witchkingshour:

Didn't have the time? What a bunch of crap. Don't even bother making a game if it's based on time.

Cheeky Hobbit:

Couldn't agree more. This is just evidence that Pandemic was clearly under a strict-time frame, which I'm guessing was courtesy of EA. The game's quality looks as though it took a serious knock as a result.

As for the DLC, I personally won't be buying it. It takes a lot more than a couple of new character models and maps for it to warrant a purchase in my opinion; if Strongholds and Ringbearer were included, I may have been tempted.

Beradrin:

Cheeky Hobbit, I couldn't agree with you more. If they included Strongholds mod then I would buy the DLC

Lotr Lover:

they gotta fix it up sooner or later!!!

XxlegolasXx13:

I agree with Cheeky Hobbit, I want to play those modes

el kevo:

Bring me PS3 and PC modding EA.

I'm thinking that this first DLC might be free seeing as they want to appease the fans for releasing a product that hurt our hopes.

And they better release some nice balance things in that DLC, or at least make a patch for the PS3 also

Freek:

The first DLC IS Free :)

zach:

Yes its FREE. It may not have been EA who rushed it, it may have been pandemic... He just said that it couldnt be completed in the timeframe allotted.

Sledgehammer:

Cheeky,

I am unsure where you are coming from in all of this but you seem to be skipping over many key items and are only reading what you don't want to. Game modes in games are always planned ahead of time, weather the dev team is able to build, test and actually make that game mode work is dependent on the time frame they have set in building a game. Every team wants more time, if developers could they would spend many years on titles to make sure they could add everything they possibly could. In reality time isn't free and not everyone has the luxury of being able to spend the time they want on each title.

The upcoming DLC will introduce a new game mode and add a handful of new heroes allowing you to have a new aspect of the game for local play and online play. Also to note this DLC will be a Free addition to the current title you own. To top that off Pandemic also has another DLC in the works that will compliment the entire game across the board.

In general Pandemic's LOTR: Conquest team has worked very hard to build an enjoyable game for the masses. Is it up to your standards? that is up to you... Obviously from your rants across many forums it isn't but for many others they are enjoying the title.

XxlegolasXx13:

New mode, nice, I cant wait ;)

el kevo:

Wait, this new pack adds new heroes? Where does it say that this new DLC adds new heroes. And also will this DLC at least address some balancing issues.

I'm also hoping that soon some DLC will add PS3 modding to this game.

zach:

Well the dev I talked to could only confirm so much. He did confirm quite a bit but he cant go on about everything... I agree with Sledge 100%. I bet a lot of the games you play have modes that were planned and canceled.

Freek:

Its not like BfME1 looked like the screenshots posted up to a month or two before released.

Sledgehammer:

Thanks Mr. Mark Skaggs

Mordor Slayer:

Well that's hilarious. Cheeky was one of the biggest fans for this game I knew, he even annoyed me like hell most of the time (not too serious ^^) and every fanboy was always agreeing with him (see? People are still agreeing with him, although they're now just disappointed fanboys). If even he has lost hope, then maybe, just maybe it's not about him. IT'S ABOUT THE GAME. It's NOT good.

Sorry for the rant.

el kevo:

My question still remains. Sledge you mentioned that there are gonna be heroes in the DLC tomorrow yet the producer never mentioned anything about heroes. Can you please tell us if there will be new heroes tomorrow or if that was just a typo. Also, will there be balance additions in the DLC to make it also sort of like a patch

zach:

People totally blow it out of proportion. Its a good game, Not a Great or AMAZING game, yet a good game. We have a perfect example of one group being extremely vocal while another group isnt. Which really isnt there fault, they dont "spam" the official forums with "This game sucks" threads. I agree Pandemic over promised and under delievered, but not to the degree that some people make it seem.

zach:

There is a patch coming out soon for any glitches but I doubt a balance patch as the game is really well balanced class vs class atm. Maybe some heros could use some balancing but thats about it.

Freek:

Wasn't he fired a short bit before the game released?

LOTR PO:

Are the DLC just for xbox 360 or is it for the ps3 too?

