WRUP: Apropos of nothing, Star Trek Online edition

The last several weeks have pretty much had at least one or two major stories about a certain game that launched recently. So, apropos of nothing, here's a picture of Star Trek Online, which is not the game in question. It recently went free-to-play, also, which is pretty noteworthy if you haven't tried it despite wanting to see what it's like. As for me, I'm not playing it right now, but I did enjoy it when I tried!

I know — you'd expect random cute animals from me instead. I like to break expectations.

Apropos for the end of the week, it's time for another installment of WRUP, in which we, the Massively staff members, talk about our plans for the weekend. We're also talking about what games have been out the longest before we played them. So jump on past the cut to see what we're up to over the weekend, and let us know your plans in the comments!

@Beau_Hindman: I'll be switching to Planeshift for my next Rise and Shiny column next week, and I'll be haunting some of my usual favorites like RuneScape and Illyriad. I'm sure it will be a pretty normal weekend for me, meaning lots of gaming.

I'd have to think, but generally I try every game as soon as it comes out. We bought Star Wars: The Old Republic even though I did not have plans for playing it. Sometimes my wife will want it, and sometimes I just want to check out the new game. Also, it's my job to know what's out there, and there's no better way to know but to actually play them. I guess I might wait with some free-to-play titles, since I know they will always offer me the same free access. Something about paying 60 bucks for a game just makes me want to get it out of the way fast.

@nyphur: I've been trying to get back into EverQuest II this week as my old account was converted over to a free-to-play account, but so far I've found the new business model absolutely abysmal. I can't access half my bank space or bags, most of my old gear is locked unless I subscribe, and I can't even sell things on the broker without paying cash. I'll likely give it another go this weekend or just give up and mess around in Skyrim.

I can't think of any MMOs I've picked up more than a year after launch. I don't buy into hype, but if a game is still going strong six months after launch, it's usually worth trying. New games always have very active communities, and there's something to be said for exploring a new world that nobody has documented in its entirety.

@nbrianna: I'm boring — still Star Wars: The Old Republic for me. Still working the Smuggy. I'm having a great time pre-endgame. Once I get there... then I'll start worrying.

I'm pretty bad about not buying games at launch, but I did manage to hold out on buying Champions Online and EverQuest II right away. I didn't really enjoy Champions Online's beta, but I did give it a spin the summer after it launched. And EQII — well, there was that whole World of Warcraft thing going on. Plus I parted with classic EverQuest on bad terms. Think I lasted a year and a half before trying EQII.

Some time will be spent in Star Wars: The Old Republic this weekend, but while I have several projects there I wish to undertake, my focus will be Ryzom. After all, my adventure has been chosen! With very little time left to lose the lead, it looks like I'll be starting up a Zorai with the Magic kit, so that should be interesting. I'm also tempted to start looking into getting some tabletop action going again, since it's been far too long...

I had to think for a bit, but the longest I've ever taken to try a game out was Lord of the Rings Online, which had been out for three years by the time I dipped my toes in to see how it played. In terms of games I've played for at least a few months, however, it's never been more than a couple of months between launch and play.

I'm slooowly roaming my way through Fallen Earth's wasteland and dabbling in a little bit of EQII this weekend.

I've purchased every major MMO (and many minor ones) on launch day since Anarchy Online — with the strange exception of RIFT. I couldn't tell you why I still haven't played that game beyond my one-hour beta experience, but it's easily the longest I've gone without playing a released game.

@Jeremy_Stratton: I'll be playing Vanguard and more Vanguard this weekend. Saturday is a sure-to-be epic dungeon crawl with Beau, Karen and Adventure Mike. We rarely get to see any dungeon-action these days in Vanguard (especially low-level action), so this should not be missed. We have newbies and veterans partying together, so you can bet there will be some nostalgic tales and descriptions of the fights. Then on Sunday, Karen and I will be celebrating Vanguard's fifth anniversary. We'll be sitting around the campfire in Ahgram with the SOE community team to talk about where Vanguard's been and (maybe) where it's headed.

