Xbox Reveal Event Coverage

Lord of the Rings Online Features

  • LOTRO: Jeffrey Steefel Talks With CGO

    Storyline and Playable Races Discussed

    CGOnline.com has posted an interview with Jeffery Steefel. Executive Producer of Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, today.

    What is it like working on such a popular franchise and bringing it to an ever-expanding genre? What materials have you studied for the Middle-Earth experience?

    Working with a franchise like The Lord of the Rings is an incredible opportunity. We’ve dedicated ourselves to re-creating Middle-earth as faithfully as possible within the confines of a massively-multiplayer game. The opportunity to develop a persistent online world based on Middle-earth is exciting and challenging; everything is carefully researched before it makes it into the game.

    Of course, the art team has also done a tremendous amount of research including wearing a full suit of armor and visits to the archery range down the street to make sure our hunters hold their bows properly!

    Keep reading to find out more in this two part interview. Don't forget to stay tuned to LOTRO Ten Ton Hammer for all your latest news, interviews and information surrounding this much anticipated game!

    Features, Interviews
    Tue, Jul 11, 2006
    LadySirse
  • LOTRO: Interview with Jeffrey Steefel

    Soon To Be In Beta...

    Shacknews was able to take some time to speak with Jeffrey Steefel, Executive Producer of The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar.

    Shack: Where does Shadows of Angmar fit into the Lord of the Rings storyline?

    Jeffrey Steefel: LOTRO’s storyline begins shortly after Frodo leaves the Shire. The premise of our story is that while the Fellowship formed and journeyed on to Mordor, the lands they left behind fell under attack by the forces of the Witch-king of Angmar, the King of the Nazgûl. Your role is to defend Eriador from the evil shadow which is reaching across the land in pursuit of the Fellowship and the One Ring.

    Read more of this interview to see what's in store for Lord of the Rings Online!

    Features, Interviews
    Mon, Jul 03, 2006
    LadySirse
  • LotRO Preview at the Official Site

    We have a scratch in race #4 at the Barrow-downs. Frodo's Fancy will not run today.
    Turbine has posted a preview of the Barrow-downs area in Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar.

    "Known in the Elvish language as Tyrn Gorthad ("Hills of Tombs"), the Barrow-downs, located east of the Old Forest in the Bree-land region of Eriador, is a place of mystery best avoided by unwary adventurers.  By day, the area seems harmless enough – a quiet region of gently rolling plains and grassy mounds topped by ancient standing stones, marking the final resting place of great warriors from ages past.  But the spells which lay across the Barrow-downs are deceiving, and the mists that roll in as the day wanes can disorient and entrap even the bravest souls, turning the once-pleasant hills into dark shapes crowned with sharp teeth of stone.  In the dreadful gloom, evil spirits from Angmar dwell amongst the standing stones and within the burial mounds, inhabiting the bodies of the long-dead warriors and raising them as terrifying Wights driven to collect the living and bring them forever into this land of the dead. "

    You can read the entire Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar Preview at the Official Site.
    Related Links:

    Features, Previews
    Fri, Oct 21, 2005
    Boomjack
  • LotRO Dev Diary With Jill Harrington

    LotRO Goes Canadian.
    The official Lord of the Rings Online site has posted a developer diary featuring Jill Harrington. Jill is the lead technical artist on the title. We called the Canadian embassy in Slovakia to see if they would comment on this story, but they were busy making pancakes and could only utter the following statement:

    You may have noticed an eerie Ringwraith or two lurking in some of our screenshots. While our talented modelers, texture artists and animators truly bring these creatures to life, I thought it might be interesting to give you a peek behind the scenes – or, rather, behind his robes – to talk about another important step in bringing characters to life: the character setup process.
    I am the lead technical artist on The Lord of the Rings Online and one of the most important parts of my job is to set up finished models so that they can be animated. Anything in the game that moves – whether it be a hobbit, a door, or a Ringwraith – has a skeleton built for it by a technical artist. We then attach the model to the skeleton (this is called "binding the skin"), and make sure that it deforms properly when the skeleton is posed (called "weighting" – as each point on a model has an amount of "weight" for each bone that affects it). We set up control boxes to make the animators' jobs easier, then pass the character on for animation. The software we use for this process is Maya, by a company called Alias." 

    You can read the entire Lord of the Rings Online Developer Diary at The Official Site.
    Related Links:

    Features, Interviews
    Mon, Oct 17, 2005
    Boomjack
  • LotRO Producer Interview at MMORPG.com

    "We're not ready to talk about <insert your broad category of interest here>. Stay tuned!"
    Turbine sits down with MMORPG in one interview perhaps more notable for what wasn't said. It sounds like there's a lot of work to be done on the concepts behind Middle Earth's MMO; either that, or the Turbine team is being extraordinarily tight-lipped.

