Official Feedback: Festivals and Events Suggestions

[Rokondil]

Well, I'll post some suggestions that most at this point may not remember like the random attacks by Amarthiel, as well as the server-wide Ring-Lore event(I know the bounder's thing was kinda like that) or the random attacks on Trestlebridge by GM controlled Orcs way back when. Anything that could make the game more dynamic, OR give the players on a server something to work towards. Random spawns, or Random Bounties could be very cool. Given what I saw the GM's do in HD Beta, it's not a matter of programming code, etc, but maybe a matter of player interest to have a couple GM's attack Aughaire or someplace.

Not to be negative though, this thread will probably be mostly "more ponies more dresses more fluff"

Why let the GM's have all the fun? You could do more of this kind of thing by recruiting "normal" players to play a limited number of creeps.

Thinking out loud here:

A limited number of creep session play slots are available per region.
The level of the creep matches the level of the mobs in that region, but the creep may be "signature".
A player signs on as a creep and visits an NPC in Gramsfoot (ring over head if slots are available).
Player selects an open session play slot and becomes a level-appropriate creep in the selected region of the world.
Alternatively, the player could take over control of an existing NPC mob in the area.

The idea is to inject some intelligence and creativity without drastically altering the character of the area.

The plus side is the surprises and ingenuity of a few player controlled creeps.

The down sides are the work it would take to implement this and some players don't like PVP.

[uvm.tp]

I don't think we need more festivals; There are basically 6 and each lasts up to a month. I'd rather one every other month or so, rather than constant festivals that seem to demand attention. I'd even support the reduction to 4 that others are proposing.

For me, occasional new quests, definitely new cosmetics, and...

I'd like to see a better lifecycle for the tokens.

Right now we have:
(1a) Generate tokens through festival quests
(1b) Generate tokens through Inn League/Ale Association (works for Spring, Summer, Harvest only - would be nice to get Winter working again, and maybe even Farmer's Faire?)
(2) Use tokens on cosmetics [will not consume all tokens unless you are sparse about participating]
(3a) Use tokens on festival consumables (most of which are the involuntary-emote type)
(3b) ??

My best guess for #3b is "Use tokens on cosmetics next year", but that's frustrating... and keeps me from participating in a festival at all.

The bounders tokens were a great example where many consumables were available to use the tokens on. Now maybe those are more powerful than what you'd want to normally give away, but let's have an outlet that encourages folks to "clean themselves out" after a festival (and thus participate the following year). Even if it's just to marks (like works with the anniversary "[metal] tokens") that would be useful.

Please note: This is not a request or recommendation to "force a withdrawl" like is done with Seals when an expansion is released. Do not FORCE folks to do any conversion.

[Rokondil]

When I took my main 'toon to Frostbluff on the first day I was disappointed by three things:

1) My "The More the Merrier" deeds didn't reset (I did Tier 3 last year), thus no way to earn more gold tokens.
2) No new event/contest/game, except that I was able to do the rich vs. poor quests the other way, which I did.
3) The Globe was still running the same play.

So, I would suggest the following:

1) If a festival has tiered deeds, and a player has hit the top tier at last year's festival, then reset the deeds when the festival launches.
2) Add one new event/game/something to each festival each year. It is not enough just to add new cosmetics.

[rosey21]

When I took my main 'toon to Frostbluff on the first day I was disappointed by three things:

1) My "The More the Merrier" deeds didn't reset (I did Tier 3 last year), thus no way to earn more gold tokens.
2) No new event/contest/game, except that I was able to do the rich vs. poor quests the other way, which I did.
3) The Globe was still running the same play.

So, I would suggest the following:

1) If a festival has tiered deeds, and a player has hit the top tier at last year's festival, then reset the deeds when the festival launches.
2) Add one new event/game/something to each festival each year. It is not enough just to add new cosmetics.

You can barter the festival tokens for a gold one.

[uvm.tp]

When I took my main 'toon to Frostbluff on the first day I was disappointed by three things:

1) My "The More the Merrier" deeds didn't reset (I did Tier 3 last year), thus no way to earn more gold tokens.


So, I would suggest the following:

1) If a festival has tiered deeds, and a player has hit the top tier at last year's festival, then reset the deeds when the festival launches.

