Welcome
to the 1,264th
edition
of Loading...
Loading... is the premier daily
MMOG news, coverage, and
commentary newsletter, only from Ten Ton Hammer.
Many
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow">World
of
Warcraft
players discovered that they'll soon have one less
addon to micromanage later this month, as it was officially announced
that the
href="http://www.azerothadvisor.com/">Azeroth Advisor
service would be discontinued on February
17th. The service made an initial splash in the community by providing
players with a newsletter custom tailored to their individual
characters, but the surprise acquisition by 38 Studios, best known as
the developer of upcoming MMOG codenamed
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/883">Copernicus,
in 2008 caused
many to stand up and take notice. We'll take a closer look at
what this closure might mean for gamers eagerly awaiting more details
on Copernicus
today in Loading... End of an Era.
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:
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow">World
of Warcraft -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ddo">Dungeons and
Dragons Online - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eq2">EverQuest II
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/sto">Star Trek
Online (UP 2) - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve">EVE Online
Biggest
movers today:
-
size="-1">12/1
- href="http://www.lotro.com/gameinfo/464-answer-the-call-of-war">LotRO:
Siege of Mirkwood (expansion) -
size="-1">12/1
- href="http://www.eveonline.com/Dominion/">EVE
Online: Dominion (expansion) -
size="-1">12/2
- DOFUS
2.0
(update) -
size="-1">12/15
- href="http://everquest.station.sony.com/everquest.vm">EverQuest:
Underfoot (expansion) -
size="-1">1/26
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2389">Mass
Effect 2
(release date) -
size="-1">2/1
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2155">WonderKing
Online (release date) -
size="-1">2/1
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/926">Global
Agenda (release date) -
size="-1">2/2
size="-1"> -
href="http://www.startrekonline.com">Star
Trek Online (release date)
Releases
-
size="-1">2/16
- href="http://everquest2.station.sony.com/expansions/sentinelsfate/index.vm">EverQuest
2: Sentinel's Fate (expansion) -
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">Q1 2010
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1004">Mortal
Online
-
size="-1">March
2010
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/998">APB -
size="-1">
style="font-weight: bold;">Spring 2011
- href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/swtor">Star Wars:
The Old
Republic
Loading... Daily
In October 2008, 38 Studios
made headlines due
to its acquisition of the Azeroth Advisor. For those of you unfamiliar
with the service it is essentially an addon that collects data about
your World of Warcraft
characters which then generates a personalized
newsletter based on things like your character's level, race,
tradeskill professions and more. On the whole its an incredibly cool
concept as players are provided with pertinent information in each
newsletter catered towards aiding you in character progression by
providing tips on where to quest complete with maps on how to get there
among other things.
While the service itself is
pretty cool, what really caused MMO gamers
to stand up and take notice was its purchase by 38 Studios, best known
as the developers of upcoming the MMOG codenamed Copernicus.
Founded by
Curt Schilling and boasting an all star lineup including famed fantasy
author R. A. Salvatore and comic book legend Todd McFarlane, 38 Studios
has kept details surrounding its still in development game under tight
wraps thus far, but at the time of the Azeroth Advisor purchase many
gamers were curious as to why another MMOG developer would want to own
the rights to a service that essentially served to augment the player
experience for a competing developer.
At the time of the initial
purchase Ten Ton Hammer had the chance to
speak with Curt Schilling about the Azeroth Advisor in an exclusive
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/45929">interview,
who had this to say about 38 Studios' motivations:
"There's
a bunch of reasons. The first one,
obviously, is that I'm a fan of the product. I love the
Azeroth Advisor. But we do have an MMO in the works, and my draw to it
was the fact that I wanted this sort of product available for the
community that plays our games. That was a big initial piece of it for
me.
I
don't look at it - in anyway - as
providing a service to a competitor's customer base. To be
perfectly honest, you could probably take that angle. It might be true.
But I look at it the same way I
look at Major League Baseball: There
are 30 teams, and every team benefits when baseball – as a
whole – gets more fans. I see it the same way with MMOs.
We’re doing everything we can to improve the size and scope
and retention of the MMO customer fan base. What I wanted to do with
this first “product” from 38 Studios is send a
message that “this company will always care about the
customers and the community.” This is doing exactly that.
“
While the official announcement on the discontinuation of the Azeroth
Advisor cites that the decision was made so that 38 Studios could focus
more fully on its own products, including Copernicus,
it’s
hard to say at this point whether this will have any direct impact on
plans for the upcoming MMOG. As is my understanding 38 Studios still
owns the technology behind the newsletter service, but only time will
tell if it will be somehow integrated into Copernicus
or other 38
Studios projects in the future.
If I were to don my +10 Cap of Rampant Speculation though, my guess
would be that we’re on the verge of learning more details on
what Copernicus is all about. With the 2010 convention season just
around the corner, I won’t be all the surprised to see the
game making its first major media push.
Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking brought on by the
closure of the Advisor. Either way, I’d certainly count
myself among the curious to discover the details behind 38
Studios’ decision, what type of impact it will have on the World
of Warcraft community
and what it might mean for the future of
Copernicus.
If you find yourself in the same camp, be sure to share
your thoughts right here in the Loading… forums!
Shayalyn's Epic Thread of
the Day
From our href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=664">STO
General Discussion
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=49301">Class
Confusion Question
Our
new community member, TwoTonHammer (no relation), asked an interesting
question: "Let's say I want to be able to tank in space, but I want to
be able to
deal a lot of damage on the ground. In that case, should I go with
Tactical and use engineering space skills, or stay Engineer and get the
class-based space skills?" Today's epic thread delivers good discussion
and some answers. Learn more and href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=49301">join
the chatter.