    "MMORPG.com: Will our actions be able to change things in the world? Can we take over and occupy buildings, or towns? Perhaps drive the orcs from a town and reclaim it?
    Jeffrey Steefel: An interesting question indeed – stay tuned for answers…"

    MMORPG.com's interview with Lord of the Rings Online producer Jeff Steelfel - click here!
    Other links you might enjoy:

    Features, Interviews
    Fri, Oct 14, 2005
    Ethec
  • LotRO: Dev Diary

    One diary to rule them all.
    A new Lord of the Rings Online developer diary has been posted, featuring Chris Pierson. He must be an all-around cool guy because he's Canadian.

    Chris Pierson can count on one hand the number of people who have been at Turbine longer than he has. If the hand had six fingers. But still, it's been nine years now. Good grief.

    When he's not making hills or translating Sindarin, he helps the design team refrain from doing anything that would make Tolkien rise from the grave and wade across the Atlantic to wreak the wrath of the living dead upon Westwood, Massachusetts. He is a practicing Canadian, and writes novels and short stories, too. He would like you to buy his books, please.

    And be sure to ask him about Belegurth the Love-struck Balrog sometime. Be ready to duck. 

    Related Links:

    Features, Interviews
    Fri, Sep 30, 2005
    Boomjack
  • LotRO Thursday Insider

    One developer to rule them, and in the darkness bind them.
    Turbine has posted their Lord of the Rings Online Thursday Insider, posing the question, "
    Would YOU have agreed to be the Ringbearer? Why? " I sure wouldn't have. I can't stand weddings.:

    "Chris "NobOrBob" Foster (Designer):

    I wonder. In many ways, the great courage Frodo showed was in recognizing the immensity of the danger, and the greater danger that would come from passing the Ring to someone else. If I was aware enough of the danger, I think I would take the Ring. The real question is, would I be willing to hear and recognize the true depth of the threat, or would I willfully remain ignorant?"

    You can read the Lord of the Rings Thursday Insider at the Official Site.
    More LotRO information than Orcs in Isengard at LotRO.TenTonHammer.com

    Features, Interviews
    Fri, Aug 05, 2005
    Boomjack
  • LotRO Preview Music Released!

    Dance Party Bree!
    Turbine has released an MP3 to be used in-game for the Prancing Pony. You know, the one in Bree just east of the Chetwood Forest. Okay, so I spent hours of my socially-ostracized youth studying the Tolkien maps, what's it to ya? :)

    " Download Prancing_Pony.mp3 to hear in-game music from LOTRO! "

    Link to the download on the LotRO front page!

    Features, Previews
    Fri, Jul 29, 2005
    Ethec
  • LotRO PCs and NPCs Discussed

    Making friends and influencing people in Middle Earth.
    CVG now has a preview of Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar posted. Apparently you'll only be able to craft a character from the free races (man, hobbit, elf, and dwarf). A gleaming white figure on a bright white horse shouted this as he rode swiftly by:

    "Although the developer apparently discussed the idea of being able to play the game as good versus evil, in the end it's decided to let you choose characters from the four free races of the world: men, elves, hobbits and dwarves. Unfortunately, you won't be able to tread the Middle-earth turf as an orc or a goblin."

    Click here for more information, including when you'll see some familiar characters from the epic tale.

    Features, Previews
    Mon, Jul 25, 2005
    Ethec
  • LotRO Dev on MMORPG vs. MMOG

    "Alas, this camp shall not bequeath another fey beast for another hour and two score minutes!"
    With hundreds of Legolas-variations in character names roaming the countryside of games like Everquest 2 and World of Warcraft until recent attempts to thwart the use of "real" fantasy character names, the role playing aspect of the upcoming Middle Earth MMO was never in doubt. How will the game answer concerns of producing a game as friendly to Gandolfs (role players) as BigNukers (pure gamers)? Turbine Dev Floon Beetle weighs in on the issue:

    "Role-play is entirely a function of players, not code. Role-play is about people connecting with each other, not with bytes of code or icons. It is about turning what might otherwise be isolated imagination into a shared experience. There are no rules or systems that truly make that more meaningful: it is the personal interaction that makes it significant."

    The moral of the story? Give players a world worthy of role-play and see what happens. Sounds good to us! Check out the full article.

    Features, Previews
    Mon, Jul 25, 2005
    Ethec
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