I don't think I've ever planned any waiting periods before trying an MMO. I suppose SWTOR is the first one. Yes, I am waiting a while to try it. I'm already glad that I didn't have to personally deal with any of the problems of late.

@Sypster: I'm buckling down to master space combat in SWTOR — it's more fun than you'd think! — to earn credits so I don't end up in the poorhouse. On the flip-side of the sci-fi MMO spectrum, I'm thoroughly enjoying Star Trek Online's featured episodes and am looking forward to making full Commander in the next day or so. Duty officers absolutely rock, by the way.

Probably the longest time between an MMO releasing and my trying it was Ultima Online: released in 1997; first tried in 2010. Thirteen years wasn't too late, was it?

@JayeRnH: Like Jeremy, I'll be playing a lot of Vanguard this weekend. The game is celebrating its fifth anniversary, and it's always been one of my favorite games. As Jeremy said, we're dungeon crawling on Saturday night for our livestream and then attending the community party in Ahgram on Sunday at 1 p.m. EST. We welcome any company!

I've been checking out so many different games recently, especially for the livestream, that I'm pretty close to a balance between playing something at launch and playing it for the first time much later. What I've found is that there are plenty of advantages for doing each, and it does change your experience a bit to play a game after the initial rush, although not necessarily in a bad way!

@Shaddoe: Of course, I will play Star Wars: The Old Republic this weekend. Hopefully, I will hit 50 this weekend. I'm very close. Unfortunately, I will not have time for any other games this weekend.

I waited a year and a half after its release before trying Age of Conan. I absolutely wanted to play the game. It seemed to be a great platform for roleplay, and a lot of my friends went to play it. However, my rig just couldn't come close to handling the graphical demands. It would be a year and a half before I bought a computer that could take it; unfortunately, all my friends had moved on to other games or back to Star Wars Galaxies by that time. That said, it still is one of the most gorgeous MMOs on the market.

As I apparently have more to do than I thought to prep for a family trip cross country in just over a week, my game time is going to be limited. Smaller doses of the usual Aion and EverQuest II will be manageable to enjoy times with friends and get my decorating on. My hopes of diving back into some other games I have been missing will have to be put on hold a bit.

Ignoring the few games I have never played (Anarchy Online, Ultima Online, and RIFT), I would have to admit that the longest and MMO has been out before I tried it was... wait, how long has EverQuest actually been out now? I got accounts for the kids and me and we tried it last year! Didn't last long, but that's certainly the longest wait time. Otherwise, I tend to try most games at launch.

@mackeypb: I'm going to be leveling my psi-lancing Champions Online alt as well as playing more League of Legends. I'm learning how to tank/initiate in Dominion, which is pretty exciting for me.

Both League of Legends and EverQuest are tied more or less for the amount of time it took for me to play the game. I was not into MMOs at all, and I started playing EQ midway through the Luclin expansion (roughly two years after launch) when a friend pushed me to try it. I didn't stay terribly long — enough to get to endgame but not much after that. Likewise, I started playing LoL almost two years after launch. A lot of my friends played it, but it was the idea of livestreaming play that got me to try. I'm well into the "LoL endgame" if such a thing exists, and so far it's been pretty fun. If I ever install EVE Online or Age of Conan, they'd easily win as I own retail copies of both games but have yet to take the plunge on either game. EQII is another game I'd like to try sometime but haven't.

@terilynns: I will definitely be in Star Trek Online this weekend, preparing all of my alts to ensure that they're ready for the beginning of the game's second anniversary events and the release of the new Odyssey and bortaS class ships. (That's spelled right! I looked it up in my Klingon dictionary.) Everything is messy right now — their inventories, their skill-trees, everything. It's like herding cats.

And to answer the second question: I have no clue! How long has Champions Online been out? I tried it a few months ago, so however long it's been between when the game began and last November. I'll be in that game again as I have a few friends who play it, but I will definitely need to delete my current character and start over.

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!