Welcome
to the 1,337th
edition
of Loading...

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

If you had unlimited resources and a team of talented
designers at your disposal, what kind of MMOG would you create? What
features would it have? What innovations? The Nexon iNitiative, a
million dollar program designed to help bring aspiring game designers'
visions to fruition, inspired Karen "Shayalyn" Hertzberg to ask this
question in today's Loading... You, the Dev.

The Pulse

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

Here
are today's top 5 Pulse results:

1. World
   of Warcraft
2. EverQuest
   2  (UP 1)
3. Age
   of Conan (UP 1)
4. EVE
   Online
5. Lord
   of the Rings Online (down 3)

Biggest
movers today:

1. Fallen
   Earth (UP 13 to #15)
2. Star
   Wars: The Old Republic (UP 5 to #18)
3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/38">EverQuest
   (UP 2 to #12)
   
   

• 2/16
  - href="http://everquest2.station.sony.com/expansions/sentinelsfate/index.vm">EverQuest
  2: Sentinel's Fate (expansion)
• 2/16
  - LotRO:
  Oath of the
  Rangers (content update)
• 4/5
  - Pocket
  Legends (iMMOG - release date) href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1004">
  
  
• 5/1
  - 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
  (content
  update)
• 5/11
  - Age
  of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer
  (expansion)

• May
  26,
  2010 - EVE
  Online: Tyrannis (expansion)
• May
  27,
  2010 - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2422">Craft
  of Gods (release)
• June 9,
  2010 - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1004">Mortal
  Online (release)
• June
  30,
  2010 - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/998">APB
  (US - July 2 in EU)
• style="font-weight: bold;">Q2 2010
  - Mytheon
• TBA
  2010 - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2079">Final
  Fantasy XIV
  
  
  
  

Upcoming
Events

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

Loading... Daily

Today I have to admit that writer's block has defeated me. It doesn't
happen often. Well, okay, it does, but usually I sit down on Tuesday
night before I'm due to write Loading... and ponder, while reading MMOG
news and talking to gamer friends on MSN or reading gamer and developer
posts on Facebook, and eventually something inspires me. Then I go to
bed thinking about that topic. I wake up thinking about that topic. I
write about that topic, and voila!--Loading....



But, unlike most Tuesdays, last night I went to bed wondering what on
earth possessed my daughter to send a text message to Indonesia at an
expense of over $4. (Hey, that pays for more than a week's worth of AAA
MMOG right there.) I didn't think about Loading..., and I didn't think
about it this morning when I was grumbling at my daughter about texting
her virtual pen pal in Jakarta. I didn't think about it when
my favorite morning radio show was discussing href="http://www.fox6now.com/news/witi-100518-mps-board,0,3893920.story">this
horrific story as I drove my kids to school. In fact, I
almost forgot that it was Wednesday and thus my turn to write
Loading....



Fortunately, when I got to my desk this morning and began going about
my Ten Ton Hammer rounds I found a href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/84521">quiet
little story our news writer extraordinare,
Stacy "Martuk" Jones, tucked into last night's news. It hasn't sparked
any forum chatter yet, and I doubt it will, but it did spark my
imagination. It discusses the href="http://initiative.nexon.net/Initiative.aspx">Nexon
iNitiative, Nexon's push to find and fund "new and innovative
gaming projects." According to Nexon's press release, the project,
which accepted applications through March and April, received 115
submissions from aspiring game developers across 26 countries.



Nexon is offering up to one million dollars in project funding--a nice
windfall for any would-be dev struggling to make something happen on a
shoestring budget. And while I'm not a would-be developer, the
news got me to thinking about what I would do if I magically had the
ability and the resources to create a MMOG that could be
anything  I want--anything! Nexon's one million dollars won't
finance the next World
of Warcraft by any stretch, of cours, but what if
you had a team of gifted designers at your disposal and unlimited
funds? What would you do with them? Let's say that you don't have any
corporate bean counters breathing down your neck insisting that your
MMOG be commercially viable. Let's say that you're just building this
MMOG because it's something that you, yourself, desperately want to
play. What would your MMOG look like? What features would it have?



My MMOG would involve time travel. My blue sky vision would be of a
game that could take me to many of the most fascinating time periods of
the past--ancient Egypt, feudal Japan, the Renaissance, the American
Old West, the World War eras, and so on. I would also want to be able
to jump to time periods in the future. Quests could be so dynamic that
the most epic of them would have me and my group or guild mates
literally revising history. (And maybe all of this could take place in
an alternate universe, so this revisionist history and lore wouldn't
conflict with reality.) This MMOG would have a wealth of user-created
content, from character skins and clothing packs to full-blown missions
and zones. Keep in mind that I'm not talking about what's
possible here from a development standpoint, but what's imaginable.



I've asked our premium
members in the past to share their vision for the perfect
MMOG (although I can't find the thread for the life of me), and some of
the answers were inventive or even approaching visionary. Now
it's time to open the floor again to all you gamers. href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=51404">Tell
me your ideas for the mythical Perfect MMOG 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



Why
do people suck in Outland?



C'mon, World
of Warcraft
players, tell us! Why oh why do people suck in Outland? Seriously.
Inquiring minds want to know. Thansal, the poster of today's Epic
Thread, has his reasons. He says, "There is something magical about
Outland that turns a good portion of the population of my Battlegroup
into whiny, bad, ninja looting idiots."



And that does indeed suck. Want to share your Outland experiences or
your reasons and theories as to why Outland sucks? href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=51381">Head
on over!



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

Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread



"I blame all those pesky DeathKnights."



- Rahl

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



Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums? href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=32559">Tell
us!

New
and Exclusive Content
Today at Ten Ton Hammer

9 new Ten Ton Hammer
articles today! 67 Ten Ton Hammer
features
in May! 538
in 2010!