==============================
Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread
"First off the class you choose
is really to determine your role
in ground missions. It pretty much has no bearing on the space aspect
of the game. Sure, only Engineers can train level 3 skills to engineer
BOs, but guess what? You can trade BOs, yes thats right."
- MLecl0001
==============================
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
8 new Ten Ton Hammer
features today! 28 in February! 143
in 2010!
INTERVIEW
A Mytheon Video Intro from Petroglyph Studios, Part 1 of 2
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80277">http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80277
Mytheon
is part of a growing wave of free-to-play MMORPGs designed with
quality, not quantity, in mind. Petroglyph Design Development Director
Chris Rubiyor and Senior Designer Amanda Flock introduce us to Mytheon,
an MMOG steeped in Greek mythology with strong action RPG and
collectible card game (CCG) influences. Combat strategy basics,
god-sized boss encounters, what power stones are and how they are used,
and over a minute of new gameplay video await you in part 1 of this
video series!
BETA GIVEAWAY
Aika Online Closed Beta Giveaway
title="http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/aika_cbt1"
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/aika_cbt1">http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/aika_cbt1
gPotato
has a new game on its roster, and this time it comes from Korea, Japan,
Hong-Kong and Taiwan. Aika Online has been designed to re-imagine the
"massively" in MMORPG. It has three major PvP modes which run the gamut
from small skirmishes to 1000 vs. 1000 warfare.
Ten Ton Hammer has the keys for Closed Beta, so go ahead and give it a
try. Pick up your Aika Online Closed Beta key
title="http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/aika_cbt1"
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/aika_cbt1"
target="_blank">here.
REVIEWS
U.I. Mod Review - HealBot
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/uimods/reviews/healbot">http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/uimods/reviews/healbot
Healing
can be a tough job in World of Warcraft and healers are always looking
for a way to ease the burden. We here at Ten Ton Hammer have taken a
look at HealBot, the popular healing raid frame replacement, to see if
it really brings enough to the table to warrant an install. Is it a
good raid frame or a lame frame? Find out here at Ten Ton Hammer.
EDITORIALS
Why EQ2 Battlegrounds Won't Suck
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80334">http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80334
Battlegrounds
have not always been the most well received feature in MMOGs. They seem
like a great idea in concept, but making them work is a juggling act of
player interest, worthwhile reward, and PvP excitement. Will EverQuest
II battlegrounds have the right combination to find success? Read
Savanja's reasons why EQ2 battlegrounds won't suck.
FEATURES & GUIDES
AdventureQuest Worlds:
/touchdown!
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80311">http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80311
With
the Super Bowl just around the corner, Artix Entertainment decided to
have a little halftime show of their own in AdventureQuest Worlds.
Starting this weekend, players will be able to log in and enjoy new
mini-games such as Punt Twilly. But if you aren't a fan of the
football-themed events, you can enjoy a brand new zone with the
vampires and werewolves of Darkovia. Read all about the new content and
events in this week's blog.
Star Trek Online: Captain's
Blog, All Systems Go
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80330">http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80330
Star
Trek Online launched this week and so far it’s been smooth
sailing for
the USS Hammer. Medeor launches his own mission this week as he
switches gears from beta journals to Captain's Blog. It was full steam
ahead after the launch with just a quick derailment to decide on
starting a Klingon Federation captain. That was the only thing keeping
the action at bay. This is ground control to Major Tom, take your
protein pills and put your helmet on. T-Minus zero and we’re
ready for
launch. It’s go time.
Star Trek Online: Your First
Days as a Starfleet Officer
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/sto/features/editorials/firstdays">http://www.tentonhammer.com/sto/features/editorials/firstdays
You've
spent years studying, testing, and proving yourself at Starfleet
Academy in preparation for this day. The Ten Ton Hammer crew has been
hard at work creating an array of guides to explain the nuts and bolts
of Star Trek Online, but guides alone can’t give you
everything. Join
Eric “Dalmarus” Campbell as he shares some hints
and tips to get the
most out of your first days as a Starfleet officer.
Runes of Magic - Rune Stones
and Arcane Transmutation
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rom/guides/runes">http://www.tentonhammer.com/rom/guides/runes
Surprisingly
enough, runes and rune stones are at the very core of Runes of Magic.
Who knew? Join ZeroMerc as he covers the begining of runes and the role
they play in RoM.
Today's
Hottest Articles and Guides
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80183">Mass
Effect 2 href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80183"> (PC)
Review -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/globalagenda/editorials/betaimpressions">
style="font-weight: bold;">Global Agenda
Beta
Impressions -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80275">Daring
to Dev - The Journey from Fan to Game Designer href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80275">
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/patches">WoW
Patch 3.3.2 Available for
Direct Download
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/sto/ground_ui_guide">
style="font-weight: bold;">Star
Trek Online: Ground UI Guide -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/79985">Conquest
Agenda - A Global Agenda
Q&A with Todd
Harris -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80215">Flying
Stealth Bombers In href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80215">EVE
Online -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80266">WAAAGH!
Warhammer Online
Revisited - A Look at WAR's
Free-to-Play Intro href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80266">
-
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/79844">Getting
Ready
for Earthrise
- A Q&A with
Atanas Atanasov -
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/sto/space_combat_guide">Star
Trek Online Space Combat Guide
Thanks
for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer
network!
- Reuben "Sardu" Waters
and the
Ten Ton Hammer team
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our World of Warcraft Game Page.
