Loading... Long Live the MMO

Welcome to the 1,054th Edition of Loading...

Loading... is the premier daily MMORPG news and commentary newsletter, only from Ten Ton Hammer.

Anyone that says the MMORPG category is dying a slow death hasn't looked around much lately. The MMO subscriber base is as big as its ever been. It's mostly WoW? Sure, but that only proves that the market is definitely there for the right title. And if you look beyond the high fantasy niche, you'll see growth, hype, and excitement on an unprecedented scale. We've got three articles and videos to prove it in today's Loading... Long Live the MMO.

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The Pulse

You vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the result is the Ten Ton Pulse (What is Pulse?).

Here's today's top 5 Pulse results for today:

Biggest Movers in the Top 20 today :

Atlantica Online (UP 5 to #9)
Free Realms (down 5 to #16)
Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach (UP 4 to #8)

Loading... Daily

**Join us tonight for an EverQuest 2 dev chat in Voon's Ten Ton Events room on Game Update 51 at 6pm US Eastern (3pm Pacific, 2200 GMT). Download Voon here if you haven't already.**

More excitement than you can shake a stick at today. Two days ago we showed you just what kind of awful fate a lowfat shake can get you into with the first ever trailer from The Secret World, today Ten Ton Hammer's Garrett Fuller sat down with Senior Producer Ragnar Tørnquist to get the lowdown on the first MMO to really encapsulate the real modern world (with some supernatural bonuses, of course). The Secret World is definitely a wide open game, being a skill-based, level-less, mission-driven game that is nonetheless focused on advancement. I was glad to read Tørnquist's comments regarding the Funcom team's lazer focus on missions (missions, not quests... I don't want to have to pay a fine, as fun as Funcom shendigs are), since a lack of directed content is usually the bane of choose-your-own-adventure style, wide open MMOs.

City of Heroes Issue 14: Architect is out today, complete with an Issue 14 launch trailer that does a great job of illustrating how to create your own missions. If you enjoy CoH character creation and enjoy dreaming up comic book-themed adventures, you too can create your own missions. Issue 14 is free with your CoH / CoV subscription and there's no level requirement whatsoever to dive in (you could level from start to cap playing only your or other user-created missions if you wanted), so give this one a shot if you're at all interested. I've played it, and if I can create a mission in 15-20 minutes that earned a chuckle from a CoH dev, so can you.

Since our video server isn't quite at max warp yet, I'll clue you in on another nifty video. One dark horse (literally dark) space combat MMO that's taken the Internet by storm since GDC is Black Prophecy, and our latest Black Prophecy gameplay video shows that this game, despite lacking a little in the English department at present, has achieved verticality and is a serious contender. If you're looking for something a little more bleak than Jumpgate Evolution, or if you're a Sins of a Solar Empire fan and ever wished you could climb into the cockpit of a Devastator and reenact one of your pew-pew battles with a hulking flagship, this is definitely a game worth keeping an eye on.

Speaking of Jumpgate Evolution, we'll have a new video posted today on the novel approach NetDevil took to recreate their very first MMO. Keep an eye out for it and I'll link you in tomorrow.

I never really gave much creedence to "The End is Nigh" naysayers predicting the end of the MMORPG (the end of the high fantasy MMORPG... well, maybe that side of the industry is on hiatus until WoW says otherwise), and days like this bear that out. What do you think? Disagree? Let's duke it out! Voice your opinion in the Loading... forum, or send me an email!

7 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 48 in April! 435 in 2009!

