Welcome
to the 1,262nd
edition
of Loading...

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

While more than a few Internet pundits have said that sci-fi MMOGs have little chance against the fantasy heavyweights, two serious, sans sword and sorcery contenders take the stage this week. One offers a hopeful future envisioned by Gene Roddenberry, the other a despairing vision closer to something imagined by Phillip K. Dick. Have either found the right sci-fi MMO recipe? We'll discuss this and more in Loading... Half Empty, Half Full.

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/" target="_blank">What
is The Pulse?).

Here
are today's top 5 Pulse results:

  1. World
    of Warcraft
  2. EverQuest 2
  3. Star Trek
    Online
    (UP 2)
  4. Dungeons and
    Dragons Online
  5. Lord of the
    Rings Online

Biggest
movers today
:

  1. Global Agenda  (UP 6 to #6)
  2. Vanguard:
    Saga of Heroes
    (down 3 to #12)
  3. EverQuest (down 2 to #16)
Recent Releases
Upcoming
Releases

Loading... Daily

First up, patch 3.3.2 hit the WoW servers today, and if you don't think that the timing of the final installment of Wrath of the Lich King has something to do with Star Trek Online's release date, you don't know Blizzard very well. Fortunately our WoW team was all over the surprise patch. For more on what the patch entails, click here.

With a few noted exceptions, all the major MMO successes have been more about swords and sorcery than phasers and force fields. We've discussed this topic before, as well as the various reasons why fantasy makes for better MMOGs and sci-fi is the stuff of great movies.

Fantasy presents proximate, surmountable dangers - the dragon or the evil sorceror imperil mankind only if the heroes fail to act - while sci-fi presents horrors that are both a little too possible, not to mention crushing in their magnitude. Dealing with the after-effects of a nuclear apocalypse, exploitative corporate or government control of every aspect of human life, or the insuperable obstacles and dangers associated with long-range space travel - these are things that feel insurmountable in an single-player RPG setting. And short of highly unlikely technological leaps or an alien deus ex machina, this Phillip K. Dick version of the future sees us winnowing through our resources before ultimately extinguishing ourselves in fear and paranoia.

Global Agenda's take on humanity's future runs toward this Dickian dystopia. Though GA players are earthbound, the backstory mirrors much of EVE Online's impressions of a cold and sterile future of mega-corporations and corrupt government. Those aren't just my words. Torfi Frans Olafsson, Senior Producer, famously noted that in EVE, "There's no right or wrong, just different kinds of profits to be made." It's the perfect sort of environment for large-scale PvP and excellent for a space game, since like the carpet bomber crews used to say, there's no human face to the destruction. I think it works for Global Agenda too, since the story isn't terribly heavy at all and the core conflict is between player agencies, not agencies and the Commonwealth.

Gene Roddenberry offered a different vision (and if you're watching the SyFy marathon too, good for you, it's edutainment). The Star Trek series (series, plural) changed our fears into hopes in presenting a fundamentally - laughably - optimistic take on humanity's future. I'd venture to say that that's the heart of our love for Star Trek, and why many of us will be jumping into Star Trek Online this week. Likewise, Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 offers a similarly hopeful future. I'm probably not the first to draw comparisons to the Galactic Republic and Shephard's motley band being Jedis, albeit being of many shades and with some character depth.

Which futuristic sandbox would you rather play in: half-empty or half-full when it comes to hope? And can either compete with the total escape provided by the fantasy genre? Share your thoughts in the Loading... forum.


Shayalyn's Epic Thread of
the Day




From our STO General Discussion


STO Right Out of the Shoot - Thoughts?

Medeor
wants to know about your Star Trek Online headstart (and now launch)
experience. Things started off smoothly for him, but some server
downtime during the headstart dampened players' spirits, some more than
others. As STO rolls out its launch today, take a break from your
starship captaining duties to share your experiences.


==============================

Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread



"I did a team mission at lvl 10 and had a blast - lot funner with a
group in some missions. Finally hit Lt. Cmdr, and spent too much time
outfitting and modifying my ship."


- Marik

==============================



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

New and Exclusive Content
Today at Ten Ton Hammer

9 new Ten Ton Hammer
features today! 15 in February! 130
in 2010!

