Thread: Community Q&A - June 1, 2012 Feedback

We recently asked players what they’d ask the dev team if they had the chance. The response was fantastic! While we can’t answer every question (there were hundreds!) we did put together a representative group and here’s what our devs had to say… Post your comments here.

This was a great idea & hope to see more questions asked & answered.

I have to say though in regards to the question about housing- START MAKING IT A PRIORITY! The housing system at current state is a joke & needs fixing.

Good questions selected and really good answers too!

This is a really great concept for communication with the community.....its not specific nor very precise in answers, but answers a lot of general questions that keep popping up many times....I'd say this kind of thing should be done occasionally

Kudos to the community for posing some great questions and to the devs and other staff for the equally great answers!

http://www.lotro.com/gameinfo/featur...aa-june-1-2012

Some great stuff on the horizon:

Archery from horseback!

Some kind of XP toggle...

Bless em they gave me a sort of answer (guess which one was mine?)

Just one quibble ... Sapience says they've posted lots of great screenshots 'n' stuff on Facebook.

Some of us DON'T DO Facebook or any other "social media" sites. Do we have to wait till RoR comes up on Bullroarer?

I kind of got an answer to mine as well but hey, I was excited they chose it to begin with!

Re: mounted combat. Eh..I'm generally not keen on mounted combat. I'll hold judgment until I actually see how it works here though.

You know, you could also try answering some of the questions on this thread:

http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.p...eveloper-Diary

Like when destiny points will be replaced, since you yanked them from VIPs without giving any replacement and only vague promises of "something" that will arrive "sometime" when you have finished deciding exactly what it is?

Originally Posted by djheydt

Just one quibble ... Sapience says they've posted lots of great screenshots 'n' stuff on Facebook.

Some of us DON'T DO Facebook or any other "social media" sites. Do we have to wait till RoR comes up on Bullroarer?

Not screenshots, teasers from rohan related things. You don't have to 'use' facebook to look. Just drop by facebook.com/lotro or keep an eye on our twitter page at twitter.com/lotro. You dont have to sign up for either service to take a look at what we post.

We do different things in different places for a variety of reasons. We will continue to do so.

Originally Posted by djheydt

Just one quibble ... Sapience says they've posted lots of great screenshots 'n' stuff on Facebook.

Some of us DON'T DO Facebook or any other "social media" sites. Do we have to wait till RoR comes up on Bullroarer?

I don't particularly know where those screenshots are, and I am on fb. I keep seeing 1, repeated, although showing a different portion of it each time.

Anywho, I was grateful to have my question sort of answered, but I do understand that there's really only so much they can tell you without letting something out of the bag.

I am just sad that housing has taken such a backseat in this game. It is boring, it feels stale, neighborhoods are dead (which has an easy fix, really), we are still limited to the same stupid 4 races and locations and lastly, we have limited size options. Given that anyone could technically purchase a kin level house and upkeep it, why is it that we don't have much bigger houses as possible purchases?

I also don't/won't do Facebook or Twitter or others like it. Couldn't Clover post some of the Rohan teaser sneaks in her Free People Press weekly newsletter?

Seems to me they would make for great enticements for folks to buy the expansion.

Originally Posted by joyrex

which has an easy fix, really

Nothing is ever easy. First, I agree with you about your post in general- it's been *5 years* now and housing is seriously lacking. I think a revamp and things like armor dummies would go a long way in reviving old content so people can fill their houses with stuff. But alas...
Again, a game as big as lotro that gets more and more complex with each update does not have very many "easy" fixes. It's kinda like the butterfly effect really.

Originally Posted by Sapience

Not screenshots, teasers from rohan related things. You don't have to 'use' facebook to look. Just drop by facebook.com/lotro or keep an eye on our twitter page at twitter.com/lotro. You dont have to sign up for either service to take a look at what we post.

We do different things in different places for a variety of reasons. We will continue to do so.

/sigh

I don't do twitter either.

Never mind. I can wait.

As much as I wanted to hear more information, I was so happy to see the question about housing! At least to know it's a topic that's being talked about gives me hope!

Side note: I'm with djheydt and the others. FB and Twitter are meh.

