Welcome to the 1,170th edition of Loading...

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

We have word from NCSoft on efforts to improve server queue
times in today's newsletter, including some information on the new
servers going live this weekend.  Also, we recently hosted a
contest for your best guesses as to what The Secret World symbols
revealed at the end of the closed-door presentaiton at PAX 2009 might
mean. The symbols and the winners' responses are in today's Loading...
Symbollic Logic, and we'll invite you to share your impressions too!

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:

1. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/41"
   target="_blank">World of Warcraft
2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/860">Champions
   Online (UP 6)
3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/254">Aion 
4. Dungeons
   & Dragons Online (down 2)
5. EverQuest
   2 (down 1)

Biggest movers this past week:

1. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/39">The
   Secret World (UP 6 to #16)
2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/115">Age of
   Conan (down 2 to #7)
3. Lord
   of the Rings Online (down 1 to #8)

• 8/25
  - CrimeCraft
  (release date)
• 9/1 -
  Champions
  Online (release date)
• 9/9
  - Dungeons
  & Dragons Online Unlimited (release date)
• 9/15
  - Runes
  of Magic "The Elven Prophecy" (expansion)
  

• 9/22
  - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/177">Fallen
  Earth (release date)
• 9/22
  - Aion
  (release date)
• 10/9
  - Cities
  XL (release date)
• 12/2
  - DOFUS 2.0
  (release date)
  
• Early 2010
  - APB
  

Important
Dates

• 10/1 -
  10/3 -  href="http://fanfest.eveonline.com/">EVE Online FanFest
• 10/23 - 10/24
  - Hero-Con
  

Loading... Daily

High praise today to NCsoft for prompt action on the Aion server queues
issue. I was in the game after an entirely reasonable (for launch day)
20 minutes last night after NCsoft raised population caps.
Additionally, we received the following word from the good folks in
Seattle:

We did indeed see an initial rush on the first days
of Head Start which
resulted in longer than desired queue times for some of our servers,
and we are working around the clock to alleviate this. In fact, we are
happy to confirm we have increased our server caps and are adding an
additional server in both North America and Europe by this weekend, and
we will continue to evaluate adding additional servers.

That said, we do have alternate servers where players are experiencing
lower queue times. People can get a real-time update and select that
choice on our website at: href="http://na.aiononline.com/livestatus/server/">http://na.aiononline.com/livestatus/server/
We continue to monitor issues closely and strive to address player
feedback quickly to ensure the best possible experience.

Many of the Aion folks I've talked to are willing to put up with a
little queuing now to have healthy server pops later, but here's to
NCsoft for addressing the issue boldly.

Shifting gears, last week I challenged the premium members to guess as
to the meaning of three symbols shown at the end of The Secret World
presentation at PAX 2009 (see the video href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/74239">here).
There were no right or
wrong answers; no one outside Funcom really knows, but what we do know
is that TSW draws heavily from real world history, folklore, and
mythology. Basically I was looking for the most interesting guess, and
the winners got some fun swag from the latest event and their name in
Loading... lights.

Here are the winners' responses:

src="http://images.tentonhammer.com/misc/Loading/newOpponent.jpg" />	"A New Opponent is a picture of a knot, and the kanji for 'snake'. The only mythology I can think of is the Snake tied in a knot - Ouroboros - used by Gnostic and Hermetics. The most popular of the hermetic orders are the Kaballah and Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Golden Dawn would be interesting..." - Sodoshi
src="http://images.tentonhammer.com/misc/Loading/oldEnemy.jpg" />	"The second symbol could have something to do with Norse mythology. The symbol it self looks to be of a Viking war ship. The wolf head on the sail could be for Fenrir the gigantic wolf?" - Necrotoxin
src="http://images.tentonhammer.com/misc/Loading/risingTide.jpg" />	"The rising tide of change I am a bit split on, half of me wants to say Atlantis, as it would have to rise from the sea and had the best and brightest minds and collection of some of the finest nobles. If that doesnt belong with secret societies then I don't know what would. The other part of me wants to suggest the people changing from fearing and accepting what is being handed shown to us. To be bold enough to ask questions and delve deeper." - Anacche

 Congrats to the winners! Have your own impressions of these
symbols? hts welcome in the  href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=46540">Loading...
forum.

