Welcome to the 601st Edition of Loading... If you aren't reading this in your e-mail, you could be. Sign up.

--

Are you looking for the latest industry headlines? Look no further.

  1. Daily Column
  2. New MMOG Articles at TenTonHammer Today
  3. Hot Content
  4. Real World News - You Can't Make This Up

1. Daily Column

Conspiracy theorists, tinfoil hat wearers and religious zealots will intrigued to know that our announcement of the Vanguard server mergers is the 666th article to be posted on our Vanguard site.

Yesterday I touched on micro-payments versus monthly subscriptions. A number of people weighed in via the blog comment and as always seems to be the case the introverted crowd that you are filled my inbox with opinions.

Developers don't write to me. They write to Garrett. Here is what he received.

"It will greatly affect the MMO market in the years to come. As most all western MMO games today are designed to cater for monthly subscriptions you will from now on see more and more games created to cater for virtual item sales. This will mean direct integration into the games themselves, different gameplay structure, different distribution structure and by changing that, exposing the users to a different kind of experience. It seems the trend is quite clear in Asia, that this is the direction it will and must go, and now it also seems more and more western companies are ready to pick up the ball. We have some interesting years ahead, that is for sure;)" -Jørgen Tharaldsen, Product Director - Funcom

Funcom are the folks behind Age of Conan, DreamFall and Anarchy Online.

There is still time to make your voice heard...or your words read.

--

It shouldn't be a secret that I believe the secondary market is a problem for games like World of Warcraft and EverQuest 2. A blogger who I have never bumped into before has an interesting article up with a Gold Farmer that is feeling the hurt after the recent WoW bannings. Go Blizz.. ban 'em all.

You can read the interview here.

Comment in the blog (now with direct link goodness) or email me directly.

2. New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today

  • Blog: Clutch Time
    "Ralsu brings us an extended metaphor linking the importance of SOE's execution with server merges to baseball."
  • Blog: Of Conflicting Super Heroes
    "Cryptic Studios is currently working on two MMOGs in the same genre, City of Heroes and Marvel Universe Online. Will the studio be able to keep both titles afloat without sacrificing one of them? Cody "Micajah" Bye tries to answer this question in his blog, "Of Conflicting Super Heroes".
  • City of Heroes/ Villains: Issue 10 Revealed
    "Cryptic Studios, despite having an immense super-hero project currently underway in Marvel Universe Online, continues to pump out quality free content to its City of Heroes/City of Villains subscribers. Their latest addition to the world - Issue 10 - is titled "Invasion" and features the return of the Rikti, those evil aliens that tried to take over the world way back in the last stages of the game's beta. Along with the screenshots that we've featured, Ten Ton Hammer has hosted all of the written details for your viewing pleasure."
  • City of Heroes/ Villains: New Images - Invasion
    "They're back! The latest issue of City of Heroes/City of Villains features the return of the Rikti, an imposing alien force that is hell-bent on destroying the Earth, or at least severely depopulating it. Along with the details of the Issue 10: Invasion, we also have hosted the eight screenshots that Cryptic Studios sent out with the press release / information. In the shots you can see a bit of the Co-op mode and some screens of the Rikti!"
  • Dungeons and Dragons Online: The Lyrist of the Bow
    "A deadly archer, an accomplished bard, an elven guardian of the forest who bows sings the death of the opponents of elvenkind. Find out how to make on with Darkgolem's new build, The Lyrist of the Bow!"
  • Gods and Heroes: Abellinum's Secrets
    "Come explore the heavily wooded lands of Abellinum with your guide, Charabis. This area is an important key to Roman industry, and is in desperate need of help!
  • Kung Fu Hustle Online: Screenshots
    "To many movie-goers, Kung Fu Hustle was a fantastic film filled with nostalgia-inducing Looney Tunes references and side-splitting humor. In a ground-breaking move away standard MMOGs, Sony Online Entertainment bought up the license to the game and subsequently started developing an online fighting game based around the events of the silver-screen version of Kung Fu Hustle. Ten Ton Hammer managed to snag a couple screenshots of the online fighting game for you to view, and they can be seen inside!"
  • Lord of the Rings Online: Shores of Evendim Special Launch Features
    "Bored while the servers are down? Stuck at work dreaming about the new patch? Take a peek at our special Shores of Evendim feature for a final look at what's in store for you when you get home today, including set items, monsters, and unreleased changes.
  • Lord of the Rings Online: Official Evendim Patch Notes
    "The official patch notes for Evendim."
  • Lord of the Rings Online: Guide To Video Settings
    "Gamers can be a little like car enthusiasts spending hours tweaking hardware and game settings to make things look perfect. Don't know what Anti-Aliasing, Glow Mapping, or Anisotropic filtering means? RadarX looks at every video setting possible in Lord of the Rings Online and explains how they'll affect your gameplay."
  • Star Wars Galaxies: A Look At Jedi
    "Since the release of the New Game Enhancements, Star Wars Galaxies has allowed players to create Jedi from the very beginning of the game and are one of the most popular professions available to players. However, the SWG timeline takes place when the Jedi are being hunted down by the Empire and - at least in the movies - are all but extinct. In SWG, Jedi are free to run to and fro, and never attract attention from the Empire or other NPCs. Chris "Spare" Higgins takes a look at the current version of the Jedi profession and tries to come up with an answer to the question of whether Jedi should be so prominent in the gameplay of SWG."
  • Vanguard: Server Merge Plan Announced
    "Elionia dropped me an email today to let me know what SOE's plan for the server merge is looking like.
  • World of Warcraft: Ogri'la Reputation Guide
    "Our guide will let players know how to get the daily quests for Ogri'la available, and what to expect from their rewards and their quests!"
  • World of Warcraft: Guide To the Steamvault
    "Today our newest instance guide is for The Steamvault is the third and most difficult of the five man instances in the Coilfang Reservoir and home to Warlord Kalithresh who will require coordination and skill to defeat. . It is meant for a 5 man group of level 70 players. While you may be able to get away with a player or two at level 69, it is best to all be level 70 and equipped with decent gear.

3. Hot Content

4. Real World News

Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com

John "Boomjack" Hoskin

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

About The Author

Dissecting and distilling the game industry since 1994. Lover of family time, youth hockey, eSports, and the game industry in general.

Comments