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Guardians of Middle-Earth |OT| One Sauron to Feed Them All (Console DOTA game)

V

Victrix

*beard*
MonolithAndy said:
Be the change you want to see!
Click to expand...

Sorry, that's not going to happen :( The games are fundamentally built around weakest link gameplay - the worst player on your team can torpedo the entire teams efforts, and as long as that is true, it will breed fear and loathing in lothlorien.

If you're innovating gameplay mechanics that won't punish weak players so harshly and have a gameplay loop that isn't even more rich get richer than CoD killstreaks, well, that might change matters a bit.

Anyway, that aside, your price is right, I'm a lotr geek, so I'll be watching this. If it's even remotely popular and the gameplay is good, I'll bully some friends into picking it up just so I can yell GANDALF TO MID, LEGOLAS MISSING repeatedly
 
A

Aselith

Member
Victrix said:
Sorry, that's not going to happen :( The games are fundamentally built around weakest link gameplay - the worst player on your team can torpedo the entire teams efforts, and as long as that is true, it will breed fear and loathing in lothlorien.

If you're innovating gameplay mechanics that won't punish weak players so harshly and have a gameplay loop that isn't even more rich get richer than CoD killstreaks, well, that might change matters a bit.

Anyway, that aside, your price is right, I'm a lotr geek, so I'll be watching this. If it's even remotely popular and the gameplay is good, I'll bully some friends into picking it up just so I can yell GANDALF TO MID, LEGOLAS MISSING repeatedly
Click to expand...

How is the price right? From what I understand reading in this thread, you are going to pay for the game and then have to unlock the Guardians in the game for a game you already paid for? So basically they're having it both ways here via a paid game with microtransactions for game content. They're going to launch with 20 characters which isn't a lot already by MOBA standards and then you're going to pay for (?) and either pay to unlock or play to unlock the Guardians in the game. (correct me if I'm wrong here, MonolithAndy.) A 14.99 game should have the full roster unlocked at the outset.

If they want to add more characters via DLC, that's a different thing but trying to be paid and still cash in via a f2p model is only going to end in disaster.
 
N

Noi

Member
Aselith said:
How is the price right? From what I understand reading in this thread, you are going to pay for the game and then have to unlock the Guardians in the game for a game you already paid for? So basically they're having it both ways here via a paid game with microtransactions for game content. They're going to launch with 20 characters which isn't a lot already by MOBA standards and then you're going to pay for (?) and either pay to unlock or play to unlock the Guardians in the game. (correct me if I'm wrong here, MonolithAndy.) A 14.99 game should have the full roster unlocked at the outset.

If they want to add more characters via DLC, that's a different thing but trying to be paid and still cash in via a f2p model is only going to end in disaster.
Click to expand...

You misread. You unlock more Guardians with in-game currency, not real money.

MonolithAndy said:
Sorry about that, I just needed to poke around to make sure I had all the details is all. The game will launch with 20+ Guardians included, and they can be unlocked by just playing the game. (As you finish matches your profile will accumulate gold, which can be used to purchase a number of things, including additional Guardians.)
Click to expand...
 
A

Aselith

Member
Noi said:
You misread. You unlock more Guardians with in-game currency, not real money.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I said through playing or money. I assumed the money to unlock option would be there as well. Is this not correct? And if so, why is there an unlock at all? They should just be there to play.

When I read that quote my eye sort of went to "CAN be." I'd take that to mean that there will be a second
$.$
option
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
Achievements list. 29 Achievements 400 GS. They seem pretty easy to me, just that last one will be time consuming.

Honor in Death 5
Fall on the Battleground

Foe's Bane 5
Achieve a Kill Streak of 3 in any Battlegrounds match

And My Axe 5
Achieve an Assist Streak of 5 in any Battlegrounds match

Drive Them Back 5
Achieve a Multi-Kill of 2 in any Battlegrounds match

Ultimate Vengeance 5
Use an Ultimate Ability to defeat an Enemy Guardian in any Battlegrounds Match

Master Mason 5
Upgrade 3 Towers in any single Battlegrounds match

Rise to the Top 5
Reach Level 14 in any Battlegrounds Match

All Falls Before You 5
Destroy 5 Soldier Upgrades total in Battlegrounds matches

Rally the Troops 5
Build 6 Soldier Upgrades total in any Battlegrounds matches

Win Your Way 5
Win a Custom Match

Rule Them All 10
Win any 3-Lane Battlegrounds or Skirmish match

Warrior's Mettle 15
Win with a Warrior-Class Guardian in any Battlegrounds Match

Strike Hard, Strike Fast 15
Win with a Striker-Class Guardian in any Battlegrounds match

