Episode 020: Dev Interview - Orion

Greetings and Happy Holidays to everyone! We have a very special 20th episode for you today. Alberos and I sat down with Orion, a Senior Content Designer at Turbine. Many thanks to Orion for taking an hour out of his Chritmas vacation time to chat with us. There is a lot of great information in the interview, which can be found on the Zune Marketplace, iTunes, and can be direct downloaded from the bar to the right once the feed has updated. Orion covers a wide variety of topics, from behind the scenes at the Turbine offices and discussing a lot of the fundamental design decisions in the games to reminding us about the first Rule of Isengard: Don't Talk About Isengard. Find out about the Man Behind the Gorilla and get some insight as to what's in store for LOTRO in the new year.



I suppose here, he's the man in FRONT of the gorrila.

We hope you all enjoy the interview and have a wonderful rest of 2009! LOTROCast is going on a short hiatus until mid-January to give us both a chance to spend some time with our families and ring in the new year, but we will be posting LoreCasts between now and then (plus our contest winner on January 1st! See below for details). If you want something else to tide you over, I would recommend checking out Orion's extensive series of blogs at his my.Lotro.

LOTROCast Contest Video

If you're interested in the LOTROCast Siege of Mirkwood Screenshot Contest, check this video out on the LOTROCast YouTube Channel!

Wanna Win Siege of Mirkwood?

LOTROCast: The Lord of the Rings Online Podcast is pleased to announce a contest for all members of the LOTRO Community! You can find LOTROCast online at http://www.lotrocast.com/, on the Zune Marketplace, and on iTunes.

With the release of Siege of Mirkwood, there has never been a better time to experience Middle-earth through Lord of the Rings Online (indeed, if you haven't yet had a chance to pick up SoM, check out what you're missing!). SoM brought with it the conclusion of Moria's epic storyline, the robust new Skirmish System, and, of course, allows you to take the fight right to the Enemy in Mirkwood.

Haven't upgraded yet? LOTROCast is holding an 'upgrade' contest from December 17th to Dec. 31st and, thanks to the good folks at Turbine, may be able to upgrade your experience! We hold two product keys for Siege of Mirkwood and want to give them away. In addition, both of our winners will join us to introduce a future episode of LOTROCast: The Lord of the Rings Online Podcast.

So how do you get a piece of the action?

One of the main themes of LOTROCast: The Lord of the Rings Online Podcast is that of exploring the lands of Middle-earth. Because of this, we are holding a screenshot contest. There are two categories (the winner of each category will win the product key).

Category 1) Locations. We are looking for the best/most creative screenshot of a location in Middle-earth. Perhaps there is a region you particularly love, a favorite fishing spot, or a little nook that you like to park at for a few minutes just to enjoy the view. Whatever it is, we want to see it!

Category 2) Characters. We are looking for screenshots of your favorite player or NPC. Whether it's a toon with a particularly creative outfit, or maybe it's a boss that you have particularly fond memories of defeating. Maybe it's just a quest-giver who sent you out on a particularly enjoyable part of your journey. Regardless of your choice, we'd love to see it!

In order to enter, send us an email at LOTROCast@gmail.com (we will NOT spam you) with the subject line "Siege of Mirkwood Contest," the picture saved as an attachment between Dec. 17th Dec. 31st, and the following information:

Preferred (in-game) Name:
Server (if you want):
Entry Category:
A sentence of two about WHY this picture is so meaningful:

Please send a separate email for each entry!
_______________

We will announce the winners on New Years Day and will compile all the submissions into a nice video slide-show to put on our YouTube channel. you are allowed to submit as many screenshots in as many categories as you want as long as each screenshot is in it's own email. Since the prizes for both categories are the same, you can only win one but submitting to both can up your chances of winning!

To Recap:

From December 17th to December 31st, send us an email at LOTROCast@gmail.com with a screenshot that fits one of the two categories with the required information and wait until January 1st to see if you'll be ringing in the New Year in Mirkwood! In addition, our winners will join Alberos and Moormur to introduce a future episode of LOTROCast: The Lord of the Rings Online Podcast. To see some of the great changes that came with Siege of Mirkwood, head here! Remember, because we are giving away SoM keys, you must already have Shadows of Angmar and Mines of Moria. If you don't yet, you can head over to the Turbine Store and pick them up. This is NOT the Adventurer's Pack. I've learned through writing this up that I can't spell "category" very well.

If you have any questions about the contest, don't hesitate to drop us a line at LOTROCast@gmail.com.

LoreCast 004: The Elves of Mirkwood

Greetings and salutations from Middle-earth!

Today's LoreCast comes from Moormur and its about the Elves of Mirkwood. I apologize for the audio quality...the microphone kept cutting out each time I recorded [maybe it's time to get a new one ;-)]. The music for this mini-cast is not from Turbine's or Howard Shore's soundtracks for their respective works, but from the Middle-earth Album by Glass Hammer.

As always, you can contact us at LOTROCast@Gmail.com.

Episode 019: Mirkwood Unleashed Shownotes

Greetings, listeners! After a week of delay, I'm happy to bring you the newest episode of LOTROCast: The Lord of the Rings Online Podcast! You can find us on the Zune Marketplace, iTunes, and from the download bar to the right once the feed updates. As always, feel free to contact us at LOTROCast@gmail.com. We'd love to hear what you have to say!

This episode doesn't really have much in the way of shownotes...it's really mostly a narrative of our experiences in Mirkwood so far.

The big note is that we will be hosting an interview with Orion, the Turbine Developer and we would love to hear your questions!

See you in Middle-earth,

Moormur

LOTROCast To Interview Orion

Greetings, fellow members of the LOTRO Community! I'm pleased to announce that LOTROCast will be continuing our series of Developer Interviews with "Orion," a member of the Lord of the Rings Online team from Turbine. We are opening up the interview questions to the community, so if you have a question you would like to ask Orion, post it in the comments section below! I can't promise all the questions will be asked and answered, but we will consider each and every one! Please post your questions by Dec. 20th to be considered.

See you in Middle-earth,

Moormur

Apologies and Good News!

First, I suppose an apology is in order for my dropping off the face of the Earth for two weeks. The truth is that we recorded our episode on time last week, but when I went to edit it (twice) the program crashed right as I was exporting (twice). I tried a third time, this time saving my progress at the end...and of course the program crashed as I was saving it. In other words, I've edited this program three seperate times and am pretty sick of listening to it, lol. It's kinda like when you're working on a Word Document that vanishes just as you finish it because it hasn't been saved. Times three. I'll get the episode out the door in another day or two, I promise :-)

Now for the good news!

We're going to be interviewing Orion from Turbine next week! Look for details in the following post!

See you in Middle-earth,

Moormur

Announcing LOTROCast Gear!

Alberos and I put a lot of time and effort into making out Podcast what it is. For a few months now, I've had some people ask how they can support LOTROCast. Well, here's your chance!

The LOTROCast Gear Store!

The store seems like a nice happy medium...listeners can get a nice t-shirt of sweater (or a Flip if you really want a LOTROCast video camera...), and Alberos and I make a few dollars on the sales. I've put together a collection of about a dozen items in the store for you to peruse. Check it out and let me know what you think! If there is an item you want to see, let me know...I've only put out a few of the many options. If this goes over well, I have a couple of other designs that I haven't put out that I would love to trot out.

