Sorry for Silence

Sorry for the recent silence. The Last Homely House has been under assault from the Plague. We have lost our dear old Huan and very nearly this pilgrim. They say the flu comes from Swine but whatever the source it was black indeed.

I lost my dearest friend when she breathed her last in my arms even as the fever took me into evil dreams. My own Evenstar has nursed me back but it was close. I am still too weak to see where she lays but my daughter tells me that it is a good spot under pleasant trees.

She was a good dog and faithful to the last. She loved her children and would put up with anything and the only time she growled was when an intruder stood over my daughter with a stick. She frightened him away but not her own illness. I'm going back to rest now as the Healers have ordered since they have released me from their care but not their authority.

Crafting in Lord of the Rings Online

Finally! I know I promised this sooner, but other issues seemed more pressing.

Overview:
The crafting system in Lord of the Rings Online is a tiered system with a 'mastery path' added allowing craftsmen to specialize in one field. The crafting is set up in different professions that require you interact with other craftsmen (sometimes through the auction house) to create your crafted items. Requiring players to take time to interact with other players is a no-brainer for the developers. The crafting system gives developers a break from providing quest and roleplaying content. The crafts also include a gathering skill to allow the craftsman to procure some of their needed supplies on their own.

The professions are:
Armourer the craft skills of the Armourer are, Prospector, Metalsmith, Tailor.

Armsman the craft skills of the Armsman are, Prospector, Weaponsmith, Woodworker.

Explorer the craft skills of the Explorer are, Prospector, Forester, Tailor.

Historian the craft skills of the Historian are, Farmer, scholar, Weaponsmith.

Tinker the craft skills of the Tinker are, Jeweler, Cook, Prospector.

Woodsman the craft skills of a Woodsman are, Farmer, Forester, Woodworker.

Yeoman the craft skills of the Yeoman are, Cook, Farmer, Tailor.

A prospector mines the various ores, gems, and mineral byproducts found in Middle Earth and refines that ore into various metals. A Forester gathers wood and processes the hides and 'branches' of wood found in Middle Earth. These are the gathering skills.

The processing skills take place at a 'workbench'. Workbench is a generic term for any processing facility from an actual workbench for a jeweler, woodworker, forester to a forge for Weaponsmith or Metalsmith, or even a farm field for a farmer. Some processing skills are paired hand in hand with their main professions. Like the Explorer processing hides into leather and then turning them into light and medium armor with the Tailor skill. Other Professions need help acquiring the raw materials such as an Armsman needing a forester to gather and process wood for the woodworker skill. Each processing skills comes with 'recipes' that allow the craftsman to make finished products.

The system is a 'tiered' system with the worker required to reach a level of proficiency in the current level before they can gather materials, process materials, or learn the recipes of the next tier. After learning the new tier, the craftsman then must 'master' that tier before he can master any higher tiers. The tiers originally were Apprentice, Journeyman, Expert, Artisan, and Master. After a serious nerf¹ of the system they added the 'Supreme Master' tier. This was an effort to add end game activity and to encourage players who had already spent endless hours mastering their craft an incentive to get back to crafting which requires very little work on the part of the developers.

O.K. so now that we have an idea of how the crafting system works in Lord of the Rings online, we will proceed to where they went wrong and how to fix it.

First the system is simply generic. It makes a few small nods to the background lore by having the best workbenches for metalsmithing and weaponsmithing be in the Dwarven and Elven areas and the best farmland in the Shire etc. but it does not address the richness and diversity of materials and abilities found in the books. The system starts out with the same material for items crafted at the same tier in the same area that roughly corresponds to the character's level². The beginning materials are copper and tin which make bronze for weapons and armor or rowan wood for woodworker items, light hide for tailoring etc. The game never does explain why characters cannot use 'higher level' items. It is only logical that somebody might not be able to produce an item that requires greater craftsmanship than they currently possess. It makes no sense to say that they cannot use an item that is better constructed.

Using one material for all items at every tier begs the question, why would one material make items of the same tier for the every type of use? Why would rowan wood make the lowest level of material for virtually everything? Mightn't rowan make good instruments for music or a decent wood for a javelin? Yew is certainly superior to ash wood for bows but it is certainly inferior to ash for for spears, javelins, or clubs. Bronze does not make as fine an armor or weapon as steel but bronze or copper pots are preferred cooking vessels to the finest steel. Cast iron makes a better frying pan than steel for that matter.

