The future of LOTR TCG

[Smeagollum]

well that's the whole point. We keep talking, but not to the persons we should talk to: Decipher.
C1g.com offered to negotiate with decipher and I know TheJord did in the past. It seems we fail in organizing eachother. Kendrick is doing something with a website, but further we don't know what people are doing. Imo we should work like a normal projectteam operates: We should select one person to pull the cart and we should select one person to negotiate with Decipher (after determined what we want to negotiate). When the project has finnished then there should be a legitemate PC or there should not be one, whatever the outcome.

So my proposal is that people should candidate within 2 weeks for these 2 roles and then have a 2 weeks voting period to select the two persons who will fill in these 2 roles. Do people agree on this?

[chompers]

well that's the whole point. We keep talking, but not to the persons we should talk to: Decipher.
C1g.com offered to negotiate with decipher and I know TheJord did in the past. It seems we fail in organizing eachother. Kendrick is doing something with a website, but further we don't know what people are doing. Imo we should work like a normal projectteam operates: We should select one person to pull the cart and we should select one person to negotiate with Decipher (after determined what we want to negotiate). When the project has finnished then there should be a legitemate PC or there should not be one, whatever the outcome.

So my proposal is that people should candidate within 2 weeks for these 2 roles and then have a 2 weeks voting period to select the two persons who will fill in these 2 roles. Do people agree on this?

c1g.com has stated that we need a charter to approach Decipher.  I have no experience in doing this. Had a look around the internet and there are resources out there to do so - at a small cost.

Before approaching Decipher it makes sense that a plan be presented to them. This will need to state the goals, visions of the PC and what we plan to do. Anything that is not in this charter or not accepted by Decipher will be off-limits for the PC. Essentially, this means when we approach Decipher,  everything we want to do should be outlined. That doesn't mean everything has to be put in place immediately once approval is granted.

Ultimately, this comes back to the same problem we always have. Who will do this, who has the passion and willingness and skills to put it together. Who can organise a group of fans that span the globe each with their own vision for the game and put all of this into practice.

Anytime a poll is put up on this site, there are at best 15 votes - and some of those votes are anti-PC - so I am not sure nominations are necessary.

If a PC is to move forward, the person who feels they are right for this and wants to do it should start recruiting help (if they need it) and putting the bits and pieces together to hit Decipher with their proposal. Once approval is granted .... a whole new challenge begins .... putting it all into practice and gaining the support of the community.

As always - these are my ramblings and i am sure not everyone agrees 

[Smeagollum]

Before approaching Decipher it makes sense that a plan be presented to them. This will need to state the goals, visions of the PC and what we plan to do. Anything that is not in this charter or not accepted by Decipher will be off-limits for the PC. Essentially, this means when we approach Decipher,  everything we want to do should be outlined. That doesn't mean everything has to be put in place immediately once approval is granted.

That's what I said :

We should select one person to pull the cart and we should select one person to negotiate with Decipher (after determined what we want to negotiate).

But everybody ready for a poll on this?

[MR. Lurtzy]

There's little interest to begin with. A poll won't solve anything.

[Smeagollum]

There's little interest to begin with. A poll won't solve anything.

That might be, but if you don't do anything then nothing will happen; Some people don't see that something is happening; Some people see what is happening and don't act and some people see what is happening and act. If you see what I mean. So some people have to take innitiative so in lotr terms to speak.

[jodokast4ever]

Let me begin by saying Hello!  I'm glad to see others still play this great game.

We all have our "resume" to say, so I'll keep mine short.  Basically, I was huge into SWCCG, and missed many days of my senior year in high school playing it.  Into college, I played SW, ST, then LotR when it came out.  I'd been a Decipher fanboi, and pretty much stuck to their games, even though they burned us all 3 times.  In SW, it was Errata from #$&*@! and too much bloating of rules, in ST it was 2.0 (which stunk cause I had boxes of 1.0), and in LotR it was set 11 and on (IMHO), which dramatically changed the game for what I think was the worse.

That was my soapbox   

Anyhow, my wife and I, and a friend just dug up are old cards a few weeks ago(boxes from sets 1 - 10).  I've since been following this webiste, and have found a lot of interesting articles, debates, etc.

I was happy to see some peeps looking to start a PC.  I do follow the ST PC... not much of the SW PC since that game became too bloated and impossible to teach new players. 

At any rate, I was surprised to see some actually against a PC.  But, to each their own.  I can respect that.  But, I would say if a PC was to happen (and I hope you're all able to), don't start off with thinking of virtual cards.  At least not yet.  That should be at the back of the line (which I think seems to be the majority from reading through the posts). 

Well, mostly I just wanted to drop a line from NC in the USA.  Sadly, at least on the East Coast, due to the economy over the past few years, most cards shops have closed up and it's few and far between where you'll find a comic / card shop, let alone a place that has tables that you can play at.  Sad honestly, as that was a huge part of my college life in the late 90's early 00's.  Oh well, what can you do.

Good luck on the PC.  I hope your able to get something going.

[Smeagollum]

Hi jodokast4ever
Welcome to tlhh.
Thx for your advise. Always most welcome

Question to all: Does anybody knows when world apart lose their rights for lotro (I thought somewhere in 2010)? Or are they allowed to continue with the online lotr, but they just quit? And is World apart part of Decipher?

