Re: Tolkien in General

by **Orwell** Sat Aug 25, 2012 2:53 am

I don't seem to remember a time when money didn't win - you're right Eldo. Very Happy

{{{Never mind Petty, Eldo, we know he's a bit dim!}}}

by Pettytyrant101 Sat Aug 25, 2012 2:59 am

Thats because you are all hopelessly cynical- there are times when integrity wins you know- like when someone passes out from buckie drinking and you get them help, before drinking any buckie they may have left behind. Nod

by **Orwell** Sat Aug 25, 2012 2:11 pm

Hey, someone scribbled out 'integrity' in my dictionary! Mad

Oh wait... that's my scribble... Embarassed

by Ally Sat Aug 25, 2012 2:15 pm

Ally wrote:
And so am I

I like your new book, Molly

by chris63 Thu Aug 30, 2012 4:58 am

Fifteen Places Tolkien Fans should Visit before they Die

http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/1053-fifteen-places-tolkien-fans-should-visit-before-they-die.php?519&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+TolkienLibrary+(Tolkien+Library+Site+News)

by Eldorion Thu Aug 30, 2012 5:02 am

Pretty solid list. Wish I had the resources to go to any of those.

by halfwise Thu Aug 30, 2012 2:13 pm

I visited Oxford and made a point of having a drink in the Eagle and Child.

by Pettytyrant101 Thu Aug 30, 2012 3:52 pm

I had a look at the mill on google earth- its in the heart of an urban sprawl these days. Sad

by **Orwell** Fri Aug 31, 2012 2:18 pm

Spoiler:

by Ally Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:59 am

My life used to revolve around my tamagotchi.. They were happy days

by chris63 Sun Sep 02, 2012 3:28 am

Did Radagast fail ?

http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Radagast#Did_Radagast_fail.3F

by Mrs Figg Sun Sep 02, 2012 3:10 pm

Halfwise I used to live in Oxford I lived 5 minutes away from the pubs Tolkien and Lewis went to, I think Oxford still has that magical atmosphere, I was very happy there, its my kind of place.

by RA Mon Sep 03, 2012 11:00 pm

Hey guys, sorry to keep bugging you all with Skyrim Merp. I just can't let this mod die without a fight. But they have a lawyer from transformative works now to argue the case that Merp is not copyright infringement but falls under fair use. I think they even have a petition on their website to save Merp. I heard that TORn might even run a story about it.
For those of you who don't know, Skyrim Merp (Middle Earth Roleplaying) is an effort to recreate Tolkien's Middle Earth using Skyrim's engine. The height map is 9x the size of Skyrim's original map and in many ways is an overhaul of Skyrim's mechanics. The mod is based on the books with its own original score.

by Pettytyrant101 Mon Sep 03, 2012 11:46 pm

I havent checked but a friend told me there are two facebookpages- one by the modders themselves, and one by fans of the project, set up to help fight it, I think there are petitions on both which will be getting my name to them.

by RA Tue Sep 04, 2012 12:04 am

Thanks, petty. Hopefully with enough signatures and with Merp's lawyer, Warner Brothers will back off.

by Ally Tue Sep 04, 2012 12:44 am

Is it being built within the CK?. Morrowind and Oblivion both have 'enhances' built outside the ck because developers thought they could improve the game by editing the game outside of the game engine but it ended up closing because it infringed upon a whole ton of copyrights in the game and Bethesda couldn't authorise such a thing

by RA Tue Sep 04, 2012 1:03 am

I'm pretty sure it's being made with the Creation Kit. I remember the team commenting on how much easier Skyrim has been to mod in comparison to Oblivion, may be due to some improvements to the CK. As far as I'm aware Bethesda doesn't have a problem with Merp. They didn't have a problem with the Oblivion version for the years it was being worked on. It's only WB that has a problem. A problem that has only sprung up so close to the release of the Hobbit and all the spin-off games they're planning.

by Ally Tue Sep 04, 2012 1:16 am

I guess the problem is how successful skyrim has become and it just happens to be at a time where the LOTR franchise is being marketed again

(I agree with everything you say btw. I guess it is the distributing here that is the problem. The mod may be free but skyrim is not. Though to become developed to the point of modest.appeal would take years and probably into the next elder scrolls game so WB have nothing to worry about really Smile

by RA Tue Sep 04, 2012 1:30 am

I know WB should really lay off. Smile

I was really hoping that maybe, just maybe Merp would be finished before Elder Scrolls 6 comes out. The team was making really good progress: Rohan was almost complete and they even made enhanced mounted combat with spears added to the game's inventory of weapons.

But now with all this legal stuff going on it seems that may be unlikely. Still I'll wait ten years if I have to, if it means an elder scrolls type game set in Middle Earth (that's accurate to the lore) and not a half baked game with a Lord of the Rings sticker slapped on that had a development time of 8 months, only designed with profits in mind.

by halfwise Tue Sep 04, 2012 2:18 pm

Mrs Figg wrote:Halfwise I used to live in Oxford I lived 5 minutes away from the pubs Tolkien and Lewis went to, I think Oxford still has that magical atmosphere, I was very happy there, its my kind of place.

That's really cool, I'm pretty jealous. I've got a couple of Oxford/Cambridge stories to share after I get off work (I'd normally do this during work but I'm starting to feel guilty). I visited during my friend's wedding. Back to this in 8 or 9 hours....

by Mrs Figg Tue Sep 04, 2012 2:25 pm

Cant wait to hear them Halfwise. I also moved from the center of Oxford and lived in a tiny hamlet called Combe near Woodstock. It was pretty special, I still dream of it sometimes and if I went back to England I would go back there in a second. unfortunately its very expensive to buy houses there. I studied art history there and as I am a huge fan of the pre-raphaelites, it was heavenly.

by Ally Tue Sep 04, 2012 9:53 pm

Recoveryanonymous wrote:I know WB should really lay off.
I was really hoping that maybe, just maybe Merp would be finished before Elder Scrolls 6 comes out. The team was making really good progress: Rohan was almost complete and they even made enhanced mounted combat with spears added to the game's inventory of weapons.

But now with all this legal stuff going on it seems that may be unlikely. Still I'll wait ten years if I have to, if it means an elder scrolls type game set in Middle Earth (that's accurate to the lore) and not a half baked game with a Lord of the Rings sticker slapped on that had a development time of 8 months, only designed with profits in mind.

The map is supposed to be 9x the size of Skyrim? Now call me cynical, but after the creation of the mod, filling it up with everything ME related (obviously they can leave certain objects which won't require modelling) that's going to take a very very long time to complete! Very Happy

by RA Tue Sep 04, 2012 10:15 pm

It's a huge undertaking, no doubt, but I feel that they're up to the task.
Have a look at their website - I think the screenshots of their work are still up. 80% of Rohan's exterior was generated. Much of their work on the Oblivion version was able to be ported. Plus there are a ton of Tolkien fans in the Skyrim modding community, many of which have a lot more experience by this point. If the team is able to beat the charges, the publicity generated by their victory as well as the swelled general interest in Middle Earth from the Hobbit movies could make Merp a reality. Smile

by chris63 Thu Sep 06, 2012 3:39 am

http://lingwe.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/shadows-of-past.html

by Pettytyrant101 Thu Sep 06, 2012 10:52 am

That Grotta chap (good name- sounds like a Goblin) seems to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder to me.