LOTRO on Consoles
When EG7 bought the Daybreak Game Company over a year ago, they mentioned in a subsequent investor report that a console port was being considered for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. This was met with a degree of scepticism by the player community who saw it mainly as speculative marketing. However, one year on and EG7 has referenced a potential console version yet again. Their Q3 2021 investor report lists a “release on consoles” as a medium term goal. The fact that this idea has been mentioned twice within a 12 month period is interesting. Investor reports are public information so EG7 no doubt knew that this “talking point” would find its way into the wider gaming press. It certainly means that the concept now warrants some serious consideration from LOTRO players.
When EG7 bought the Daybreak Game Company over a year ago, they mentioned in a subsequent investor report that a console port was being considered for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. This was met with a degree of scepticism by the player community who saw it mainly as speculative marketing. However, one year on and EG7 has referenced a potential console version yet again. Their Q3 2021 investor report lists a “release on consoles” as a medium term goal. The fact that this idea has been mentioned twice within a 12 month period is interesting. Investor reports are public information so EG7 no doubt knew that this “talking point” would find its way into the wider gaming press. It certainly means that the concept now warrants some serious consideration from LOTRO players.
From a technical perspective porting an ageing Windows based MMORPG from 2007 over to the latest generation of consoles is a major project. The UI as it exists in the game at present is cluttered and doesn’t scale well for higher resolutions. Plus the layout of skills is designed for point and click mouse access. The game textures also do not fare well at 4K plus the character models and animations are somewhat dated. Then there are issues regarding lag, hitching that are zone specific. Also tearing, the draw distance, the environmental “pop in”, clipping, loading times and possibly a hundred other issues. And if you are fixing all of these fundamental issues, wouldn’t it be wise to also address LOTRO’s long standing lack of comprehensive voice acting? Will a modern console audience want to play a game that still heavily relies on text driven dialogue?
Then there are further issues stemming from a successful conversion to both the latest Playstation and Xbox consoles. It is doubtful that crossplay is going to be implemented as it hasn’t been done so for other MMOs that have been converted. Both Star Trek Online and The Elder Scrolls Online have separate servers to accommodate console players. Thus a port for LOTRO would also require a new server system to support the game which no doubt comes at a significant cost. It can be argued that LOTRO’s PC server environment is lacking at present which raises the question as to whether there would be any changes to this infrastructure. In fact the more one thinks about this “project” the more it seems like a very capital intensive undertaking. Such an investment would have to be driven by some pretty compelling financial predictions. EG7 has referenced several times the potential interest the IP may receive due to the Amazon Prime Middle-earth television production that launches next year. Is that itself a big enough incentive?
However, there is an alternative train of thought to consider inlight of the choice of words EG7 have used in their latest investor report. Specifically “a major revamp to upgrade the visuals, modernize the experience”. Modernizing the experience may simply mean making the games overall graphics and systems work on the consoles. Cryptic have successfully done this for Star Trek Online by condensing menus, automating some skills and decluttering the UI. Their port to consoles has not essentially changed the gameplay or radically altered experiences between those playing STO on a PC and those on an Xbox or Playstation. Yet, there is scope to interpret “modernize the experience” as something akin to Star Wars: Galaxies New Game Enhancements (NGE). A revamp of that classic MMO that profoundly changed the game by taking a reductionist approach. Are EG7 implying that to port a game such as LOTRO it needs to be overhauled at source IE PC level first and then converted? Such a prospect is potentially troubling.
In the meantime, a console conversion remains a “mid-term” goal for EG7. One that I’m sure will be dependent upon ongoing revenue growth and senior staff being invested in the project. Something else to consider is that EG7 owns several game development studios such as Big Blue Bubble, Piranha Games and Toadman. A project of this kind would involve more than just Standing Stone Games. Although SSG have managed to keep the LOTRO alive and ticking over in the last few years, they have not exactly taken the game forward or in any way improved its standing. Bringing the game to a new player base such as console players presents a perfect opportunity to reset community relationships. However, all of this is a long way off, assuming that it ever comes to fruition. For the present the prudent LOTRO player would be best served focusing on playing the existing game and keeping an eye on the more immediate situation.