This is a really interesting situation. When I took my toons I thought "Thankfully they DIDN'T reset the deeds because I wasn't anywhere close to finishing".

I think there has to be a happy medium between (a) Ability to get more gold tokens and (b) Ability to not grind beyond measure in any given year to get a decent reward. I would make a different suggestion from Rokondil:

I would suggest separating two things:
(1) Make some method - perhaps a repeatable quest? - that awards a gold token after some number of quests - 20 (ish?)
(2) Make a deed with a set number of quests (can use what you have now) that gates the barter.

This way, there is ability to get more gold tokens, but the deed progression (and ability to get things) doesn't get reset by a new year (which would be enormously frustrating if it took multiple years to get the deeds complete!)

[rosey21]

This is a really interesting situation. When I took my toons I thought "Thankfully they DIDN'T reset the deeds because I wasn't anywhere close to finishing".

I think there has to be a happy medium between (a) Ability to get more gold tokens and (b) Ability to not grind beyond measure in any given year to get a decent reward. I would make a different suggestion from Rokondil:

I would suggest separating two things:
(1) Make some method - perhaps a repeatable quest? - that awards a gold token after some number of quests - 20 (ish?)
(2) Make a deed with a set number of quests (can use what you have now) that gates the barter.

This way, there is ability to get more gold tokens, but the deed progression (and ability to get things) doesn't get reset by a new year (which would be enormously frustrating if it took multiple years to get the deeds complete!)

There is already a method of getting more gold tokens.

[Wenthinitiel]

For the festivals... Hmmm, just one thing in my opinion : NEW GIFTS.

Explanations : Like a lot of LOTRO players, I'm a fashionista. I like to dress my characters, give them a unique personnality, and I like to customize my warhorse.

Lately, the last usefull items were (IMHO) :
- The snowbeast cape and boots (I really prefer cosmetic stuff with something really original about them)
- The Michel Delving steed cosmetic items (since the warhorse, cosmetic items for horses became more important than regular horses for me)
- The 2012 Yule steed cosmetic attire

Please...
New stuff, no more generic blankets, some simpler stuff (working attire, hunting garment, ...). We dont need flourishes on everything we wear, especially if we are going to fight with it. Make it practical and simple.

Oh, and no more tunics hiding the boots slot.

Thanks.

[rosey21]

For the festivals... Hmmm, just one thing in my opinion : NEW GIFTS.

Explanations : Like a lot of LOTRO players, I'm a fashionista. I like to dress my characters, give them a unique personnality, and I like to customize my warhorse.

Lately, the last usefull items were (IMHO) :
- The snowbeast cape and boots (I really prefer cosmetic stuff with something really original about them)
- The Michel Delving steed cosmetic items (since the warhorse, cosmetic items for horses became more important than regular horses for me)
- The 2012 Yule steed cosmetic attire

Please...
New stuff, no more generic blankets, some simpler stuff (working attire, hunting garment, ...). We dont need flourishes on everything we wear, especially if we are going to fight with it. Make it practical and simple.

Oh, and no more tunics hiding the boots slot.

Thanks.

I love the snow beast cloak & boots. Would love it if they did a whole set.

Hopefully they can play catch up next year now there won't be a new expansion & make a bunch of new cosmetics & housing items for all the festivals. Festivals have gotten really stale & need updating with rewards & events.

[zenreiki]

I love the festivals purely because I love seeing so many players together in one place and the opportunities to get to know other players that brings. However, I really dont like the repeatable quests for items (I dont like repeatable quests anywhere in the game, once i've done a quest once I have no desire to repeat it!). I'm wondering if instead, these quests could have something similar to the tier system in instances and skirmishes. Once you have completed the quest once, you can do it again but there is an added challenge or it's harder in some other way, with greater rewards each time. That would make repeatable festival quests much more interesting!

Other than that, keep up the good work!

DITTO! Well said and I agree wholeheartedly!

[RoyRogersMcFreely]

Where is the Fashion Maven? It was mentioned once already recently by Sapience and we were left hanging with nothing. I had hoped they would be around for Yule fest but nada. Can we get them back again (for real this time)?

[Raskantir]

What I would like to see:

- All festival tokens merged and bound to account.
- A festival in Rivendell. Something with riddles maybe.
- A few more minigames for groups. And NPCs joining the game if there aren't enough other players around.
- Small random events that run a few days and come back once in a while.

