Welcome to the 1,228th edition of Loading...
Loading... is the premier daily MMORPG news, coverage, and
commentary newsletter, only from Ten Ton Hammer.
Last week we
discussed when a game should launch an expansion and how frequently
they should be releasing new content. Today we take a look at some of
the upcoming content updates in a few MMOGs and try to determine if it
will be enough to keep players coming back. Join us in Loading... All
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Expansions and updates come in all shapes and sizes. They can range
from large full-blown expansions, such as
style="font-style: italic;"
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/77656">EverQuest Underfoot
which launches today (grats SOE and EQ fans), right down to weekly
maintenance and bug fixes. But what about games that have been around
for a while and may be getting a little long in the tooth? Is there
anything that can be done to bring players back to these old games?
Different studios take different approaches. Sometimes a game just
doesn't have enough of a player base (and hence doesn't earn enough
revenue) to make expansions or even large updates worth the time it
would take to develop the content. We need not look further than
style="font-style: italic;">Tabula Rasa,
style="font-style: italic;">Dungeon Runners, or
style="font-style: italic;">Matrix Online to see that. These
games die a slow and painful death--particularly distasteful for their
few, but loyal fans.
In other cases the developers and fans have such a strong attachment to
the game that they'll go above and beyond to bring the game back to
life. Dungeons and Dragons: Eberron
Unlimited is probably the best example of this we've seen to
date. As mentioned in our
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/78045">Dreaming Dark preview,
Turbine has committed to the game. They've changed the subscription
model to one of micro-transactions and optional VIP subscriptions and
are continuing to grow, not just the game, but the developing team too.
According to Executive Producer Fernando Paiz, it's proven to be quite
successful for them. They're adding in content updates every month and
every two months they're launching new updates which include an all-new
adventure pack, bug fixes and new features or mechanics. They also have
six major updates planned for the next year. Simply just logging into
DDO now is proof enough that it's working for them. The game is always
busy with new and seasoned players and Turbine tells us that both the
free and the VIP subscriptions are growing rapidly. This is a far
better alternative to just letting the game wither away, which not too
long ago was looking to be quite a real possibility.
Funcom is trying a different approach to bring life back to Anarchy
Online. In what can only be described as one of the most ambitious
updates to a game ever, the plan is to bring the eight-year-old title
to current standards with a complete graphical overhaul. The game's
engine is being completely redone and the result is nothing short of
fantastic. Check out some
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/76972">screenshots and a
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/78068">new video that
emerged to see for yourself.
We've discussed it in the past, and the general consensus for most
gamers is that a game's graphics have little bearing on whether or not
they enjoy the game. Though that may be true of new games, how many of
us would return to an old game we used to love if it was only updated
to current standards? I, for one, would be playing the original
style="font-style: italic;">EverQuest if it was updated the way
Funcom is updating Anarchy Online.
I also know that many veteran AO players feel the same way and have
every intent on going back to AO once it's updated. But are new
graphics enough to pull in new players in addition to the older fans? I
think it could be if the entire game was remarketed, much the way DDO:
Eberron Unlimited has been largely marketed as a new product.
So is it a waste of time upgrading and updating old games or should
developers focus solely on new titles? Let us know your thoughts
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=48475">in the
forums.
Shayalyn's Epic Thread of
the Day
From our href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=663">STO News
& Articles Discussion
style="font-weight: normal;">Star Trek Pre-Order Program Announced
Okay,
it's time I stood up and admitted something: I'm a Star Trek geek. I
didn't think much of Star Trek until the man who would become my
husband introduced me to The Next Generation nearly 18 years ago,
but I've been hooked ever since. In fact, our son's name was even
inspired by Star Trek (don't worry, it's an obscure name; we didn't
name him Spock.) In fact, when he was born, href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majel_Barrett">Majel
Barrett-Roddenberry (Gene's widow, now deceased as well) sent him a
gift. For real.
But enough about my love of all things Trek. It's time to talk about
the Star Trek
Online
pre-order. You know you want it. You know you don't have a replicator
to "make it so." You're going to have to pre-order if you want
guaranteed accesss to open beta and the opportunity to play the game
right away on launch day, February 2nd. Your choice of pre-order
retailer determines the type of bonus item you receive, too, so check
out Martuk's post on our forum for details. Would you rather have a pet
tribble or command the exclusive USS Enterprise? href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=48307">Chat
about it here!
==============================
Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread
"I did the GameStop pre-order of
the collectors edition. Just had to have that communicator badge. All
with overnight shipping for the low low price of 90 bucks.... lol I am
a sucker for Star Trek."
- Ohm
==============================
Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums? href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=32559">Tell
us!
11 new Ten Ton Hammer MMOG
features today! 68 in December! 2,249 in
2009!
Exclusive Interviews and
Previews
-
The Dreaming
Dark - A look at DDO's Next
Update
How often does a game, particularly one with free to play options, need
to update content in order to keep players interested? Many developing
companies have their own ideas and among the most ambitious is Turbine.
