Welcome to the 1,151st edition of Loading...
Loading... is the premier daily MMORPG news, coverage, and
commentary newsletter, only from Ten Ton Hammer.
Throughout this weekend at BlizzCon, folks like me who haven't
quite drank enough of the Blizzard kool-aid were haunted by one
question: what am I missing from GamesCom? Thanks to the newshounds at
Ten Ton Hammer, I was able to catch up in relatively short order and
I'll share my impressions of the biggest GamesCom headlines and weekend
news items today in Loading... GamesCom MMO Highlights.
width="100%">
The Pulse
You vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the
result is the Ten Ton Pulse (
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/thepulse/" target="_blank">What
is The Pulse?).
Here's today's top 5 Pulse results:
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/41"
target="_blank">World of Warcraft
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/254">Aion
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/860">Champions
Online
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/115">Age of
Conan
EverQuest
2
Biggest Movers today :
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/38"
target="_blank">
EverQuest
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/38"
target="_blank">
(UP 4 to #19)
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1234">Runes
of Magic (UP 2 to #14)
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/47"
target="_blank">
Guild
Wars (UP 2 to #15)
Recent
MMO Releases
7/13
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/109">Darkfall
NA launch
7/21-
FFXI
"Moogle Kupo d'Etat" Addon (release date)
8/4 -
World
of Warcraft Update 3.2 (content patch)
Important
Dates
9/4 - 9/6
-
Penny Arcade Expo
(PAX)
9/15 -
9/18 -
GDC
Austin
10/1 -
10/3 -
href="http://fanfest.eveonline.com/">EVE FanFest
Upcoming
Releases
8/25
-
CrimeCraft
(release date)
9/1 -
Champions
Online (release date)
9/9
-
Dungeons
& Dragons Online Unlimited (release date)
9/15 (NEW)
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/177">Fallen
Earth (release date)
9/22
-
Aion
(release date)
10/9
-
Cities
XL (release date)
Early 2010
-
APB
Loading... Daily
So if Blizzard games aren't your cup of tea, Europe's new
games conference mecca, GamesCom, brought plenty of non-WoW MMO
goodness (though the BlizzCon opening ceremonies were simucast in
Cologne. If you had your head buried in a DirectTV feed or, like me,
were slowly sinking into the floor of the Anaheim Convention Center
standing in line or in a crowd, catch up on the latest on what's
happening around the wide world of MMO gaming with me:
Star
Trek Online fans got a 4-part video series done in stunning
YouTube-esque videography. Doubtless
href="http://www.gameguide.nl">Gameguide.nl was
told not to zoom in on the screen, but were they told not to pan over
to Andy Velasquez or maybe eliminate some of that nasty head room. Just
saying. It might not exactly be the kind of video reveal that the
Cryptic marketing team was planning on, but the game looks great (even
if space looks a bit busy) and Craig Zinkievich relays plenty of great
info in his usual exuberant style.
It must have been the weekend for 4-part series, because
IGN flexed some media / retailer might and got Bioware to make them a
video series for
Star
Wars: The Old Republic. The story, full dialogue, and first
Bounty Hunter and Smuggler missions were what we saw at E3 but couldn't
film (writeup here). The real goodness begins halfway through the
second part with the reveal of the Sith Warrior class and Korriban. The
Warrior has a fairly traditional Warriorness to him, with charge,
melee, and execute abilities.
Aion
won some awards at GamesCon, most prominently "Best Online Games" from
German portal giga.de. Clicking that link (NCSoft's, not mine) takes me
to a prominent ad for "Messe-Babes" which we'll trust isn't as dirty as
it sounds in German. Lead Designer Yonchan Lee caught some
softball questions from the audience, and had fairly unremarkable
answers about things like PvPvE, but he did raise the possibility of
instances before level 25, player housing, and mounts used not for
transportation but for other aspects of the game. With Champions Online
allowing in-game Twitter, it wasn't a total surprise that the Aion team
is talking about providing social networking in-roads.
As you'll see below, a
href="http://www.guildwars2.com/en/">Guild Wars 2 teaser
trailer premiered at GamesCom. The visuals are stunning, and
a fair amount of the video looks to be taken from in-game, and it'll be
interesting to see how the Guild Wars (1) community reacts to what
seems a much more PvE-oriented GW experience.
In other news:
No more lifetime or 6-month subscription offers are
available for
href="http://www.champions-online.com/exclusive_specials">Champions
Online - congrats to Cryptic on the sellout.
For
Fallen
Earth fans, it's a good news / bad news situation. Bad News:
Icarus has pushed its release date. Good news: they've only pushed it
by a week. We've been getting requests to cover Fallen Earth a little
more fully, so we'll do our best to interface with Icarus in the
remaining weeks before launch.
What announcement thrilled you the most this past weekend? Share your
thoughts in the
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=45713">Loading...
forum.
Shayalyn's
Epic Thread of
the Day
From our
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=6">Articles,
News & Events Discussion forum
Guild
Wars 2 Teaser Trailer Premiered at GamesCom
I
love gaming conventions, even when I don't attend them. Big events
usually mean new goodies in the form of information and
media about the upcoming games we're jonesing
for. GamesCom
has been no exception to the New Goodies rule this year. For instance,
NCSoft and ArenaNet unveiled a sweet Guild Wars 2 teaser trailer. I
consider myself well and duly teased...and intrigued.
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=45548">Check
out the thread
to check out the trailer, and then let us know if Guild Wars 2 makes
you feel all funny (like when you climbed the rope in gym class), or if
it leaves you cold.
