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[SnowblindTina]

This game interests me, because I'm a huge LotR fan.

Not sure why you had to make it super gritty/gory. Aside from the fact that Tolkein would be rolling in his grave at the fact, I imagine it limits your audience considering the wide appeal Lord of the Rings always had. Seems like a misstep based on silly market trends.

Anyway, if I can find anyone else in AusGAF to buy it and play co-op with me, I'll probably pre-order on GMG for $37.

The ratings have been interesting, depending on the territory. We just got our final ratings for both BBFC and USK and they are of a lower age than the ESRB rating.

At the end of the day, we tried to make an Action-RPG Loot game (what Snowblind is known for delivering) but while being respectful, and honoring the tradition that is our source material.... as we are also fans of The Lord of the Rings, not just as a film, or a novel, but almost to its own genre, in and of itself.

 

[SnowblindTina]

So if i buy from Greenman Gaming Tina it will be Steamworks?

http://www.greenmangaming.com/games/action/the-lord-of-the-rings-war-in-the-north/

I have an update on this. According to our UK team, it should be steam, but since GMG handles the "wrapping" of the content on their side, the best way to be certain is to ping their customer service and verify its delivery format if it is a dealbreaker for you before purchase.

Sorry for the lack of a super concise answer, but the best I could get was "we believe it is steam"

 

[dragonflys545]

Just to confirm for passersby:
Xbox360/PS3 - Split Screen Couch Co-Op is available. It is only PC that is LAN/Online only.

Hell YES! WOOOO!

 

[WrikaWrek]

Is this game even trying to tell a story?

Since it's the LOTR i.p being used in this game, I assume that focus has been paid to the story. Because after all, the books weren't known because they are page and page and page after page of a character just killing, and killing, and killing some more.

That's all I see in these trailers, some music, a voice over, and then the characters killing. Is this a killing simulator set in Middle Earth?

Just asking.

 

[wilflare]

Just to confirm for passersby:
Xbox360/PS3 - Split Screen Couch Co-Op is available. It is only PC that is LAN/Online only.

this is actually sad news...
why can't the PC have splitscreen and couch co-op too :/
would love to play it on the PC with my brother or friends (with our dualshocks plugged in )

 

[inky]

I have an update on this. According to our UK team, it should be steam, but since GMG handles the "wrapping" of the content on their side, the best way to be certain is to ping their customer service and verify its delivery format if it is a dealbreaker for you before purchase.

Sorry for the lack of a super concise answer, but the best I could get was "we believe it is steam"

Thank you.

 

[SnowblindTina]

We heard today that a gaming site had put up an incorrect announcement about War in the North being delayed (It appears to be an innocent mistake mixing up our UK and NA dates).

I want to formally confirm that the below are our release dates.

North America - US/Canada/Mexico – November 1, 2011
Australia & NZ - November 2, 2011
Africa - November 4, 2011
Middle East - November 4, 2011
Russia - November 4, 2011
Europe (except UK) November 4, 2011
UK - England/Northern Ireland/Scotland/Wales - November 25, 2011

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

I'd almost wish this was delayed until after November

I hope that you all will do well against the competition. All I can say is that you'll be getting my money regardless.

 

[demolitio]

We heard today that a gaming site had put up an incorrect announcement about War in the North being delayed (It appears to be an innocent mistake mixing up our UK and NA dates).

I want to formally confirm that the below are our release dates.

North America - US/Canada/Mexico – November 1, 2011
Australia & NZ - November 2, 2011
Africa - November 4, 2011
Middle East - November 4, 2011
Russia - November 4, 2011
Europe (except UK) November 4, 2011
UK - England/Northern Ireland/Scotland/Wales - November 25, 2011

I guess I should be happy that my birthday is on the 5th.

 

[Card Boy]

North America - US/Canada/Mexico – November 1, 2011
Australia & NZ - November 2, 2011
Africa - November 4, 2011
Middle East - November 4, 2011
Russia - November 4, 2011
Europe (except UK) November 4, 2011
UK - England/Northern Ireland/Scotland/Wales - November 25, 2011

 

[batbeg]

LOTR, Uncharted, Mario, Zelda,.and one happy ass gamer in November.

 

[Card Boy]

Not sure if Tina posted this but its a new video on Gametrailers

Fellowship Co-Op Featurette
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/fellowship-co-op-lotr-war-in/721657

Some screens that intrest me. The stat/loot whore in me loves seeing these type of images.

