The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
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Blood and Gore,Use of Alcohol,Use of Tobacco,Violence
Publisher: Codemasters Genre(s): MMORPG Home Page: http://lotro.turbine.com/
The long and complex route to the Middle-Earth It's a long way to Middle-Earth, filled with lots of fine print... Figuring out how to get to the Middle-Earth as quickly as possible is a whole adventure on its own. The launch is currently scheduled for 24th of April, but things are not that clear cut, as the effective launch is actually earlier due to a somewhat convoluted pre-order scheme combined with a character carry-over from this early start/open beta. Turbine's home page claims it is "Revolutionary", but in my opinion it's just a complex mess and takes a while to fully dechiper. If you boil the complex pre-order scheme down, the distributors are going to sell cheap boxes and online downloads with the client and access to "Open Beta" or "Early Access", with the requirement that you must go back and buy the retail copy after the 24th of April to continue playing. For added confusion, the details differ between the US version (Servers and billing handled by Turbine, boxes distributed by Midway) and the European version (Servers, billing and the distribution of boxes handled by Codemasters). I'll do my best to try to explain the differences. Many Bothans died bringing you this information... For the US server* players...(*those who do not belong to the area served by Codemasters) Summary: If you obtain the pre-order codes, you can start playing on 30th of March, with level cap of 15 until 24th of April. - In the US, cheap pre-order boxes have begun to appear in store shelves. This box guarantees access to something Turbine and Midway call the "Open Beta", which is currently scheduled to start on 30th of March. Purchasing this pre-order box gives you the client and two CD-keys - an "Early Open Beta" CD-key that gives you 30 days access to the game and a "Founder Program" key that allows you to take advantage of the special subscription offer. It appears that these 30 days are counted from the time you activate your account. - Those who do not pre-order can apparently get to the (real) Open Beta on April 6. This is based on what GameStop says on their page about the beta access. It's also possible that the free downloadable "Open Beta" will be limited to some predetermined number of CD-keys to avoid server meltdowns. - Retail boxes are scheduled to appear on the 24th of April, and you will need to enter the retail CD-key to your account to continue playing if you started with the pre-order box. You will also need to enter your "Founder Program" key if you want to take advantage of the subscription offers, (see "MMO for life?" next page) - During Open Beta, there is a limitation to character advancement - the maximum level will be 15 until actual launch. It's currently unclear if you need to enter retail CD-key to unlock advancement, or if you can continue levelling on 24th of April even if you can't get the retail game to your hands on the launch day. Most likely advancement will be unlocked to everyone on 24th. - Characters created during Open Beta are transferable to the retail game, but this applies only for those who are part of the Founder Program (effectively, those who paid for the pre-order box or pre-ordered the retail version online and received a pre-order key). Those characters created using the free "Open Beta" offer without a pre-order CD-key will be deleted at launch as you have to open a new account with the live game. - Characters created with the pre-order key receive unique in-game items. Nothing remarkable, just couple of low-level magic items you will outgrow within two weeks. - There is currently a closed beta, but it is scheduled to end on 26th of March in preparation for the "Open Beta" phase. For the European* players...(*those served by Codemasters, mostly Europe but also parts of middle east) Summary: If you obtain the pre-order codes, you can start playing on 14th of April. Full retail copies become available on 24th of April In Europe, distribution is handled by Codemasters, and they have a similar, but not-quite-the-same scheme set up, with some confusion-generating differences. - Pre-order boxes are appearing in stores starting 23rd of March. These boxes promise "Ten days Early Access into the game before its commercial launch on April 24th" - so these boxes are not very useful prior to 14th of April when Early Access starts. Codemasters also mentions "online orders", so it looks likely that there will be an online-purchasable, downloadable "pre-order" version. Purchasing this pre-order gives you the client and two CD-keys - an "Early Access" CD-key that gives you days access to the game starting 14th of April, and a "Founder Program" key that allows you to take advantage of the special subscription offer. For Europeans, it is unclear how long you can continue playing with just the pre-order version - most likely 30 days from 14th of April. - Retail boxes are scheduled to appear on the 24th of April, and you will need to enter the retail CD-key to your account to continue playing if you started with the pre-order box. You will also need to enter your "Founder Program" key if you want to take advantage of the subscription offers, (see "MMO for life?" next page) Edit: - During Early Access, there is no limitation to character advancement on the European servers (this is different from Turbine servers in the US). So effectively the game launches on 14th of April in Europe and other countries served by Codemasters. It's currently unclear how soon you have to enter retail CD-key even if you can't get the retail game to your hands on the launch day. I can only assume there is a grace period after the 24th before you must enter the retail key to continue playing. - Characters created during the ten day Early Access are transferable to the retail game, assuming you purchase it and input the retail CD-key to your account before the offer expires (within 30 days, presumably from retail launch). - Characters created during the ten day Early Access receive unique in-game items. Nothing remarkable, just couple of low-level magic items you will outgrow within two weeks. - There is an Open Beta of the European version currently ongoing at the time of writing of this article. To participate, the client and CD-key is available from Fileplanet for free (registration is required, but paid subscription to Fileplanet is not required). It is unclear how long this offer will be available. This European beta will end on 8th of April. - It is unclear if there is any other free way to sample the game for the Europeans beyond the currently ongoing Fileplanet Beta. Currently, it appears that only those who paid for the pre-order are able to play during the ten days prior to the April 24th launch on the European servers. Clear as mud, eh? I guess this is why it's called "Revolutionary" Then we have the "Founder Program" subscription offer to look at...
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