Loading...
is the premier daily MMOG newsletter, only from Ten
Ton Hammer!
Welcome
to the 1,405th
edition
of Loading...
In a virtual world where
your life is no longer your own, one avatar will embark on a journey. A
hero will rise and an Empire will fall. And thankfully,
today’s episode of Loading… has nothing to do with
cheesy film trailer voice acting. Instead, it’s all about the
concept of community with a side dish of R.I.P. for another MMOG that
didn’t quite stand the test of time. All this and much, much
more today in Loading… March of the Bumblebees!
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/">What
is The Pulse?).
Today's
top 5 Pulse results:
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow">World
of Warcraft -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/war">Warhammer
Online - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eq2">EverQuest II
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aoc">Age
of
Conan - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve">EVE Online
Biggest
movers today:
-
size="-1">6/29
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/998"
target="_blank">APB
(release) -
size="-1">7/27
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2461"
target="_blank">Need
for Speed World
(release) -
size="-1">7/27
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/starcraft2" target="_blank">StarCraft
II: Wings of Liberty
(release) -
size="-1">8/17
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/140">City
of Heroes: Going Rogue (release) -
size="-1">8/18
- href="http://everquest2.com/free_to_play">EverQuest
II Extended (release)
Releases
-
size="-1">September
7, 2010 - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aion">Aion:
Assault on Balaurea (free
expansion) -
size="-1">September
30, 2010 - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ffxiv" target="_blank">Final
Fantasy XIV size="-1">
(release) -
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">October
26, 2010
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/170">LEGO
Universe (release)
-
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">November
2, 2010
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1407">DC
Universe Online (release)
size="-1">Upcoming
Events
-
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">9/3 -
9/5 - href="http://www.paxsite.com/paxprime/index.php" target="_blank">PAX
Prime -
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">9/3 -
9/6 - href="http://www.dragoncon.org/" target="_blank">DragonCon -
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">10/8 -
10/10 - href="http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/">New
York Comic Con -
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">10/22 -
10/23 - href="http://us.blizzard.com/blizzcon/?rhtml=y" target="_blank">BlizzCon -
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;"> 3/24
-
3/26 (2011) - href="http://fanfest.eveonline.com/" target="_blank">CCP
FanFest
Loading... Now with 100% more
Ninja Bumblebee Assassins.
Before diving headfirst
into one of my usual rambling diatribes about our beloved MMOG
industry, first I’d like to take a moment to pick up the
torch lit by Karen in
href="http://tentonhammer.com/loading/2010/aug/25">yesterday’s
Loading… and run
with it for a moment. And by run I mean sit on my butt and write, and
by write I mean ramble like there’s no tomorrow.
Once upon a time, many of the
original EQ class forums began closing up
shop and it seemed that the once tight knit communities they harbored
began drifting into the vast expanses of the internet void. Like many,
I began searching for a new place to babble with my
fellow MMOG refugees. I was aware of most of the network sites around
at the time, but for whatever reason the bulk of them felt cold,
sterile and somewhat overly calculating.
Then one day while
contemplating which argyle socks to wear and zipping
around on the web like Speedracer, I stumbled across the mighty Hammer.
At first I wasn’t quite sure if I had found the most awesome
MMOG network ever, or if perhaps it was secretly an online meeting
place for Ninja Bumblebee Assassins (the site was all about the yellow
and black back then). Either way I decided to bookmark it and come back
at a later date and it was on that return trip that I first stumbled
upon Loading… and the rest, as they say, is history.
Now here we all are years
later, and it’s almost as though
I’ve taken a trip into Bizarro World. Instead of hitting up
Ten Ton Hammer each day to see what whacky anecdotes Boomjack had to
share, I’ve somehow managed to snag a seat on the Hammer
Train and so far it’s been one heck of a ride. But rather
than simply wax poetic about yesteryear, I too have a minor request for
today’s Loading… tucked neatly up the sleeve of my
Ninja Bumblebee Assassin costume.
You see,
a big part of the MMOG network experience for me, especially with our
dedicated sites for games like
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow">World
of Warcraft
or Guild
Wars 2,
is
the concept of community. Many of us cite it as the number one reason
we stick with online games long after the shiny newness wears off, and
by and large it’s the awesome communities for a favorite
title that sees us sticking to specific discussion boards like argyle
on socks.
So for today, I was hoping that
you could share some of your likes,
dislikes or random thoughts about the current iteration of our forums.
Do you think they rock like 1970s Bowie, or are there things you think
would make them even more super awesome?
