Hello there fellow Merpians!
Sorry for the long delay, we were all a bit busy and couldn't get round to writing an update for you all. But now, we're all back on track and we promise to have at least one update per month. You may have noticed our new header for this page, it was done by Sir Eoran, and I think we can all agree he's done a really great job! There is however some bad news...if you watched our trailer you would see that at the end it states an August release for the next beta.
This unfortunately has been canceled due to esm difficulties and other problems like Bree not being finished. The long and short of it is, we didn't want to give you another beta that we weren't entirely happy with.
On the brighter side of things, the next beta is scheduled for a big Christmas release! This means that we have time to finish at least one town (Bree) and finish much more landscaping as well as many other things...
We apologize for the long delay, but things like this take time. MERP is a massive project and we hope you all understand. Thanks for sticking with us throughout and we hope to see you playing our next beta soon.
So, what else have we been up to in our two month absence?
Let's take a look...
Exteriors:
On the exterior front, we have made quite a bit of progress.
Here are some pictures from Panos' Nenuial and Emyn Uial:
Awesome Tree Formation
This is Unbekannter's work now, working on the regions of Morgul Vale and Pellenor:
A Wooden Dam
Visual Development:
You may have already seen this, but this is Stardragon's Ithilien Ranger Outfit.
Pretty sweet!
This is Sennek's work, you get 10 points if you can guess the name of this beautifully made sword.
Also a new addition to the team, Andros de Nürne has created Gimli's battle axe for all you blood-thirsty dwarves.
If you want to apply to the MERP team, post an application HERE.
Any ideas and suggestions are always welcome.
That's all for this news update, I hope you liked it and thank you for your support!
~MERP team~
I'm glad you're taking the extra time needed to make it the best experience for us. I'm patient enough for that ^_^
Everything is looking top notch and can't wait to explore Middle Earth!
Fabulous talent you have on that team ...can't wait for this to be released. Take your time and keep with the updates like this and I for one will wait as long as it takes. Thank you to you and the others for even attempting this feat.
we understand :) but at least show some more pictures every week
Yeah, I can do that if you don't mind my perspective.
For the record though, I've been working on my own esps and have changed things up quite a bit to help portray mainstream LotR...
(Moddb comments are broken)
IIRC balrogs doesn't really have physical wings, but wings more made out of shadows
//checked wiki:
"The argument hinges on whether the "wings" are physical wings or simply figurative wings of shadow. Many additional facts are adduced to the argument, but there is not enough firm description in Tolkien's writing to settle the argument definitively"
Still the information from wiki never say they don't have physical wings as well, so they could have:
I would like to see some shadow/flame around the wings at least, not making them extremely visible like normal wings, if it would look good that is :/ might look weird like hell xD
Wow, Andros joined? Then this is going to be epic!
He made all the Dale buildings for Rhovanion Alliance\The Dwarf Holds, and he's quite the talent! With him along with your other talents, I can't wait. I'll have to, of course, but I understand :p
Man its looking great
Thanks for the comment! :)
Wow Great Images and the Balrog looks mint, and thanks for the news :)
Do you guys need voice acting / sound recording? I'd be happy to help...
Email: Bluedrake42@gmail.com
@Bluedrake, it isnt needed currently, when we get to that stage which is probably 2 years away (roughly) then we will advertise :)
@bikkebakke This was actually a wip shot.
The finished balrog now has physical wings.
We thought it looks more menacing this way and alot more imposing.
you won't be dissapointed ;)
@ romanius Well, I will try my best :)
I will provide an update AT LEAST once a month maybe more if there is any really interesting news ;)
The sword is Glamdring, isn't it? Anyway, awesome stuff guys. I can't wait for the next beta. ;)
it really looks like it :/
Otherlandtoys.co.uk
You get 10 points!
wow this looks awsome i cant wait for it and i think the sword is glamdring gandolfs sword
Yep!
You also get 10 points! ;)
Gorgeous work as usual, guys. It's great to see the team still pumping out such quality. And do feel free to take the time you need! A great in-game experience takes time to mold, after all. :)
Amazing work guys, Keep up the good work ;)
Looking very nice!
Btw, does that lead to Shelob's lair?
Maybe ;)
So Bree will be finished in the cristmas-release. Does that mean also "populated"? Oh, and will there be creatures in the wilderness?
Im just curious because it looks amazing! :)
Creatures is debatable, altouhgh yes it sould be populated :)
that is going to be a nice yule present :D
Although i would still love to have some generic deers, wolves, giant spiders or goblins to hunt...
It is a few months in the future, who knows what we'll have ;)
I'm very happy to see a whole lot of original content! Keep up the good work. :)
Looking at all these amazing screen-shots makes me realize how out of date the actual engine is. The lack of contact shadows is really jarring compared to even slightly more modern games. I'm not too familiar with the tech anymore, but is there no way to bake in more precise shadows/lighting from an external application and apply it into a separate UV map?
The lack of any sort of ambient occlusion is also a major failing of the engine.