Welcome
to the 1,261st
edition
of Loading...
Loading... is the premier daily
MMOG news, coverage, and
commentary newsletter, only from Ten Ton Hammer.
The biggest MMOG week of 2010 so far is upon us! So what will you be
doing? Today we take a look at the various launches coming out this
week and also take a look ahead at what's to come in our near future.
Today, in Loading... One Busy Week.
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
are today's top 5 Pulse results:
World
of Warcraft
EverQuest 2
Dungeons and
Dragons Online
Lord of the
Rings Online
Star Trek
Online (down 2)
Biggest
movers today:
City
of Villains (UP 3 to #18)
Atlantica
Online (down 2 to #19)
Vanguard:
Saga of Heroes (UP 1 to #9)
Recent Releases
11/10
-
Final
Fantasy
XI Ultimate
Collection (release date)
12/1
-
LotRO:
Siege of Mirkwood (expansion)
12/1
-
EVE
Online: Dominion (expansion)
12/2
-
DOFUS
2.0 (update)
12/15
-
EverQuest:
Underfoot (expansion)
1/26
- Mass
Effect 2
(release date)
2/1
-
Global
Agenda
(release date)
2/1 - Mortal Online (open
beta begins)
Upcoming
Releases
2/2
-
Star
Trek Online
(release date)
2/16
-
href="http://everquest2.station.sony.com/expansions/sentinelsfate/index.vm">EverQuest
2: Sentinel's Fate (expansion)
Q1 2010
- Mortal Online
March
2010
-
APB
Spring 2011
-
Star Wars:
The Old
Republic
Loading... Daily
As Ethec pointed out Friday, this weekend was a doozie. Headstart
programs for both Star Trek Online
and Global Agenda kicked off
Friday afternoon and I'm sure many of you were locked at your computers
flying through space or jet-packing your way to victory.
But don't think it's over now. Today
style="font-style: italic;">Global Agenda officially launches
so everyone who missed their chance at the early start can start
playing today. If you haven't checked out this game is about, I highly
suggest you do. Ten Ton Hammer writer Stow has been in game for a while
now, and you can check out his impressions from beta in his article
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/globalagenda/editorials/betaimpressions">here.
You can also see more interviews, guides, videos and editorials
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/globalagenda/editorials/betaimpressions">here.
Gigantic IPs and major developer contenders aside, this game may be
one of the most important launches we see this year. Why? Because it is
the first sci-fi MMO shooter that just
style="font-style: italic;">feels right. This game may be the
catalyst to bridge the gap between console shooter junkies and the MMOG
community. I found it to have a real console-y feel to it--in a good
way.
Next up on today's roster is the beginning of Open Beta for
style="font-style: italic;">Mortal Online. The wait is almost
over. This game has been pushed back quite a bit as open beta was
initially planned last year. One of the very few MMORPGs targetting the
adult community, this fantasy game is shaping up to be something pretty
unique. You don't start as a class in the game. Instead you can make
those choices as you progress through the game. This approach hasn't
worked well for some games in the past, but from the design of
style="font-style: italic;">Mortal Online, this game may end up
being an exception. PvP also plays a big role in the world.
And then there's tomorrow.
If you don't know what's scheduled for tomorrow, you haven't been
connected with the MMOG community in some time.
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/sto">
style="font-style: italic;">Star Trek Online takes the
spotlight with retail launch. This game is another that is breaking
away from the traditional MMOG mold. Although it may be best not to
think of it as an MMOG. While it is massively multiplayer, don't expect
the same kind of gameplay you get with other big titles. Space combat
in the game is a sort of suped-up modernized strategy game reminiscent
of games like Pirates! And by
that I mean you'll have to take things into consideration like the
turning speed of your ship and the position of your foe will dictate
which weapons you'll be able to use.
The ground combat in STO is pretty fun. You'll never be alone, even
if you're playing solo. Computer controlled characters will populate
the rest of your away team, though they can be swapped out with real
players if you so choose.
All in all, I found the game to be a really good Star Trek release.
It's not, however, a traditional avatar-based MMORPG, so again, don't
expect it to be.
Last, but not least, tomorrow also means the unlocking of the
Conquest zones in Global Agenda.
What are Conquest zones? Find out directly from Todd Harris, Executive
Producer in our exclusive
interview with him. In short, it's a game of Agency vs. Agency
vying for control over maps. This is the type of game to draw a
competitive crowd so this mini-game should end up being a lot of fun
for players.
And there you have it. That's this week in a nutshell. If STO or
style="font-style: italic;">Global Agenda don't catch your
interest we have some cool stuff planned for you too. Keep an eye out
for our review of Mass Effect 2,
a story about a fan who worked her way to become a developer, and some
more surprises. Also, don't forget to check out our
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eq2">
style="font-style: italic;">EverQuest 2 content.