New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today [Thanks Phil Comeau for links and Real World News]

The Secret World First Interview with Producer Ragnar Tornquist

This week Funcom has unveiled its first screenshots, video and fact sheet to tell us about their new upcoming MMOG, The Secret World. The game is set to take place in a world within our own, where monsters and magic exists. And now, for the first time ever, Senior Producer and Director of the game, Ragnar Tornquist, was able to answer some of our questions about the game in this exclusive Ten Ton Hammer interview.
City of Heroes Issue 14 Launch Trailer
City of Heroes Issue 14 hits the live servers today. This update opens a whole new side of this venerable comic book-themed franchise, allowing players to create and play their own created content for normal experience and a token-based loot system. This trailer shows just how easy it is to create your own missions from start to finish.
Class vs. Skill: The Battle That Doesn't Have To Be

Class-based system or skill-based? It's a battle that's been going on for years and shows no sign of stopping. Both sides think their way is the only path to a higher truth, but Dalmarus is here to say it doesn't have to be so. Join him in this week's Forever Fantasy as he delves into both the advantages and disadvantages of both sides and offers up the answer to it all.
Atlantica Online Trailer

There's definitely something appealing about Atlantica Online. Whether it's the turn-based strategy or the nicely stylized graphics, gamers from all over the world are jumping into this new, unique MMO. Ten Ton Hammer has the most recent trailer released for the game, and we've hosted it for you to enjoy. Check it out!
Black Prophecy Gameplay Video

Reakktor Media GmbH today released a new cinematic trailer for their upcoming MMO "Black Prophecy" featuring over seven minutes of in-game footage. Showcasing the ability to switch between first and third person views, the early stages of the trailer highlights various mechanics in trade, inventory, ship load outs, and more. As the trailer continues, the action heats up. Witness the destructive outcome when two capital ships meet in combat.
If you want to see ships engaged in fast-paced space combat, bouncing off ice covered asteroids, and dazzling you with their gorgeous graphics, look no further than the latest gameplay trailer from Black Prophecy.
The Chronicles of Spellborn: Guide to Rogue Disciplines

Rather than lock players into a specific class, or Discipline selection during character creation, in The Chronicles of Spellborn you’ll initially be presented with three main archetypes to choose from – Rogue, Spellcaster or Warrior. Providing a few key skills for the archetype selected, the early levels will allow you to get a general feel for combat before deciding upon one of three Disciplines specific to that archetype upon reaching Fame Rank 5. The Disciplines themselves offer an increasingly varied gameplay experience while still retaining elements of the main archetype as you progress. To help make the Discipline selection easier for new players, we’ve put together a handy guide outlining the roles and unique abilities for each archetype’s 3 primary disciplines. First up, the Rogue Disciplines; Deathhand, Skinshifter and Trickster!
World of Warcraft: Novel Giveaway

Sometimes you're not able to play World of Warcraft. Say you have to do something everyone tells you is really important, like visit your internet-deprived family in Oregon or perform brain surgery. You don't want to have to do without your favorite game while you're going through the motions with boring chores, do you? Of course not! But what can you do? Thanks to Ten Ton Hammer and Blizzard Entertainment, you can read about your favorite game and one of the most iconic characters in that series.
World of Warcraft: Ready to Raid as a Shaman

This week I take a quick look at some of the points a Shaman may want to consider before venturing into the realm of raiding in the World of Warcraft. "Ok boys and girls, this is what all your work has lead up to. All the days of game play, the dramatic dip in most social lives, and the potential WoW Widows and Widowers. Raiding, the ten and twenty-five man encounters that will begin occupy most of your end-game time.
Before we get into some of the finer points or in my case broad sweeping details of how to set you Shaman for raiding, there are a few general points of raiding I think all players should be made aware. The proper raiding mindset can go a long way."

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

Real World News

Circus clowns enjoy recession-proof boom

OctoMom in talks to provide her womb for transportation services.
Man cut and stabbed after flatulence fight

This is where I do wordplay along the lines of, "The first rule of Fart Club is…", but I"m afraid I can’t do that without making it sound like the tagline of a fetish film.
Judge grants mom's wish for dead son's sperm

What would YOU do for a Klondike Bar?

Thanks for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!

-Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle and the Ten Ton Hammer team

To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our City of Villains Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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