The second part to this is the location. Rowan, copper, and tin are found in one area, Ash, 'barrow iron', and silver found in the next leveling area etc. How does this make any sense at all? Did all the high level monsters get together and decide, 'hey, let's hang out where the Ancient Iron ore is found and let's plant 'Black Ash' trees here'. Now actually that makes more sense than the game does because you don't harvest Black Ash trees you harvest black ash branches. Worse, you find yew branches in the middle of the Lone Lands a high desert environment with sparse foliage. Yew trees require moisture and start off as undergrowth in Fir or Pine forests. Again this makes no sense.

The recipes have great potential but deliver nothing except style differences. A Dwarf Make Iron Armor offers the same benefits as an Elf Make Iron Armor. While I enjoy the looks of the Elven and Dwarven armor and materials nothing makes them different. They also did not extend the styling of armor and clothes to the other items like the weapons and tools. There are no 'Elvish make' Yew bows or Dwarven Axes.

So here I will offer some improvements to the system. First, acknowledge that different materials make different items. Yew makes better bows that Ash, Bronze makes better cookware than 'barrow iron' etc. Also, these materials simply do not get found in the same areas together. Or if it is necessary for 'balance' to do this then locate the raw materials in areas where they would naturally be found.

Second, look to actual use for the design of items and the material used. Bows could be long, short, recurve, reflex-deflex, composite, self etc. and made from Yew, Osage orange, Lemonwood, steel. Composite bows would require horn, sinew, different types of wood, while self bows would require longer pieces of higher quality wood but would be easier to craft.

For instance, the lowest tier of bow making would be self bows, within that tier would be long bows and short bows of human or Hobbit manufacturing and design. A superior level would be bows of better pieces of wood or crafted with particular care. Perhaps bows of a better type of wood or made with a superior grip etc. The next tier of bow making would be would bows of reflex-deflex design of human or hobbit design and manufacturing. The bows might be made with yew limbs and an oak riser with a shelf for the arrow etc. A superior bow might have some of the same quality differences or a better tip, reflex angle, etc.

The next tier of bows might represent the Elvish simpler self bows like Legolas' short bow that he takes from Mirkwood made from high quality yew with horn tips and a good recurve or a dwarvish bow made with a laminate of superior woods, minerals, sinews, etc and laminated to protect it from all weather or perhaps a steel bow of Gondor. Superior bows of this tier could be well made composites of human or dwarvish design.

The next tier would be the best bows of human design whether it be a laminate of wood, horn, and sinew or a reflex-deflex wood bow made with the finest of skill, care, and materials. A superior bow might be made with outright magical materials or simply with an understanding of the Songs of the Valar that makes the sum greater than the parts.

The best bows would be elven bows made by the master craftsmen of the Elves. Bows made with the finest of woods including lebethron wood. The designs would be elegant, graceful, and enduring. Since the game assumes an endlessly full quiver, perhaps at every tier the finest arrows would represent an improvement to the damage. These Elven bows would be the pinnacle of bows and could be crafted by the best of bowyers.

Each type of bow would have a different design and look and a different feel with differing damage types, ranges, speeds, and ease of use. A knowledgeable player would be able to recognize at a glance the more common types of bows and if the bow was an unusual or unknown type. The same type of system could apply to swords, axes, armor etc.

As to not being able to use a weapon because of the character's level, that is an easy fix. Simply allow the character to 'grow into' the weapon only giving the weapon the best bonuses of the player's level. This would allow characters to use any weapon without it 'unbalancing' the game. Game designers spend endless hours simply trying to do something the game does not need. 'Balance' is artificial in the world. The games are trying to recreate the feeling of being in a Tolkien novel or at worst the movies. There is no need to continually balance the game if you don't make it a competition between players. Let the game balance itself. Let it find its own equilibrium. Except for people who only intend to ruin the enjoyment of others, most game players try their best to simply play the kind of character they enjoy and not worry about which is more effective.

That's it for now.

nerf In computer games a 'nerf' is a change to the game that makes the element less effective and or sought after by the players. It often happens in games like Lord of the Rings online because the developers are constantly searching for 'balance'.

level Many roleplaying games feature a 'level' system whereby the character's progress and abilities are advanced via 'levels'. In most 'leveling' systems items also have 'levels' assigned to them. The levels sometimes have titles assigned to them but usually it is a numeric system. In Lord of the Rings online the current maximum level is 60 however, developers have indicated that they will 'expand' to 65.

