Age of Conan at Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMOG Gamers to the Next Level!

Welcome to the 1,057th Edition of Loading...

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

In this issue, we'll look at the right decisions for aging MMOs. There's no doubt that a number of yesterday's top-tier MMOs continue to improve, but does improvement guarantee growth? Can you generate new players and excitement over content patches designed only for level cap players? How can tomorrow's games avoid falling into the same trap? That plus a special look at what makes Fallen Earth's setting unique among post-apocalypse MMOs, and guides for Mabinogi and World of Warcraft in today's Loading... No-Growth Improvement

Need more newsletter? Play World of Warcraft? Jay "Medeor" Johnson's weekly WoW newsletter "The Overpull" comes out every Tuesday and keeps you entertained and informed on all the latest developments in WoW. Sign up!

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The Pulse

First, you vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the result is the Ten Ton Hammer Pulse (What is Pulse?). Here's the top 5 this week:

1. World of Warcraft
2. EVE Online (UP 5)
3. EverQuest 2
4. Age of Conan
5. Warhammer Online

And here are the biggest movers in the Top 20 today:

1. The Secret World (UP 93 to #10)
2. The Chronicles of Spellborn (UP 16 to #19)
3. Free Realms (UP 12 to #17)

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Loading... Daily

According to today's The Overpull, Vegas has pretty favorable odds on whether today is the Tuesday when we'll see WoW patch 3.1. Whatever your feelings on WoW, Blizzard does a great job of reeling you back in every three months or so with a content patch, or at least the hope of one.

But today's Loading won't be about WoW since 1) Medeor does a way better job with WoW than I could ever do and 2) today I bow to the daily emails and occasional forum post I get begging me to pay attention to game XYZ. Because, of course, game XYZ has really really honestly improved since launch. I don't doubt this, far from it, and if your game developer isn't constantly improving your favorite MMO, you should think about pulling up stakes; it's only a matter of time.

The problem isn't so much that MMOs like EverQuest 2, Vanguard, and especially Age of Conan aren't improving, it's that just about all the improvements are aimed at an increasingly insular high level community. Case in point, you read the latest Age of Conan dev chat transcript on patch 1.05 and read extensively about level cap gameplay and lvl 80 gear improvements, and that's good stuff for existing players, but it takes more to get a wave of new players excited about the game again. Like it or lump it, this is simply how entertainment media works - a bestselling author doesn't get on Oprah or Leno without a new book either. Writing a new last chapter wouldn't cut it.

So, in game terms, you need new servers or a new retail expansion to generate another groundswell, and two of the above mentioned MMOs have yet to do either. You might say that it just doesn't make sense to open a new server or fund an expansion when populations are plummeting, but when does it make sense? I wish more publishers would play ball or go home - I'd rather see an MMO shuttered than bleed every dime out of its increasingly withdrawn and embittered community. While I'm on the subject, hats off to CCP and Turbine for continually improving the newbie experience, and extra props to the LotRO devs for including new classes with their recent Mines of Moria expansion.

But charity begins at home, and disillusionment begins at launch... well, actually, open beta. It doesn't help that more and more MMO developers are taking the "soft launch" or, saints preserve us, "episodic" approach to launch. The rest of the video games industry figured out that launching incomplete or micro-installment games is no way to build momentum and is moving away from episodic content. Rehashing the episodic model just because developing an MMO is an expensive prospect is like trying to bring back slap bracelets, leopard print unitards, and leg warmers because tights and ugs boots aren't good summer attire. It's a bad solution to a tough problem, but releasing an incomplete product isn't the way to go.

If you're still playing older MMO titles and loving it, what's driving you? Share what makes you tick in the Loading... forum, or feel free to email me. But if you still think slap bracelets, unitards, and legwarmers are fashionable, you're probably beyond our help.

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Shayalyn's Epic Thread of the Day

From our Jumpgate Evolution forum

Ask the JGE Devs Thread

Jumpgate Evolution community manager Katie "Khatie" Postma stopped by our forums to post a thread specifically for Ten Ton Hammer community members' questions about NetDevil's upcoming game. She promised to provide answers herself, or track down answers from the development team.

I can't think of a thread much more epic than that, so without further ado, I present the Jumpgate Evolution Ask the Devs thread!

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Epic Quote from the Epic Thread

Provide your own epic questions!

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

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13 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 67 in April! 454 in 2009!

New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today [Thanks Phil Comeau for links and Real World News]

• Fallen Earth: Surviving an MMOG Apocalypse
  Much like the fantasy genre’s prolific use of Orcs, Elves, swords and boards, it’s become an industry norm nearly overnight that sci-fi is synonymous with high-tech. Yet in other creative mediums such as film and literature, the sci-fi genre is almost limitless in scope, encompassing a broad range of settings where the only true limits are, as Rod Sterling would say, that of the imagination. While gameplay will always be king in terms of what makes or breaks a new MMO’s potential for success, sometimes the simple notion of creating a unique setting for a game world that’s never been fully explored is enough to get MMO players to stand up and take notice. One such sci-fi MMO that certainly deserves some attention for taking a vastly different approach to setting and core gameplay elements is Fallen Earth.
• A Guide to Mabinogi's Giants
  A lot of expansions offer new races, but they usually work the same as the old races with a new skin. According to Danny "Ralsu" Gourley, the Giants in Mabinogi's Pioneers of Iria are not like that at all. He says this is one expansion race that feels different and exhibits some traits that make it stand out.
• World of Warcraft: The Paladin PvP Guide
  A PvP guide for those new to the Paladin Class or wanting to learn a bit more about how to start up a PvP Paladin. This guide will help get you out of the PvE mindset and into the thought process of stuns, cleanse and more stuns!
  
  Hot Content - Or, what I took a fancy to:

1. Atlantica Online - State of the Game Interview
2. Ether Saga Dev Diary #4: Reputation and Crafting
3. EVE Online - Sins of a Solar Spymaster: Creating a Spaceholding Alliance
4. Spellborn Subs Giveaway
5. Exclusive - The Making of Jumpgate Evolution Video
6. Batter Up! A First Look at MLB Dugout Heroes
7. geeked: Busted Plans
8. The Secret World First Interview with Producer Ragnar Tornquist
9. Class vs. Skill: The Battle That Doesn't Have To Be
10. Black Prophecy Gameplay Video

Real World News

• Dead man suspected in pharmacy robberies
  Centerpiece statue from local church Easter display also missing and wanted for questioning.
• PETA asks the Pet Shop Boys to change their name
  They tried, but unfortunately “The Bloody Inhuman Abbatoir Duo” was already taken.
• Peru farmer hospitalized with eight-day erection
  In unrelated news, reports of a mass raping of Peruvian cattle are shocking the nation.
  

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Thanks for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!

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