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Made of Lions seems the only one left from SoA, that's about it. Other content-designer still remaining joined ca. 2011 (thePinion). Silorien the software engineer still there since late 2008, might be the last remaining one now that they lost DrOctothorpe to layoffs (and bet they lost more than him). Among QA personnel, DarthCeltics is still there since 2008. That's about it, as far as any semblance of a "core" team. Add to that a rotating carousel of lesser interns (less familiar blue names popping up with join dates ca. 2016-18), mostly QA personnel and thus more disposable and predictably less knowledgeable about game product they're tasked with. Vastin seems the only class developer left (thankfully tbh, he's got a head on his shoulders and communicates well, unlike previous dweebs), but he's a recent addition with a forum join date 2017 (might have been around longer in other capacities?) Not counting Cordovan and the joke of a producer, who are not only terrible at communicating and formulating articulate replies to interview queries but are legitimately clueless and lost when it comes to most rudimentary familiarity with product they're paid to oversee. Both are holdovers from D&D Online so perhaps no surprise they know a piss drizzle's worth about Lotro; being around since lat 2000s seems to have done zilch to their capacity to absorb new information and develop their skill sets. Which leads me to conjecture both are still employed due to knowing people who know people, and both are digging in their heels circling their collapsing SSG wagons knowing full well they're not worth much on the job market. Any self respecting PR hiring committee would see they're nothing but yesterday's nerds with good hook-ups, good for nothing but deadbeating around the office on company pay and kissing ass of higher ups to stay employed.

this assumes the relationship between SSG & Daybreak isn't a toxic cesspool, because if that relationship is strained, you can bet that would be reason enough. we know (NOT suspect) that Doctor Octothorpe was terminated at the beginning of December (12th.) 2018. & whenever something like that happens, one is left wondering was that it? and i do need to remind everyone of the fire sale they had from December 7th through the 16th called the "Legacy Bundle" for $199.99 USD: https://www.lotro.com/en/LegacyBundle so Daybreak terminated at least one SSG employee, right during a fundraising period... not just fundraising at Lotro, but also at DDO. in fact Daybreak did this funding package drive at every title in the entire studios portfolio. Everquest, DCU Online, H1Z1, Planetside, etc. etc. etc. yet Daybreak fired Doctor Octothorpe before the funding drive was even over @Lotro. & Doctor Octothorpe was the only one we got wind of due to his twitter feed. well there are 2 things i do NOT assume: 1.) Doctor Octothorpe was the only one let go. & 2.) SSG & Daybreaks relationship is all roses & joy... an entire shit-show is entirely within the realm of possibility. what fucking company fires a company tent pole mid funding drive? Daybreak games has managed just that. yet i am sure there are folk who assume i am jumping up and down with joy that Severlin may have also been terminated. those people are frankly idiots who are DEAD WRONG. whomever is tasked with writing both DDO's & Lotros annual letter, may find the most difficult part, is establishing a positive tone, when it is entirely likely that Daybreak striped all revenues above and beyond the most basic operations at all these studio games under their umbrella to fund the new Planetside Battle Royale game slated to launch this March. (or worse, clear their books of any trace of Columbus Novas money.) it is a repeat of Infinite Crisis all over again. and for those who can intellectually grasp what that means, my reasons for being pissed & acting like a bit of an attack dog, become crystal clear. anyway Kick, there are actual reasons for all of this to be dovetailing downward & they aren't actually SSG's current tiny roster of employees. i actually do STRONGLY suspect Daybreak is behind much of the current quagmire.

I'd take a bet that he doesn't see the irony in writing his signature all in caps.

I'm glad I started that thread, because it turned into something quite magnificent.

Fuck yes. Plus the idea of having an EU wide pension fund that will absorb national pension funds, which will put those who have worked hard and contributed the most to the national funds in those countries that already contribute the most to the EU at a disadvantage. Plus the erosion of the standard of living in those countries that have to contribute the most. Plus national governments who follow the EU tune instead of listening to concerned/angry citizens.

