For a lot of players is housing and decorations a substantial part of Lord of the Rings online. And there exists that one page to have previews, lists of same type decorations, competitions, tutorials and a lot more. Yao is running this website and allowed The Funkenflug an interview to look at himself and behind the website D&Co du Milieu.
(Meta) Lyon, Colcalad.
D&Co du Milieu has got 50’000 unique visitors per year. Even if there are more players interested in housing, this number is an indication of how big the interests are in these areas of playing Lotro. Yao looks back at more than six years of website history and gives some hints to new decorators and places also his top three wishes.
D&Co du Milieu
Colcalad: Dear Yao. Thanks a lot for taking Your time for these questions. The Funkenflug likes to risk a view behind the scenes of You and Your work. So You are running the website of D&Co du Milieu in French and English. When did You have the idea to build up a database and share it to others in the area of decorations?
Yao: Before I started to work on D&Co du Milieu, I had another website called LesBalladesDeYao.com which was about exploring unexplored places (out-of-bound areas) in Lotro. So I was not really a newbie in creating blog/websites about Lotro. I was also managing a Lotro cosmetic outfit blog for a friend back at the time.
I was also a lot interested by housing stuff. But I was having a few issues with finding pictures of deco items online. So, in July 2016, I decided that I would create a database myself, and that’s how D&Co du Milieu came into my mind.
Colcalad: Why did you feel the need of that? What is your motivation to run this site and doing all this effort into that?
Yao: As I said, it was a bit difficult to find a preview of all the deco items online back at the time. The wiki had many items, but not all of it.
So, when I launched the website, the database was my main motivation. I created the website with a friend (Prunaprismia) who was really into contests, so she imported that idea too.
She left the administration of the website a few month after launch, but she’s still a regular juror for any contest I create on D&Co du Milieu since then.
Colcalad: What were the biggest challenges in the six year history of D&Co du Milieu?
Yao: Without any doubts, creating the database was not an easy task. I had to collect every item in order to be able to screenshot those. So, that was the challenging part.
Other than that, creating a database is a long-term work. Collecting items is one thing, but you have to keep things updated, and create appropriate categories. And doing that alone was a lot of work.
Another challenge was to duplicate the website in English in 2018. I worked 2 years on the French website, and in 2018, I had to do most of this work again in English! (well, minus the pictures, cause I already had those 😉)
Colcalad: Were there also disappointments? Could You tell them?
Yao: I can’t remember any disappointments. There are always times, that are more difficult than others but that’s life.
I mean, spending 15-20 hours (sometime even more) working on a Contest, and seeing people complaining in the end because I didn’t choose their houses or other things like that is always difficult. I remember a year ago when I had to visit more than 100 houses for a Housing Week contest, and that one guy came and said I lied and didn’t visited every single house… I spend probably 25 hours that week to visit every single house. So when you have comments like that after spending so much time working on something, you’re always hurt at some point.
But after 6 years of contests, I think I learned that I can’t please everyone. And that there is always going to be someone that will be unhappy with the choices I made and that this guy will come and complain. So, now, I just feel sorry for that guy.
Anleitungen von D&Co du Milieu
Colcalad: The website is not only the database of decorations, but includes also guides, a sharing-your-home-platform, contests and news about updates and housing in Lord of the Rings online. Do You keep all this running and up to date by yourself?
Yao: Database, contests, website administration and tweaks are all done by myself. In real life, I’m a web developer so developing and maintaining a website is something I’m familiar with. The most difficult part is probably to keep the database, contests and other news up to date but I think I’m not doing a bad job here.
Of course, it’s not always easy when there is a new update to fill the gaps in the database quickly. When Scenario released more than 300 new deco items (wonder if it was not even 400+), it took me a few weeks to get it done. But most of the time I think new decos are on the website a few hours-days after launch.
Colcalad: With which part of Your website do You have the most pleasure? Can You tell us why?
Yao: Filling the database with new items probably. Even if this is not the funniest thing to do (it’s quite redundant tech-wise), I like adding new deco items to the website, and see the list of available items grow bigger and bigger after each update.
Colcalad: Do You remember the most special competition participation?
Yao: I can’t remember anything really specific. But sometimes, I’m quite surprised with some participations. I mean, sometimes, you enter a house, thinking it’s gonna be another well decorated, but classic house, and when you open the door, you’re in a maze or something like that. That’s always fun to discover what people can do with what we have in-game.
Colcalad: What’s the percentage of housing-lovers within Lotro in Your ratio and experience?
Yao: Honestly, I have no idea.
But based on the numbers I can gather on the website; I can say that at least 50’000 different people are – at least – interested by Lotro housing (that’s the average number of unique visitors I get each year). It doesn’t mean that we are 50’000 housing-lovers out there, it could be more, and it could be less too.
Colcalad: Is the “sharing-your-home” part satisfying or do You wish more participation in this area of Your initiative.
Yao: Honestly? I don’t wish more participation in that area! 😉
That page is just a pain in the a** to maintain for me because I have to do it manually.
But if times permit, I’m going to create a semi-automated form for that particular page. At least, that’s in my ‘future things to do’ list.
Colcalad: Risking a bit more a view about You; where are You from and what do You do for living?
Yao: I’m a 33 years old web developer, leaving in Lyon (France).
Colcalad: What is Your connection to gaming?
Yao: Lotro is the only MMO I ever played and will probably ever play.
Other than that, I play a bunch of different style video games. I’m a Zelda fan, and I can also spend a lot of time playing Anno 1800, Flight Simulator, or even Football Manager.
Colcalad: Since when were You playing Lotro and since when were You interested in housing especially?
Yao: I started playing actively in 2010, and housing has always been something that interested me since the very beginning.
Colcalad: If You were able to… What would You add or change first in the housing of Lotro?
Yao: I have so many ideas that it would take an hour to list them all. But here my top 3:
- Hooks, Hooks, Hooks. Having more hooks should be the number one priority, but unfortunately, considering the state of the servers, that’s not going to happen very soon, and I understand that.
- I would remove and replace every interior/exterior hook with universal hooks (the one we got with Erebor that can accept both interior and exterior items).
- And of course, I would get rid of the 1 classic house per account limitations.
Colcalad: You were known with good relations to some Devs of Lotro. Some Bids or questions can be solved very quickly like that. Is it always that simple?
Yao: From a developer point of view, I don’t think anything is working like that. Things that can be solved very quickly, are just things that can actually be solved very quickly. And things that are not solved quickly, are things that may need more time, more work, in order to be solved.
So, the thing to keep in mind when you’re seeing a bug is: do a proper bug report on the official form (not on the forums, not on discord) and wait until a dev has the time to solve it, this is the most efficient way to get a bug solved.
This is what I’m always doing when I see people talking about bugs about housing in our Discord or on other places.
Colcalad: What would you advice for newcomers in housing?
Yao: Take your time! Visit other people houses, and start with a classic house. Start gathering deco items and have fun decorating your own house!
Colcalad: Why is housing the most beautiful part of Lotro?
Yao: Because even if the system has its limitations, you can create something really personal. Plus, you can live in Middle-Earth, and that’s THE dream 😉.
Colcalad: Dear Yao, thank you so much for all the time, the passion and Your work for others in Lotro and over that.
D&Co du Milieu (english)
D&Co du Milieu (french)
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