Monday, November 30, 2009

'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

Thursday, November 26, 2009

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

Monday, November 23, 2009

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

Friday, November 20, 2009

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

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

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

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

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

Saturday, November 14, 2009

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

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

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

Monday, November 2, 2009

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