Defend to the End 15
Win with a Defender-Class Guardian in any Battlegrounds match

Enchanted 15
Win with an Enchanter-Class Guardian in any Battlegrounds match

Fortified 15
Win with a Tactician-Class Guardian in any Battlegrounds Match

In Command 15
Use a Tier-4 Command in any Battlegrounds match

Draught of Courage 15
Use 4 Potions in any single Battlegrounds Match

Renowned 15
Earn 20 Guardian Kills in any single Battlegrounds Match

(MVG) Most Valuable Guardian 15
Earn a combined Guardian Kill/Assist Streak of 8 in any Battlegrounds Match

Seasoned 20
Earn 5 Accolades from any single Battlegrounds Match

Collector 20
Kill or Assist a Guardian from each Class once in any Battlegrounds Match

Capture the Power 20
Capture 15 Shrines total in any Battlegrounds matches

Notches in the Axe 20
Earn 50 Accolades total in any Battlegrounds matches

In the Light 25
Play as every Good Guardian once in Battlegrounds matches

Servant of the Shadows 25
Play as every Evil Guardian once in Battlegrounds matches

No Head Left Uncracked 25
Damage every Guardian once in Battlegrounds matches

There And Back Again 25
Win 25 total Battlegrounds Matches

An Unexpected Journey 25
Win 100 Battlegrounds or Skirmish Matches
Click to expand...

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game/guardians-of-middle-earth/achievements/
 
Z

ZeMMiK

Member
after 3 weeks you can´t find any real players anymore...communities die so quick on psn/xlba. I hope it does well.
 
C

Cameron122

Member
I'd play more Moba games if they'd have the option for direct control like this one. December 4th on PSN? It'll be a little birthday present to myself ^_^
 
M

MonolithAndy

Monolith Productions
Victrix said:
Sorry, that's not going to happen :( The games are fundamentally built around weakest link gameplay - the worst player on your team can torpedo the entire teams efforts, and as long as that is true, it will breed fear and loathing in lothlorien.

If you're innovating gameplay mechanics that won't punish weak players so harshly and have a gameplay loop that isn't even more rich get richer than CoD killstreaks, well, that might change matters a bit.

Anyway, that aside, your price is right, I'm a lotr geek, so I'll be watching this. If it's even remotely popular and the gameplay is good, I'll bully some friends into picking it up just so I can yell GANDALF TO MID, LEGOLAS MISSING repeatedly
Click to expand...

This is actually something we focused a lot on. The concept of "snowballing" isn't something we wanted to be around in Guardians of Middle-earth. To that end, while some things are impossible to prevent 100% of the time based on the behavior of vastly different types of players, we did our best to make this issue a thing of the past.

In addition to the mechanics present in the game like removing last hits for gold to be spent at an in-game shop, and scaling the respawn timer with the length of the game so dying early wouldn't be a massive detriment to your entire team and is something you could feasibly come back from (respawning is also explained at the end of this video), there's plenty of venues for folks to practice up on their own, or with a couple buddies, so that they're comfortable with their understanding of the game before they hop online.

Or hey, you can just steamroll bots for days, and have a good time watching the exploding enemy fortress. Your call.

SAURON MISSING BOT CARE

Aselith said:
How is the price right? From what I understand reading in this thread, you are going to pay for the game and then have to unlock the Guardians in the game for a game you already paid for? So basically they're having it both ways here via a paid game with microtransactions for game content. They're going to launch with 20 characters which isn't a lot already by MOBA standards and then you're going to pay for (?) and either pay to unlock or play to unlock the Guardians in the game. (correct me if I'm wrong here, MonolithAndy.) A 14.99 game should have the full roster unlocked at the outset.

If they want to add more characters via DLC, that's a different thing but trying to be paid and still cash in via a f2p model is only going to end in disaster.
Click to expand...
Aselith said:
Yeah, I said through playing or money. I assumed the money to unlock option would be there as well. Is this not correct? And if so, why is there an unlock at all? They should just be there to play.

When I read that quote my eye sort of went to "CAN be." I'd take that to mean that there will be a second
$.$
option
Click to expand...
Just to clear this up, there will be 20+ Guardians available at launch. Some of them will be unlocked right out of the gate, but there will be others that can be unlocked using only in-game currency (gold). You earn gold by playing matches, no other way.

mjc said:
Both versions are out December 4th right?
Click to expand...
canIhasAnAccount said:
XBLA is December 5th.
Click to expand...
Schobeleth said:
So this is coming to NA right? I saw stuff about the UK retail release, wasn't sure.
Click to expand...
Xbox 360 version will be available on XBLA December 5, 2012. PlayStation 3 version will be available on PSN December 4, 2012. 1200 Microsoft Points and $14.99 respectively.

