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Daily Column

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NVIDIA announced yesterday that they have signed an agreement to purchase AGEIA. Not many of you probably have a PhysX card (I see Jeff raising his hand and that is about it), but that should change with NVIDIA, arguably the most well known video card manufacturer controlling this superb technology. I consider this a coup for NVIDIA who just gave themselves an advantage over ATi in the video card wars.

The excitement surrounding Age of Conan continues to build and now, thanks to the good folks at Funcom you can create your very own version of Legolas. Personally, I'd go for the name "LeggoMyEggolas".  

If you haven't already perused the latest exclusive Conan information then do yourself a favour and read, Age of Conan: Class Interview #6 - The Ranger.

In much sadder news, Gametap has decided to turn off Myst Online: Uru Live.

"I have some news that some of you have probably not been looking forward to. GameTap has decided to discontinue the operation of Myst Online: Uru Live. The decision was a very difficult one and was made for business reasons rather than due to any issues regarding the design and vision of the amazing world that Cyan Worlds and Rand Miller have brought to us. Despite the great Myst Online experience coming to a close, Cyan is still a very valued partner of GameTap, we are on excellent terms, and we look forward to continuing our relationship in the future."

No details were given, so we don't know how many people were playing the game. The closure of Uru brings a number of questions to mind.

1. Are games built around puzzles simply not suited to MMOGs? And, yes I know, every game mechanic is in itself a puzzle.
2. How many players does it take to keep the lights on? (Or how many players does it take to screw in a lightbulb?)
3. Gametap has many incredible RPGs in their lineup (Planescape Torment, Baldur's Gate II, Deus EX), but they are all long in the tooth and grey of hair. Does virtual CPR work on MMOGs like it does on single player games?

1A. No, they are not. It takes far longer to setup a puzzle than it does to setup a FedEX or recon quest for instance. There's a reason that you have to kill 30 burly boars over and over again folks. It's called development time. It takes an enormous amount of time to create and deploy a quest. It's an order of magnitude harder to institute a massive puzzle, which once solved is on every website from here to Azeroth.

2A. I can't imagine a game surviving, at least not a game I would care to play, even with a skeleton development team on less than 12,000 players.

3A. The perception that Gametap is giving you "classic" games for one low price is true when it comes to single player games, but MMOG players have other choices. Station Pass gives you access to more MMOGs than Planter's has peanuts and it seems to me that most MMOG players are fairly loyal to the genre. They will play Halo 3 or the next big thing that comes out, but for the most part they don't leave their MMOG of choice except for another MMOG. Gametap doesn't appear to offer any reasonable alternatives to Uru.

Did you play Uru? If not, why not? Tell me in the Loading... forums.

Do you feel the need to contact me personally with naughty pictures? Here's my E-mail.

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10 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 43 so far in February! 320 so far in 2008!

New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today

• Age of Conan: Class Interview #6 - The Ranger
• Age of Conan: Developer Panel Part 2 Transcript
• Age of Conan: Developer Panel Video Part 2
• Lineage II: Account Services Interview With Tim Tan
• Lord of the Rings Online: Nine New Exclusive Screenshots From Book 12
• Tabula Rasa: Armour Guide
• Tabula Rasa: New Hybrid Video
• Tabula Rasa: Brann Hybrid Access Mission Guide
• Vanguard: Spell List Rebuild Project - Paladin Level 1-25
• World of Warcraft: Editorial - Heroic Classes - Truly Heroic?

Hot Content - Or, what I took a fancy to

1. Age of Conan: Class Interview #6 - The Ranger
2. Age of Conan: Developer Panel Part 2 Transcript
3. Age of Conan: Developer Panel Video Part 2
4. Lord of the Rings Online: Nine New Exclusive Screenshots From Book 12
5. Dungeon Runners: Dev Diary - Making a Monster
6. World of Warcraft: A Review of the Trading Card Game Art Book
7. EverQuest 2: Return to the Island of Doctor Patch Notes
8. Age of Conan: PvP vs. PvE in Age of Conan
9. Warmonger Operation: Downtown Destruction Review
10. Lord of the Rings Online: New Social Clothing Screenshots From Book 12

Real World News

• Four-Miles of Highway Covered In Cow Manure
  Driving in slush? Luxury. We drive in sludge.
• United Airlines To Charge For Checked Bags
  Seat cushions, nay seats soon to be "buy on board".
• Power Outage Blamed on Sponge Bob
  Residents become crabby patties.

Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com

- John "Boomjack" Hoskin and the Ten Ton Hammer Team