WRUP: Massively Core is the same as regular Massively edition

Sorry, guys. We had it all ready, the unveiling of a version of Massively on which you saw only our articles about games, ranging from game news to game columns to opinions about gaming. But then someone pointed out that that would be exactly the same thing as what we already have. On the upside, it's less coding work this way; on the downside, my epic series of articles on baking cookies while underwater is now never going to see print. Oh, what could have been.

Anyway, despite these disappointments, another edition of WRUP has seen fit to grace everyone with news of what the Massively staff will be doing over the weekend. We're also talking about how much we have paid or would be willing to pay for a spiffy in-game ride. So click on past the break to see our weekend distractions, and let us know what you'll be up to in the comments!

@Beau_Hindman: I'll be playing some Thirst of Night, a new MMORTS by Kabam, for Rise and Shiny. Then I think I'll be checking in with my town in Die2Nite, platforming in Milmo, strategizing in Illyriad, working on quests in RuneScape, and seeing if I can get back to Massively island in Wurm Online. I logged in to find it a desolate place, a shell of its former glory! I was killed immediately and now have to catch a ride back there. We will take it back!

Around this house, we have paid plenty for virtual horsies and ships. I've lost track. In fact, I would buy a ship or mount probably before anything else simply because they are so handy. I've spent over $100 in Mabinogi on pets, including mounts... but they're so irresistible!

@nyphur: I'll be continuing with my game project throughout most of my spare time this weekend, lodging some extra time in EVE Online as I desperately try to get some PvP action in faction warfare. I think faction warfare is now defunct; the instant-action PvP we saw in its first year has dried up, and I wonder how difficult it's going to be to salvage the system.

I actually did pay for a mount in a game. Runes of Magic lets players rent horses with gold for 30 minutes or two hours, and permanent versions are then sold in the game's cash shop. I enjoyed the game enough to justify dumping about $10 on a permanent mount, but if it were much more than that, I definitely would have stuck with cheap rentals.

@nbrianna: More Star Wars: The Old Republic for me. Carth... I mean, Kaidan... I mean, Corso likes me, he really likes me! dawwwww.

I paid $10 for the sparklepony, but I held out against the original $25 price. So I guess my limit is somewhere in between! If it appeases the World of Warcraft-haters: I bought the sparklepony entirely because it looks a lot like the celestial gear and creatures in Guild Wars, and they are just about my favorite critters in any MMO.

Got a lot coming up in the next week, but I'm still going to find time for a nice round of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Probably some Final Fantasy XIV and City of Heroes too. There are projects on the horizon that will curtail my time a bit, so I ought to get it all out of my system.

I've dropped a few bucks on ship customizations in Star Trek Online, but I've never really paid dearly for a mount. That's not because I wouldn't, just because I've never found one that's pretty enough to justify the price. Most of the offerings I've seen aren't to my taste (I found the sparklepony hideously ugly), but I'd be perfectly willing to drop $15 on something if I liked it enough.

EverQuest II, Lord of the Rings Online, and Sins of a Solar Empire for me.

I think I gifted a Station Cash mount to a friend in EverQuest II a while back. I have a couple of collector's edition mounts, but generally, if it can't be earned in the game, I don't have it.

@Jeremy_Stratton: I'm back to leveling in Runes of Magic. I'm prepping to buy some new weapons and start upgrading them. My battle-ready Priest/Rogue is outfitted with tons of intelligence and magic attack, but it's not enough! I'll be throwing on some more stamina, as well.

I think if the rest of the Massively staff members found out how much I've spent in Runes of Magic alone, they'd collectively hurl. I don't just spend a little here or a little there. I'm an MMO spendthrift. I figure I've gone through a hundred dollars or more a week when I was dating. Presents, non-present "gifts," gas, eating out, movies and other activities added up fast. I just guesstimate at what I might be spending under other circumstances, anyway, and throw it all into gaming. As for an in-game item? One item? I spent $25 on a mount. That's probably the single most expensive item I've bought. If you asked me how much I've spent on all the items I've ever bought, well, that's an entirely different story.

