Welcome
to the 1,320th
edition
of Loading...

Loading... is the premier daily
MMOG news and commentary
newsletter, only from Ten Ton Hammer.

Today's Loading... is a celebration, as one fearless company steps up and unveils a flurry of top-tier, high budget MMOGs we can all be excited about. It's a Trion love-fest, with quick looks at each of their in-development titles, in today's Loading... Trion's Trifecta.

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/" target="_blank">What
is The Pulse?).

Here
are today's top 5 Pulse results:

1. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow">World
   of Warcraft
2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eq2">EverQuest
   II 
3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aoc">Age of Conan (UP 2)
4. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ddo">Dungeons and
   Dragons Online (down 1)
5. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/38">Lord of the Rings Online (UP1)

Biggest
movers today:

1. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/42">Star
   Wars Galaxies (UP 49 to #7)
2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1303">Atlantica Online (UP 6 to #16)
3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/swtor">Free Realms (down 6 to #17)

• size="-1">2/1
  - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/926">Global
  Agenda (release date)
• size="-1">2/2 size="-1">
  - Star
  Trek Online (release date)
• size="-1">2/16
  - href="http://everquest2.station.sony.com/expansions/sentinelsfate/index.vm">EverQuest
  2: Sentinel's Fate (expansion)
• size="-1">2/16
  - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/81479"> LotRO:
  Oath of the
  Rangers (content update)
• size="-1">4/5
  - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/83086">Pocket
  Legends (iMMOG - release date)
  
  
  

• size="-1">April
  2010 - href="http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/game_updates/issue_17/issue_17_overview.html?utm_source=COHemail&utm_medium=US&utm_campaign=banner">City
  of Heroes - Issue 17: Dark Mirror
• size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">Spring 2010
  - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1801">Mytheon
• size="-1">Summer
  2010 - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/998">APB
• size="-1">TBA
  2010 - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2079">Final
  Fantasy XIV size="-1">
  
  
  
  

size="-1">Upcoming
Events

• size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">6/15 -
  6/17 - href="http://www.e3expo.com/">E3
  Expo
• size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">6/25 -
  6/27 - href="http://www.lfgexpo.com/">Looking
  for Group
  Expo
• size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">7/22 -
  7/25 - href="http://www.comic-con.org/">Comic-Con
  International
• size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">8/5 -
  8/8 - href="http://events.station.sony.com/fanfaire/">SOE
  Fan Faire 2010
• size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">9/3 -
  9/6 - href="http://www.dragoncon.org/">DragonCon
• size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">10/22 -
  10/23 - href="http://us.blizzard.com/blizzcon/?rhtml=y">BlizzCon
• size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">2011: 3/24
  -
  3/26 - href="http://fanfest.eveonline.com/">CCP
  FanFest
  
  
  

Loading... Daily

For roughly the past five years , I've been wishing on every fallen star for a developer / publisher, any developer / publisher (but preferably one with money, ready talent, and business brains) to believe in the MMOG again. Not believe as in "surely we can imitate WoW's / RuneScape's success with this surreptitous clone" or "let's give this poor indy enough rope to hang itself" or "here's a cool IP, let's see if we can bash it into a subscription model" or "we're not making an MMO, this is a F2P hybrid fusion shoot 'em up with character persistance and cool gangsta t-shirts." Some have come close, don't get me wrong, and many of the old favorites continue to hold their own. But I'm looking for an unabashed executive-level on down believer in the massively social gaming experience that was the MMORPG circa 1997 - 2005.

I'm knocking on wood right now (it's hard to type and knock on wood, fortunately one-handed typing... nevermind), but one such believer might have just stepped up to the microphone. Trion held a coming out party of sorts last week and, finally, I'm legally, ethically, morally able to tell you about the wondrous things I saw in this very Loading... Basically, a fine cast of characters - ex-Westwood and SSI devs Mike Legg, and fan favorite Scott Hartsman of EverQuest II fame, plus more devs like Adam Gershowitz and Chris Rubyor I've had the pleasure of knowing for quite a while through other AAA projects- got up on stage (or stood in front of their demo stations) and read a love letter to core MMO gamers. It went something like this:

Rift: Planes of Telara is the MMORPG formerly known as Heroes of Telara, and the name isn't the only thing that changed for the better. More classes with more class options, crisper graphics, a better, clearer implementation of the dynamic environments concept through "rifts" (what I view as the next stage in the evolution of public quests), and no more crazy talk about one-size-fits-all classes. Read more about Rift: Planes of Telara in the first of today's featured previews.

End of Nations was the big surprise from devs who had a heavy hand in creating Command & Conquer, Universe at War, and Panzer General. I haven't heard such a full throated response to a trailer unveil since the still mystifying cheer to the big B's announcement that they'd be charging us thrice for StarCraft 2. While 51+ players on a single map may not cut the MMO mustard on a 3D fantasy title, it's crazily, wickedly in excess of anything we've seen in a multiplayer RTS. Thus we're conferring an MMO dispensation on Petroglyph and saying that EoN, if it delivers as promised, will be the first true MMORTS, and accorded all the hype and benefits thereof. I know they'll sleep better, but in all seriousness, even if you don't style yourself an RTS gamer, check out the preview and trailer. If you do so and honestly feel I've wasted your time, write to me and I'll offer you a profuse but mostly insincere apology.

The Syfy Action MMO is still the most WTF of Trion's pursuits, but I was able to sit down with Senior Producer Rob Hill and learn more about the cross-media venture. I'll have an in-depth interview for you later this week, but to wet your whistle, it's based on a new SyFy show (or the show is based on the new MMOG, how bout them apples?) - in fact a whole new IP. The game is described as a near-future, third-person "gunfighter" where players and player organizations will be able to tie up threads from the TV series and vice versa, perhaps becoming immortalized with a mention on the show. For more, you'll have to wait for the full Q&A later this week!