Freek:

It's for all three platforms (PC, PS3, 360) as far as I know.

krapyl:

Sweet DLC...AND IT'S FREE! :D

kylej13:

IT'S FREEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

I know they said they didn't have time to make an expansive new mode like Strongholds, but I think it would be worth it. If they really want to prove themselves against all of the criticisms they've gotten, then they should make an ambitious mode like that. It would greatly increase single player replay value, as Galactic Conquest did in SWBF2. They should release it after they've gotten all of the new maps out so that they can have an expansive set of territories of Middle Earth. And maybe with the partial maps on Conquest mode (like Moria) they could add the other section as another territory to conquer.

m@tt:

So you complain about people complaining about Conquest, then come out with this... Hypocrite. Oh, and FYI, Skaggs quit after BFME 1 because EA rushed them into a release.

And 3 news heroes isn't "a handful". I'm guessing it will be Radagast (why the hell he's in I don't know...) and Gothmog, seeing as they were both "confirmed" heroes earlier.

QFT, I was going to say pretty much the same thing.

Sledgehammer:

I know very much of how BFME 1 was made Matt, we were both there as fans, I am also very open to critics of Conquest, please let me know where I said otherwise?

kylej13:

I think they will have Boromir to go along with Amon Hen. Besides that I think the hero that is needed the most is Eomer

FaceCake:

Sick, Hopefully Boramir!!!

LOTR PO:

does the first DLC pack come out today?

zach:

Yes that is what the Dev told me. :)

LOTR PO:

I haven't seen it yet in ps network.

zach:

Its on 360 marketplace.

Cheeky Hobbit:

First off, I wouldn't say I'm only reading what I want to. I've looked at the facts, and I've stated my own opinion. I wanted this game to succeed just as much as anyone, I don't think anyone could probably imagine how gutted I am that it didn't turn out as I had hoped or expected.

I've seen a lot of people label me as blindingly optimistic or a 'fanboy', so let me get one thing straight: I judged it exactly as I saw it. I don't have any loyalty to Pandemic, nor do I have an obligation to either defend or criticise them. I was positive because what I was seeing was positive; I'm now disappointed because the full game, in my opinion, is disappointing. Some people need to realise that people can actually judge something based on what they're seeing; it doesn't always have to mean that they're being intentionally positive or intentionally negative.

If Pandemic wasn't sure what exactly was going to be in the full game, they shouldn't have mentioned Strongholds and Ringbearer in the first place. They could have quite easily said "well, it's something we're working towards, but it might not get done", rather than talking about the modes as if they will definitely be included. Even better, they could have not bothered mentioning it at all and then no one would be any wiser. As far as I'm concerned, it just seems like a case of Pandemic shooting themselves in the foot.

It's great to see Pandemic supporting the game so soon after release, and it's great to see that they plan to continue supporting the game via DLC and patches. Furthermore, I'm not denying that Conquest is an enjoyable experience, nor do I have anything against Pandemic in particular. But I'd be very surprised if a lot of people felt that Conquest turned out as they expected, or better than they expected.

But hey, that's just me and my opinion. :)

zach:

They never said ringbearer or strongholds WERE going to be in the game either though. Honestly though, thats why I stayed away from the Pandemic forums. SOME people over there over hyped the game and rumors became "fact" such as strongholds and ringbearer where everyone thought they were going to be included.

I did the same thing with LotR:O. I was crazy about it, people would talk about it when I was a noob to it and I was so entralled. Now I still like it but not to my initial thoughts. Usually official forums are like that, thus why I try to stay away until close to launch or after. That way everything is final.

m@tt:

Yes Zach, but the developer can't come out after a release and say things like "we didn't actually say it was going to be in the game". It's a technicality. It's misleading. You can't say something like that and expect the majority to not be disappointed it's in the game.

@ Sledge - your initial reply to Cheeky was pretty much saying his criticism of Conquest was wrong, he has an agenda, he's not taking into consideration a bucket load of excuses etc.

LOTR PO:

does anyone know when the next DLC pack will come out ? :)

zach:

The first one just came out. It will probably be a while.

drenth:

but do it comes on the pc also??