From our href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=548">SW:
TOR Class Discussion Thread

style="font-weight: normal;">Bounty Huntards

This thread
caught my eye today and made me smile.AngryBeaver is concerned that
a bit of World of Warcraft may spill over into Star Wars: The
Old
Republic."Bounty Huntards," he says. "Anyone else a little worried
about that happening?" 

Head on over to today's href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=46449">epic
thread for  LOLs and...whatever hexaliciousness is.

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

"You had to go there
didn't you Beaver, just couldn't resist could you. I call shotgun on
Beaver's Hexaliciousness."

- OneEyeRed
==============================

Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums? href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=32559">Tell
us!

• Champions
  Online; Skin That Build #3
  The character creation system of Champions Online is a robust and
  amazing tool that allows users to make just about anything their
  imagination can come up with. But often times, if you’re anything like
  me, you might not know where to start. That’s why we at Ten Ton Hammer
  have done some of the thinking for you. We've got the winner's of last
  week's competition and a brand new hero for you all to dress up in Skin
  That Build #3.
• Exclusive
  Fallen Earth Box Art Wallpaper
  Fallen Earth recently launched the world into apocalypse and Ten Ton
  Hammer has received some exclusive images of the re-worked artwork for
  the Fallen Earth box art. This new wallpaper shows some of the
  devastation seen in Fallen Earth and some of the people that rise from
  the chaos.
• Aion
  Launch Video
  Aion is here! Boasting the biggest MMO game launch of the year, Aion
  launched this Tuesday. So while you're waiting on server queues (which
  was also addressed today), grab some popcorn and watch Aion's all-new
  CGI trailer, tailored specially for launch day.
• Ten
  Ton Hammer's Aion Screenshot Contest
  Aion is the latest eastern MMORPG that has made its way west to win
  over players of North America, Europe, and the Oceanic regions. Along
  with compelling storyline, engaging player versus player combat, this
  game also boasts a character creation process that goes far beyond most
  other games on the market! We know fans have some creative skills when
  it comes to making your characters (yeah, we've spotted you in game
  Obama!) and now is your chance to show them off to win some great
  prizes, including codes for in-game items and 12 first edition Aion
  comic books!
• href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aion/guides/new/graphicsguide">Guide
  to Aion Graphic Settings
  If you are one of the many Aion players out there who is running a
  mediocre machine then you might be left dealing with cruddy graphics or
  terrible frame rates. How can you get the best graphics without costly
  upgrades? We have a few tips that might help you out!
• Gamers
  Gone Wild - Are Women Objectified in MMOGs?
  No matter where you look these days it seems someone is offended about
  something and political correctness advocates seem to be lurking around
  every corner waiting to pounce on the next slip up. Gaming hasn't been
  able escape this social spotlight and tends to attract controversy like
  moths to a flame. While most of these complaints amount to little more
  than grandstanding, the cry that women are treated as objects is one
  that seems to have a little more substance than most. Join Medawky as
  he dives into this subject and tries to separate the fact from the
  fiction in "Gamers Gone Wild - Are Women Objectified in MMOGs"
• World
  of Warcraft: The Saturation of End Game Raiding
  A new patch arrived this week and in true World of Warcraft fashion a
  new host of epics, and a new raid boss, were introduced. While most
  players thrill at the idea of new content (even if it is recycled) and
  shiny new purples, some feel that there is far too much and that most
  is too easy to obtain. Join Medawky this week as he explores the
  current state of WoW raiding and the players that the raiding
  landscape.

Hottest Content:

1. Ten
   Ton Hammer's Aion Screenshot Contest
2. Aion
   Launch Video
3. Aion
   New Player Portal
4. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aion/guides/new/graphicsguide">Guide
   to Aion Graphic Settings href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/74677">
5. Ten
   Ton Hammer's Aion FAQ
6. Champions
   Online - First Impressions
7. Gamers
   Gone Wild - Are Women Objectified in MMOGs?
8. Forever
   Fantasy: The Philosophy Behind Dragon Age: Origins
9. Champions
   Online: Queer Eye for the Superhero Guy #3
10. Exclusive
    Fallen Earth Box Art Wallpaper

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