Massively^™

Massively Speaking Episode 33 visits the world of EverQuest 2 this time around as Michael and Shawn sit down with Bruce Ferguson and Paul Melina from the Everquest 2 development team. They also touch a bit on the recent news of Tabula Rasa's closing and on how badly Mines of Moria has sucked them both in.

Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot us an email to podcast AT massively DOT com. Maybe we'll read your letter on the air!

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Read below the cut for the full show notes.

After the official announcement was made from BioWare confirming their new Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO, Community Manager Sean Dahlberg suddenly became a very busy man. Appearing in a recent web interview, Dahlberg has been keeping us informed on how the game is progressing so far, but we believe this is the first time his voice has been heard on a podcast discussing his new role at BioWare.

Over at the Limited Edition Podcast, Dahlberg talks a bit more about his current role and how he got here. You may also remember the Limited Edition Podcast as the one with former Tabula Rasa podcast hosts John and Matt from TabulaCast, plus former NCsoft EU community guru Stephen "Rockjaw" Reid. They've covered a video version of the City of Heroes character creation process (which may be especially helpful to thousands of Tabula Rasa players in a few months) and more on everything comic book related. Check out Episode 6 for the 35-minute Sean Dahlberg interview.

Massively Speaking Episode 32 works through a heaping helping of Wrath-related discussion, as more World of Warcraft conversation is had in the span of 50 minutes than really should be possible. WoW Insider's Mark "Turpster" Turpin and Mike Schramm join Shawn and Michael to run through a ton of personal opinions on Blizzard's brand-new expansion. Join us for talk of zones, instances, and the future of the game.

Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot us an email to podcast AT massively DOT com. Maybe we'll read your letter on the air!

Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to Massively Speaking directly in iTunes.
[Zune] Subscribe to Massively Speaking via the Zune service.
[RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator.
[Digg] Like the show? Digg it.
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.
[VW] Listen at VirginWorlds.com
Listen here on the page:



Read below the cut for the full show notes.

If you're a die-hard fan of Star Wars Galaxies, there's a good chance you've heard of the Yivvits and MrBubble SWG podcast. This show has been going on since 2005, and has finally just released their 100th show. Why is this news? One hundred episodes of a podcast about one specific MMO is quite a feat, as any regular podcast fan can attest.

"When we started the show in 2005 we had no idea where it would lead or if we'd even make more than six episodes," The two wildly popular hosts write in the episode's show notes. "This episode is packed full of everything you love about our show. Who is the Grand Admin and what the heck is "The SWIG?" Join Yivvits and MrBubble as they find out just how important their show is... to everybody! Two very special guests join us for this milestone episode, we play the dozens of congratulatory messages you left us, and we round things out with cake!"

Every week, hardworking Massive gaming fans put their voices on the line to bring us news, opinions, and 'critiques' of their favorite games. Podcasts are a staple of many hobbies nowadays, and fans of online worlds are especially fortunate in this regard ... there are a ton out there.

As such, every so often we'll try to update you on the podcasting world. Keep your eyes on this space for links to your favorite MMO-commentary celebs. Good and bad, straight-man or blue-mouthed, they all have something to offer about this amazing style of gameplay.

This week we're going to return to an old favorite: dear old Van Hemlock. The Van Hemlock podcast (hosted by Hemlock and Jon) has been delving into some fantastic contrasting on top of the usual MMO news situation. We particularly want to point out Episode 21 and Episode 22, which talk about indie MMO A Tale in the Desert alongside the newest of the new in Warhammer Online. Well worth a listen!

Some players in EVE Online are known for a particular contribution to the community. Others for their presence on the forums or for their reputation as a pilot. EVE's players know Winterblink for all of these reasons, and more. While there are a number of celebrated players in EVE Online, few names are as recognizable in the game as Winterblink. Whether you're a fan of the Warp Drive Active comic, you listen to his podcast, or perhaps you just want to podkill him... most players agree that he's one of the friendliest people you're likely to meet in EVE, except for when he's got you in his sights.

Massively recently caught up with Winterblink and spoke with him about how Warp Drive Active came to be, finding humor in a game that's taken so seriously by its players, and what it means to him to be a part of the EVE community.

You're well-known as being a member of Body Count, part of the now-defunct but legendary alliance Mercenary Coalition. Were you into 0.0 warfare when you began? Are these large-scale fleet engagements the highest level of gameplay for you, or are you happier roaming with small gangs?

Back when I first started EVE, I initially started by forming my own corporation with some real life friends. We made some friends with other corps in our constellation, and when my real life friends moved on I joined up with one of those, Colossus Technologies. It was an industrial corp by nature, so there was a lot of mining and building happening, but we joined up with Xetic Alliance and I got my first taste of PvP with them.

When I got into Body Count and Mercenary Coalition, EVE became a whole different ball game for me, basically shedding my prior life for the life of a full-on PVP pilot. Right from the start I tried to attend ops as much as I could, and these would be anything from mercenary contracts in empire to 0.0 ones. As EVE and 0.0 combat evolved, so did we, eventually becoming what was arguably one of the most skilled capital fleets at the time.

