WRUP: Let's hope this isn't a prelude to the royal divorce edition

by Eliot Lefebvre on Apr 30th 2011 10:00AM

Seriously, has anyone checked the track record for the throne of England lately? Congratulations to royalty, sure, but the previous generation of princes and princesses has had less marital bliss than Jocasta and Oedipus. Frankly, the throne's seen about five centuries of stormy marriages, which might be a direct result of the entire Church of England getting off on the wrong foot when it comes to marriages.

Of course, I live in America. A guy with wooden teeth and a bunch of subsequently beheaded Frenchmen fought a war specifically so I wouldn't have to care too much about this.

While I'm sure you're enjoying your impromptu royal wedding editorial and history lesson, we should probably get down to the nuts and bolts of this week's WRUP! And as long as we're on the topic of grief, this week's bonus question is all about the worst times that we've been griefed in-game. So jump on past the break for what the Massively staff will be up to this weekend, then let us know in the comments what you'll be up to.

Beau Hindman (@Beau_Hindman): I'll be looking at a lot of games this weekend, as usual. I'm trying to plan things out further in advance as far as games for my columns, but then something brand-new comes along and wrecks everything. I'll be playing A Mystical Land, some Wakfu (I hope,) a bit of Illyriad, plenty of Order and Chaos Online, Free Realms, and plenty of Allods.

I've never really been griefed. There have been some cases, I guess, in which people have attempted to mess with me, but it never works. After all, the ignore option does all the work. A player once tried to literally push me around in Mortal Online, but I pretended to be AFK so when he finally got the guts to hit me with his sword, I called the guards and they wacked him. That was dumb.

Brianna Royce (@nbrianna): I think I'll be playing the auction house game in Lord of the Rings Online a bit this weekend!

I've been griefed plenty, and ignore doesn't always work (besides, not all games even have ignore). I've certainly seen my characters "raped" more times than I can count, including a very memorable instance back in the heyday of Ultima Online that saw the perpetrator killed by other players, cut up into pieces, reported to the GMs, and assigned a random name (I believe it was George) to replace his offensive one. Ah, the many flavors of justice. Before MMOs had instanced dungeons, uberguilds frequently griefed everyone else on the server by scooping raid times. Still, such things pale compared to the scheming and backstabbing of drama queens, usually a certain breed of roleplayer, believe it or not. I'll sooner quit a game than deal with their griefery.

Eliot Lefebvre: Can I have a nice big helping of Final Fantasy XIV and the anniversary aftermath of City of Heroes? I can? Awesome. I'll also be trying to get used to my new keyboard and trying to get a little bit of extra writing done.

Griefing is something that I think must have happened reasonably often in the time I've been playing, but for some reason I'm hard-pressed to think of a single incident that's stuck with me. I avoid games where it seems likely, and I don't tend to really gnaw on the incidents that occur.

Jef Reahard: I'll be grouping with some neighbors to take on the clean-up-the-tornado-damage instance. If time and power issues permit, maybe some EverQuest II and EVE will happen.

I can't really remember specific griefing instances. I usually just log off or block a person/channel, so the a-hattery generally doesn't register with me for very long.

Karen Bryan (@JayeRnH): I'll be playing a few games, but probably mostly Pirates of the Burning Sea.

As for the bonus question, it would probably be raiding in EverQuest. One particularly annoying moment that comes to mind is when a certain Monk on the server was training our raid as we zoned into ToV. To this day I have no idea what he was thinking, but he kept running down the hall, aggroing a bunch of drakes, and then feigning over us while we were trying to buff and prep. He eventually died, and our headache was gone. Oddly enough, it didn't really bother me because that was part of the culture at the time.

Krystalle Voecks (@Krystalle): I've started a villain in DC Universe Online, so I'll be romping around causing mayhem on the villain side this weekend. I'm also planning to reinstall City of Heroes to check out the upcoming anniversary free time, which should be fun.