See you in Middle-earth,

Moormur

LoreCast 003: Dol Goldur

In honor of the release today of Siege of Mirkwood, Alberos delves into the history behind that great bastion of the enemy...

Dol Goldur.

You can find it on LOTROCast's podcast feed on iTunes or the Zune Marketplace, and you can directly download the

Servers Live!

Siege of Mirkwood is now live on all LOTRO Servers!

That is all.

'Twas the Night Before Mirkwood...

Well, less than thirty minutes to go out here until Dec. 1st. Sure, the servers won't be up again with Mirkwood until later today, but this dwarf is heading off for the night. I look forward to Siege of Mirkwood and the changes it will bring.

See you on the other side (of the Anduin),

Moormur

Episode 018 - Alpha Beta Mirkwood

Greetings! It is episode time in the land of LOTROCast! This episode, as always, can be found at iTunes, the Zune Marketplace, and from the episode downloads toolbar to the right (once the feed has updated).

I will post shownotes later this week, but now it is Thanksgiving here in the US and I will be spending some time with my family.

See you in Middle-earth, (I recently found out the earth should not be capitalized in that statement)

Moormur

Episode Push Back

Greetings, fellow LOTROers! I come bearing the news that we will be pushing back the release of this week's episode most likely by one day. We are in our complete pre-Thanksgiving rush and I will not have a chance to edit and get the show out the door until either late Wednesday or, more likely, on Thursday. I WILL get it out by Thursday. Sorry for the delay!

See you in Middle-Earth,

Moormur

Siege of Mirkwood Video Preview, Part 2

Part 2 of the SoM video preview is live! You can find it here, on the LOTROCast YouTube Channel.

Part two covers the Trouble in Tuckborough instance with a bit more detail.

I'd like to open up to the floor for requests...if you have a specific thing in game you want me to track down and tape, let me know!

See you in Middle-Earth,

Moo

Siege of Mirkwood Video Preview, Part One

Greetings, everyone!

I'm just gonna keep piling on stuff this week until I get sick of it, hope you don't mind!

This time, we're giving you an exclusive look at Siege of Mirkwood, specifically the Skirmish System. In this video, part one, not too much skirmishing actually happens, but Moormur demonstrates some of the features of the system. Check it out here, on the LOTROCast YouTube channel. Keep your eyes open for future footage; I've already taken 40 minutes of video (don't worry, I'll condense stuff) so there is plenty to share!

See you in Middle-Earth,

Moormur

LoreCast 002 - Gollum

My, what a flurry of activity we all are today!

LoreCast number two is now live on the LOTROCast feed. In this episode, Alberos takes on one of the more undersung 'heroes' of the Lord of the Rings Saga, Gollum.

You can find it on iTunes, the Zune Marketplace, and you can direct download the episode using the links to the right.

Enjoy!

Moo

Beta NDA Lifted

I have a confession to make: I've been in the SoM Beta since the start of October.

It's been quite an adventure recording a podcast that is supposed to speculate on an expansion that I know all about :).

I would like to open myself up to any questions you may have about SoM. I will answer them as best I can. I have been primarily involved in Skirmishes (spent a LOT of time in Skirmishes) and spent some time in the new LL. I've run around Mirkwood proper, but haven't done much questing or raiding.

Also, look for some videos to hit the LOTRO YouTube channel over the next few days, starting today with the LONG promised Nexus of Middle-Earth video.

See you in Mirkwood,

Moormur

LOTROCast on Twitter

Just a quick note to let everyone know that LOTROCast is now on Twitter!

Just head to http://twitter.com/lotrocast to look us up! I don't know just how I will integrate twitter into the whole thing, but sign up...you never know.

Episode 017 Music

I have gotten several inquiries, both on the website and over the LOTROCast@gmail.com email address asking for more info on the song that plays at the start of the episode, so I'm making a post here to answer the question for everyone.

The song used is called "The Passing of the Elves." It is from the Fellowship of the Rings Complete Soundtrack, a three disk set. If you love the music from the films, I would highly recommend the set. There is one for each of the films. During the movie, it is heard during the Extended Edition of FOTR when Sam and Frodo are hunkering down for the night on the way out of the Shire and they hear/see elves in the distance.

If you ever have questions about the show (or about whatever; life, liberty, the pursuit of LOTRO) feel free to send me an email at LOTROCast@gmail.com.

See you in Middle-Earth,

Moo

Episode 017: Hayoo Shownotes

Welcome to episode 017 of LOTROCast: The Lord of the Rings Online Podcast! You can find the episode on the Zune Marketplace, iTunes, and you can direct download the episode from the toolbar on the right once it updates. We would love it if you left us a review on iTunes! We value your feedback and would appreciate if you took a moment to do that.

There is a TON of information in this episode.

If you are a new player, or a returning player coming back for the welcome back weekend…welcome back! You can find all the info you need about the special offers for Siege of Mirkwood here.

If you haven’t gotten a chance to see the “Lieutenant of Dol Goldur” trailer for Siege of Mirkwood, check it out here.

Orion details his work on the ‘Moments of Inspiration’ in his blog, found here.

Special thanks to Jerry over at DDOCast for digging up this piece on the ongoing Turbine/Atari lawsuit. It is a court document, framed certainly from a Turbine centric bias, that explains the whole dilemma.

If you want to catch up on your Zombie Columbus (dev diaries, that is), you can find one on Rewards in Skirmishes here, and one on Accessability of Skirmishes here.

Many special thanks to Hayoo for joining us! Both Alberos and I genuinely enjoyed the discussion. You can see some of Hayoo’s ideas (and spectacular flash maps) at his website, Visions of the Ring. You can also check out his Hall of Fame thread on the Tavern Revelries system right here.

An excellent outline to the Warden class can be found here.

We wish Jaxom92, the blogger at the Middle-Earth Adventurer, the best of luck in Middle-Earth. I will never forget the thrill of excitement when I checked his blog and saw “LOTROCast” for the first time on someone else’s website, only to see that Tony over at MMeOw had also been talking about it. Thank you Jaxom for your contributions and wanderings, and may your journey take you where it will.

If you would like to take a moment to read over Moormur’s screenplay for Kaleidoscope, based on the short story by Ray Bradbury (found in his compendium “The Illustrated Man” if you are interested in seeing the original), you can download the PDF here. The draft has been edited specifically for listeners of LOTROCast, and certain personal information on the writer has been removed. If you are interested in finding out more about the script and author, or would like a ‘normal’ version of the script to pass on to others, please contact Sean, A.K.A. Moormur, at LOTROCast@gmail.com.

Until next week’s LoreCast,
See you in Middle-Earth!
-Moo

Introducing LoreCast: Episode 001 - Ronald Dwale

Greetings, Listeners!

As you know, lore plays a hugely important part in Lord of the Rings and, subsequently, LOTRO. There are so many hidden gems and allusions to massive, intricate histories sprinkled around the game. Alberos and I wanted to take some time and share some of the topics of interest to us with all of you, so we created what we are now calling "LoreCasts." We'll be talking about a better name in the episode next week, but that's what we've got for now. The purpose of these LoreCasts is to produce short, 4-8 minute 'popcorn' podcasts that give you a taste of the story behind something in the world. We've got a couple of great topics lined up ranging from the Rangers to Gollum, and as always we are open to any suggetions you may have.

