Roger Edwards posted this on February 20th, 2012.
Categorized as lotro, podcast.
Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://www.containsmoderateperil.com/contains-moderate-peril-episode-48-update-6-and-chattering-in-the-aisles/
This weeks Contains Moderate Peril podcast is a little shorter than usual, due to some technical difficulties we experienced with Skype. Brian and I managed to get through the first topic, but then had to abandon the call due to a drop in audio quality. I managed to improvise a second topic over the weekend after an “interesting” experience at my local multiplex. Hopefully it still makes for an entertaining show.
- Weekly round up: Brian perseveres with WoW and I hit level 45 in SWTOR. ***Fanboy Alert*** I also wax lyrical about the Mass Effect 3 Demo. [00:54]
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Roger Edwards posted this on February 16th, 2012.
Categorized as lotro.
Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://www.containsmoderateperil.com/update-6-the-shores-of-the-great-river/
Turbine are now promoting Update 6: Shores of the Great River on their official webiste. Hopefully this will have a March release date. They have curiously chosen the following sentence as part of their marketing. “ The Journey Towards Rohan Begins!” Let us take a moment to examine this, because it strikes me as a rather odd use of language. At the end of the last chapter of the epic story, we were left at the Fords of Isen, mourning the loss of Théodred. You can quite literally see the Gap of Rohan from the eyot. At present it is barred by some wooden gates.
Roger Edwards posted this on February 15th, 2012.
Categorized as gaming, lotro, swtor.
Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://www.containsmoderateperil.com/skirmish-soldiers-and-companions/
In the next LOTRO update, players will be able to summon their Skirmish Soldiers to help them as they progress through the game. Allowing access to this facility outside of a skirmish itself, is seen by many as Turbine trying to compete with SWTOR and other games. I personally welcome this change, although some parties have expressed opinions to the contrary. Where I see this as an increase in player choice, others perceive it to be another step away from the spirit of an MMO and further evidence of the solofication of the genre. One thing is for sure. That allowing access to Skirmish Soldiers throughout the game in general, does not make them a full blown companion.
At present my Skirmish Soldier is nothing more than a tool. It has very limited functionality and certainly doesn’t compete with the flexibility of the Captain’s Herald and Lore-master’s pets. There is no associated back story with the character and therefore I have no emotional connection or investment in them. They are a fall guy (or gal) and a meat shield. However, companions in SWTOR have stories, personalities and a varied set of skills. As there are multiple companions available you use which ever one is appropriate to your circumstances. The dialogue and sundry banter is both endearing and annoying. I hate Risha ( a pissy cow), but love Guss Tuno (“Whee…). Either way, at least you care.
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Roger Edwards posted this on February 13th, 2012.
Categorized as lotro, podcast.
Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://www.containsmoderateperil.com/contains-moderate-peril-episode-47-griefing-hacking-and-too-much-gaming/
In this weeks Contains Moderate Peril podcast we explore two subjects that at first glance, seem to be about negative aspects of gaming. However, we feel that if fully explored, both issues can be very insightful and interesting. After all, MMOs are about people and people are paradoxically both fascinating and annoying.
- Weekly round up: Brian and I summarise what we’ve been up to in the last seven days (insert Craig David joke here). [01:06]
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Roger Edwards posted this on February 12th, 2012.
Categorized as lotro.
Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://www.containsmoderateperil.com/rep-and-rumours/
Some folks spend a lot of time gaining rep with all factions in LOTRO, because they are completists. I take a far more pragmatic outlook. Reputation with specific groups provides access to jewellery, armour and other items that can make a difference. Particularly for lazy gamers like me. Having one primary alt and having played pretty much all the content that is currently available in LOTRO, I have full rep with most groups that count. This is more by luck than judgement. Now I thought the grind for full rep with The Men of Dunland was a pain in the butt, but it was a doddle compared to that of Theodred’s Riders.
Completing the epic story of ROI only gets you as far as ally status so you then have to undertake a lengthy campaign of daily tasks or venture into Isengard for the repeatable quests if you want to reach kindred. As usual I went about resolving the matter in my own fashion. I bought a ton of punctured shield from auction house and blitzed out the task that requires you to gather them. I used a reputation accelerator tome from the store and reset the daily task limit a few times. It still took a while. The task even with the boosting tome only generated 600 rep points a go.
