Fast and FURYous

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1. Daily Column

The Fast and the FURYous.

My invitation to meet with the Auran team at the GameCock compound started out something like this (Note, video and sound). These guys took over a hotel on the beach called The Hotel California. Upon arrival the Eagles' song immediately began to play in my head. I was worried that we might be able to check-in, but never leave. As Jeff and I hopped out of the cab we noticed a bunch of vehicles with GameCockSucks.com stickers all over them. The hotel looked like it might disintegrate into rubble at any moment and there didn't appear to be any way to actually get inside to see the good folks for Auran, which was ironic give the hotel's moniker. Eventually I noticed some attractive women wearing tiny kilts and skin-tight shirts that read "A GameCock Taught Me To Yodel". We either had the right place or didn't care. We weren't sure.

A dashing young GameCock was waved over to usher us in, offer us food, booze and the run of the place before introducing us to our hosts from Auran. Bing, bang, boom and before I knew it I was plunked down in front of a machine to take on three of the Auran devs. Mike Hampden (Content Designer), Peter Hodge (Software Engineer) and Connie Hewitt (Lead QA) had obviously dealt with the press all day because they weren't taking any prisoners. It was like a car wreck. I wanted to look away as they took me out behind the shed and stripped me of my gaming pride, but I kept my eyes glued to the screen and my cursor glued to the "Respawn Now" button.

While I was trying to figure out what the heck each hotkey represented they were rushing past, around and over me like Paris Hilton at "Free Dog in a Purse Night". To say that I got beaten up would be like saying that Jessica Alba is winsome or Mike Tyson is a bit of a psycho. Regardless, the game was an absolute blast to play. I'm not sure quite how to describe it in reference to other titles you may have played, but it is truly unique. My best stab would be Unreal Tournament meets Hexen mixed with four parts of all-new gameplay and ten parts of fun. Seriously though, Mike, Peter and Connie were charming, explaining to me the nuances of the game with such zeal that it was impossible not to see how much they loved it.

Now for the nitty and the gritty...Fury has four different game types. Bloodbath, which much like my bachelor party is a 32 player free-for-all. Players must not only attempt to kill their opponents while staying alive themselves, but they must collect the blood tokens that the fallen enemies drop to move up the leaderboard.

Vortex is a 16 versus 16 group battle. Think of it as capture the flag on steroids. Players attempt to bring vortex crystals back to their base, but unlike CTF those crystals must be defended. Coordinated teamwork is the key to victory.

Elimination is a 4 versus 4 battle with simple rules; eliminate the other team. It's a best of three "Last Man Standing" competition. Cowards need not apply.

Fortress is a game type that we didn't get to discuss at length other than it will be the more "epic" type of game that could last up to 45 minutes with up to 32 players per side.

All game types have time limits. You will never need to worry about that nasty opponent hiding the final flag to annoy you! A medium sized game of 16 versus 16 would normally last for 15 minutes, perfect for a break at lunch or while your staff are rushing to get that last piece of coding done and you need to look busy.

A hybrid first person shooter / massively multiplayer online game is difficult to wrap your head around at first, but the most basic premise of Fury is this, you fight other living breathing, or in my case gasping, wheezing human beings to gain levels. As you advance in level you gain access to new spells and skills which you can then put into play against even more living, breathing human opponents.

But what if I get matched against much better players you ask? Auran is testing no less than three different means of calculating relative player skill levels including the ELO and Glicko rating systems to ensure that their match making is both fair and fun for the players. Better yet, even though Fury is a skill based game and not a class based game the ranking systems pick up on the types of spells/skills that you have loaded and rate you as a healer, nuker, etc. Players need not worry about hurting their rating by playing a healing archetype to help their guildmates for instance. At the end of every week and the end of every season the top players, guild and even servers will win special awards.

The maps are filled with powerups that like in most first person shooters can be used to either boost the players damage dealing potential or heal their wounds. Knowledge of the maps will be a great advantage.

Targeting is sticky, like in most MMOs. You lock on to an opponent and fire away without worrying about continuing to keep your target in your sights, while strafing and constantly being on the move to avoid melee attacks is a carry-over from the game's FPS roots.

A player can have a weapon plus up to 23 abilities loaded at once, most of which can be fired while you are on the run. There are over 400 abilities to choose from giving players abundant choices when it comes to selecting their loadout.

Each account is allowed only one player slot, which sounds like a bad design decision at first, but it truly makes sense. The character name that you choose will be unique across the entire game. Nobody else will share that name on any server, and because each character can learn every ability and can loadout any abilities that they know there is really no reason to have an alternative character other than to sequester yourself from a bad reputation.

Thanks to Mike, Connie, Peter and Adam Carpenter for patiently answering my questions.

Would I recommend this game? Absolutely! It's a game that I will buy when it is available and with the amount of games that I have placed in front of me that is a large endorsement.