To kick off the series, we travel north from Hobbiton to Overhill, taking a left at Brockenborings and heading north into the very southernmost reaches of Evendim, to the farthest reachings of Hobbit dwellings. Living among these hobbits is a rather distinguished gentleman named Ronald Dwale. In this first LoreCast we take a look at Dwale and talk about just why he is such an important figure.

Enjoy!

See you in Middle-Earth,

Moormur

Episode 016: Rumblings Shownotes

Greetings, listeners! It is episode time again! You can find LOTROCast on the Zune Marketplace, iTunes, and you can directly download the episode from the toolbar on the right once it updates. We’d love it if you took a moment and rated us on iTunes!

Check out Hayoo’s most excellent flash map, The Hunt for the Ring, that masterfully interweaves the lore behind the early part of the Fellowship of the Ring and the game’s lore in a vivid visual manner. Check out some of Hayoo’s other works here.

Altaholic? There are others who share your affliction. Check out Project Altoholism at the Casual Stroll to Mordor, another excellent LOTRO podcast.

Try your luck in the LOTRO Lottery. Check out Turbine’s information about that here.

Part Two of the Developer Question and Answer feature was released recently. If you have not yet looked it over, you can find it here.

PvP your thing? Check out this video that came off the Russian servers of an event that Turbine has EXPLICETLY STATED AS ONCE IN A LIFETIME (meaning there are NO plans to bring this to the game, and NO, other countries do not have creeps running around all over the place). LOTROCast covered PvP very thoroughly back in the early run of the show, in Episode 004: PvP.

If you are running Windows 7, not only am I jealous but Turbine has some information for you. You can find that here.

Two developer diaries on Skirmishes have been released since our previous episode. One is on the topic of randomization and scaling of the skirmishes, and one on the soldier system.

True to form, Turbine released a diary after our recording. Shame on you, Devs! We’ll cover the new dev diary, on the design of Mirkwood, in our episode coming up in a few weeks.

Orion put a spectacular amount of effort into explaining the changes coming to faction and reputation in his blog here.

Thanks to all of you who responded to our query on tiers! Check out the Wizzard of Azz’s blog over here.

Look out for the Lore Mini-casts hitting the podcast starting next week. We’ve got a variety of great topics already lined up…can’t wait to get it going!

See you in Middle-Earth,

Moormur

Guest Writing

Hello, listeners!

Episode 16 is on its way and will be live tomorrow.

In the meantime, I have tried my hand at some guest blogging. For the sake of keeping the website here 'clean,' I've kept commentary on here to a minimum. That doesn't mean I don't have opinions :-)

Head over to the excellent LOTRO Blog MMeOw to check out the first of a few pieces I wrote. More will follow over the next few weeks on various MMO blogs.

Thanks to Tony for posting it up!

See you all tomorrow,

Moo

Episode 015: Developer Diaries and the End of Days Shownotes

Hello, all!

Episode 015 of LOTROCast is now live. You can find us on the Zune Marketplace, iTunes, and you will be able to direct download the episode from the toolbar on the right once it has updated.

In this episode of LOTROCast: The Lord of the Rings Online Podcast, discussion between hosts Alberos and Moormur starts off talking about the ins and outs of Siege of Mirkwood Developer Diaries, but twists and turns its way past speculation on future expansions until it rests on talk about the End of Days in Middle Earth.

Turbine is sponsoring a Pumpkin Carving contest! If you want to give it a shot, Turbine has all sorts of information on the contest here.

You can see a highly entertaining collection of 'rejected pumpkin designs' here.

The fall festival, Harvestmath, is live on the servers and will run for a few weeks. Explore what the festival has to offer, but if you want a basic list of events check out this link.

There are a ton of Developer Diaries out right now, including one that snuck in after we recorded.

You can find links to the dev diaries on Mounts, Skirmishes, and Shared Vault space in an earlier LOTROCast set of shownotes here.

The newer dev diaries are a lengthy one about Legendary Items, and two more about Skirmishes; one covering how the skirmishes are meant to be story driven, and one about the challenges and technology behind scaleable instances. I'm sure we'll talk about the new diary next episode...only to be pre-empted yet again by another new dev diary :-).

On a side note, stay tuned for an exciting little development we're bringing to LOTROCast in the next week or so.

New Episode Release Date

Hey, all. Sorry again for the delay. The new episode will go live as soon as I get it up on Saturday morning.

Again, sorry for the delay.

Moo

One Day Delay

Just quick note that due to travel, LOTROCast will have a one day delay this week. It will come out on Thursday, with Friday being the absolute latest.

Sorry about the delay!

Moo

Remember: TWO EPISODES Were Released Today

Just a reminder to everyone that we released BOTH episode 13 and 14 today. I've noticed about half as many people have downloaded Episode 13 than 14, which is a shame because Episode 13 is the one with the real show. Episode 14 is just a mini-cast with info about Siege of Mirkwood. So don't forget! Head over to Zune, iTunes, or whatever and check out both episodes!

That is all.

Episode 14 – Siege of Mirkwood Update

Hey there! So…imagine my surprise when I check the LOTRO website real quick on my way out the door Tuesday morning after we had recorded a solid show the night before only to find that Turbine had opened up some of the news floodgates (perfectly timed for non-inclusion in Episode 13). Alberos and I decided the best course of action was to make a mini-cast and cover the info that came out. So here you have it: Episode 14, a Siege of Mirkwood Mini-Cast.

You can see Turbine’s official announcements on the release date and pricing plans for Siege of Mirkwood here.

You can check out the three dev diaries we covered by following there links: mounts, shared vault space, and skirmishes.

Enjoy and see you in two weeks!

Episode 13 – The Lone Lands Shownotes

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to LOTROCast: The Lord of the Rings Online Podcast! A quick note before I move into the rest of the shownotes…due to the fact that we recorded episode 13 on Monday, there really was no news to report. Little did we know that the very next day, Turbine would dump a huge amount of information on us. In response, we recorded a short mini-cast to cover the news from Tuesday. That mini-cast is Episode 14, and is also available right now.

You can find LOTROCast on the Zune Marketplace, on iTunes, and you can direct download them from the toolbar on the right hand side of this website.

Check out the Dragon Snacks’ list of games to play in LOTRO…there’s really something for everyone.

Check out the adventures of Pobo, one BAAAAD hobbit, by following this link.

There are a LOT of changes happening in the Lone Lands in the near future. Check out what Orion, one of the developers for the LOTRO team, has to say about the revamping on this area in his blog. WARNING….be prepared to read A LOT of text if you want to get all the way caught up. The blog entries we discussed start here.

Make sure you check out Episode 14 of LOTROCast, also available today, to find out about some of the details coming in Siege of Mirkwood.

Introducing the Galactic Holofeed

Greetings, all!

Moormur here just letting you know that the first episode of the Galactic Holofeed, our podcast covering the Star Wars: The Old Repbulic MMO comming up from Bioware, has been released. You can check it out at www.HOLOFEED.com. If you are interested, it should hold you over until the next LOTROCast episode on this Wednesday. I want to re-iterate that the two podcasts are not meant to replace each other...they just cater to different interests of mine. I am drawn to SW:TOR for the same reasons I was drawn to LOTRO...I love the story behind the game. I have no plans on leaving LOTRO behind, even when SW:TOR comes out.

See you in Middle-Earth!

