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We hope our U.S. readers have been enjoying their Independence Day celebrations. Clearly most everyone working in the MMO industry has been chowing down on BBQ as there hasn't been much in the way of major gaming news stories breaking during the holiday. However, we did come across a Global Agenda story that we think is fitting for the 4th of July weekend.

Hi-Rez Studios VP of game operations Stew Chisam writes that the Global Agenda team received this from the wife of U.S. Army Captain Chris Ficquette: "My husband is in the United States Army and will be re-deployed for his second tour of duty this summer. To date, I have not yet found a bigger fan of video games than him. Is there any way that I could have my husband involved in motion capturing so that he could be immortalized in your video game?" It turns out Hi-Rez Studios was willing to oblige.

In last week's first instalment of this guide, I explained the basics of mission-running in EVE Online and how to find your best agent. In this second part of the guide, I get into the nitty gritty details of essential ship designs for mission-runners. Choosing an appropriate ship and fitting it adequately are arguably the two most important factors in mission-running. While having a weak mission strategy and poor support skills can cause a lot of bother, a poorly designed ship is almost guaranteed death on some of the tougher missions. With the advice in this guide, a little research and a good deal of practice, you'll be well on your way to becoming a mission guru.

Read after the cut for a race-by-race break-down of EVE's most popular and effective mission-running ships, complete with links to some further reading and popular mission fittings.

Since E3 2009 the All Points Bulletin team at Realtime Worlds has been releasing video podcasts showing aspects of the urban crime title, and no doubt gaining some new fans in the process. We mentioned an earlier video that focused on customization options players will have, but Realtime Worlds is taking that a step further in their latest video podcast, which walks the viewer through the layer-based symbol customization players will use in All Points Bulletin.

The demonstration from senior concept artist Jon Stockwell shows how simple it is to create and manipulate layers in a symbol, resulting in your own unique look. As the video shows, that symbol can be applied to characters in the form of tattoos or graphics on clothing, and even used to detail your vehicles. Have a look at the video we've embedded for you below, and let us know what you think.

While it may not have green grasslands, lush landscapes and picturesque waterfalls like fantasy-based MMOs, there's little doubt that the spacescapes of EVE Online are any less lovely to look at. After all, how many of us looked up at the stars and thought how cool it would be to make our homes there. While cold and unforgiving at times, EVE Online can be a place that takes your breath away too. Just ask today's contributor, CJ, who writes in: Many times in EVE, I find myself just captivated at the pure delight at the visuals thrown at me. Especially, the nebulas and corresponding planets and stars. This One Shot shows my character, Lucrait, in his newly acquired ship, the Catalyst, shortly after he lost his pride and joy, a Merlin. Gladly though, he was able to look past that unfortunate event and enjoy one of the thousands of New Eden systems.

If you've been thinking about sending in a screen, there's no time like the present to contribute. Just mail those to us at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name and the game it's from. Descriptions are welcome, as are short tales if you're so inclined! We'll post it up and give you the credit for taking the great screenshot.

Some gamers were disheartened when NetDevil opted to delay the Jumpgate Evolution launch in order to refine some aspects of gameplay, but we're hoping the extra time they've bought for themselves will equate to a more polished release. One of those aspects of the game they're improving is Jumpgate Evolution's economy, which is the subject of an interview that producer Hermann Peterscheck gave to JGERadio's "Tikigod."

Throughout the interview, Peterscheck emphasizes that Jumpgate Evolution's economy should, by design, function in ways similar to a real world economy (but hopefully with a lot less fail) -- a far more dynamic system than one driven by NPC vendors. Peterscheck says, "I actually think the changes make the economy more alive. What we have done is moved away from an AI-based economy to a player-driven economy."

