Loading... San Diego Comic Con '09 Wrap-Up

Welcome to the 1,130th Edition of Loading...

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

Ten Ton Hammer's Cody Bye just returned from San Diego Comic Con this weekend, bringing a host of excellent Star Wars: The Old Republic and Aion content with him. Join us in today's Loading for a quick overview of this year's celebrity sandwich by the sea in today's Loading... Comic Con Wrap-Up

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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 The Pulse?).

Here's today's top 5 Pulse results:

World of Warcraft EverQuest 2 Age of Conan Champions Online (UP 2) Vanguard: Saga of Heroes (UP 3)

Biggest Movers this month :

Torchlight (UP 17 to #13) Lineage 2 (UP 15 to #17) Atlantica Online (UP 14 to #12) Recent MMO Releases 6/30 - City of Heroes Issue 15: Anniversary 6/30 - Lord of the Rings Online Book 8 7/7 - Darkfall Player Housing Expansion 7/13 - Darkfall NA launch 7/21- FFXI "Moogle Kupo d'Etat" Addon (release date)

Important Dates

7/31 - 8/3 - Aion Beta Weekend 8/21 - 8/22 - BlizzCon '09 9/4 - 9/6 - Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) Upcoming Releases 8/25 - CrimeCraft (release date) 9/1 - Champions Online (release date) 9/9 - Fallen Earth (release date) 9/22 - Aion (release date) Early 2010 - APB

Loading... Daily

You go to E3 if you're press, you go to PAX to see the games. But you go to Comic Con for the total experience. Celebs of all varities abound. You might see John de Lancie (from Star Trek TNG) in a crosswalk, and if you're Ten Ton Hammer's Cody Bye, you might say something like "What's up, Q?" And John de Lancie wouldn't be amused.

Or you might see Mark Hamill and compliment him on his DC Animated Series voice acting as The Joker, much to his Star Wars-inflated chagrin. Or you might ask James Purefoy, the British guy starring in NBC's The Philanthropist, if he could spot you a twenty. Or you might see the odd pairing of Megan Fox and Stan Lee at an IGN party. Or, if you're the marketing director for Lost or Twilight, you might buy up half the show floor to the delight of miles and miles of starstruck fans in line outside.

San Diego Comic Con is one of a few times when celebs make themselves fairly accessible, and San Diego's convention center is packed to the gills as a result. Statistically speaking, Cody was bound to find a few good game developers willing to have an audience, and when he wasn't peeving B-list celebs, that's what he did. We have not one but two Aion interviews (PvP and The Sorceress) plus Aion gameplay videos and plenty of screenshots from many games. We have a Star Wars: The Old Republic interview from the event and more good stuff coming . No mindblowing reveals or surprise announcements - that's not Comic Con. Just a steady stream of updates on the games you care about.

Be sure to stop by the Loading... forum, or feel free to email.

Shayalyn's Epic Thread of the Day


From our /OOC (Off Topic) forum

I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords

...and a massive side order of stupid, please!

Today's
epic thread started out simply enough--I posted a link to a video
featuring a cute little drumming robot. And while the drumming robot
was cool and all, it took kitsunegirl's accidental video post to really
fill this thread with win. You see, kitsunegirl just may have found a
video featuring the world's dimmest brunette, a young woman who
has the answers to all of California's problems.

This thread is free, and organic, and good. It does not have slavery. Join us, and share the love and California's bright future. It's guaranteed to make you feel like a genius, if only be comparison.

==============================
Awesome Quotes from the Epic Thread

"Epic!" - Kageyfna
==============================

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

6 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 77 in July! 842 in 2009!

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

Star Wars: The Old Republic Comic-Con Interview - Exploring the Expanded Universe
There are few events in the world that are as perfect for Star Wars fans as the San Diego Comic-Con, and that fact was readily apparent by the vast number of Jedi, stormtroopers, and Sith walking the show floor on a daily basis. The folks at Lucasarts and BioWare did not miss this fact during their summer convention planning, and Star Wars: The Old Republic had a strong presence at the show. With the latest cinematic trailer running full bore above their heads, Ten Ton Hammer's Cody Bye had a pleasant chat with developers Jake Neri, Hall Hood, Dallas Dickinson, Alexander Freeds, and Jeff Dobson about multiple aspects of SW:TOR, including fan expectations, combat content, and exploring the expanded universe. Aion Class Interview - The Sorceress
If you have been anxiously awaiting our next class interview from Aion, the wait is now over. This week we have our class interview for the Sorceress with Associate Producer, Lani Blazier. Lani was kind enough to tell us all about the sorceress and what makes this class such a deadly force on the battlefield. New Aion Gameplay Videos from San Diego Comic Con 2009
NCSoft has graced us with three new videos from San Diego Comic Con 2009. The first is an official video showing off Aion character creation options, emphasizing the Elyos side of things. The next two videos show some in-demand high level gameplay for both races. Have a look! World of Warcraft- Shaman PvP Basics Guide
This week please join Russell as he takes on the PvP Basics of the Shaman Class. PvP is often not for the faint of heart and can be very intimidating, let's face it: you are facing a real life person behind that character and not a computer controlled character. Don't worry present and future PvP Shamans!!! Russell is here to help guide you on which stats to look for, spells to use, and when to use them. Free Realms Kart Racing and Demo Derby Screenshots from San Diego Comic Con
San Diego Comic-Con 2009 brought on a new wave of Free Realms images showing off a whole new side of the game. Soon Free Realmers will be able to have their own garages, and participate in demo derby and kart racing, and drivers will have their very own progression to match. To see a little of what's coming, plus a first look at Sandstorm and Thunder Speedways, check out the pics!

Giveaways:

The 'Empty the Vault' Giveaway

Hottest Content:

Star Wars: The Old Republic Comic-Con Interview - Exploring the Expanded Universe Aion Class Interview - The Sorceress Aion: PvP Q&A with Brian Knox World of Warcraft: The Ultimate Guide to Ulduar's XT-002 Deconstructor Champions Online: Demystifying Micro-Transactions Champions Online: Alpha and Omega - A Brief Look at the Champions Universe New Aion Gameplay Videos from San Diego Comic Con 2009 Champions Online: Bill Roper Discusses Online PvP Champions Online: From Azeroth to Millenium City - Transitioning to CO Global Agenda: Preparing for Closed Beta with Hi-Rez's Todd Harris

Real World News

Doctors to log in to World of Warcraft to treat child game addicts

Party healers expected to charge by the heal or buff, considering acceptance of certain HMO plans. Naked butler loses job due to car crash scar on buttock

Is suing the driver for lost wages, claims that, "He nude exactly what he was doing when he ran me down!" University of Ottawa offers free tuition for children of Canadian military parents killed in action

No funny tagline here, this is just awesome and needs to be pointed out! Good on ya, UofO!

Seen news you think I can mangle into a vaguely amusing snippet of text? Send it to me.

Thanks for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!

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