Moormur

Episode 012: The Journey

Welcome back to LOTROCast! Boy do we have a BIG show for you today. It was one of the most fun to put together and I hope you enjoy the fruits of our labors.

In this content episode, we discuss the upcoming LOTRO Expansion and examine what it means to 'Journey' through Middle-Earth with guests Ivy and Paperbard.

You can find episode 012 on iTunes, the Zune Marketplace, and you can direct download using the toolbar to the right.

You can see LOTROCast's YouTube channel right over here, and you can check out Bain Ennorath by following this link.

You can find the SPECTACULAR website and blog The Road Goes Ever On by following this link.

You can join in on the discussion on the Bounty System at another excelent LOTRO blog, The LOTRO Chronicles. You can find the specific post here.

You can read about Atari's response to Turbine's lawsuit in this article. I'm not sure how much more we will follow it in the show, to be honest...it seems like it will quickly degenerate into a finger-pointing fight.

Fun.

You can read Banaticus' thoughts on 'craft-a-holics' right here. I certainly wish I had his self control...

There is TONS of information about the upcoming expansion around the internet. Some great starting points are the official (somewhat lame, but I suppose that's what teasers are for) Teaser Site here and the LOTRO Official Forums here. The blogs I have listed to the right also have some pretty in-depth coverage of the expansion and we will cover it in plenty of detail between now and launch.

Finally, as mentioned in the show, if you are interested in helping out with a potential new podcast project in ADDITION TO LOTROCast (not instead of, at least for me) centered on Star Wars: The Old Republic, please contact me at LOTROCast@gmail.com.

It's Gonna Be A Big One!

Hey, all!

I just put the final touch on tommorow's episode and I was so excited to see all that we managed to stuff into that episode that I just had to come on here and let you know that thhe next episode is going to be awesome. We've got some great discussion, some great content, some wonderful guests. This has GOT to be the best one yet, no small thanks to Alberos who has been incredible to work with. Get your MP3 players ready, 'cause this one clocks in at one and a half hours.

See you tomorrow!

Moormur

New Video Posted on YouTube

Hey, all!

Those of you who have subscribed to the LOTROCast channel over at YouTube will see that I posted a new video...you can also just follow the link here to find it.

In the spirit of Chicken Runs from Episode 11, I decided to put up this video. It was submitted by Obsidia from over on the Snowborne serverin Europe of a chicken run the Element Zero kin put on.

Enjoy!

If you have a LOTRO video you would like included on the channel, don't hesitate to let me know!

Moormur

LOTROCast Episode 011 - We're Back! Shownotes

Welcome back to LOTROCast! We are up and going! Thank you all for sticking with us through the past few months…we are now back on our normal production schedule.

You can access the episode on iTunes, the Zune Marketplace, and directly download it from right here on the LOTROCast website using the toolbar to the right.

To see some pics of Moo’s summer, feel free to check out the mini-album here.

To find the adventures of Coco the Chicken, follow this link.

Check out some of the details of Turbine’s lawsuit against Atari here.

Keep your eyes open for more to come from LOTROCast now that we are back on the two week production cycle.

...And we're back!

Hey, all!

New episode is in production. :-) Sorry about the huge delay, but we will be on track again here reaaaaly soon.

-Moo

As Promised...A Delay

Hey, all! I am writing this at about 9:30 PM...I just finished work for the day. Like I said, the summer time is the most busy for me. I am in the middle of week of 17+ hour workdays and LOTRO, sadly, is the last thing on my mind (this is the first time I have been at my computer for 2 weeks). I am pushing back the episode one week so I can get caught up on all the news (it seems we have a book to play with!). I would rather delay a week and release something of quality than get something out next week.

Bear with us! We'll be back to our regular schedule soon!

Moormur

Episode 010 - Interlude Shownotes

Hello, everyone!



Hope you are all enjoying the Summer air.



In this episode, we introduce Alberos of the Arkenstone server as a cohost. Let me know what you think of our little Dynamic Duo.



To find out more about what Book 8 has in store for crafters, check out this Dev Diary.



Make sure you check out the LOTROCast YouTube channel...subscribe to keep up to date with hour VideoCasts and suppliments.



If you are on Arkenstone, make sure you head over to the Arkenstone Alliance and check out this new website.



Hope everyone has a great few weeks. We'll see you in July!

Scavenger Hunt on Arkenstone!

Thonos, leader of the Wizards of Old is putting on a Scavenger Hunt on Arkenstone to celebrate the kin's anniversary on Monday, June 15th. There will be prizes for the winners: 1st is 1g, 2nd is 500s, 3rd is 250s, 4th is 125s, and 5th is 50s. If you are on Arkenstone, keep your dial tuned to the /glff for more information as the date approaches or contact Thonos if you have any questions.

LOTRO Promo on YouTube

Hey, all!

I put together a little 50 second promo for LOTROCast on YouTube. You can find it here, on the new LOTROCast channel. Subscribe to the channel and keep up to date on the latest videocasts (hint hint) that may be appearing mysteriously in the near future. Also, feel free to pass on the link to friends who may be interested!



See you in Middle-Earth,

Moormur

Episode 009 Multiplayer, Part II of III Shownotes

Sorry for the delay in this episode (and the shownotes...)

In Episode 009, we take a look at a middle-range kinship that mixes casual and hardcore elements. We also revisit the LOTRO Workbench and introduce a new segment.

Announcing Middle-Earth through My Eyes

Have you ever experienced something in-game that made you stop afterwards and go..."Wow!" If so, I want to hear about it! Record yourself talking about it in an audio clip no longer than 3 mintes and send it to LOTROCast@GMAIL.com. Do not include any music and make sure the last words you say are "And that's Middle-Earth through my eyes." Understand if I don't include your submission it is absolutely nothing personal :-).

The Lonely Mountain Band is promising a good time at Weatherstock this Friday, June 5th. Make sure you head over to Landroval and check it out! If you want more info, take a look here.

Also, make sure you take a look at the Book 8 PRELIMENARY patch notes.

In the next episode we will be finishing the series and meeting with a more 'hardcore' kinship member. See you in a week!

Back in Wisconsin, Back in Production

Hey, all! The trip to Independence, MO was a success and I am safe and sound back in WI. The episode is in production and should be up on Monday. There is a LOT of great new content to go over, so stay tuned!

New Episode Moved Back :-\

Yeah, so I know I promised the new episode a few days early but (and I'm gonna be brutally honest here) I have had so much fun playing my new Captain, I didn't get finished recording/editing it before I left for my trip down to Missouri. Never fear, as soon as I get back home, I will finish the episode and get it out, probably this Saturday or Sunday. I know you are all waiting with baited breath. /sarcasm.

On a side note, I am officially jealous of any of you who live in Independence. Square Pizza = Best Pizza Ever (not sarcasm).

Have a nice week,

Moormur

Episode 009 Release Moved Up

Hello, all!

Hope you enjoyed Episode 008. It was a lot of fun to make!

Usually when I announce a rescheduling for an episode, it means I'm pushing it back. This time, though, I'm pulling it forward. Next Wednesday, I will be out in Sandusky, Ohio and nowhere near my computer so instead of pushing everything back a week, I figure I will just bring it forward. I'll keep you updated if anything changes.

In the meantime, feel free to wail on my fighter at http://moormur.mybrute.com.