LOTRO: We’ll Always Have the Books
I was cautiously optimistic when EG7 acquired Daybreak Game Company in December 2020. I found the various communications by CEO Robin Flodin to be quite encouraging. I got the impression that EG7 were facilitators and planned to provide the resources that developers such as Standing Stone Games required to move their portfolio of games forward. For the first time in ages, I felt that there was a positive future for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. The arrival of a new Producer, Oleg Brodskiy (AKA Raninia), certainly appeared to address the community communications vacuum that has existed for several years. However, it would appear that Robin Flodin has been removed as CEO. Apparently he had a poor interview recently with Dagen Industri in which he had “difficulty answering questions about the difference between total revenues and net sales during the quarter”. This followed an interim business report that was not well received with the market and led to a drop in share prices by 25%. Hence he was removed by the EG7 board.
I was cautiously optimistic when EG7 acquired Daybreak Game Company in December 2020. I found the various communications by CEO Robin Flodin to be quite encouraging. I got the impression that EG7 were facilitators and planned to provide the resources that developers such as Standing Stone Games required to move their portfolio of games forward. For the first time in ages, I felt that there was a positive future for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. The arrival of a new Producer, Oleg Brodskiy (AKA Raninia), certainly appeared to address the community communications vacuum that has existed for several years. However, it would appear that Robin Flodin has been removed as CEO. Apparently he had a poor interview recently with Dagen Industri in which he had “difficulty answering questions about the difference between total revenues and net sales during the quarter”. This followed an interim business report that was not well received with the market and led to a drop in share prices by 25%. Hence he was removed by the EG7 board.
In the meantime, Ji Ham has been appointed acting CEO, while EG7 searches for a permanent replacement. Ji Ham being the CEO of Daybreak Game Company. It all appears rather arcane to the layman. According to Robin Flodin, EG7 had increasing sales during the second quarter of 2021. The company, which has made numerous acquisitions in recent years, still reported higher profits. Yet shares prices have fallen and perhaps there are widers concerns about expanding too quickly and overreaching. Certainly there is consternation within the company and hence the change in CEO. It now remains to be seen as to whether this has any impact upon the various studios that EG7 own. Will the acting or new CEO make any radical policy changes and halt any ongoing projects? Simply put, from the fans point of view will this ultimately affect LOTRO?
As I’ve written in the past, the average LOTRO player is pretty much oblivious to what goes on at the corporate level. They just log into the game and take their pleasure where they can find it. Often they’re only aware of changes in the game, as and when they happen. For those of us who are more interested in how SSG are doing, it can be quite frustrating trying to get a handle on what is going on. Business strategy is seldom a topic for the public domain. Most of the information we have access to is limited to new reports and official press releases. Neither give us sufficient to go on. It therefore could be a case that the departure of Robin Flodin will have no impact upon LOTRO. But then again it could. Are we effectively back to square one again? It’s hard to tell. Perhaps that’s why I’m returning to and finding comfort in Tolkien’s source text. At least we’ll always have the books.
LOTRO: What Happens Next?
Around the middle of May, it was announced on the official forums that the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online had a new Producer, Oleg Brodskiy (AKA Raninia). This news was hardly “shouted from the rooftops” and I only found out about it when Raninia was recently “interviewed” by LOTRO streamer Louey7. So what do we know about Mr Brodiskiy? Well he comes from a mobile game background, having worked on such titles as Archer: Danger Phone and Marvel Puzzle Quest. He has experience as a game producer and in QA. According to the introductory post he made on the forums “Sev remains the Executive Producer, I'm coming in as support under him. I'll be spending my time exclusively on LOTRO, and am hoping to be reasonably communicative”. As mentioned, he recently appeared on a live stream and answered some questions regarding what’s happening with LOTRO in the next 6 months or So. He also alluded to 2022.
