U are welcome here to post any ideas and suggestions for Lord of the Rings Online in near of distant future.
Ok now i would like that Turbine takes this thread seriously. Its the players, especialy very old Veterans and anyone else who has traveled from litle town of Archet until very peak of Bard Guldur and far,far,far away...
Our comminity has huge Potential to make this already great game even better ! So lets see that happen!
2 fine examples are:
Splinter cell Chaos Teory released in 2005 and Mass Effect 2 in 2010. They achieved almost perfect score and and exceeded all expectations... Why u wondering ? Its because devs listened to thier players for months and after they realised thier mistakes and faults they make sequels almost perfect.
ANY LOTRO ideas, concepts, suggestions, or improvements u ever wanted to have , feel free to express your opinions here!
Every game must satisfy a need for a given player to keep them playing. These needs can be broken down into a few categories)
PART 1:
Regarding:
ADVANCMENT (the player strives to reach the next level to attain the next skill, weapon, area, or other feature of the level-based game; they want their character to grow in as many ways as they like)
2 examples:
-Do u want change in ways of leveling your toon ? More XP from dead mobs ?
-More acitve quests avilable?
>>>Friends/IGNORE list options. Do u want increase the size ?
>>>KINSHIPS (the player belongs to, or is a leader of, a persistant community and has fun with or feels responsible to them)
Kinship panel revamp ?
>>>FAME(the player gains unique rank, points, or other accolades they do not have in another game)
- This is something new and instresting imo. It is new system like Renown in PVP which are ponts that are achived by killing other monster players(creeps)
Fame is slow and steady PVE points which are gained by exploration / slayer / instances/raid deeds. So anything u do since level 1 regarding deeds u geting amount of points based on difficulty and duration of particular deed.
Example FAME will have 15 ranks at
Rank 1 u are Newbie / Recruit or Wanderer
Rank 10 Veteran
Rank 12 Hero
Rank 13 Legened etc.. post your tougts please.
BUT lets leave titles, main focus on FAME is let it be the proff how many things u did and achieved in Wold of Middle-Earth. Higher fame , more dedicated or mean player u are.
PROPERTY (the player owns property which requires upkeeping or maintaining an account such as Housing or various items; some of these can be rare or expensive items that may have been difficult to acquire such as a weapon or a pet)
Example:
- do u want increase of hosue size and chests ? or that chests can hold bound items ?
MAIN STORY (the player wants to know what happens next) Simple as it is - u like main story or u think its too much lore breaking ?
The WORLD OF MIDDLE-EARTH(the player likes feeling part of the experience; many times seen in game worlds based on a perticular)
What future expansion would u love too see ?
Fangorn Forest /Gladden fields
Southern Mirkwood - Realm of king Thranduil
Erebor - Lonley mountain / Dale
Iron hils /Mount Gundabad
Those are just few of many parts in NW part of Middlearth yet many to come and explore....
As a Tolkien fan and passionate explorer i was always amazed by atmosphere and landscapes ...ahh nostalgy. Questing, exploring and discovering new things was always my favourite part of any game esp LOTRO.
LARGER PURPOSE (the player plays due to certain game events that can change their faction or guild and they wish to help; this can be seen in some games with PvP elements, or in games where NPC elements overun an area that lacks resitance)
Many suggestions unconciously cater to the first Need, as it is the one that affects everyone in a level-based game. However, many of our ideas should keep the other catagories in mind as well since they can provide powerful options for players to remain in the game.
PART 2:
STAGES OF ADVANCMET -
In many games there is definable progression for advancement, from lowbie areas and quests, through medium level tasks, to extremely dangerous encounters. Lord of the Rings, in addition to following this tried-and-true method of level-based gaming, pairs advancement of your character to the advancement of the epic story as well. This can be seen in three stages. Sometimes these stages are linear, and at times run parallel, as suits the needs for the larger tale.
Your Initial Destiny (encounters with local authorities): you are tasked with cleaning up the neighborhood, helping fellow citizens, doing a few delivery errands and enforcing the peace, and learning the lore of the region. Every area has a "starting point" like this, where newcomers are put to task. You are then sent on to...
Your Growing Destiny (encounters with secondary Heroes from the stories): you confront the forces of the Enemy, gather information for others to use, hold back the growing storm, and indirectly help the Fellowship through various means.
Your Ultimate Destiny (encounters with lords and famous heroes): you directly help the Fellowship in some form, confront the masters of Evil, and make a name for yourself among the elite.