Ideas for small events:

- A wanted poster in every town, that offers a big reward for finding a special monster or a missing person, which is randomly running around all over the world and gets teleported to another place when found by a player. To give a hint, there could be a broadcast saying " was last seen in ".

- An event that involves the music system. Maybe a bard on the stage in Bree, who plays a short melody to you. Then you have to try to repeat it on your instrument without using abc files. If you get it right within three attempts, you win a prize.

[Vexendynamus]

I suggest adding a Music Festival.

The primary quest in the Music Festival would take place on a special stage a la the Frostbluff Theater. Alas, the scheduled band never showed up so the event organizer wants YOU to take their place! Every X minutes, up to 6 members of the audience are rushed backstage and given one of six instruments. As the curtains rise, these impromptu band members appear on stage facing the audience. A conductor standing at the front of the stage, between the band members and audience, begins waving his arms as Note Prompts rise up over his head. These Note Prompts take the following form:

[Lute Icon][Space][Color Dot][Space][Colon][Space][Theorbo Icon][Space][Color Dot][Space][Colon][Space][Drum Icon][Space][Color Dot] etc...

Instrument icons include Lute, Theorbo, Drum, Harp, Clarinet, and Cowbell. Color Dots Include Blue, Green, Red, and Yellow.

Each player has a few seconds to identify his or her cue and play the appropriate note using a bar with four color coded buttons. Each successful note increases both personal score and overall band score. At the end of a performance, a 90% personal success rate awards 6 Tokens. A 70% personal success rate awards 4 Tokens. Anything else awards 2 Tokens. (Hey, you tried to help the poor organizer out, even if you totally blew.) Band awards follow the same pattern so a really successful performance awards 12 Tokens to each and every band member.

The script selects up to 6 Audience members, taking as many people as possible but allowing for performances by one person. This solves the problem at Frostbluff when only one or two people reside in the theater for a casting call. The script selects from 10 possible songs per group size. That means coding 60 songs. I know that seems like a lot of work, so hand it off to the Player Council. It seems like half of them do that sort of thing, anyway.

Completing some number of successful performances awards the title: Prima Donna.

Audience members also play a role. Before a performance, players may purchase Boos, Cheers, and Candles. If an audience member cheers a performance and it succeeds (70% and above), it increments a cheering deed by (Cheers Used - Boos Used: Min 0; Max 10). If an audience member boos a performance and it fails (69% and below), it increments a booing deed by (Boos Used - Cheers Used: Min 0; Max 10). Audience members have a fun little side game to play--each player must assess if the active band will win or lose and act accordingly. However, if a player chooses wrong, he or she must switch sides quickly to gain deed credit! This mechanism actually encourages people to cheer good bands and boo bad ones to maximize rewards. Candles serve a special purpose. A candle allows the player to give the band a free percentage point towards success! That is, the final score is [Successful Notes / Total Notes + Candles]. If you love a band, you can literally carry them through a bad performance! Boos and Cheers would last a few seconds--short enough to use a couple dozen during a performance. Candles last from the moment used until the performance ends. Only candles active over 15 seconds and active at the very end of a performance count for increased success.

The Cheer deed awards the ability to use the Candle emote at will and awards the title: Groupie. The Boo deed awards the title: Critic.

The event features side quests related to organizing and putting on a musical event:
1) An elf tells you about a wonderful band that once played all over Middle Earth, but through fortune and war they broke up and drifted to the wind. She wonders what ever became of them and asks you to find out. You must track down the old band members, talk with them, and convince them to unite for one last show!
2) A poor hobbit wrote the ultimate musical masterpiece but a gust of wind blew the sheets right out the window. Save this work of art before the dog eats it.
3) The roadies have too much to do and not enough time! There are fireworks to prepare, fires to light, and instruments to tune. Lend the roadies a hand, increment a deed, and eventually earn the title: Roadie.
4) Everyone dreams of stardom, especially during a musical event. A clever entrepreneur could take advantage of these hopeless fellows, and Bardo Took is just the hobbit for the job! Help him craft shoddy instruments and sell them to eager patrons.
5) Band members are all a bunch of stuck up, egotistical, self absorbed, lazy, pipeweed smoking, ale guzzling prima donnas. Poor Snapdragon Phipps has had enough of these talented malcontents and needs your help. Gather up all the wayward musicians and see to their needs. This increments a deed for the title: Producer.
6) Some audience members simply cannot control themselves. Lend the bouncers a hand and eject the miscreants. This increments a deed that awards the title: Bouncer.

