MMO news, guides, reviews, features, interviews and more at Ten Ton Hammer

In the beginning, there was Atys...

Nevrax Entertainment takes things (literally) back to the beginning with their "World Tour" of the out-now Fantasy MMOG "Saga of Ryzom."

Across the universe, past vast galaxies, there was a great fusion of matter, and a unique world came into being. The primeval roots were soon sprouting green tendrils into the sky, fowl were soaring on the wing, and beasts romping in the frenetic miracle of Life.

There lives on this planet, called Atys, humanoids, called homins. There are four homin races: Matis, Tryker, Fyros and Zoraï. To this day, nobody has managed to shed light on the mystery surrounding their arrival. A legend nonetheless has been passed on through the ages, and this legend is the key to discovering the secret behind the origins of Atys.

More storyline and screenshots than shake your Saga at in the Ryzom "World Tour" at MMORPG.com!

A Jedi's strength flows from the Force. And from a coming revamp.

SWGVault sits down for an interview with LucasArts producer Julio Torres for a Q&A session that reads like a cry for help. "Help us Julio... you're out only hope!" Okay, enough with the Star Wars quotes, sorry about that.

We realize that the Jedi system in SWG as a whole needs to be re-evaluated, so we are currently discussing options to address this. Our goal is to make the next implementation resonate to the needs of the game and the Jedi players. To do this, we really need to give it design time and play time, the exact date of when we can release a great FRS system. It’s not set yet, but we are currently working on it to get out to the public as soon as possible.

What other changes are the SWG devs planning to include in future updates? Read the rest of the Star Wars Galaxies developer Q&A at SWGVault.

DDO's newest subclass: Powerpuff Girls! Thanks Maya!

A DDO.com forum member showed concern regarding the presence of content to appeal to girls. The full forum thread is a bit of a trainwreck filled with criticism, but I'm sure at least some people out there will find the dev response amusing. Check out the full thread here.

Original Poster, Oceaniceyes:

Ok, I am totally new to the forums here. I have never played DnD before, but am hoping for a fun game. However, one of the things that got me into playing games was the ability to make things pretty. (I know, its very girlie) I liked crafting, decorating and wearing pretty clothes. I am concerned that there is no girl content planned for this game. If I am just not finding the info, please enlighten me.

Dev Responder, hsinclair:

We have great girly content, such as +5 Adamantine Greatswords, Beholders, Blade Traps, and Fireballs, just to name a few.

- Heather

4 million subscribers just can't be all wrong...
Shawn Carnes, Blizzard Game Developer, speaks to subscriber retention and sheds light on Blizzard's vision for World of Warcraft. Apparently, the new trend is toward MMOG localization rather than content expansion. But can WoW continue to please its current 9-monthers without an expansion for another whole year while adapting the game for the Koreans? After all, a year in gamer years is like a century. Also, will Korea have a new race modeled after Vin Diesel?

"Grimwell: With WoW as a clear success, an expansion is a no-brainer to follow up on the success. What are the plans for this?



Shawn: An expansion is planned, not in 2005, possibly in late 2006 barring unforeseen chaos. Work is already going on for the expansion, and it's going good. What to look for? Blizzard is good at polishing what we do well. The WoW expansion will be like other game expansions in that there will be new characters, items, spells, etc. but it will have the Blizzard twist. "

Read the World of Warcraft Interview at GamerGod, then hone your WoW talents (no pun intended) at wow.tentonhammer.com!