I've played Alliance since Day One of my time in World of Warcraft. Granted I've dabbled now and then with Horde, I've always been so depressed by the starting zones that I never went further than level 4. However my recent experience with Aion and leveling both factions has given me a new perspective on playing 'good' and 'evil' factions. Indeed terms like that are fast becoming obsolete. So when a friend of mine told me she had rolled a Horde on a backwater server (describing her toon as 'furry with horns') I was eager to join her. Of all the Horde races, the Tauren seem the least evil, the most peaceful and have the prettiest starter zone. So I rolled a female shaman just to be completely different and my friend chose a male warrior.

The grass really is greener on the other side of the fence. The quests are new, as is the lore and while the actual objectives are often similar it's like seeing an MMO with a new pair of eyes. Indeed I think it could totally change how you enjoy a particular MMO and how you play it. When it comes to WoW specifically, this is even more the case now that Blizzard have revealed their plans to allow you to change your faction. So, come on readers, have you leveled a toon in (insert your chosen MMO here), got them geared up and then decided to see things from the other side? Did you switch because you wanted a change? Was it the lore? Better quests? A chance to do something different? If you were like me, would you consider jumping ship and re-rolling during your next bout of burn out? Speak up, constant readers, and drop your comments in the box.

It's been widely grumbled about that Linden Lab has stopped publishing some key Second Life economic and service statistics, such as the number of non-mainland simulators (that is, those that are privately owned). Well actually,as it happens, that isn't entirely true, thanks to the wonders of automation.

The data was culled from the Second Life Web-site, where these things go, quite some months ago but automation is a funny thing. Linden Lab's systems kept publishing the data, and my own automated systems kept collecting it. So, despite a months-long blackout of the data it all continues to pile up in my databases, with the reliability and patience that only machines possess.

I sometimes get restless in my MMO gaming and even in amiable circumstances, where a currently played title still retains my interest and has done nothing wrong itself, I still like to explore, to play the field and keep tabs on how much greener the grass is elsewhere. The list of currently available and active MMOs is a surprisingly large one, so there are always alternatives I've yet to try.

So every now and then, I hit the free trial circuit, picking my way through a list of increasingly commonplace 14-day MMO Free Trials. These fortnight trial periods are generally intended as tasters, samples of what might be in store for the gamer if they decide to proceed with the commitment of a long-term service contract with the MMO publisher in question. But do these two week try-outs serve the purpose, or is it impossible to preview a multi-month gaming experience in just fourteen days?

With good PvP, it's all about taking advantage of anything legit that you can - skill, tactics, or things as simple as paying attention to and using the terrain around you. In a game like Darkfall where death means more than a quick run back from the nearest graveyard, scenes like the one above must be scary if you get caught in the middle. Today's Darkfall One Shots comes to us from fellow MMO blogger and Co-leader of the Darkfall guild Inquisition, Paragus, who writes in to explain. A narrow hallway can make for a tight place for a fight. Mercenary forces battle against the Death Alliance in the tunnels of Aradoth in an attempt to force them out of the city. Both sides [decided] to employ the use of various advanced magics which made for quite a firework show.

One Shots needs your screens, dear readers! So while you're out playing, or digging through your hard drive, grab some screenshots for us. Send them to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, server, and a brief description of what's in the screenshot. In turn we'll give your screenshot and tale a moment to shine, right here on Massively. How cool is that?

For the first time in a long while, we've come across a tale of digital wrong-doing that doesn't involve internet spaceships and is definitely not allowed by the developers. The game in question is Tales of Pirates published by IGG. Apparently a number of the game's players have fallen victim to a trick, and IGG wants to publicize this to make people aware of the scam. There's a brief warning on the official Tales of Pirates site about account security, but they just put out a press release that's far more detailed.

IGG writes: "As with any popular game, IGG's Tales of Pirates has attracted its share of scammers. Even the most careful pirate can sometimes be fooled by a well-executed scam. The best way to avoid becoming a victim is to learn the common tricks scammers use. To help players, the ToP would like to highlight one particularly popular method used recently." We can only hope they emailed the full info to their playerbase, but we'll keep our own take on it short and sweet here -- five steps to violating the Tales of Pirates EULA and getting banned (and of course, what to watch out for.):