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is the premier daily MMOG newsletter, only from Ten
Ton Hammer!
Welcome
to the 1,382nd
edition
of Loading...
For today’s
edition of Loading… we have a special treat for those of you
eager to hear more about some of the hottest titles in MMO and RPG
gaming this year. Having survived his first day amidst the gigantic
piles of fans in attendance at San Diego Comic-Con 2010, Ethec has
beamed us another telepathic transmission detailing his experiences
from the first full day at the expo. This plus links to our latest and
greatest event coverage await you today in Loading… Lines,
Lines, Everywhere a Line.
The
Pulse
You vote with what you
view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the
result
is the Ten Ton Pulse (
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/thepulse/">What
is The Pulse?).
Today's
top 5 Pulse results:
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow">World
of Warcraft -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eq2">EverQuest
II - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/38">EverQuest
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ddo">Dungeons and
Dragons Online - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve">EVE Online
Biggest
movers this week:
-
size="-1">5/26
- EVE
Online: Tyrannis size="-1">
(expansion) -
size="-1">5/27
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2422">Craft
of Gods size="-1">
(release) -
size="-1">6/9
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1004">Mortal
Online size="-1">
(release) -
size="-1">6/29
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/998"
target="_blank">APB
(release) -
size="-1">7/13
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1801"
target="_blank">Mytheon
(release) -
size="-1">7/20
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2461"
target="_blank">Need
for Speed World
(release)
Releases
-
size="-1">August
17, 2010 - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/140">City
of Heroes: Going Rogue (release) -
size="-1">September
7, 2010 - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aion">Aion:
Assault on Balaurea (free
expansion) -
size="-1">September
30, 2010 - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ffxiv" target="_blank">Final
Fantasy XIV size="-1">
(release) -
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">October
26, 2010
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/170">LEGO
Universe (release)
-
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">November
2, 2010
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1407">DC
Universe Online (release)
size="-1">Upcoming
Events
-
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">7/22 -
7/25 - href="http://www.comic-con.org/" target="_blank">Comic-Con
International -
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">8/5 -
8/8 - href="http://events.station.sony.com/fanfaire/" target="_blank">SOE
Fan Faire 2010 -
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">8/18 -
8/22 - href="http://www.gamescom-cologne.com/en/gamescom/home/index.php"
target="_blank">Gamescom 2010
-
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">9/3 -
9/5 - href="http://www.paxsite.com/paxprime/index.php" target="_blank">PAX
Prime -
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">9/3 -
9/6 - href="http://www.dragoncon.org/" target="_blank">DragonCon -
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">10/22 -
10/23 - href="http://us.blizzard.com/blizzcon/?rhtml=y" target="_blank">BlizzCon -
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;"> 3/24
-
3/26 (2011) - href="http://fanfest.eveonline.com/" target="_blank">CCP
FanFest
Be
sure to check out all of
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/sdcomic-con/2010">Ten
Ton Hammer's San Diego Comic-Con 2010 event coverage!
Loading... Daily
The first full day of
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/sdcomic-con/2010">San
Diego
Comic-Con 2010 is now behind us,
and the celebration of pop culture in
a sardine can rolls on. For the MMO attuned, yesterday’s
panels included an interesting panel on NCSoft’s ongoing
efforts to revitalize
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/140">City
of Heroes: Going Rogue
that I unfortunately
only caught 15 minutes of before having to rush across the autograph
pavilion to secure a place in line an hour ahead of time for the 38
Studios reveal of
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2454">Kingdoms
of Amalur: Reckoning.
Even so I barely made
it into the room before the presentation started.
I might have been able to wave the old press badge and step to the head
of the line and in retrospect should have to catch more of the NCSoft
panel, but I have objections to that on a couple fronts. One, if you
show up late and your press badge and Jedi mind tricks fail you,
you’re probably out of luck. Two, my egalitarian hangups
don’t allow me to feel good about anyone getting special
treatment, especially me. But hangups aside, I probably
should’ve tried the oldest press trick in the book to get the
latest on Going Rogue (hopefully I can get the lowdown during
today’s booth appointment).