Edit; You guys have to shoot me for asking before looking on wikipedia   Here is the anwser to my own question:

Lord of the Rings Online TCG

In 2003 Worlds Apart partnered with Decipher to produce an online version of the Lord of the Rings TCG[3]. The online game's rules matched the physical games rules, but utilized tradeable virtual cards that could be purchased through the system via starter decks, booster packs, or in draft. In addition to casual play, the online LOTR TCG system supported tournament play, league play, and sealed play including draft. The online system introduced a number of cards and formats that were online-only (for example, King-block draft packs), and offered players exclusive physical promotional cards and online avatars and movement tokens for participating in online events.

The LOTR Online TCG software[4] included collection management and robust deckbuilding features. For this reason alone many players have used the software to construct decks and print decklists.

In 2005 Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) bought Worlds Apart, but continued to support LOTR Online TCG.

On May 22, 2007 SOE-Decipher announced the closure of all support for the Online gaming system[5] . The LOTR Online TCG software is still available and the SOE servers are still running through June 2010, though no new cards can be purchased, and players with existing accounts still visit the system for the occasional casual game.

So additional question: Why using Gccg if we could contact Sony and ask them politely to provide us their software (ofcourse for free, but I wouldn't mind to pay say 5 euro per month)? I wouldn't be suprised if they would give it willingly to our community (maybe they want to have advertisement, but that seems no problem to me). The only thing we then need is a server. Just a thought, but then we would play legaly

[legolas3333]

because GccG is better than LotR online, I've played both and GccG + Zobecs beats LotR online in almost every way

[jodokast4ever]

because GccG is better than LotR online, I've played both and GccG + Zobecs beats LotR online in almost every way

Forgive my ignorance, because this is new to me.  You mean that you can play the LotR CCG online via this GccG website?  If so, is it free, and what is Zobecs?

If I am understanding this, you just made my day!! 

[Smeagollum]

because GccG is better than LotR online, I've played both and GccG + Zobecs beats LotR online in almost every way

Forgive my ignorance, because this is new to me.  You mean that you can play the LotR CCG online via this GccG website?  If so, is it free, and what is Zobecs?

If I am understanding this, you just made my day!! 

Yes. Allthough not legal, but people say it's fun. Didn't use it myself, because there is something with it I don't understand. I can login, but it beats me how you can insert decks and how you can acces the tables.

[chompers]

because GccG is better than LotR online, I've played both and GccG + Zobecs beats LotR online in almost every way

Forgive my ignorance, because this is new to me.  You mean that you can play the LotR CCG online via this GccG website?  If so, is it free, and what is Zobecs?

If I am understanding this, you just made my day!! 

You certainly can play LOTR online for free using GCCG. Zorbec's allows you to build decks. Better still - you instanlty have every card ever printed when you install the game as a proxy and when you pay game earn virtual money to buy virtual packs to turn your proxy cards into a virtual collection of cards that you can trade with others. There are no issues playing with the proxies, most players just want someone to play against.

there is a bit of a learning curve with installing the software, using it, and building decks but there are players willing to teach. There are also heaps of forums on this site dedicated to troubleshooting.

Something else that might make your day - most players lost interest after set 10 - the majority of the community play movie block.

As with Star Wars - LOTR has a stepp learning curve - but probably for different reasons. There are many different formats that you can play along with banned, restricted and errata cards. Using Zorbec's to build your decks makes the process alot easier. The absence of up-to-date rulings often leads to confusion with some cards - but the forums here help solve the issues when they arise.

We also have a League running for FOTR block (although it is pretty dead at the moment) and the promise of a Towers league starting soon (set 4-6) all using GCCG. Look around the site and you will find everything you need is hidden away in stickied threads at the top of different forums.

Hope this helps ....

[CategoryOneGames.com]

Lots on the formation of the PC

I'll start talking to Decipher after the first week of June.  I'm a teacher and school is out for me then, I haven't gotten a summer job yet so while I have time I'll put something together, run it past people here and talk to them about it.  I basically know what we need to do after helping some with SW with it and I can talk to Mark who is the current SW PC Marketing person who is working with Decipher on becoming a non-profit. 

[Faelach]

Lots on the formation of the PC

I'll start talking to Decipher after the first week of June.  I'm a teacher and school is out for me then, I haven't gotten a summer job yet so while I have time I'll put something together, run it past people here and talk to them about it.  I basically know what we need to do after helping some with SW with it and I can talk to Mark who is the current SW PC Marketing person who is working with Decipher on becoming a non-profit.  

GREAT!!!  I am definitely on board and would be willing to help in any way that I can.  I am thrilled you will be talking to D, and I am excited something is actually in the works.

Let us know of their responses!  

[Smeagollum]

Lots on the formation of the PC

I'll start talking to Decipher after the first week of June.  I'm a teacher and school is out for me then, I haven't gotten a summer job yet so while I have time I'll put something together, run it past people here and talk to them about it.  I basically know what we need to do after helping some with SW with it and I can talk to Mark who is the current SW PC Marketing person who is working with Decipher on becoming a non-profit. 

Good innitiative.

[chompers]

Lots on the formation of the PC

I'll start talking to Decipher after the first week of June.  I'm a teacher and school is out for me then, I haven't gotten a summer job yet so while I have time I'll put something together, run it past people here and talk to them about it.  I basically know what we need to do after helping some with SW with it and I can talk to Mark who is the current SW PC Marketing person who is working with Decipher on becoming a non-profit. 

let me know if i can help - i might have some spare time leading up to June (busy at work now but starting to slow down over the next week or so). Other than spending time readying myself for Star Trek Nationals also in June i will hopefully have some time. Most of my knowledge of PCs comes from looking at the STar Trek model but i am not involved other than as a player - have been a Tournament Director in the past.