Originally Posted by bambubambubambu

As much as I wanted to hear more information, I was so happy to see the question about housing! At least to know it's a topic that's being talked about gives me hope!

Side note: I'm with djheydt and the others. FB and Twitter are meh.

Originally Posted by djheydt

/sigh

I don't do twitter either.

Never mind. I can wait.

Originally Posted by jeffm

I also don't/won't do Facebook or Twitter or others like it. Couldn't Clover post some of the Rohan teaser sneaks in her Free People Press weekly newsletter?

Seems to me they would make for great enticements for folks to buy the expansion.

Originally Posted by djheydt

Just one quibble ... Sapience says they've posted lots of great screenshots 'n' stuff on Facebook.

Some of us DON'T DO Facebook or any other "social media" sites. Do we have to wait till RoR comes up on Bullroarer?

I don't do twitter either, but I have this (twitter.com/lotro) page bookmarked and take a look at it once or twice a week to see what they've posted on their twitter feed - no subscription required

This was great. I look forward to more in the future - especially now that my imagination is sparked with questions!

Sadly, I missed the call for questions on this one, but I'll be ready next time!

FOr those who are commenting that they don't "do" Facebook and Twiiter; do you just mean you don't have an account with them, or you simply wont go to the site at all for whatever reason?

You don't need to sign up. If you just go to the link they've provided it takes you right to their page, without having to navigate the site at all. From there you could click on their photos and check them out. You guys/gals should give it a shot. It's a lot easier then you'd think and there is no subscription needed. Also, the sites are safe and wont harm your computer in any way. However, if you don't go to these sites for some sort of personal reason, then I apologize.

Originally Posted by PoeticNightmare

FOr those who are commenting that they don't "do" Facebook and Twiiter; do you just mean you don't have an account with them, or you simply wont go to the site at all for whatever reason?

Don't have an account; don't want an account; don't visit the sites (in general).

This is a pragmatic decision. There are only so many sites I can go out and track the progress of on any regular basis. RSS feeds help with some sites, and there are some you know to visit every day (comics), but in general, I have tolerance for about 6 things I will keep track of through monitoring. LOTRO on Twitter and Facebook are not part of those 6.

There is no principle of dislike of the sites or anything of the sort here - I'll follow links if they appear elsewhere and there is a reason I would find it interesting. I just don't monitor it.

Having said that, I DO appreciate their using the Twitter feed for updates on downtime/updates/reboots since in many cases the forums go down in parallel. That provides a useful communication vehicle that is not related to their base infrastructure, and that is when I WILL use Twitter (but note that is now pulling data *for a specific reason*, not just browsing for general updates or detecting site changes). It represents probably 95% of the page loads I've ever done on Twitter (less than two dozen)

Originally Posted by Sapience

We do different things in different places for a variety of reasons. We will continue to do so.

I have no problem with them showing teasers, store specials or other things on Twitter and Facebook that I will miss. If Turbine/WB feels those folks deliver value (I can't underestimate the network effect of a sufficient number of followers/likes so it is likely they DO deliver at least some unquantifiable value), then folks who do spend the time on those sites and/or who do monitor LOTRO on those sites even without an account deserve to be rewarded for their effort. As someone who doesn't visit those sites in general, I understand enough to fully support the position Sapience articulates.

It's disappointing that when housing is brought up in these developer interviews, it's always referred to as being low priority, and yet I think that a large percentage of the player base would really like to see this part of the game sorted out. I think it's cool that there's so many decorations to use for our homes, yet where's the space to put them?

Originally Posted by PoeticNightmare

FOr those who are commenting that they don't "do" Facebook and Twiiter; do you just mean you don't have an account with them, or you simply wont go to the site at all for whatever reason?

You don't need to sign up. If you just go to the link they've provided it takes you right to their page, without having to navigate the site at all. From there you could click on their photos and check them out. You guys/gals should give it a shot. It's a lot easier then you'd think and there is no subscription needed. Also, the sites are safe and wont harm your computer in any way. However, if you don't go to these sites for some sort of personal reason, then I apologize.

I appreciate ya'll are trying to be helpful. I really do!

