Loading... Can't Hardly Wait

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Posted Tue, Dec 01, 2009 by B. de la Durantaye

Welcome to the 1,219th edition of Loading...

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

It's expansion day! Both EVE Online and Lord of the Rings Online launch their expansions and players already are sitting at their keyboards waiting for servers to come up so they can lose themselves to the new content. Sick days have been called in, and nights out have been postponed. How far will you go to be among the first to explore new content? We take a look at the power of the expansion in Loading... Can't Hardly Wait.

The ONE Power UP Game Card works as currency in 21 games. Click here for your chance to win one $10 ONE Card, a winner drawn daily through Dec. 4th. No purchase necessary.

The Pulse

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

Here are today's top 5 Pulse results:

Biggest movers today:

Star Trek Online (Up 5 to #8)
EVE Online (Up 3 to #6)
Warhammer Online (down 2 to #7)

Recent Releases

9/22 - Fallen Earth (release date)
9/22 - Aion (release date)
10/8 - Cities XL (release date)
11/3 - Dragon Age: Origins (release date)
11/10 - Final Fantasy XI Ultimate Collection (release date)
12/1 - LotRO: Siege of Mirkwood (expansion)
12/1 - EVE Online: Dominion (expansion)

Upcoming Releases

12/2 - DOFUS 2.0 (release date)
12/15 - EverQuest: Underfoot (expansion)
2/2 - Star Trek Online (release date)
Early 2010 - APB
Feb. 2010 - EverQuest 2: Sentinel's Fate (expansion)

Loading... Daily

Ah, expansion day. Every once in a while our MMOGs of choice experience something wonderful. They evolve overnight. New content, more levels, new content, cutting-edge mechanics, new content; it's a wonderful thing and an expansion can make even the most grounded of us a little crazy.

Expansions are almost as exciting as a launch of a new game. In some ways, they're even more anticipated. Long-time players who are already passionate about their game get something to look forward to that makes the game new all over again. Kind of like when your secondary other gets home from the plastic surgery clinic.

But how far will you go to enjoy the expansion as soon as you can? Call in sick? Cancel a date? Build a robot look-alike to stand in for your wedding? We've all done it. Ok, maybe we haven't ALL done THAT, but I'm sure it's happened. Somewhere. The point being that expansions are a happy time and a lot of us simply can't function during expansion day doing anything but getting ready to play. It's far to distracting to try to go into work and get anything done when your mind is solely focused on dominationg in Dominion, or Sieging Mirkwood. So I send a plea out to employers everywhere. If you have a worker who needs some time off to enjoy a new expansion, give them a day. Heck, give them a week. They won't be of much use to you or the company anyway until they can get their fix.

Some of us can be counted as lucky. I used to work at a networking company where my boss was more excited about a WoW expansion than I was. He was great to deal with. I'd sometimes come in with bloodshot eyes and a gigantic can of energy drink and stare blankly at my computer screen for ten minutes before starting the day. He'd look at me and ask "raid?" I'd nod. "Me too," he'd say as he took a gulp from his oversized coffee.

And my current boss is even cooler. Come expansion day, if I'm not playing he'll come down hard on me to quit slacking off and get playing. Sometimes I'll protest, telling him I really want to analyze some web stats, but he'll hear none of it. He runs a tight ship. In EVE too.

Expansion day should be a national holiday. With dozens of millions of online gamers worldwide, you'd think someone by now would recognize it as a legitimate lifestyle. When you apply for a job you should need to check off which games you play so the company can be prepared to let you off work for expansion days. If you're on the fence about this one I'd suggest checking off games like EverQuest, as that would guarantee you at least one or two days off per year.

But, we need to face the reality. Most EVE and LotRO players won't get the day off today. They'll be forced to go into work. They'll be sitting at their desks all day, sneaking peaks at websites like Ten Ton Hammer and official forums, hoping the boss doesn't notice, having to live out their passions in secret for the entire day, and then fight traffic on their way home, stopping briefly for a microwaveable burrito for dinner and calling their loved ones to let them know they'll be indisposed for the rest of the evening, so if their husband/wife/kids/goldfish could make sure the PC is on and at the login screen and the microwave door is open and the timer is set to one minute and fifteen seconds so that when they get home they can throw the burrito in the nuker and sit down and log in without having to waste those valuable seconds doing all that menial work themselves, that'd be just swell.

And yes, that was a run on sentence. I'd fix it, but I'm too busy waiting for servers to come up. Who's with me? Join me in the forums.

Shayalyn's Epic Thread of the Day

From our PC & Console Games forum

Australia not going to receive AvP3

As everyone knows, Australia is entirely peopled by criminals, and criminals are not to be trusted...with games like Aliens vs. Predator 3. (No, I'm not picking on the Aussies. If you didn't catch the Princess Bride reference, don't blame me for your pop culture ineptitude.)

Anacche, one of our resident Aussies, is grumbling because the game Aliens vs. Predator will not be coming to the Land Down Under. Come share a comment (or a jeer) in our forum.

==============================
Awesome Quotes from the Epic Thread

"I guess that's what happens in a prison colony."

- AngryBeaver

"Pedantry alert! South Australia is actually the only state in Australia that was never a prison colony. It was in fact founded by an ex prisoner, however, which is something they like to keep quiet."

- Mikes
==============================

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

7 new Ten Ton Hammer MMOG features today! 119 in November! 3,092 in 2009!

New Exclusives and Guides today at Ten Ton Hammer

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With the arrival of the Dominion expansion for Eve Online today, The Mittani returns with a list of things to expect and help prepare you for the game's 12th free expansion. How might server stability be? What kind of changes have been implemented? Find out all this and more in this week's Sins of the Solar Spymaster.
Dragon Age: Origins - Creating Your Own Adventures
The time has finally come. You’ve beaten Dragon Age: Origins. You’ve played every race and experienced every origin story. You’ve devoured every ounce of downloadable content from the BioWare development team. Join Eric "Dalmarus" Campbell as he walks you through the creation of your very own module.
Runes of Magic - The Professions
Mix, Stir, Pound, Bake, Forge, Weave, Sew, Cut, Boil, or Fry! Come one come all ye Runes players and get a look at the professions that are available to you. You can craft, craft and craft some more. Join ZeroMerc as he explores the professions in Runes!
Aion Spell List: Spiritmaster Stigmas
Trying to gauge which stigmas you should slot in those spots? Well check out the whole list and determine when you'll be able to pick them up. This week we look into stigmas and today it's all about the Spiritmaster.
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Micro-transactions are becoming increasingly popular in MMOGs. The question is, are they good for the game or bad? We’ll do our best to answer that question as we examine micro-transactions for online gaming, with particular emphasis on Champions Online.
WoW How to Play a Holy Paladin
So you want to be everyone's knight in shining armor and save the day? Well, you’ve come to the right place. This guide will walk you through the basics of playing a holy based Paladin, or Healadin as they are commonly called.
Aion Newsletter - Visions Sooner or Later
The "Visions of Aion" trailer showed off a lot of great features and gave hope to a somewhat downtrodden playerbase but a lot of questions have been left unanswered. When will this update go live and will it be free content? Ponder with the rest of us and get all the latest Aion news in this week's Aion Newsletter.

EVE Online at Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMOG Gamers to the Next Level!