Many of the quests and skills suggested for LOTRO should keep this pattern in mind to help increase the depth of the experience, so that additional content actually has meaning for characters in the larger theme of Tolkien's story
Part 3 MOTIVATION
This is the bane of all level-based games. What do you give your players when they have reached the maximum level, seen every major encounter, discovered most of the game's secrets, run every quest and raid-area at the highest levels, have attained the most advanced position in the PvP environment, and reached the end of the current story. Well, if you are smart developer (and have the resources), you have built into the game alternate levels of entertainment that you can add to, which are not slaves to leveling.
Referencing the earlier page on incentives, High Level players (at least while at the current max limit) should have choices beyond advancing their own character. Options should include:
Ability to help their friends, fellowships, and kinships in meaningful ways.
Gaining more fame, wealth, and property in fun and interesting ways .
Providing more "World" to interact with, be it new NPCs, a hidden room, or new activities and extra skills.
Encourage high-level stories that have you go back and revisit old places you've left behind, to give it a new perspective.
Have live Events or Encounters in the larger world that shake up gameplay and provide fun memories and rewards.
Provide a Larger Purpose for players, be it keeping the roads clear for lower-levels, doing difficult tasks on Elrond or Dwalin's behalf, or battling a personal Nemsis. A few concepts for this catagory will be detailed later in the Combat section of this site.
What has come before:
PvP is sometimes used as a High-Level game to itself. Since level-based games rarely allow lower levels to prevail, eventually PvP is dominated by only the most advanced players. Games try to provide fun for everyone by bracketing different battlegrounds for different ranges of Levels. The goal is to be the best fighter, no matter what battlefield is chosen or class is used. Some games provide a Larger Purpose by rewarding a PvE bonus to the winning faction.
I believe even more can be done with this catagory to tie it closer to the game's story. Given the unique nature of Player vs. Monster Play in LOTRO, which does not require the infamous re-balancing that affects PvE activities as it does in other games, there is a wealth of exciting content that can be devised for the game. There is even room for the oft-requested Evil Faction in later expansions as more areas are added, so long as it does not interfere with the Epic Quest Line regions.
A guideline for all ideas for future PvMP encounters is that they should at all times enhance and aid the story of Frodo and the Ring, rather than try to provide an alternate timeline where Sauron wins.
High-Level Raids typically provide a new area filled with extremely dangerous encounters and ventures there are rewarded with highly desireable loot at the end. Variations can run from quick and dangerous to drawn out and strategic. The goal is overwhelmingly to gain new high-level items.
I believe a Larger Purpose can be given to these activities
PART 5: VISIONS most intresting part , any litle details u want to change or add someting new and exctiting.
I will cut it in 6 major categories
1.USER INTERFACE
2.THE WORLD
3.TRAVEL
4.HOUSING
5.ITEMS AND EFFECTS
6.QUESTS AND TASKS
1. UI
General
Ability to /tip other players ?
In-game link to the Encyclopedia of Arda
Hotkey Bars
Have an indicator show what tool you have equipped, similar to node tracking indicators. ?
Mail
Send a message to more than one friend
Send more than one item to someone
Mini-Map/Game Map
Marker system to place notes or push-pins on the map
Zoom fuction on mini-map
Would like hourly clock availble only when in Towns
Ability to temporarily mark mini-map for Fellowship
See only active quest-givers you have visited on your mini-map as an arrow when out of range so players can find them again. Removed when quest is completed.
Auction House
Sale History tracking features for an item or catagory of items
Reset button to clear Search field.
Option to cancel an auction is removed once a bid has been made
Vault?
New Player Help?
Groups Panels?
Ability to mark characters as Alts ?
Crafting Panels
Allow descriptions to be added to an item by the crafter
Have Recepies show all ingredients necessary to make item
Chat Panels
Text scrolling should stop if side bar is not at the bottom line
Skills Panels ?
Quest Panel?
Ability to have more than 5 quests listed in log
Vendors
Indicate level-range of items a Vendor is selling.
A Preview option for Furniture
Deed Log Panel ?
Options Panel
Toggle to hold weapons out while not in combat
Official Website Features ?
2.THE WORLD
NPCs and Characters
This section lists suggestions for how players and NPCs look, react, and relate in the world.
Player Customization:
Character Customization -
More distinctive cheek, nose, chin, hair styles, and forhead shapes for Character Creation.
Sliders for character height.
The day of the month you join can be toggled as your character's birthday.
New Titles
Going undefeated after so many combats earns players a few temporary points of Hope and the temporary titles of the Hopeful, the Brave, etc. Once defeated, the title is removed.
