Sneaky Hobbits Update – New LotRO Lottery!

Update from Sneaky Hobbits:

LotRO Lottery – Win stuff for your characters! « Sneaky Hobbits

Turbine announced today a new meta-game experience for Lord of the Rings Online, the LotRO Lottery! Playing the LotRO Lottery is as simple as logging into your My LotRO account, and selecting various drawings via a widget on the left hand side of the screen (default location).

This sounds like a very nifty system! I know that I will be trying my luck at it (though my luck with online competitions tends to.. well.. suck).

LotRO Quest Log Update – Questing in Angmar Part 3

LotRO Sneaky Hobbits Alert:

Sneaky Hobbits

Jumped into Lord of the Rings Online during daylight hours today to get some more questing in Angmar done, as well as to take advantage of the +25% XP enabled for the current Welcome Back Week event (Fall Festival is running now too folks!).

Lord of the Rings Online: Welcome Back Weekend

Lord of the Rings Online will be having a Welcome Back ‘weekend’ from October 15th through October 21st. During this time period previous players of LotRO can come back to their accounts and play for free, and everyone who plays will receive a 25% XP buff for the duration of the event.

Looks like it is a drive towards the release of the next expansion (Siege of Mirkwood) as the forum post regarding this points out that any returning customers who re-up with a multi-month subscription plan will receive Siege of Mirkwood for free.

Quoted Source:

Lord of the Rings Online: Forums

Posted by Sapience:
During The Lord of the Rings Online™ Welcome Back Week from October 15th through October 21st, you can play your old characters for free and get a +25% XP Bonus. Plus, if you come back now and renew your subscription to LOTRO with any 3-, 6-, or 12-month $9.99/month* subscription plan by October 31st, we’ll give you The Lord of the Rings Online™: Siege of Mirkwood™ digital expansion for free! (Click here) for full details!

Technorati Tags: lotro,welcome back weekend,siege of mirkwood,xp buff,Lord of the Rings Online,turbine,mmo,gaming,news

(Originally posted in my LotRO blog: Sneaky Hobbits)

Turbine Pumpkin Carving Contest 2009

New event in theme for the Halloween holidays, Turbine announces the Pumpkin Carving Contest!

Turbine Pumpkin Carving Contest! – The Lord of the Rings Online™ Forums

It’s that time of year again: the weather turns colder, the leaves turn colorful, and spooky fun turns up everywhere. It also means it’s the perfect time for a pumpkin carving contest! We’re looking for the best LOTRO-themed carved pumpkins! You could win a custom title on the forums, and one lucky winner will win one million copper (also known as 10 Gold). Your carving can be of your favorite creepy LOTRO creature, spooky scenes from around Middle Earth, emblems and icons, or anything else from (or about) the game! Turbine will accept digital photographs of entries from October 12th through October 30th. Eligible winners will receive a special forum title (“Master Carver”) and their winning entries may even be featured on LOTRO.com! One lucky first prize winner will additionally receive 1,000,000 copper! Entries must be original creations, should be at least 1024×768 in resolution, and no larger than 6MB in file size. Photograph your pumpkin and enter it in the following category: LOTRO pumpkins Need some inspiration, or just like to carve pumpkins? You can use this Turbine logo template to start practicing! Download the template by clicking here. How to use a pumpkin carving template:

1. Print the template on a sheet of paper.
2. Cut along the dashed lines in the corners (this will help your template lay against the round surface of the pumpkin).
3. Attach the paper to the desired side of the pumpkin where you want the design to show.
4. Follow along the black lines poking small holes through the paper into the pumpkin’s skin.
5. Remove the paper template and you will see dots in the shape of the design on the pumpkin’s skin.
6. Connect the dots, and then start carving! Keep your template beside you to help you as you go – the gray shaded parts are the ones that will come out of the Pumpkin.

Now you know how to use a template to carve your very own Turbine fan pumpkin! You can make your own templates and use the same techniques to apply them to your pumpkins! Ready to get started? Click here for official rules and tips on sending in your pumpkin entry!

Technorati Tags: gaming,mmo,turbine,contests,halloween 2009,blurb,news

Join the Blog Middle Earth Project

Might just have to jump in on this!

From the friendly folks over at A Casual Stroll to Mordor:

Join the Blog Middle Earth Project | A Casual Stroll to Mordor

Join the Blog Middle Earth Project
Posted by Goldenstar in General

For any and all bloggers interesting in collaborating, sharing and discussing all things related to LOTRO blogs; a new community forum has been set up just for you!