Moormur

Episode 008: Dev Interview - Berephon

Its episode time again! As usual, you can find the latest episode on iTunes, the Zune Marketplace, and right here, direct downloaded from the sidebar to the right. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about LOTROCast, feel free to email us at LOTROCast@gmail.com.

This episode is another long one, clocking in at just over 50 minutes. I didn't set out to make it that long, but time has a way of getting away from you and before I know it I had a big episode on my hands. I feel it is 50 minutes of good content, though. In this episode we interview Johathan ‘Berephon’ Rudder, a member of the LOTRO Team in charge of lore, names, copy editing, and all sorts of behind the scenes stuff. In addition, we introduce a new segment called the LOTRO Workbench, hosted by Alberos from the Arkenstone server. PLEASE let us know what you think about the new segment, if you would like to see more similar segments, etc.

Turbine is hosting a stress test of the Bullroarer server on Thursday, May 14th. Devs will be in-game to interact with and prizes will be given out during the event. More information can be found here.

You can find more info about the Gray Council of Arnor’s birthday bash, check out the thread on the official forums here.

Make sure you take some time and view Raymiond’s film “To Defend and Uphold.” You can find more information on the forums here.

The combat photos found here are beyond breathtaking. The eye of the dead pale-folk in the bottom right corner of one of the second sec of pictures is just creepy….

Johanthan ‘Berephon’ Rudder is an accomplished author. His books have been well received and reviewed by readers. You can find more information about the books here.

You can find My.Lotro here and of course, you can follow my page here. Make sure you scroll down and check out the latest adventures of Coco the Chicken.

You can find the 'hidden nuggets' thread right here. If you find your own easter egg, feel free to add it!

In the next episode, I am looking to finish the series I began with episode 007 and talk about what ‘hardcore’ raiders get out of the game. Stay tuned for that in two weeks!

Until then, see you in Middle-Earth,

Moormur

Episode 007 – Multiplayer Part One

Hello everyone! Hope this episode will find you well. Hope also you enjoyed the little callback to the pilot :) I've come up with a few of those little cold opening things lines up for the next few episodes.

You can find this episode on BOTH feeds at iTunes and the Zune Marketplace (NOTE: THE EPISODES ON THE OLD FEEDS HAVE A BRIEF MESSAGE AT THE START THAT THE NEW FEEDS DO NOT HAVE. USE THIS TO TELL THEM APART) and you can direct download them from the toolbar on the right or by following this link. This will be the final episode to air on the old Switchpod feeds before we convert entirely to the new CyberEars feed.

This episode is part one of a two part series examining what "multiplayer" means to different people in Lord of the Rings Online. We catch up with Swifty from Arkenstone and discuss some of the more social-oriented aspects of LOTRO. In the next episode in the series (scheduled for late May) we will take a look at a raiding kin to get some different perspectives on the subject.

In this episode, we also take a close look at the goings on in the real world. Turbine has been very active for the 2nd Birthday for LOTRO. They have released a lot of interesting tidbits that you can read about here.

Over on the Arkenstone observer, some players are trying to set up an all-captain Turtle raid. Get some more information here.

The Middle-Earth Revue will be holding it’s Spring (and first ever) concert next Thursday, May 7th. For more details, follow this link.

To read the new issue of the Arkenstone Observer, click here. To see some of the other works by Swifty, check out this link.

Don’t forget to submit your questions for the Berephon interview! Submissions are due by Midnight PST, April 30th.

DDOCast Shoutout

Hello, eveyone!

In the latest episode of DDOCast, LOTROCast got a shoutout! DDO and LOTRO are very closely related games, not just because Turbine makes both of them. I've had a chance to try out both games and both certainly have their strongpoints. I know a lot of LOTRO players enjoy DDO so if you haven't yet had a chance to listen to DDOCast yet, now is as good a time as any. Unlike me, he has a monopoly on the game podcast industry :) They do some pretty nifty stuff over there including some very exclusive content. He gives us a shoutout in his recent episode so make sure you check it out on Zune Marketplace, iTunes, or just point your browser to www.DDOCast.com.

LOTROCast Developer Interview Series Continues!

Hello, all!

I am pleased to announce that I will be continuing my developer interview series with a chat with Berephon, the resident 'lore-monkey' and name maker at Turbine.

If you have ever had a question about lore integration, thought processes behind areas, or just wondered what REALLY happened to the Cat Lady submit your questions here or email them to LOTROCast at LOTROCast@gmail.com before Sunday, May 3rd. I cannot promise that every questions will be answered but I will consider each question that is submitted.

If you missed the first Dev Interview with Rowan, the live producer of LOTRO, you can get caught up here.

The interview episode will be the Early May episode, not this immidiately next episode.

Phase 1 Complete

Hello, all!

I know it hasn't been long since my last post, but I just wanted to let everyone know that phase one of the podcast migration is complete. You may notice that I have a different RSS Feed listed at the top of the page...THIS IS THE NEW LOTROCAST RSS FEED. If you are someone that uses a custom aggregator to collect your RSS feeds, please go ahead and replace the old feed with the new one.

I know that a lot of people would rather not bother with RSS feeds and like to direct download episodes. Well, good news! I have put in a new gadget that lets you direct download the five most recent episodes right from the toolbar! On the right side of the page, you should see a gadget for direct downloads! It will update automatically. It will only show the 5 most recent episodes, so just be aware of that.

Anyway, all my files are now migrated to CyberEars. I have submitted the feeds to both iTunes and Zune, so I will keep you abrest of the of that situation. Once the new feeds are up, I will ask you to subscribe to those feeds. You will be able to tell the difference because I will be releasing an announcement ONLY on the feeds that will be discontinued and deleted. ONLY the podcast feeds that has the announcement will be discontinued. I will make it as obvious as possible to identify the to-be-discontinued feeds.

If there are any questions, feel free to ask email me and ask me.

Thanks for your understanding,

Moormur

Big Changes Coming to LOTROCast!

Hello, everyone!

Hope you are all enjoying Episode 06. My numbers certainly show you are. Thanks to you guys, LOTROCast has become the number one LOTRO related podcast on iTunes (the one about Secrets of LOTR I don’t count, as it is not about LOTRO but for whatever reason is lumped in there). I am so incredibly grateful that you guys have given me a chance and I look forward to many months of quality content.

To that end, I have taken a sponsorship deal of sorts with the good people at CyberEars.com they have agreed to host my podcast AND pay for a new domain name. If you want more information on them, head over to CyberEars.com. I found their user interface easy to use and their service top notch. If you ever wanted to try out podcasting, I would recommend checking them out. This DOES NOT mean that I will be singing CyberEars’ praises at the start of all my episodes (it’s not THAT kind of sponsorship) but understand that I am grateful that the 50-odd dollars a month I would be paying by the end of the year using my current service is taken care of.

What does this all mean?

Well, most importantly, you will no longer be able to access the old Podcast Feed. If you are currently subscribed over iTunes, Zune Marketplace, or some other means, understand that THOSE FEEDS WILL NO LONGER BE ACTIVE starting in May. I may post the very next episode on them to allow people to bridge, but after that I will request that iTunes, Zune, etc delete those feeds and add the new ones. TO EMPHASIZE: you will still be able to access the podcast as you would normally through iTunes or Zune...you will just have to subscribe to the new feed. I will let you all know when the new feed is up and running. If you are a person who direct downloads the episodes, you won’t have any troubles…this change shouldn’t affect you at all.