An event like this really requires a dedicated concert hall, and that hall may serve double duty. Leave it open year round and let player bands use it for performances.

Possible Rewards:
1) Cosmetic Lute that goes into the back slot and shows as a slung lute.
2) Cosmetic Theorbo that goes into the back slot and shows as a slung theorbo.
3) Lute and Theorbo Stand for Small Furniture space.
4) Drum set for Large Wall space.
5) Band posters for Small Wall space.
6) Tie-die clothing
7) A tie-die horse. No, it has no business in Middle Earth, but I no longer care.
8) Some "Heavy Metal" clothing, but tone it down just enough to fit in Middle Earth.
9) A horse with a bunch of slung musical instruments.

Yes, I know the main quest event plays like Rock Band, but "play the note on the computer screen and learn to play the guitar" has been around for decades.

[Aamu]

Has anyone suggested a Creep Side anti-festival?

Things like...'pin the tail on the (live) hobbit', 'burning down the house', 'stealing toys from children' - stuff like that? You can make it wicked but still light hearded in the way the standard festival stuff goes. The creep rewards are pretty standard and easy.

Just a thought.

[medwulf]

Why let the GM's have all the fun? You could do more of this kind of thing by recruiting "normal" players to play a limited number of creeps.

Thinking out loud here:

A limited number of creep session play slots are available per region.
The level of the creep matches the level of the mobs in that region, but the creep may be "signature".
A player signs on as a creep and visits an NPC in Gramsfoot (ring over head if slots are available).
Player selects an open session play slot and becomes a level-appropriate creep in the selected region of the world.
Alternatively, the player could take over control of an existing NPC mob in the area.

The idea is to inject some intelligence and creativity without drastically altering the character of the area.

The plus side is the surprises and ingenuity of a few player controlled creeps.

The down sides are the work it would take to implement this and some players don't like PVP.

I know there will never be open world pvp, however your idea could be feasible IMO, as a session play it would give more control over creeps being in the open world, placing some kind of limitation on them ie. where they could go or what they could do, as opposed to 'let's go sit outside of Bree and kill freep nubs'(which is what I imagine open world pvp would be)

[Kaerata]

I would love to see more festival quests in higher-level regions to further integrate the rest of the world. Some of these could work via the travel system used by the IL/AA delivery quests, but it would also be interesting to have regional specific ones that would perhaps be tailored to the different cultures inhabiting each region, and their ways of celebrating different holidays. This would also mean players questing outside low-level areas could participate without leaving the region they were focusing on, or perhaps it would offer another opportunity to get them involved on a larger scale than if they were just receiving the auto-bestow when they log in.

I'm not sure if this is really where this belongs, but I would also really like to see war-bands in each region. This could be as easy as converting those rare elite mobs that are just wandering around (ex: Branek, in Forochel) to auto-bestow war-band quests. Ideally (in my opinioin) these quests would only be available after reaching kindred status with the regional reputation faction, and their lootboxes would drop (in particular) the war-steed appearances of that rep faction's steed, and other items of relation to the faction that could not otherwise be obtained from the rep vendors, such as a wider variety of faction-specific cosmetics and housing items. This might help maintain traffic in lower-level areas for a greater period of time, or encourage higher-level players to return to these regions later on when they hit Rohan.

[Scorpio95]

It would be nice to see festivals held in regions other than the normal 3. Of which players would have to be a certain level to get there (unless you got a hunter :P ). The festivals could be based around the culture of the people that live there, such as the elves of lothlorien. Also the rewards could be based around what you would expect to find in those particular regions, and of course they would be exclusive to that festival. Finally, this way by having lots of festivals it doesn't get so boring as everything is not in the same place.

[Dandelionn]

Where are all the Silmarillion deities, so lovingly worked out by Tolkien. These guys had their festivals. Why can't we have their deity festivals too?

[Mackelion]

“We’ll continue to develop our festivals, new and old, and add more events for you to participate in throughout the year. If there are any festivals or events you’d really like to see us build, please let us know!” – Kate Paiz, Executive Producer, The Lord of the Rings Online

I don't like festivals. I don't play them.
Sadly, every time I level or every time I log in, I have that pop up window bothering me.
I would appreciate if in the pop up window I could check a box saying "Do not show me this message in the future".