The Degradation of Dwarves

Dwarves are one of Tolkien's creations. He borrowed heavily from Norse and Germanic folklore and myth but he created something all his own. The Dwarves are a proud, strong, and enduring race as well as being secretive and creative. Tolkien modeled their isolation and secretiveness on the Jews of Europe. He said that the Dwarves reminded one obviously of the Jews. This is not meant in a derogatory fashion. He obviously has a special place in his heart for the Dwarves.

Now on to LOTRO Dwarves. Where to begin? First, the Dwarves run like football linemen in plaster castes from their hips to their knees. This is really unacceptable. It looks nearly as bad as the Hobbits. Second, when somebody slows to a walk, they walk with their heads down as if ashamed or perhaps suffering from a psychological disorder.

This is an easy fix. They already have non-player character dwarves that run and walk in a much more natural fashion. Why they made the players look both goofy and ashamed of it at the same time is beyond me. Finally, we'll get to crafting. Or perhaps we'll put it off again.

The Horror of Hobbits

I have nothing against Hobbits per se. They are kind, gentle, industrious but not ridiculous about it like dwarves, enduring, and merry. Hobbits are one of the great literary creations. They are firmly related to the tomte, nisse, and other Hob type creatures that are descended from our ancient household gods. So what's not to like?

In the game Lord of the Rings online (a fine game by the way), the Hobbits are extremely ill-proportioned. They have legs that are too short and when they run it is in a comical waddle. Their pelvic girdle is obviously out of whack and forces them to swing their hips around like midget wrestlers. Anyone who looks at them cannot help but think, 'something is congenitally wrong here' but they have not fixed the obvious.

I understand that the makers of the game had to use some human model to create Hobbits, we of course in the darker, noisier, dirtier age do not have Hobbits posing for portraits or modeling for us. However, they could have used healthy humans as their model. The pygmies of Asia and Africa are small, slight, and move in a natural fashion. Or, use people of average height and build and then scale them down. It is not rocket surgery, anyone can see that the poor Hobbit toons of LOTRO would quickly fatigue when running. Worse, they would have bad backs, hip joints that burned like fire, and troubles with other muscular skeletal issues.

It is a relatively easy fix. Find new models or simply scale down the human model they are using now. Next, the degradation that is Dwarves.

Elves and their ears

I know I was going to write about crafting but the toons bother me too. I just came across a picture of Celebrimbor by Angus McBride. For those of you not familiar with McBride's work it is entirely worth it to look it up and see what a person who has a good grasp of anatomy and actual military hardware can do with a Tolkien character.

His pictures of Galadriel for the I.C.E. MERPs series were great as well. The depiction of the elves is by far the best. No cartoony pointed ears, no ethereal gauzy mist floating around, but he still injects the feeling of other-worldliness and wonder.

So why am I writing about the Elves. Obviously, I am one of those that believe the Tolkien Elves did not have obviously pointed ears. Tolkien himself wrote in a direction to publishers on an early edition that Hobbits had pointed 'elvish' ears. The scare quotes are not mine, they are the good professors. Remember he is a professor of English he knows what scare quotes are for. That means that they do not mean the literal meaning.

He understood that due to Victorian images of creatures of Fairy that the illustrators would understand his direction on 'elvish' ears. However, he also was conveying that somehow the label is not correct. The only possible interpretation is that the professor does not want to convey the idea of pointy ears for elves.

Some of Tolkien's elves may have had pointed ears. Others obviously did not. That elves could be mistaken for men is a clear indication that at least some of them did not have any point to their ears at all. Also, it does not jibe with his very Catholic view of the world. The elves according to his writing were the representation of man before the Fall.

I can hardly believe that created in God's image and perfect before original sin would equate to pointy ears. Tolkien's view of elves did change over the years essentially maturing into the final view he held. Since they are perfect; ageless, immortal, beautiful, and immune to all disease, I doubt that Tolkien also conceived them with donkey ears.

Which brings me to the game. LOTRO only allows ridiculously pointed donkey ears for elves. They now have hair styles that cover it, but nothing but huge pointed ears are ever shown. They don't even give players a chance to choose which vision of the elf (movie or books) they prefer.

Bad enough that they make elves out to be effete ponces, they give them ears a rabbit would be embarrassed to own. This would be an easy fix. Give players the option of how pointy they want their ears to be. Next the horror of Dwarves and Hobbits.