Also, we now have a domain name: www.LOTROCast.com. For now, it will lead you to this blogspot website. As the year unfolds, however, I may move to a proper website. For now, LOTROCast.blogspot.com is safe. I would love it if people would update their bookmarks and get in the habit of typing Lotrocast.com instead of the whole long thing so that if I DO move, it won’t be a big deal.

I am excited about the months ahead and some of the possibilities that are now open to me. I will strive to continue producing quality content that you are interested in. To that end, I always welcome suggestions, thoughts, ideas, and comments at my Lotrocast@gmail.com address.

See you in Middle-Earth!

Moormur

Episode 6 – New Players, Lore Masters, and Conventions…Oh My! Show Notes

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of LOTROCast! In this episode, we focus on New Player help and the Lore Master.

You can find the episode on iTunes, the Zune Marketplace, and direcly download it here.

Drop in and comment about a possible LOTROCon at the thread on the official forums here. If you are interested in helping out with the organization of the convention, drop me an email at Lotrocast@gmail.com.

In this week’s server rundown, we talk about a few interesting happenings on the servers.

On the Landroval server, there are a few things going on. First of all, check out Nathon’s idea for a bounty system for Role Players here.

Also, check out the Rohirrim’s fish derby and picnic event information here.

Over on Nimrodel, check out Pariah’s guide to the Battle of Lorien.

And make sure you check out Issue 8 of the Arkenstone Observer, handcrafted with love by Swifty of the Arkenstone server. You can find it here.

If you want to see how some Guardians have altered their UI, check out this thread.

Look for the next episode in two weeks. It is very likely the episode will focus on crafting in some way or another. It may also be the first ever LOTROCast Videocast! I’ll keep everyone updated as the weeks unfold.

Update Podcast Episode Shownotes

Hey everyone. I have gotten a multitude of emails from listeners wondering when the next episode will be coming out. I made an audio update to reach everyone so that everyone will be on the same page. You can find it here, or subscribe to the RSS feed here.

While you are waiting for the next episode of LOTROCast, check out some of the other LOTRO podcasts out there! I recommend the Ring Cast found here or the other Lotrocast found here.

In addition, there are several spectacular blog offerings out there. You can see some of my favorite in the ‘LOTRO Network’ sidebar. You can find a link to ‘Grinding to Valhalla’ here.

Vote for Turbine in the Escapist’s March Mayhem tournament. You can find more information here.

To find out more information about a potential convention of LOTROies, take a look at my blog post here. Feel free to join in the conversation here.

Check out the website of the most kickin’ card game out there, Munchkin, here.

Look for the next episode coming out Wednesday, April 15th.

Pushing Back One More Week :(

Hello, everyone! Hope this April Fool's day finds you tricked and bamboozled. If you haven't yet, I would check out the Gmail Autopilot and see how Google can now auto complete and respond to emails for you!

In non-joking news, I need to push back the episode one more week. I promise it will come out, never fear. I'm not abandoning LOTROCast when it is just getting started. But I do need another week to get everything in line. I've been pulling late nights the past few days to catch up after my surgery (which went fine). In addition, I am getting details on my new job. It's been pretty hectic. I haven't even got a chance to arrange my interviews yet (though I do have all my victi-- I mean subjects selected and contacted) so I need to push production of the next episode back another week. I'm sorry for the inconvenience this may cause, but I want to be able to deliver a quality product.

LOTROCON: Gauging Interest

Hello fellows!

A few of the other LOTRO commentators and I (I’m host of Moormur’s LOTROCast) have been kicking around the idea of a LOTROCON. This community is very strong and supportive. The one major step we haven’t taken yet is to have a mass meeting of some sort (at least, not that I know of). I’m not really asking for commitment as an idea such as LOTROCON is so abstract right now that it may never happen. The economy being what it is now, something like this would probably have to wait a while anyway, at least until the end of the year or into 2010. But you never know until you ask, so I thought I would. All we are doing right now is seeing if there is even interest in an event like this. There are other LOTR related conventions out there, but this would be one just for us (although we may desire to open it up to DDO and AC players, as well).

What would you do at LOTROCON?

This is a very fair question. The major concern I have is that if we are going to put on some sort of group meeting, it needs to be worthit. I would hate to be someone who flew in to wherever the convention would be only to spend a few hours at a dinner and mingling session, play live with some peeps, then hit the road. We have come up with a few ideas and we would like your input on them. In addition, if you have any sort of inkling of an idea, please list it so we can consider it. Please note that none of us have contacted Turbine in any way to see if they would be willing to take time out to participate in some of the events so any event including Turbine is PURE SPECULATION (although I hope that their commitment to their players so far is an indication of what may come…)

Some of the more specifically game and player centered ideas for events so far include:

-Player Meet and Greet
-Developer Panel Sessions
-Making of Middle-Earth
-Preview?
-Community Panel Sessions
-Gameplay Tournaments
-PvP
-Sparring
-Chicken Runs
-Scavenger Hunts, etc.
-Turbine could design some cosmetic items specifically for people who attend the convention (this would probably add to the cost of the convention)
-Battle of the Bards
-Symposiums on Tolkien

The main obstacle I think we face in creating some sort of LOTROCON is making it worth the trip. As it stands, I don’t think we are at that point yet in terms of events. But I feel that with input from the community here, we could get some interesting things cooking.

Some things for you to think about:

-Should we include non-Turbine LOTR games? If we can show that it will be worth their while, EA and Warner Brothers (who just gained the license) along with the hardware companies that frequent these types of things may be interested in sending reps and goodies.
-Should we include non-LOTR centered events? Communities that embrace LOTR, RPGs, Gaming in general have other interests. Comics? Card games? Or should we keep it specifically LOTR centered?
-Do we want to open this up to DDO and AC players? I know for a fact that DDO has a strong community. We may be able to add more variety to events if we include some of Turbine’s other games.

Like I said, these are only ideas. LOTROCON may never happen. But do any of these ideas sound interesting to you? I should note that if we have a dream of involving Turbine, we will need to hold the event in Boston, Massachusetts (in general), Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New York, New Hampshire, or perhaps Pennsylvania.

Anyway, let me know what people think. I have set up a spot on the Official Forums to discuss it publicly. You can find the link here.

See you in Middle-Earth,

Moormur
Host of Moormur’s LOTROCast
Lotrocast.blogspot.com

Schedule Push Back

Hey all!

Hope you are having a great week.

I am just writing to let everyone know that I need to pus my schedule back a week. I had a sudden medical issue develop (nothing serious, but one of those lovely cysts that takes a week of therapy to heal...) that requires my attention. I am pushing my production schedule back a week so I can have time to recover (plus I shudder to think about what kind of content I make under the influence of painkillers). Sorry for the disappointment, but I'm sure you all understand!

Moormur

Bards of a Feather Performance Video

Hello, everyone!

Hope you enjoyed Episode 04. I'm starting work now on Episode 05, to be released sometime in the first week of April (probably that Wednesday if I stick to my every-two-week-on-Wednesday schedule I seem to have carved out for myself).

Towards the start of Episode 04, we highlited the Bards of a Feather. I have put together an accompanying music video of Bards of a Feather, intersperesed with what I think are some of the most picturesque (and my personal favorite) areas of Middle Earth. You can find the video on YouTube here. Please note that it does have an HD version, so make sure you watch that to get the full effect :).

