I think the game mechanics are to blame for this.  Basically, if you're first to tag a creature you should get all the stuff from it - XP and everything - if it dies.  If someone drops in to help, it should be purely to help - he should get nothing unless you decide to reward him after the fight.  If players want to share XP, then they need to team up before the fight. 

I agree with the OP 100%.  I've given up on MMOGs altogether because all the ones worth playing are just about killing stuff ad infinitum.  I tried playing without the killing in both SWG and LOTRO, but it really just doesn't work on any but the most basic level.  I'm all for giving people who want to shoot guns what they want, but can't there be real options for those of us who want something else?  Sure, there's crafting, but it gets repetitive really fast.  What we really need are non-combat quests that provide players with an alternate path to the endgame.  Sadly though, it seems that game developers can't figure out how to do this - either that, or they've become so used to making combat quests that anything else is too difficult.

I would have liked to have heard something - anything - about the new minstrel enhancements.  Why is it that, in the dev chats and news articles, the developers always forget about the cool stuff that gives the game more depth?

No one really knows anything when it comes to statistics.  But inasmuch as anything can be known, MMOGchart.com is as good as any info out there, and a lot better than most.  To act as if it's useless is wrong.  I mean if it wasn't for MMOGchart.com the only info we'd have would be coming from sources that don't aspire to any level of objectivity.

I left the game because of the drop in apparent population.  Of course there could be more than one cause of that 'apparent' drop.  One thing the devs did wrong was in decentralizing the game - when player cities came along it caused the population to spread so thinly that even if it stayed the same it seemed far less populated.  I think this (along with all the other general mismanagement) caused a loss of subscriptions that added to the problem.

Anyway, like many others I love SWG and I've been longing for the devs to give me a real reason to come back, but that means they would have to do a server merge because I'm not going to resubscribe to a game that seems empty.

Originally posted by Vagelisp

That's good news. Turbine now will have more "freedom" to experiment with different interaction models in Lotro, like  allowing the monsters get out of their realm for a while...

Yeah, if I were you I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

I think it simply means that Turbine has more time to develop Middle-earth in LotRO.  I very much doubt it means a whole new MMOG.  At most they might be considering LotRO2, but I'd imagine what's more likely is that they're talking about paid-expansions to flesh out areas like Rohan and Gondor.  Those areas will probably need their own development team, and I'm sure they'll want to get people to pay for it, so it could be regarded as a 'new LotR MMOG'.  They may have thought about doing it like City of Heroes and City of Villains, with separate games that can be meshed together if a player owns both.

True, that is a possibility.  Also, some adults are not exactly mature.  It is sad though, that such spoilers can have such a negative impact on games like this.

Nudity is not 'just' nipples.  A truly 'mature' game would not have a problem with full nudity.  After all, we're adults and this game is supposedly not for kids.

Who said anything about 'needing' naked women?  I simply think an adult themed game should give us the option to have naked characters.

The point is, a 'mature' themed game should have the option of mature content.  Otherwise there's not much point in calling it a mature game, now is there?  When a mature game has no mature content it seems to me the 'mature' label has to be a marketing ploy.

As an adult gamer I enjoy adult-themed stuff.  I was hoping Conan would get adult gamers beyond the 'no nudity' themes of other games.  Nudity should be an option in an adult-themed world - especially one set in Conan's universe.

I cry DOOOOM! This was supposed to be a game for mature players, yet now we're told that the most skin on display will be decidedly PG-rated.  Yawn!

Originally posted by Elikal

Raph Koster, whose blog I follow regularly, is one of the wisest people in matters of gaming I know of.

I just wish his wisdom stretched to being able to complete projects that he starts.  SWG was never finished before it shipped, which is, in my view, why it slowly fell apart and diminished.  I put the blame for that on him.

Well, on the complexity issue, there's complexity and then there's complication.  What you see as complex (a good thing) others may see as complicated (a bad thing).  This may be the basis for your dislike of LotRO - what you see as simplistic others see as easy to learn.  As long as a game is rewarding its complexity is beside the point.  I have lots of fun playing checkers even though it's much less complex than chess.  When my mind is clear and I want a battle of wits chess is my preference, but when I'm tense or preoccupied there's nothing like a game of checkers.

I've played SWG for four years.  I started playing in August 2003 - one month after launch.  A comparison can be made: both games are built on a 20th century fantasy franchise with a similarly large cult following.  Both are MMOGs.  If SWG can't be compared with LotRO nothing can be compared with anything.

As for your contention that the game was the best game because of its complexity, and that the game was not criticised before NGE hit, well my recollection is very different and Wikipedia agrees with me:

"Reviewers criticized the overwhelming complexity of the game, PVP/PVE combat imbalances of the professions, bugginess and lack of quest content. The reviews for the first expansion, Jump To Lightspeed, praised the new space combat but criticized the ground game for its lack of sufficient improvement. The reviews for the second expansion, Rage Of The Wookiees lauded the new quest content for current subscribers but lamented the CU and the continued bugginess of the game. "

 This was all BEFORE NGE.

Originally posted by Domenicus

Bottom line: A game with no housing, no player cities, bad crafting (the reviewer said that, I didnt teste), bad customization, CANT BE the best MMOG around. 

Anyway, player housing and player cities are coming in the next update.  As for crafting, I think it's a subjective issue.  LotRO's crafting system is definitely simpler than SWG's, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.  I'd much rather have a simple but fun system than an overly complicated one.

I don't see what the big deal is.  I'm happy to see a MMOG coming along that has more adult-themed gameplay.  Diversity is good and neither sex nor nudity are wrong.

As for the idea that all kids are always immature, I don't buy it.  In my 45 years I've seen a lot of mature kids and a whole lot of immature adults.  In my opinion the most immature folks out there tend to be in their very early adulthood - these are basically naive kids who are ignorant about how the world works, who have been brought up on their parents' prejudices and who have raging hormones.  All of a sudden these folks get freedom from parents and free access to drink.  The results aren't pretty.  I much prefer playing with the average 13 year-old than the average 22 year-old.

Originally posted by Domenicus

 

That´s the point, why do you think LOTRO is the best MMOG? As 100% of people who share this point of view with you ,and I have been asking them, it is for unkown reason, no one could tell me anything deep enough to keep it as ´the best MMOG´,

The fact is LotRO has had a very successful launch.  It reached the number 1 slot in sales and reviews of the game are overwhelmingly positive.  It may not be the best MMOG ever - there are lots of MMOGs that I haven't played, so I don't know if any of them are better.  All I know is that I'm enjoying LotRO more than I've enjoyed any other MMOG.

Originally posted by Domenicus

If the simplicity is enought to give a 8.5 grade, then we will find a 10 game easily, we just need to launch Chess Online, its very fun (I love chess) and, believe me, it would have less bugs than LOTR, the client would be at maximum 100 MB, would be no lag, would be a better customization than LOTR... And would be an easy 10, for sure... Of course you would be bored after sometime, but it seens that this doesnt count to grade in here...

Look, you just don't like LotRO, but that doesn't mean it's a bad game.  It's the best MMOG I've ever played, and I've played quite a few.

Originally posted by Airspell

And like I said , it can be both. Game being too easy is a flaw a flaw a flaw a flaw a flaw because without a challenge people get bored.

I don't disagree that it can be both.  All I'm saying is that in my view the game is both challenging and fun, and if you're bored you're looking at the game with the wrong focus.

But heck, if you dislike it, play another game.  Plenty more fish in the sea.

Originally posted by Airspell

A feature can be a games greatest flaw my young padawon err wizard apprientice.

Erm... like I said, it's NOT a flaw.