Gollum Drops NDA

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It's rare that you get a treat on Mondays, but today is a rare day. Not only do we have two developer diaries from the Pirates of the Caribbean team and a preview of Myst Online, but we also have exclusive screenshots of Gods and Heroes!

Gods and Heroes - Exclusive Screenshots Pirates of the Caribbean: Developer Diary #2 Pirates of the Caribbean: Developer Diary #3 Myst Online: Uru Live Preview

The news is even better for Lord of the Rings fans. The NDA has been dropped, which means that our staff can now comment on the game. Get to our LotRO community site for the goods.
While surfing the Interwebs I came across a blog entry on Nerfbat titled, "Should Developers Use Their Powers?"

Here is a snippet:

"I’ll give a multi-part answer. If developers are using those powers and they are obviously “developers,” (i.e. they are using a GM avatar, title, or otherwise), then it is entirely okay to use those powers. In fact, it can enhance the experience of other players if you use your powers in front of them. In this case, you’re using your powers for good.

What about for your own player character? The character you have that nobody knows is yours. If you use your powers to gain an unfair advantage over other players, or to give other players an advantage, it is absolutely and incontrovertibly wrong. It is simply unfair to other players, and can have much greater impact than you realize. In this cause, you’re using your powers for evil."

With the current goings-on in EVE there has been a lot of talk about what MMOG developers do and don't do with their 'non-official' characters.

I would hazard a guess that some of you have been suspicious of a character at one point or another.

Talk to me...
[Vote, rank, share, comment!]
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Guild Management has never been easier! Not sure what GuildPortal is, or what it can do for your Guild? Click here to read about what GuildPortal is, why it's the most imitated, and why people have been using GP since October of 2001 to host their Guild web sites!

Exclusive TenTonHammer.com Content!
02.12.2007

Dungeons and Dragons Online: Quest Guide - Duality -The Patriarch's Crypt
"Inside the lower catacombs the bones of the Silver Flame patriarchs will soon be raised to become liches by the evil Marguerite! It is up to an intrepid group of heroes to stop her. Darkgolem guides us on how to do so in the next guide to the Duality quest chain!" EverQuest 2: The Ones You Don't Want To See
"This week at EQ2.TenTonHammer we bring you a blooper reel from interviews that didn't quite make it. Where else can you see prostitution, a Kuato, and a the Fairy Illuision bug discussed in ONE story? Only here...for some reason....at Ten Ton Hammer!" Gods and Heroes - Exclusive Screenshots
"Perpetual Entertainment continues to deliver a visual veni, vidi, vici! with some dramatic new and exclusive Gods and Heroes screenshots. Perpetual is aiming not just at epic gameplay (with its "minion" system, which allows players some smart, AI-controlled groupmates who develop over time), but also at epic mobs. The sheer scale of these enemies is unlike anything you'll consistently see in other MMOGs. Take a look!" Myst Online: Uru Live Preview
"The Myst series has no shortage of fans, and on February 15th, the latest and most ambitious of the series will launch in MMORPG form. Myst Online: Uru Live was the result of integrating Cyan Worlds' efforts in classy, cooperative, non-combative gaming with Turner's innovative Gametap service. With Gametap's 800+ games in addition to Myst Online for less than the price of a traditional MMO, it's hard to go wrong. But Myst Online stands on its own as, in many ways, a true credit to the Myst franchise." Pirates of the Caribbean: Developer Diary #2
"Bruce Woodside and David Chiaperino of Disney's VR Studios walk us through the finer points of creating our very own pirate. Ability to talk like a pirate not included, but you'll probably pick it up just fine when Pirates Online launches later this year!" Pirates of the Caribbean: Developer Diary #3
"Mike Goslin and Ian Black of Disney's VR Studios talk about the kind of world your pirately self will step into when Pirates of the Caribbean Online launches later this year." Vanguard: Blog - There's Something About Vanguard
"Is Vanguard a perfect game? Nope. Shayalyn acknowledges that Vanguard does indeed have its flaws. And yet there's something about Vanguard that keeps her coming back to play. Discover what that something is, plus mountains of exclusive Vanguard content, in this week's newsletter." Vanguard: Warrior Creation Guide
"BadYeti knows the role of the warrior. Now he shares his tips for creating a Warrior and learning the ropes through the first ten levels." Warhammer Online: Chaos Overview Update
"Today we have an update for our Chaos Overview Page. Included in this update is a link to the new Chaos Marauder page as well as a few new links added to the list. I hope everyone enjoys!" Warhammer Online: Zone Overview Update
"Today we have a big update to our Zone Overview page. Included with today's update is the new zone of Norsca, as well as color coding for all the zones, an image detailing an overview of the Greenskin conflict, and even the different Tiers of all the newly released zones!" Warhammer Online: Bestiary Update
"Today we have yet another update to our WAR Bestiary. Included in this update are four new entries. From Bears to Flamers we've got your bases covered in this update to everyone's favorite guide to the Beasties of the Old World." World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Instance Encyclopedia
"We now have a "The Burning Crusade Instance" page within our Instance Encyclopedia. It's your one-stop resource for all available Burning Crusade instance guides. So if you're having trouble getting through an instance or don't want to look like a "noob" before going in, browse through our convenient list of instance guides for something to help you along in your adventures!" World of Warcraft: Priest Guide Trainer Update
"If you are new to the Priest class or even just a visitor to the new cities in the World of Warcraft, you may not know where to find all the trainers. To help you out we have compiled a complete listing of all the Priest trainers and their locations." World of Warcraft: Exodar City Guide
"The Exodar is the ship that crashed into Azuremyst Isle, bringing the Draenei to Azeroth. The Draenei have converted it into their home city and now, we have a guide to help you navigate it's twisting halls!"

Hot Content

Pirates of the Caribbean: Developer Diary #2 Pirates of the Caribbean: Developer Diary #3 Gods and Heroes - Exclusive Screenshots Myst Online: Uru Live Preview Vanguard: First Impressions Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Guide To Mounts EverQuest 2: SoE Station Exchange Chronicles of Spellborn: Screenshots Dark Age of Camelot: Q&A With Producer, Walt Yarbrough Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Dread Knight Creation Guide

Real World News - You Can't Make This Up

Man Gets Breakfast Tattoo On Head [Thanks John]
It didn't hurt a bit; in fact it was "over easy". China To Measure The Great Wall
Rosie quickly exclaimed, "Ching Chong!" Rednecks Vs Bees
Amazingly the rednecks won. Trash-Filled Car Crashes
Paris Hilton unharmed.

Vin Diesel Fact: Vin Diesel makes tear gas cry.

Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com
- John "Boomjack" Hoskin

You can read previously enjoyed editions of Loading... in the blog archive.