Massively^™

Some people go the distance when it comes to applying for a guild. Others, like this guy right here, take it to a whole other level. As our sister site WoW Insider said, this is probably the best guild application, ever. Although we're reminded of what Commissioner Gordon said, "We start carrying semi-automatics, they buy automatics. We start wearing Kevlar... they buy armor-piercing rounds." So what's next? Are we going to start getting webisode-style applications complete with song and dance? Maybe Felicia Day could make a cameo, that would probably get just about anyone into any guild.

Keep in mind that the application itself is rather long. So you probably don't want to commit to it unless you're willing to watch it the whole way through. And seriously, next time you apply to a guild ramp things up a little bit. Maybe send the GM some flowers or candy? What GM doesn't like candy?

Players of the venerable EverQuest take note: SOE has put up a new expansion beta sign-up page. Feel free to sign up to test the Seeds of Destruction expansion right now! The sign-up process works a little differently now than it did before. You won't have to camp out looking for a very narrow window of opportunity during which to sign up. Now the beta application will always be online.

Last month, Senior Producer Clint Worley promised that the beta would start in August. It looks like everything is still on track. Seeds of Destruction will be EverQuest's fifteenth expansion. The word is it'll be more of the same -- lots and lots of faction grinding! Whatever floats your boat, man.

With Empyrean Age finally released, I wanted to give it a try to get this old Carebear in some pew pew action. Since my main character, Treenara Mazouk, was part of an industrial corporation that wanted to remain neutral throughout this war time, I decided to create an alternate character (Alt) to test out Factional Warfare.

What I didn't know, and didn't expect, was being humbled by the whole experience. You see, I've been immersed in EVE Online for almost four years now, and playing a new character reminded me how much work new players have to go through to get ahead. Talk about a major flashback!

Despite my experience and knowledge of the game, I still felt very limited by my new characters (lack of) abilities, assets and skills. It reminded me of my early days in New Eden, and how little I knew of what to do, where to go or who to ask. Through it all, I've gained a respect for the brave new players who start off in New Eden.

I felt I needed to do something about this. Something more then the initial list I had made a few months back. The following is a list of 3 basic tools that I feel every new capsuleer should have in order to survive the harsh landscape of the EVE universe. So strap yourselves in, buckle-up and start taking notes.

We've been excited for this MMO for a while now, and now Possibility Space have announced that Warrior Epic is finally in closed beta. All you need to do to submit your application for inclusion is to go to their homepage and choose 'Apply for CB' in the control panel.

There's also a new wallpaper available showcasing a new, previously-unreleased warrior class; check it out in the wallpaper section. Possibility Space is limiting this closed beta to 500 users, so if you want in, you'd better sign up right away. And speaking of possibilities, there might be an opportunity for a few lucky Massively readers to join the fun ... stay tuned to this channel for further developments!

The MTV Multiplayer site is a very reliable source for original games news reporting. Those MTV guys and gals are well connected, and last week they had the chance to chat with Blizzard co-founder Frank Pearce in the waning moments of the DICE event. Pearce delved into his pocket, pulled out his Blackberry, and began dreaming of a day when World of Warcraft players would be able to chat with their guild from external sources.

There's no guarantee it is going to happen anytime soon, but (essentially confirming earlier rumors) Pearce expressed a lot of admiration for the possibilities of mobile applications. Another application they'd love to give players would be one that allows buying and selling of items via their faction Auction House remotely - again, probably from a cell phone. Mr. Pearce went on to expound on other subjects like the timeless quality of WoW graphics, and the benefits of the title's beautiful music and sound effects. Most interestingly, the Blizzard honcho was very excited about the possibility of a new version of World of Warcraft that could be streamed to players and have them in-game within 10 minutes or so.

MTV's interview offers a number of fascinating looks into the future of the biggest show in town. Joystiq has a discussion going on this subject as well; What would you want in your WoW mobile app?

Now that would be cool. It's just a rumour, but Pocket Gamer is reporting that Blizzard Entertainment may be working on a cellphone application for World of Warcraft players. They received this information from word on the ground at the Mobile Games Forum event this week, where several people seemed to think this was the real deal. Directly from Vivendi Games Mobile boss Paul Maglione also comes the quote "Mobile aspects will become part of all MMOs."

The article runs down a few possibilities of what could be involved in that mobile application - whether it's a whole new gaming experience, a standalone experience in the WoW lore, or some sort of small way to hook into the larger world of Azeroth.

Cameron at Random Battle has a few thoughts on this subject, seeing the 'hook into Azeroth as the most likely option Blizz/Activision will explore. I tend to agree, as this is something we've seen other Massive developers talk about exploring. CCP has threatened to offer us a way to set skills in Eve Online for some time now, in fact.

What option do you thing Blizzard's mobile app (if it's real) will follow? Would you craft or chat with your guildies from your cell if you had the opportunity?

The good news on this one is that there is no news: EVEMon, the out-of-game app that is a must-have for EVE players, wasn't working for most people after the Trinity patch this week, but a series of bug reports over on the developer website (EVEMon is open sourced) confirms that the problem was just that CCP had taken down the API for testing. By now, EVEMon should be back up and running, ready to help you plan those skill changes out.

And in other EVEMon news, the New Features page over on the developer site is a fun read, too, if you haven't seen it in a while. Very cool to see all the new features planned for the next release: Battleclinic loadouts, a new plan printing feature, and updates to the Ship and Item browser. EVEMon is already a terrific app (definitely the best MMO-related out-of-game app I've ever seen), and it's great to see the devs are hard at work making it better.