Ten Ton Hammer Featured Articles

Tags: in

Site Pages

Posted December 23rd, 2005 by Ethec

Ten Ton Hammer
Featured Articles

Features

OGDC 07: An Auto Assault Post-Mortem with Scott Brown - n the flagitiously named session "Dissecting Our Baby" at OGDC 2007, NetDevil President Scott Brown and Producer Hermann Peterscheck discussed the challenges of their innovative yet commercially disappointing flagship MMO, Auto Assault, before and after launch. Included with the talk were some suggested guidelines when entering into a partnership with a publisher as well as best practices for MMO design studios. A must-read for anyone interested in the evolution of MMO design and production. - May 17, 2007

OGDC 07: How Devs Use PR to Build a Brand - Ever think about what it takes to generate a buzz for an MMO in development? You may not think often about how generating good PR works, but you've certainly seen it in action. In her presentation at the Online Game Development Conference, PR giant Sue Bohle talked about how devs build brand recognition. Our OGDC coverage offers an inside peek at the how the PR machine works to generate buzz for a game from announcement to launch.- May 17, 2007

OGDC 07: An Analysis of Video Game Writers - Video game writers are often some of the more underappreciated members of a video game development team. Jess Lebow, Content Director for Flying Labs Software, argues against this fact and provided a thorough analysis of the roles of a writer in his lecture, "Writer: The Red-Head Stepchild of the Video Game Industry". Cody "Micajah" Bye has a summary of the session in his article!- May 16, 2007

OGDC 07: The New Online Game Payment Model - It isn't everyday that you're given the opportunity to sit in a room with the president of a company that engages in gold advertising, the founder of a free-to-play gaming network, and the marketing director of a gaming company fervently against the sale of online items, without seeing them break into a fist fight. But that was exactly the situation that I was placed in when I poked into my last OGDC panel of the week. The topic was the New Online Game Payment Model, and the stage was set for antics from each of the various camps. - May 15, 2007

OGDC 07: The Four Emotions of Game Design - In our current massively multiplayer online gaming space, emotions are often subdued, only emerging when players achieve victory in an intensely difficult raid or facing certain death in a Leeroy Jenkins-sque group wipe. However, they do exist in these games, and this was the topic discussed in Nicole Lazzaro's presentation on the "Four Most Important Emotions of Game Design" where she presented the key "emotions" necessary to create an award-winning, revenue-generating game. Throughout the rest of this article, we'll discuss the four "emotions" she covered in her lecture and what MMO developers could or should do to integrate these emotions into their titles. - May 15, 2007

Star Wars Galaxis Update from SOE Gamer Day - At the recent Sony Online Entertainment Gamer Day held in New York, Ten Ton Hammer got a chance to talk to the Star Wars Galaxies team about upcoming changes to the game. If you're an avid SWG player, this year you can look forward to growth in the development team while SOE adds more content in an effort to reinvigorate SWG. Chapter 6 is a step in this direction and adds more content with two new game systems and additional quest-based PvE content. - May 14, 2007

OGDC 07: Collaborative Art and MMOs? - Markus Weichselbaum Interviewed - Now for something completely different. At OGDC 2007, we sat down with Markus Weichselbaum, Founder and CEO of theBroth.com - a website geared toward collabortive art for the global online community. Markus, an Austrailian from Austria (you read that right!) holding a Ph.D. in biophysics, is at least as much of an interesting person as you might imagine him to be, and he has a vision to take the methodology, technology, and lessons learned from his website into other online spaces, including MMORPGs. How would that work? It turns out that the prospects could very well be revolutionary. - May 14, 2007

OGDC 07: AISeek and Smarter NPCs in Dynamic Worlds - No matter which MMO you play, computer controlled characters (NPCs / mobs) simply aren't convincing. It turns out that many of the moronic behaviors we associate with mobs aren't the product of inept or uncaring devs, but a significant hardware limitation. To prevent easy cheating, the artificial intelligence (AI) for these mobs is calculated on the server, so specialized server hardware may help to smarten up our enemies. Gil Asherie of AISeek tells us how new advances may help to fuel significant advances in mob / NPC AI in the very near future. - May 14, 2007

Vanguard Update at SOE Gamer Day - Garrett Fuller was live at SOE Gamer Day in New York City to bring us the latest on Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. Included in the update was news of a permanent group system, several new areas in the game, plus the long-awaited news of a flying mount. - May 10, 2007

Station Launcher Preview at SOE Gamer Day - During Sony Online Entertainment’s Gamer Day in New York City, the Ten Ton Hammer team got a chance to see SOE’s new Station Launcher, the application that gets players into the games. Most MMOs, even those that are under a bigger “umbrella” company, have a single icon that launches players into their games. Sony has been using their Station system for a while now, allowing players from multiple games to launch using a single service. - May 10, 2007

Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising at SOE Gamer Day - Though the development team behind Gods & Heroes is in polish mode with no new breakthroughs to report announce since the advent of the Nomad class and tinted armor last month, Ten Ton Hammer is on hand to see the first public demo of the game's instancing system. The Volcanic Vents, a level 15 instance, and the swampy Numidian Delta were the focal point of Perpetual's showing at SOE Gamer Day, and Ten Ton Hammer was on-hand to report! - May 9, 2007

Secrets of Faydwer Revealed! - New EverQuest Expansion Announced at SOE Gamer Day - EverQuest has just celebrated its eighth anniversary, and the devs behind the venerable MMORPG just keep churning out great ideas. Their latest efforts - plus the name of their next expansion - are revealed in our look at EQLive... live from SOE gamer day! - May 9, 2007

New Free-to-Play MMO, Metin2, Announced - Another imported MMOG has hit the Western world! Metin2, a 3D MMORPG from G4Box Inc., has been released and will be free to play! With quests, guild battles, and nation wars, Metin2 is primed to compete with the other free-to-play MMOGs for the top spot in the "free" category. Here's what G4Box had to say about their newest game. - May 3, 2007

Tabula Rasa Enters Closed Beta! - It's actually happening! After years and years of development, Richard Garriott's vision of a not-too-far-off future is closing in on its predicted release date. Rather than bore you with my own diatribe, I'll let the NCsoft announcement speak for me. Don't forget to check out the two screenshots at the bottom of this article! - May 2, 2007

Discovering the Secrets of Middle Earth - A Downloadable Preview of the LotRO Strategy Guide - Ten Ton Hammer has been given a tremendous opportunity that you can't pass up! Prima Games, the exclusive producers of the Lord of the Rings Online strategy guides, has passed on a preview of their Lord of the Rings guide to us – and we are passing the preview on to you. Our mighty technical prowess has made it possible for you to download the strategy guide preview in its basic PDF format. Follow the link to download the preview! - April 24, 2007

Are Blizzard's Bans Hitting the Wrong Customers? -Fighting real money trading and micro-transactions in an MMO is difficult, but especially so for a company with a immensely popular product. Blizzard has been experiencing many issues with banning customers inadvertently in the last few months, and Ten Ton Hammer sits down with one particular individual who was hit with a ban when he had done nothing wrong. Read more to find out what his reaction was and how this problem could affect the entire MMO market! - April 23, 2007

Closing the Doors Before Opening Them to the Public - A Recap of LotRO's End of Testing Events - The closed beta for Lord of the Rings Online finished up last night, and the whole experience ended with a bang. Turbine unleashed a horde of unforgettable monsters upon Middle Earth, but also deemed many members of the LotRO community worthy of an advance to level 50, albeit for just a short amount of time. Cody "Micajah" Bye was in the middle of the action last night and has brought a recap of the events straight from the heart of Middle Earth! - March 27, 2007

Myst Online: Uru Live Preview - The Myst series has no shortage of fans, and on February 15th, the latest and most ambitious of the series will launch in MMORPG form. Myst Online: Uru Live was the result of integrating Cyan Worlds' efforts in classy, cooperative, non-combative gaming with Turner's innovative Gametap service. With Gametap's 800+ games in addition to Myst Online for less than the price of a traditional MMO, it's hard to go wrong. But Myst Online stands on its own as, in many ways, a true credit to the Myst franchise. - February 12, 2007

Crossing Swords! Pirates of the Caribbean Pairs In-Game Combat with Real Life Fencing - What better place to show off the latest developments in the Pirates of the Caribbean Online's combat system than a fencing gym? Ten Ton Hammer tried out the vast range of combat mechanics in the upcoming (Spring 2007) pirate MMO - everything from swords, daggers, pistols, and grenades to voodoo - and without a doubt this game offers the most interesting, diverse, and just plain fun combat system we've seen in a long time. Later, members of the press even tried out our real-life swordsmanship against each other! - February 2, 2007

Vanguard Launch Event Commemorates the Life and Work of Keith Parkinson - As Vanguard: Saga of Heroes was rolled out to the public during the last week of January, one significant member of the Vanguard team - and luminary to the Fantasy Art genre - was there in spirit only. Sigil Games Online paid a fitting tribute to the life and work of Keith Parkinson by working with the Art Institute of California - San Francisco to open a "Masters of Fantasy Art" exhibit at the Vanguard launch event last Wednesday. - February 2, 2007

Cheyenne Mt. Entertainment Dev Diary - Stargate Worlds Archetypes - For the first time, CME describes its plans for the Stargate Worlds archetype system. - January 31, 2007