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80110">Savanja returns to EQ2
and has lots of plans for articles and guides for that game.
So, how will you be spending your week? Let us know in the forums.
Shayalyn's Epic Thread of
the Day
From our
Tavern
of the Ten Ton Hammer
What
was your worst launch?
One of our
premium members,
Darke, has been providing our forum community with some great questions
lately. Today he asks, "What was your worst launch?" What makes a
launch disappointing? For me, disappointment came in the form of
loving a game in development for 2 years plus only to realize on launch
day that it would never reach its potential.
With two launches
rolling out this week, Global Agenda and Star Trek Online, perhaps we
should consider this thread a means to purge all those negative launch
vibes and invoke some launch goodness!
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=49304">Chime in
here.
==============================
Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread
"The first days of launch with Ultima Online--disconnects, heavy
lag and server crashes with rollbacks (plural). Second worst would have
been Horizons--memory leaks and lots of blue screens."
- Kralle
==============================
Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums?
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=32559">Tell
us!
New and Exclusive Content
Today at Ten Ton Hammer
6 new Ten Ton Hammer
features today! 6 in February! 121
in 2010!
Interviews
Demigod Horizons
- A Craft of Gods Q&A with
Kalicanthus Entertainment
Italian game publisher Kalicanthus Entertainment and Russian developer
CyberDemon may have something cool coming up. Craft of Gods
is almost ready for open beta and it was time for Ten Ton Hammer took a
look at the game. What's it all about? What sort of new elements will
this game bring to the MMOG market? We caught up with Fabrizio Cali,
CEO of Kalicanthus Entertainment to find out more about this
subscription modeled game set to launch in the second quarter of this
year.
Previews
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/globalagenda/editorials/betaimpressions">
style="font-weight: bold;">Global Agenda Beta Impressions
Whether you're interested in being the best support for your teammates,
or the harbinger of doom spinning up a minigun, there's something for
everyone in
Global Agenda. Of
course, that's given you can appreciate
some good old-fashioned carnage. With several classes to choose from
and near limitless ways to punish your enemies, as well as a multitude
of maps to do it on, Global Agenda is hitting the ground running after
the beta. Without further ado, here is what Ten Ton Hammer has to say
about the beta experience.
Editorials
Reliving
style="font-weight: bold;">EverQuest II - A Digital Reinvention
Nearly 6 years later,
EverQuest II
continues to dominate the MMOG genre
as undoubtedly one of the best online games out there. As veteran
players branch out and explore new games, there are some of us who keep
going back for more and Savanja is one of those players. Yes, Ten Ton
Hammer is back in Norrath! Check back soon for expansion coverage,
guide updates, and more EQ2 love than you can shake a gnoll at.
style="font-weight: bold;">Cataclysm: What to Look Forward To
The release of
Cataclysm
draws ever nearer and the
World of
Warcraft
community holds its breath for the huge changes on the horizon. This
week Mem shares some things that should be looked forward to in the new
expansion, from the two new races, to the Guild Advancement system.
Resilience
Changes and the World of Warcraft
Arena
A recent hot fix added to
World of
Warcraft doubles the value of
resilience in reducing damage done by players, signaling the start of
Blizzards attempts to shape PvP in game into something that works for
everyone. This week Mem takes a look at the changes and discusses what
they will mean for you, and what problems they may bring.
Guides
style="font-weight: bold;">Star
Trek Online: Ground UI Guide
Your character may have spent the last few years studying
at Starfleet Academy, learning the ins and outs of commanding away
teams during
ground combat, but that doesn't mean you have. While you were dozing
through
lectures on squad tactics, Ten Ton Hammer was gathering all the
information we
could. Enjoy this new guide to the ground-side user interface.
Today's
Hottest Articles and Guides
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/globalagenda/editorials/betaimpressions">
style="font-weight: bold;">Global Agenda Beta Impressions
style="font-weight: bold;">Star
Trek Online: Ground UI Guide
Conquest
Agenda - A Global Agenda
Q&A with Todd
Harris
Reliving
style="font-weight: bold;">EverQuest II - A Digital Reinvention
Getting
Ready
for Earthrise
- A Q&A with
Atanas Atanasov
Star
Trek Online Space Combat Guide
Another
Leap
Forward - A Preview of DDO
Update
3
Demigod Horizons
- A Craft of Gods Q&A with
Kalicanthus Entertainment
The
Rise of
Free-to-Play - Industry Insiders on the Future of MMOGs
Gamer
Rehab - An Interview with
the Founder of a Video Game
Addicition Clinic
Thanks
for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer
network!
- Benjamin J. de la Durantaye
and the
Ten Ton Hammer team