In short, Trion is all about creating full-featured, top tier MMOGs, but that doesn't mean their sticking with the conventional formulas. From the Syfy project's innovative mass market appeal to a viable MMORTS in End of Nations, to Rift: Planes of Telara, which strikes me as an old-school fantasy remade with gorgeous graphics and a highlight reel of some of the best MMOG ideas in recent years, Trion's slate of MMOGs offers us all something to be excited about. Or am I wrong? Share
your opinion in the Loading... forum!

Shayalyn's Epic Thread of
the Day



From our AoC: The Courtyard forum

SirRobin the Cowardly Barbarian

Every
so often one of our members decides to head into a well-seasoned game
and give it a try (or a second chance). Inevitably, they post in our
community forum to ask for guidance. SirRobin has found his way back to
Hyboria via Age of Conan. If you're thinking about heading back yourself, or if you've got some advice for him, stop by this thread.

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

Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread

"Not all that excited about having to go through Tortage again,
especially since I ran it back in Beta. They ever come out with an
option to skip it?"

- SirRobin

"If you had an account with a level 50 char you could (or can, have not
resubscribed in a while) start a new character directly at level 50,
foregoing all the early hassle."

- WZT

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



Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums? Tell
us!

New
and Exclusive Content
Today at Ten Ton Hammer

6 new Ten Ton Hammer articles! 87 Ten Ton Hammer
features
in April! 446
in 2010!

PREVIEWS

HOT! A First Look at Rift: Planes of Telara
http://tentonhammer.com/rift/first_look

You might have read about Rift: Planes of Telara in its former incarnation, Heroes of Telara, and wondered about its cornerstone concepts like "dynamic environments.". But with a whole new team of veteran developers on the case, Rift got a whole lot more than a new name. Scott Hartsman and Adam Gershowitz clue us in on the imaginative fantasy setting, intriguing classes and gameplay, dynamic environments, and social hooks that make up this breakout title from Trion Worlds in A First Look at Rift: Planes of Telara.

HOT! Command & Conquer Creators Unveil Massively Military MMORTS: End of Nations
http://www.tentonhammer.com/end_of_nations/reveal

What if many of the visionaries behind Command and Conquer decided to make a truly massive MMORTS in the spirit of their touchstone original? Petroglyph, in conjunction with Trion Worlds, is doing just that, and End of Nations might just be the beginning of the truly massively multiplayer MMORTS. Join Ten Ton Hammer for a first look at this refreshingly pre-nuclear real-time strategy take on the post-apocalyptic scene, featuring a host of our favorite RTS gameplay elements and at least 51 of your closest friends and enemies on a single map - in our featured preview: Command & Conquer Creators Unveil Massively Military MMORTS: End of Nations .

PODCAST



Ten Ton Hammer Live Ep. 4 - Funcom's Erling Ellingsen Talks The Secret World

http://www.tentonhammer.com/podcasts/live/4



This
week on Ten Ton Hammer Live! Jesse is once again joined by his
sidekicks Ben de la Durantaye and the mighty Davlen - but more
importantly - Funcom's Director of Communications, Erling Ellingsen
(also known to Jesse as Elrig the Ranger). who lets us in on some
secrets of Funcom's The Secret World. Get ready for a fun time and
caffeine-fueled revelry.



REVIEWS



Kasumi-Stolen Memory Review (PC), and the Current State of DLC for Mass Effect 2

http://www.tentonhammer.com/reviews/Masseffect2_Kasumi_Memory



BioWare
has released their first paid content expansion for Mass Effect 2
called Kasumi-Stolen Memory. Mattlow reviews the new content, and takes
a look at the DLC currently available for game.



FEATURES & GUIDES



Final Fantasy XIV Playable Races Overview

http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/83664



The
first major choice players make in most MMOGs is which race they’d like
their character to be. Final Fantasy XIV, which is currently in closed
beta with a possible release set for later this year, offers a diverse
set of playable races. Ten Ton Hammer has the skinny on the details
known so far, as well as some speculation as to how things will play
out come launch day in our Final Fantasy XIV Playable Races Overview.



WoW: Casually Casual #2 - Uninspired Questing

http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/editorials/CC/two



Come
one, come all to the second installment of Casually Casual. Up next for
your viewing pleasure Mem addresses some comments regarding his last
article (Casually Casual Episode I), and then will continue on to the
main event; the current dismal state of questing in World of Warcraft. Find out why questing makes Mem want to /headdesk in real life, and what he suggests needs to be done to fix the problem.

Today's
Hottest Articles, Guides, and Features

1. A First Look at Rift: Planes of Telara
2. Command & Conquer Creators Unveil Massively Military MMORTS: End of Nations
3. Ten Ton Hammer Live Ep. 4 - Funcom's Erling Ellingsen Talks The Secret World
4. Final Fantasy XIV Playable Races Overview
5. Kasumi-Stolen Memory Review (PC), and the Current State of DLC for Mass Effect 2
6. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/sto/features/editorials/death-penalty">Till
   Death Do Its Part - Death Penalties and Difficulty Sliders in STO
7. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/reviews">World
   of Warcraft Review Portal
   Launches
8. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/uimods/reviews/chatter">Chatter
   Like the Mad Hatter – A WoW
   U.I. Mod Review
9. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/cryptic/interviews/roper_cco">From
   Capes To Beyond! A Q&A
   with
   Cryptic’s Bill Roper
10. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/features/5best-tank">WoW:
    The 5 Best and Worst Things to Do as a Tank

Thanks
for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!

- Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle
and
the Ten Ton Hammer team