PVP:Yes | Distribution:Download,Retail | Retail Price:$09.99 | Pay Type:Free | Monthly Fee:$14.99
Desktop Client | System Req:
| ESRB:T
Jeffrey Steefel Interview: Book 14 and Beyond
Jon Wood brings us the second part of his interview with Lord of the Rings Online Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel, where they discuss The Mines of Moria, Turbine's console aspirations, and Book 14.
Last week, we published the first part of an interview with Lord of the Rings Online Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel where he talked about the upcoming Lord of the Rings Online Korean launch and the effects that it might have on the game for players here in North America. But what about the game itself? Today, we bring you the rest of the interview where Steefel discusses the current game itself.
“We’re in the final stages of Book 14,” Steefel answered when I asked him what projects were in full swing over at Turbine. “We also have another group of people who are working very hard on Moria, which is coming together.”
Mines of Moria, Steefel tells me, is going to be the major focus of all of the LotRO teams for the next few months. “Making sure that Moria is very high quality, really exciting and fresh with some new things for you to do.”
The idea of a full expansion is not only exciting for players, but is also a lot of work for the developers, especially given that Turbine plans to make Mines of Moria the first of yearly expansion releases. “Moria is going to be the first of annual expansions, so we’re already at the planning stage of what that’s going to be like at the end of 2009,” he said.
Two weeks ago, Turbine CEO Jim Crowley told MMORPG.com that Turbine was investigating the world of consoles. In this interview, Steefel confirmed the report, telling us that, “We certainly are working on console.”
While the company isn’t yet ready to talk about hows and whens and whys, this does confirm recent rumors that the PC-only development studio is branching into the world of consoles. “It’s certainly part of our development strategy now, and we’ve been hiring against that and doing some work toward that.”
So, with the medium and far future of the company discussed, the conversation turned more back toward the current development of Book 14. For those who may not know, or may not have been following Lord of the Rings, Turbine releases frequent free content updates that add to the flavor and content of the world.
Book 14, it seems, will start to wind down the Epic Story that has been building ever since the game’s launch, paving the way for the upcoming expansion, which will start a whole new chapter of the continuing story. In fact, Book 14 is set to end near the entrance to the mines.
Book 14’s story will start to set players up to travel through the mines. They will hear that the Fellowship of the Ring has been through the mines and have stirred up all kinds of unknown evil. It will be up to the players to clean up Frodo and Co.’s mess in the upcoming expansion.
While Steefel tells me that you could call Moria Book 15 in the continuing story that is Lord of the Rings Online, Turbine is actually looking at it another way. “You could call it Book 15, but it’s really Book 1 of Volume 2,” he said. “Every year when we have an expansion, it’s going to be a new volume.”
“The whole story of the Witch-King and Angmar trying to take over Eriador as the free people stop them from doing that, that’s kind of volume 1, books 1-14. Then, we start volume 2 in Moria, then it becomes more about the start of the war that’s going on on the other side of the Misty Mountains. The evil now starts to be more centered on Sauron and Sarumon and less about the Witch King.”
The last thing that I asked before letting him get back to work was what we could expect in Book 14 in terms of small world and social additions. After all, they set the bar by bringing fishing into the game with the last book.
“You’ll probably see some kind of extension of the existing social systems. We’re not adding a big new social system and we’re not adding a new hobby probably until Moria,” he answered. “You’ll get more things to play with in Housing.”
“The really big focus for book 14,” he told me, “is around our live event system. That’s something that’s been in since launch that we’ve been growing [under the radar].” Being informed by their Asheron’s Call 1 team, they have built a system that will allow them to trigger events in a number of ways: a schedule, a time of day, a specific day, or in-game triggers. The festivals that have cropped up in-game in the last year were a kind of prelude to the live events system.
“We’re doing a lot more with that in Book 14,” he said, “including new areas that expand on the land control stuff that we’ve done in a couple of parts of the game.” Players are going to have to work with others to gain ownership of certain control points. Holding those control points will open up more content for the team.
Speaking to Steefel, you get the feeling that there is lots going on over at the Turbine offices. If it’s not a major expansion, it’s a new book or module update. If it isn’t that, it’s making preparations to try to adapt their games for console play. As usual, MMORPG.com will continue to follow Turbine’s development of both Dungeons and Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings Online.
Hrm, I wonder if that, what was it 40-50 million dollar investment recently was for them to make a LOTRO and DDO console versions! While that would be great news for the console users its dissappointing to me! I just hope that the PC versions don't end up suffering in the long run if this is the case!
dude i cant wait!!!