Cheeky Hobbit:

While they never said that both modes were definitely going to be in the game, they essentially implied it anyway.

zach:

Well ringbearer yes ... but strongholds was hardly even mentioned. Most of the "facts" about it are really rumors.

Cheeky Hobbit:

I still maintain that mentioning it is bad enough, and they certainly mentioned it.

drenth:

They mentioned stronghold's yes but that doesn't mean it's in the game it was an idea

Freek:

The "they" that mentioned it were 3 or maybe 4 previews very early on, and info and details on it were never even revealed (other then it being similar to Galactic Conquest)

Cheeky Hobbit:

In my opinion, that's still pretty much irrelevant. Pandemic obviously had it in mind as a game mode, whether it was 'just' an idea or not. By mentioning it, even if it was in an indirect manner, Pandemic sparked interest with it and thus led people to disappointment.

Freek:

I agree. But I myself did not expect this game mode to be present even though I've probably read more previews them most people combined :)

Just sayin' that people on the official forums get hyped up and quicly take rumours and wishful thinking for "facts" only to get disappointed and angry at Pandemic when it isn't in.

Maybe that's just a problem with the lack of a community manager in the early days, which means that as a community we didn't get a whole lot of info from Pandemic (except our one shot at the interview with Giz)

Cheeky Hobbit:

Yeah, I'd agree with that. Admittedly, as soon as Strongholds stopped getting a mention in previews, I had an inkling that it wasn't going to make the cut. Ringbearer, on the other hand, was mentioned quite a bit. I mean, we even saw a video of it (albeit briefly). I was as shocked as anyone to see that it hadn't made the cut - a Eurogamer preview first mentioned it.

I just don't think Pandemic properly thought some things through, but it's hard to make assumptions like that from an outsider's perspective.

zach:

Ideas get thrown around all the time, hundreds of game modes were thrown around for various games and never made it in. Heck some games have had an entire portions that were "ideas". Ringbearer they couldn't balance and IMO if they threw it in the game unbalanced then people would complain even more. Strongholds was only a whisper which was amplified by fans.

Cheeky Hobbit:

Just because it's common, doesn't mean it's right. :P

zach:

I am just trying to give Pandemic some slack. Some people are totally bashing Conquest. IMO its a really fun game. I have finally got to play the full version and I personally love the SP, even though the events in each mission dont correlate to the movies too much, but in realty the movie didnt correlate exactly to the books either....

kylej13:

I agree with you zach. It's really fun, and even though it's not what we expected, there's still a lot of opportunity in DLC

Cheeky Hobbit:

Hey, I've got nothing against Pandemic at all. All I'm doing is saying what I truly feel; what I truly feel is that this is a mediocre game and a wasted opportunity. I genuinely thought it was great for the first couple of days, but the game's engine became extremely repetitive and I was left with a feeling of great disappointment.

That's just me though. As has been pointed out, many people really like the game.

zach:

Well what I am saying is in your case it feels worse than what is really is because the community at pandemic(no offense to anyone who posts there often) took some things out of proportion. I agree with Freek that its probably because there wasnt a community manager for a LONG time and members were allowed to take those rumors and run wild with them.

AVGSpoon98:

are u alowed to tell more info on the second dlc coming up here becuse theirs more info the 360 players from pandemic were allowed 2 tell us more spacfic info about it

Freek:

We know about the second DLC but we can't publish it yet :)

AVGSpoon98:

how come? they were alowed 2 tell us

zach:

Well those devs were not supposed to give that info and i havnt seen anything confirmed on there not confirmed here....

AVGSpoon98:

u saying that they didint confer what they said?

zach:

Not officially. A dev may have mentioned it but thats far not confirmed. What did those people say.

AVGSpoon98:

do u want me 2 say specifc like names[ex.amon hen] or unspecfic like just maps[ex 2 new maps]?

zach:

Well we knew of amon hen. What else?

AVGSpoon98:

maps-amon hen last alliance

heros-gothmog arwen bormir
arena-minas tirith weathertop[amon sul tower]
amon hens hero is either going 2 b lurtze or gothmog because its dlc

LOTR PO:

anyone who knows anything about the next DLC pack?