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is the premier daily MMOG newsletter, only from Ten
Ton Hammer!

Welcome
to the 1,403rd
edition
of Loading...

Yesterday Cryptic announced style="font-style: italic;">Neverwinter, a new
game in development for next year. However the game is not an
MMOG, but rather a co-op RPG. Today, we take a look at the
differences between those genres and come to a surprising conlcusion in
Loading... OMG RPG.

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The
Pulse

You vote with what you
view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the
result
is the Ten Ton Pulse (What
is The Pulse?).

This month's
top 5 Pulse results:

1. World
   of Warcraft
2. EverQuest
   II (UP 1)
3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/115">Age of
   Conan (UP 2)
4. EVE
   Online (UP 2)
5. Lord
   of the Rings Online (down 3)

Biggest
movers in the past 7 days :

1. Guild
   Wars 2
   
   - UP 6 to #9
2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/926">Global
   Agenda
   
   - UP 4 to #18
3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/42">Star
   Wars Galaxies
   
   - UP 4 to #16

Recent Releases

• 6/29
  - target="_blank">APB
  (release)
• 7/27
  - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2461"
  target="_blank">Need
  for Speed World
  (release)
• 7/27
  - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/starcraft2" target="_blank">StarCraft
  II: Wings of Liberty
  (release)
• 8/17
  - City
  of Heroes: Going Rogue (release)
• 8/18
  - EverQuest
  II Extended (release)

Upcoming
Releases

• September
  7, 2010 - Aion:
  Assault on Balaurea (free
  expansion)
• September
  30, 2010 - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ffxiv" target="_blank">Final
  Fantasy XIV
  (release)
• style="font-weight: bold;">October
  26, 2010
  - LEGO
  Universe (release)
  
  
• style="font-weight: bold;">November
  2, 2010
  - DC
  Universe Online (release)
  
  

Upcoming
Events

• style="font-weight: bold;">9/3 -
  9/5 - href="http://www.paxsite.com/paxprime/index.php" target="_blank">PAX
  Prime
• style="font-weight: bold;">9/3 -
  9/6 - target="_blank">DragonCon
• style="font-weight: bold;">10/8 -
  10/10 - New
  York Comic Con
• style="font-weight: bold;">10/22 -
  10/23 - href="http://us.blizzard.com/blizzcon/?rhtml=y" target="_blank">BlizzCon
• style="font-weight: bold;"> 3/24
  -
  3/26 (2011) - target="_blank">CCP
  FanFest
  

Loading... A nice hot cup of steaming MMOG discussion in the
morning

Yesterday's big news was href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/88367">Cryptic's
announcment of Neverwinter,
a co-op RPG based on the fourth edition ruleset of the beloved Dungeons
& Dragons franchise. Ten Ton Hammer Editor-in-Chief, aka Ethec,
spoke with Chief Creative Officer Jack Emmert about the game later in
the afternoon to get more details in our href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/neverwinter/interviews/jack-emmert-aug-2010"> style="font-style: italic;">Neverwinter
interview.



In our href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=53056">forum
thread about the announcement we saw varied responses from
the community. Some loved the Neverwinter
Nights games so much that they couldn't wait for another
new game based on the universe, while others weren't at all impressed
by the franchise. Still others were put off from Cryptic's recent
releases including Star
Trek Online and Champions
Online so much that they stated quite pointedly that they
would never purchase another game from the studio.



So what's so different about the Studio's plans for style="font-style: italic;">Neverwinter?
Mainly, it's not an MMOG, but rather an OMG (Online Multiplayer Game).
Emmert likens the game to something more like style="font-style: italic;">Borderlands than style="font-style: italic;">Champions Online or
STO. Also included in the game is The Forge, which will allow players
to design their own campaigns to distribute and play through with their
friends.



These two things change the dynamic of the game entirely. Where MMOGs
rely on a persistent universe, a co-op multiplayer game does not.
Still, though, similarities run deep, particularly with today's trends
in how MMOGs are designed.



Take for instance group play: the heart of online gaming. In early
MMOGs groups were required in order to take on most of the content and
a lot of that content was contested. So it wouldn't be uncommon that
you'd run into other groups during your play session that could be
competing for the same mobs or drops. We see less of that nowadays with
the introduction of instances (courtesy of Funcom with style="font-style: italic;">Anarchy Online) and
fast kills with rapid respawns (introduced with style="font-style: italic;">World of Warcraft).
Around the same era grouping was no longer required for most content
and soloing became not only viable, but preferred in many situations.