View
and discuss!
==============================
Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread
"Yes, that is an awesome
trailer,
but I've obviously missed something here. People talk about Guild Wars
2 like it's the second coming of Christ or something. But, you know,
Guild Wars isn't that amazing; its average combat, generic
settings (thought beautiful) and completely devoid of the persistant
worlds that truely make an MMO.
So...what gives? Why is
everyone so excited about a sequel to a game no one seems to play for
more than a few months before going back to a real MMO?"
- bobfish
==============================
Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums?
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=32559">Tell
us!
7 new MMOG home-grown articles today, many from
BlizzCon! 74 in August!
934 in
2009!
New Coverage and Guides At Ten Ton Hammer Today
BlizzCon 2009
Blizzcon
'09: Starcraft 2
Hands-on Preview
Blizzcon 2009 brought about a ton of new information about Starcraft 2,
Diablo 3, and the MMOG knockout World of Warcraft. Our very own Adam
Stow went to Blizzcon and got to play the latest version of Starcraft 2
so that he can relay his experience back to you. How does the single
player campaign feel? Will Hydralisks become the new Zerg vs. Zerg
favorite? Found out our hands-on view of Starcraft 2!
Video:
Fan Impressions from BlizzCon 2009
While the hype and atmosphere of BlizzCon is fun, the best reason to go
is the discussions, laughs, and arguments you'll have with other fans.
One of our favorite BlizzCon features is a series of fast-paced,
unscripted fan interviews we do with BlizzCon attendees, and this year
we have quite an assortment - from families to a top-ranked guild
leader to a few folks in costume (and in character) to not one but a
three-spot of Arthas doppelgangers!
More Articles:
WoW
- Trial of the Crusader - Lord Jaraxxus Strategy
With the 3.2 patch to the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King,
Blizzard opened up another raid instance for players. The second
encounter in the Trial of the Crusader raid starts off when a lowly
Gnome Warlock comes out to summon a felguard for your group to fight.
Something, however, goes horribly wrong, as it usually does when a
Gnome is involved, and mayhem ensues. Instead of a felguard,
a demon lord is summoned. Your raid must therefore defeat the
fearsome Lord Jaraxxus to move on in the Coliseum. Byron "Messiah"
Mudry walks you through the basics of the fight in this strategy guide.
Comic
- Zeroes -
"A Bit Overpowered"
Champions Online is based entirely off of superheroes. The big, the
bad, and the bold all share Millennium City as their home. But what
about the less than average caped crusaders? Who will tell their story?
This week, Nothingman finds himself a serious adversary... in a
low-level tutorial boss named Black Talon?:
Introduction
to Aion
Titles
Titles in Aion are a bit different than those featured in many other
MMOGs. In Aion, titles actually provide benefits when used, allowing
the player to enhance specific stats from certain titles. These boosts
can enhance battle statistics, flight, and more to aid the player in
smiting their enemies from the sky. This week we have put together an
introduction to the titles in Aion to help get you familiar with some
of the benefits of wearing titles in Aion.
In
the Business of Fun: A Video Q&A with The Syndicate's
Sean "Dragons" Stalzer
Ten Ton Hammer spoke with The Syndicate's guild leader
and CEO, Sean "Dragons" Stalzer, on the highlights of the annual world
conference in 2009, on their current efforts and how they balance their
guide authoring, consulting, and philanthropic side with the fun of
gaming in the context of a close knit, friendship-oriented multi-game
guild. If you want to take your guild to the next level or gain some
long-term staying power, it's well worth watching this video!
Interview
with THQ*ICE for Dragonica Online
As the massively multiplayer online gaming marketplace continues to
expand, developers are continuing to push the boundaries of the
"standard" gameplay that we enjoy. A prime example of that is THQ*ICE's
upcoming 3D side-scroller, Dragonica Online. Recently unveiled to the
public via its open beta test, Dragonica is a mixture of cartoon style
with fast-paced action. Ten Ton Hammer recently sat down with Product
Manager Ben Serviss to find out more about this fantasy-based action
MMO.
Hottest Content:
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/blizzcon09">BlizzCon
2009
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/blizzcon09">
Coverage Portal
Video:
Fan Impressions from
style="font-weight: bold;">BlizzCon 2009
Behind
Closed Doors with Blizzard - The 2009 Blizzard Summit
Blizzcon
'09: Starcraft 2
Hands-on Preview
BlizzCon
2009 - The Changing Face of Battle.net
Video:
Fan Impressions from BlizzCon
2009
BlizzCon
'09 Opening Ceremonies - WoW's Cataclysm
and Diablo 3's Monk Class
In
the Business of Fun: A Video Q&A with The Syndicate's
Sean "Dragons" Stalzer
WoW
- Trial of the Crusader - Lord Jaraxxus Strategy
Blizzcon
'09 Costume Contest Gallery
Real World News [Thanks Phil!
Find some RWN? Email it to Phil at
href="mailto:comeau@tentonhammer.com">comeau@tentonhammer.com
]
href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/6016857/Invisible-doorways-or-portals-a-step-closer-to-reality-claim-scientists.html">Scientists
say we are a step closer to being able to create invisible doorways
Some time in the not-too-distant-future, Tom Cruise can step out
through the invisible doorway of his invisible closet.
Woman
at mechanic's shop: "Oh, and I have a live goat in the trunk."
Charges are pending from Animal Control. Her lawyer says,
Shes innocent, she plans to bleat the rap, I kid you not.
Thanks for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!
-Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle and the Ten Ton Hammer team