Lord of the Rings: Online beta stress test weekend

[Anglorfin]

For those who don't already know or who don't usually follow video game news, there is an MMORPG in the close to final stages of production that brings to life Tolkien's world.

First of all, here is the main site : http://www.lotro.com
And here is a good site if you want to check out game features and race and character classes : http://lotr.ogaming.com
and another one : http://www.lotrmmorpg.com/

A while ago I signed up for the closed beta test of the game but didn't get chosen for it. However this past week I got an email inviting me to a special server stress test weekend that would allow me to get a brief glimpse of the game.

I figured if there was any group of people that might be interested in this it would be the Entmoot crowd. And since I've seen no other threads about someone else on this forum who has made it into the beta, I'd like to volunteer myself and entertain whatever questions anybody may have about the experience. I will also hopefully be able to follow up this post with other posts in a type of review format. They will cover everything from gameplay to atmosphere to canonical accuracy. (Yes, the game is based on the books, NOT the movies)

I hope I can take some screenshots to jazz up my review but we'll just have to see. Also for those who will ask questions keep in mind that this is a beta test and not the final game. Plus the is a "stress" test so there will be tons of lag that will drastically limit the scope of my recon. Furthermore my graphic settings will be set to the lowest possible to try and help alleviate the lag problem so if I do get pictures up remember that they are a very poor visual representation of the game's true graphic potential.

I'll be able to post more tomorrow so please anybody interested just start posting questions.

/edit: Oyeah if anybody else has gotten into the beta or been invited to this weekend's stress test I'd also like your input so we can get some true discussion and perspective about the game.

And mods if at all possible I'd like this to remain in General Discussion instead of being moved to the Entertainment Forum or one of the Tolkien subforums. I feel this thread (and game) spans so many topics of interest at Entmoot that it wouldn't be comfortable in any small volume forum right now. At least until this weekend is up and people get a chance to view it and ask questions.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

From what I see, it looks like it will be much better than one would fear, but could also be a lot better. Personally, I'd be all for radically strict adhesion to Tolkien's world. By all means, tell us what you think.