Massively^™

Happy Friday! Time once again to ask the most important question there is to ask here at Massively: What are you having for lunch? I just had a Potbelly open up down the street from me and... no, I'm only kidding. We want to know: What aRe yoU Playing?

Tateru Nino, as usual, is eating hardy -- she's got Second Life and City of Heroes queued up, as well as a slew of non-MMOs to play. Chris Chester is planning on diving into Age of Conan as soon as he gets a chance, and I know that most of the Massively staff are heading to the Hyborian Age as well. As for me, World of Warcraft continues to be a staple, but truth be told, I probably won't be able to step foot in an MMO this weekend -- I'm going out of town for most of it, and when I do get back, I have a recently purchased Wii system now hooked up to my television. As a first game, I'm planning to check out LostWinds (and if you have any other recommendations besides Super Mario Galaxy, which I'm already sold on as a huge platformer fan, let me know). Of course I'm anxiously looking forward to news of an Animal Crossing MMO now, too -- as if the offline version wasn't addictive enough. Curse you, Tom Nook!

So what are you up to in the world of MMOs for the next seven days?

The last time we checked in with you all to ask this question, you gave us some really great feedback. Since then, we've worked hard to incorporate some of the things that you asked for, and have found ways to change up some other things so as to make the site more friendly and enjoyable overall.

As some of you may have noticed, we've changed our back-linking policy so that every first mention of a game in our recent posts now takes you to that game's website. (The second one still goes to the category for those who want more news.) Another thing that was talked about was the density of Second Life postings on the front page, which we had to find a more creative workaround for. We actually opted to test out feed-specific postings, using the Second Life category combined with their morning "newspaper" post. So far, response has been good.

Beyond that, we've also added more great folks to our staff covering even more games. From seasoned blogosphere veterans to relative newcomers, we've tried to make sure our staff is a good mix. We've snagged interviews and exclusives -- something we're continuing to ramp up even now. On top of that, we added both our Massively Speaking podcast and a Twitter feed, for those who like to get their news on the go interspersed with a healthy dose of us being very silly!

But as before -- we want this site to be all it can be for you, our readers. You've helped us grow like mad, and we want to be sure we're doing the best we can possibly do in return. So tell us, how are we doing? What do you think is good? Where can we improve?

	Player vs. Everything: Analyzing the Wrath of the Lich King news explosion Wow. Or more accurately, World of Warcraft. It's all over the internet today in a big way. Blizzard released a ridiculous amount of information about their next expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, and some of the changes they've announced are pretty major. I thought I would use today's article to go over some of the most exciting announcements, discuss what makes them so interesting, and talk about what it means for the game (and for you).
	Guild Wars: A guide to Heroes Guild Wars has been an innovator in so many different aspects of the MMO genre, but none more than the introduction of ally NPCs to fill out a party and make soloing easier.
	The Digital Continuum: The Lich King made me do it Even with the original announcement of Wrath of the Lich King, I felt complete disinterest in the expansion as it seemed to be more of the same. More raids, more high quality content that was probably going to be locked away behind hoops, barrels and fire pit traps. Yet that all changed yesterday with the icy cool wake-up blast of new information that jolted my interest -- something I thought could never happen again with World of Warcraft.
	Exclusive Vanguard Game Update 5 mounts video SOE's Vanguard: Saga of Heroes keeps marching forward with its upcoming Game Update 5. GU5 features a bevy of new features, including new "anti-hitching" code which will cut down on the number of times the game needs to read from disk, smoothing out the gameplay substantially.
	EVE Evolved: EVE's skill system demystified, part 1 Most MMOs, among them the popular favorites World of Warcraft and Everquest, employ a level-based character progression system where your player accumulates levels during play. Killing enemies and completing quests reward the player with experience points toward their next level.

Happy Friday! We don't know about you, but it's been a long week here at Massively, so we are thrilled to be at the point where we get to ask you, as we do every Friday: What aRe yoU Playing?

Our own Akela Talamasca has been busy -- he's been playing lots of Mythos lately, as well as Warrior Epic and City of Heroes. Tateru Nino continues playing her cavalcade of games -- Second Life is in there, of course, as well as LotRO, and even a little Hello Kitty Online beta action. And me, I'm just a few levels away from getting another 70 in WoW, I'm getting my Guild Wars on, and I'm hoping to head into the Age of Conan this weekend as well, time permitting (outside of the MMO world, it's also a travel weekend for me, so I'm going to try out The World Ends With You -- it does have some MMO-like features, though, since you can not only come into contact with other players with your DS' wifi, but even buy and sell items from them).

But enough about us -- what are you up to? Are you checking out AoC's beta, or maybe looking at issue 12 in CoH? Are you playing something we've never heard of? Tell us about it!

Previously on WRUP...