Around the middle of May, it was announced on the official forums that the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online had a new Producer, Oleg Brodskiy (AKA Raninia). This news was hardly “shouted from the rooftops” and I only found out about it when Raninia was recently “interviewed” by LOTRO streamer Louey7. So what do we know about Mr Brodiskiy? Well he comes from a mobile game background, having worked on such titles as Archer: Danger Phone and Marvel Puzzle Quest. He has experience as a game producer and in QA. According to the introductory post he made on the forums “Sev remains the Executive Producer, I'm coming in as support under him. I'll be spending my time exclusively on LOTRO, and am hoping to be reasonably communicative”. As mentioned, he recently appeared on a live stream and answered some questions regarding what’s happening with LOTRO in the next 6 months or So. He also alluded to 2022.
Briefly, here is a recap of the points that were discussed in the stream. The original summary appeared on Massively Overpowered, care of Justin Olivetti and I have further condensed it for brevity.
2021:
The Gundabad expansion is due in autumn and will be tied to the new Brawler class.
The Brawler class has a tank and DPS role. Specific race options are not yet decided.
Gundabad will feature missions and an older system that SSG is returning in a revised state.
Gundabad will include Legendary Item changes. The older LI system will be “phased out”.
The new LI system will be easier to use and for players to catch up.
2022:
The development team have proposed years’ worth of potential content, although nothing beyond Gundabad has been completed.
Trait lines, crafting and kinships may have future systems revisions.
Visual and technical upgrades are being planned, although specifics have not been decided. A possible console edition cannot be discussed at present.
Multithreading is “possible” but very difficult to achieve with LOTRO’s game engine.
There are no plans at present for level compression (like WoW).
Changing the acquisition of class trait points has been discussed.
SSG would like to have an EU-based server, but there are definitive plans at present.
Character transfers from closed worlds to live ones are being tested.
There are no planned server merges.
This is more information than we’ve seen for a while and certainly Oleg seems to be far more comfortable talking about the game than other members of Standing Stone Games. The interview was casual, upbeat and suitably vague. As previous new classes or races have been tied to expansions, it’s no surprise that the Brawler will follow suit with the arrival of Gundabad. The community knew the LI revision was coming so it will be interesting to see how simplified it will be. I wonder if the “older system” that is making a comeback in a revised state is skirmishes? Missions after all are just a variation of these and skirmishes were always a welcome alternative to traditional quests. As for next year, there seems to be a lot that is being discussed but it would appear that there may be technological restrictions. I don’t expect to see visual changes, multithread support and a console port any time soon. I suspect that SSG will focus on what can be achieved easily first. So expect skills bloat, skill points and crafting to be tackled sooner.
As ever with LOTRO much remains unanswered. Not only game specific details but wider aspects of company policy. Is Oleg Broadskiy’s employment a direct result of EG7 new ownership? Because from what I've seen of them so far (their YouTube channel has proven very informative) they are facilitators and enablers, rather than old school autocratic owners. They don't appear to have a vision for LOTRO that they wish to impose upon SSG. They seem more disposed towards supporting SSG financially and administratively, so they can take the game forward. If that is the case then LOTRO’s future development and direction is still being driven by SSG and that is what concerns me. They haven’t always struck me as that imaginative of companies and they often seem to be tone deaf to community concerns. However, more money and potentially more staff may well change this, bringing fresh ideas. Having played LOTRO for 13 years and followed the games development closely, the most I can do at present is remain cautiously optimistic.
Looking at the long term future of the game, it does seem like LOTRO is at a crossroads in its lifecycle. Fortunately there are several positive factors in the games favour at present. In recent years there have been major changes to the Tolkien Estate and Middle-earth Enterprises affording greater leeway with licencing and use of Professor Tolkien’s intellectual property. EG7 acquiring Daybreak Gaming Company and their portfolio, has revealed a lot of data regarding LOTRO and it has shown that the playerbase is quite robust, generating stable revenue. Plus there’s a very good chance of renewed interest in all things Middle-earth when Amazon Prime’s new TV show which is set in the Second Age launches at the end of 2021. Hence if the game is adequately funded, developed and promoted it could see an increase in players. A console port would be invaluable, as could revising the games engine and mechanics for the PC market.