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Roger Edwards posted this on February 9th, 2012.
Categorized as lotro, The Hobbit, Billy Connolly And Concerns Over Lore-Breaking.
Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://www.containsmoderateperil.com/the-hobbit-billy-connolly-and-concerns-over-lore-breaking/
Yesterday we were greeted with the news that Billy Connolly would be playing Dain Ironfoot in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of the The Hobbit. Naturally, the production was very pleased to have the “Big Yin” on board although they were hardly going to say anything to the contrary were they. Now Billy Connolly is a very good actor, like so many comedians are. He has chosen some very interesting and challenging roles in his career. If you don’t believe me, then go watch Mrs. Brown, The Debt Collector and An Everlasting Piece and judge for yourself. However, he is a celebrity and and a larger than life figure. I do hope he doesn’t become bigger than the role, so to speak.
One of the best things about The Lord of the Rings trilogy was the fact that it was not filled with Hollywood stars. Peter Jackson consciously chose to avoid swamping certain roles by casting big names, as it would have detracted from the story. It was also a very nice way to become acquainted with some established Australian and New Zealand actors who where not so well known in Europe and the US. Casting for The Hobbit has so far followed suit and and I do not think it would be a good thing to suddenly see a box office name appear in the credits.
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Roger Edwards posted this on February 6th, 2012.
Categorized as lotro, podcast.
Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://www.containsmoderateperil.com/contains-moderate-peril-episode-46-free-form-jazz/
For your information: The following Contains Moderate Peril podcast was recorded without any show notes or traditional preparation. We simply hit record and started talking. Whether or not this experimental approach has any subsequent impact on the overall quality of the product, is up to you to decide.
- Playing the in-game markets : After briefly looking at SWTORs official numbers and Steam being available on mobile devices, we settle in to a debate about playing the in-game market. We consider how the economies of various MMO’s differ and how easy or not it is to earn the funds you need. At present, I’m cleaning up in LOTRO due to Cracked Rhi Helvarch Sigil trading. But in SWTOR it seems that the vendor is your friend. [05:44]
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Roger Edwards posted this on February 5th, 2012.
Categorized as lotro.
Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://www.containsmoderateperil.com/cash-capes-and-castles/
Right now we are advising all our clients to put everything they've got into canned food and shotguns
Roger Edwards posted this on February 2nd, 2012.
Categorized as lotro.
Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://www.containsmoderateperil.com/the-songs-of-middle-earth-part-one/
Tolkien’s use of songs are an integral part of his writings. I am not musically talented myself, nor am I a scholar of song structure, but I appreciate how he uses them for plot exposition and character development. The medium of song briefly gives us a window to glimpse the enormity of Middle Earth. They give us a sense of the vast history of the realm with all its associated culture and heritage, stretching back over millennia.
Norse and Anglo-Saxon Mythology were immensely important and influential on Tolkien. Thus many of his songs are in the idiom of Norse poetry. He often uses literary devices such as the pitch of repeating vowel sounds (assonance) as well as the resonance of repeating consonant sounds (both in alliteration and in consonance). Tolkien himself sanctioned composer Donald Swann (of Flanders and Swann fame) to set some of his work to music and it met with his approval. Yet there are no definitive musical versions. This leaves a great deal of scope for artists from all musical disciplines to interpret his work.
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Roger Edwards posted this on January 30th, 2012.
Categorized as lotro, podcast.
Shorthand Link:
Full link: http://www.containsmoderateperil.com/contains-moderate-peril-episode-45-when-you-have-eliminated-the-impossible/
As January draws to a close, we find that there’s no shortage of topics to discuss in the podcast. This time we cover a variety of subjects from the cancellation of BlizzCon, the success of BBCs second season of Sherlock and the announcement of the new Riders of Rohan expansion pack for LOTRO. Brian and I are joined by Lisa this time round for an hour of discussion and debate:
- Weekly Summary: Brian has made Star Trek Online his MMO of choice and continues to rediscover the game. Lisa hobnobs with Twitter celebrities. I continue with my ongoing struggle to earn credits in Star Wars: The Old Republic. [00:58]
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