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Daily Column

11 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 112 so far in December!

Level UP! David Gaider of Bioware for telling it like it is. (Read on)

Kicked From Raid: Martuk of TTH for Elfing Cody and I.

Three cheers and a bag of candy canes for David Gaider of Bioware for telling a loudmouth anti-fan to get bent. I give you his riposte to a post by Matt7895 (I believe his alias on EBay is LadiesMan217):

"I think the real problem here is Bioware's PR. Even before Mass Effect got the huge hype, the PR was non-existent on Dragon Age. The only sources of information we have on the game has come straight from the writers themselves.

What we need is more information, we need Bioware's PR to actually get up off their asses and do something. Gaider and co aren't responsible for giving out information, it's Bioware's PR department that handles that. Get a *f---ing* grip, Bioware."

David replied with an answer that nearly every developer has wanted to write,

"If we wanted more PR for Dragon Age, obviously we would have it. The reason there hasn't been a lot of info is because we haven't put any out there. As was mentioned, we announced Dragon Age very early... early enough so that everyone knew we were working on it and had no intentions of abandoning projects for the PC. But we also don't want to put out a bunch of PR and have to try and maintain excitement levels for years and years.

We said we were working on the game, and beyond a few bits that have gone out to let everyone know that, yes, we are still working on it we've simply kept plugging along. When we're ready to ramp up the PR, trust me, you'll probably find that you can't not hear about it.

But, no, you've decided that you "need" more information, and if we aren't giving it to you the only possible reason could be that we're incompetent, right? Right. How about you get a grip? Seriously."

Should he have done it? Probably not. Does he regret doing it? Probably.

The thing is, the game isn't even to the PR stage yet and there are people weeping and griping about it. The industry appreciates your enthusiasm. It's the negativity that drives developers into the trees and away from the true fans. You can read the entire thread here.  

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Funcom is hiring translators for Age of Conan - Possibly to translate the "Ahnold" speak?

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Perpetual Entertainment just can't stay out of the news. Eric Heimburg, a former employee has made the claim that Star Trek is the hardest MMO IP Ever.

Time is short to get Loading... out the door this morning so here are my bullet points on this apparently thorny subject.

• The Double Game (STO requires both space and ground battles)
  • I'm not sure that it does. Sure there were space battles in Star Trek, but mostly it ended up with Federation ships having shields that held out and the enemy being one-shotted. That sounds like as much fun as an expedition to the center of a manure pile. Stick with exploring cool worlds. Teenage boys want to make out with blue chicks. They will swarm to that before they flock to space battle. I don't hear too many cries that StarGate Worlds isn't focusing on ship to ship warfare. Of course, I will now.
  • Pirate games are doing it. Ship to ship and ground combat are in most of these titles. It's not combat in an environment like space with a Z-axis to deal with, but it's ship to ship. The order of magnitude ship sizing problem doesn't exist, but figure out which class of ship is the most fun to pilot and "Make it so!"
• Fan Expectations
  • That is what PR is for. Purists never enjoy games based on IPs like Star Wars or Star Trek because though they believe themselves to be holier than thou, they in fact each believe that they are the captain of the largest most powerful ship in the universe. In a game, everyone can't be Picard.
  • That said, even the best PR can't change the minds of Star Trek fans. Eric is absolutely right. No matter what the team creates there will be fans that picket their parking lot dressed as Klingons, which is an amusingly appropriate name for them.

Can a Star Trek MMOG be made that appeals to the masses? I believe that it can. Will it also appeal to Star Trek fans, the people whom the developers are selling as the potential customers to investors? I don't believe that it will. The allure of Picard or Kirk is lost when the player becomes Picard or Kirk.

Have a great weekend.

Do you feel the need to contact me? Your wish is my command. E-mail or Forums - The choice is yours!

New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today

• Forum Poll: Adding Fun To The Forums
• --
• Age of Conan: 57 Screenshots, Renders, and Pieces of Concept Artwork
• Aion: New Artwork and Images
• EverQuest and EverQuest 2: A Visual Tour of the Holidays
• EverQuest 2: Santa Versus The Patch Notes
• EverQuest 2: Updated Dirge Class Guide
• Legends of Norrath: Christmas Visits LoN
• Lord of the Rings Online: Weekly Troll Report 12.13.2007
• Tabula Rasa: Guide To Spies
• World of Warcraft: Fishing Guide - Outland
• World of Warcraft: Druid Talent Guide

Hot Content - Or, what I took a fancy to.

1. Age of Conan: 57 Screenshots, Renders, and Pieces of Concept Artwork
2. EVE Online: Defining Ambulation - Q&A Video with CCP's Torfi Olafsson
3. Kohnke Communications Sues Perpetual Entertainment
4. Age of Conan: Class Interview #4 - The Assassin

Real World News

• U.S. Military Command Hacks Wikipedia [Thanks Karen]
  ...says Wikipedia staff who remain anonymous and untrustworthy.
• Dog Jeopardizes Pie Championships [Thanks John]
  
  Ruff start costs contestant the crown.
• Thieves Cut Off Man's 'Holy Leg'
  I'm stumped.
  

Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com

- John "Boomjack" Hoskin and the Ten Ton Hammer Team