Changing character features
Players may change their face and hair styles by visiting a Steward (or Attendant). This role may be a new Crafting Profession or a town NPC. The job of the Steward is to manage the appareance of their clients. If they are a Vendor they can also sell you non-combat garments for social occasions.(Barbers and Outfitters added Feb 2008)
Sub-Origins
You can visit a Notary and register your Sub-Origin for Men or Hobbits. This gives you another title you can display, such as Eluhir of Anorien. This selection will appear in the Notary window, also showing a map of the Origin and it’s regions.
Hobbits – North Farthing, South Farthing, East Farthing, West Farthing
Settlement Origins. After you've selected a Sub-Region or already have one, you can choose a Settlement Origin, such as Brandir of Pelargir, at the major town of the region.
Languages:
Choice of Origin provides more than just choices in character appearance. Depending on the region you choose, you will have knowledge of a language or writing system tied to that Origin, such as knowing Sindarin if you are an Elf. Having skill in a language will unlock special tips and hints for a given quest. They will let you write books and create translations in that language. It also opens a chat channel to speak in that tongue which you can read as normal text. Players unskilled in the language will only see the original language. Players will have the opportunity to learn these as a skill in other ways as well. See Languages section for details.
There should be more cues from NPCs that they are afraid or dreading something, such as animations where they're holding back or wailing, sheathing weapons, or grabbing their head in anguish. They should be cowering or shrinking back a bit.
When opening their game map and standing still, at times have their avatars holding a physical map.
AFK avatars that are inactive for some time look like they're nodding off while standing, and then suddenly start awake again.
Family Relations
Adoption of other players as siblings, with the added titles "sister of" and "brother of." If a player is already the child of another, the new sibling gains the associated titles for the extended relationship.
Ability to /adopt your own characters through a Notary. Family Traits cannot as of yet be shared among the characters of a single account.
Ability to earn and pass on a Family Trait, such as Zeal, Passion, Determination, Creativity. Family Traits are earned collectively by the family doing various deeds and exploits. They only activate after 1 week of adoption. The patriarch/matriarch of the family decides which Trait to pass on to the younger generations
Apply a small morale boost to adopted family members when they are in the same fellowship and in close proximity. This passive ability only activates after 1 week of adoption into the family.
Marriage:
Provides a morale boost when fellowshiping in close-proximity together, as well as a shared wallet for the couple when they have been together for 1 week. Assets and Vault-space are not shared between them.
To get married, a deposit is put down by the couple with a Notary. If either party later seeks an annulment of the marriage, the initiating party's deposit is used to fund the paperwork and the remaining half of the deposit is refunded to the other party. Be careful who you wed.
A Family of 3 generations becomes a House. A new title is given where a player can list themselves as "Of the House of [name of First generation]. If you have two generations below you as well, you may label the House with your name rather than the founding adopter.
Player Emotes
whittle - player pulls out a piece of wood and whittles it
/wounded - player holds their side and groans
thirsty - player pulls out a waterskin and desperately tries to squeeze water out peel - player pulls out a fruit and begins peeling it
/phew - player exhales and wipes a hand across brow
/proud - player puffs out chest and crosses their arms, smiling
/quiet - player mimes 'shhhh" with their finger
/read - player pulls out a book and begins to read
/belt - player cinches their belt
Living World
Have NPCs stroll to taverns and buildings in the evening. And they tell you they are going there if you try to speak to them.
Show more groups of NPCs sitting together and smoking or talking.
When it rains, show an NPC or two run for the nearest building or awning to keep from getting wet.
See NPC carts driving up and down the Great Road and the Greenway southward.
See NPCs trotting along the roads on horseback between towns. These can be used as one-shot Quest-starters to go see an employer or relation back in town for them.
NPC Interactions
If you bow or wave to an NPC, have most of them bow or wave back, or give a textual response.
If you are rude to a Watcher or Guard, he fines you 50 copper in the name of the local authority.
Environments and Monsters
This section covers ideas for the environment and climate, as well as monster and animals types and their behavior in the world.
Monsters should not be standing mere yards away from an enemy NPC and do nothing about it. Every so often, nearby monsters should spawn and make their way to test the NPC defenses. The NPCs should always win, but it will give the sense of danger that does not exist in settlements in the wilderness.
More orcs should be patrolling the roads away from civilized areas. Roads should be dangerous and cause unexpected delays.
Single enemies should retreat a bit or cower in fear at your approach if you are a much higher level. If there are more than one, they should attack when you are within their aggro radius.
