WRUP: And now, a final close-up edition

Well, it happened. Samuel, the WRUP mascot for the past month, is being retired. We had certain problems with him, not the least of which being his habit of eating the sea lions we use to power our server. But the worst part was when he claimed to be a Mandalorian Air Whale when I found out that all of the Air Whales are on Alderaan. We hope you enjoy a final picture of him before his entrance into retirement in what I assume is his natural habitat.

Orcas live on mountains, right?

Anyway, let's get down to brass tacks and talk about what the Massively staff will be playing over the weekend. And as our usual bonus, we've also included our feelings on whether or not the weather really matters... in-game, of course. So click on past the break to see our plans, and let us know what you'll be up to in the comments!

@Beau_Hindman: I'll be switching to a new game called Fantasy Online for Rise and Shiny and will definitely be looking for any holiday quests that pop up in the one million different games I try to play. RuneScape will be on that list, along with Glitch and Illyriad, as usual.

I love on-game weather, and I think that as long as a developer is trying to create a "world," it should have some sort of game-effecting weather system in place. It's as important as times of day and other "real life" things, so why don't more developers use weather systems? Games like Ryzom and Mabinogi have pretty nice weather systems; I just wish more developers would use them.

@nbrianna: Skyrim for me, and I suppose I should probably get moving on playing the last days of Star Wars Galaxies. It's just a really sad and painful thing to log in.

Games absolutely need weather effects. I remember the first time I saw it rain in SWG — everyone ran to get inside a building. Immersion, aesthetics, looks darn cool. Bonus points for making weather actually matter. Haven't seen that pulled off flawlessly yet.

For once, I'm really not sure what I'll be playing over the weekend. I've enjoyed the beta for Star Wars: The Old Republic, but I've reached the point where I don't really need to sink more time into it when it's all being erased shortly. I'll probably try to get some time in on Final Fantasy XIV and City of Heroes, but I think this weekend might mostly be offline gaming and reading.

Weather is a nice effect when it's there, but I don't really mind its absence. Games like Final Fantasy XI have weather that sometimes works in nonsensical ways (it's a windstorm in one map and perfectly calm the next zone over), and no game really models weather as much beyond particle effects and sounds. As long as the experience of being in a given part of the game is fun, I'm not going to miss a lack of weather.

@Sypster: I don't have big gaming plans this weekend; I'm eager for Star Wars: The Old Republic to launch (two more weeks!) and could spend a couple hours in Lord of the Rings Online, but I may just take some time off to catch up on movies and sleep. Sleep: The MMO would be a best-seller.

In-game weather is nice, although the lack of visibility with rain is annoying. I'd like to see rain actually affect the environment: flash floods, snowfall buildup, mudslides, tornadoes, etc.

I am hoping to tackle some real-life projects this weekend to finally get them out of the way and end their stressful hold over me. But honestly, I will probably be gliding around Aion (and trying to use my huge accumulation of arena tickets) and checking out some higher-level dungeons for the first time in EverQuest II. All I need to do is add these to my to-do list and at least I will get something crossed off, right?

Personally, I love weather in games. Unexpected sandstorms rising up and blinding you, the patter of rain (I really love rain, virtual or real!), storms, snow... I want it all. Even tornadoes that come by and sweep people off their feet, hurling them into the sky. I'd so love watching that! I think weather is more immersive and just pulls you into the game more, adding another layer to the suspension of disbelief. I won't discount a game for not having it, but having it will make me give any game a closer look!

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!