We have some special Big News to deliver to you dear, MMO-besotten readers: Massively has a brand new sibling to group with and we'll be playing with our new PC gaming-focused sister site, Big Download, quite a bit. In partnership with our good friends at GameDaily, we're taking the wraps off the beta version of a full-fledged, fast and free PC downloads engine married to a news and features blog powered by Joystiq -- chock full of all the Special Goodness ^TM our writers bring to you daily, including a number of names from the Massively roster you'll recognize.

At Big Download you'll get all the news and views fit to print about PC gaming, a file tracking system that remembers your favorite titles, and no waiting, no fees access to demos, patches, mods, trailers and more. We're inviting you to come on in, make yourself at home and start poking everything with sticks. Like any modern web product we're launching in beta version -- there may be kinks and rough edges to be worked out, so bear with us, mind the dust and be sure to send us any feedback you have so we can make all the final fixes. Unlike certain products that stay in beta forever we hope to remove the beta tag with all due swiftness and come out with guns blazing. Big guns.

We hope to see you at Big Download, where all the news is big and all the downloads are above average!

	Catching up with WAR: An update on Warhammer Online's closed beta The men and women behind Warhammer Online love their job. It's not hard to see, or hear, and yesterday we had the opportunity to listen in as Warhammer's leading lights chatted about their favorite subject. EA Mythic participated in a conference call aiming to update fans and press alike with the latest news of their much-anticipated title. The team went through a slew of general questions, fleshing out our understanding of the features coming with the game's fall release.
	Guild Wars third year anniversary retrospective: Prophecies and Factions You've come a long way, baby. This weekend marks the third anniversary of the retail launch of ArenaNet's Guild Wars, and as we reported earlier, they're celebrating it in style. So we thought we'd take a visual look back at the game, how far it's progressed since April 28th, 2005 and where it stands today.
	Age of Conan beta guide: Your first steps in Hyborea When you create your character in Age of Conan, you'll end up the tutorial area of Tortage. In typical MMO fashion, you start off with almost nothing in the world, washed up on the beach without a shirt on your back. However, it isn't long before you've stabbed and sliced your way to bigger and better things, as you progress through the jungle towards the city. Join us as we make that journey, and even glimpse the inside of the city itself, in our look at the opening levels of AoC.
	Player vs. Everything: Gaming with a disability Stephanie Walker was a gamer who had never expected to have to deal with a disability. She was 23 at the onset of her condition, a college student who also worked a full-time job. She liked to spend the little free time she had unwinding online. Initially resistant to the idea of playing EverQuest, Stephanie quickly discovered that slaying virtual orcs and bandits while joking around in party chat was surprisingly fun.
	MMOGology: Grand Theft MMO While sixteen players doesn't exactly qualify as "massively multiplayer", it's a step in the right direction for those of us eagerly anticipating a GTA-style MMO. It seems like a natural progression for Rockstar to bring their venerable series to the massively multiplayer arena. After all, you've got a built in, recognizable franchise name based around the most classic multiplayer concept known to man – cops and robbers.

All right, so May Day was yesterday, but MMO holidays never take just one day -- they usually last a whole weekend. So we're extending Massively May Day to all this weekend, and as usual on Friday afternoons, we want to know: What aRe yoU Playing in the world of MMOs?

Tons of you are probably headed into the Age of Conan open beta -- even if you haven't finished downloading the patch yet (13 gb?!?), Massively's got the hookup with pics, video, and good time guides to what's going on in there. Personally, I've got an invite to the exclusive beta of Hello Kitty Online to break open (don't be jealous), and I'll be continuing leveling up in Guild Wars and World of Warcraft as usual. And if all that wasn't enough, I'll be continuing to pour my time into a decidedly non-MMO game that nevertheless has one of the most, if not the most, detailed open world environments I've ever seen. The multiplayer on GTA IV may not actually be massive, but it is just incredible running around that open city with 15 other players.

So what are you up to in terms of gaming this weekend?

Previously on WRUP...

The MMOG Philosopher has taken it upon himself to provide a little Devil's Advocacy toward the sometimes controversial subject of paying an outside agency to level up your character. While he's used World of Warcraft as his example, these apply to any MMO where these services are rendered. The actual title of this piece is "Five reasons why using power levelling services shouldn't have to be evil." His 5-point reasons are these:

1. If ya ain't enjoying it, it ain't a game.
2. Power levelling companies gotta play by the rules, too.
3. There's a splinter in my eye - what about the log in your own?
4. Big Blizzard is watching you.
5. The lolcat's in the cradle.
   

Of course, for the full meaning of what these intriguing titles represent, you'll have to read the actual article. We take a hands-off approach here at Massively. The end result is the same: someone is playing that character, grinding it up. If it isn't the person who originated the character, it's their issue -- but it seems a shame to miss out on all that mid-level content.

[Thanks, Tim!]

User generated content. Second Life is built on it. Other games are slowly taking up the banner as well and introducing the ideas of the players into their fold. Are we doing ourselves a favor, or are we starting to completely shoot ourselves in the foot?