Criticism such as: - freedom of movement creating a migration issue where poorer nations lose needed workers because they're making more money in wealthier nations instead - creation of a central bank to better control and manipulate a shared currency across multiple unbalanced member states - customs union that prevents any deals to be made individually, while nations like Switzerland and Norway don't have that but still have access to the free market - around 8 nations putting more into the EU than they take out, while propping up the other 20 nations that take more than they put in - bureaucratic nature of leadership in the EU, with a bloated system of institutions like the European Council, Council of the European Union, and European Parliament - the imbalanced nature of the EU, where nations can't contribute equally and don't get an equal control on issues, effectively resulting in other nations deciding their fate instead - the constantly growing control of Germany over the EU - the sheer number of policies and regulations constantly being churned out by the EU resulting in an unwieldy list that's always growing - and the more metaphysical things, like the globalist agenda behind the EU to maintain power over Europe and tie people into a system that prevents any meaningful change That's all directly about the EU.

Zeitraum: 04.02. - 10.02.2019 23:59 EU-Logins vergangener Woche (Datenwoche 453): Logins EU-LOTRO US-Logins vergangener Woche (Datenwoche 450): Logins US-LOTRO 

Early February now. The game is running. I gave it for the new year and this shit show would be ended. With this said, It would be better if it had. Mainly for this fact. Many upon many over the years have stated about all the ineptitude beholden to Turbine and SSG. In many cases I agree with the general consensus. However these last two years I don't believe this is the case. Think about this for a moment. Most of todays so-called fuck ups aren't really by mistakes. No, No these are intentional and decisive choices. Anything from screwing up stats on armour to fucking up the simple structure of how a new incentive based feature is implemented. Often, there are convoluted paths to the desired gains where instead it could be strait forward. All these measure's players consider fuck ups are instead measured devices to keep the player logged on. Why? In the hopes the player will get frustrated and open the magic window. Pull out their credit card and be a winner. The difference now compared to years ago is this. Once they were subtle and left room for speculation for if they were mistakes, to now where there is no denying the manipulations. Today's path is always full of twist and turns and at no point will you ever feel like you can reach the goal line. This is intentional. You my fellow players have been part of one of the longest running experiments in the MMO world. An experiment where the producers of this game will continue to refine their machinations to a degree that has yet to be discovered. Under the guidance of DBG this will only continue. I have watched the subtlety of the psychology being used in this game. Knowing this decides for me what I do and don't do in this game and why. Others though seem so immersed in their desires and their needs to feel an accomplishment or reach a goal nothing is out of bounds. To the outsider observing the addicted player chomping on this carrot produced by SSG they would suggest the player be required to seek help for their disfunction. As often said in Eve online. "The only way to win is to quit playing". Try telling this to an ocd, idiot and they will hate you forever much like forcefully taking a bottle from a life long alcoholic. The experiment is to see how far the bar can be raised and I dare say it crosses the boundary of predatory. Predatory on the blind and dumb people who fall for such simple gimmicks. I said in one of my first post on these forums that I am an observer and this still holds true. I do still play LotRO but mostly I watch the players and how they react to what SSG feeds them. It is astounding how much shit a person will allow to be shoved down their gullet and all the while claim it tastes like ice cream.

Quality post right here.

Maintenance mode? More like a "fuck you" mode. LI grind too much? Fuck you. Why are these last class changes not documented in patch notes? Fuck you. Where are the burglar changes we've been promised to get in previous update? Fuck you. Why didn't we even get to test any of these new changes on Bullroarer first? Fuck you. Hey when are the festivals gonna be this year? Fuck you. Hey where is the Producer's Letter that was supposed to be delivered back in December last year telling about this year's plans? Fuck you. Hey what's this new "Skirmish event" we can't find any details about it at all? Fuck you. Maintenance mode is so 2014 - 2017. Welcome to fuck you mode.