@Sypster: I'll be indulging in a bottle of '07 Lord of the Rings Online with just a hint of smoky endgame — I really need to finish up Dunland on my main — and perhaps cracking open a cask of '11 Star Wars: The Old Republic to see what Chapter 2 brings to my Imperial Agent.

I was going to say that I've never paid for an in-game mount, but that isn't necessarily true. I have purchased collector's editions that have come with mounts for every character, so if you wanted to parse semantics, I've paid additionally for mounts. In a way. So I'd be a hypocrite to say no, but other than CEs, I really would not. It's more fun to earn mounts anyway!

@JayeRnH: I'll be playing EQII, RIFT, and SWTOR, along with a little Need for Speed World on the side. After livestreaming Need for Speed World with Jeremy this past week, I want to get back in a few more times to run the pursuit challenges. Who knew smashing through police blockades and evading the law could be so much fun!

I've bought several mounts across the games that the kids and I play, so I can't really pinpoint the priciest one. When I buy mounts for the kids, it's usually for looks, but for me, I'll always prefer paying for a mount if it's faster than walking, regardless of what it looks like.

@Shaddoe: The Force draws me to Star Wars: The Old Republic. Unfortunately, I am still Baras' pawn, but I am killing Republic military officials. I guess that makes up for being a puppet.

I paid $20 for an instant-travel vehicle in Star Wars Galaxies. Granted, I got a couple of other things with that, but the ITV was the only thing I ever used. It came with a later distribution of the game, and I added it to my main account. For TOR, if a mount is extra rare, I would pay $10 to $15. I don't know that I would go over the subscription cost; if it were a F2P game, I might pay more, but wouldn't buy anything else for a couple of months.

@mvmatt: Like Bree, I'll be prancing around in Star Wars: The Old Republic, trying to get caught up to my IRL friends and whatnot. Also, I wish Corso liked me, but BioWare has not seen fit to add SGRAs yet. ):<

I've never paid for an in-game mount, but I've paid for plenty of other things that are generally unnecessary but convenient, such as collector's editions, microtransaction items in F2P games (inventory space, armor in Age of Conan, etc.), and I think the most I've spent is like... $20-$25 or so for a full set of blue items in Age of Conan? Totally not worth it, by the way.

@mackeypb: More League of Legends for me! I'm still having problems with Rusty Hearts, but my troubleshooting continues. I'd really like to play it more. Either way, I'm closing in on level 30 in LoL, and I almost have two full tier 3 rune pages! Yay!

I think the most money I've spent on one thing ever was on the Ahri bundle in LoL (roughly $15 for Ahri and two skins). Before that, I had never spent anything over about... $10 or so. If you count the Ahri bundle as three things (or if you are looking for non-functional stuff, since Ahri is a playable character with unique gameplay), then I'd say about $10. I've never bought a mount or vehicle, but I've bought cosmetic packs and functional items in quite a few games that hit around the $10 mark.

@terilynns: I plan on heading into Star Trek Online and getting myself familiar with what it might be like to be new to the game and to MMOs in general. The game goes free-to-play on Tuesday, and I expect to be meeting lots of new people. Since so much has changed as far as the new Duty Officer system and UI (heck, even how you obtain missions!), I want to be able to help the newbies out without messing up. Yeah, I'm just that way. I've met some really good friends through this game and hope to meet many more!

As for money I've spent? At one time? (Because I've spent tons over the past 2 years.) I spent $20 bucks on a ship. The Galaxy X or Dreadnought. Why? Because it has three nacelles! THREE! OK! And yes, also because I've always called it the Rikermobile. As described by a friend, the Galaxy X is exactly what the Enterprise would have looked like had Dad (Picard) handed down the family station wagon to the young teenage son (Riker). He would have gone down to the local chop shop and pimped up the ride!

I just had to have the ship.

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!