Blog Middle Earth Forums This project was started by Tony of mmeow.net fame to pool the blogging community of LOTRO into a an organized entity. All that is needed to participate in this project is a blog focused on LOTRO. You don’t have to have your own domain or fancy set-up. Blogspot, wordpress or my.lotro bloggers are all welcome to join in the discussions! There’s a section in the forums for podcasters as well if any fellow podcasters want to join in.

These forums are private so you will have to register and then post in the “About thread” requesting access and include a link to your LOTRO blog. That just keeps the riffraff (meaning spammers) out of our little haven.

I think this could be a fantastic resource for all bloggers to pool ideas and pick each others brains and hope we can really unify the already wonderful blogging community of LOTRO.

Check it out for yourself!

lotro bloggers, lotro, mines of moria, turbine, website

Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood Expansion Launch Date announced.

The latest expansion to Lord of the Rings Online – Siege of Mirkwood – is set to launch December 1st. There are a few perks for pre-ordering apparently; Lifetime members who order an ‘Adventure Pack’ (which seems to be a DLC type item (2 character slots, shared storage access)) get Siege of Mirkwood for free.. of course, you pay 19.99 for the Adventure Pack – depending on the pricing of the expansion this might be a good thing (details on the expansion show it to be a mini-expansion, I wouldn’t expect full price to be more than 39.99.. but I could be wrong).

There are a few other goodies to be had with various conditions, check out the forum post linked to below for more information.

Siege of Mirkwood™ Launches December 1st! – The Lord of the Rings Online™ Forums

THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE™: SIEGE OF MIRKWOOD™ TO LAUNCH ON DECEMBER 1ST

Turbine Unveils Special Pre-Launch Offers Including the New LOTRO Adventurer’s Pack

WESTWOOD, MA – September 29, 2009– Turbine, Inc. announced today that The Lord of the Rings Online™: Siege of Mirkwood™, the new digital expansion to the 2008 MMO of the Year will launch on December 1st in North America. Turbine also unveiled The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) Adventurer’s Pack which contains what every player needs to survive in the chaos of Mirkwood! Siege of Mirkwood and the LOTRO Adventurer’s Pack are scheduled to launch on December 1, 2009.

lotro, som, siege of mirkwood, lord of the rings online, turbine, launch date

Feeling Social? LotRO extends Community Services to My.Lotro.Com

Turbine has unveiled its Live Beta for a new Social feature of the Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria Community – My.Lotro.Com.

Basically a site where MySpace meets LotRO (once I stopped shuddering and checked it out I was relieved to find it wasn’t as bad as the first name mentioned); This site not only acts as a social platform for players, but it is iteration #2 of Turbines move towards web services for the game – the first iteration was the character signatures on the forum (where game data is pulled to form the signature), this one pulls full character data (a la WoW’s Armory – but different still the same) from the game servers and also offers blogging (based on WordPress – with various ‘identities’ tied to a persons characters).

This site is, in my opinion, the first step towards one of Turbines Launch promises – to have interactive data (XML Web Services) available for players to ’show off’ their characters. Next I think we might see API’s to export XML data for characters to third party sites / custom Signature sites / etc.

Keep in mind that the site is still in Beta – there are still some quirks here and there, but overall the site is a good step towards something good.

Technorati Tags: mmo,the lord of the rings online,mines of moria,turbine,social site,my.lotro.com,lotro characters

Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria – Patch 1 Coming Soon

The first patch for Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria is due out on Monday, December 1st; This patch is slated to fix a few performance issues that popped up with Moria, un bug some quests, and fix a slew of other items. Legendary Items will also be getting an update, adding more options for attributes and special abilities (like glowing near certain mob types).

Servers and services are slated to go down at 4:00AM Eastern Time, and stay down until 12:00PM Eastern Time (Turbine account services could be up and down intermittently during this time, as said in the announcement here)

Here are the patch notes:

Mines of Moria Patch 1 Patch Notes

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The following release notes cover what is included in Mines of Moria Patch 1.
Release Notes
Gameplay

• Fixed a bug that was preventing some devastating hit damage multiplier modifiers on items and Relics from working correctly.
• Poison, Disease, Fear, and Wound debuffs applied through Hotspots and Auras are no longer Curable. These type of debuffs can be avoided by staying outside of the area of the Aura or Hotspot, or by killing the source of the Aura.
• You know what’s annoying? Countdown effects that stun, root, or slow me after combat is already over. We’ve changed all of these that we could find to only apply their effects if you are in combat.