I don't know if others feel the same way but here's how I see it:

Lotro already has a site for information seekers. I believe it should be the focus and the first place for news, discussion, updates, etc.

In the same respect, if I wanted to know something about WOW, my first place to look would be WOW's official website. I would not naturally think to go to FB or Twitter. Maybe that's just me.

I have no problem personally with FB or Twitter or the fact that Lotro has these sites. I just think we should be able to find the same information on the official site for the game.

Anyway, that's my two cents...

I never saw the original thread or email where people were asked what to ask the devs... unless this is the one from several months ago....

That said, My question for future consideration..

What keeps ideas off the table? You keep discussing them, but the priority isn't high enough to make it in, yet the priority is obviously enough to keep the discussion going update after update. Can you explain what factors keep out fan favorites like housing, kin revamps, hobbies, etc. Do you think your pulse on the community is accurate or are there external factors (to development) kicking these things off the table every time?

Nice initiative.
And at least there are finally some almost-committing answers to "higher-profile" community interests; even if some are negative.

It's nice to see some time spent answering questions I'm disappointed mine didn't get picked though

is there an official german/french version?

Hahahaha. Good read, gave me lots of laughs for the amount of ignorance Turbine has with PvMP and how cant they be bothered to do anything about it.

"If you are asking why Creeps don’t have a traditional leveling experience, that’s because being a Creep is about PvP. We want you to be able to join the PvP battle the moment you enter the world. - Kelsan"

I would re-write this line as in "We want you to create a creep, get zerged once, give us your hard earned money for some store skills you SHOULD ALREADY HAVE and then go and figh..sorry I mean go and get zerged. Again. And again.

"This is kind of a loaded question, but I’ll make an attempt. This really comes down to what you consider a ‘revamp’ and what timeframe you expect said ‘revamp’ to occur in."
Yeah.. 4-5 years for a new PvMpmap, few new creep classes/skills is really hard to do inst it?

"Revising an established system without potentially destroying what made it enjoyable to begin with is no simple undertaking and requires that we put careful consideration into each revision. Essentially taking baby steps towards our ultimate goal: create a fun PvP zone where players can engage in both small and large scale skirmishes of their choosing."

Seriosly? Taking baby steps = Not doing anything! PvMP has been the EXACTLY same for past 5 YEARS! Oh wait I forgot.. you added a tree there, a bird there, a few new grind fests, made some bugs, fixed some bugs, made more bugs, forgot to fix them etc etc etc.. Yey for baby steps in PvMP!

"Over the last two years we’ve taken steps to strengthen the foundations of PvMP through Creep class rebalancing, introduction of new advancement rewards, and the addition of a PvMP Currency and Stat that allows us to create a ‘seasonal’ mechanic in the Ettenmoors. More revisions are coming to further drive forward our goals. - Jared "Kelsan" Pruett"

Uhm.... where to start.. okay. Creep class rebalancing? Sure you gave spider and warg an hour of your office time to think up a few new neat tricks (Well actyally, you just copied off them from the people who suggested them to the forums dint you?) but where the hell are the rest of the creep updates? Reaver, WL, Defiler, BA.. Cmon guys, you want to "rebalance" the PvMP? Then stop writing bull on the forums and get to work! About comms and audacity.. Good job with those, must been hard to come up with those brilliant ideas *Cough copying much from certain another MMO*

Woulndt shock me if the "Big" update for PvMP in Rohan would be the fact we will have a rabbit we can go to hunt in Ettens!

Originally Posted by Milithion

is there an official german/french version?

It's coming:

Originally Posted by Sapience

Ich für die sehr schlechte Übersetzung entschuldigen. Wir haben das erste Englisch-Version, aber wir sind derzeit die Übersetzung des vollständigen Q & A in Deutsch und Französisch. Wir werden diejenigen, sobald sie verfügbar sind erlaubt.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

I apologize for the very bad translation. We posted the english version first, but we are currently translating the full Q&A into German and French. We'll post those as soon as they are available.

