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Loading... It's like that first kiss, or maybe what you imagine that first kiss will be like.

So here's some news about a game that I rarely and by rarely I mean never write about, Shadowbane. There was much flapping of gums about this title when it launched oh so many years ago. Some players loved it. Others, like me, felt that it was a giant step backwards because of design decisions like point and click movement.

There were ripples through the industry when Ubisoft first purchased the game (in 2004) and took it to a freeware, free-to-play model in March of 2006.

The development team recently decided that after five years there were enough issues in the game that a "Shadowbane Reboot" was the right course of action.

"There are a variety of changes associated with this update but most talked about development will be what we are referring to as “Shadowbane Reboot”.

The Shadowbane Team decided that it would be best for the longevity of the game to reset all server and character data and start from scratch. By doing so, the game benefits in a variety of ways. First, we feel the community will be better served by being more consolidated and less fragmented. Second, resetting the game removes items that have accumulated over the years that have caused imbalances to the game. In addition, numerous updates and enhancements have been made to the Shadowbane service to improve the performance. Some of the changes were not as effective due to preexisting data and resetting the service will allow the servers to work under optimal conditions. Finally, this update also gives us a chance to address certain game issues.

The first of these that cannot occur on any existing world is the flattening of the entire city zone. Currently when a Tree of Life is placed, the area around the building grid is flattened and the rest of the zone is left unaltered. This has caused issues with the “phantom row” of walls, siege engines wrongly terra-forming the terrain, and creating practically unsiegable cities. With this update, we will be extending the flattening to the entire city zone which will rectify these issues" -- Read the entire list of changes here.

This must have been a nail-biting decision. In essence, everyone who has invested in this game has to start over and new players can theoretically start out on even ground. I write "theoretically" because veterans are still going to have a huge real experience edge in the game.

A free-to-play game can make a decision like this more smoothly than a subscription based game could. Imagine if Blizzard decided that all WoW servers were getting reset tomorrow. What do you think that the response would be?

It's an interesting decision by Ubisoft and I give them full credit for having the spine to make it. Now I'm going to sit back, read some Shadowbane forums and watch the fireworks.  

Hit the Loading... forums and give your opinion.

Do you feel the need to contact me personally with naughty pictures? Here's my E-mail.

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15 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 253 so far in January! 253 so far in 2008!

New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today

Age of Conan: Developer Panel Video Dungeons and Dragons Online: Module Six and Seven Interview with Kate Paiz EverQuest 2: Kylong Plains Zone Guide Part 2 Lord of the Rings Online: Book 12 Preview Images Lord of the Rings Online: The Delving of Fror Video Preview Tabula Rasa: Guide to Spies Tabula Rasa: Guide to Fort Defiance Part 1 Tabula Rasa: Guide to Fort Haroun Part 2 Tabula Rasa: Guide to Thoria Das and Delta Outpost Ten Ton Hammer Wiki: Sigonyth: Desert Eternity and SpellCasters Vanguard: Spell List Rebuild Project - Blood Mage Warhammer Online: Why the Casual Player Should Welcome Back PvP - Part 1 Webkinz: Bathroom Guide Part II World of Warcraft: Editorial - Expansion and Change World of Warcraft: Beast Master Hunter Guide

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Need More? Look no further for all of the headlines.

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Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com

- John "Boomjack" Hoskin and the Ten Ton Hammer Team