As the second content update in a plan for bi-monthly additions to the
game, The Dreaming Dark offers whole new challenges to players--some of
which have never before been attempted. Join us as we take a look at
the all-new adventure pack, scheduled to launch later this week. -
style="font-weight: bold;">Kung Foo for Beginners: An Interview
with Devin Grayson and Perfect World
Kung Foo is Perfect World Entertainment's cure for the serious MMO,
mixing raw hilarity, pop culture references, and pure geekitude with a
complete MMO experience. Noted writer Devin Grayson join Perfect
World's Craig Beers and Jason Vardon to reveal a host of information
about this cheeky subscription-free MMO in development with Kung Foo
for Beginners: An Interview with Devin Grayson and Perfect World. -
MMOG Wishes - The
style="font-weight: bold;">Devs' Letters to Santa
Ten Ton Hammer peered over the shoulders of some of our favorite
developers--from NCsoft and Aion to Cryptic and Star Trek Online--to
see what they were writing in their letters to dear ol' St. Nick. From
the hilarious to the heartfelt, reading these dev wishes brings much
merriment!
Editorials, Features, &
Guides
-
style="font-weight: bold;">Aion - Cleric Stigma List
When it comes to stigmas, specialization is the name of the game for
us. A cleric can specialize in locking down single targets in PvP with
powerful debuffs to healing and resurrection. A cleric can also
specialize in single target DPS with DoTs and MP reduction to make it
affordable. Of course, we can also specialize in massive healing for
single targets in bad situations or group heals for any situation. The
decision is yours, but I hope you have a lot of stigma stones if you
change your mind a lot! -
Should
style="font-weight: bold;">Champions Online Influence
style="font-weight: bold;">Star Trek Online?
With Cryptic having already done Champions Online and
launching Star Trek Online in a few months, were left with the
question of
whether or not CO will influence STO. Should it or not? Are there
strengths in
CO that can be used in STO? Are there weaknesses in CO that should
never see
the light of day in STO? Well, dont stress your Vulcan minds, my
friends. Your
pals at Ten Ton Hammer have mulled over this very same dilemma and have
come to
some conclusions. -
style="font-weight: bold;">EVE Clandestine Moon Mining (Part
One)
Moon mining has always been jealously guarded by endgame
mega-alliances. No longer! Ten Ton Hammer Contributing Writer, Space
Junkie, shows us how to find neglected moons in the first of two
articles dealing with moon mining on the sly. -
New Screenshots
and Artwork for Heroes of Gaia
and visit the Gala-Net recently launched Snail Games' new free-to-play
browser-based MMOG Heroes of Gaia on the gPotato gaming portal. This
week we received several new screenshots and some artwork developed for
the game to pimp some of its graphics. Check out the new images here
Heroes of Gaia website to register to play. -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rom/guides/classes/dualclass_scout_guide">
style="font-weight: bold;">Runes of Magic - The Mage: Dual
Class Options
Welcome to the Scout Dual Class guide. Join ZeroMerc as he takes a look
at what options are avialable in making the Scout you very own. So if
you have had a Scout for a long time or just decided to give one a shot
dive in! -
style="font-weight: bold;">WoW Guide to Ice Crown Citadel -
Lower Spire
With the launch of Patch 3.3 for the World of Warcraft last week titled
Fall of the Lich King, everyone is excited to get into the Lich Kings
Citadel. What do you need to know to survive though? What
bosses are there, what do you need to watch out for, and how do you
avoid looking like a noob? All this is explained by our very own
Byron Messiah Mudry. -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/general/dungeonfinder">
style="font-weight: bold;">WoW: Dungeon Finder Guide
Are you perpetually LFG in World of Warcraft? Well look for group (LFG)
no more with patch 3.3's Dungeon Finder. Are you confused by the
interface or have some questions like how is loot done, what's the new
debuff, is it fair, and other details? Well our Dungeon Finder Guide is
here to help. -
style="font-weight: bold;">WoW: Weekly Report - The Overpull
"Patch Frequency and Halforcens"
The Overpull is here again this week with news, lore, community, and a
comic. This week we go into patch 3.3, talk about patch frequency, go
into how the WoW comics are really weird and a nice ramble about who
will become the Lich King when the fail of I mean Fall of the Lich King
happens.
Today's Hottest Content
- The Dreaming
Dark - A look at DDO's Next
Update -
style="font-weight: bold;">Kung Foo for Beginners: An Interview
with Devin Grayson and Perfect World - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/general/dungeonfinder"> style="font-weight: bold;">WoW: Dungeon Finder Guide
- MMOG Wishes - The style="font-weight: bold;">Devs' Letters to Santa
-
style="font-weight: bold;">EVE Clandestine Moon Mining (Part
One) - WoW
Guide to the Halls of Reflection
- Building
Starships - A Crafting in Star Trek Online Q&A
with Al Rivera -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aion/interviews/visionsinterview">Aion
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aion/interviews/visionsinterview">"Visions"
Interview with Lance Stites - WoW:
Guide to the Pit of Saron - WoW: Icecrown
Citadel 5-man Attunement Quest Line Walkthrough
Thanks for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer
network!
- Benjamin J. de la Durantaye and the Ten Ton Hammer team
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited Game Page.