Originally Posted by Thodorin

It's coming:

ahh, nice thought i need to do it myself ^^

Originally Posted by Morosi

It's disappointing that when housing is brought up in these developer interviews, it's always referred to as being low priority, and yet I think that a large percentage of the player base would really like to see this part of the game sorted out. I think it's cool that there's so many decorations to use for our homes, yet where's the space to put them?

Yup, in fact, Turbine's poor track record at taking priorities FROM THE PLAYERS is the main reason why I've ub-subbed. Housing, crafting, LI updates, BUG fixes, and PVMP updates are on the top of the lists of many players--not more of the same expansions with 1000x(n) of the same quests involving the same repetitive tasks over and over. Yet the "content" we constantly get is store updates, more quests, more itemization, more useless wastes of time.

Here is an easy step toward better priorities. Have polls on the forums for what players would like to see in upcoming releases--from housing updates to PVMP to more instances, etc--with one vote per player. Let US, the paying customers, do the prioritizing, not your ###### marketing team that's full of fail.

Originally Posted by duamarth

Yup, in fact, Turbine's poor track record at taking priorities FROM THE PLAYERS is the main reason why I've ub-subbed. <snip>

As I noted here, people have already answered the "Turbine Doesn't Listen" meme... over and over again...

Just because they don't address your particular pet issue in exactly the way you want doesn't discount all the hard work they have done to try and give the community as a whole what they want

Originally Posted by QueenMab

Ooh, a challenge. How exciting. Where to start?

Give us shared storage. Please give us more shared storage.

Can we have a wardrobe to share cosmetics among our characters? Can we have more wardrobe space?

Give us a sortable vault, give us more categories to sort by, please make it more like the old vault with separate boxes instead of one big mess, please give the boxes tabs, please make the tabs nameable. Please fix it so we can just click to transfer. Please make it so we can drag and drop between vault and shared storage.

Can we have a barter wallet? Can we have more stuff go in the barter wallet, like the anniversary coins?

Six LIs spaces is not enough. Can we have more LI spaces?

Can Minstrel's in warspeech get our glowy hands back? Pretty please?

My vault is full of mounts, can we have a stable or something to keep all our mounts in?

5g for a festival mount is too much!

Ugh, I hate my armor, can we have a cosmetics slot? Can we have more cosmetics slots?

Good grief, remove that awful dread music, if only in Bree!

Please, please revert the Hobbit run animation, the new one is terrible!

Can we please have a vault in Esteldin?

Can we please have more swift travel routes?

Can we please have more stables in the Misty Mountains?

Will someone please look at Everswim and do something about it!!!

Can we please have a better quest line/more quests for the 35-40 range!

Now that launch rush is past, will someone please turn down the respawn rate in Mirkwood?

Captain DPS is awful, please fix this.

Minstrels are the only class without a power regen skill. Please fix this!

Guardians in OP with a shield are too OP! Please fix this.

Why make us run all the way to Bree (Michel Delving/Thorin's Gate/Celondim) starting areas just to get the stable? It's awful trying to get to festival events! Why can't we just automatically get all the starting area stables?

No one is doing Vol. 1 fellowship quests any more. It is impossible to get a group going and to finish the group quests! Please help us!

I could just go on and on with all the changes Turbine has made in the last almost-five years inspired by player suggestions, comments, and curses.

Saying that Turbine doesn't listen to the community and is not interested is hogwash, plain and simple. You may not like every decision Turbine has made or the direction the game appears to be going in or the apparent reality that WB is using LOTRO as a petri dish, but let's not demonize them. LOTRO, the game we love, didn't materialize out of thin air, you know. It didn't spring fully grown and armed like Athena from the head of Zeus. The guys you are so quick to sully with your uninformed opinion made this. And they made it better with the help of the community.

Originally Posted by Roberto_the_First

I used Google

http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.p...87#post4665187

Originally Posted by Khafar

Well, before and just after the game launched, they added the following that weren't originally in the plans (but players lobbied for, heavily) :

• Mounts. (Yes, really... it was a suggestion by a player that "horse pants" could shorten development time that allowed this to get in for launch).
• Monster Play. I wasn't an advocate for this, but others were - and Turbine listened.
• Housing. This wasn't on the docket either, but persistent requests from players convinced Turbine to add it shortly after launch.

