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Videos, interviews and commentary with the people who make the industry great; all the GDC Coverage you can eat is online.

TenTonHammer.com's GDC 2007 Coverage Portal

Jeff and Cody have outdone themselves. We have eight exclusive articles from GDC posted today including some great videos of Hero's Journey and Gods and Heroes.

I was fortunate to spend some time listening in on an interview between Magnus Bergsson, CMO of CCP, Inc. (the developers of EVE Online) and Jeff Woleslagle. My short attention span made gleaning information difficult, but I did hear that voice chat (EVE Voice) would likely arrive in EVE Online by the end of March. Currently in the final beta stages the voice chat option is being developed in conjunction with Vivox who were kind enough to sit down with Jeff and discuss their voice over IP solution for MMOs.

The initial release of EVE Voice will be priced at $9.95 per year with a price change to $14.95 per year coming at a later date.

Magnus agreed that that anonymity of text chat was something that would be lost to players who used voice chat, but had this to say about the benefits.

"...it is impossible to do combat effectively without voice communication and in our system the gang leader gets priority, shutting off the others' transmissions when he talks."

In other words, you won't need to worry about filtering out the leader's orders from the verbal diarrhea of your gang-mates. When you gang leader speaks, everyone listens.

The TTH team was concerned about having channels with dozens of not hundreds of people in them all trying to talk. Though the system has yet to be tested with large numbers of people, Magnus is confident that it will break down on an interpersonal level sheer numbers of chatters before it breaks down on a technical level.

Interpersonal scandals have rocked the game recently with CCP staff members being found to have been manipulating the game to aid themselves and their friends.

Magus was forthright when asked about the situation and had this to say,

"We were naive about this type of situation. We could not believe that anyone would do this. We are so committed to the game. It is like harming your own child."

An internal affairs department has now been setup to keep this type of incident from ever happening again.

According to Magnus the scandal did not affect subscriber numbers. The game game currently boasts 160,000 subscribers and CCP is aiming for 300,000 by the end of this year. Those are substantial numbers for a game that many felt would not survive its first year. Part of the plan to increase their subscription numbers is to provide the game to a wider audience. A Linux client is approximately three-weeks from release to be followed by a client for the Mac. In order to facilitate this growth the current staff of 200 will be increased by at least 100 more team members in the next two-years.

If you haven't already, check out the exclusive EVE "Avatars" video from GDC that shows the first ever look at the game from the perspective of the soon to be implemented EVE Avatars.

I'll have more GDC coverage as the week continues including an interesting conversations that I had with gaming legends Jeff Butler and Richard Garriott. These are two of the most down-to-earth superstars that you are ever likely to meet.

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Exclusive TenTonHammer.com Content!