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

Not sure if Tina posted this but its a new video on Gametrailers

Fellowship Co-Op Featurette
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/fellowship-co-op-lotr-war-in/721657

Some screens that intrest me. The stat/loot whore in me loves seeing these type of images.

http://i.imgur.com/kNCcF.png[IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/FjCh5.png[IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/7cMAZ.png[IMG][/QUOTE]
This already looks enough like Champions of Norrath to have me hyped.

 

[Mikeside]

We heard today that a gaming site had put up an incorrect announcement about War in the North being delayed (It appears to be an innocent mistake mixing up our UK and NA dates).

I want to formally confirm that the below are our release dates.

North America - US/Canada/Mexico – November 1, 2011
Australia & NZ - November 2, 2011
Africa - November 4, 2011
Middle East - November 4, 2011
Russia - November 4, 2011
Europe (except UK) November 4, 2011
UK - England/Northern Ireland/Scotland/Wales - November 25, 2011

WTF - why so late in the UK? I was hoping to grab a few nights on this before Skyrim comes out

 

[Ken]

Not sure if Tina posted this but its a new video on Gametrailers

Fellowship Co-Op Featurette
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/fellowship-co-op-lotr-war-in/721657

Some screens that intrest me. The stat/loot whore in me loves seeing these type of images.

http://i.imgur.com/kNCcF.png[/IMG
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/FjCh5.png[/IMG
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/7cMAZ.png[/IG][/QUOTE]Do weapons get special effects in this game or will the only difference between weapons be those three categories: value, damage, and durability?

 

[OrangeYouGlad]

WTF - why so late in the UK? I was hoping to grab a few nights on this before Skyrim comes out

Tina answered this, but it sounds like it's out of her hands and there isn't a solid reason being given to her. One of those "things" that happens in publishing games, I guess.

 

[FunkyPajamas]

Not sure if Tina posted this but its a new video on Gametrailers

Fellowship Co-Op Featurette
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/fellowship-co-op-lotr-war-in/721657

Some screens that intrest me. The stat/loot whore in me loves seeing these type of images.

Thanks for posting that video, Gez! The screens give me confidence as well. All aboard the loot train!

 

[Mikeside]

Tina answered this, but it sounds like it's out of her hands and there isn't a solid reason being given to her. One of those "things" that happens in publishing games, I guess.

Ahh OK, I hadn't seen that

Well that kinda sucks - it might actually fall in my "buy on sale" pile now, simply because there's so much to play through Winter already

Here's hoping for a reasonable Steam sale discount to reconvince me (tbh it won't need to be a big discount to twist my arm with this game)

 

[Dr. Kitty Muffins]

About how long should we expect this game to be?

 

[Mikeside]

About how long should we expect this game to be?

I found the answer to this one when I was looking for the UK thing - here ya go:

We are actually discussing this internally now. We have the number we've said in the past which is 12-14 hours per playthrough NOT counting NG+ or playing through again with a new character.

That is how long we've said it takes going back to E3, because that is how long it took our design devs to get through it. That being said, they HAD played through quite a few times, and we've heard from our recent playtesting that it could actually be longer. We're doing our double-checking on it now, but I'll be safe and say 12-14 hours, but your mileage may vary as longer, particularly if you love conversations and dialogue trees.

We may have a slightly revised number in the next few weeks as we get a larger sample set.

 

[SPEA]

Quick question if anyone knows the answer:

Say me and my friends are both Dwarves, can we still play Co-Op together or do the 3 party members always need to be the 3 different classes? Thanks in advance!

 

[mclaren777]

Will this game has a PS3 demo?

 

[SnowblindTina]

I found the answer to this one when I was looking for the UK thing - here ya go:

I can officially say that we're now confirming 15 hours+

Perhaps not surprisingly, after watching other folks play, it takes about three hours longer to complete the game when you're not a dev on your 15th playthrough.

 

[Mikeside]

I can officially say that we're now confirming 15 hours+

Perhaps not surprisingly, after watching other folks play, it takes about three hours longer to complete the game when you're not a dev on your 15th playthrough.

This all sounds great - is there any chance of split screen co-op on PC in an update or anything?

How about on the OnLive version? (if there will be one)

 

[FunkyPajamas]

Will this game has a PS3 demo?

I hope it does, though I think it will be one of those "after the game is out" demos and I'll probably have the game by then.

 

[SnowblindTina]

Each team consists of Farin (Dwarf), Andriel (Elf) and Eradan(Human), due to this, you are unable to play as two dwarves in the same game.