In other news…
While I hate to close
Loading… on a gloomy note today, I did
want to at least pay homage to the late, great
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/116">Chronicles
of Spellborn.
The announcement by Acclaim posted on the official site yesterday was
short and to the point: “We regret to inform you that The
Chronicles of Spellborn will no longer be in service effective August
25, 2010”
Even though the writing was on
the wall with this one for quite some
time now and there are still plans to resurrect it, what’s
interesting to me is that in many ways Spellborn
helped pioneer the same style of active combat that has current fans of
games like TERA
so excited. I would like to think it was simply ahead
of its time, and can’t help but wonder what might have
happened were Spellborn to have launched in an era when MMO gamers are
finally beginning to warm up to marriage of persistent online worlds
and third person shooter style combat.
And with that, it’s
time for me to fade back into the shadows
once again. But before I depart, I’d love to hear your
thoughts on our community forums, and the unfortunate closure of yet
another MMOG.
So snag your favorite virtual walking stick and hobble on over to the
Loading… forum to have your say!
Sardu's
Epic Thread of
the Day
From our
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=725">GW2
Temple of Ascension - Profession Discussion
forum:
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=53059">The
necro is here, but who is next?
Last week ArenaNet added an extra surprise to the playable demo for
Guild Wars 2 at gamescom by revealing the necromancer as the fourth
official profession for the game. This naturally lead to lengthy
discussions about which would be the next profession reveal for the
game. Reader
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/member.php?u=118561">KM9K
kicked off today's Epic Thread on our Guild Wars 2
forums as soon as the news broke, and we liked the question so much
that we added it as our latest poll for the game on our GW2 site. This
kind of rampant speculation is always fun, so be sure to
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/88446">cast
your vote and then
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=53059">join
in on the discussion!
==============================
Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread
"I'm pegging on Mesmer, not
that I'm certain, but because they better have it! It's also the only
reference to any other possible class from the book outside maybe
assassin, and not counting the artwork titles."
-
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/member.php?u=43126">Fatemaster
==============================
New
and Exclusive Content
Today at Ten Ton Hammer
2 new and exclusive
Ten
Ton Hammer
features
today! 109 Ten Ton Hammer
features
in August! 925
in 2010!
GAMESCOM
2010
style="color: red;">HOT!
Dancing With Destiny - A First Look at Guild Wars 2
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/previews/dancing-with-destiny">http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/previews/dancing-with-destiny
Now that the wraps have officially come off of Guild Wars 2, the hype
factor for the game has reached all new heights. With the world
premiere of the game at gamescom 2010, the developers at ArenaNet have
shown the gaming world that the gameplay mechanics and details that
they’ve discussed over the past few months are indeed a
reality and not just cool concepts without any real weight to them. Ten
Ton Hammer was on hand at the event and we have plenty to say about our
initial experiences with the game, and how it has the potential to
change the way we look at MMOGs in the future.
FEATURES
The New Death Knight Talents in
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/new_death_knight_talents">http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/new_death_knight_talents
Death Knights have gone through Wrath of the Lich King without a clear
idea of exactly what Blizzard intends them to do. Frost, Blood, and
Unholy are all viable to varying degrees in both tanking and damaging.
Cataclysm, however, will give Death Knights a much clearer path to
follow when choosing their role thanks the revamped class talents.
Today's
Hottest Articles, Guides, and Features
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/previews/dancing-with-destiny">Dancing
With Destiny - A First Look at Guild
Wars 2 -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/coh/review/going-rogue">City
of Heroes: Going Rogue - First
Impressions -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/gamescom2010/swtor/daniel-erikson-interview">Exclusive
– Star
Wars: The Old
Republic Lead Writer
Interviewed -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/interviews/eric-flannum-video">Exclusive Interview
with Guild
Wars 2's
Eric Flannum -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/tera/interviews/enmasse-talks-tera">
style="font-weight: bold;">
style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">
style="color: red;">Talking
TERA
-
An Exclusive Interview with En Masse Entertainment -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/syndcon10/interviews/john-smedley">In
The Trenches: A SyndCon 2010 Q&A with SOE’s John
Smedley -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/torchlight2/previews/first-look">Lightning
Strikes Twice - A First Look at style="font-weight: bold;">Torchlight
II -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/neverwinter/interviews/jack-emmert-aug-2010">A
Return to the Sword Coast! A style="font-weight: bold;">Neverwinter Q&A
with Cryptics
Jack Emmert -
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 -
class="MsoNormal">
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
Thanks
for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!
- Reuben "Sardu" Waters
and the Ten Ton Hammer team
