Lord of the Rings Online has taken the DirectX 10 plunge, according to a press release issued today. The popular MMORPG from Turbine, released the DX10 patch onto their live servers, which enables people with Windows Vista and the right graphics cards to take advantage of a lot of new visuals bells and whistles.
Read more after the leap.
Over on the official Lord of the Rings Online forums, Ramen makes note of a this special birthday today:
Born on January 3, 1892, J.R.R. Tolkien has become one of the most famous authors of our times, influencing an entire genre of literature and, now, games. Happy Birthday, Professor, and thank you!
Happy Birthday Professor!
As the year comes to a close, we thought we'd share some of the updates that have been made to the database recently. Also, a big wave to the kinships that have updated their information recently:
New Kinships
Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, The Grand Moot, Friends of Mithrandir, Flames of Arnor, Allies of Elessar
Follow the link below to view the updates we've made, including over 100 quests, over 500 items, 60 new and updated recipes, and much more!
LOTRO's Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel posted his thoughts about the past year, and a look forward at the coming year:
As the holiday seasons are upon us I wanted to take a moment to express the team's gratitude to all of you for making LOTRO a success and helping us to keep making it better and better. With Books 9, 10 and 11, we've grown the size and functionality of the game a great deal and tried to improve the things and places most important to our players.
Read more for the entire letter. It's hard to believe that the game has only been live for seven months!
In his latest Monday column, Jim Moreno gives us a snapshot of the state of roleplaying in two new MMOs and two older ones. For more of his thoughts on World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Ultima Online and Anarchy Online, click below.
World of Warcraft
Wijon'bu Zentao (Earthen Ring), known as Wichdocta, or just 'Wichy' by his friends, is a troll priest of the voodoo discipline. He shuns being called a healer, and his skills go beyond merely using the powers of shadow. He calls no place home, and can be seen walking through Shattrath City or Thunder Bluff one moment, to throwing the voodoo around Shadowmoon Valley or Silithus the next. He meditates often, either in quiet contemplation inside the Pools of Vision, walking amongst the huge mushrooms of Zangarmarsh, fishing around Nagrand, or by mixing and bottling up the mojo at the Undercity Apothecarium. He is always open to helping fight alongside his Horde brethren, especially when it comes to correcting the ways of the tribes of wayward trolls. Don't hesitate to ask this old troll for help, and may the spirits be with you.
Role on!
Turbine's posted another diary for our perusal, this time focusing on Angmar:
Join Content Designers Amlug and MadeOfLions in their quest to improve and revamp the Angmar region! If you've been exploring or questing in Angmar, this update is for you. The Great Angmar Revamp will provide insight on the challenges of improving an existing area, as well as a window into the exciting world of content design!
You can read the entire article by clicking 'read more'!
Rumors abound in the Shire, but they're true! Lobelia Sackville-Baggins is the official Yule-planner for the Hobbiton Yule-fest. A lot of the residents of Hobbiton are not happy about it, but what can they do?
Visit Bogo Chubb in Hobbiton, and see if there's anything you can do to help create a happy Hobbiton for Yule!
You can visit our quest section to get all the details!
If you're an aspriring crafter, but don't have the time or the skills to gather the necessary materials for your profession, several residents of Middle-earth are more than willing to help you out...for a price!
We've put together a guide to the cosignment providers in Middle-earth to help you find them and plan ahead to fufill your crafting needs. Take a look!
This holiday, Turbine has a few surprises in store for their LOTRO players. Founders and lifetime members get a lvl 25 horse and everyone can enjoy a new reduced monthly fee.
Check it out.
Q. What do you get for the LOTRO player who has everything?
A. More LOTRO at a great price!
This season Turbine is excited to bring you a very special holiday offer. Now through January 31, 2008, you can start playing The Lord of the Rings Online™: Shadows of Angmar™ for only $9.99 a month!
The Lord of the Rings Online special holiday promotion lets new and existing subscribers play for only $9.99 a month when they sign up for three months of service for the special price of $29.97, subject to certain terms and conditions.
Players who subscribe to the promotion will continue to be billed $29.97 every three months for as long as they maintain an active account with The Lord of the Rings Online or until they choose a different billing plan. Players who currently subscribe to The Lord of the Rings Online and select the special offer will be transferred to the Holiday subscription package once they have completed their current subscription plan.This special offer only lasts until January 31, 2008. To sign up for this limited time offer go to myaccount.turbine.com and join us in Middle-earth™!
Special holiday offer. Play for $9.99 a month when you sign up for a three month subscription plan. Participating players will be billed $29.97 for subscription plan. Offer valid from December 1, 2007 to January 31, 2008.
That's only the beginning as some online events will be taken place and more to be announced shortly.
Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel spoke to WarCry about Book 12, localizing their game to South Korea, DirectX10 and much more in our latest "Ask Turbine" interview.
"We've always thought of this game globally from the beginning," he said. They have to make the user interface (UI) more familiar to the Korean gamer and completely reconsider the business model they employ in that region. A subscription service simply won't work in Korea, where the industry is powered off of micro transactions.
For years, North American games have had issues with the divergent business models. The big North American titles are designed for subscriptions and sometimes that makes it difficult to transition when it comes time to expand into Asia.
Read more after the click.
