Dev Chat Transcript February 3rd 2009
LOTRO Chat Leader (officiallotro5): Hello Everyone and welcome to the chat with the team at Turbine! Iâll let them introduce themselves, then theyâll start taking your questions! Take it away guys!
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): Howdy, Iâm Floon, Art Director for Lotro. I am a cranky old man.
Turbine_Sapience (turbinesapience): HI Iâm Sapience, part of the community team, and no you cannot have my Pew Pew! *looks at Constant Gardner*
Turbine_Rowan (turbinerowan): Hello everyone, Iâm Rowan - Live Producer for LOTRO. and Floon is a cranky old man.
Turbine_Jalessa (jalessa): Hello, my name is Jalessa - Iâm a systems developer here at Turbine. I work with Monster Play and other assorted systems here on LOTRO.
Turbine_Amlug (turbineamlug): Hello, Iâm Amlug, instance designer, raid designer, and other things contentâ¦
anon11: Hello! Constant Gardener, Game Systems Designer
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): People here are typing, trust me.
(n1n3mill): What new features can we look forward to with mylotro.com and will there be anyway someone can add their ingame friends list to their mylotro.com game list?
Turbine_Sapience (turbinesapience): Thatâs a great idea! We do have a lot in store for my.lotro.com. In fact I was just watching a demo of some of the things the team is working on for our next update. I think youâll be very happy with all of it. We just canât tell youâ¦yet. 
Is there any chance of fixing pet pathing in for LM pets? Iâm tired of starting a battle only to see my pet 5 feet behind me just standing there.
anon11: Weâre looking into that right now! Itâs something weâve taken to heart and QA is checking out hotspots with pathing even now.
Jubjub (breadie): SPC Burris [3rd ID] (ltnightmare): The Art is amazing! How did you manage to come up with ideas and designs for most of the armor and weaponry in the game?
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): Your question is amazing! And thanks!We do a lot of concept art. We read the books a lot. We pore over encyclopedias and architecture books and reference books. And we do more concepts. When we come up with a concept we really love, we start building out from there. Add more and more details to support that initial vision, and just keep going.
BaByBooM- Freak (babybodom): what is about the 3 man instances⦠they are fun and fast⦠lots of people like it⦠question is will there be more and if so will there be also more of instances like midnight raid or library of steel (for legend weapons exp)
Turbine_Amlug (turbineamlug): We like 3 man instances too! We are going to be doing more of them in the future for sure!
Shyloren of Brandywine (n1n3mill): I am only into my second month of LOTRO and the game is fantastic. Are you planning on releasing retail expansions every year?
Turbine_Rowan (turbinerowan): We definitely want to keep the pace of content coming. At Turbine itâs not just about retail expansions⦠we pride ourselves on consistently growing the world and adding more fun things for you to do. (Asheronâs Call is now approaching itâs 10th year of this.)
NestorC (nestorc): Are there any members of the original AC/AC2 team in the LOTRO dev team?
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): Yeah, there are a few folks who worked on AC and AC2. And of course the AC team sits within nerf-gun distance of the lotro team.
mutraslura: What can you tell us about new raids? Will it make in book 7, and what will we see for new for the raiding?
Turbine_Amlug (turbineamlug): We like raids too! There is definitely a raid coming for Book 7. It is a 12-person raid and hopefully you will love it! We will continue to support raiding in the future as well.
The burglar is one of the stronger classes in the game, but it hasnât seen any real changes since the beta. Do you have any plans for adding/changing of their skill sets?
anon11: All the classes are evolving including the Burglar.
Ragter (ragters): Will we see a 24 man raid coming in the next book or two?
Turbine_Amlug (turbineamlug): We are focused on 3-mans, 6-mans, and 12-mans right now but who knows what the mysterious future will hold. My magic 8-ball says âWait and seeâ¦â
BaByBooM- Freak (babybodom): about PvMP you have done alot since moria came live, but it has never been more unrevording for peeps then before⦠ranking is only for fun and no real think to get from that (pardon me)⦠my question is⦠will you add new stuff in pvMP for peeps, maby new area, or better items, new quests and way of fights⦠pvmp instances maby? (btw. great job on adding destiny points for freeps)
Turbine_Jalessa (jalessa): Weâre always looking to do new things to keep interest in PvMP, and weâre definitely not stopping with this book. Book 7 will include updates to Glan Vraig chests (new loot, including chances for IA loot) and updates to boss loot in the Delving will hopefully entice Free Players to come back out. I also hope to continue to enhance the reward system in other ways (better rank items) through later books).