To say KoAR (I haven’t seen another acronym attempt yet, so
I’m going with this one) shows promise would be a crass
understatement, since the game certainly has a strong pedigree. I liked
R.A. Salvatore’s comments about the story - how its
centerpiece is the discovery of resurrection and the impact of the
discovery on the world of Amalur. Resurrection is central to any MMORPG
or RPG, and it seems like 38 Studios are building a RPG action-esque
puzzler of a game that will engage our brains as well as our
fingertips. That and the empassioned dynamic duo of Ken Rolston and
Todd McFarlane seem genuinely committed to pushing the boundaries of
the RPG category. You can catch a full writeup from the panel, along
with enjoyable video snippets, in our
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/sdcc2010/reckoning-preview">KoAR
panel writeup and video
article from San Diego Comic-Con 2010.
Done well, Reckoning could be the perfect lead-in to
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/883">
style="font-style: italic;">Copernicus,
and
there’s certainly precedent for a successful MMO that has its
roots in a single player / multiplayer foundation. But that said, the
information given was rather high-level and 38 Studios still
isn’t talking specifics about any of their games. A Fall 2011
date for Reckoning means both that they probably won’t be
talking specifics before next summer, and it also probably means that
we won’t see Copernicus for well after that, most likely in
another two years or more.
Yesterday couldn’t have wrapped up more perfectly with the
first ever
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2339">
style="font-style: italic;">TERA
community event. En Masse rented out a bar for a few
hours, and as the drinking and appetizering commenced, Associate
Producer Stefan Ramirez laid out never-before-seen features from a new
build of the game (you can check out these features in a
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/sdcc2010/tera/glyph-preview">freshly
posted video here at Ten Ton
Hammer). These reveals were so brand new
that they couldn’t be shown on the event floor, but I think
it speaks volumes about En Masse’s commitment to the fanbase
that they chose a fan event as the venue to show off their latest and
greatest.
Today’s our busiest day of Comic-Con, and I’ll be
seeing the ever popular
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2">
style="font-style: italic;">Guild Wars 2
team along with Paragon Studios
for City
of Heroes: Going Rogue, also
folks from
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aion">
style="font-style: italic;">Aion,
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/170">
style="font-style: italic;">LEGO Universe,
and more from the floor on
style="font-style: italic;">TERA.
style="font-style: italic;">Star Wars: The Old
Republic
hosts
their panel today, and we’ll end the day the right way with
the City
of Heroes: Going Rogue press
event and launch party tonight at
the Hard Rock Hotel. Stay tuned for more coverage from Comic-Con
International here at Ten Ton Hammer, and feel free to discuss
today’s topics in the Loading... forum.
Shayalyn's
Epic Thread of
the Day
From our
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=160">WoW
Rant Forum
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=17385">What
are your WoW pet peeves?
Friday seems like a good day to revisit the WoW pet peeves thread.
Plenty of you are apparently peevish, or wanting to discuss
peevishness, because this thread, now in its third year on Ten Ton
Hammer (happy birthday!), is well over 1,300 posts long. Care
to
add to it?
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=17385">Join
the fun!
==============================
Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread
"Aggravating community. STO
might be only 10% of WoW in content but I find I can at least read the
forums and chat without getting heartburn."
-
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showpost.php?p=424024&postcount=1322">Oldcarebear
==============================
New
and Exclusive Content
Today at Ten Ton Hammer
7 Ten Ton Hammer
feature
today! 79 Ten Ton Hammer
features
in July! 791
in 2010!
SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON EVENT
COVERAGE
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
Unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/sdcc2010/reckoning-preview">http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/sdcc2010/reckoning-preview
The 38 Studios / Big Huge Games crew officially pulled the wraps off of
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning at an entertaining San Diego Comic-Con
panel Thursday afternoon. The cross-platform, single-player RPG takes
place in Amalur, the fictional world envisioned by bestselling author
R.A. Salvatore that also serves as the backdrop for host of unannounced
titles and products from 38 Studios, including the upcoming MMORPG
codenamed Copernicus.
Ten Ton Hammer has all the details on what makes the upcoming RPG tick
and an exclusive feature length video from the 38 Studios panel
discussion.
TERA's New UI, Glyph System and
More Previewed at San Didgo Comic-Con
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/sdcc2010/tera/glyph-preview">http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/sdcc2010/tera/glyph-preview
At San Diego Comic-Con 2010, En Masse Entertainment held its first ever
community event for their upcoming fantasy action MMORPG TERA. Usually
fan events are great fun and this one was no exception, but En Masse
sweetened the experience by revealing a host of never-before-seen
features at the Thursday night event. For a preview of some of these
awesome new features, Ten Ton Hammer is pleased to bring you an
exclusive first look at TERA's New UI, Glyph System and More at San
Diego Comic-Con!