Monsters should shout at each other when idle, or scratch their flanks, turn about, chew on some food, drink something, sit down and rest, sharpen their weapon, roar for no reason, stretch at times, or just reach out and kill harmless foxes and rabbits that stray too near.
During the day, Monster aggro-radius should shrink by a percentage to reflect the effect of the Sun on evil creatures (since having them vanish all-together would be detrimental to certain Quests and times of high-population).
Show bugs scatter along creapy ruin walls or in dark alleys when players draw near.
Certain animal groups, such as deer, should roam from one area to another. When they encounter a hostile animal, they should scamper away. A given herd can dwindle to just one animal, but then replacements will spawn again around the herd leader.
Have flocks of birds in trees that cry and scatter as you walk under them or when Orcs wander near. Have rabbits and rodents scatter from the bushes in the same manner at passing intruders.
Show ducks and swans swimming in ponds. Show more fish and some waterbugs in rivers.
Have foxes, wolves, bears, and large birds chase, kill, and eat nearby rabbits, squirrels, and deer if they stray into their aggro radius.
Player Activities
This page has concepts for things to do outside of combat and adventuring that can be done during those filler-moments of the game or as entertainment in themselves, such as the Music System, a Writing System, and others..
Recovering from Wounds
Bandages that speed up timer on wounds, but does not heal a player totally, nor does it heal their morale.
Recovering Morale
/Hug or /Encourage to a targeted player will provide a small morale regeneration for a few seconds. Cool-down timer is 1 hour.
Players may purchase "water skins" that can be filled at a clean water-source, providing 3 gulps of fresh water. These provide a small morale or power regeneration for a few seconds, but the waterskin must be equipped in a tool-slot to be used.
Recovering Hope
Reading manuscripts of Hope will decrease the timer on any Dread you have accumulated, or give you a burst of Hope. These can be found in old libraries, or reassembled from scraps by Historians and become bound to the player upon being read. Hope Manuscripts can only be used if you have skills in the language with which it was written. A player with language and translation skills can convert the manuscript into another language. Manuscripts of tales from the First Age, or written in Quenya, are the most potent.
Sitting at a campfire or ina garden can reduce Dread.
Having a meal or a drink at a Tavern or in your personal Housing can reduce Dread. The effect is multiplied if your fellowship, a family member, or your kinship is near you and there is a fire going.
Add a Chorus ability, heard as vocal notes based on gender and race. Sounds like a chanting tone. Getting drunk makes you sing off-key
Players may purchase blank books or scrolls and, using a quill (equipped tool), create in-game journals, guides, tomes, or other literary works for other players to read.
Players can gain translation skills that allow them to covert a Hope Manuscript for decreasing Dread from one language to another.
Each player receives language abilities somewhere along their progression in their Class skills. For the langauges that are not learned through their Class trainer, players may learn from another player, read a crafted book, or visit an NPC of a specific race and location who can teach you their native tongue.
Sindarin (Speech of the Elves)
Elvish Skill (Level 1)
Other Player willing to teach Sindarin toLevel 4 (requires proximity)
Loremaster’s Passive Skill at Level 10
Dwarf’s Passive Skill at Level 10
Gondor or Dale Passive Origin Skill at Level 10 from Class Trainers
Book of Sindarin Tongue for Level 10’s (consumable item found in chest, or created by Historian who knows language)
Passive Skill at Level 15 from Man or Elf Loremaster Trainer (Edhelion, Celondim, Duillond, Rivendell, Bree, Combe)
Trait for any Level (from doing many Elf Quests)
Quenya (Speech of the High Elves)
Rivendell or Lorien Origin Skill at Level 1
Elvish Skill (Level 10)
Other Player willing to teach Quenya toLevel 15 (requires proximity)
Book of Quenya Tongue for Level 20’s (tradable item found in chest, or created by Historian who knows language)
Learned from Elf Loremaster Trainer at Level 25 (for anyone)
Dwarvish (Speech of the Dwarves)
Dwarf Skill (Level 1)
Other Player willing to teach Dwarvish at Level 10 (requires proximity)
Adunaic (Speech of Ancient Men)
Gondor or Bree Passive Origin Skill at Level 10 from Class Trainers who are of the Race of Men
Other Player willing to teach Adunaic to Level 10 (requires proximity)
Book of Adunaic Tongue for Level 10’s (tradable item found in chest, or created by Historian who knows language)
Learned from Man Loremaster Trainer at Level 15 (for anyone)
Rohirric (Speech of the Northmen)
Rohan Man Skill (Level 1)
Other Player willing to teach Rohirric toLevel 10 (requires proximity)
Book of Rohirric Tongue for Level 10’s (tradable item created by Historian who knows language)
Gondor and Dale Passive Origin Skill at Level 15 from Man Loremaster Trainer.