As I've said before, almost any game can be fun if you play with
friends. This philosophy has been adopted globally, with guilds
pre-forming for new games so they can have friends to play with come
launch, without the need to find pick-up groups within the world. In
many ways what made MMOGs MMO in days past are the same things the new
generation of players finds tedious and wants to avoid.



This opens up the market perfectly for co-op games like style="font-style: italic;">Borderlands, style="font-style: italic;">Left 4 Dead, and
the like. These games offer players a rich story, plenty of loot (ok,
not so much story and look in L4D), and fun group gameplay-- all
without the hassles of contested mobs and quests, bad PUGs, or the need
to rely on strangers. In fact, in these ways co-op multiplayer is
becoming the quintessential online gaming experience in a cleaner
package than many MMOGs.



I do love co-op games, so I will always welcome more. Particularly now
as I get older and find myself with less free time, I like to make my
gaming time count so it makes sense to post on my guild forums that I
want to play such-and-such a game at a said time and day and just meet
my friends then to play. That being said though, it's still not a
substitute for MMO gaming for me. It's a fun experience, but I will
still always enjoy running through an open persistent world, meeting
new people, watching the community around me shape and shift. But yes,
I'm also one of those rare players who enjoys PUGs as a social tool.



If I'm the minority in that though, are we going to see a shift in the
online gaming market? Will nicely packaged co-op games satisfy enough
players to become the main experience of online play? Will developers
like Cryptic see co-op games as MMO 2.0 and shift their focus more in
that direction if players continue to snub the idea of contested
content and PUGs? I, for one, hope not, but even now we're seeing many
new MMOGs under development become more like online co-op games
than MMOGs. Will this trend continue? Are we seeing the
beginning of the next generation of online gaming? Let me know in the
forums.

---

Shayalyn's Epic Thread of
the Day

From our href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=6">Articles,
News & Events Discussion forum



Blizzard Planning Big Diablo III News for BlizzCon 2010



At gamescom, href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2280"
target="_blank">Diablo III Game Director
Jay Wilson made a statement to G4TV that "this Blizzcon, in
terms of Diablo news, will be the biggest one that we've ever had."
While Jay didn't go into detail, I'm guessing we might get some big href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2280"
target="_blank">Diablo III surprises at href="http://us.blizzard.com/blizzcon/" target="_blank">BlizzCon.
But what could it be? href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=53065">Come
speculate!



==============================

Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread



"Umm, for the love of
all things pure, please, please, please, DO WANT..."



 - href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showpost.php?p=439920&postcount=3">OneEyeRed

==============================

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PREVIEWS



WoW Cataclysm: Silverpine
Forest Preview

http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/previews/silverpine-forest



Silverpine
Forest is a changed land in Cataclysm. The Greymane Wall has been
opened and war between the Forsaken and the Worgen rages over the land.
These changes and many more make Silverpine a place almost
unrecognizable from the Silverpine of old. Join us here at Ten Ton
Hammer to experience all of the changes that have come to this once
haunted and plagued forest.



City of Heroes: Going
Rogue - First Impressions

http://www.tentonhammer.com/coh/review/going-rogue

 

This
week Ten Ton Hammer takes a look at Going Rogue. No, not Sarah Palin’s
book, the new City of Heroes expansion with new powersets, a Morality
System, and all new zones. Join Martuk, if you dare, as he dons his
cape and tights and takes to the skies of Praetoria to frighten adults
and small children while exploring what’s new in City of Heroes: Going
Rogue.



INTERVIEWS



style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">HOT! A Return to
the Sword Coast! A Neverwinter Q&A with Cryptics Jack Emmert

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/neverwinter/interviews/jack-emmert-aug-2010">http://www.tentonhammer.com/neverwinter/interviews/jack-emmert-aug-2010



Its
been almost four years since Neverwinter Nights 2 first graced our
monitors, but yesterday the rumors proved true: Cryptic Studios is
indeed developing the next iteration of the beloved Neverwinter series,
succinctly titled Neverwinter. We had some questions: what Cryptics
learned from its last two launched titles, and the games alleged use of
4th edition rules. To answer these questions and more like them, we
collared our favorite ex-comic book store clerk, classics scholar, and
trivia master, Cryptic Studios Chief Creative Officer Jack Emmert.