Lord of the Rings Online The Siege of Mirkwood

I just pre-ordered the Siege of Mirkwood expansion pack. I already talked about the Harbinger's cloak. I am looking forward to the announced changes. There are no signs of the hoped for mounted combat. It would only make sense to include that as Rohan cannot be too far behind.

Southern Mirkwood was the haunt of the Necromancer a thinly veiled Sauron. It should have been obvious to the Wise it was really Sauron all the time. However, looking at what happened to Saruman and Denethor, it is probably forgivable that they didn't spot Sauron right off. Over the Ages it was probably entirely possible that others fell under the long distance sway of Morgoth and the tales were simply never told.

I am looking forward to the additional character slots. I would like to see some changes to the crafting system. More to follow...

Lord of the Rings online Warden vs Tolkien's Warden

When the Warden class was created I was excited. The Elves had gotten short shrift in the hand to hand combat category. Hunters were the quintessential Elvish class and while they could drop the bomb on somebody in ranged combat they really suffered up close and personal. Besides, the whole game Elves could never be mistaken for men thing, they were simply effete in practice as well as looks.

So I was hugely excited by the idea of a combat class created for the Elves. Then I played Wardens and found the huge flaws. First they are nothing like the Wardens mentioned in the Fellowship of the Ring. The Wardens of Lothlórien wore gray mail and wore long white cloaks. The operative word here is mail. Mail is not generic for armor and a professor of English and Anglo-Saxon would not mistake mail for any other kind of armor. So while there was a clear model for the developers to follow they chose not to. Second, they are nothing like the character 'Haldir' either from the book or the movie that they were supposedly modeled on.

Haldir in the movie wore metal armor, carried a sword, and most importantly a bow. Haldir in the book was not mentioned as one of the three Wardens specifically mentioned. However, he also carried a bow. Neither of these descriptions match the Warden from the game.

The Warden class in the game cannot use metal armor of any kind. The Warden class does not use a bow at all (one of the two weapons in which an elf excels). The Warden in the game specializes in a spears and javelins. Spears and javelins are not bad weapon choices for a Silvan elf. However, to eliminate bows entirely? This is foolish and capricious. A good choice for the Warden was the stealth and ability to ambush. The books both mention Haldir (and all other elves) ability at stealth. The ambush is certainly implied as three elves went out to slow a huge hunting part of angry orcs. So that was a good thing.

Now the class was billed as a tank. It is not. It is not even a very good off tank. It does have a slammin' first attack and a strong ranged combat ability but neither of these traits screams 'tank' to me. The Warden can carry a shield and a weapon but really cannot stand in there and slug it out like a Guardian. At the same level I can solo group quests with my Guardian where I am crying for help or running and 'kiting the mobs' with my Warden. A tank tanks, it is in the job description. The Warden does not match the description. If I wanted ranged combat class, I would choose a Hunter. If I wanted a close combat class I would go with a Guardian or Champion. The Warden class is neither fish nor fowl and suffers for it.

So I dropped the Warden. I looked for a class that covered all the abilities found in the books, I was even willing to look at some of the movie Elves. I decided that a Elvish Guardian fit the bill.

First a Guardian wears mail. Mail was in the book, mail is on a Guardian. Second, Guardians use bows. I know you have to wait to get them. Wait to the 30th Level but at that point you are now an Elf with a bow. It is worth it. Third, the Guardian is just the type you would put in front of your Lord and Lady as a solid line of defense. Somebody in mail armor and with the ability to come to hard hammer strokes or shoot a bow at a distance.

That's enough, I've beaten a dead horse enough nobody believes that the developers have ever read the books. Look at the Rune Keeper class. Tolkien didn't want Disney to make his books into movies. He would be rolling in his grave if he ever saw what they were doing to his stories now with characters who were not even in Gandalf's class throwing lightning bolts around like tennis balls.

All I ask from the developers is that they read the damn books. Then create their classes. Show a little respect for the world created.

New Adventurers pack

Just got my new Harbinger's cloak. It is definitely a low level item except for the speed involved. Need to cross somewhere quickly? That is the cloak for you. I haven't seen any signs of the other perks of the pack yet. The cloak is a hooded cloak and looks pretty good. The bonus is a 8% increase to movement (out of combat naturally). This works well for me as I play Guardians for the most part and their movement is somewhere between slow and glacial compared to Wardens.

Which brings me to the subject of my next post. Wardens vs Guardians.