Welcome to your Tuesday Loading... You can read previously enjoyed editions of Loading... in the blog archive. (For the navigation impaired that means you click the link and then look in the right menu.)
The 470th edition of Loading... is brought to you by Dungeons and Dragons Online: Receive your FREE 10 DAY TRIAL and experience the REAL EXCITEMENT and REAL DANGER of REAL D&D.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.
Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle sitting in on today's Loading... Please keep John "Boomjack" Hoskin and his family in your thoughts and prayers as he was admitted to the hospital yesterday with a serious but non-life threatening illness. We all wish him a speedy recovery.
We received a batch of Age of Conan screenshots today that were so distinctive, they called to mind an old debate over MMORPG graphics.
Photo-realistic versus fantastic graphics was always a point of distinction between different MMORPGs. The sharpest divide occurred when World of Warcraft (fantasy) was released back to back with EverQuest 2 (photo-realism) two years ago, but the dispute over the best artistic approach to take in fantasy MMOs is at least as old as when Dark Age of Camelot was released to compete with EverQuest back in 2001.
The effect of art direction isn't overt, it's a little like the bass player in a band that you'll only notice when he or she does something besides compliment the melody and rhythm. Individual MMORPGs have their own rhythm and melody, and they likewise require different stylings.
One of the reasons World of Warcraft worked so well is that it preserved artistic elements found elsewhere in the franchise (e.g. buildings that bulge outward slightly as they grow taller, the probable, well-thought-out architectural styles of each race). WoW's "look" is fantastic enough to let the player know that this is its own world, yet serious enough to never let you discard the game's core conflicts as trite just on the face of "cartoony" graphics.
This approach doesn't always work. Some MMOs, especially those in the historical or sci-fi genre, should attempt to mimic reality rather than replace it. I'd further argue that, to avoid "uncanny valley" problems, photorealism should be preserved for MMORPGs that take place entirely inside of a vehicle.
One reason Auto Assault got far less credit than it should have (in my opinion) was the wooden animations of characters in the in-town first person mode. Nevermind that the time spent in character (rather than in a vehicle) had nothing to do with core Auto Asssault gameplay, reviewers raked the game mercilessly last April because characters pop a rigid squat while jumping.
What's even more amazing than the superficiality of garden-variety reviewers is how many artistic variations you can make on the fantasy MMORPG theme. I'm really looking forward to the release of Age of Conan and The Chronicles of Spellborn because these two 2007 MMORPGs look very different than anything else that's been done in the same vein.
What's the best looking MMORPG that you've played? Don't forget to post in our forums or at the bottom of this blog. If you are shy (or female and sending in naughty pictures) you can e-mail me.
Every good guild needs a home. A home free of gold ads and secondary market farmers. Look no further than GuildPortal.com.
Exclusive new TenTonHammer.com Content! Let us entertain you or at the very least waste some of your time at work.
11.28.2006 Exclusive Content
-
Lord of the Rings Online: An Exclusive Interview with Turbine CEO Jeff Anderson
Having heard Turbine CEO Jeff Anderson answer the same questions all day long at a recent fan event, John "Methost" Irwin on our LotroSource site thought he would try some new ones. The resulting interview should give LotRO fans a bit of insight in to who is making their game. -
Dark and Light: An Exclusive Q&A with Farlan Entertainment's Géraldine Lescs
On the list of headquarters locations for MMORPG development, Africa's Macarene Islands probably rival Iceland in the "surprising but true" category. Nevertheless, our latest Dark and Light Q&A comes to you direct from the two tiny Indian Ocean island nations called Mauritius and La Réunion. Géraldine Lescs, Marketing Manager for Farlan Entertainment's truely massive MMORPG, clears up a few misconceptions about the game, introduces some little known DnL features, and also clues us in about Farlan's future plans for Dark and Light. -
Age of Conan: Connall's Valley Screenshots
Our latest batch of screens depict "Connall's Valley", and while it might sound like the name of your local dairy (supposing you're still living in the 1950s), these are actually from Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures.We're starting to get a feel for how the gloomy backdrop of AoC will settle us into a mood somewhere between foreboding and brutal. See for yourself, but these quality shots look like the painting lovechild of an El Greco and a Rembrandt. -
EverQuest 2: An Interview with EQNews's Ever
If you played EQ1, you might be familiar with EQNews, the informative site that kept us all in the loop about all things EverQuest. Ever has made his way over to EQ2, and we sat down with this avid fan of the game to get his thoughts on things. -
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - An Interview with Vanguard Radio's QforQ
One of the newest kids on the Vanguard fansite block is Vanguard Radio, which officially launched last week with a 6 hour on-air celebration. I took some time to talk to the owner of Vanguard Radio, Sam "QforQ" Houston, to get to know him a bit better and talk about his plans for the site, and what he hopes Vanguard Radio will bring to the community. -
Lord of the Rings Online: Next 10 Beta Slots Handed Out
As promised, here are your next 10 beta slot winners, leaving 30 yet to be claimed. Remember, winners must be frequent posters on the Ten Ton Hammer LotroSource forums and be registered members of Turbine's official LOTRO forums and fill out a beta application on those forums. Winners must also meet Turbine beta requirements. These include but are not limited to: Being over the age of 18 and a resident of North America. -
Dungeons and Dragons Online Mailbag: Promises, Promises
As the month of November winds down, Ralsu checks his inbox to answer emails from all the DDO @ Ten Ton Hammer readers. He even finds a letter from Bloodycap, who wrote: Before Module 3 came out [for Dungeons & Dragons Online], you had two pretty cool interviews with Turbine. You promised us something else to come before launch but I never saw anything outside of your normal stories. Those [exclusive] screen shots weren't it, were they?" -
Gods & Heroes: The Good, The Bad, and the Interviewable
We see Gods and Heroes interviews all the time, and read with anticipation what the game will bring. Who should be interviewed and why? Is interviewing a developer better than a community manager? RadarX takes a look at a few of Perpetuals employees and weighs the good vs the bad. -
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Stats Guide Updated
Last week, Byron "Messiah" Mudry looked at all new combat skill point system from Blizzard that will be implimented in the Burning Crusade. Now, for all you hard core tweakers, we also have a handy PDF file available for download and printing so that you can have a copy of all these numbers close at hand. You can find it in our guide to: What's with all these crazy new numbers? -
World of Warcraft: First Look at "The Burning Crusade: Mana Tombs"
In an effort to cover all of the new instances in the Burning Crusade, Messiah went adventuring through the Mana Tombs this weekend. The Mana Tombs are the first instance that you should visit in Auchindoun and contains several quests that you can get the first time through. Once you reach your mid 60s you will be spending at least a few runs there. -
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Loot Guide Updated
Having adventured further into the Outlands with my Paladin, Messiah has had more opportunity to explore several more of the instances. As a result he's updated our Burning Crusade Loot article to cover an additional 4 instances! You can check out where to find the best loot for your character type here: TenTonHammer looks at early loot in The Burning Crusade. -
World of Warcraft: Preparing Your Character for the Expansion
Our latest guide takes a look at some things you can do to prepare for the expansion before it hits. Things like organizing your inventory, preparing for jewelcrafting, and more can be helpful in allowing you to jump right into the new content when the expansion is released!
Vin Diesel Fact of the Day: Vin Diesel once won a game of Monopoly without passing "Go."
As always, thanks for visiting TenTonHammer.com,-- Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle
