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

Beta Testing Set to Begin in China

Joystiq.com reported yesterday that the beta testing for Guild Wars in China has been announced.

As if Chinese gamers didn't have enough online gaming to occupy their leisure (and work) time, The9 has announced Guild Wars China will begin closed beta testing on Nov. 29. One of the most anticipated games on the mainland, Guild Wars attracted 200,000 applicants on the first day of beta registration last week. Maybe an aspiring Chinese clan will unseat South Korea's reigning Guild Wars champs The Last Pride at the next world tournament.

Get clicking to learn more of the details. Have you seen the Ten Tons of exclusive content and guides at our Guild Wars Ten Ton Hammer site lately? Don't miss out!

Behind the Scenes #5: Beta Progress

The official site for Age of Conan has been updated with a new issue of Behind the Scenes. In this look we get an update on Beta.

This week we take a look at how beta feedback shapes and improves the gameplay experience and development process.

In this weeks update we wanted to go through some ot the process of change that goes hand in hand with the beta schedule. As you all know we are now in closed Beta internally, and we thought it would be interesting for people to hear about what we are working on and what is changing as we move through the beta process!

Get clicking to read more! Are you planning to play Age of Conan? Share your thoughts on this and all your favorite MMOs in our Ten Ton Hammer Forums today!

Misha Updates Us On Beta!

Another update on the official site for Pirates of the Burning Sea brings us an update on beta in Misha's Developer Blog.

I've managed to duck Aether since May but he finally caught up with me... I can't even begin to list all the changes to the Beta since May. We've added tons more people, established a regular schedule for the sessions and then changed that schedule, and I've got new GMs helping me to the point I no longer have to work the weekends to run the Beta. This makes for a much less cranky Misha!

Currently, our schedule is very focused on North/South American availability. If you're a Beta tester not in my hemisphere, chances are you can only play once per week. By far, the most whining I hear from Beta testers is that they don't get to play, er, test often enough. ;-)

Don't miss out...Keep reading to learn what else has changed in beta! Are you going to don your pirate gear and jump on into Pirates of the Burning Sea? Let us know about it in the Ten Ton Hammer Forums today!

Pirates of the Burning Sea hits a milestone...

Yarrr! Them lubbers at Flying Lab Software be signallin' that their MMO, Pirates of the Burning Sea, has just set anchor in th' port of harbor they be callin' "Milestone 22". Plenty of missions await ye beta players, not to mention enough new port content to ballast yer bilges. But hold on to yer fancy britches... what's all this about a duel?

Content creation is getting an extra-special twist in this milestone. When creating content for levels 15-30 a while back, each Mission Designer was given the responsibility for creating all the content for a single port in the game. This time around, Content Lead Jess Lebow (formerly the Guild Wars World Designer) has assigned every Mission Designer a nemesis – another member of the department – and asked each opposing pair of Mission Designers to create dramatic tension by developing competing storylines for the level 31-50 content. Every story will have two distinct sides as Flying Lab pits Mission Designer against Mission Designer as dueling partners in creating intriguing storylines for high-level players.

Some additional highlights from Milestone 22 include the following: 

• Extensive work on Avatar Combat styles for swords and rapiers

• Extensive high-end, faction-based content for players level 30 to 50+
• The addition of 200+ new missions
• The addition of new environments, like black markets, jails and taverns as well as numerous new ports, villages, and frontier towns for British, French, Spanish and Pirate factions

Ye can see more about "Milestone 22" in th' official press release.

And if ya aren't in the Burning Sea beta, don't get yer neckerchief in a knot. Set sail for the Ten Ton Hammer forums- where ye can discuss the game 'til yer heart's content.