As for the worst I've ever been griefed, that would have to be in EverQuest when avoiding trains involved leaving the zone and groups regularly fought for tap on bosses. There's nothing quite so unfun as having to run across an entire zone just to get away from a group of mobs someone trained onto you, then resetting the group, etc. I don't miss that at all!

MJ Guthrie: The new update 60 was just released in EverQuest II, so I will be beginning to amass my network of houses. It will take me forever to decorate them all... but that is the best part! I will also flit through some instances in Aion and poke back into Xsyon. Lineage II might also get a brief visit.

As for griefing, I try not to let things get to me when it comes to the idiocy of other players, but there is one instance I will never forget. Back in the early days of Lineage II, our group was working toward a boss when a farmer started training us with a whole slew of mobs. Unfortunately, when you died to a mob, you lost much more gear than if a player killed you, so our party dropped a ton of gear that he happily picked up. In that death alone I lost two pieces of Karmian armor, all but one piece of my jewelry, and also a weapon. And that was back when it took months to earn enough to get your high-level equipment. Our entire alliance banded together to loan me about half of what I lost.

Patrick Mackey (@mackeypb): I'll be playing some Torchlight and Stalker: Call of Pripyat, and yeah, we're running the Resistance adventure pack in Champions Online. I'm also possibly reconnecting with some old friends, which will be exciting. And I'm trying to improve my friends' skills in Hisoutensoku, which is sort of like pulling teeth.

The worst time I've been griefed was when I was playing Ragnarok Online and was in a big PvP guild. One of my guildmembers whom I trusted ended up betraying us badly, resulting in a guild disbanding and our guild getting split in two. It sucked. Not quite EVE Online drama, but it was before EVE's time.

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!

Tags: featured, massively-meta, weekend, weekend-gaming, what-are-you-playing, wrup

Reader Comments (24)

I have now played through DA2 three times as a mage, rogue, and finally warrior and had great fun doing so. Many players whined about Bioware/DA2, but I thought the game was very fun, and I am looking forward to seeing what Bioware can do with SWTOR.

Since Bioware offered free copies of Mass Effect 2 to DA2 owners, I downloaded ME2 and am going to give it a try. (I don't like shooters much, though, so we'll see how long that lasts.)

I keep waiting for an MMO as story-rich and entertaining as these Bioware SPRPGs, but alas, there's nothing on the horizon till later this year. LotRO was just OK (in the story/RPG department), and STO was rather disappointing from a story/characterization standpoint.

The only time I can recall being really griefed was when my lowbie WoW troll hunter was trying to tame a rare lion spawn in Barrens and some undead max level dude came along and killed it. This was not really that bad, as griefing goes, though, since I just logged off for a bit and then came back and got the pet anyway.

I find that escort quests and named-mob quests, when other players are nearby, are the most fraught with griefing potential. : /

I was honestly shocked when I learned how many Americans a) actually cared about the Royal Wedding, b) watched it and c) came over here to to watch it.

But, hey, it gave me hope for the Olympics. Mayhaps we can host big events in London without making a total hash of it.

Possibly.

Perhaps.

Maybe.

@Tempes Magus

"Control" is an odd issue here; while in practice they have very little power, constitutionally the Queen has to dissolve Parliament, has to appoint and remove a Prime Minister and technically is the head of state of 13 or 14 countries all over the world. Impressive, huh? :P

I'm not even pro-Republic or a Royalist, I just don't give a toss either way, since we make a profit on the Royals anyway. But, as you said, I'm just so surprised at how much people in other countries actually care.

Wait, what ? What do you mean by 'Frankly, the throne's seen about five centuries of stormy marriages, which might be a direct result of the entire Church of England getting off on the wrong foot when it comes to marriages.' ?

