Basic changes

[spaltung]

i keep coming across comments about the game from outsiders to the game (casual MMORPG players) and even shared among Lotro players and asked on Live streamings made by devs but they just don't seem interested in the idea of changing basic stuff from the game that makes it look like it's amateurish & very old.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MMORPG/comm..._raid_housing/



i mean, the first impression or first look someone has from a game is going to determine if they're going to keep spending time on the game or just bounce to the next.

when i read comments like the ones from reddit, i feel the same. when i came to the game the first thing that i thought was that animations were very robotic/odd & i was uncomfortable with the UI having photos of real-life people screaming or performing an action, and then 2D draws that were totally misplaced.

that stuff gives a huge first-impression of the game, but no dev seems to care at all that most people that came from other games think the same:

- UI is wierd, icons style do not match with each other.
- animations look robotic and very old.

i wonder if devs actually read what MMO players have to say about Lotro.

it seems like solutions are right under their noses (and given by actual players) but they're looking everything else.

[KentonDukat]

2 months into the game and I think the graphics look great. I love the 64-bit client and was stunned when I got back into the game. I have enjoyed levelling up multiple characters and found a great kin. Not everyone has the same experience. All you can do is make recommendations and if you feel the game isn’t up to par you can always play something with more modern graphics. As a new player I can gladly say I’m here to stay. This community has been so helpful and welcoming.

[hillard1959]

They do need to update the resolution. Which is something they have said they plan on doing.

Animations? Yeah. When you have people picking any other race over Dwarves, for instance, simply because Dwarf animations are slower, you may have a problem. And, I have to admit, animations could be a little crisper. But it's not really a major issue.

The art style for the game is fine. Though it probably could use a bit of love once the the resolution issue is resolved. You still want the game to look good in 4k, after all.

There's probably a lot they could do. Right now, it's a question of time, manpower and resources they currently have available. And that's largely on EG7, who sets the budget for that sort of thing.

Also, consider this: LOTRO has had DX-11 support for a long while now. GW2, by contrast, is just now beta testing DX-11 for their game. So, in some ways LOTRO is a little ahead of the curve. But then, they should probably be looking into better utilizing their graphics functionality as well.

[DavidmeetHal]

I think they want to do stuff like this, but it’s just beyond their resources.

Remember, LOTRO is gonna be 15 years old this April.

[Halphast]

The biggest problem with people's complaints on Reddit is they don't express themselves clearly.

Your post was good and pointed out some specifics that are actually lacking, e.g. icons not matching (YES) and some animations. Thank you for a specific suggestion!

The average post on the Reddit thread you linked said "Guraphicx r horuble i cant play" / "The graphics are sooooo bad omg TOT" / "I'd play if the graphics were better because I love LOTR"

That kind of suggestion isn't going to help the devs fix the details of what people find objectionable, but specific requests like yours might.

[Winzhi]

They do need to update the resolution. Which is something they have said they plan on doing.

They promised to update the UI back in 2018 so we could play in resolutions higher than 1080 and actually see the UI. Its now 2022 and no sign of an updated UI happening ... Its a huge QOL issue that should have been looked into years ago.

[hillard1959]

They promised to update the UI back in 2018 so we could play in resolutions higher than 1080 and actually see the UI. Its now 2022 and no sign of an updated UI happening ...

Yet. They can only put out so many fires so fast. And they have a LOT of fires to put out. I'd say it's something they're interested in doing. And they have been making incremental improvements to the game since EG7 bought them. So, give it time.

[Winzhi]

Yet. They can only put out so many fires so fast. And they have a LOT of fires to put out. I'd say it's something they're interested in doing. And they have been making incremental improvements to the game since EG7 bought them. So, give it time.

4 years isn't time for something as crucial as the UI?

[Nebless]

that stuff gives a huge first-impression of the game, but no dev seems to care at all that most people that came from other games think the same:

The problem with listening to players coming over from other games, is generally they want to change the game to better reflect their old game. You see the same when people move from one city / state to another. I left my old place because of X, which quickly becomes let's change so it's more like X.

While some of the idea's are great, the new game can't out right copy it because maybe their code / engine couldn't handle it or they might get sued for ripping off the other's concept.

Yes, some changes would be great, but too often the changes other gamers want is more to benefit them and their gameplay with no regard to the current games history or lore. Other gamers need to come into new games not with pre-conceived notions wanting their old game play, but with an open mind.

[hillard1959]

4 years isn't time for something as crucial as the UI?

Given that before the acquisition they had a team of 40 people. That's not 40 developers. That's 40 people. Total. They probably weren't getting the budget and resources they needed to do everything they wanted to do under Daybreak. That's speculation on my part, granted, but it seems the most likely scenario.

EG7, on the other hand, has already expressed to investors the desire to capitalize on this game because of the new Amazon streaming series coming out. And they are hiring more people. Today's patch is doing some work to the network infrastructure.

I get your frustration. I'm right there with you. But the only thing we can do is either play or not play. The rest is on them. Me? I'm sticking around. I want to see what they do.