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Daily Column

15 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 208 so far in November!

My reintroduction to EverQuest 2 is moving along swimmingly. Colour me impressed by the changes that have been made over the years. No longer does this title have the steep learning curve that pushed new casual players away. Make no mistake, it is not as intuitive a game to play as some others, but it has come a tremendously long way. The effort that has been put into perfecting the title is staggering. It is not the same game that I played (was it really that long ago?) at launch.

I ran across a post by Steve Kramer made on November 13th where he really hit the nail on the head with regards to the new starting zone (Timorous Deep). Steve is one of the designers responsible for the Rise of Kunark expansion.

"This has been an interesting and challenging project from the get go. People have a lot of expectations of what "Kunark" is to them, being a very nostalgic place for them in their early EverQuest careers. I myself, spent a lot of time in Kunark, in fact I probably did more leveling in the Dreadlands around and in Karnor's than anywhere else.

I would say that, it's because of those expectations, that we worked so hard to make this as good as I think it turned out. The zones still seem astonishingly large to me, and I've had quite a bit of time to get used to them. Timorous Deep for example is extremely big for a new player experience, but feels right because of the way it's laid out and the way the progression pans out. To think there were at least 3 more islands planned out in my maps, that eventually got sunk, because it just was getting too big! Had we kept all of those islands in there, people probably wouldn't leave till level 30 or 40 by the time they got through the quest lines at the pace that we currently put people through."

My experience in the Timorous Deep zone and my overall experience so far in the "new" EQ2 has been most agreeable. If you have had a chance to experience the content in the other new zones please tell me (and the other Loading... readers) what you think!

Comments, questions or naughty pictures? Hit the forum or hit my mailbox. --Boomjack

New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today

• Age of Conan: Class Interview #3 - The Conqueror
• Lord of the Rings Online: Forsaken Inn Quest Guide
• Lord of the Rings Online: Taxidermy and You
• Tabula Rasa: Guide to Hightower Outpost
• Tabula Rasa: Revamped Guide to Tabula Rasa Armor
• Tabula Rasa: Guide To Daghda's Urn
• Vanguard: XP Bonus Week
• Vanguard: Swamp Armor Guide - Feral Leaf Set
• Vanguard: Quest Guide - Gulgrethor Fortress #1
• Vanguard: Poll - Dynamic Duos #4 - Tank + Arcane Caster
• Warmonger: Developer Profile #4 - NetDevil's Chris Sherland
• World of Warcraft: Paladin Talent Guide
• World of Warcraft: U.I. Mod Updates - CTMod and MobInfo2
• World of Warcraft: Tailoring Guide Revamp
• World of Warcraft: Guild Bank Management Guide Updated

Hot Content - Or, what I took a fancy to.

1. Age of Conan: Class Interview #3 - The Conqueror
2. Warmonger: Developer Profile #4 - NetDevil's Chris Sherland

Real World News

• India Readies Combat Camels For Darfur
  Satellite Sphinx and Marine Corp Mummies not far behind.
• Banjo Playing Gunman On Run
  Gives a whole new meaning to dueling banjos.
• Moms Don't Like Bratz Dolls
  In other news Captain Obvious seen returning a Prosti-tot doll at Wal-Mart.

Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com

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