The reason for this is mostly around balanced playability. We do have a lot of Action in our Action/RPG scenario, and keeping play challenging and fun was the top priority. (Not mind-numbingly easy or throw your controller through your tv hard). There is a sweet spot we really tried to hit.

 

[XBOX HIVES]

Quick question if anyone knows the answer:

Say me and my friends are both Dwarves, can we still play Co-Op together or do the 3 party members always need to be the 3 different classes? Thanks in advance!

Would like to know this as well. I don't want to be stuck with a class just because someone else picked what you wanted to be.

Edit: saw the post above. Thanks for the info

 

[SnowblindTina]

This all sounds great - is there any chance of split screen co-op on PC in an update or anything?

How about on the OnLive version? (if there will be one)

We aren't planning any update to split screen co-op on the PC build, but I've been in this industry for a long time, and know better than to say it would never happen... if the PC consumer reach was huge and everyone was clamoring for it.... But no, we aren't planning it.

The OnLive version is published from their team, and they take our code and optimize for our streaming. That said, in my last conversation with them, it sounds as though they're not going to have split screen on their build, but I can't guarantee it one way or the other, until I get final confirmation from their team.

 

[Mikeside]

We aren't planning any update to split screen co-op on the PC build, but I've been in this industry for a long time, and know better than to say it would never happen... if the PC consumer reach was huge and everyone was clamoring for it.... But no, we aren't planning it.

The OnLive version is published from their team, and they take our code and optimize for our streaming. That said, in my last conversation with them, it sounds as though they're not going to have split screen on their build, but I can't guarantee it one way or the other, until I get final confirmation from their team.

OK - not to whinge about it or anything, but is there any way you could find out what the reasoning for no split screen on the PC version is? It seems all too common on PC versions of games like this and it really doesn't make sense to me, especially when there's controller support!

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

I'd suggest adding DLC that let's you use whichever model for whichever class, but the LotR purists might have a fit over a dwarf mage

 

[Card Boy]

Do weapons get special effects in this game or will the only difference between weapons be those three categories: value, damage, and durability?

I assume they have special effects as that Human has extra stats on his Str, Dex and Energy ('Mana').

edited this sentence, my eyes saw wrong in regards to loot rarities.

2 more pics from that vid

When you loot a chest. I assume the game has a merchant buy/sell system based on the value of the items.

Can distribute stats

 

[Ken]

I'd suggest adding DLC that let's you use whichever model for whichever class, but the LotR purists might have a fit over a dwarf mage

It'd be cool to have completely new character models as DLC.

 

[Dash Kappei]

Terrible news about no split-screen co-op on PC, I thought at first it was anticipated to be in the game for every version?
What the hell, even crappy Dungeon Siege III has it!
I LOVE Snowblind Studios' PS2 games, awesome memories, and I'm very sad to say this game just went from hype hype hype day1 to NO BUY, waiting for console skus to hit the £14 spot.

rant:
Guys at Snowblind Studios, it's almost 2012, a lot has changed and plenty of people have their gaming pc/htpc hooked up to their TV playing on a comfy couch... It's even worse when the split-screen option is there on another format, meaning there was nothing stopping it on PC of course (I'm looking at you Resident Evil 5 besides money/time).
Damn.
/rant

 

[glaurung]

I like everything that I see in those screenshots.

...except the font.

 

[Mikeside]

rant:
Guys at Snowblind Studios, it's almost 2012, a lot has changed and plenty of people have their gaming pc/htpc hooked up to their TV playing on a comfy couch... It's even worse when the split-screen option is there on another format, meaning there was nothing stopping it on PC of course (I'm looking at you Resident Evil 5 besides money/time).
Damn.
/rant

You have my sword.

What would it take to bully Snowblind into including it?

 

[SnowblindTina]

It'd be cool to have completely new character models as DLC.

I'll take that as a note back to the team, but just for any newcomers... you can modify your face, hair, eye color, hair color...

I personally like to play as Farin, but his default look is a little older... a little more craggy.

I go in and give him a younger face, hazel eyes, and dirty blond braids.... what that says about me, I'm not entirely sure.

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

I'll take that as a note back to the team, but just for any newcomers... you can modify your face, hair, eye color, hair color...

I personally like to play as Farin, but his default look is a little older... a little more craggy.

I go in and give him a younger face, hazel eyes, and dirty blond braids.... what that says about me, I'm not entirely sure.

