Posted by
Hemos
on from the There-is-always-smoke-rising-from-Isengard-these-days. dept.
JC writes "It looks like Tolkien fans will get one of their biggest dreams with Turbine's Middle-Earth Online. Originally expected about November, we're now looking at a Northern Hemisphere Autumn release date. The New Zealand Herald has a good article."
Just when a bunch of nerds thought they had any chance of seeing any sunlight next fall, this news is released.
I can just see the eBay ads ...
by
newandyh-r
·
· Score: 5, Funny
One Ring for sale. Starting at only...
Re:I can just see the eBay ads ...
by
Uatu
·
· Score: 5, Funny
I'm interested.
Can you ship to Mordor ?
I know I don't have great ratings, I'm new to this Internet thing, but I really, really want this item.
- S
Model Citizens
by
Doc+Ruby
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
By the time these movies make it to game format, their cutting-edge digital techniques are several years old, while computers have raced along the rails of Moore's law. Why don't they just release the models and engines for PCs? They can spend the intervening time optimizing for the actual cheap hardware and OS, and coming up with new plotmaps.
--
--
make install -not war
I hate to say it
by
DevilsEngine
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
But won't this game seem a little... tired?
The standard props of the Tolkien universe served for gaming fodder even before D&D (minus the A). In online play, the races and creatures here are used, in dozens of permutations. Haven't we all had a chance to be an elf or halfing? Haven't we all taken a shot at more orcs, trolls, and dragons that we could eat?
Lively story-telling and a deep sense of history set Tolkein appart from other fantasies. Unless Turbine is able to bring this world something other than the appearance of Middle Earth, it's hard to see what will make it more exciting than the possibilities offered by a City of Heroes, or even a solid middle-ages + fantasy setting universe such as Dark Age of Camelot. I certainly want something more than name recognition to make me pick up a sword again.
Re:I want to be a Men class.
by
Nos.
·
· Score: 5, Informative
That's just the way Tolkien wrote. The books were writtin in the 50's I believe, and at that time there wasn't as much an issue referring to humans as men. In the Tolkien world, we had dwarves, elves, and men as the main 3 races. I don't think it was meant to exclude or even discount females, it was just used as a generic term at the time.
MEO Officical Site
by
JasdonLe
·
· Score: 5, Informative
Being a wizard would be good, you die and just come back as a different colour:D
I'm Gandalf the #FF0101.
Re:ME better for MMORPG than SW?
by
Gudlyf
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
" When Start Wars Galaxies came out, many people worried that everyone would want to be a Jedi, because, by far, they are the coolest, most powerful individuals in that universe."
And in Middle Earth, perhaps the most powerful and coolest individuals are wizards, of which I believe there are supposed to only be a handful of (if that) in the Tolkien "universe". Good luck to enforcing that rule.
Personally I think calling this a Tolkien fan's "dream" is a joke. More like nightmare. It will without a doubt throw the whole Middle Earth lore right down the shitter, as we all know enforcing roleplay is impossible in these games. Try forcing a Hobbit player-character to want to stay close to home, sit around his hole and eat all day -- in Tolkien's world, Bilbo and Frodo are rare in their desire for adventure. Most hobbits want to sit at home. Or how about being an elf who fights only when absolutely necessary, or a dwarf who looks out for himself and wouldn't be caught dead grouping with an elf. And female dwarves -- I think they're unheard of in any Middle Earth lore.
Enforcing those things is impossible, and is a true Tolkien fan's nightmare, IMHO.
Re:I want to be a Men class.
by
david.given
·
· Score: 5, Informative
Now, I didn't RTFA, but I really hope that they don't make it like MERP (the Rolemaster based pnp rpg), where any player can just be a high-elf, or a half-elf, or a wizard, or an ent, or something else that's supposed to be rare as diamonds. Its a stupid world where the rare peoples outnumber the normal, common humans. Same thing for magical artifacts - and notice that Gandalf primarily fights with a sword and staff, not "lightningbolt!" and "I'm gonna cast magic missile."
Tolkien wrote primarily about spiritual magic.
Gandalf was the master of fire. Partly, this manifested itself through his skill with fireworks and magical fire, but that wasn't the important bit. What Tolkien felt was far more important, and was stressed over and over again, was the fact the Gandalf could 'kindle the fire in men's souls'. Look at the way he can muster enthusiasm in practically everyone. The classic example is the way he brought Théoden back from the brink in _RotK_ (ignore the lousy movie effects --- this is one of the few bits that Peter Jackson got totally wrong). Even more impressive, to my mind --- he managed to talk Bilbo into going dragon-hunting in The Hobbit.
(Saruman's power was his will and his voice. He could talk practically anyone into doing anything. He had very little power of his own; once the Ents destroyed Isengard, he was shafted. Again, another bit the film got completely wrong was his fight with Gandalf. In the books, it's a battle of wills, and pre-Moria Gandalf is definitely Saruman's inferior.)
The rest of Tolkien's world is similar. The difference between Elves, Dwarves, Men and the other races? They're races, not species. Tolkien wasn't interested in their outward appearance, or whether they could interbreed, or the shape of their ears. The fundamental, crucial difference, intrinsic to Middle-Earth's entire philosophy, the thing that is hammered home over and over again, is the shape of their souls.
When Elves die, they're reincarnated. When Dwarves die --- actually, I forget. I believe they end up in some classical afterlife. When Men die, however, the souls leave the universe entirely. Nobody knows what happens to them. By Tolkien's view, Men are specially favoured. They get to move on to whatever Eru has planned for them next, and are unique in that aspect. All the other races are bound to Arda until the end of time.