Later, lots of other stuff players requested made it into the game. Heck, I asked for most of these myself, at one point or other:

• Fishing
• Moving all quest items to character data
• Moving mounts to character data
• Keyring
• Barter Wallet
• Monster bits consolidation
• Cosmetic system
• Skinnable UI
• API for customizing the UI
• Shared storage (MoM)
• Soloable instances (MoM)
• Scalable instances (SoM)
• Soloable epic quest line
• Ability to talk to NPCs while mounted
• Etc, etc.

I could go on for quite awhile if you'd like. Sure, some of those requests may have been scheduled to be done even before players asked, and a number of those didn't get enough follow-up development. But they've done a ton of stuff we've asked for over the past 4 years. I think the problem is basically that people tend to focus on what's missing or inadequate. That's not unique to LOTRO by any means - I certainly see it in my job too. People will be complaining tons about features X, Y, and Z, and we'll deliver some solutions to that. And not a month later, X, Y, and Z are all but forgotten (because they're now taken for granted), and we're getting complaints about A, B, and C... with all the passion that used to be reserved for X, Y, and Z.

Khafar

Last edited by Khafar; Jan 06 2012 at 12:20 PM.

Originally Posted by Anoir

Hahahaha. Good read, gave me lots of laughs for the amount of ignorance Turbine has with PvMP and how cant they be bothered to do anything about it.

"If you are asking why Creeps don’t have a traditional leveling experience, that’s because being a Creep is about PvP. We want you to be able to join the PvP battle the moment you enter the world. - Kelsan"

I would re-write this line as in "We want you to create a creep, get zerged once, give us your hard earned money for some store skills you SHOULD ALREADY HAVE and then go and figh..sorry I mean go and get zerged. Again. And again.

"This is kind of a loaded question, but I’ll make an attempt. This really comes down to what you consider a ‘revamp’ and what timeframe you expect said ‘revamp’ to occur in."
Yeah.. 4-5 years for a new PvMpmap, few new creep classes/skills is really hard to do inst it?

"Revising an established system without potentially destroying what made it enjoyable to begin with is no simple undertaking and requires that we put careful consideration into each revision. Essentially taking baby steps towards our ultimate goal: create a fun PvP zone where players can engage in both small and large scale skirmishes of their choosing."

Seriosly? Taking baby steps = Not doing anything! PvMP has been the EXACTLY same for past 5 YEARS! Oh wait I forgot.. you added a tree there, a bird there, a few new grind fests, made some bugs, fixed some bugs, made more bugs, forgot to fix them etc etc etc.. Yey for baby steps in PvMP!

"Over the last two years we’ve taken steps to strengthen the foundations of PvMP through Creep class rebalancing, introduction of new advancement rewards, and the addition of a PvMP Currency and Stat that allows us to create a ‘seasonal’ mechanic in the Ettenmoors. More revisions are coming to further drive forward our goals. - Jared "Kelsan" Pruett"

Uhm.... where to start.. okay. Creep class rebalancing? Sure you gave spider and warg an hour of your office time to think up a few new neat tricks (Well actyally, you just copied off them from the people who suggested them to the forums dint you?) but where the hell are the rest of the creep updates? Reaver, WL, Defiler, BA.. Cmon guys, you want to "rebalance" the PvMP? Then stop writing bull on the forums and get to work! About comms and audacity.. Good job with those, must been hard to come up with those brilliant ideas *Cough copying much from certain another MMO*

Woulndt shock me if the "Big" update for PvMP in Rohan would be the fact we will have a rabbit we can go to hunt in Ettens!

Where as I may not go quite as rageful as this post...there are some points in it.

I myself do appreciate the changes that have been made so far, I can't really see these as pvp updates and re-balancing. The reason for this is, when there is an update to the game, the update is PVE based(duh..it should be), so in turn, you have to rework the creeps for pvp so that they can stand a chance against the changes. I mean if you didnt "re-balance" the creeps when ROI came out, then freeps would have ROI gear and the creeps would still be set as Mirkwood creeps...That is a scale up...not really a rebalance. Sure you made some changes to spiders and wargs. Very much appreciated as they needed them. And some of those changes were brought forth by players. So I know that the devs are listening...but they are listening selectively. Part of this is a flaw in the testing process. Changes are made...but not tested in complete by players that know the classes in and out with the devs to go over any foul ups. There is flawed communication.