It says you like sexy dorfs.

This is good news though, I didn't gather that you could change each character's appearance.

 

[FunkyPajamas]

I want a female dwarf!

 

[Lord Phol]

Terrible news about no split-screen co-op on PC, I thought at first it was anticipated to be in the game for every version?
What the hell, even crappy Dungeon Siege III has it!
I LOVE Snowblind Studios' PS2 games, awesome memories, and I'm very sad to say this game just went from hype hype hype day1 to NO BUY, waiting for console skus to hit the £14 spot.

rant:
Guys at Snowblind Studios, it's almost 2012, a lot has changed and plenty of people have their gaming pc/htpc hooked up to their TV playing on a comfy couch... It's even worse when the split-screen option is there on another format, meaning there was nothing stopping it on PC of course (I'm looking at you Resident Evil 5 besides money/time).
Damn.
/rant

Why would you play split-screen co-op on a PC?
That's what consoles are for, sorry for you missing out on what looks like a great game.

 

[sh4mike]

Item durability?

I can't think of a single game where durability made the game more fun. It just adds tedious micromanagement.

 

[SnowblindTina]

I want a female dwarf!

Well, in The Lord of the Rings, there is a quote that says that female Dwarves, look, sound, and dress so alike to male Dwarves that others can't tell them apart. After all...even female Dwarves have beards...

I'm not saying Farin is a female Dwarf. But I am saying it wouldn't be hard for you to pretend on your side.

 

[rSpooky]

the demo i played at gamescom was great, and really sold me on this . Will get. Cannot wait to play coop with my wife

 

[Mikeside]

Why would you play split-screen co-op on a PC?
That's what consoles are for, sorry for you missing out on what looks like a great game.

That's such a stupid thing to say
"why would you want a feature on PC that consoles have - just get a different version!!"

There's no real reason they couldn't have put split screen on the PC version - my PC plays on the same TV as my consoles, except it's vastly superior in terms of hardware and (in my opinion) Steam is a much better online system where more of my friends are.
Why should I have to downgrade to the xbox version where I have to pay for the online and it's running on 6 year old hardware?

That said, I'll still buy the PC version at some point, but I really do wish I had the opportunity to play split screen with buddies on it

 

[OrangeYouGlad]

Item durability?

I can't think of a single game where durability made the game more fun. It just adds tedious micromanagement.

http://i.imgur.com/kNCcF.png[IMG][/QUOTE]
Hrmm, wondering how its balanced and if you can self-repair or not.

 

[Dash Kappei]

Why would you play split-screen co-op on a PC?
That's what consoles are for, sorry for you missing out on what looks like a great game.

What
I can't even begin to answer such a stupid question sorry, but I have my pc and consoles hooked up to the same tv (well, to a 1080p projector) and I play on PC with the xbox controller, why would I want to fork out more money to play the game on inferior hardware and settle for an inferior experience?
As I've said, now I'll wait for a Steam sale or I'll get the console version when it hits bomba-bin prices.

 

[SnowblindTina]

Hey folks,

Today at 2:10pm PT (So about an hour and a half from now) we'll be having a live stream chat with four of our devs, who will be live playing our Event Demo (Fornost, as seen at E3 and Comic-Con).

It is our first ever live-stream, and I'm sure we'll have technical issues (and we don't have the best equipment) but we wanted to give you guys a chance to ask devs questions directly, just as though you were at one of those industry events.

http://www.livestream.com/wbgames

Join us if you have some time. We'll try to show off the game experience, and also answer as many questions as we can!

 

[FunkyPajamas]

Well, in The Lord of the Rings, there is a quote that says that female Dwarves, look, sound, and dress so alike to male Dwarves that others can't tell them apart. After all...even female Dwarves have beards...

I'm not saying Farin is a female Dwarf. But I am saying it wouldn't be hard for you to pretend on your side.

Ohhh yes, pretending. Om nom nom. I just hope I can find some pretty robes for him.

Thanks for the heads up on the dev roundtable.

 

[SnowblindTina]

New Short Vignette style Trailer up today: Bosses Vignette.

Additionally:
MSNBC just put up a preview:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/44849949#44849949

 

[SnowblindTina]

Three interactive trailers went out this week if you guys want to take a look. They do use Quicktime plugins, and they do take a while to load, but it'll give you a good idea of the environments.

 

[piratepwnsninja]

Any word on when Steam pre-orders will be available?