NT122 said:
I'd play more Moba games if they'd have the option for direct control like this one. December 4th on PSN? It'll be a little birthday present to myself ^_^
Click to expand...
Calendar, marked.
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
Exellent. This may of being answered in a previous video Andy but does GoME have a 'boss' neutral creep like Roshan/Baron Nashor? If so what does killing it do?

Also Andy any word on the UI being amended or the option to disable certain HUD elements?
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
Thrain & Gothmog trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezMkMPLShqI&feature=plcp

MOBA Mastery # 1 (The Basics)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFDx7Ar4lm4&feature=plcp

MOBA Mastery # 2 (Explaining the map)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed8RlYeubMs&feature=plcp

MOBA Mastery # 3 (Roles and 'Classes')
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApNuWHgCvII&feature=plcp

MOBA Mastery # 4 (Loadouts)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRaHwsFosxw&feature=plcp

Game comes out in a week. I guess I'm the only one excited?
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
Think of an OT title, i will PM a mod to change the thread title of this one and this can be the OT. I mostly got it done anyway.
 
G

Gowans

Member
Yeah is just PM, it's crazy that LoL has 13mil active players an this is the first true moba clone on console.

Really hope the controller works, tourchlight surprised me for dungeon crawlers hope this does the same for Mobas.
 
G

GotchaForce

Member
Is this an online only game or will there be single player content? Interested in this but I don't have a good internet connection.
 
T

Tobiasboon

Member
Keeping an eye on this, been looking at getting into a DOTA style game at some point and via console might just ease me in gradually enough that I enjoy it!

No Saruman though, I used to love level 10 Gandalf vs Saruman fights on BFME2. :(

Although if this is set well before the films, Saruman would rip Gandalf's face off I assume.
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
Tobiasboon said:
Keeping an eye on this, been looking at getting into a DOTA style game at some point and via console might just ease me in gradually enough that I enjoy it!

No Saruman though, I used to love level 10 Gandalf vs Saruman fights on BFME2. :(

Although if this is set well before the films, Saruman would rip Gandalf's face off I assume.
Click to expand...

I'd imagine he would be DLC sometime down the track, they are planning on supporting the game post launch assuming it does well. I'm guessing going by Andys wording these would be free? (just a assumption)
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
Not putting in one of the Eagles or an Ent in is a missed opportunity. I know the Ents are a 'Command' ability (aka Summoner spell). Radagast the Brown should of being in considering the upcoming Hobbit movie.
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
Just saw this on the Amazon page for the retail version.

Included in the Season Pass are 8 new playable Guardians including heroes from the Tolkien universe such as Bilbo and Bert the Troll and 6 additional Guardians as they are released! You will also get the new Survival mode and map as a bonus.
Click to expand...

I hope these are free if Andys wording is anything to go by.
 
RiccochetJ

RiccochetJ

Gold Member
I think I might try this out. Sounds like the barrier to entry with this game is low enough that I'll stick with it and properly learn instead of just flat out giving up after getting screamed at for the umpteenth time for not knowing what the hell I'm doing. And it being on consoles means that there will be the separation from the PC crowd who have been playing this for years (although I'm sure there will be some who may also grab this).
 
P

piratepwnsninja

Member
What system are those here getting this on? I really haven't gotten a feel for which is going to have a larger community and would like to purchase where most people here are going to be since I have both options.
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
piratepwnsninja said:
What system are those here getting this on? I really haven't gotten a feel for which is going to have a larger community and would like to purchase where most people here are going to be since I have both options.
Click to expand...

I'm just going to go 360, voice chat and communicating with friends is a pain in the ass on the PSN. Having said that the PS3 retail release might be attractive to alot of people.
 
RiccochetJ

RiccochetJ

Gold Member
piratepwnsninja said:
What system are those here getting this on? I really haven't gotten a feel for which is going to have a larger community and would like to purchase where most people here are going to be since I have both options.
Click to expand...

If I buy it, it's going to be on the 360. Pretty sure I'm going to go party chat only. I might make a foray into general to see how it is at the beginning.
 
A

Aselith

Member
Is there last hitting in this game? I'm watching a video and a few times he appears to get a last hit but there's no gold popup.
 