Let me know what you think!

Moo

Individual Episode MP3s

A few quick notes.

1. I recently retroedited the first few episode's IRC information (the information that displays when the episode plays like the title, author, etc.) to bring a bit more uniformity to the episodes. You may or may not need to redownload episodes. Either way they all display more information about the episode.

2. A few people have requested the individual episodes in MP3 format to bypass the RSS entirely.

I am more than happy to provide links but just keep in mind that if you are not subscribed to the feed in some sort of aggregator, you will miss out on the automatic updates. I highly recommend that you subscribe in some way just to make sure you are given the most up to date information.

Here are Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, and Episode 4.

Let me know if you need anything else!

Episode 4 -- PvP Shownotes

Its episode time again! Welcome everyone to the fourth episode of LOTROCast: the Lord of the Rings Online Podcast. There is a lot of show in this episode. If you wish to access it, you can find LOTROCast on iTunes (Mine is the one with the author listed as Moormur), the Zune Marketplace, or right here at the official feed.

I apologize for my voice…it has been raw as of late. I sound weird (at least I think I do) in some of the segments but there ain’t much we can do about that. I also am very aware of how long the episode is, so feel free to listen to this episode in several sittings. There are plenty of good stopping points so, just like the game, don’t rush it! I know it is a lot of content, but I put even MORE work into it and I think it is good content. I don’t forsee another episode this long for a while…it just happened that a lot things all happened at the same time that I felt should be included.

Also, this will be the last episode that I record with my old microphone and software, meaning we will have a nice upgrade in the sound quality in future episodes. With the new wind shield, there should be less popping and overbearing breathing, but alas that is not until the next episode. Patience! Better sound will come.

Like I said, there is a TON of information in the show today. To make sure everyone is on the same page in terms of language, a “Creep” is a player who is on monster play and a “freep” is a player on their normal character. Also, CONTRARY TO WHAT I SAY IN THE EPISODE, PvMP stands for Player Versus Monster Player. Thanks to Rugzug and Maldur for the discussion.

Special thanks to Tookwell for turning my attention to the song that started this episode!

On to the content…

You can find the story about the flight of Coco the Chicken at my my.lotro here.

Book 7 is out! You can find the full patchnotes here.

I URGE that if you have differing opinions on how the patch notes will affect the game, that you contact me (although I do not respond to insults and flames).

If you are at all interested in the Player Music System, there are a few resources I would recommend. First of all, Bards of a Feather has a wonderful collection of solo and multi-part .abc files, as well as instructions for setting up the music files, playing the music files solo, and synchronizing parts so you can create some wonderful melodies. You can find their website here. You can also find a spectacular amount of .abc files at the Fat Lute, found here. Recently, I started a discussion thread in the official LOTRO forum about the music system. Not only do some other players list some additional resources, but if you have a thought or experience you would like to share you can feel free to post it here.

A video of the song they performed will be posted by me as soon as I get it edited.

For info on the Element Zero Hide and Go Seek game on the Snowbourn server, take a look here.

To find out more about the Brandywine Serverwide Scavanger Hunt, check out the official event posting here.

You can take a look at the PvP forums here.

I am still taking submissions for “Things you wish you knew when you were level 5.” You can either send them via email to Lotrocast@gmail.com, or you can send them as an MP3 attachment to the same address!

Looking ahead, the next episode will have two focuses: it will have a segment that is a sort of new-player tips and tricks section, with a short piece on the newly redesigned starter areas. It will also have a focus on the Lore Master.

Episode 4 Update

Hello, all!

Hope you are having a great week!

Just wanted to bring everyone onto the same page about the upcoming release of Episode 4.

Episode 4 will be an episode on PvP. It will be released on Wednesday, March 18th (I seem to have fallen into an every two week pattern and I am going to do my best to stick to that). Unfortunately, much of Wednesday will be spent driving up from a trip to Independence, MO back up to my home in Wisconsin, so what time on Wednesday I will release the episode is a little more ambiguous.

So to those of you waiting for the next episode, rest assured that it will come out next Wednesday however if you are a person who values sleep, you may not find it until Thursday.

Also, thanks to those of you who have already submitted advice and pics! Keep 'em rolling!

See you in Middle-Earth,

Moormur

LOTROCast Call for Submissions

Hello, everyone!

For some of the upcoming episodes, I am looking for some listener contribution.

I am looking specifically for two things:

1. Things you wished you knew when you were level 5.

I'm looking for one or two sentences pieces of advice from players to pass on to new players. Little tricks like the fact that you can 'link' an item by dragging it into the chat box, etc. that would have made life that much easier back in the early days.

2. Pictures!

I am looking to expand a little in the form of the Podcast, and I am looking for photo submissions. I am looking more for pictures of scenery and combat, but if you submit a picture of just you and some friends I will consider it too. Send these submissions in the form of links.

If you have a submission for either of these, please feel free to send them on to me at the LOTROCast email address, LOTROCast@gmail.com!

Thanks so much!

Moormur

The Great Flight of Coco the Chicken

Hello, everyone! Hope your week is going well.

Last night I decided to test a hypothesis: can a chicken get into Moria? So I enlisted some of my kin and they escorted me as Coco the Chicken to the very gates of Moria.

I wrote up the adventure, complete with pictures, at the my.lotro page. You can find it here. Hope it brings a smile to your face.

Also (something more of you will care about), look for the next episode to come out next Wednesday, March 18th. It is the long-promised PvP episode. We have some very interesting topics and new features in the next episode, so stay tuned!

Enjoy,

Moo

How Long should LOTROCast Be?

Hey, all!

I am in a bit of a conundrum right now and I need your input.

For the first few episodes, I tried very hard to keep length within 30 minutes, or no more than a minute or two over. This previous episode, I even cut out or truncated some of the normal features (I would have liked to explore the Bullroarer server a bit more, and I didn't even do a server rundown).

What has happened is quite the opposite of what I feared...when I started the podcast my worry was that I would run out of material in a few months and would become one of those podcasts that hits the skids after 10 episodes. The reality is very different. Thanks to contributions from the community and some ideas that I have come up with, we should be running for a while. In fact, sometimes it seems like there is too much information that we try to pack in.

This leads me to my question: Am I being to restrictive with my time limit? I'm not talking about becoming one of those podcasts that goes for an hour and a half before doing anything...I'm talking about an extra 10 minutes or so, bringing my ideal time to up to 40 minutes. Is this too long? Is 30 minutes right? What do you guys think?

Episode 3 -- Developer Interview Shownotes

Hello, everyone! Here’s Episode 3: Developer Interview a day early! Consider it my early Christmas present.

I’m very, very excited about this episode; the feature of the episode is an exclusive interview with Rowan, the Live Developer for LOTRO! You can find the RSS feed with the episode here. If you like it and you happen to have iTunes, head over to the iTunes shop and rate the podcast accordingly. I do request that if you want to give it less than three stars that you contact me directly first so we can discuss what it is you don’t like about the show.

In the interview, Rowan sheds some more light on Book 7, gives us some peeks at Book 8, talks about PvP, minstrels, hobbies, crafting, and even discusses “The Wall,” that my previous episode was based on! Yes, I know I need to work on shutting up during the interviews…I’ll work on that for my next few episodes (sorry if I cut you off, Rowan).

