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Book 14: Ring-forge of Eregion, hit the LotRO servers last night, and the influx of gamers logging on to take part in the new book caused the servers to start acting, well you know how choppy and rubberbandish it can get in Bree. It was basically like that almost everywhere. At least that is the reason some of us discussed last night regarding the server issues, but Turbine should have it fixed in no time.

Mean while, Book 14, which delivers the finale to the epic story from Volume I and adds several new storytelling mechanics combined with live in-world events, will unlock the prelude quests that will lead players to the Mines of Moria, the first expansion pack to LotRO scheduled to be released this Fall.

To advance through the story though, gamers must complete a quest which requires them to collect 5 fragments of Eregion’s Lost Lore (ring-lore). Each time a player completes the quest, not only do they get a reward, but they also bring their server closer to opening the other chapters in Book 14. I play on the Nimrodel server, and so far (as of this post) we have collected 2,111/70,000 bits of ring-lore. The good news is that you can repeat the quest every few hours which will help open up more chapters for all on the server.  So, do the quest as many times as you can!

Turbine has also released a handful of new Book 14 screenshots depicting the new Moria prelude quests, which you can view below.

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Thanks to Kinatro over at NeoGAF, gamers now have a taste of what is in the new Game Informer before they get it in the mail - well, me anyway. I never seem to get it when everyone else does. Thanks GameStop.

Anyway - good news for Wolfenstein fans (like me) because within the confines of the pages, it has been announced that the much rumored and hardly heard of continuation of Return to Castle Wolfenstein will premiere sometime next week at E3. id Software and Raven will be at the festivities, while it may also show up at Activison’s “Screw-You-ESA” party going on around the same time.

Here are some of the facts pulled out of the August issue of GI:

• Wolfenstein (360, PS3, PC)
• Pub: Activision, Dev: Raven Software/ID Software
• Takes place in WWII against Nazi’s fully dabbling in the occult
• BJ (the hero) will also make use of supernatural powers
• Game gives you a city in which the game takes place. Missions and quests take you through different parts. As you complete quests, more of the city opens up. Kind of a non-linear path
• Set piece and randomly generated activity block your path
• There is an AI resistance force that will assist you during the game at times. Think of the resistance forces in MGS4
• You will also enter “The Shroud”, an alternate reality version of the city. A dimension in which the Nazi’s are drawing power from.

Supposedly, the screens look great, the lighting is impressive, and oh hell, it is a Wolfenstein game for crying out lout that is suppose to come out sometime this year.

Looks like between this, Fallout 3, Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour, Far Cry 2, and the Mines of Moria expansion for LotRO heading to stores this year, my gaming dance-card will be full.

Via: NeoGAF

Lord of the Rings Online Executive Producer Jeffrey Steefel talks about Book 14 of the Shadows of Angmar, the first of the annual expansions and the future of LotRO in the second part of his recent interview with MMORPG.

Mines of Moria is the first of Turbine’s annual expansions for LotRO. As the last update to Shadows of Angmar, Book 14 will provide the lead in to the adventures in Moria. The new book won’t just be a prequal to the next stage in the story. It will contain some significant new editions to already rich content.

“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.

For more details on the future of the Lord of the Rings Online, read the entire Jeffrey Steefel interview on MMORPG.

Turbine has released the third mini-game, Eleventy-Seven Morsels, for The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria on UnlockTheMinesofMoria.com. You can play against others or the computer in this fun little game where you trade morsels of food and the winner is the one with nothing left on his plate.This is probably the easiest of the mini-games that Turbine has launched on the site, of course the others could be easy as well and I could just be begin an uncoordinated tard, but I digress. Eleventy-Seven Morsels is easier than getting drunk and throwing an ax any day.

The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria expansion is tentatively expected to be available sometime this Fall, and with the level cap moving from 50 to 60, it should give players who have exhausted all options with their characters a reason to log back on. Another feature announced is the ability for groups of 3, 5, 12 and 24 players to be involved in instances, new “monster player” content, more environment-aware AI, and the opportunity to join the Fellowship in Lorien.

Turbine and Codemasters Online have announced the launch of “Swig and Toss”, the second mini-game for the Unlock the Mines of Moria website. Registered participants can challenge themselves and their friends to earn special deeds that unlock unique rewards including exclusive videos, images, and in-game items that will aid them on their journey when The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria launches this fall.Swig and Toss is an axe throwing competition with a bit of drinking and wagering to make things more interesting! In this 10-round game, players try to keep a steady aim while attempting to hit a target with their axe. Hit the mark and win, miss and hear the Dwarves around you scoff at your lack of skill. The more you drink, the more you can wager, but be warned - the more you drink, the blurrier things get and it is harder to see the target.

It is loads of fun, but I am afraid that I am not too good at drinking games so I will one of the few who do not get to unlock any special items when the expansion is released. Hopefully, these items will not be “bind on acquire” and I can purchase them at my Kin’s auction house.

Via: Press Release

Craig Alexander, Turbine’s Vice President of Product Development took time to talk with MMORPG about Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. The interview covers Book 13: Doom of the Last King, but also reveals details on the first true expansion for LotRO; Mines of Moria.

Book 13 introduces the frozen land of Forochel in Northern Eriador. Like the Misty Mountains, the area has an arctic climate which brings a new facet of PvE to players, who will have to keep themselves warm.

The Mines of Moria is a vast underground environment that required the developers deal with it in a whole new way. It will be a labyrinth of tunnels as big as Bree or the Shire. They’re using a duel height map technique to create the ground as normal. However, what would be sky outside is the ceiling in Moria. It’s a very simplified explaination, but it does allow them to create this vast underground environment without loosing detail or creating performance issues.