While I'm at E3, Coyote is preparing for Fan Faire. Hoo boy. You have to read this.

Vin DiE3el Fact: If you rearrange the letters in Vin DiE3el it spells I End Live3.

Comment in the blog (now with direct link goodness) or email me directly.

2. New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today

E3: Age of Conan E3 Trailer
"The latest Age of Conan video from Funcom lacks none of the violence and visual punch that we've come to expect from the developers realizing Robert E. Howard's Hyborian vision in an MMORPG format. In fact, this marks the first time we've posted age-protected content here on the Ten Ton Hammer network. But don't let the solid storyline cues get lost in the gruesome, grueling glitz. And, as an added bonus, Funcom announces a release date (PC-only, North America and Europe) at the end of the video!"
E3: Age of Conan Images
"Screenshots have been pushing their way out of this year's Los Angeles-based E3, and Ten Ton Hammer has nabbed a good selection of those screenshots for you to enjoy. This batch of screenshots comes from Funcom, the Norwegian MMOG development studio that is hard at work developing the hard-hitting, blood-spattered game known as Age of Conan. This selection of screenshots focuses on the combat, scenery, and beautiful debauchery that can be found in the lands of Hyboria. Check them out, then take some time and visit all of our E3 content!"
E3: Gods and Heroes - Interview With Chris McKibbin
" The Ten Ton Hammer team kicked off their adventure to E3 with a visit to SOE's demo room where they talked to Chris McKibben, president of Perpetual Entertainment, developers of Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising. They learned about how Gods and Heroes' myth minions make this game casual player friendly, and a min-maxer's dream. Shayalyn provides all the details in her write-up."
E3: Fury Preview - The Fast And The FURYous
"Bing, bang, boom and before I knew it I was plunked down in front of a machine to take on three of the Auran devs. Mike Hampden (Content Designer), Peter Hodge (Software Engineer) and Connie Hewitt (Lead QA) had obviously dealt with the press all day because they weren't taking any prisoners. It was like a car wreck. I wanted to look away as they took me out behind the shed and stripped me of my gaming pride, but I kept my eyes glued to the screen and my cursor glued to the "Respawn Now" button."
E3: Fury Images
"Sporting their typical hard-hitting, pulse-pounding and gut-wrenching marketing scheme, Gamecock was in full-force at this year's E3 showcasing a variety of games under their indie banner. Their pride and joy was Fury, an action packed title that put John "Boomjack" Hoskin through his paces. As part of their media presentation, Gamecock released seven screenshots depicting various elements from Fury, including the environments combat, and some beginner areas. Again, after you get done looking at the Fury images, visit all of our E3 content!"
E3: Pirates of the Burning Sea - Yo Ho Ho And A Bottle Of Awesome
"The Ten Ton Hammer E3 crew was all over the SOE booth like a dirty shirt on Monday! We were fortunate to have CEO Russell Williams and
Lead Designer Kevin Maginn in the house to take us through a demonstration of Avatar Combat, boarding actions, and more!"
E3: Pirates of the Burning Sea E3 Video Preview
"We have a Pirates of the Burning Sea update today, on-site from E3 in Santa Monica, California. CEO Russell Williams talks briefly about beta status and progress being made since Flying Lab Software's recent signing with SOE Platform Publishing, and Kevin Maginn takes us through the newly revamped Pirate town of Marsh Harbour, boarding and avatar combat, plus a new look at open sea travel and the player-optional supernatural story arc. Take a look!"
Blog: E3 Denied
"Instead of spending the last few days in Los Angeles with the rest of the Ten Ton Hammer crew, Cody "Micajah" Bye was sipping a tall glass of beer and kicking his feet up because he was denied access to the invite-only version of E3. Despite E3's huge status in the past, this year's E3 seems to be a far cry from that once lofty enterprise and Cody isn't upset that the selection crew at the E3 headquarters didn't deem him important enough to attend."
EverQuest 2: 50 Things You Won't Hear At Sony Fan Faire
"While everyone and their brother seems to be trying to prepare you for your first Fan Faire by telling you what to expect, no one is bothering to delve into the details of what NOT to expect. That's where the always hilarious Coyote comes in with one of his little lists... We give to you: "50 Things that you will absolutely NOT hear spoken at the 2007 Fan Faire"
EverQuest 2: What To Do At Fan Faire
"With the SOE Fan Faire around the corner people are already making exciting plans for Las Vegas. What is there to do? What can you expect? RadarX tracks down veteran travelers and gets all the intelligence you'll need about the area."
Lord of the Rings Online: Troll Report
"Having trouble keeping up with the forums? Let Ten Ton Hammer do it for you! Like the sad compulsive forum poster he is, RadarX lurks the official Lord of the Rings Online site providing you all the interesting threads of the week."

3. Hot Content

4. Real World News

Sorry, our hotel Internet is so slow this morning that I can't even load a page to bring you RWN.

Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com

John "Boomjack" Hoskin