The Lord of the Rings Online Q&A

April 17, 2007 6:39 AM

Over at Game Informer they have the latest Q&A on The Lord of the Rings Online. Turbine's Jeffrey Steefel is asked about the game's story elements, players who want to explore their darker side, appealing to hardcore and casual players, use of the rights to The Hobbit, the deed system and more.

Maarten Goldstein

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Lord of the Rings

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Pneum0

 reply
April 17, 2007 7:39 AM

I sounds silly, but I cant get passed the graphics. The draw distance is laughable, and the elfs are the gayest things i've ever seen.. right down to the feather cap. You cant make a hunter that looks anything like Legolas, you end up looking like a doll with makeup.
- myfasha
  
   reply
  April 17, 2007 7:58 AM
  
  I don't think the draw distance is that bad, so far it seems better than WOW's draw distance. I thought elfs were supposed to look gay. They said in an interview that they were not making it look like the movies at all. So far we have been having a blast in the game.
- Sylvanus
  
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  April 17, 2007 8:51 AM
  
  You can enable/disable caps, cloaks and shoes (hobbits). I don't particularly *want* my character to look like Legolas. Still, what exactly do you mean? Here's an earlier screenshot of mine. I'll try to put up some more tonight. Below it is my favorite screenshot I've taken so far followed by a couple of others.
  
  http://picasaweb.google.com/sylvanus090/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline/photo#5051585320954560946
  http://picasaweb.google.com/sylvanus090/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline/photo#5053869198290230082
  http://picasaweb.google.com/sylvanus090/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline/photo#5053869258419772290
  http://picasaweb.google.com/sylvanus090/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline/photo#5053869275599641490
  http://picasaweb.google.com/sylvanus090/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline/photo#5046817728224942914
  
  How is the draw distance terrible?
  - yoshimi20
    
     reply
    April 17, 2007 9:04 AM
    
    I actually thought the draw distance was better than most MMOs.
    - jonin
      
       reply
      April 17, 2007 10:51 AM
      
      I agree, I actually think it's pretty good.
  - Pneum0
    
     reply
    April 17, 2007 9:57 AM
    
    When your up on a cliff or overlooking a valley it only shows the ground, you can have decoy trees.. but they're pathetic. It's pretty reasonable if you're on foot, just not from the air.
    - Sylvanus
      
       reply
      April 17, 2007 10:26 AM
      
      Take a look through all the shots I have and tell me what you think. I'd be the first to admit they're not all awesome shots, but they do give an idea of how the game looks. I haven't really tried to get many action shots and it shows. I should change that. :)
    - myfasha
      
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      April 17, 2007 12:06 PM
      
      In your opinion what MMO has the best draw distance? And best aerial view?
      - Pneum0
        
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        April 17, 2007 1:09 PM
        
        Take WoW for example, if your on a cliff and you see something in the distance.. it's actually there. In Lotro, it's just a decoy. Even with settings maxed, you reach a point where the real objects are not shown and decoys are in play.
        
        Sylvanus
        
         reply
        April 17, 2007 1:13 PM
        
        I guess that kinda depends. I was playing in beta and just wandering towards Rivendell. I got lost in an area turned around and saw what I thought to be Weathertop. I made my way there - it took a while to do so. Sure enough, it was! The cool part is that it was from reading the books and knowing the area that made me think about it.
        
        Bantis
        
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        April 17, 2007 2:02 PM
        
        That's what I love about LOTRO so much; the world feels so "alive," and christ I love the deed system
        
        myfasha
        
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        April 17, 2007 1:39 PM
        
        Most of what I have seen at a distance as far as buildings and stuff have been there when I walked to them. I mean way off in the distance I see trees and I did not think to walk up to each and everything I see way off in the distance. To each his own I guess. Glad to see more people having fun with it though now. Hopefully it does well.
- rhuntley12
  
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  April 17, 2007 9:25 AM
  
  I thought the same thing when first played. After turning the settings way up, it's like a whole new game. It looks simply amazing. The draw distance is the furthest I have seen by far in any MMO I've played.
- Bantis
  
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  April 17, 2007 9:29 AM
  
  It's an MMO, and thus the engine scales from low-end to high-end hardware. I have everything turned up to max and it looks great.
- myfasha
  
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  April 17, 2007 8:49 PM
  
  Here is a rock I saw in the distance pretty far off I think. Still there when I get there.
  
  http://myfasha.shackspace.com/Rock1.jpg
  http://myfasha.shackspace.com/Rock2.jpg
  http://myfasha.shackspace.com/rock3.jpg
  http://myfasha.shackspace.com/rock4.jpg
  http://myfasha.shackspace.com/rock5.jpg
  http://myfasha.shackspace.com/FinalLocation.jpg
  - Pneum0
    
     reply
    April 18, 2007 6:36 PM
    
    That's not what i'm talking about, the draw distance is fine for short stuff like that. It's when your up above on a cliff or somehow overlooking a vista. That's when it feels like 1998.