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Welcome to the 868th Edition of Loading...

If you aren't reading this in your e-mail, you could be. Sign up. Are you looking for gaming news? Look no further for all of the headlines. General industry news, right down to game specific and forum thread feeds are all yours as part of Ten Ton Hammer's news syndication program. Enjoy!

Daily Column

Loading... Bringing you the goods faster than a short-order cook.

First, the Ten Ton Pulse, your finger on the beating heart of the MMOG industry.

If the Top 10 isn't enough, we also show the Top 20 and Top 50 lists as well, available to everyone on our homepage. (What is Pulse?)

1. World of Warcraft - 200 BPM
2. Age of Conan - 132 BPM
3. Lord of the Rings Online - 65 BPM
4. EverQuest II - 60 BPM
5. EVE Online - 45 BPM
6. Guild Wars - 43 BPM
7. Dungeon Runners - 41 BPM
8. Warhammer Online - 41 BPM
9. Lineage 2 - 35 BPM
10. Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - 35 BPM

As John “Boomjack” Hoskin noted yesterday, he’s on the road for the next few days, which leaves you (the readers) in the hands of Phil “Ralphabetsoup” Comeau and I (Cody “Micajah” Bye) for the remainder of the week. What does that mean for you? A variety of different Loading… flavors in the span of three days! We’re like the Baskins-Robbins of massively multiplayer gaming!

Lately I’ve been spending my online time playing CCP’s EVE Online. Although my in-depth thoughts (on the character creation aspect at least) can be read by going here, there are a few things that seem to fit perfectly for the Loading… crowd.

First, the game is incredibly deep. Honestly, I haven’t felt this overwhelmed by an open game world since I first entered EverQuest years ago. There’s so much in the game to learn, advance, and participate in that your first few days in-game are spent doing little more than trying each and ever option out. Like any game with lots of little options, there’s also a portion of the game that’s frustrating to the side of me that enjoys instant gratification.

You see, unless you’ve selected a particular race/bloodline/profession, you won’t be able to use everything in the game at the outset. However, unlike World of Warcraft or any class-based game, you don’t get an immediate disclaimer saying “you can’t use this because you’re X class”. Instead, it just tells you that you need a particular skill in order to equip and use the item. For me, that’s where a lot of my initial frustration sets in. Honestly, it’s taken me quite a bit of digging to find how I might get a particular skill, and even then it’s not an easy process (it usually involves buying a skill training manual or something of the sort). But I’m sure the process gets easier the longer you’re in the game.

On a happier note, the tutorial has been slimmed down quite dramatically from the last time I tried to boot up the game. I finished the entire thing in about two hours, which was a dramatic improvement over what it had been in the past. Kudos to you CCP!

Also, make sure you stay on the look out for any upcoming news on 38 Studio’s MMORPG super-secret “Copernicus” project. According to our raving reporters, the big man himself – Mr. Curt Schilling – is going to be making an appearance on The Jace Hall show, a fairly funny pop-culture look at the world of video gaming. Here’s the teaser that they have advertising the upcoming interview:



Since we’re checking out videos, make sure you check out our exclusive Q&A Video from the Warhammer Online Baltimore Games Day sessions. These videos are terrific if you’re anticipating Warhammer Online, and you definitely need to check ‘em out (and listen for the glorious Ten Ton Hammer plug during one of them)!

Warhammer Gamesday Q&A  Part One and Part Two

Other than that folks, I just want to give everyone a friendly reminder to keep your eyes peeled and locked on Ten Ton Hammer during E3. We’re going to have some very special reporting straight from the show floor that I think you will all enjoy!  

Those of you who have played EVE Online, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the spaceship game and what you experienced with your first few bits in the game. Is there anything that I should talk about in my editorials? What did you love (or hate) in the game?

Do tell. The Loading Forums await you. Do you feel the need to contact me personally with naughty pictures or derogatory comments? Here's my E-mail.

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[A big thanks to Karen Hertzberg for putting together the headlines and taglines today. ]

Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com.

-Cody "Micajah" Bye and the Ten Ton Hammer Team