Moria will also feature a more intelligent game AI, dynamic lighting and player lights. Look for more on Moria in the next few months.

via MMORPG

The folks over at Turbine are not only the creators of a fun, high-quality MMO, but they are also just a fun bunch of people. Today they announced that the updated version of the first mini-game “King Under the Mountain”, for the new LotRO expansion Mines of Moria.

The Dwarves have finished their work and the Unlock the Mines of Moria site is now complete!

An updated version of the first mini-game, King Under the Mountain, has been added to the site. There are three Deeds for you to earn by playing this game. We won’t say what they are, but you’ll find them if you are persistent enough.

Earn all three Deeds and you’ll gain access to a sneak peek at material related to the Mines of Moria expansion to The Lord of the Rings Online.

In all, there will be 13 Deeds that allow you to unlock 5 Stars on the Moria gate. Not all Deeds will be available right away, so check back often to discover the latest Deeds! Once you have earned all of the remaining Deeds and all 5 Stars are lit, you’ll receive a special in-game item for The Lord of the Rings Online.

Here’s hoping that the game specific item will be something to torture wargs, goblins, and trolls with - man I hate those things.

In the new mini-game, there is a map with different colored areas. You pick a color, choose an opposing color next to you and roll an 8-sided dice. Whichever area rolls the highest number gets to take over that territory. Areas show one to three dice (eight being the limit) so when choosing an area to conquer, make sure you have more or the same amount of dice as they do, because each dice equals one roll and they all add up. Right now, I am playing against the computer and it is kicking my ass, so the likelihood of me unlocking anything, let alone the Mines of Moria will be a miracle.

Thanks: MMORPG

 

Turbine has announced the new website for the first Lord of the Rings Online expansion, Mines of Moria is up for North America and Europe.

There are also new minigames including King Under the Mountain available for play as part of a new PR campaign for the expansion.

“The ‘Unlock the Mines of Moria’ campaign is part of an innovative launch strategy that offers players an interactive social gaming destination where they can individually and collectively delve into the first major expansion to The Lord of the Rings Online,” said Jim Crowley, president and CEO of Turbine, Inc. “Whether you are new to the world of Middle-earth or a long time member of our community, we invite everyone to explore and share the wonders of Moria.”

The King Under the Mountain game is based of Tolkien’s description of the building of Khazad-Dûm; the Dwarven capital and testament to Dwarven ingenuity built in the depths of Moria. This “old Dwarven” tactical strategy mini-game features the winning combination of caverns, gems and fighting. Players who register at www.unlocktheminesofmoria.com can play solo or take on their friends. You don’t need to have a subscription to play.

Unfortunately, when I checked the site had this message posted:

Due to overwhelming response this website is temporarily down for maintenance.

Please check back soon for site updates and news about The Lord of the Rings Online™: Mines of Moria™”

via Press Release

Jeffery Steefel, Executive Producer for Tolkein’s World of Warcraft.. err. Lord of the Rings Online took some time from his busy producing to speak with Ten Ton Hammer’s Jeff Woleslagle about the upcoming Mines of Moria game expansion as well as some of the content that players should expect to see in Books 13 and 14 of the game.

Steefel discusses The Lord of the Rings timeline in relation to the game and how players can expect the game to develop over time, even with the expansion.  The game is moving across the Misty Mountains through the biggest dungeon crawl imaginable. It’ll be interesting to find out how they keep the content related to the world of the book without expanding too much into something that drags characters away from the focus on the growing darkness in Moria and the growth of Sauron’s forces. Along with Moria, Steefel mentions that the elven lands of Lorien will be appearing.

Book 13 adds a new region to the north of the current lands - including a big concentration on the arctic setting and new environmental effects like frost and exposure. Book 13 is expected to make a Spring release. While it seems odd to be exploring the north of Eriador while the Fellowship continues south Steefel mentions the decision was needed to give the Fellowship time in the game’s chronology to make their way forward into the 2nd volume of the series.

via Ten Ton Hammer

The Longbeards of Middle-earth once dwelled in a vast and lovely earthen city called Khazad-dûm deep underneath the Misty Mountains. Full of great halls, mansions, a thriving mithril mining industry and thousands of happy dwarfs it was an enviable metropolis founded by Durin. Sometime, during the Third Age the Longbeards dug too deep, exhausting the once plentiful mithril and found something horrible - The Balrog. Once disturbed, this powerful and evil entity killed King Durin VI and his son Náin, and drove the Longbeards from their home. Durin’s Bane, as the creature became known as, stayed within Khazad-dûm, and due to being left unattended, the great underground city became overrun with orcs and the elves renamed it Moria, which literally means “the black pit”.

After the events in “The Hobbit”, Balin, Flói, Frár, Lóni Náli, Óin, and Ori went back into Moria to try and reclaim it from the orcs and attempt to reestablish the once great kingdom. Unfortunately, an Orc archer killed Balin, and once again the Longbeards were forced from their ancestral home. Years later, The Fellowship entered Moria on their way to destroy the ring and found the tomb of Balin along with orcs and Durin’s Bane - The Balrog. We all know what happens next, so I will bring my history lesson to a close.

If you are curious as to why I have given you background information on Moria, it is not because I am trying to flaunt the fact that I have been a LotR nerd for over 23 years or anything, its only because the Mines of Moria is the new expansion coming to LotRO.

Read the full article

I had the chance to talk with Chastity Irizarry, the CEO of JC Media + Entertainment about some of their upcoming projects. I originally became interested in knowing a little more about JC Media when they organized a rally last month in New York for gamers against violence. This was a result of many individuals in the world blaming the Virginia Tech massacre on games and gamers. The primary officers running JC Media are Chastity Irizarry and founder Damon Scott. Chastity mentioned to me that the company was formed in October of 2006,
but has expanded rapidly and gained the attention of serious gamers all over. Read the full article