MEDIA



Tittering Madness! Skaven
Concept Art for Warhammer Online Released

http://www.tentonhammer.com/war/images/skaven-concept-art



The
recent announcement of new RvR content pack for Warhammer: Age of
Reckoning sent fans into a tittering frenzy. The reason why? Skaven!
Thats right; the infamous rat-men of the Warhammer world are leaving
their subterranean caverns and sewers to infest your desktop computers!
Theres no word yet if youre able to play a Grey Seer or a Plague Monk
(my favorite!), but Mythic has released some concept art for the
Skaven. Be warned! Just by viewing these images, you will be considered
guilty in the eyes of the Imperial Inquisition and shall be dealt with
accordingly.



WEEKLY FEATURES



Microcosms: Three to Play
– The New What’s Next

http://www.tentonhammer.com/microcosms/2010/aug/34



While
many gamers are salivating at the thought of the new Star Wars MMOG and
the next WoW expansion, free-to-play gamers have even more to
anticipate. Which three impressive titles have Jason “Medawky” Bolton
so excited? Join us for this week’s Microcosms to find out.



WoW Weekly Report - A
Look Back at Some of the Big Cataclysm Articles

http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/newsletter/issue81



The
WoW Weekly Report is our weekly newsletter dedicated to giving you a
wrap-up of the previous week in news, stories, and more. This week due
to two huge conventions WoW articles were held back, so we take a look
at some past big Cataclysm articles. In addition check out all the news
regarding World of Warcraft so you don't miss a thing. All this and
more in our WoW Weekly Report every Tuesday.



FEATURES & GUIDES



Rookie's Guide To Mining
In EVE Online

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve/guides/business/rookie-mining">http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve/guides/business/rookie-mining



Need a newb-friendly guide to minin in EVE? Space Junkie has delivered
the goods!

Today's
Hottest Articles, Guides, and Features

1. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/neverwinter/interviews/jack-emmert-aug-2010">A
   Return to the Sword Coast! A Neverwinter
   Q&A with Cryptics Jack Emmert href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/coh/review/going-rogue"> style="font-weight: bold;">
2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/coh/review/going-rogue"> style="font-weight: bold;">City of Heroes: Going Rogue
   - First Impressions
3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/gamescom2010/gw2/necromancer-gameplay">Exclusive
   First Look at Necromancer Gameplay in style="font-weight: bold;"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/gamescom2010/gw2/necromancer-gameplay">Guild
   Wars 2
4. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/swtor/news/specs-and-space-combat-reveal">Class
   Specializations and Space Combat in style="font-weight: bold;"> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/swtor/news/specs-and-space-combat-reveal">SW:TOR href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/swtor/news/specs-and-space-combat-reveal">
   Revealed
5. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/gamescom2010/dcuo/trailer">GamesCom
   href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/gamescom2010/dcuo/trailer">DC
   Universe Online href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/gamescom2010/dcuo/trailer">
   Trailer
   
   
6. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/diabloIII/caravan/faq">Blizzard
   Unveils Caravan Feature FAQ for
   Diablo III href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/diabloIII/caravan/faq">
   
   
7. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ffxiv/preview/aug-2010-hands-on">New
   Final Fantasy XIV
   Hands-On Preview
8. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/gamescom2010/torchlight2/trailer">Runic
   Games Unveils href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/gamescom2010/torchlight2/trailer">Torchlight
   2 href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/gamescom2010/torchlight2/trailer">
   Trailer
   
   
9. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/end-of-nations/preview/aug-2010-hands-on">The
   Beginning of the End: A Hands-On Preview with style="font-weight: bold;">End of Nations title="http://www.tentonhammer.com/end-of-nations/preview/aug-2010-hands-on"
   href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/end-of-nations/preview/aug-2010-hands-on">
   
   
10. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/mythos/interviews/bloodletter-skills">Myth
    No More: A Mythos
    Beta Update and Bloodletter Class Q&A href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/mythos/interviews/bloodletter-skills">
    
    

---

Thanks
for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!

- Benjamin J. de la Durantaye
and the Ten Ton Hammer team