Say a guy called Tarantula with a huge creepy spider as an avatar 😉 Hope your girl is doing well though Could be worst 😁 Glad to see you guys still have a sense of humor. On topic: LOTRO is only a very pale shadow, faint memories of Middle-earth and epic stories I still love. I refuse to be a statistic, use the store or play a game just out of my passion for the work of Tolkien. The LOTRO I remember was awesome , not perfect, but a solid game, but this was many years ago. It is sad to witness its decline, sad to see how people prefer a mediocre/bad run instead of letting it go slowly and peacefully into the West. Anyway sorry about the 'creepy' avatar guys, I won't change it though, it has been with me for too many years and I am quite font of it

Zeitraum: 28.01. - 03.02.2019 23:59 EU-Logins vergangener Woche (Datenwoche 452): Logins EU-LOTRO US-Logins vergangener Woche (Datenwoche 449): Logins US-LOTRO 

CKA is the abbreviation of a nickname that Kickman (I think) came up with for one of the posters who was involved back when he got his OF ban. I'm in a hurry right now so can't look it up here but someone will know. Possibly maartena but I'm not sure.

It's all good, I put that stupid cunt on ignore with some others. In fact, this is where we're at so far with the ignore list (just people who have so far shown their true colours). Bohdb - obviously mentally handicapped (even for a festival-obsessed fanboy), no point even trying to explain shit to them Dinara - some fanboy cunt, nothing valuable to say djheydt - old, blinkered, lacks any sense of empathy that a regular human would have, not long for the grave dsltn07 - some ass hat that think he's subtle with his shitposts but isn't, can't seem to actually read or understand what's said in plain English Langie - can't even remember what this nonce posted, I just know it was enough for me to dismiss them as an ignorant prick maartena - goes without saying, but I will do because fuck it: smarmy, baiting, shit-eating faggot, and "he" needs a good fucking slap Radhruin_EU - so far up his own arse that I'm surprised he's not suffocated (and it would be nice if the lifeless prick did), knows a pretty average amount about Middle-earth but a few morons seem to praise him for it, thinks he's some gate-keeper for Tolkien and misapplies his personal head-canon of Middle-earth to everything else YvainBlakhart - some low-level fanboy shitposter I'd wager that list is going to keep growing as I'm adding as I encounter them, but so far I think I've gotten rid of seeing most of the waste of flesh NPCs.

Zeitraum: 14.01. -20.01.2019 23:59 EU-Logins vergangener Woche (Datenwoche 450): Logins EU-LOTRO US-Logins vergangener Woche (Datenwoche 447): Logins US-LOTRO 

yeah I loved when they raised the cost of rep accels in the skirm camp it was because "they wanted to adjust the prices based on the scale of how many marks we were getting." Than next update boom, mark gains lowered... than next update BOOM area with 6 tiers of rep instead of 4. And of course when the raised the skirm camp prices a few of us called it, and were silenced by the white knights.... you know, those same ones who asked for them to be lowered on the LS because the prices are ridiculous

i will actually give this topic a serious answer. based off the last 3 years represented in this image: if no external factors change... * Daybreak Games does not Implode ✔️ * Servers remain at 10 (+2) and are not further consolidated ✔️ * SSG avoids really big changes like they unveiled with HD trait trees, or other things to upset the apple cart ✔️ you are looking at another 8 years minimum (more likely 10). SSG could extend that out by simply consolidating a server or 2, over time. lets just say hypothetically they whittled the active server list down to one or two servers on each side of the pond (4 max.) that alone could add another decade, or more. by doing next to nothing, other than using the robust server transfer feature they now have, the game could go on for another 20 years. my only recommendation... it is more clever than a first glance could imagine... is Crickhollow is the first to go!

Looks like it's hit its steady decay period. The flesh has long since rotted off and it's just a slowly-dusting skeleton but it's still there. Either new players are equal to lost players, or there's no new players and no lost players, just a bedrock group willing to fund the game in whatever state it is.

Zeitraum: 07.01. -13.01.2019 23:59 EU-Logins vergangener Woche (Datenwoche 449): Logins EU-LOTRO US-Logins vergangener Woche (Datenwoche 446): Logins US-LOTRO 

Seeing those graphs, I think RoR also killed the game with the poorly executed lag-fest-mounted-combat and maybe even more the lack of a proper end-game instance-cluster