Thanks in advance.

[PlayTyme]

The various festivals and events are so much fun. Okay, they use to be. Now they're simply the same old thing, and many don't even join in which leaves the whole atmosphere as one huge let down.

I realize this is a lot of work created for everyone who is already working so hard for your customers who play the game. Also, many of you play the game too, but after a long day maybe not as often as you may want to.

LOTRO already has so much to do, and many of us appreciate what you do to create a fun gaming atmosphere that has a variety of experiences for everyone to choose from.

Thank you for that, and thank you for your time.

I'm sure that the players overall will love whatever you continue to do to give us a variety of things to choose from in the game.

[West-northwestook]

I don't think we need more festivals but rather more variation like changing locations or quests so it's not the same old, same old every year. Maybe there could be a set of two or more quest groups that can be activated ever other year since distance can help making older content look fresh again.
As a fluff lover I will welcome new cosmetics for my character or her pony but especially go wild over new emotes (dances, emotes while sitting, riding or walking....).

As for shorter events like the treasure hunt I would like to see something like a region- or even Eriador-wide scavenger hunt, maybe finding objects or even NPCs not unlike the members of the Inn League and doing something for them before we can move to the next point (ideally randomized like the riddles of the Inn of the Forsaken instance so there might be some challenge left ).

I remember that before the european servers were closed the GMs did some events in the open world. Those were fun - at least until the slideshow started and the servers went belly up. The deadly lag from so many characters in one spot and all the fighting animations and effects are probably the main thing that hinder a repeat of such an event but otherwise I would love to see something like this again.

[PirateNell]

I propose that there be a Courtship and Troth festival.

During the festival, players could visit the Hobbit, Man, Elf and Dwarf areas and experience the *ahem* unique customs of each. An opportunity for riotous fun!
Think of.. gathering items for a dowry, proving manhood/womanhood (and the other way around) with games of skill, convincing a furious Dwarf father to let you wed his daughter or gaining enough alliances to earn the hand of an Elven Lady, farming and cooking could be the Hobbit way.. and every race has rituals galore!

Fun for the Developers and fun for us!



(..and, oh yes, I have a bunch of great ideas for it and I bet that others do too )

[Seeker]

The Bounders tokens was an event not a festival but I liked the idea and you got a permanent statue in place. It also made the festivals and doing deeds more fun because you got tokens for the statue and the special prizes on offer. Would it be possible to have a similar event for the other races too. Something in Thorins Hall or Bree would be nice.

[gk11]

I really loved the festivals as they were/are but please drop the ONCE A DAY Quest Limit and re-include the old places. I really miss the Game of Hobnanigan ( I know it was buggy but it has been an event you can do with your Kin-members). I'm also feeling a little sad that various other places are now deserted like the Hill on top of bag end, formerly known as Pie-eating Race which know has it's own Instance or the village in Overhill, formerly occupied by Crocus Stonybank the Crafting Trader and other quests which are long gone except 2 small ones. Bring those deserted places back to life through the festivals for example through scavanger hunts. I would also suggest to split the Harvest Festival into two Festivals - one that stays in Middle Earth like it does know and really concentrates on Middle Earth Harvest and one that becomes an instance and concentrates on Halloween (which is not a Tolkien Middle Earth related festival at all more an Earthly one). I always found that mixture odd. As a person when I play on a normal server I really enjoy it but when I play on the Roleplay Server, the mixture seems quite wrong.

[rosey21]

I don't think we need more festivals; There are basically 6 and each lasts up to a month. I'd rather one every other month or so, rather than constant festivals that seem to demand attention. I'd even support the reduction to 4 that others are proposing.

I agree with no more festivals but don't take away the ones we already have.

No they do not last up to a month. In fact last year the festivals had gotten shorter.

Spring festival- 15 days
Anniversary- 15 days
Summer- 14 days
Harvest- 14 days
Farmer's Faire- 14

The exception is Yule & that one should be close to a month due to the holidays.

Years prior they would usually go around 3 weeks.

[rosey21]

Please please please put the Spring festival back to March this year! When you have it in May that makes the festivals too close together & people get festival burn out.