03.12.2007

Age of Conan: Screenshots From GDC
"As a follow-up to all the demos they've been running the last few days, Eidos (the publishers of Age of Conan) and Funcom have released a vast assortment of screenshots for players to pick through. All of these shots, to my knowledge, were straight from the DirectX 10 build of the game and look absolutely stunning. And take my word for it, they look even better when the screen is moving. If you enjoy these pictures, make sure you read our extensive preview!"
Dungeons and Dragons Online: The Troglodyte's Get
"Troglodytes have inhabited the ruins of the tomb of the pirate Old Garl, and the players are tasked to remove the unwanted inhabitants. Find out how with Darkgolem's guide to The Troglodytes Get!"
EVE Online: Interview With Magnus Bergsson
"What's next for EVE? That was the question we presented to Magnus Bergsson, CMO of CCP Games. On Tuesday of GDC 2007, we had an opportunity to sit with Magnus and conduct a very candid and honest interview with him. Our questions ranged from the status of Vista/DirectX 10 integration to the current GM scandal situation. His answers are extensive, knowledgeable, and provide some intriguing answers to questions that many of us were stewing over."
Fury: Hands-On
"Player versus player combat (PvP) has almost always been relegated to a secondary position in most MMOs with the majority of the functionality going towards player versus environment or factional warfare. Auran Studios, which is based out of Australia, is proceeding to alter the landscape when it comes to PvP by introducing their new game, Fury. Ten Ton Hammer sits down with a playable version of the title and has a go at some PvP combat."
Gods and Heroes: Exclusive Gameplay Footage
"Throughout GDC 2007 we did our best to put into words our experiences with Perpetual Entertainment's summer 2007 MMORPG Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising. But sometimes you just have to see it to get it, and Gods & Heroes is definitely a game you need to see. It's combat and questing to the maximus - check out our latest exclusive Gods & Heroes video!"
Hero's Journey: Exclusive In-Game Video
"Simutronics allowed us to film some in-game footage of this long anticipated fantasy MMORPG from what may be the oldest and most storied developer in online RPG / MUD design. The folks at Simutronics have taken some time to perfect and license their HeroEngine toolset, but if you think the years in development might have taken a toll on the game's visual potential, you have to see this video!"
Hero's Journey: Interview With Eric Slick
"The community behind the long-in-development title Hero's Journey is among the most resilient in the industry. And now, yon heroes, there's reason to rejoice. Simutronics took some time off to flesh out, sell, and support its world class MMO development solution HeroEngine, and now Simutronics is flush with resources to step-up development on Hero's Journey. Read the exciting details in our latest Hero's Journey interview with Eric Slick!"
Lineage II: Interlude Screenshots
"This April, Lineage II will be adding another new chapter in its storyline, titled The Chaotic Throne. The beginning of this chapter, Interlude, will add a new area as well as new skills and items for high level players, and lay the foundation for the innovative changes coming in later updates of The Chaotic Throne. To publicize the upcoming Interlude, NCsoft released eight pictures for your viewing pleasure."
Star Trek Online: Images / Impressions
"While Star Trek Online is still deep in pre-alpha development, the folks at Perpetual Entertainment were kind enough to have us over to their studios one evening during GDC 2007. We learned a lot about the processes behind MMORPG development, stood in awe at how much work goes into game design, were freaked out by a lifesize cardboard cutout of Lieutenant Worf around a sharp corner, and ultimately brought home some concept art for your edification!"
Vanguard UI Database Updated
"We've got the latest updates to the best Vanguard UI mods"
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Psionicist 11-20 Leveling Guide
"Suul brings us a guide to the critical levels for every Psionicist, when players learn what being a PSI is really all about."
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes: Sorcerer Class Guide
"Bring on the nukes! We're rolling out our revamped sorcerer class guide. Check it out to learn more about this powerful arcane damage dealer."
Vivox: Interview With Monty Sharma And Rob Seaver
"Since Vivox integrated rolled out to EVE Online gamers just last Thursday, we wanted a chance to speak with Monty Sharma and Rob Seaver, founders of Vivox, at GDC 2007. We discussed the advantages and disadvantages of Vivox over more "homegrown" solutions like Teamspeak and Ventrilo, plus where "voice font" voice masking technology will soon take MMO players. So will Vivox take "gender benders" over the line between the sexes? Is this question just plain over the line? Find out!"
Warhammer 40K MMO
"Ratboy hits level 70 in WoW (he's kinda slow), and discusses his thoughts on the newly announced THQ MMO."
Warhammer Online: Bestiary Update
"Today we've updated our Bestiary with another five specimens for you to look over. Ranging from Chaos Troll to Gorger, this update has all sorts of fearsome monsters to check out."
Warhammer Online: Racial Page Updates
"The Greenskin and Dwarf pages have been updated to have listings for their respective faction zones. This means if you check out the Dwarf page you can see all five listed locations that the Dwarfs 'own' and the same for the Greenskins. More links have been added to each page as well, so go check it out!"
World of Warcraft: WoW Servers Page Updated
"Our WoW Server list has been completely revamped! Tables have been added for easier browsing and the recent server additions are now present."
World of Warcraft: Warlock Guide
"Our Warlock Guide's equipment section has been updated with all kinds of fresh information that helps you find the best gear for your character. We've got some info on the new tier 4 and tier 5 armor sets along with what's stats you should really look out for as a Warlock and why!"

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Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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