Blizzcon starts tomorrow in Anaheim, CA, and WoW Insider and Massively are already on-site to provide the best coverage we can! If you're in town, we want to invite you to the WoW Insider meetup tonight at 8:00 PM Anaheim time. You'll have chances to win cool prizes and swag if you know your World of Warcraft trivia, and the WoW Insider podcast will be taped in front of a live audience, so you can be a part of that mayhem as well.

The meetup will be at The Lost Bar at 1150 W. Magic Way, near the Disneyland Hotel. The party will go on through much of the night, so even if you're not getting in until after 8:00, feel free to show up late and relax with the WoW Insider crew post-flight or drive.

Credibility is a precious resource; DJ Jester of w00tstudios.net is one of those people on the MMO circuit who has bags of it stashed under his mattress. His podcasts have always been right on the pulse, and he's had many worthy personages in the past as guests, from April 'CuppaJo' Burba to Matt 'Positron' Miller.

Now, Floyd 'Castle' Grubb, aka Castle the Powers Guy from City of Heroes, joins Jester and friends at the mike for a 41 minute megasesh in which the coming changes to powers in CoX are expertly dissected, laid out and examined for your delight and edification.

Many MMOs have their own fansites dedicated to the roleplaying aspect of the game. There's no denying that RPing is experiencing a resurgence as some players are drifting away from the grinding and fast leveling for more of an escape or fantasy element to their favorite games.

This is where the mmoRPers website really shines. It's a website set up to celebrate the roleplaying community across all MMOs. There's a focus on storytelling with member blogs, an events calender, forums and even a well-produced podcast that has just recently released its 3rd episode. So if you're into roleplaying and you're looking for more like-minded players as yourself, head on over to the site and make yourself comfortable.

Every week, hardworking Massive gaming fans put their voices on the line to bring us news, opinions, and 'critiques' of their favorite games. Podcasts are a staple of many hobbies nowadays, and fans of online worlds are especially fortunate in this regard ... there are a ton out there.

As such, every so often we'll try to update you on the podcasting world. Keep your eyes on this space for links to your favorite MMO-commentary celebs. Good and bad, straight-man or blue-mouthed, they all have something to offer about this amazing style of gameplay.

This week it's time to highlight another new addition to the Virginworlds family of blogs. Free Play looks to be an ongoing discussion of the world of free-to-play MMOs. A game doesn't have to have a subscription fee to be fun! Check out the conversation with Riknas and Andras from the Free to Play blog!

Every week, hardworking Massive gaming fans put their voices on the line to bring us news, opinions, and 'critiques' of their favorite games. Podcasts are a staple of many hobbies nowadays, and fans of online worlds are especially fortunate in this regard ... there are a ton out there.

As such, every so often we'll try to update you on the podcasting world. Keep your eyes on this space for links to your favorite MMO-commentary celebs. Good and bad, straight-man or blue-mouthed, they all have something to offer about this amazing style of gameplay.

This week we want to be sure to highlight the first VirginWorlds podcast all about Warhammer Online! The Warpath is helmed by the veteran crew of The Drone Bay. They've come down from space to get their Waagh on, and there's a ton of WAR to love. Check in with Episode 1 as they debate the two factions, and Episode 2 is entirely about the game's launch. Check the show out!

The issue of parenting as it relates to online gaming is not only a delicate one, but its popularity is growing as more children are getting into the virtual space. We would be willing to bet that a healthy percentage of Massively readers are gamers with children. Not only that, but as online gamers age, their children inevitably continue into the next generation of online gamers.

According to a new video podcast by Palo Alto Research Center's Nick Yee, parents who game have an advantage over those who don't game. This video -- the first in his series -- aims to show non-gaming parents how they can set reasonable guidelines and provide leverage for their children's online activities. He interviews several parents and gets their own experiences with how they raise their online gaming children. You'll find the complete 12-minute video right after the jump.

[Thanks Efrem!]

Every week Massively's companion podcast brings you a viewpoint on the MMO gaming industry and the latest news from the genre. This week we have a special episode of Massively Speaking to announce. This week Massively Speaking goes to WAR! Tune in tomorrow to hear the podcast crew speak with the frontmen from Mythic: Josh Drescher and Jeff Hickman!

Be sure to join us as we speak with the Mythic Entertainment folks that have helped to guide Warhammer Online to launch. We'll be getting their feeling on what's gone well (and what hasn't) with the game's launch, as well as touch base on future plans. Watch this space tomorrow for all the WAR you can handle.

Massively Speaking Episode 23 marches on without Michael Zenke this week, as Shawn Schuster takes on the hosting duties. He's joined by his long-time podcasting partner Lady Sinaea for some discussion on Guild Wars' new companions, DCUO's announced backstory writer, Blizzard's decision to allow PvE-to-PvP server transfers and of course the big news on Wrath of the Lich King's release date.

Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot us an email to podcast AT massively DOT com. Maybe we'll read your letter on the air!

Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to Massively Speaking directly in iTunes.
[Zune] Subscribe to Massively Speaking via the Zune service.
[RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator.
[Digg] Like the show? Digg it.
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.
[VW] Listen at VirginWorlds.com
Listen here on the page:



Read below the cut for the full show notes.