Dunlendish (Speech of Dunlendings)
Rohan Passive Origin Skill at Level 10 from Man Loremaster Trainer.
Other Player willing to teach Dunlendish toLevel 10 (requires proximity)
Book of Dunlendish Tongue for Level 20’s (tradable item created by Historian who knows language)
Breeland Passive Origin Skill at Level 20 from Man Loremaster Trainer.
Sitting Games
Dice Games. Highest number, or highest set of numbers, wins.
Boardgames. Using wooden pieces or smooth stones. Chess-based or Chinese-checkers-style games.
Card Games
Puzzle Toy games from Erebor or Dale
See also Tavern Games
Juggling
Game of timing; using the number keys to toss an item to the other hand.
Juggling items (stones, fruit, knives, bottles)
Target Practice
1-6 Player game
Using a target circle to throw knives, axes, or shoot arrows.
First Person perspective
Target keeps track of hits and misses by which participant
Towns
These concepts are for types of settlements, ways to make them come alive, as well as what kind of use buildings can have.
There should a better way of differentiating between a high level vendor and a low level vendor than having to click on them first. Maybe show a number in parenthesis like (20) that shows max level they cater to. This option could be a toggle. Perhaps show the overhead icon with an outline color for level like orange or purple.
Have watchers, trainers, and innkeepers give directions within a town. Giving directions puts a temporary icon on your radar like a drawn "X". A small stake that only you can see could also appear in the game world.
NPC chatter should be relevant to the weather and time of day. “Nice night.” “We sure needed this rain.”
Taverns
This section will list ideas for giving Taverns fun and unique features to help make them into social centers for the game.
New Lands
Ideas for new regions of Middle Earth, as well as improvements or additions to existing zones.
This is for today ! COOMING SOON MORE TOMOROW!!!!!
while it is all good you got to remember that not all players are on the same page. plus most of the suggestions here don't get implememted although it would be nice if they did do ALL of middle-earth. Some of peoples char were born in the Ironhills or Dale for instance and would like to visit them at some point.
All sounds OK, except the languages, which your off on.
Majorly, Adunaic is a tongue of MEN alone, and not any Men. Gondor barely ever uses it, and they are the only ones who would even possibly know it. Elves, very unlikely. Dwarves, very unlikely. Hobbits, never.
Hobbits would never even know Sindarin, either, only Common and Suzan, I guess, for the bookish hobbits, though unlikely.
The Rohirrim would not know Adunaic, nor would Dale, or Bree-land. For the latter, very few of them would be even remotely likely to know Dunlendish, if that is how it's called. They would also not know Sindarin, since they aren't in even mild contact with Elves, and Gondor would probably speak only Common/Westron.
Gondor would know Rohirric before Adunaic, and Sindarin before either.
That has to be the most impressive wall of text ever posted in these forums. Unfortunately, it is getting way too late here for me to be able to take it all in.
Seriously though, one suggestion per post is going to be much more productive.
If you wanted to share Visions of the Ring, it would have been easier just to post the link to my website, instead of copy-pasting all the text here (which you did without including my name, I might add).
I'm sure we have similar ideas we would like for LOTRO, but yours should be posted with your own words, not mine.
If you wanted to share Visions of the Ring, it would have been easier just to post the link to my website, instead of copy-pasting all the text here (which you did without including my name, I might add).
I'm sure we have similar ideas we would like for LOTRO, but yours should be posted with your own words, not mine.
Caravans (traveling vendors,wagons), Swim under the water (more quests,relics,treasures,deeds, maybe hobby),
more critters(birds, wild horses), boats, mailbox update (Send more than one item to someone,View sent messages)
Marriage (Provides a morale boost when fellowshiping in close-proximity together)
If you bow or wave to an NPC, have most of them bow or wave back, or give a textual response.
etc,etc
Just visit again, and read it. I hope, we see something in the future!
Last edited by AaylaKheledlire; Jun 15 2012 at 02:30 PM.
Senior Member Online status:
Reputation:
Poster of Note Online status:
Originally Posted by Lilka
Member Online status:
Poster of Note Online status:
Member Online status:
Grand Member Online status:
Reputation:
Senior Member Online status:
Reply With Quote
Posting Permissions
