Welcome to the 948th Edition of Loading...
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The Pulse
First, you vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the result is the Ten Ton Pulse.
- World of Warcraft
- Warhammer Online
- Age of Conan
- EverQuest 2 (UP 4)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (down 1)
- Guild Wars (UP 16)
- Tabula Rasa (UP 2)
- EVE Online (down 3)
- Lord of the Rings Online (UP 2)
- City of Heroes (down 3)
Top 20 Biggest Movers - Weekly
- Dungeons & Dragons Online (down 11 to no. 16)
- Pirates of the Burning Sea (UP 8 to no. 9, top article: Exclusive Interview on Melee Combat Revamp)
- Lineage 2 (UP 2 to no. 5, top article: Kamael Expansion - First Impressions)
If the Top 10 isn't enough, we also show the Top 20 and Top 50 lists as well, available to everyone on our homepage. (What is Pulse?)
Daily Column
Loading... where gamers control the means of production.
The votes are in, the ballots are counted, and in a historical outcome... Dunkin' Donuts coffee wins taste test over Starbucks. And there's also something here about Barack Obama winning the presidency, the Democrats closing in on a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, and the fact that when two of the Supreme Court justices retire or expire as expected in the next four years, one party will effectively control all three branches of the federal government. And that's without getting a majority (over 50%) of the popular vote nationwide. But checks and balances weren't any fun anyway.
Speaking of emboldened central governments, the Wall Street Journal reported that China will begin taxing individual income from RMT (virtual currency to real money transfers). At last we'll see if China can do what Blizzard couldn't, put a serious, long-term dent in goldsellers' profits. Does such a tax legitimize these game-breaking activities? I don't think anyone at the Chinese Tax Authority is losing sleep over such scruples.
Like Brittany Spears at the rehab clinic, Hellgate: London is there, back, and gone again, at least in the US and EU. Namco Bandai stated in no uncertain terms that Hanbitsoft cannot keep the servers up in North America or Europe past the end of January 2009. Which means that Hellgate: London won't be playable in London but will be playable in Seoul. It's a bit of irony, a little like panzershreking German soldiers at the Call of Duty booth at the Leipzig Games Show.
While I was busy fleeing the country on election day to come to predominantly gray Iceland for FanFest 2008, Blizzard ended the Wrath of the Lich King beta - not with a bang, but a whimper. Known for spectacular end-of-beta events, the quiet poof of Blizzard's latest open beta left some players feeling ill-used and abandoned. But only for a week, folks. Something tells me you'll be waiting in line at midnight next week anyway.
Post your thoughts in the Loading... forum, or email me if you like.
Ten Ton Hammer Epic Thread of the Day
Sometimes they're funny; sometimes they're foolish; sometimes they're flaming;
sometimes they're cool. Whatever this one happens to be, it's
our Epic Thread of the Day.
====================
From our /OOC (Off-Topic) Forum
So, American citizens, didya vote?
Gratuitous
post-Election Day thread incoming! We simply want to know whether you
voted. We also want to discuss why Annatar (our Aussie expatriate)
can't vote, and why he's unlikely to be a candidate in 2012, no matter
how much we may yearn for it. We may also throw around a Princess
Bride reference or two. Whether you live in a red state, blue
state, a purple state with pink commie polka-dots, or you've been
observing from somewhere outside the USA, we invite you to come join the fun.
Awesome Quote from the Epic Thread:
"Ah, but you've beaten my White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, which means
you're exceptionally strong, so you could've voted for the candidate in
front of you, trusting in your strength to save you, so I can clearly
not choose the candidate in front of you. But, you've also bested my
African-American, which means you must have studied, and in studying
you must have learned that man is mortal, so you would have chosen the
candidate furthest away from yourself, so I can clearly not choose the
candidate in front of me!"
- Finn
====================
Do you have a favorite Epic Thread? Let us know!
5 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 23 in November! 2820 in 2008!
New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today [Thanks Phil Comeau for links and Real World News]
Images/Video
Op/Eds
Guides
- World of Warcraft: Strand of the Ancients Guide
- Warhammer Online: A Primer to Mount Gunbad
- Wizard101: Guide to The Sleeper's Timepiece Quest
Hot Content - Or, what I took a fancy to:
- Warhammer Online: PvP - A Carebear Discovers a Taste for Blood
- Fusion Fall: Interview with Matthew Schwartz
- World of Warcraft: Did Blizzard Address Patch Issues Well Enough?
- Age of Conan: Playing on the Test Server - Making Friends and Influencing People
- Perfect World: Exclusive International Interview - Raising the Bar
- Age of Conan: Community Coordinator Wayne 'Yakomo' Soong
- WAR Torn: Issue #11 - The Dress Code
- Warhammer Online: Holiday Content - A Challenging Necessity
- Vanguard: Dalmarus' Chronicles - All Good Things...
Real World News
-
Olive pits... the new gasoline?
Republicans promise to begin offshore drilling for olives immediately upon election -
Man attempts to salvage metal from antique artillery shell with blowtorch
Friends relieved to hear he survived, will visit him in the hospital to find out howitzer going for him -
Overweight women more likely to have sex
In other news, sex researchers at U of Hawaii more likely to be into big girls
Thanks for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!
- Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle and the Ten Ton Hammer Team
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our World of Warcraft Game Page.
