WRUP Regime Change Edition

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Regular readers of the site know that the upper management is being shifted around here at Massively, meaning that Brianna Royce will now be in charge. While we'll always miss Shawn Schuster's unmistakable voice and work on the site, the change will likely seem invisible to most readers.



I, for one, would like to welcome our new overlord, for whom I have nothing but respect and admiration. By complete coincidence, this week's header image happens to be of her favorite animal. Also, I may have sent a number of gift baskets of fruit to her house. And I'm sure we can all agree that earlier instances of tomfoolery should not be taken into account when she now considers that she has complete power over me.



Moving on from the welcoming of overlords, it's time for this week's installment of WRUP, featuring the Massively staff explaining our plans for the weekend as well as whether or not a graphical upgrade would bring us back to our first MMOs. Check out our plans past the break, and let us know what you'll be up to in the comments!



@Beau_Hindman: I'll be settling down on a new deed in Wurm Online, continuing to grind my teeth as I wait for my new PC to get here, and putting my exploration money where my mouth is by finally downloading IMVU. It's a social MMO that looks very... different. I'm also still gathering my list of pre-World of Warcraft MMOs for coverage. Luckily I still have most of my old accounts!



If I updated any graphics for some of my favorite games, that would mean a downgrade for many of them. I want graphics that are more stylized, particularly like those in Free Realms or Clone Wars Adventures. I'd love to see a "serious" game done with a more stylized flair. Wurm Online can stay how it is, but I really want to see some new avatars. I know they're coming, but boy, I can't wait!



@nyphur: This weekend I'll be entertaining a visiting Swedish friend from my old World of Warcraft guild, working hard on Predestination, and trying to convince my housemates to play more Guild Wars 2!



My first MMO was RuneScape, and its graphical updates have actually brought me back several times. I started back when it was a blocky world with 2-D goblin sprites, and the first big 3-D update hooked me back in for several months. I've returned periodically to see what the game is like, and the graphics are definitely the first thing I look for. EVE Online has the same effect, with large graphical updates pulling people back in to try the game again.



@nbrianna: I'll be dividing my game time between Guild Wars 2 and City of Heroes. Double XP is on permanently in CoH, I hear, so it's the perfect time to roll up a new character in time for the Positron's Ally event next week.



My first MMO was Ultima Online, and graphical upgrades did bring me back many times. That game has had more improved clients than any MMO I know... but those upgraded clients usually get abandoned by the team before they're finished because most of the veterans just refuse to switch. Very frustrating!



@Eliot_Lefebvre: City of Heroes, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and the ever-popular Providing Help to a Loved One with a Cold. At some point I will actually play Guild Wars 2 for more than 10 minutes at a stretch. If I'm lucky, it will be before the end of the decade.



I'm really the wrong person to ask about returning to a game for a graphical upgrade because graphics have never been what's turned me off from a game. I didn't initially leave Final Fantasy XI because of the graphics; I left because the game wasn't actually fun to play. If I see signs that the game I didn't like X amount of time ago has gotten better, I'll come running right back, but putting a new coat of paint on a game I wasn't enjoying doesn't lure me back. RSPS



@elixabethclaire: The Secret World continues to be on pause for me as I devote my time to Guild Wars 2. I'd like to hit 80 by the middle of the upcoming week, so I'll be doing a lot of PvE and WvW this weekend. I didn't mean to, but I've got a whole agenda plotted out for my temporary "main" after she hits 80, not to mention a little roster of who is in need of leveling after her.



Not much gaming for me this weekend. Maybe some The Secret World.



I go back and play all of my old MMOs anyway regardless of updates, though I am very much looking forward to Anarchy Online's eventual reskin.



@Sypster: My MMO to do list is a mile wide at this point. I really need to put a cap on Volume III Book 6 in Lord of the Rings Online, check out the new Autumn Festival in RIFT, get through Egypt in The Secret World, and make the big bucks in Guild Wars 2.



As for graphical upgrades, well, if Anarchy Online ever gets that newfangled redux off the ground, then you can bet I'll be first in line. It'd be great to see what a slightly more updated AO would look like.



@JayeRnH: This weekend I'm busy with a family trip, but in any spare time I have, I'm going to log into RIFT and hang out next to Atrophinius in the Autumn instance just to hear his hilarious voice-overs. Other than that, I'll probably pop into Minecraft with the kids so we can work on our tree house.



My first MMO was EverQuest, and I'd be more likely to return if the game actually reverted back to the old graphics of avatars and revamped zones.



@mvmatt: This weekend is my roommate's birthday, so we've got some mutual friends coming to stay for the weekend. As a result, my gaming time is probably going to be occupied more by split-screen mayhem than MMO funtimes. But if the opportunity arises, I'll be splitting my time between The Secret World and Guild Wars 2.



And would I go back to EverQuest or Ultima Online if either one got a graphical update? That's a good question. I want to say yes, but I don't know if I'd be telling the truth. I loved UO and EQ back in the day, but I think it would take a bit more than a graphical upgrade to make me a player again. For every charmingly dated feature that I fondly remember, there's a plethora of truly archaic design decisions that I don't think I'd be able to put up with.



@MJ_Guthrie: Oh my gosh! I get to game this weekend!! *almost faints with excitement* How much can I cram in? Let's see, the vote won't be in for Choose my Adventure, so The Secret World will be on hold until Monday. (By the way, go vote!). To fill my weekend, I am going to dive into GW2 more (I really want to check out an Asura), start plotting more for my EverQuest II community shopping district as well as take in a few dungeons, and spread my wings in Aion to finish up some quests and maybe even get a few rounds of PvP Arenas in. I also plan on eating pizza. Mmm.



I'd go back if they'd turn the blasted servers back on! (RIP Star Wars Galaxies.)



@mackeypb: I've been playing more Touhou Hisoutensoku (not that any of you know what that is), as well as League of Legends. I'm currently carrying as Graves, though I am pretty sure those reading my column already know that. It feels good to play more airdash fighters, though; I feel like a bit of a void has been filled in my gamer heart.



In order for me to go back to EQ, it would take a better game, not a graphical update. Really, graphical updates mean almost nothing to me. If the same EQ graphics as in 2000 were on top of the GW2 engine, I'd still be down for playing it. High-quality graphics are a bonus, not a necessity.



@terilynns: I will be jumping into Star Trek Online this weekend to play a few Foundry missions to talk about on my UGC podcast. I will also be in Lord of the Rings Online as I find it very relaxing to farm and craft in that game. If time allows, I will be back in Glitch as well. And yes, the rumors are true: Some people are twisting my arm to give Guild Wars 2 a try. I might pick it up this weekend.



I'm really glad this week's question doesn't apply to me. My first MMO is still my favorite, and it's a beautiful game -- Star Trek Online!



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!