The updates that you are making...they are against what the pvp population want. Commendations are a prime example. 90% of the population didn't want them. 99% now hate them. And you(Turbine) were told that before they went live. Forums post after post saying, "We have a currency...we don't want or need a different one." But you didn't listen. And on top of that, it wasn't delivered the way it was supposed to be.

"Make PvMP combat the primary source of Commendations, reducing the need to PvE for PvMP advancement."

this is not the case. PVE grind is the best and fastest way to get commendations. So it did not deliver. New creeps have to wait till rank 5-6 to even get their rank 2 or 3 skills. Destiny points allowed them to get them right away. No cap on DP. You did not deliver.

Creeps and freeps alike want to see something new entirely. Even if it is for a trust factor. PVPers (not myself) have lost trust in Turbine and the PVP devs. Looking over everything, I can't say I blame them. PVPers have been beated, betrayed, battered, and knocked down asking for scraps while the devs stand over them consuming what they want and simply step over them and look the other way. Why?

I look at it the same was as the people asking about housing. The housing lovers have been asking for changes for years. This is the first response they have gotten in a LOOOONNNG time...And basically you just told them...nah...WOW. sorry guys but not cool. These people pay your salary dont forget. if they are asking for something like that...look into it at least.


I am more of a person that likes to come forward and help...This probably wont get to the people that will care. I dont like to flame and attack. I like to make the points and try to be a resource to make it better.

Communication is key. Players are the reason you make the game. When they are SCREAMING for scraps...at least show them that you are there. This Q&A is a good step. But now people are going to answer back since they know your thoughts. Make it a point to continue the communication and WORK with your players.

on the PVP aspect. Kelsen, you are a wolf tamer at this point. Go to the pvpers you know and trust and work with them. Or you will get eaten and your wolves are going to move on to another game. You dont want that.

Q20: ‎@Graalx2: Got any awesome plans for us Guardians? - Ian Panzer
A: Yes. - Graalx2

We love you too, Graal.

Originally Posted by hucklebarry

I never saw the original thread or email where people were asked what to ask the devs... unless this is the one from several months ago....

The question was posed on facebook.

As i said before and will continue to say, foucs on PvMP.
And the "Priorites" thing, well start with the smaller stuff. Like Kinship+Housing revamps, then do the big content/expansion.
It will polish the game.

I guess I'm a bit disappointed. I don't see any actual answers to serious questions here. No mention of specific bugs that players have posted countless threads about. Or anything about hunters (lots of questions about that class were posted in that thread--why no response?). Housing once again the victim of 'hard choices' about priorities (read: not in our lifetime). How many threads about forced emotes and other hot button issues have gone without a single response from Turbine? All the answers here are 'wait and see' or 'not a priority' or just fluffy things. What exactly was the point of this?

I love LOTRO, but I've had multiple kinships completely vanish to other games, and I have fewer and fewer people to play with. I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to stay interested without seeing an answer of substance related to an aspect of the game that I'm interested in. Sorry to seem harsh, because I really want this to succeed--I just would like to see some real answers to real questions about whether it's going in a direction I'd like to follow.

So out of 33 questions, 8 had to do with actual development of the game, the rest was fluff.

And the answers that were given for the 8 questions were pretty much "We're talking about it!".

As far as Facebook and Twitter go, Twitter is like hearing one side of a telephone conversation, so I will never use it. And Facebook is starting to put ads in news feeds now, so I am pretty sure a lot of people will be leaving FB soon (that is, if it does't go belly up first based on their lackluster stock performance). That, and I am tired of people posting images that tell me to repost them ("if I am a real friend") and then seeing the same image from 43 other friends.

Originally Posted by bambubambubambu

As much as I wanted to hear more information, I was so happy to see the question about housing! At least to know it's a topic that's being talked about gives me hope!