Skills/Classes
General

• Wardens and Rune-keepers will now have appropriate animations during Fellowship Maneuvers

Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria Launch Date Announced

The Lord of the Rings Online update, Mines of Moria, has had its official launch date released: On November 18th Middle Earth Explorers can crack the gates on Moria and enter a whole new realm. Wow, that sounds like marketing speech eh? Well it is and it isn’t. It is in that I want people to play the game, and isn’t in that I don’t see a red cent for any of my pro (or anti) game posts

Currently you can pre-order / Digitally Upgrade [to] Mines of Moria for prices ranging from $29.99 to $79.99.

Here is the official announcement:

Release/Availability
When will Mines of Moria be released?
On November 18, 2008 The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria will be available in stores across North America and Europe allowing players to begin their journey to the vast, terrifying and unparalleled world beneath Middle-earth.
Turbine also announced the launch of the Mines of Moria Pre-Order and Early Upgrade Programs. Players in North America can pre-order Mines of Moria or can purchase an early upgrade of Mines of Moria by visiting http://moria.lotro.com and get special benefits — including a special $9.99 per month subscription when purchasing a multi-month plan and special in-game items.
Is there be a Pre-order Program?
Yes! For more information, please click HERE.
Can I buy Mines of Moria online or at my favorite retail store?
Yes. You’ll be able to buy The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria Complete Edition and The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria Collector’s Edition at retail stores across North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. You may also be able to upgrade digitally through Turbine’s Early Upgrade Program.
Can I buy the Mines of Moria expansion by itself?
Yes. Most existing The Lord of the Rings Online ™: Shadows of Angmar™ subscribers will be able to digitally upgrade to the Mines of Moria through the LOTRO launcher and at https://myaccount.turbine.com when the Early Upgrade Program begins.
I’m a Lifetime Member to The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar already. Do I need to buy Mines of Moria?
To gain access to Mines of Moria, you will need to purchase the Mines of Moria expansion. However, you will not need to purchase a new subscription to play the Mines of Moria expansion. Your Lifetime Membership will remain effective, and you will not have to pay a monthly fee to play the Mines of Moria expansion.
Will there be a Mac or Linux version of Mines of Moria?
No. Mines of Moria will be released for the PC only.
Will Mines of Moria be released in other countries at the same time?
Yes. Mines of Moria will be released for players on the European game servers as well as the North American/New Zealand/Australian game servers.
What Do I get with the Early Upgrade Program?
The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria Early Upgrade Program is a special offer for current subscribers of The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. Current subscribers can purchase the Mines of Moria digital expansion pack prior to the Mines of Moria launch via digital download for $29.99 and secure great benefits like a $9.99 Multi-month subscription plan or $199 Lifetime Membership. Additional benefits include Mines of Moria in-game cloak and Moria Expeditionary in-game character title, 3 in-game item tokens, and an entry into The Treasures of Moria Instant Win and Sweepstakes* with prizes valued at $25,000
How much does the Early Upgrade Program cost?
The Early Upgrade Program costs $29.99 for current subscribers with a paid online subscription in good standing .
What’s the difference between the Pre-order Program and the Early Upgrade Program?
The Early Upgrade Program allows most existing subscribers and free trial players to digitally upgrade their accounts to Mines of Moria through the game’s launcher or at https://myaccount.turbine.com effective as of the Mines of Moria launch. The Pre-order Program allows new players and existing subscribers to create or prepare their account for a future purchase of the physical game at retail (such as The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria Complete Edition or The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria Collector’s Edition).
The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria Complete Edition
What is the Complete Edition?
The Complete Edition is a new entry point into The Lord of the Rings Online, containing everything a new player needs to begin their adventures in Middle-earth.
What’s in the Complete Edition?
The Complete Edition includes:

• The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar™
• All content updates (Books 9-14)
• The Mines of Moria expansion
• An entry into the $25,000 The Treasures of Moria Instant Win and Sweepstakes
• 30 days of free game time
• 2 in-game item tokens

How much does the Complete Edition cost?
$39.99 MSRP
What’s the difference between the Complete Edition and the Collector’s Edition?
The Collector’s Edition contains one extra in-game item token and several unique collectables not found in the Complete Edition.
The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria Collector’s Edition
What is the Collector’s Edition?
The Collector’s Edition is a special release of The Lord of the Rings Online that contains unique collectibles and an additional in-game item token over the Complete Edition.
What’s contained in the Collector’s Edition?
This limited edition of The Lord of the Rings Online includes unique items not available anywhere else, sure to be sought out as collectibles. The Collector’s Edition contains everything you need to complete your move to Middle-earth in a special book packaging:

