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

Welcome
to the 1,380th
edition
of Loading...

Sometimes we discard MMOGs that, for whatever reason, we
didn't enjoy enough to stick with the first time around. But these
games, by their nature, are constantly reinventing themselves.
Occasionally, we discover that an older MMOG we once set aside has
evolved into just what we're looking for. Karen "Shayalyn" Hertzberg
revisits one such discarded MMOG in today's href="http://tentonhammer.com/loading/2010/jul/21">Loading...
Second Chances.

The
Pulse

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

Today's
top 5 Pulse results this month:

1. World
   of Warcraft
2. EverQuest
   II
3. Vanguard:
   Saga of Heroes
4. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/115">Age of
   Conan
5. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/43">EVE
   Online

Biggest
movers over the past 24 hours:

1. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/215"> style="text-decoration: underline;">Planetside
   
   - UP 19 to #19
2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/265">The
   Secret World
   
   - UP 12 to #17
3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/38">EverQuest
   
   - Down 11 to #14

• 5/26
  - EVE
  Online: Tyrannis
  (expansion)
• 5/27
  - Craft
  of Gods
  (release)
• 6/9
  - Mortal
  Online
  (release)
• 6/29
  - target="_blank">APB
  (release)
• 7/13 -
  target="_blank">Mytheon
  (release)

• July
  20,
  2010 - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2461"
  target="_blank">Need
  for Speed World (release)
• August
  17, 2010 - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/140">City
  of Heroes: Going Rogue (release)
• 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;">7/22 -
  7/25 - target="_blank">Comic-Con
  International
• style="font-weight: bold;">8/5 -
  8/8 - href="http://events.station.sony.com/fanfaire/" target="_blank">SOE
  Fan Faire 2010
• style="font-weight: bold;">8/18 -
  8/22 - href="http://www.gamescom-cologne.com/en/gamescom/home/index.php"
  target="_blank">Gamescom 2010
  
• 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;">10/22 -
  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... Daily

"Now what are you downloading?" my husband asked me.



"I have to play WoW," I answered solemnly.



"Bummer," he said, and I suspect he was only half-kidding. Anyone who
knows me (and he certainly does) knows that href="http://tentonhammer.com/wow">World of Warcraft
is not one of my favorite games, and that I've never leveled a
character much past 15 or so. Yes, I know that around 12
million subscribers disagree with my opinion that WoW's simplicity is,
well...a bit dull, but the fact remains that I feel what I feel. While
I can acknowledge the power of Blizzard's well-polished gem, and I have
immense respect for it; I know that it isn't the game for me.
And yet....



We editors like to get together weekly to challenge ourselves to play a
variety of games, some of which are outside of our individual gaming
comfort zones. (The guys, for instance, make their way easily around
shooters like href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/998">APB.
Me? Not so much.) This week, WoW was on the table, and certainly will
be again after Cataclysm launches. So, I downloaded the client (I took
in a few of Ten Ton Hammer's href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides">WoW guides
while I was waiting), fired up my account, and rolled a Night Elf druid
on the group's server of choice. I installed a few of the
add-ons recommended here,
and off I went into Azeroth.



I'll admit that for the first hour or so I was muttering to myself. Wheee!
I throw a stupid green bolt repeatedly until the monster falls down
dead, then I loot said monster, then I move to the next monster and
fire green bolts, ad nauseum...bah! But by the time I got to
around level 8 I had to grudgingly admit that I was having a little
fun. And it was more fun still once I discovered Ten Ton Hammer's own
Ben de la Durantaye online and I coerced him to tell me about his
secret Las Vegas excursions. (Folks, not everything
that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Just sayin'.)



While waiting for some of the titles I'm craving to launch, or at least
let me into beta, there are worse things to occupy my time than
revisiting games I've set aside and taking them in with new eyes and an
open mind. Playing WoW in its classic form has me more than curious to
see what Cataclysm
will bring, because there's href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80118">a lot to look
forward to.



When was the last time you revisited a game you'd left behind? Have you
ever found yourself enjoying a game that you once quit because you
ceased having fun? From Cataclysm, to href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aion/features/editorials/assault-on-balaurea">Aion's
upcoming free expansion, to href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/140">City of
Heroes Going Rogue expansion, to href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aoc/">Age of Conan's
recent Rise
of the Godslayer, MMOGs have been finding ways to reinvent
themselves this summer. Has one of them won its way back into your
heart? Tell us in the href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=52468">Loading...
forum.

