Loading... MMObile?

Welcome to the 1,066th Edition of Loading...

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

Mobile gaming has been the development rage for several years, earning it's own pavillion at prestigious games conferences like GDC and E3. Though we've seen several halfhearted attempts at a handheld MMO, two YouTube videos revealed and quickly yanked over the weekend hint set rumors swirling that World of Warcraft could someday make an appearance on Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch. Is this a good thing for MMO gaming? Could the sunlight melt us if we take online gaming outdoors? Can the tech and our data plans handle it? Answers to these questions plus links to great original articles and more in today's Loading... MMObile?

Need more newsletter? Play World of Warcraft? Jay "Medeor" Johnson's weekly WoW newsletter "The Overpull" comes out every Tuesday and keeps you entertained and informed on all the latest developments in WoW. Sign up!

The Pulse

First, you vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the result is the Ten Ton Hammer Pulse (What is Pulse?). Here's the top 5 this week:

World of Warcraft EverQuest 2 Age of Conan Vanguard: Saga of Heroes (UP 1) Lord of the Rings Online (UP 1)

And here are the biggest movers in the Top 20 today:

The Chronicles of Spellborn (UP 8 to #12) Atlantica Online (UP 5 to #16) Free Realms (UP 4 to #19)

Loading... Daily

If you've read Loading... for any length of time you know that I'm something of a technology slut. I like new gear much too much, and I'm left with a guilty conscience and an lowball eBay auction when I eventually pay the price all early adopters must usually pay. The good news for you is that I'll often separate the sheep from the goats for you in this column.

In all my years of gear schlamping, there's been one slender piece of everyday tech that keeps getting better. It's also part and parcel with my single biggest monthly bill excluding rent, but my iPhone has been an unqualified treat to own. This weekend I used Palette to help a friend with paint swatches, StarMap to name some stars and constellations while on a midnight walk, iBird to figure out what the black bird with red racing stripes was that I saw flying along the road, and Capsuleer to see where I was on my EVE Online skill training queue. Throw in a little classic Wolfenstein 3D while waiting for a windshield repair job and a fairly mundane weekend was made all the better, courtesy of iPhone apps.

Wolf3D convinced me that an (albeit simplified) game can work on the iPhone despite the limited room for an interface. For those who haven't seen a first person game in action on a device whose interface is limited to just a touch screen like the iPhone, all the controls - directional keys, action buttons, so on- are on-screen. You even get a little force feedback with the vibrate feature (that's Phil's favorite part).

Ten Ton Hammer's Xerin spotted a YouTube video over the weekend of a supposed WoW client for the iPhone. The videos were only up for a very brief time before the long arm of (I'm assuming) Blizzard snatched it from public view. Unlike the folks commenting in our forums (feel free to join them), I like the thought of iPhone WoW, despite the reduced functionality for one reason: relatively anonymous gaming in public. I could be answering important email, texting friends, picking out wallpaper? Nope, playing WoW. The task becomes tougher with the large screen of a laptop or the purpose built nature of a Nintendo DS or PSP.

Assuming you have the gear, is your data plan fast enough to play an MMO apart from a wifi connection? EDGE / GPRS connects at speeds usually around 200 kbits/s to 1 Mbit/s and 3G, though it drains your battery at an almost visible rate, substantially improves on that, offering speeds from 2 Mbit/s to 14 Mbit/s. That's a far cry from the 700 Mbit/s connection you're probably used to at home, but at last report, WoW can be played on a 56 k modem. Still, lag-inducing packet loss can be a problem on wireless connections of any sort, especially mobile data connections, so it won't be ideal. Cool, yes, but not ideal. And Americans enjoy an unlimited data plan option, which isn't necessarily the case in the rest of the world. Without that, WoW on a cell phone could be a pricey prospect indeed.

Are you ready for MMO gaming on the go? Does mobile gaming hold any interest for most MMO gamers? Share your thoughts in the Loading... forum, or feel free to email me.

Shayalyn's Epic Thread of the Day

From our Ten Ton Torched Forum

Help me realize my dream!

Spare,
one of my favorite Ten Ton Hammer forum crazies, has a dream. It
involves unlikely Scottish songbird and pop culture icon of the moment Susan Boyle.
I won't go into any further detail except to explain that this
epic thread isn't entirely safe for work and...well, much like Spare
himself, it's in somewhat poor taste. But it's got a hirsute Rosie
O'Donnell, Michael Jackson (sort of), and even Al Gore.

Be
warned, this is a Monday thread from our Ten Ton Torched forum. If
you're expecting something useful, insightful, or worthy of discussion
you're probably better off following another link. But if you want to
welcome the week with a little off-color fun...here you go.

==============================
Awesome Quote from the Epic Thread

"This thread is all sorts of wrong."

- kitsunegirl
==============================

Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums? Tell us!

4 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 124 in April! 511 in 2009!

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

Global Agenda Official Fiction Exclusive: The Cure for Life

Global Agenda is part RPG, part shooter and all MMO, and in our premier piece of GA official fiction, The Utopian, a young boy with an uncanny gift helped the authorities track down Vanik, a fugitive. The Utopian established the vast and regimented authoritarian nature of Commonwealth Prime nicely, so consider that the RPG part. In "The Cure for Life," get ready to meet the shooter side of the game as Vanik, two years a political prisoner, has an unexpected chance at escape. This exclusive glimpse at Global Agenda lore is not only an enjoyable read, you'll learn a little about clones, death, weaponry, and some of the enemies you might face in Global Agenda! DC Universe Online VIP Interview - The Devs Answer Your Questions

(Now available to Standard Members!) Are you prepared to don your cape, slide on your tights, and adjust your mask? We sure hope you are because the Ten Ton Hammer staff recently received the answers to your DC Universe Online questions that a number of you posed in our Premium Member Forums. Specifically, the questions were answered by Wes Yanagi, Senior Producer for DC Universe Online, who took a few minutes from developing the game to make sure that there wasn't any confusion regarding the state of PvP play in DCUO, the formation of guilds, and a number of other inquiries that our DCUO fans came up with in our VIP interview thread.
Dungeons & Dragons Online: Module 9 Dev Chat - Q&A Transcript

Ten Ton Hammer and a super knowledgeable audience recently played twenty questions with Dungeons & Dragons Online Senior Producer Kate Paiz regarding the upcoming addition to the game: Module 9. As you'll see, Module 9 has something to offer new and veteran DDO players, and Kate answers questions ranging from an upcoming tribute to the late David Arneson, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, to what the new level 20 cap means for players and classes to what Turbine is considering in future content. Have a look and a listen at Ten Ton Hammer! Champions Online: Nemesis Trailer

One of the most exciting features of Cryptic's upcoming superhero themed MMO game Champions Online is it's character creation. Taking that process a step further they are introducing a Nemesis which will grant players the same freedom by allowing them to create an arch enemy. Following heroes through their adventures, this promises to be one of the most unique mechanics we've seen in some time. Ten Ton Hammer has a full length trailer showing a few of the options available so sit back in your tights and watch. World of Warcraft: UI Mods for the Death Knight

In the World of Warcraft many things can make a huge impact on your game play experience.  They can be simple in game things such as gear, groups or quests.  They can also be things that make your life easier like the many different UI Mods that aim to do just that.  How do you choose which UI Mods to use though, since there are so many of them out there?  Byron “Messiah” Mudry steps in to look at the UI Mods he can’t go without as a Death Knight.



Hot Content - Or, what I took a fancy to: Loading... Live #13 Vooncast - DDO Module 9 Dev Chat with Kate Paiz Champions Online 'Swinging' Video geeked: 'Look, It's a Distraction!' DC Universe Online VIP Interview - The Devs Answer Your Questions (Exclusive Premium Content) Exclusive Preview: Free Realms is your next Guilty Pleasure Free Realms: Fun New Game, or Insidious World Domination Plot? Star Wars Galaxies: The Making of Update 8 - Extreme Make-Over Hits Player Cities geeked: A Simple Wish Loading... Live! #12: EQ2 Game Update 51 Dev Chat with Bruce Ferguson Lord of the Rings Online Anniversary Giveaway!

Real World News

Proof that bacon cures hangovers [Link courtesy of Matt N.!]

Critics of the discovery say that the cure is far rasher than the affliction. Fat people are causing global warming [Link courtesy of Matt N.!]

Apparently they toot their own horn too much, say researchers.  They could have come to this conclusion long ago, but the final report suffered from several errors of emission. Man sets house on fire while trying to kill a spider with a lighter

Investigators not only puzzled as to how a river barge caused the building to combust, but are intensely curious to find out how he managed to get it inside the house.

Thanks for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!

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