MEDIA
Masthead Releases Updated
Details and Screenshots for Earthrise
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/earthrise/screenshots/july2010">http://www.tentonhammer.com/earthrise/screenshots/july2010
Masthead
Studios has released updated details and images for their upcoming
MMOG, Earthrise. The information details the war that consumed humanity
in the game's storyline and how certain governments devised a plan to
win the war and avoid annihilation with the Continoma Project. Players
will find themselves in the middle of the great power struggle that
continues between the leaders behind the Continoma Project in the
skill-based sandbox-style MMOG as they work to influence the world
around them.
LEGO Universe Releases New
Comic-Con Screenshots
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/tid/2648">http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/tid/2648
LEGO
Universe may seem like a game for a younger audience at a glance, but
developer NetDevil has some innovative features that will broaden its
appeal to older players as well. The Builds and Behavior system is one
of the innovative features we got the chance to
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/85852">learn a
bit more about at E3 2010 and
more recently we got the chance to get some
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/86959">hands-on
time with the game.
But LEGO Universe also made an appearance at Comic-Con and we have a
fresh batch of new screenshots from the event of the game's behavior's
and the war with the Maelstrom. Check out all the new images in our
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/tid/2648">LEGO
Universe Gallery.
Turbine Reveals New LotRO
Enedwaith Screenshots
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/tid/2646">http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/tid/2646
Turbine
may still be deciding what to name the next epic book installment for
The Lord of the Rings Online but that hasn't slowed down the flow of
content for LotRO's next update. Today we received a new batch of
screenshots for Enedwaith, the next landmass to be added to LotRO. The
new screenshots provide a look at several of the different areas in
Enedwaith and even some of the local wildlife. Check them all out in
our LotRO Enedwaith Gallery.
FEATURES & GUIDES
The Races of Guild Wars 2: The
Charr
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/previews/charr">http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/previews/charr
The
Charr were the first main enemy player's encountered in Guild Wars and
now they will be a playable race in Guild Wars 2. Their history runs
deep in the lands of Tyria and so does their lust for battle. Who are
the Charr, why did they invade Ascalon, and what have they been up to
for the last 250 years? Find out here at Ten Ton Hammer.
StarCraft II - The Evolution
From Beta to Launch
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/starcraft2/guides/beta-changes">http://www.tentonhammer.com/starcraft2/guides/beta-changes
Years
of internal testing and balance took place before any of us could even
lay a hand on StarCraft II. And yet, every week or two, we had a new
balance patch in the beta that changed the face of the game. From day
one to the last glorious day, StarCraft II was basically turned upside
down. New strategies became viable and cheese was off the menu...mostly.
Today's
Hottest Articles, Guides, and Features
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/sdcc2010/DCUO-Legend-Play">SOE
Unveils Legend Play for DC
Universe Online -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/starcraft2/guides/beta-changes">StarCraft
II - The Evolution from Beta to
Launch -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/podcasts/live/16">Episode
16 - Paiz and Boyer from
Dungeons & Dragons
Online:
Eberron Unlimited href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/podcasts/live/16">
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lego-universe/gnarled-forest-preview/july2010">First
Impressions: Exploring style="font-weight: bold;">
LEGO Universe’s Gnarled
Forest -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/interviews/death-and-healing">Death
and Healing in style="font-weight: bold;">Guild
Wars 2 - An Exclusive
Q&A with ArenaNet's Jon
Peters -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve/guides/politics/outpost1">Building
An Outpost In EVE Online
(part 1)
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rom/giveaways/runesurfer">
style="font-weight: bold;">Runes of Magic Runesurfer
Bundle and Summer Prize Giveaway -
style="font-weight: bold;">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/cataclysm/zones/vashjir-preview">WoW
Cataclysm href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/cataclysm/zones/vashjir-preview">
Beta: The Zone Aquatic
– Exploring the Zone of Vashj’ir
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/locations-and-lore">The
Changing Landscape of Tyria in
Guild Wars 2 href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/locations-and-lore">
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve/spymaster/48">
style="font-weight: bold;">EVE
Sins of a Solar Spymaster #48 - The Trends of the Nullsec Metagame
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve/spymaster/48">
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 City of Heroes Game Page.