EVENT COVERAGE



Greetings True Believers – Marvel Super Hero Squad Online
Premier Event

http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/gazillion/SHSO/preview



Big
things are afoot at Gazillion Entertainment, with two MMOGs based on
the Marvel Super Heroes Universe in the pipeline, the first of which,
Marvel Super Hero Squad Online, was recently revealed by the company in
the form of a cinematic trailer. Our interest was further piqued when
we received an invite to a premier event announced for May 18th in San
Francisco. Join Ten Ton Hammer’s intrepid reporter Jason “Medawky”
Bolton as he braves the horrors of rush hour traffic to bring you the
first look at this family friendly, highly stylized new game.



INTERVIEWS



Global Agenda Patch 1.3 Q&A with Todd Harris

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/globalagenda/interviews/harris/patch1_3">http://www.tentonhammer.com/globalagenda/interviews/harris/patch1_3



Global
Agenda has been out now for three months and patch 1.3 is being
released in phases. This patch has the community buzzing with
anticipation so we here at Ten Ton Hammer thought we'd catch up to
Executive Producer, Todd Harris, to find out what he had to say. Todd
was not only happy to share his thoughts on patch 1.3 but also on the
current state of the game.



TEN TON HAMMER LIVE! PODCAST



Aika Online's Christina Kelly Comes to Visit

http://www.tentonhammer.com/podcasts/live/7



This
week on Ten Ton Hammer Live! the boys are joined by OMFG.fm's Leto and
more importantly Aika Online's Christina Kelly. News this week focuses
on the dynamic world of GW2, how a lawsuit can actually be freakin'
hilarious, and milking a facebook cash cow. Then Jesse ventures into
another exciting edition of Gamer Food, to taste some of the
"interesting" stuff sold online to gamers. Seriously, who buys this
stuff? Finally Davlen and Ben venture one more time into the Thunder
Dome for Master Looter.



This is one of our funniest shows to date and we're sure you'll love
it. And, hey... if not...it's free!



EXCLUSIVE MEDIA



Exclusive New Fantasy Earth Zero Screenshots

http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/84505



Day
Zero has arrived for Fantasy Earth Zero and the new free-to-play MMORPG
brought to you by Square Enix and Gamepot USA is now live. To celebrate
the official launch, we have received two new exclusive screenshots of
the game that offer a look at some of the content you can experience
for free. Don't forget to check out all the special launch events for
the game before they end.



FEATURED EDITORIAL



D-Mail #3 - Building a Community and Avoiding the Drama

http://www.tentonhammer.com/D-Mail3



Building
a guild or community can sometimes be tricky. All too often people will
pull in a certain class or a certain number of people to allow their
guild to compete in certain content only to have it blow up in their
face as one big, nasty drama bomb. So how do you get what you need and
avoid this drama bombshell? The Syndicate's Sean "Dragons" Stalzer
returns this week with a few tips on how you can avoid making some
costly mistakes when building your own community in D-Mail #3 -
Building a Community and Avoiding the Drama.



FEATURES & GUIDES



Five Rules For Newbies Flying In War Fleets In EVE Online

http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve/combat/fleet_rules



Flying
in a war fleet as a newbie can be intimidating. Indeed, sometimes new
players assume that they aren't welcome anytime something has to do
with PvP. Follow these five rules laid out by Space Junkie to transform
yourself into a valuable fleet PvP asset.



Sins of a Solar Spymaster #44 - Expression, Espionage, and
Dominion

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve/spymaster/44">http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve/spymaster/44

 

EVE
Online has always been an intriguing game with spy-based espionage and
tactical planning. But the spy game of EVE has changed a lot since
Dominion, something The Mittani notes in his latest feature. Join him
and find out just how much the spy game has changed and what
the role of a spy is now.



Terran Vehicles In-Depth Stats and Strategy

http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=51379



Nothing
is more fearsome than the rolling thunder of Siege Tanks and Thors in
StarCraft II.   But the Terrans have to use more than
a
simple attack-move command in order to make the most of their steel
behemoths, and that's what we cover here.  With so many
counters
to armored units, how can the Terran factory units survive?



WoW Chat Changes Coming Soon - WoW Weekly Report

http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/issue/67




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 we
take a look at the beta opt-in, the new chat changes, and all the WoW
news in the previous week. Don't miss a thing, take a look at our WoW
Weekly Report every Tuesday morning while the servers are down.

Today's
Hottest Articles, Guides, and Features

1. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/globalagenda/interviews/harris/patch1_3">Global
   Agenda Patch 1.3 Q&A with Todd Harris
2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/gazillion/SHSO/preview">Greetings
   True Believers – Marvel Super Hero Squad Online Premier
   Event
3. Aika
   Online's Christina Kelly Comes to Visit
4. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/microcosms/2010/may/18">Microcosms
   – There’s an App for That - A Pocket Legends Review
5. Dynamic
   Events in Guild Wars 2: Living in a Living World
   
6. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/reviews/nvidia/3d_vision/monitors">Acer
   vs Alienware: Who is King of the 3D Vision Monitors?
7. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/fallenearth/interviews/beyond-blood-sports">Achievements,
   Apps and Beyond - An Exclusive Fallen Earth VIP
   Interview
8. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/eve-tyrannis">EVE
   Online: Tyrannis Launch Day
   Prize Giveaway
   
9. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aoc/rise-of-the-godslayer/preview">Age
   of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer Expansion
   - Launch Day
   Preview
10. Ragnar
    Tornquist Answers Ten Ton Hammer Reader Questions for The
    Secret World

Thanks
for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!

- Karen "Shayalyn" Hertzberg
and
the Ten Ton Hammer team