S

Seraphis Cain

bad gameplay lol
Just tried out the demo (PS3).

Yep, it's League of Legends alright. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. And the controls are way better than I thought they'd be. Overall, I enjoyed it.
 
M

MonolithAndy

Monolith Productions
Gez said:
Exellent. This may of being answered in a previous video Andy but does GoME have a 'boss' neutral creep like Roshan/Baron Nashor? If so what does killing it do?
Click to expand...
There are some on the map, yep. But, the game will be out on all platforms soon, and I've got no doubt that you guys will have that all figured out within a matter of hours!

Gez said:
Also Andy any word on the UI being amended or the option to disable certain HUD elements?
Click to expand...
Nothing like that, nope. We worked really hard on the UI to make it what it is, and we're confident that each piece is mission critical to playing/understanding a MOBA correctly.

Aselith said:
Is there last hitting in this game? I'm watching a video and a few times he appears to get a last hit but there's no gold popup.
Click to expand...
Last hitting, not necessarily. You can get a small XP bonus (seriously, small) from killing enemy soldiers and powerful creatures with a last hit so there's that, but all the gold is earned after you've played a match. Additionally, all the shopping/character setup is done outside of the match as well.

Dynamic3 said:
So demo tonight!?
Click to expand...
Depends where you are, but if you're rocking a PS3 in the Americas, then yes. There will be a Trial version of each game available when it launches on each platform.

December 4th: PSN in the Americas
December 5th: PSN in all other territories, Xbox Live

Seraphis Cain said:
Just tried out the demo (PS3).

Yep, it's League of Legends alright. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. And the controls are way better than I thought they'd be. Overall, I enjoyed it.
Click to expand...
Many thanks for the feedback. Don't hesitate to make yourself heard if you've got any more, y'hear?

That goes for all of you!
 
A

Aselith

Member
After playing the demo, I'm quite annoyed that the match starts without a full player load BUT I'm still in a queue. I waited in a shortish 2 minute queue but when the match goes to start there is 1 other player that's actually human. Is that an indicator of low playerbase (I know it's only the first night and it's not up on XBL and all that) or fubared matchmaking?

Kinda wanted to play the game with people.

And also does the game have a cross platform playerbase or are the PS3 playerbases and XBL separate?
 
R

ReaperXL7

Member
Kind of sad, i love lord of the rings and really wanted to like this game as i love the source material and strategy games, but i just dont think this genre is for me which is strange because i enjoyed the demo for the ratchet moba lite game, but this just felt kind of boring and very slow, especially in compairison to the game.
 
G

georgetheplushie

Member
There seriously needs to be an option to only queue against real players. Wasted basically my whole trial playing only with bots. I had one game against online opponents in the 2 hours I had.

The fact that the player base is going to be split between the two consoles is a huge issue, especially when factoring in this game doesn't have the low barrier of entry of free to play like a lot of other MOBAs. Who knows if this game will ever even build up a player base large enough to sustain itself, especially for both consoles?

I like the core gameplay enough even when I'm more accustomed to the tighter feel of HoN, but I really feel like the game is lacking complexity during the game. There's really not a whole lot a team can do to adapt during a game. You're stuck with the Relic/Gem combo you selected maybe before you even knew all of the other team's Guardians and definitely before you know what their loadouts look like.

Yes, picking a good team should matter, but is there really enough a team can do to adapt during the game? Items in other games allow teams to react to an opposing team's strategies in a way that loadouts and skill builds don't really offer. The only way you can hope to counterpick someone is by Guardian selection, Loadout, Lane Comp, and Skill Build.

But on the praiseworthy side of things, I love the shrines. I think they've obviously been finely tuned to provide the most to the gameplay. The buffs aren't ridiculous, but you obviously want to control them all. The fact that they provide vision when they're being taken but don't take too long to capture is great as it naturally creates interesting ways to skirmish in the game. Will you send only one to cap a shrine while others lay in wait to gank anyone who tries to deny your capture? How about trying to cap multiple shrines at once?

Another thing I like is that matchmaking games take at most 20 minutes. The quick pace really keeps things from getting boring, but I think it can somewhat diminish the fact that some Guardians have a better early game than others.

All in all, I really like it, but I'm not convinced if I should jump in for $15 quite yet since I don't know how strong of a player base this game will keep.
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
georgetheplushie said:
There seriously needs to be an option to only queue against real players. Wasted basically my whole trial playing only with bots. I had one game against online opponents in the 2 hours I had.
Click to expand...

Unless something changed i thought it did? You need to be Profile Rank 2 though.

RgHnj.png
 
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