MMOCrunch brought up the point that users are looking for a more customizable experience in their games and virtual worlds. They point to applications like Facebook and Unreal Tournament as examples of user generated content bringing in a huge audience and networking people like never before. Their article also goes on to look at why current MMOs don't go to the customizable lengths of these other applications. Problems stem from challenges in programming to the core inability for user generated content to be brought into a world where your actions drive a centralized plot line.

	MMO Mash-up: Age of Hello Kitty Welcome to a new column here at Massively, where I'll take two massively multiplayer online games and chop them up into little pieces, so I can put them back together with electrical tape and staples. This is the MMO Mashup, where you can expect to see everything from the startlingly strange to the ubiquitously unusual. Lets get straight into it then, with the pink-yet-dark world of Age of Hello Kitty.
	Massively goes hands-on with LotRO Book 13 video We could write reams of text that describe in loving detail all the features that await you in Lord of the Rings Online's Book 13 content patch. We could lay out screenshot after screenshot that could perfectly capture the chilly northlands that are being introduced, the eerie agent of Angmar who is tearing apart the land or the monstrous beasts that roam the wintry tundra.
	MMOGology: Sex games What are the risqué features in Age of Conan and what will their implementation mean for future MMOGs? If Age of Conan is successful can we expect other developers to push the envelope further, or has someone already beaten them to the punch? If you're easily offended you may wish to skip what follows after the break.
	Massively Speaking Podcast Episode 2 Massively Speaking Episode 2 runs down news and features from Massively.com for the week of April 14th-20th. Shawn and Michael are joined by blogging regulars Akela Talamasca and Jonathan Northwood to talk about the next LOTRO Book, the Epic Villain Archetype video, and (of course) Age of Conan!
	The next EverQuest 2 expansion is ... So what is the Shadow of Odyssey? There are so many unexplored plot threads in the Norrath of EQ2, and the title is so vague, that it could be almost anything. Still, we have a few good ideas. If we had to put money on it, we'd bet that the shadow in question has something to do with the Void, and the mysterious Shadowmen. Or, Odyssey could refer to the long-lost homeland of the Erudites, the magic-weaving spellsmiths of yore.

	MMOGology: Gamerz is speshul Marc Nottke looks into research covering the social problems online gamers can face.
	Anti-Aliased: Gentlemen! Behold! Chocobos & Static Parties! Colin Brennan argues for the great possibilties offered up by Final Fantasy XI.
	MMOS X: A roundup of MMOs for the Mac Marc Crump runs down a list of MMOs compatible with Apple's slick-looking OS.
	Massively video exclusive: Villain epic archetypes Our exclusive video introduction to the City of Villains epic Archetypes.
	Massively Speaking Podcast Episode 1 The first episode of Massively's brand-new podcast is live!

People love to hate things. Whether we're talking about sports, religion, politics, lifestyles, or goulash recipes, there are always at least two sides in opposition to each other, and frequently many more. Those on one side will sing the virtues of their choice, and decry the faults of the other side, sometimes with virulent verbiage. Nowhere is this activity more evident than in the forum of your favorite MMO.

Gamers will yell at each other over the slightest perceived insult, and heap abuse on any who dare to assert the primacy of anything that isn't in line with what they love. And that's the sort of energy we want to invite! So, Precious Readers, which MMO do you hate the most, and why?

Congratulations! You finished your taxes (at least you did unless you're Wesley Snipes, or an extension-getting slacker like me), and now there ain't nothing to do but sit back and... work for another year only so you can pay them again. But in the meantime, there's lots of MMO playing to do! So, since it's Friday, we're asking yet again: What aRe yoU Playing in the world of MMOs?

Massively's people are super busy playing games. Cameron Sorden and I are both hooked on WoW still; "I'm addicted," Sorden says, "which is why all of my articles are WoW-flavored lately." Tastes like chicken. Krystalle is busying playing Phantasy Star Universe on the Xbox 360, and says she's about to finish Story Mode. And Chris Chester is still grinding away in Tabula Rasa: "Must reach level 30. It won't happen, but I can try."

So what are you up to this weekend? Back in CoX getting ready for Issue 12? Playing a game that's almost in open beta? (We know you're out there playing that game, folks -- we can see right through that NDA!) WRUP this weekend?

Previously on WRUP...

What were the biggest, the brightest, the best original features from Massively this week? Glad you asked!

	The Twelve classes in Age of Conan An amazing gallery of the twelve Conan classes.
	Tabula Rasa top 5 tips for assaulting CPs Great tips for assaulting Control Points in Tabula Rasa.
	Hands-on with Tabula Rasa's next patch Is the upped AI difficulty a good idea?
	First Impressions: Last Chaos Get a taste of this F2P title.
	Ask Massively: All you need to know about classes in Tabula Rasa The lowdown on the many classes of TR.

Read on for more original content!