Astillius (astillius): Seeing as Christopher Tolkien wonât give up the rights to the âSilmarillionâ and âUnfinished Talesâ books, What do you plan to do with game content regarding those and the lore they create for LOTR?
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): We plan on not infringing on the rights to those works. Thereâs plenty to LotR yet to do, and that is enough to keep us busy.
Serenity (serenity777): Having jusy started playing less than a month ago, I am loving this adventure! But, I was expecting to see a wizard type class, will this ever be an option?
Turbine_Rowan (turbinerowan): Part of the challenge of developing a game based on Tolkienâs work is the specific nature of his world. Some archtypes such as âwizardâ are not part of this world⦠well at least you already know who they are. What we can do is continue to find fun options for new classes that fit within this world, such as the Warden and Runekeeper.
khrain: Why no useable campfires in Moria?
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): Good question. Sounds like something to discuss with the world team.
wickedpt: Any ETA on Book7? Pretty please? I have cake. *wink*
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): I like cake.
Turbine_Sapience (turbinesapience): Soon (TM)
Tactical damage currently does not scale well past level 40. On top of that resist rates are too high and the current system of âhit or missâ makes playing a tactical damage class handicapped. What changes can we expect to see made to the combat system that will allow for Rune-keepers to do the damage they were advertised to do? Will Rune-keepers ever be a viable main DPS class like Hunters and Champions?
anon11: The Runekeeper will be getting some buffs shortly. Though itâs worth noting we didnât make any changes to DPS form 40-50, they are the same as they were in SoA. As always weâre keeping an eye on monster strength.
schneevs (schneevs67): I just love the new addtions to the gameâ¦any plans for new monster classes to be added?
Turbine_Jalessa (jalessa): Not at the moment Weâve got our hands full with the warg, spider, orc, and uruk classes we currently have.
BaByBooM- Freak (babybodom): when moria came out you made many new outfits (for general items, not just âoutfitsâ) many look cool and interestingâ¦. will there be more of those sets with diferent and unique style? specially for light and medium armour (to look more serious and not to colourfull)
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): We love making outfits. Theyâre pretty time-consuming, which is why we donât make gobs and gobs and gobs of outfits every book. But the outfit system has proven to be one of the most popular additions to the game, so we are always adding at least a couple new outfits every update. Thereâs a nice Lorien-style dress in Book 7, and some new armor textures for the Lorien armor.
Ganoderma (ganoderma): Iâd like an adress book for people. I keep forgetting what exact neighborhood or house people live in
Turbine_Jalessa (jalessa): Thatâs a very cool idea
Draimen (only1war): will any earlier instances that not many people do anymore, be Revamped to get people back into them?
Turbine_Amlug (turbineamlug): This is definitely an idea that has been tossed around. Stay tunedâ¦
(garian07): Will there be kinship cloaks in the near future
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): Thatâs hard. We donât have the ability to take on player-generated content in the form of textures, so that means we need to add new cloaks. Weâre always adding new cloaks. But enough to keep up with all the kinships out there? I *do* like to leave the office and see my family on occasionâ¦.
wickedpt (wickedpt): What do i have to do to go work at Turbine? =)
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): turbine.com, we have a jobs page.
SPC Burris [3rd ID] (ltnightmare): A lot of time was put forth in the creation of the minstrel class. How did you ever find such an idea and add onto it to make it a fun and enjoyable class to play?
anon11: Ultimately this is a good time to clarify how class creation works. Weâve got a team of people that work on the classes, no one person is responsible for every aspect of class development. Itâs a team effort, from art to design. Weâve got a team of people who review all the changes. The minstrel as a songster, was a great idea that was around before I came on the team, and it has evolved from there. It was born out of the desire of being able to âhealâ players without using âtrueâ magic.Thanks for the compliment, weâll pass it along.
sageofsaria: Newer players have complained of the tough beginning to the games, and many a time give up before they get to higher levels; what do you plan to do about this?
Turbine_Rowan (turbinerowan): We want the game to be approachable and fun, especially to new players. This is something weâll be taking a look at in the near future. Thank you for the feedback!
(boak): any plans to allow players who can only wear light armor, to cosmetically equip medium or heavy armor?
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): That sounds like it would just create a weird, confusing situation. Preserving *some* distinction between classes seems valuable to me.
hankt354: I still have left over tokens from the seasonal games. Will those ever be useful again?
Turbine_Jalessa (jalessa): By all means, if you have the bank space, hold on to them! The tokens are re-used when the festivals reopen each season. Keep coming back to spend them. We also add new things to each festival, so it pays to come back and check out what weâve added!
