Turbine is set to release the first expansion pack to Lord of the Rings Online, "Mines of Moria". Fans have been eagerly waiting for the time that they can set foot inside the once glorious Dwarven city. That time, is tomorrow morning! We couldn't be more excited here at Allakhazam. So much so, we decided to call Jeffrey Steefel, Executive Producer for LotRO on Friday to talk about it! During our interview with Jeff, we had the opportunity to talk about some of the changes that Mines of Moria will bring, in addition to some of the concerns that players have about the game in its current state.

Tamat : So Jeffrey, thank you so much for joining us today. I know the expansion launches right around the corner, so things must be going crazy over there.

Jeffrey : Yup, very, very busy in preparation. Good crazy, though.

Tamat : So Mines of Moria launches on Tuesday. Are you excited? Are there some additions you just can't wait for players to try out?

Jeffrey : Oh yeah, absolutely. And some of the stuff we've been talking about publicly for a little while now. First of all, we're just really excited to get people to be able to visit Moria. Just for people to actually see Moria and see what we've built and see their reaction to it. I know even in alpha and beta, just seeing people go in there the first time has been extremely gratifying. I think the place we've created in Moria is quite astounding and unusual in sort of its depth and the way it looks, the way it feels, and how big it is. I don't think people will feel they've had the same kind of experience in a game like this before, so I'm excited about that.

Umbra Software Ltd. announced today that Turbine will be using its visibility optimization technology in titles including Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons & Dragons Online.

Umbra is a highly robust, GPU based, visibility optimization solution that allows game developers to create highly dynamic game worlds without preprocessing. With Umbra game developers can increase their polygon budgets significantly and create highly complex game worlds which were previously impossible.

Other titles utilizing Umbra technology include Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, EVE Online, EverQuest II, Guild Wars 2 and Star Wars Galaxies. The full press release can be found here or after the jump.

In preparation for Tuesday's Mines of Moria release, Turbine has posted the extensive release notes.

These release notes cover many changes to the game, but because so many new systems have been introduced in Moria, we've tried to limit them to what's changed from Shadows of Angmar. For overviews of the new systems, please read the associated developer diaries, which are linked in the overview!

You're probably already quite familiar with most of these updates from the long list of developer diaries that have been released since early October, but keep reading after the jump for an in-depth look at what's in store for you on Tuesday.

Allakhazam has been selected as the Top Informational Site in the multi-game fansite category of the MMOFury Fansite Awards!

"There is no other site that has been so consistantly putting out helpful information on online games. There was also no other site that received more nominations from its users than Allakhazam. Their World of Warcraft database is gigantic, possibly the largest. If you need information on the biggest games out there (WoW, EQ, EQ2, EVE, Star Wars, etc.) look no further, you have found your intel source."

We'd like to thank MMOFury and everyone who voted for Allakhazam.com as their top gaming information source. You can read the announcement here and see the list of all winners here.

Mines of Moria is only a few days away! While you wait until Tuesday, check out the newest Hero's Guide to the Waterworks on the Lord of the Rings Online Web site.

In the utmost south of Moria, caught between two terrifying regions of peril and shadow, lies the strange serenity of the Waterworks. Here, cool mists and wide stretches of calm water create an ethereal atmosphere that simultaneously mingles grandeur and reflection. That calm is dangerous, for it belies the threats that lurk there, both above and below the surface.

The full entry can also be found after the jump. In addition, the official LOTRO forums and lorebook will be undergoing maintenance throughout the day. Of course, you can discuss the game in our very own Allakhazam forum.