Also in this episode is a quick overview of the new Open Beta server, Bullroarer. You can find the official announcement of Bullroarer (try saying Bullroarer 5 times fast) here.

I apologize, but there is no Server Rundown in this episode since the developer interview clocked in at 22 minutes. I want to keep the episodes as close to 30 minutes or less as possible, so I had to shed this feature for this episode. It will be back in the next episode.

Looking ahead, the next episode will focus on PvP. The focus will feature a ‘creep’ monster player and a ‘freep’ Free People’s player discussing the current state of PvP and what can be done to improve it. Look for that in mid-March!

I am going to be adding a sidebar to the Lotrocast website called “The Fellowship” or “The LotRO Network” with links to other information sites, blogs, and podcasts. There is a ton of good information out there, so make sure you look around! If you are a proprieter of any such website, please send me a link to your site and I will review it and add a link!

The numbers are in for the first two episodes! There are some interesting trends in the podcast. First, the downloads for March are almost already out to 100. Considering that it is only the 3rd of March, that’s pretty impressive. I’m not sure how, but word is spreading. The downloads so far for all of February (starting with Feb 6th, the day the pilot was released) clocked in at nicely at over 500, which makes me happy. I am perfectly satisfied with those numbers. As of now, I have no way of telling what programs things are downloaded through, but already the podcast is ¾ of the way up the “most subscribed video game’ podcast list on the Zune Marketplace and is the 2nd most popular LOTRO related podcast on iTunes! Thanks to all the listeners who made this possible!

Phew! That’s a lot of show notes, so I’ll stop typing for now. Kick back and enjoy this episode of LOTROCast: The Lord of the Rings Online Podcast

Dev Interview Critical Success!

Hello, everyone!

The developer interview went spectacularly! Thanks to all of you who submitted questions! There is a ton of information, ranging from news on new content for the middle levels to what book 7 (and book 8!) may have in store for us.

That episode is going to be released on time this Wednesday probably in the morning (I don't set an exact time of the day...it comes out when I finish it, heh). I still haven't decided if I'm going to put it all in one episode...there is a lot info to digest.

See you all on Wednesday!

Moormur

Upcoming Dev Chat....

Hey, all!

I have been alloted up to 1 hours of time with Rowan this Friday...I was wondering how you guys wanted the information to be presented.

Would you rather have one long episode with the whole episode, or two episodes with half of the interview each. As of now, I'm leaning towards having two episodes [means less work for me in the long run ;)]. Let me know what you think!

Thanks!

Moormur

LOTROCast Now on the Zune Marketplace

Hello, all!

Again, sorry to have a string of very close together posts. I just wanted to let you all know that the LOTROCast is now availible on the Zune Marketplace. Just do a search for LOTROCast and you will find it.

As of now, it looks like the release date for Episode 3, featuring an exclusive interview with the dev Rowan, will be released on Wednesday, March 4th.

I'll keep in touch!

Moormur

LOTROCast is now on iTunes/Chicken Run Update

Thanks so much to all who have downloaded this months podcast. Within 48 hours, there have already been more than three times the downloads of "The Wall," than the pilot!

We are now up and running on iTunes...if you have been trouble acessing the episodes and you are an iTunes person, you can certainly subscribe there. I submitted it to the Zune Marketplace a while ago, but they haven't finished processing it. I will keep you all updated on the Zune situation.

There is a thread Chicken Run sponsored by Element Zero on the European Forums. You can find it here.

Thanks for listening!

Moormur

Developer Interview Secured!

Hey everyone! I just got some spectacular news! I have secured an interview with a LOTRO Developer for my next episode!

If you ever had a question you wanted to ask a dev, let me know and I will see if I can incorperate it!

Stay tuned for more information.

Moormur

Episode 2 - The Wall Shownotes

Episode 2 – The Wall Shownotes

Link to the Podcast RSS feed: http://www.switchpod.com/users/moormur/feed.xml. Episode two is called “The Wall.”

I have a new email address dedicated to this podcast. Predictably enough, the address is Lotrocast@gmail.com. If you wish to contact me, feel free to email me there.

Hello, everyone! It’s time for Episode Two of LOTROCast. In this episode, we take an in-depth look at the dev’s X-Fire chat, then take a look at what’s going on in the servers (there are some very, very interesting things happening, so make sure you stay tuned at least to that).

The emphasis of this episode is on the fabled “30 Wall.” I sit down with Merrylady, a player who has recently come across the wall and we discuss what it is and how it could be fixed. Don’t know what the wall is? Then make sure you listen to this episode of the LOTROCast.

I need to note that this episode is in stereo, so to get the most out of it I would make sure you use a stereo setup to listen.

I also tried out a new method of recording interviews with this episode. PLEASE let me know if you feel the quality of the interview (sound wise) declines with this new method.

Turbine News:

Here is a link to transcript of the dev X-fire chat. It shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes to read if you have the motivation.

Server Rundown:

To get more information about the Chicken Run on the Snowbourn, sponsored by Element Zero, contact Ranka or Honvik on that server. Their kin website is here It will be at 7:30 GMT on February 25th. The winner will get 20g!

Here is the Arkenstone Observer. READ THIS. You will not regret it.

Here is a link to the Firefoot Kin Awards.

Here is a link to more information on the Bounders of the Shire Fish Fry.

In Depth Look: The Wall

I’m not going to include too much information here on the wall, it is really more of a personal thing; you either hit it or you don’t. Just to help convince you out there who absolutely don’t believe in the wall, here is an example of a victim of it. While you can get out of it, as we discuss in the episode, this user had to go all the way to the forums to get things settled.

If you have thoughts and/or feelings on the discussion we had, please leave it as a comment so I can incorporate into a future episode.

Looking Ahead:

Our next episode of LOTROCast will be a focus on PvP. Look for that at the start of March. After that episode, I am looking to do an in-depth segment with sort of an emphasis on a “New Player Survival Guide,” new player defined as someone who has not yet reached level 20 who has never played the game before. If you have tips or tricks that you would like shared (things that you wish you had known then but didn’t, or just tips for new players), please pass them along in an email to lotrocast@gmail.com, or leave them here as a comment. I am looking for both written comments and short sound-bite interviews. Let me know if you are interested in either!

Thanks for listening!

Moormur

Episode 2 On the Way

Hello, Everyone!

Just a quick note to thank all of you who have given me feedback.

I also want to let you know that Episode 2 of Lotrocast: The Lord of the Rings Online Podcast will be released on Thursday, Ferbruary 19th, so stay tuned!

Episode 1 -- Pilot Shownotes

Welcome to LOTROCast, the Lord of the Rings Online Podcast.

You can find the episode here. You can also subscribe to the LOTROCast feed here. Just pick your favorite podcast program (mine is Zune) and copy/paste the URL into it.

Please, please, please comment on what you hear. Please comment if you want to contribute or if you have ideas for the following shows. I have the next two or three episodes in production already, but new ideas are ALWAYS apprecieated.

SHOW NOTES:

Here is the story at Massively.com about general growth in the MMORPG industry, including LOTRO and WoW.

Here is Rugzug's idea for a Creep NPC area. I will have a full episode on PvP comming soon.

Here are some details about the weekly PvP events on the Windfola server.

And here the Watcher breaks out of solitary confinement and rampages through the 21st Hall.