(This is the reason why Arwen had to become human. She was a descendent of a Man-Elf cross. All such people had to choose between following the Elven path or the mortal path, because you have to pick what kind of soul you have. All the rest follows from there.)
(If you're interested in such things, read The Silmarillion. It's tough going, but rewarding.)
Tolkien just doesn't go in for material magic very much. He didn't find it interesting. While this makes his universe incredibly rich and rewarding to study, it doesn't really fit a modern game where the player wants to trigger some flashy effect and kill loads of orcs... I await the MMORPG with some trepidation.
Slashdot Mirror
To be precise, that's autumn of 2005, or just a couple months after the release of Duke Nukem Forever...
Stop by my site where I write about ERP systems & more
Just when a bunch of nerds thought they had any chance of seeing any sunlight next fall, this news is released.
One Ring for sale. Starting at only ...
By the time these movies make it to game format, their cutting-edge digital techniques are several years old, while computers have raced along the rails of Moore's law. Why don't they just release the models and engines for PCs? They can spend the intervening time optimizing for the actual cheap hardware and OS, and coming up with new plotmaps.
--
make install -not war
The standard props of the Tolkien universe served for gaming fodder even before D&D (minus the A). In online play, the races and creatures here are used, in dozens of permutations. Haven't we all had a chance to be an elf or halfing? Haven't we all taken a shot at more orcs, trolls, and dragons that we could eat?
Lively story-telling and a deep sense of history set Tolkein appart from other fantasies. Unless Turbine is able to bring this world something other than the appearance of Middle Earth, it's hard to see what will make it more exciting than the possibilities offered by a City of Heroes, or even a solid middle-ages + fantasy setting universe such as Dark Age of Camelot. I certainly want something more than name recognition to make me pick up a sword again.
That's just the way Tolkien wrote. The books were writtin in the 50's I believe, and at that time there wasn't as much an issue referring to humans as men. In the Tolkien world, we had dwarves, elves, and men as the main 3 races. I don't think it was meant to exclude or even discount females, it was just used as a generic term at the time.
For all who were looking for this link:
middle-earthonline.com** A Sketch a Week **
http://www.sketchplease.com
Being a wizard would be good, you die and just come back as a different colour :D
I'm Gandalf the #FF0101.
And in Middle Earth, perhaps the most powerful and coolest individuals are wizards, of which I believe there are supposed to only be a handful of (if that) in the Tolkien "universe". Good luck to enforcing that rule.
Personally I think calling this a Tolkien fan's "dream" is a joke. More like nightmare. It will without a doubt throw the whole Middle Earth lore right down the shitter, as we all know enforcing roleplay is impossible in these games. Try forcing a Hobbit player-character to want to stay close to home, sit around his hole and eat all day -- in Tolkien's world, Bilbo and Frodo are rare in their desire for adventure. Most hobbits want to sit at home. Or how about being an elf who fights only when absolutely necessary, or a dwarf who looks out for himself and wouldn't be caught dead grouping with an elf. And female dwarves -- I think they're unheard of in any Middle Earth lore.
Enforcing those things is impossible, and is a true Tolkien fan's nightmare, IMHO.
Trolls lurk everywhere. Mod them down.
Tolkien wrote primarily about spiritual magic.
Gandalf was the master of fire. Partly, this manifested itself through his skill with fireworks and magical fire, but that wasn't the important bit. What Tolkien felt was far more important, and was stressed over and over again, was the fact the Gandalf could 'kindle the fire in men's souls'. Look at the way he can muster enthusiasm in practically everyone. The classic example is the way he brought Théoden back from the brink in _RotK_ (ignore the lousy movie effects --- this is one of the few bits that Peter Jackson got totally wrong). Even more impressive, to my mind --- he managed to talk Bilbo into going dragon-hunting in The Hobbit.
(Saruman's power was his will and his voice. He could talk practically anyone into doing anything. He had very little power of his own; once the Ents destroyed Isengard, he was shafted. Again, another bit the film got completely wrong was his fight with Gandalf. In the books, it's a battle of wills, and pre-Moria Gandalf is definitely Saruman's inferior.)
The rest of Tolkien's world is similar. The difference between Elves, Dwarves, Men and the other races? They're races, not species. Tolkien wasn't interested in their outward appearance, or whether they could interbreed, or the shape of their ears. The fundamental, crucial difference, intrinsic to Middle-Earth's entire philosophy, the thing that is hammered home over and over again, is the shape of their souls.
When Elves die, they're reincarnated. When Dwarves die --- actually, I forget. I believe they end up in some classical afterlife. When Men die, however, the souls leave the universe entirely. Nobody knows what happens to them. By Tolkien's view, Men are specially favoured. They get to move on to whatever Eru has planned for them next, and are unique in that aspect. All the other races are bound to Arda until the end of time.
(This is the reason why Arwen had to become human. She was a descendent of a Man-Elf cross. All such people had to choose between following the Elven path or the mortal path, because you have to pick what kind of soul you have. All the rest follows from there.)
(If you're interested in such things, read The Silmarillion. It's tough going, but rewarding.)
Tolkien just doesn't go in for material magic very much. He didn't find it interesting. While this makes his universe incredibly rich and rewarding to study, it doesn't really fit a modern game where the player wants to trigger some flashy effect and kill loads of orcs... I await the MMORPG with some trepidation.