Shayalyn's Epic Thread of
the Day

From our href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=561">Ten
Ton Torched forum



Drugs
are bad.



If you haven't yet caught up with the double rainbow guy, come
hang
out with us and get yourself pop cultured. We've got everything from
the original video to the interview video to the auto-tune song. Dude,
it's a double rainbow all the way. Full on
double rainbow, ohmigod! You
really have to href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=52393">check
it out.



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

Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread



"I could be wrong. But
it sounds like the drugs were really good. :P"



- href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showpost.php?p=436860&postcount=2">Landric

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

New
and Exclusive Content
Today at Ten Ton Hammer

4 Ten Ton Hammer
feature
today! 67 Ten Ton Hammer
features
in July! 779
in 2010!

TEN TON HAMMER LIVE PODCAST



Episode 16 - Paiz and Boyer from Dungeons & Dragons
Online:
Eberron Unlimited

http://www.tentonhammer.com/podcasts/live/16



This week on Ten Ton Hammer Live Jesse and Ben learn Weird Al is still
giving concerts when Davlen announces he has to leave early to go to
one. So white and nerdy, let's hope he doesn't get trapped in the
drive-thru trying to eat it in an amish paradise.



More importantly the boys welcome back our first reoccuring guest, from
the very first podcast, Turbine Producers Fernando Paiz and Erik Boyer
who join us to discuss how going free to play turned DDO into a
powerhouse of gaming fun.Then Fernando and Eric stay for another
hilarious "Master Looter". This time with a drunk wizard, a massive
dragon, and the possibility of a near perfect record breaking (Barry
Bonds style) game.



In the news this week, STO asks you to create a ship, Tera comes to
Europe, and a whole other mess of stuff.



FEATURED EDITORIAL



Sins of a Solar Spymaster #48 - The Trends of the Nullsec Metagame

http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve/spymaster/48



Times are changing in EVE Online, and with those changes, players are
forced to adapt to survive in this new world. The Mittani has tracked
the changes and reflects on how the long term gameplay will be
affected. To learn about the changing world of New Eden, read Sins of a
Solar Spymaster #48 – The Trends of the Nullsec Metagame.



FEATURES & GUIDES



Building An Outpost In EVE Online (part 1)

http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve/guides/politics/outpost1



This guide by  Space Junkie is the first of a two-part series
dealing with constructing an outpost. This portion deals with an
overview of outpost types and the strategic concerns of when and where
to build them.



The Changing Landscape of Tyria in Guild Wars 2

http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/locations-and-lore



For the release of the first novel set in the Guild Wars 2 universe,
Ghosts of Ascalon, ArenaNet has also given fans a sneak peek into the
major regions of Tyria and how they've changed since the original Guild
Wars by providing a new world map. While many of the marked locations
no doubt tie directly into the storyline of the new novel, this new map
of Tyria still sheds plenty of light on the size and scope of the world
as players will experience it in the upcoming MMOG.



We've put together a detailed breakdown of five of the major regions
players will explore along with pertinent info on the main locations
marked on the new map of Tyria for Guild Wars 2.

Today's
Hottest Articles, Guides, and Features

1. 
   Episode 16 - Paiz and Boyer from Dungeons & Dragons
   Online:
   Eberron Unlimited href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/podcasts/live/16">
   
   
2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lego-universe/gnarled-forest-preview/july2010">First
   Impressions: Exploring
   LEGO Universe’s Gnarled Forest
3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/interviews/death-and-healing">Death
   and Healing in Guild
   Wars 2 - An Exclusive Q&A with ArenaNet's Jon
   Peters
4. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve/guides/politics/outpost1">Building
   An Outpost In EVE Online (part 1)
   
5. Ten
   Ton Hammer Live Episode 15 - EA Black Box and style="font-weight: bold;">Need for Speed World
6. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/reviews/hardware/killer2100">A
   Test of Speed - Reviewing the Killer 2100 Gaming Network Card from
   Bigfoot Networks
7. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rom/giveaways/runesurfer"> style="font-weight: bold;">Runes of Magic Runesurfer
   Bundle and Summer Prize Giveaway
8. 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
   
9. 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">
   
   
10. style="font-weight: bold;">EVE
    Sins of a Solar Spymaster #48 - The Trends of the Nullsec Metagame
    
    
    
    

Thanks
for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!

- Karen "Shayalyn" Hertzberg and the Ten Ton Hammer Team.