In what way has the Church of England been getting off on the wrong foot when it comes to marriages ? I'm probably picking it up or reading it wrong or something but I find that kind of insulting being brought up 'C of E' even though I'm not the religious type lol. I know many people who have been married with the blessing of the 'C of E' and gone on to enjoy long and happy marriages. if it was meant as an insult then boo to you sir....waves Union Flag....starts singing... 'Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves, Britons never, never, never shall be slaves' etc.... ;)

Anyway, this weekend in between the scones and cucumber sandwiches I shall be checking out a bit of DCUO to see how some of the players feel about the recent announcement of the 'meld' into 'super servers' whatever that means, plus playing a spot of Rift.

@markt50

You do know how the Church of England was formed right? It's primary school-level history; Henry VIII, wanted a divorce, Cap'n Pope in Rome wouldn't allow it, monarch was made head of both church and state and could do whatever the hell he wanted marriage-wise.

@Dril

Of course, I was being tongue in cheek, hence the wink at the end, I guess my strange sense of humour doesn't translate over text :(

@markt50

Blech, sorry.

Next week's WRUP, the rights and wrongs of the Libyan conflict?

@Renko Next week's WRUP will be about the right and wrong way to install a new hive into an apiary.

Well at least you didn't make as big of ass of yourself as Shawn Schuster
when he mentioned Princess Di. But overall I'd make it a best practice not to start conversations about other countries form of government and/or religion. That's just a Pandoa's box that should be avoided. Now tell me about MMO's.

I have lived in england since I was seven years old my mother is English my Dad is American, and even though I have spent the last seven years years in the U.K. I just can't wrap my head around the whole Monarchy thing. Mum is an intelligent forward thinking person but don't dare diss the Crown,,,,, people really do buy into that whole appointed by God nonsense even in the 21st century.

I hate to think of all the peoples money that was spent on these guys getting married..yet they are telling one of my very good friends that he probably won't be able to attend university because of public funding cuts....boggles the mind really.

@Dunraven

Lol, can't believe we are gonna debate this on Massively, but hey ho.

Anyway, I'm no Royalist and neither am I a 'Republican'. I find the whole idea of born into privilege a bit stupid, however I will say that I believe that the Royal family do bring a lot to this country, the revenue generated from tourism alone is worth putting up with them as people all over the world come to stare at Buckingham Palace etc.

They also do an awful lot for small British business, various members of the Royal family are often part of trade discussions and in particular Prince Charles has impressed me with the work he does for British business. The also do a lot for our armed forces which I personally appreciate as I'm from a forces family.

So yes, I'm not sure if the British tax payer has been lumbered with the bill for the wedding, but if we have then I'm sure the tourism revenue will have offset a lot of it anyway, all I know is that I have spent the last 2 weeks trying my best to avoid the darn wedding, not that I wish the happy couple any ill will, I'm just sick to death of hearing about it hehe. But I think in the long run it will be good for Great Britain PLC.

Yes, it sucks that your friend might not be able to go to University, but I'm not sure we can lay the blame for that at the Royal Families doorstep. I'd be more tempted to look at our new overlords in the 'ConDem' party, but that's a whole different discussion.

@Dunraven

Agreed with Mark, I'm shocked this is happening on Massively of all places but here goes.

Like him, I'm a neutral party (and, hey, I hate all the political parties and the voting system in this country; not equally, of course, but all of them are thoroughly flawed.)

As far as I'm aware (and bear in mind I'm no expert) because we're a constitutional monarchy the Royals don't maintain themselves, per se. All of the Crown's profits, as an entity, are given directly back into the government. In return, the Crown receives roughly £40 million per year (or at least I think it was close to that) as a pension of sorts, which it then uses to maintain all Crown property, feed and clothe the Royals and pursue anything else necessary. That may seem like a lot, until you remember that their direct profits alone are in excess of £200 million per year. What they contribute indirectly is probably far, far more. So, to contradict myself, yes, the Royals are totally self-sustaining and are a net gain for the country.

University Fees are another matter entirely. There are far many other factors to blame, limited to but not including.
-The Tories
-The Lying, Cheating, Power-Hungry Party (formerly the Lib Dems)
-The appallingly mismanaged welfare system in this country
-Ridiculous currency and the general mind-boggling stupidity of the economy.

