TenTonHammer.com - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

Skill-based versus level-based - which character development system offers more opportunity for long-term fun? A level-based game guarantees you some progress for your time, while skill-based games typically allow you a better chance at coming out on top in any given encounter. A look at where we're at on the skill vs. level spectrum and where we're going in the coming months in today's Loading... Skill vs. Level!

Yesterday, Acclaim Games announced that The Chronicles of Spellborn, released just three months ago, will undergo a period of re-development and become a micro-transaction driven game. In the age-old blame game between developers and publishers, who deserves to take the fall for tCoS's failure?

Some insights from our own occasional brush with the game's troubled history and speculation on what's in store for tCoS post-F2P in today's Loading... Spell(re)born.

Missed out on SOE Fan Faire 2009? We'll break down the biggest announcements (including huge new expansion reveals for EverQuest, EverQuest 2, and Star Wars Galaxies) from John Smedley's annual community address for you in today's Loading... SOE Fan Faire 2009 Highlights.

The deaths of Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson were all over the news yesterday. Not to be morbid, but compare the emotional worldwide reaction to their passing with the more family-style mourning over the death of Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

Posthumous reaction might be a harsh way to gauge popularity, but it makes me wonder when game developers will ascend to the same level of celebrity as actors and singers. I want this to happen in part because it's so much harder to become a video game celebrity than an actor or singer celeb. Why? Some possible reasons in today's Loading... Celebrity Shuffle.

Yesterday's big announcement - that Electronic Arts is creating an MMO/RPG "group" from BioWare and EA Mythic and that longtime EA Mythic Studio Head Mark Jacobs had stepped on - created a whirlwind of speculation. I'll break down what we know and don't know at this point and look at the possible effect this could have on WAR and Star Wars: The Old Republic's development in Loading... EA BioMythic?

An official Aion launch date puts an end to the speculation fueled by pre-order retailer ship dates. What are Aion's chances of making it's late September date? We read the tea leaves (or maybe consult the Daeva of Fortunetelling) and explore Age of Conan's Update 5 which went a-live today in Loading... Aion release date and AoC 1.05.

The server merge: two of the dirtiest words among developers and player communities. But does the concept deserve its unsavory reputation? Has a server merge ever worked to better a game, rather than tear it down? We'll take a twitchy trip down merge memory lane today and explore both sides of the argument in Loading... Don't Fear the Merger.

The second Aion closed beta event just concluded, and I'll add my impressions to the fray. In short, I was expecting a humdrum, culturally discordant port with a few nifty features like flight and instead discovered a whole new play experience born of small but significant tweaks and an art style that wasn't as grating as I'd feared. I'll dodge all the usual caricatures of Aion (really - isn't flight just swimming upside down?) and deliver my opinions from the second Aion CBT event in Loading... Aion Beta Event Impressions.

NCSoft has released North America pre-order details for Aion, and at long last an MMO publisher has figured out a way to reward pre-order customers with that most coveted of pre-order bonuses - the ability to play the game months before launch. This and a look at the state of interactive hardware in the MMO industry - are we falling behind mainstream gaming? Could MMO developers do more? Those topics, plus a link to an in-depth Jumpgate Evolution lore article and a few more new and exclusive Ten Ton Hammer articles, are on-deck in today's Loading... The 4D MMORPG.

Two landmark patches went live yesterday for Warhammer Online and EverQuest 2. While both featured exciting new content and GU 52 in particular boasts a number of fixes, it was one of the small-print features from the patches that captured my imagination. A look at the patches and the iPhone 3.0 update, plus The Mittani delivers the latest good news for Goonswarm in EVE Online's Great War in this week's Sins of a Solar Spymaster and much more in today's Loading... Three Patch Day.

What does more to make your character feel unique? Is it the ability to tweak basic appearance right down to the nosehair, the stats and looks that increasingly powerful items give you, or the personality you give your character?

While character customizability and novel schemes to split clothing and stats are nothing new in today's MMOs, one game seeks to add personality and depth to your character beyond its appearance and level. We'll explore the ways in which games, past, and future foster a sense of uniqueness today in Loading... Unique (Like Everyone Else).

We all have to answer the call of nature sometimes, and it seemed like a good weekend to put E3 and a couple hectic weeks of MMO news and events behind me and head for the great outdoors. Little did I know that my outdoorsmanship rating has suffered a couple dozen minus points since my backpacking days. Adventures in faulty tick repellant, sleeping bag kayaking, and a little more insight into what's going on with DDO Unlimited in Europe round out today's Loading... The Call of Nature.

"Pure" classes typically make for cleaner role assignments and and more coordinated group tactics, but "hybrid" classes allow you to play the character you want to play. Which approach should developers cater to, and how is the next generation of MMOs handling the issue? That's the topic of discussion in today's Loading... Hybrids and Thoroughbreds.

Is the fanboy dead? If so, are we better off without him? We'll take a break from the news ticker delivery of post-E3 goodness to step back and consider what might have killed the blind enthusiasm which typified the MMO community for so much of its existence and look at where we're at now. DDO's Eberron Unlimited devs tackle some hard questions, an enlightening spate of Torchlight info and video from E3 2009, and Paul Barnett sums up this year's E3: it's all in Loading... What Killed the Fanboy?

As the E3 goodness continues to roll out, Turbine surprised us all by announcing that DDO will go free-to-play later this year. We'll mince the details of (and possible objections to) the announcement, plus reveal the latest on Fallen Earth, The Agency, and Dragon Age Origins in today's Loading... DDO Rolls the Dice.

A good storyline, like an offer to help you move or a check in the mail, is something often promised but seldom delivered in today's games. But if you haven't completely given up hope that MMORPGs can be as much about raw story-driven entertainment as aquisition and prestige, the next wave of MMOGs is for you.

We'll look at the bold new ways upcoming MMOs seek to draw you in aside from levels and loot in Loading... The New Storytelling and continue to deliver new and exclusive articles from E3 and games like Huxley, Free Realms, Final Fantasy XIV, and Star Wars : The Old Republic.

E3 2009 was rife with Persistent World Shooters (PWSs), a close cousin of the MMOG. What must these developers do to prove their games and, in bigger terms, their niche has what it takes to crack a tough market? We examine the obvious and the not-so-obvious factors in PWS success and continue to offer a complete slate of E3 2009 coverage in today's Loading... Does PWS Spell Success?