Danchir, I'll try and hit on a few points as best I can (and some of this is subjective...for example it's hard to say why we lost subs at various points). Infinite Crisis Since IC was after my time, I'll relate a (slightly redacted) explanation I got from a friend at the company related to why a mutual friend-a 10 year Turbine vet-was laid off last fall. "So, infinite crisis was costing 4mil a month to make. And they dumped all their marketing budget into a 'twitch' campaign....which is a new sorta web thing where you can watch people play games.....and unless you are Korean and playing starcraft, no one gives two fucks about. It resulted in Infinite Crisis peak concurrency being....less than 1,000 people. Hell most people had no inkling the thing even came out. So, hemorrhaging money, total failure, we gotta make it look like we are doing something to fix the faucet of losses. So, they shifted ______ to a lead on infinite crisis....and laid him off. See, we're saving money!" There was no way IC could have succeeded. The necessary experience, expertise, and tech wasn't there. The MOBA market is dominated by DOTA. And when you task Monolith (the Batman guys) with making a LOTR MOBA and then have Turbine make the DC heroes one, you're just going to end up with two failures. But this is a good point to mention that WB didn't acquire Turbine for the sake of LOTRO. They wanted Turbine's technical expertise in supporting online games. LOTRO itself was just a fringe benefit. Thus WB crammed dozens of new staff into the Needham building while keeping LOTRO bare bones, disconnected Turbine's NetOps from Turbine (and christened it WB Net), and, when I came back, had LOTRO QA testing the Batman online shooter. But in a sense WB's disinterest in LOTRO and sheer wealth has probably spared LOTRO from being shut down. They don't care enough to kill it where a smaller company might have by now. Kate and F2P Kate got lots of attention for the DDO f2p transition. A cynic might suggest that the Paizs had flat lined DDO already and when Ascherons Call's concurrency numbers are beating DDO on a nightly basis, you can only go up from there. LOTRO was certainly ailing when they made the call to go f2p. We all assumed it would happen eventually but not so soon. In March or thereabouts in '10 an email went out from Crowley stating that LOTRO's US subs were down to around 85k (the only time specific sub numbers were ever mentioned even in-house while I was there) and could we maybe ask our friends to try the game? But nobody wanted the f2p thing. It basically said, yeah our game sucks so bad we won't even ask you to pay for it. We knew our community was the best thing we had going for us and knew we were going to substantially lose that when the f2p floodgates were thrown open. MoM I do have a lot of affection for MoM, it's an incredible space, nothing else like it. But the talent drain post SoA was taking its toll. Turbine refused to pay industry competitive wages and it isn't an easy sell to take a pay cut to move all the way to snowy and expensive Boston for a benefits package highlighted by free bagel Thursdays. So they just promoted people in-house up the ranks and there it's a case of who schmoozed the best and doesn't rock the boat. So you end up with the Watcher being built by a junior dev whose previous claims to fame were some content work in Evendim and naming the mobs in SoA. Then throw in that perennial Turbine bugbear-good concept, bad execution. Legendary Items sounded good as an idea...and ended up being a train wreck. A grindy nightmare that hosed loot tables, crafting, and the ability of SQL to process data as it was inundated with a bazillion item and relic decons. I had moments in testing them where even the devas didn't know what certain legacies were supposed to do. And radiance...you know it's a bad idea when even Turbine later admitted the system stank. Meanwhile the lack of team leadership meant that devs were basically doing whatever they pleased with thier classes and hence you see hunters blowing up instances (and creeps). We lost a lot of subs that winter. Maybe players didn't want to spend a year in a big cave or maybe the endless server downtimes got old. But either way there was never, ever any self-examination when it came to player dissatisfaction. It couldn't possibly be that the devs were putting out sloppy, uninspired work or substituting mindless grinds in place of meaningful, engaging gameplay. There was never a dev fired for poor work-sometimes it seemed like a cabal where if nobody admitted the quality of the game was down, nobody would get blamed for it. That may sound harsh but the game speaks for itself. When I look back on LOTRO as a player, having been away from the game for a while now, my own realization is that it was the community-our closeness, personalities, the sub-plots we created as we interacted (especially in the Moors) that kept me engaged and in love with the game. My nostalgia for SoA through SoM is really about that and maybe it makes the game itself look better than it might have actually been. Devs and Amarthiel Apparently some of the content devs were unprofessional in playing Amarthiel, trolling players verbally and whatnot. About what one might have expected from some of them.