I'll save you some frustration...give up on that hope now. They've told us since housing was first introduced that they are "talking" about it, and they've also told us about the "priorities", yet nothing has ever come to fruition, so I wouldn't hold your breath.

I wanted to smack the person asking why they didn't use the film soundtrack. Hm, maybe because this game isn't based on the movies? Aaand... maybe because they would need way more tracks than were made for the movies due to all the different zones?

Above all else it makes me angry because LotRO has one my favourite soundtracks from any MMO. I like to listen to it just by itself... or when I'm playing Minecraft.

First off, well done Turbine! No really, I mean it.

This kind of community interaction is exactly what is needed at the moment. IMO Arenanet have set an incredibly high standard here, their company blog is actually interesting reading. My (tongue-in-cheek) advice: grab an in-n-out double double and fries animal style and grab a nice cold one from a micro brewery to wash it down, so you can chill out like the west coasters and communicate with your fans at their level.
This is our precious hard-earned down-time, to us this is about beers and burgers pleasure time, NOT revenue streams and spreadsheets. We love art, design, enthusiasm, fun; be up-front about your micro-transaction plans and limitations. Don't act like you're just some WB subsidiary with quarterly targets set by some bean counter and then we won't think that way...

Q16: Why did you add 'jiggle physics' to weapons like bows and great swords? It just looks goofy. - Aaron Kuehmichel
A: Jiggle bones are a fantastic technology solution with many uses, but I don’t count making bows and great swords more goofy among the most compelling of them. This bug has made its way through tech art to engineering. The forecast is non-jiggly weapons on the horizon. - Todd Demille, Art Director

I've got to give some kudos to Todd Demille for his witty answer. But, you can tell the person who called the decision to 'release it broken, and broken enough to not fix it in the patch' is responsible for me dropping the cash, that would have otherwise have been spent on TP, to find out the answer to Q15 first-hand next weekend. If you want to make playing an MMO into a business transaction then I expect good RoI (pun intended) or I'll look at the competition. That is my 'community feedback'.

Q14: Any plans to update/revise the game engine given improvements/advancements in other games over the last few years. to being able to introduce new features or gameplay mechanics to lotro? - Mike Belcher
A: With every major update we seek to make improvements to core gameplay mechanics and introduce new features. We have several improvements of this kind in store for our Riders of Rohan XPack. The most important of these is Mounted Combat itself, in which players and monsters exchange powerful blows while moving at high speed. - N. Sitkoff, Lead Engineer

Not going to lie - excited about this. If realized properly this will give LoTRO a unique mechanic in all of MMO land that truly does belong in the lore. In a now very crowded F2P market LoTRO badly needs a unique selling point to attract new attention. I really hope that the (seemingly somewhat limited) budget/developer time slated for the LoTRO product has enough to give RoR the care and quality the source material deserves.

Edit: to add - PS. N. Sitkoff, personally I would have avoided the use of the word 'store' in that sentence, based on experience we WILL take it out of context, or in this case - very literally - to mean the promised products will be in the Store (on sale, 20% off).

Originally Posted by hucklebarry

...
That said, My question for future consideration..

What keeps ideas off the table? You keep discussing them, but the priority isn't high enough to make it in, yet the priority is obviously enough to keep the discussion going update after update. Can you explain what factors keep out fan favorites like housing, kin revamps, hobbies, etc. Do you think your pulse on the community is accurate or are there external factors (to development) kicking these things off the table every time?

There is only one factor: unwillingness to invest in enough development staff for this game. They will never do work on housing.

Now we know the staff also think it would be nice to have (whoopee!). But basically, the Q&A just shows they do not have enough staff to do more than the minimum necessary. They can barely put out well made, polished content (read: understaffed).

Notice how no answer said "we are hiring new staff so hopefully we can get to more of these things like housing". Looks like most or all hires are going to work on the new console game (as the job descriptions show - requiring console experience). I hope I am wrong and Lotro gets some love.

I am sad the answers look so carefully chosen and carefully edited by Marketing. More spin - not much openness and honesty. Sorry to be so negative - but clearly the PR team was very busy. Although, I guess any news is good news.