I like how LOTRO has slowly been improving since release. It wasn't terrible at the start, and none of the updates have been terrible either. Although the delving of fror hurt monster play, but if you ignore monster play, then turbine has done a great job!
I would like to see some more major updates though, and I am worried that moria is basically going to be a chapter 15 that you have to pay for. For me as a casual player though, the updates have been coming at just the right rate to keep me interested.
No, Moria is going to be a major update. It will bring alot to the table so I don't think we will have to worry.
Can anyone tell me if the new expansion only will cover the mines of moria or will moria be a part of something much bigger?
Lorien, Moria and Eregion
Thanks alot for the fast replay. Now I want to play the expansion even more.
I know I can't wait to get into Moria and to start work on the new legendary items.
That company never ceases to amaze me. They truly bust their butts year after year.
AC is still getting monthly updates 9 years after launch.
DDO and LoTRO get updates every 2-3 months and LoTRO is getting huge expansions once a year.
And if that's not enough work maintaining 3 active MMO's- they decide to develop Console games too:)
Very nice !
WTB Mines of moria expansion pack
anyone? anyone?
too bad it will be a choice between WAR and LOTRO ...with WAR winning
but who knows might end up playing for both all i know is with one year behid it and the fellowship only getting to the mines of moria now!!!! come on this game will be around forever ..and i can't wait to see it in two or three years
I didn't completely understand the 'live event system', but it sounded really interesting!
Wow! Turbine has been doing such a great job!
Yea I agree.. damn you Turbine and Mythic!! :D
but for me Moria win... but will play WAR aswell!
The live event system sure sounds cool and I hope the chicken fotball game will be in this summer festival aswell :)
I can't wait to see how they portray Moria. A huge underground environment, will it be like a vast dungeon? Very ambitious project, and I am looking forward to it a great deal.
I'm also really curious to see how the game will pan out over the years, and how they will handle key parts of the story such as The War of the Ring. I wonder if there will be a quest involving the One Ring in Mount Doom. Also how the war will be portrayed, and if you will be able to fight in it. That would be great if they managed to incorporate monster play on a grand scale, and conducted the war like that.
Also wonder what happen when the Ring has been destroyed, and also how they will portray Sauron.
Great game, and if you haven't tried it yet, and are thinking about it, I would strongly recommend it.
I would suggest that you will wait with WAR. We all know how unfinished mmo games are the first couple of months. MM will just be an expansion for an already patched and awsome game.
Edit; but then again its always be one of the first players in a new frenchie.
And Im really looking forward for the expansion. I remember when my dad used to read lotr for bed times stories and moria was the place i remember mostly from those times :)
I would suggest that you will wait with WAR. We all know how unfinished mmo games are the first couple of months. MM will just be an expansion for an already patched and awsome game.
Edit; but then again its always be one of the first players in a new frenchie.
And Im really looking forward for the expansion. I remember when my dad used to read lotr for bed times stories and moria was the place i remember mostly from those times :)
Sorry AstroBoy, you're totally wrong here with your advice about Warhammer On Line.
I think you assume that, since FunCom ran out of money and had to release Age of Conan early and it's still a beta product today and that some other MMOs, like Vanguard: Saga of Heros were also a disaster on release, you're lumping WAR and others in the same "FAIL" basket. Don't do that!
I know, from personal experience, that Warhammer On Line, even though 3 months or so from release, is *already* (yes, today) more polished and finished, by far, than Age of Conan is.
There's a right way and a wrong way to develop, test and release an MMO.
While Age of Conan has great potential, it won't get to release quality for 3-6 months yet. WAR will release just fine, trust me on that. As did Dark Age of Camelot and Lord of the Rings Online (I was in closed beta from the start on both those games as well).
Glad to hear that they will relase a game that will not follow the usually mmo steps "beta--->paid beta--->patches. And even thou you say that lotro had a good release it can always get better.
LOTRO has been a quality high polished very optimized game from the start. Cheers to not following others like AOC in making people pay for beta.
If your into PVE and good storyline in a stunning looking atmosphere with a overall great and mature community LOTRO is your game. I wonder what the huge wars will eventually be like.
This game has alot of future potential. A true PVE mmoRPG
I wish them the best for their hard work, but they lost me when they went from engaging quests in the low levels, like investigating the disappearance of a hobbit (he was off trying to kill a signature wolf to impress a girl hobbit, and you had to help him out) to dumb kill-x-of-this-or-that quests in the higher levels.
Oh and the zones got really stupid with mobs every 10 feet in some places, instead of the very realistically placed ones in the lower levels (most bears were around bear dens, most bandits around bandit camps, etc.).
Sad to say, but when they went away from realistic quests and believable world design, I went away from them.