Q&As, disclaimers and the numbers start your Friday Loading...
Have you sent me an e-mail and I haven't written back? I try to respond to as many e-mail as I possibly can, but with the deluge that often comes to my mailbox it simply isn't possible to reply to everyone. Rest assured that I read every e-mail that I receive, though I ask for help with the big words.
Remember, the opinions expressed in Loading... are not necessarily those of TenTonHammer.com, it's partners, affiliates, rodeo clowns, Night Elves or Richard Dean Anderson. I do speak for Vin Diesel.
This column is your column and here are your numbers: 283 new Loading... minions have subscribed to the gospel of MMOG, also known as the Loading... mailing list in the first 14 days of September. 19 alone joined yesterday! 17 people have either passed away or changed their e-mail address resulting in unsubscriptions. I'll be passing those addresses out to the list later. The 2,324 of you that are still subscribed are all winners. Make that winner with a capital "W" and a "!" on the end. You're that good. Spread the word!
More numbers for you! Your WoW Census (in beta - get testing and crank those numbers up! Your characters may not be listed!) 21,058 characters were added yesterday bringing the census up to 733,785 character records. Your WoW Database (more beta - more testing) now contains 3,060 quests, 11,101 NPC records (complete with map locations) and 1,324 comments from you, the loyal readers.
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If you haven't already, do yourself a favour and check out the Joe Ybarra Interview from AGC. Joe is known for games like M.U.L.E. (oldtimers will remember this fondly) and Age of Empires II (Which I have a personal affinity to).
I mentioned a few days ago that my $3,300 Alienware laptop had packed it in. Apparently, mourning the loss of its mobile brother the desktop that I own decided it could no longer go on alone and packed it in yesterday. That's $7,300 worth of door-stops folks! Thank you Alienware! I logged into the Alienware support site, plastic Alienware credit card support thingee in my hand and was quick-minded enough to fraps the bloody video conversation I had with their tech.
Our good man Phil mentioned in his blog yesterday that Dell was giving him a hard time about purchasing a new machine. If you can suggest some good companies to Phil then please do so. Tell him I sent you!
Apparently in an attempt to ease the pain that Australians were suffering at the loss of Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter, Blizzard has announced a new Oceanic (lives in the U.S. but is somehow Oceanic) server that will be called Dath'remar and will launch on September 21st. Tseric had this to say;
"We will be opening a new Oceanic PvE realm next week, on Thursday, September 21 at 3 AM PDT. Players with characters on the realms listed below will be able to transfer their characters for free to this new realm. These transfers will be available until Wednesday, September 27 at 3 PM PDT. During this time, standard character creation will not be possible. Coordinate your plans now and we'll see you in a week!
Aman'thul
Barthilas
Frostmourne
Jubei'thos
Khaz'goroth"
For those of you who keep up on this stuff, if you rearrange the letters in Dath'Remar you get:
- A hard term (what Oceanic users have had so far)
- A tram herd (term we call Gnomes going from Ironforge to Stormwind)
- Harmed rat (term Blizzard uses to refer to its customers)
- Retard ham (see above)
Another little tidbit for those of you playing along at home. Yesterday I mentioned that the Outlands map released by Blizzard was a map of Canada. It's pretty obvious when you look at it. Then I came across this!!!
1) Visit the map of Canada by clicking here.
2) Click on Shadowmoon Valley
3) Click on Bladeâs Edge Mountains
4) Click on Nagrand
5) Click on Netherstorm
6) Click on Zangarmarsh
7) Click on Hellfire Peninsula
8) Click on Terokkar Forest
9) Be amazed.
The WoW Public Test Realms are also live again. Go make a 60 and ruin yourself for going back to playing that level 27 in green gear.
How many of you actually use the PTR (Public Test Realm) ?
Post a comment at the bottom of this blog. If you are shy (or female and sending in naughty pictures) you can E-Mail me.
Every good guild needs a home. A home free of gold ads, secondary market farmers. Look no further than GuildPortal.com.
Exclusive new TenTonHammer.com Content!
Let us entertain you or at the very least waste some of your time at work.09.15.2006 Exclusive Content
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Dungeons and Dragons Online: Sunken Sewer
"Want to know what separates DDO from a lot of the other games on the market? Look no further than tonight's quest. Traps are the name of the game in this low-level quest, letting new DDO players learn the HARD way the value of a reliable rogue and a good fortitude save." -
EverQuest 2: To Raise Or Not To Raise
"With the expansion Echoes of Faydwer on the horizon, an important question sits in the mind and hearts of some. Why are they not raising the level cap? Kiara takes a look at this all important question, and gets wings." -
EverQuest 2: Tier 1 Leveling Guide
"To kick off our leveling guide series, Savanja is taking a look at making those first itty-bitty baby levels. Find out the quickest and easiest way to get through levels 1-10 without having to resort to a boring grinding session." -
EverQuest 2: Guards! Live On Location
"Has anyone ever notice two NPC's in the Peat Bog that go by the name Guard BLACK and Guard MOOR?" -
StarGate Worlds: Interview With Joe Ybarra
"Joe Ybarra is one of the venerable developer names behind games you've certainly heard of and probably played. Nowadays, Mr. Ybarra is one of the decision-makers behind Stargate Worlds, the highly anticipated MMORPG based on the long-running Stargate television series. That's "series" plural, but one of those series, Stargate SG-1, is heading into its last season. How will this impact the development of Stargate Worlds? This, and an update on progress made since the last time we talked to the Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment team, was on Nicole "Awen" Hamlett's mind when she spoke with Joe Ybarra at Austin Games Conference." -
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - MMOtivations: What Drives You To Play?
"Richard Bartle defined the four primary gaming types as Achievers, Explorers, Socializers, and Killers? Our weekly poll asks the question: what motivates you in an MMO? For me it's all about reaching my goals. For you pleasure could come in the form of ganking newbies. It's all in how you play it; so tell us what makes you tick!" -
World of Warcraft: Site Map
"Looking for something here at WoW @ TenTonHammer? Well look no further! We've compiled every guide, article, and database into one easy to navigate page. Our Site Map is an easily bookmarked page that acts as a portal to all of the helpful information for World of Warcraft! A one stop shop for everying WoW!" -
World of Warcraft: Race Guide Updated
"We've updated our Race guide with information and abilities for the two new Burning Crusade races (Draenei & Blood Elves). We've also updated the previous information with each race's starting stats and even more information! Stay tuned as we update our Races guide and similar guides with new Burning Crusade information as it comes in!"
Vin Diesel Fact of the Day - Vin Diesel framed Roger Rabbit.
Now from the real world. You can't make this stuff up. [Thanks Matt for the headline leads.]
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Adults Still Addicted To Atari
Because those newfangled Nintendo 64s are too complicatd. That Mario bounces too much. -
Double Amputee Uses Thought Controlled Arm
It's all well and good until he thinks about riding a mechanical bull while he's wanking. -
E. Coli Traced To Bagged Spinach
Eating healthy has never been so unhealthy. Also probably the only time you will ever read "freshly bagged spinach". -
Segways Recalled
To be replaced by tiny Shriner cars.
As always, thanks for visiting TenTonHammer.com,
-- John "Boomjack" Hoskin