Hankyone (hankyone): Any word on the possible âMonth of the Kinshipâ mentioned in a previous dev chat?
Turbine_Rowan (turbinerowan): Patience gives me daily beatings for that comment now. As always weâre balancing all the great ideas that are in progress for the game. Itâs important to make the right trade-offs. Weâre definitely tossing around options and ideas⦠until then, the beatings shall continue!
(toktic): I among many would love to have the ability to cosmetically equip weapons/shields. Is this something we can hope to see? Is this something that needs background tech changes to see [and if so, what are they]?
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): You: preacher. Me: choir. I too want this: gaurdians getting to pick the appearance of their shields, that seems pretty obvious to me. Unfortunately, things arenât structured in such a way to let that happen. Things you wear, they go through one system. Things you hold, they go through another. We did a lot of work to allow the appearance system for things you wear to permit outfits. There is much work to do if we want to get into shields and weapons. Many folks want it, many of us want it, but itâs a big task. For now, we must commiserate together.
(thompir): Who onthe team found it necessary to increase the bust size for elves and how can I get him on my Christmas card list? :0
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): Cards may be sent to me, c/o Turbine.
ryswald55: Are there any plans to buff Fellowship Maneuvers? They have received much neglect in recent months it seems. Damage didnât scale well at all (just like the tactical scaling issue question you answered earlier) and there is no benefit to doing a complex FM (like BRGYBR) over a relatively simple one (GGGBB or RRRRRG).
anon11: It was a known issue, that made content very sad (points at Amlug) that conjunctions were a bit overpowered in SoA. Effectively expert players were working our poor creatures over and it made both casual players upset (about how much better coordinated groups seemed) and it made designing challenging content tough. So the changes here were deliberate, however, we are constantly evaluating our changes, we want it to be rewarding, but not game breaking-ly so.
Turbine_Amlug (turbineamlug): I agree!
Ragter (ragters): Will you guys consider adding a volunteer from the community to help bridge the coummnity to the devs⦠i.e. a community rep for each class?
Turbine_Sapience (turbinesapience): This is a great idea. Weâre always looking for new ways to interact with our players and collect useful feedback. We have some things in mind that we hope will address this. Hypothetically.
Aries (ariesofdoom): Will we see mroe emotes in the future? I sure miss my /lick 
Turbine_Jalessa (jalessa): We have a couple coming! (Including a few for monsterplay!)
(unclecid): How awesome is Elendilmir the Jewelled Bell of Servers?
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): *jingle* *jangle*!
Turbine_Jalessa (jalessa): *jingle* *jangle*!
Turbine_Amlug (turbineamlug): *jingle* *jingle* jingle* *clang*
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): Go [Jewelled Bell]!
Turbine_Sapience (turbinesapience): Floon stole my Jingle Jangle!
(ganoderma): Will there be new instruments soon? either complete new or tier 6 ones because we minstrels still have to use our old, worn instruments
Turbine_Jalessa (jalessa): We will be introducing tier 6 instruments with Book 7
wickedpt (wickedpt): Can you explain the un-legendary Sticky Gourd Lore-Master skill? Why is a level 60 skill worst than our level 1 skill. Lore-Masters have allways been a very imaginative class. Every skill usually has somekind of buff/debuff/cc component to it. But this one, our last skill in the game simply seems lackluster. Can anyone comment on that?
anon11: Ultimately, we had to be very careful with giving the LM a strong direct damage component. Like many of our post 50 skills, itâs their upgrades that make them strong. (Having you seen the flaming pyres of goblins?)
Ragter (ragters): Will we be seeing a new hobby coming in the near future?
Turbine_Rowan (turbinerowan): We are considering a few ideas. For now, I can neither confirm nor deny⦠but Iâd be happy to hear your suggestions!
Bephwyn (bephwyn): When will Isengard be open for Applications again?
Turbine_Rowan (turbinerowan): The Isengard private test environment has not gone away⦠itâs just been sleeping for a little while. When we reopen it I expect the team will post this on the forums along with notifying folks that are already part of that community. Book 7 is coming!
Moir (xmoirx): Hi team and happy new year, Moria is a very dry place, we need a Place to go have a few drinks in the evening and play a few tunes, is there any plans for a bar MOM?
Turbine_Amlug (turbineamlug): Who knows where the adventures of the Inn League will take us next. We fully intend on supporting more Inn League shananigans!
mokeymcg33k): could we see more non-quest type player interaction? sports is a cool idea, maybe some other stuff too Hobnannigans!