The New Face of CME - Nicole "Awen" Hamlett spent some time with the new front man for Cheyenne Mt. Entertainment and Stargate Worlds, Kevin Balentine. In addition to the interview, CME was kind enough to spare us a new and exclusive Stargate Worlds in-game screenshot! - January 29, 2007

Ultima Online Announces 8th Expansion - Ten Ton Hammer reports live from Fairfax, VA as EA Mythic announces Ultima Online's eighth expansion: "Stygian Abyss" and gives word that the "Kingdom Reborn" graphical revamp will be free for all players. Is there new life for this decade-old MMO? - January 26, 2007

The Midnight Crusade - At midnight on Jan. 16th, Gamers lined up at retailers nationwide to get their pre-order copies of World of Warcraft's first retail expansion: "The Burning Crusade." Waiting in ice storms, frigid temperatures, and even a balmy midwinter 50 degrees in the northeast (wth?), writers from Ten Ton Hammer were right there waiting in line with you. - January 16, 2007

The 2007 MMORPG Lineup - Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle takes a bird's eye look at what new titles to expect in 2007. At ten releases plus at least one major expansion, there's probably more coming out than you were expecting. We've got quick writeups and links for all of them to refresh your MMO senses. But how many 2007 titles, even those pushed back from 2006, will actually make it out the door in 2007? - January 3, 2007

MMORPGs in 2006: The Year in Review - Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle examines the upbeats and beatdowns of the last year in MMO gaming. Mass media headlines about goldselling, virtual property, and griefing; the varied success of this years numerous game and expansion releases; the discontinuance of games like Seed; encounters with developers authoring the next wave of MMORPGs; trade shows and developer junkets... it was all part of the 2006 MMO landscape. We do our best set the stage for what will prove to be a very exciting 2007 in the MMORPG category. - December 29, 2006

Setting Sail! - An Exclusive Launch Day Interview with Pirates CSG Online's Scott Martins- December 14th was launch day for Pirates Constructible Strategy Game nline (or "Pirates CSG Online", "Pirates CSG", or - with don't-sue-me apologies to Sid Meier - just "Pirates" for short), and Pirates CSG is newest online offering from Sony Online Entertainment / Worlds Apart. You may recall Worlds Apart from games like "Star Chamber" and, more recently, "Auto Assault TCG". They've been busy in the months since the SOE acquisition, taking Pirates CSG from concept to fun-filled reality in an astounding 4 months. Director of Development Scott Martins was kind enough to take time out of his extremely busy day to tell us about the making and future of the game. - December 15, 2006

Ten Ton Hammer Presents: 2006 Holiday Gifts for MMO Gamers- Ah, it's that time of year again, carols on the radio, the smell of cookies baking, kids whining in every store, and the question, "So what do you want for Christmas?" awkwardly hanging in the air like mistletoe above a locker room door. Help your loved ones avoid the embarrassment of giving you an oversized mauve plaid polo and the impersonal do-it-yourselfness of a gift card: just point them to Ten Ton Hammer's Guide to MMORPG Gamer Gift-Giving, where they're sure to find gifts that will put a twinkle in the most hardcore raider's eye for levels and levels to come. - December 11, 2006

Vista Gaming Myths and Realities- Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle takes on the rumor mill spewing rampant misconceptions surrounding Windows Vista and what it means to PC gaming. - November 17, 2006

Lord of the Rings Online Gathering 2006, Live from LotROG in Providence, RI - Jeffrey Steefel, Executive Producer, delivers a brief but surprising address - August 6, 2006

Saga of Ryzom / Ring of Ryzom Preview Event, live from Nevrax's studios in Paris, France! - June 21, 2006

Teamspeak vs. Ventrilo - January 13, 2006 - We compare the big names of gaming voicechat (or "VoIP"), telling you what each of these newly-indispensible bandwidth hogs can add to your game.

2006 MMO Preview - January 4, 2006 - Nicole "Awenyddion" Hamlett and Nikki "Gypsy" Inderlied bring you a glimpse of the hottest MMO releases of 2006 and beyond.

Ten Ton Hammer Removes Gold Ads - January 16, 2006 - On this date, the Ten Ton Hammer Network removed all secondary market ads from its 13 community sites and hub. Here's the press release!

Ten Ton Hammer's "Terms of Gaming Graphics" Guide - June 1, 2006 - Don't know your ATA from your SATA from your SCSI? Not sure what makes PCI Express so "express", the SLI so sly, or why some think AGEIA PhysX will be the next big thing? We're here to help! With MMORPGs quickly catching up to other gaming genres in the jaw-dropping graphics department, it might be time to upgrade your rig or buy a new setup. Everything looks good on the box, so before you spend skads of money on dubious tech, take a look at the Ten Ton Hammer "Terms of Gaming Graphics" to see what's past and what lasts!