For LOTRO to survive and thrive, it requires a development team and chain of command with sufficient love and vision. If such skills are lacking in SSG at present, then perhaps EG7 can recruit them. Potentially, if managed well LOTRO could endure for another decade. A revamped game with modern attributes, yet still founded on strong narrative gameplay should do well. Being made available on EG7’s growing platform 4Game would be a major shot in the arm. When you consider the huge international appeal of Tolkien’s work (since publication The Lord of the Rings has sold 150 million copies) it seems ludicrous that a massively multiplayer game based upon that work hasn’t secured a bigger place in the market. In many ways LOTRO is now in the best position it has ever been in to reach its full potential. However, if this process of self improvement doesn’t start soon, then the opportunity may be missed and like Galadriel the game will diminish and go into the West. As always, time will tell.
EG7 to Consolidate All Titles on its 4Game Platform
EG7 is very slick when it comes to corporate communications. Earlier today the company posted their Q1 Report Presentation and Q&A on YouTube. Although specifically designed for the company’s investors, CEO Robin Flodin stated that he was aware that many gamers watch these presentations and are welcome. However, he did point out that any major game related news would always come via their appropriate outlets, thus making it clear that there was not any consumer information in his briefing. He then went on to discuss how well EG7 was faring financially and even to the layperson, it is clear that the company did very well last year. However, there were two nuggets of information that were interesting from a gamer’s perspective. The first was that EG7 is going to consolidate all of its games on their current 4game platform. The second was that the company was developing a new AAA MMO linked to a major intellectual property.
EG7 is very slick when it comes to corporate communications. Earlier today the company posted their Q1 Report Presentation and Q&A on YouTube. Although specifically designed for the company’s investors, CEO Robin Flodin stated that he was aware that many gamers watch these presentations and are welcome. However, he did point out that any major game related news would always come via their appropriate outlets, thus making it clear that there was not any consumer information in his briefing. He then went on to discuss how well EG7 was faring financially and even to the layperson, it is clear that the company did very well last year. However, there were two nuggets of information that were interesting from a gamer’s perspective. The first was that EG7 is going to consolidate all of its games on their current 4game platform. The second was that the company was developing a new AAA MMO linked to a major intellectual property.
For those who may not be aware, most game publishers have a bespoke platform that allows customers to install and manage all the titles that the company produces. Activision Blizzard has Battle.net, EA has Origins, Ubisoft has Uplay and Good Old Games has Galaxy. Then there are the big digital stores such as Steam and Epic Games which similarly have their own “launchers” as they are known. So it makes sense the EG7 is to add all the titles it acquired when it bought the Daybreak Game Company. When and how this change will happen is not yet known. Will players be required to reinstall LOTRO or DDO also remains to be seen. However, Standing Stone Games’ existing launcher for LOTRO is dated and painfully slow. The other advantages of consolidating all products on a single platform are more effective marketing and dissemination of information. As and when LOTRO is added to 4games, it may well lead to an influx of new players.
The news of an AAA MMO being developed is very intriguing although somewhat vague. Robin Flodin referred to it being based upon “one of the greatest brands in the world”. Whether he was referring to franchises that EG7 already hold or something that they’ve recently acquired is a matter for speculation. As fellow blogger Wilhelm Arcturus pointed out in his post, Daybreak currently has a license for a Marvel game. Or has the recent closure of Amazon Game Studios Middle-earth based MMO, cleared the way for another? Are EG7 considering a LOTRO 2.0 or something similar? Whatever the outcome, things have certainly gotten a lot more interesting since the company acquired DGC. In the meantime let us see how both these two items of news are received by the LOTRO community. The consolidation of LOTRO, DDO and other titles onto the 4games launcher is an especially interesting development and needs to be handled well.