• The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
• All content updates (Books 9-14)
• The Mines of Moria expansion
• Premium cloth map
• Gold-plated replica of The One Ring
• Exclusive art & music compilation
• 3 in-game item tokens
• A special Collector’s Badge to uniquely identify you on the LOTRO community forums
• 30 days of free game time
• An entry into The Treasures of Moria Instant Win and Sweepstakes* with prizes valued at $25,000!

How much does the Collector’s Edition cost?
The Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price is $79.99, although prices may vary by retail location.
Digital Upgrade Pricing
Become a living legend by digitally upgrading your account to Mines of Moria today!
You’ll instantly receive:

• The Cloak of Sunset, a unique cloak emblazoned with an image of the Hollin Gate.
• An exclusive in-game Moria title—“Moria Expeditionary”.
• 3 in-game tokens, which allows you to choose any of 8 unique in-game items on launch day.
• The Cloak of Durin’s Crown, a special cosmetic item available only to subscribers that upgrade digitally.
• Access to special subscription pricing offers.
• A code for entry into The Treasures of Moria Instant Win and Sweepstakes*.

You’ll be charged $29.99 today and gain access to Mines of Moria on launch day—November 18th, 2008.

Source: Lord of the Rings Online Community Forums

 

And, to show how much of a fan I am – here is what I did right away:

Which changes my subscription page to:

So what are ya waiting for?! Get out there and Pre-Order/Upgrade NOW!

Technorati Tags: Lord of the Rings Online,Mines of Moria,MoM,Turbine,Digital Upgrade,MoM CE,MoM Complete,Collectors Edition,Expansion,Gaming,MMO,News

Lord of the Rings Online Welcome Back & Extra XP Weekend; GOG.com

Lord of the Rings Online Welcome Back & Extra XP Weekend

From October 2nd to the 6th, Turbine will be having a ‘Welcome Back Weekend’ with Enhanced XP for all to quote “get everyone ready for the Mines of Moria“. Starting October 2nd, past players will have their subscriptions re-activated for the weekend and be allowed to immerse themselves in the game once more to see what they have been missing out on (Yes, I am biased! So sue me ); Concurrent with this event, Turbine will be activating a +25% Experience Bonus for all players – this bonus stacks with the Rested XP and should help push you along towards your goals of getting into Moria when released later this year.

Quote:

Welcome Back to LOTRO Weekend with Bonus XP!

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Make sure you’re ready to take advantage of everything that Mines of Moria™ has to offer by participating in a Welcome Back Weekend which includes bonus experience for all!
From October 2-6, 2008, we’re offering free LOTRO access to our former players, and +25% bonus experience gain on mob kills* for everyone who logs in and plays. Returning players are invited to patch up, jump in, and start playing on their old characters to get them ready for Moria!
Prepare your characters for the wonder and dread of Moria by taking advantage of these bonus XP days! Tell your friends to log in and play, level your mains and alts, and get ready to Conquer the World Beneath™!
*Note: The bonus XP stacks with rest XP as well!

Source: Lord of the Rings Online Community Forums

GOG.com (Short for Good Old Games)

I have to admit that I dropped the ball on this one, originally announced as far back as July – this site is going to be a veritable treasure trove for classic gamers (like myself). The company is going to be offering DRM Free PC game downloads from the era when games were games and they didn’t hog  your entire Hard Disk (remember when 2MB was big?).

They are also guaranteeing that all of the games they offer will be compatible with Windows XP & Vista (that is a long shot in my eyes, as most older games I have tried to play on Vista have had major issues – but Kudos to them if they get it to work!); With prices ranging from $5.99 to $9.99 a pop, tech support, and unique ‘extras’ – this site is sure to become a Must Bookmark on the classic gamers computers.

Look for it to come later on this year (the site currently is in a closed beta and, while there is a small banner stating ‘Coming in September 2008′ they are still in negotiations with some publishers).

I certainly hope this site becomes a success and takes off – I have been wanting to find a good source for the classic games I miss so much.

 

Until the next time, good gaming!

 

Technorati Tags: gaming,classic games,retro,lord of the rings online,mines of moria,bonus xp,welcome back weekend,turbine,gog.com,blurbs