WRUP: War is actually good for a remarkable number of things edition
War kind of gets a bad rap, what with the whole causing widespread meaningless slaughter. But let's face it, despite what Edwin Starr may have said, war is actually good for a wide variety of things. For example, widespread slaughter? War is totally good at that. And if countless MMOs have proven anything, it's that war is a great way to provide quest objectives, assuming that you get to respawn if you lose. Also, there are snazzy uniforms and big explosions. It's basically good for the same things as Michael Bay's cinematography.
If this has you all excited, I'm sorry to say that this week's WRUP does not feature Massively or any of its staff members going to war, not counting Bree's war on "they" as a gender-neutral singular pronoun. It does, however, feature the staff explaining what we'll be doing over the weekend and what we like in terms of voice chat. So click on past the break to see what we'll be up to, and let us know what you'll be doing in the comments.
Beau Hindman (@Beau_Hindman): I'm sad to say that I will more than likely be moving on to another game for Rise and Shiny -- Asheron's Call is so fun, and the community is a blast. I'll also be grinding out some spells in Wizard101. And I've got research to do for an upcoming Free for All article about mobile MMOs. I've added some new ones to the list!
What voice programs do my guildies use? I don't have guildies. Otherwise, I use Skype to do interviews. Does that count?
Brendan Drain (@nyphur): The Sansha invasions have begun in EVE Online, and with the Massively Mob corporation we've been gathering as much intelligence on the Sansha forces as possible. This weekend I plan to launch our first test fleets into the Sansha incursions.
I tend to use Ventrilo for voice chat, though in EVE Online I actually prefer to use the integrated EVE Voice. It simply works well, and it's intuitively built into the game's chat channel and fleet system. You don't need to hire a server or bother people to download a client, which is a massive plus.
Brianna Royce (@nbrianna):World of Warcraft for me, or maybe City of Heroes or Zentia... I need something really distracting, and WoW, while fun, doesn't really grab my full attention when I'm playing.
My guild uses Mumble right now, and I prefer it to in-game voice systems. We also use IRC. But I have an aversion to being on the equivalent of a partyline 24-7, so I usually log into voice only for specific group events, not random talking. Text chat works much better for AFKing/catching up with a convo later, circumventing accent/mic/sound issues, and not keeping the household up late at night.
Eliot Lefebvre: I've got to take some advantage of the doubled gains in City of Heroes this weekend, but I've also been digging on Final Fantasy XIV and StarCraft II. So some mixture of all three is in the cards.
Voice chat is honestly not something I care for -- it really takes me out of the game, and I prefer to eschew it when possible. I've used Vent for most in-game chatting, but whenever possible I'll just focus on text chat. Fortunately, I type insanely fast, so I can usually keep up despite being a chat Luddite.
Jef Reahard: I'm playing a fair bit of Aion this weekend. Despite the grind, there's something to be said for friends, and my guild is firmly entrenched in Atreia. Also, getting two rare weapon drops in one week has a way of rekindling one's enthusiasm and considerably upping the chances of setting members of the opposing faction on fire. I'll also be soloing some Age of Conan and dabbling in DC Universe Online.
I use vent for Aion sieges, dungeons, and PvP; I use text-only in most other games.
Justin Olivetti (@Sypster): Waiter, I think I'll have the sample platter, please: a little of Guild Wars, deep-fried Lord of the Rings Online, and a garnish of EverQuest trial on the side.
I generally prefer Ventrilo for voice chat, although I'm OK with Turbine's in-game system as well.
Karen Bryan (@JayeRnH):EverQuest II and RIFT beta for me.
As for voice chat, I was slow to get on board with the idea, but Vivox made me a convert, and now I'm at the point where I feel it should be standard in all MMOs.
At the start of every weekend, we catch up with the Massively staff members and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" (Otherwise known as: WRUP!) Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game -- and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too!