REVIEWS

Mass Effect 2 (PC) Review
http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80183

Mass
Effect, BioWare's squad-based sci-fi RPG shooter, was released in 2007
on the Xbox 360 with a significantly improved PC version the following
year, to critical and commercial success. Mass Effect 2 promised to
take the things the first game did well to a whole new level, and
attempts to address some of the perceived criticisms. Does it succeed?
Find out in our latest review.

FEATURES & GUIDES

WoW Patch 3.3.2 Overview
http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/patches/332

This
Tuesday sees the release of what is likely to be the last big patch to
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. The biggest additions are the release of
the last wing in Icecrown Citadel and therefore the Lich King himself,
the start of the 8th Arena Season, and the addition of a 4th boss to
the Vault of Archavon named Toravon.  Some of the other changes though
are pretty interesting as well, so let’s start small and work our way
up!

Microcosms Issue #3 - Lost In Space
http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80170

This
week in Microcosms Medawky takes a brief look at Allods Online
archetypes and classes, updates his Top 10 Free-to-Play Games list,
offers the microtransaction of the week, and a spotlights the
week's top free-to-play stories.

WoW Weekly Report - "Chen Stormstout Giveaway Inside"
http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/newsletter/issue52

This
week we're giving away a Chen Stormstout figure to two lucky Overpull
subscribers. Be sure to look at The Overpull for details on how to
enter plus all the latest news from the previous week in World of
Warcraft, including info on upcoming Cataclysm changes. We also look at
the tricky subject of including more crowd control in 5-mans.

Champions Online: Telekinesis Power Set Guide
http://www.tentonhammer.com/co/guides/powersets/telekinesis

Champions
Online has a tremendous number of powers for a hero to choose from.
These powers are grouped together into power sets based upon a theme.
Your pals at Ten Ton Hammer are here to provide a guide to the
Telekinesis power set, along with some thoughts on other power sets
that complement Telekinesis.

Flying Stealth Bombers In EVE Online
http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80215

Stealth
Bombers are fun and, when used correctly, powerful. Their bombs are the
spiritual successors to titan doomsdays. Space Junkie gives us a run
down.

Star Trek Online Ground Combat Guide
http://www.tentonhammer.com/sto/ground_combat_guide

Star
Trek Online offers up a variety of ways to vaporize people, so today we
look at the bi-pedal version, or Ground Combat. There aren’t a lot of
land missions in the opening ranks but enough that players can see the
diversity in mission and away team style. Grab your trusty rifle and
let’s take it to ‘em.

WoW Guide to Ice Crown Citadel - Crimson Halls
http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/raids/icc/crimsonhalls

The
third wing of Icecrown Citadel recently opened and expanded the Lich
King's lair. All of the fights in this wing are fairly
complicated. Do you know enough to survive? Byron "Messiah" Mudry
guides you through the basics.

WoW Warsong Gulch Battleground Guide
http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/battlegrounds/wsg

Warsong
Gulch is one of the early Battlegrounds in the World of Warcraft. In
fact, starting at level 10, you can join the Warsong Gulch queue and
see what PvP is all about. Our guide shows you how to accomplish the
main objectivesof capturing your opponent's flag, defending and
retrieving your flag from the enemy, and winning the first to three
competition.

Today's
Hottest Articles and Guides

  1. Mass Effect 2 (PC) Review
  2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/globalagenda/editorials/betaimpressions"> style="font-weight: bold;">Global Agenda Beta Impressions
  3. WoW Patch 3.3.2 Review
  4. style="font-weight: bold;">Star
    Trek Online: Ground UI Guide
  5. Conquest
    Agenda - A Global Agenda
    Q&A with Todd
    Harris
  6. Flying Stealth Bombers In EVE Online
  7. Reliving style="font-weight: bold;">EverQuest II - A Digital Reinvention
  8. Getting
    Ready
    for Earthrise
    - A Q&A with
    Atanas Atanasov
  9. Star
    Trek Online Space Combat Guide
  10. Another
    Leap
    Forward - A Preview of DDO
    Update
    3

Thanks
for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer
network!

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


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our EVE Online Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

About The Author

Jeff joined the Ten Ton Hammer team in 2004 covering EverQuest II, and he's had his hands on just about every PC online and multiplayer game he could since.

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