The numbers in your post make you, what, 14? Don't worry about it. At worst you'll have a large tax burden later in life, but it'll be manageable, if not totally financially healthy, assuming average salary. I'd be worrying far more about being able to get into a uni that can offer you the opportunity to actually make something of your life; and the only way to do that is, by and large, to get those GCSEs first and foremost. Don't do what I did and end up with a low B for the coursework for the subject that everyone else thought you would get an A* in.

@Dunraven

my mom is Scottish, I was born in the UK but live in Canada. She is a royalist through and through. It has nothing with divine right. It's more tradition and history. It's hard to describe, but you should see my mom and family beam with pride. I even end up doing it myself, especially on occasions such as the wedding. Even where I live there were Union Jacks everywhere, stores had entire Royal Wedding displays showing off their best wares.

The reason why this marriage was so celebrated, which is something I don't expect Americans to understand, was because it represented a very deep, important part of English history and culture.

Anyone who was born in and still lives in England will tell you that the country is slowly but surely becoming a massive multi cultural state, and because of this is losing much of it's English culture.

The marriage was a day for the people of England to celebrate England, and the English culture. It was a day for us to truly celebrate our culture, and the history of our culture. This is something the people of England very rarely get to do.

As I said, I wouldn't expect Americans to understand, as you guys don't have a rich, vast history as we do, and I also wouldn't expect you to understand as you guys do have holidays where you celebrate being American, and American values, where as the people of England don't.

@(Unverified) "...I wouldn't expect Americans to understand, as you guys don't have a rich, vast history as we do"

Oh stop. Americans arguably have richer history than any other group of people. We not only have American history to celebrate but also can look back at other nation's history as part of our heritage.

For example, I have decedents who fought in the Revolution and even the French and Indian War. I also can look back hundreds of years at countries like Germany and Great Britain from where my ancestors came. So when the Monarchs of Great Britain and Prussia had real power...that's part of my heritage. And when America declared independence and Europe's Monarchs started to decline in power...I get the 'richer' side of that history.

I get to claim both the history of Europe in it's golden ages and the creation and rise of the U.S superpower. The best of both worlds.

@HokieKC I stand by my point that it's something that Americans don't understand, as you just proved to me.

With regards to America having a rich history, I agree, it does. In fact I love American culture and indeed American history.

To say that it's as rich as Englands history is just plain wrong, sadly enough.

But arguing which country has a richer history or culture was not the point of my post.

@(Unverified) - But our history prior to 1776 is British history. We were a British colony and therefore British.

So we share the same history prior to 1776 and American history afterwards. I would argue that's a 'richer' history today.

@HokieKC

You were an amalgamation of Spanish, British, French and Dutch colonies, combined with the original inhabitants of the land. So, you can try and poach their history as well.

On a related point: Britain was settled by Scandinavians, Normans, Celts and Romans. Can I, therefore, claim for Blighty the history of Scandinavia and the entire boundary of Rome at its greatest extent?

@Dril - I'm just saying when Americans study our history it doesn't start with 1776. And it's a different history for everyone. We are a country of immigrants.

I would argue this gives us a 'richer' history than any modern people (lack of Monarchy and all).

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WRUP: Let's hope this isn't a prelude to the royal divorce edition

Reader Comments (24)

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 11:08AM Tom in VA said

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 11:21AM Dril said

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 11:56AM Dril said

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 11:52AM markt50 said

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 11:58AM Dril said

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 12:21PM markt50 said

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 1:44PM Dril said

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 12:20PM Renko said

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 12:44PM Eliot Lefebvre said

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 12:56PM Interitus said

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 2:59PM Dunraven said

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 3:33PM markt50 said

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 4:15PM Dril said

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 4:42PM Interitus said

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 3:23PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 4:05PM HokieKC said

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 4:20PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 4:28PM HokieKC said

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 4:37PM Dril said

Posted: Apr 30th 2011 4:41PM HokieKC said

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