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): s
Turbine_Sapience (turbinesapience): Hobnannigans! *hides*
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): A lot of player-player interaction is difficult to synchronize between all clients and the server, so there are technical hurdles to overcome to make for enjoyable experiences.
Turbine_Rowan (turbinerowan): Sapience, go play some freeze tag.
Banshee (s2banshee1020): Will Minstrels see a buff to their healing abilities? It is almost impossible to keep up with the damage mobs do in some Moria instances.
anon11: Healing has definitely become harder. (Remember Amlug being sad in SoA about things being easy?) Our instance loot got a big buff in Moria, and so did the challenge level of those instances. Though ballads will begin to impact your healing output post book 7, and the Watcher of Resolve trait line will increase the magnitude of that.
khrain: The hook system that is used in housing isâ¦.unpopular. Any plans to change to a more free-form style?
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): Weâre always looking at ways to improve housing. The hook system is what we could do for the live product, to provide as much functionality as possible, and make the limits on house decorating as clear as possible. Weâre hoping to look at it again in the future, but (as I say a lot) itâs a Big Feature, and A Lot Of Work, and we have A Lot Of Other Things To Do.
smiljan66: i really like to meet gollum
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): Heâs creepy, and smells like rotten fish. Give him a wide berth.
Turbine_Rowan (turbinerowan): And heâs in the Trollshaws!
sageofsaria: Many players complain about the new player classes being better than older playing classes; what do you plan to do about this?
anon11: This is in the eye of the beholder, Iâve read the Rune-keeper isnât as good as the Hunter? Which is it? J As always weâll look at each of the classes and make sure that they can serve in their primary roles.
Ragter (ragters): Can we expect to see the rest of Lothlorien and perhaps beyond in bk7 or maybe even new parts of Moria?
Turbine_Amlug (turbineamlug): We are opening up all of Lothlorien for Book 7. It is coming out really well and I think after several months of the darkness of Moria, you will all be very very happy with what weâve done. But be careful, the elves donât take kindly to stangers⦠time to make friends!
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): Weâre really proud of Caras Galadhon. The artists and world builders involved have really created something special. Hie thee hence.
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): Wow, the hour, she is almost gone.
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): That was fast.
Banshee (s2banshee1020): Whoâs idea was it to add -1000 mentor cooldown for a Minstrel legendary trait? It always makes me laugh when I see that.
anon11: I laugh too! But seriously, the dreams of Minstrelâs making thousands of gold using their mentor skill cooldown items in Moria, will be sailing into the west shortly.
(cymbol): Goat mounts can be used outside of moria. Was this intended?
Turbine_Rowan (turbinerowan): Well the lore states pretty clearly that horses wouldnât go into Moria. This doesnât mean that other things canât come out.
(toktic): Does that mean weâll need to earn reputation with the Elves of Lothlorien like we did with Forochel?
Turbine_Amlug (turbineamlug): Yes. We are building a very nice reputation system with Lorien. Our goal is to support the lore of Lothlorien and the elves and not let everyone waltz into their sacred home but at the same time we donât want to make the reputation gates too grindy. We are working on the balance now and we are pretty proud of what weâve come up with⦠For those who may have had dealings with elves of Lorien before Book 7, you may find it even easier to get inâ¦
Hankyone (hankyone): Will the new Lothlorien quests be Worth doing for a lvl60?
Turbine_Jalessa (jalessa): Absolutely. The quests will help you get tokens to exchange for cool new reputation items (including recipes for some of those nifty new tier 6 instruments I hinted about earlier). Amlugâs dev diary (coming soon) will have more information for you on Lothloriens quest and reputation system.
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): OK, not answering a question now, just saying things. Personally, Iâm really looking forward to Book 7 and opening up Lorien to you guys. We wanted to ship with all of Lorien in the expansion, but when we realized we needed more time to do it right, we took that time. I think weâve done it justice, and canât wait for everyone to have a look.
Turbine_Floon (floonbeetle): Thanks for having us for this chat. Be sure to tune in to my cranky answers to various questions in the forums.
Turbine_Amlug (turbineamlug): Thank you guys for some great questions and some pretty funny ones as well! We are as excited as you to play the new content in Book 7 and beyond!
Turbine_Jalessa (jalessa): Thanks all! *jingle* *jangle* (I just wanted to ring the bell again)
LOTRO Chat Leader (officiallotro5): Alright everyone!
LOTRO Chat Leader (officiallotro5): We've come to the end!
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evenlas,
Hankyone
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Turbine_Jalessa (jalessa): Congratulations!
LOTRO Chat Leader (officiallotro5): Thanks for participating everybody!
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