, havent got it updated yet).

Besides, whats the difference between paying $50 for a game and $15/mo, or getting the game for free and spending $50 in the in-game store and possibly $15/mo in store items? And at that I'd say you were being a "high roller" in the in-game store.

[MysterD]

Shacknews -> LOTR Online revenues have tripled since going F2P w/ micro-transactions.