It's been one whole successful year for Atlantica Online in the US, and Ndoors Interactive is ready to celebrate with special bonuses and in-game events throughout this November. The first of many celebratory specials offers players a 200% experience boost, something sure to make everybody pretty happy. Then, there's the weekend in-game events, followed by new in-game items, a special Thanksgiving event, a fan art contest and we're guessing a lot more.

So, to recap: oodles of extra experience and rare new items, along with fun holiday and anniversary distractions. Oh, right and even a fan art contest for the creatively inclined types. Yep, seems like a particularly awesome month for Atlantica Online players.

In fact, for more deets from Ndoors themselves, check out the official word on all the in-game events and such after the break.

Runes of Magic went all out this Halloween with lots of special items, games, decorations, and even some contests. The screenshot decoration contest asked players to decorate their houses, their guild halls, and even themselves in their best Runes of Magic Halloween style to compete for in-game prizes. Players had a great time with the contest, deploying armies of ghosts, witches, pumpkins and candles in their houses and guild halls. They decorated themselves just as thoroughly, with a combination of whimsical and scary Halloween costume pieces.

Runes of Magic announced the winners today, with first, second, and third place winners in the house and costume categories, and a single winner in the guild hall category. Each winner will receive their choice of a costume package for their character, with a number of choices for both male and female characters.

Congratulations from us to all of the winners, and enjoy your costumes!

A number of EVE Online fans who've needed their podcast fix have been tuning in to Planet Risk in recent months, a great mix of music and commentary from players who spend most of their EVE time exploring the uncharted expanses of wormhole space. Planet Risk is a live show that airs on Split Infinity Radio on Wednesdays; hosts Luminus Aardokay and Quivering Palm make Planet Risk available as a podcast afterwards and we recommend you check it out if you haven't already. Today's show should be interesting as they will host a debate between four candidates for EVE's next Council of Stellar Management, the player-elected body that represents the wishes of the subscribers when dealing with CCP and how EVE Online is evolving.

We mentioned last week that the 4th CSM candidates have been announced but not everyone in the running had their positions on issues fleshed out in time for the CCP announcement. Since that day, more info about the 49 candidates is becoming available (thanks for pointing this out Darth Sith). Today's debate on Planet Risk will have CSM candidates TeaDaze (known to many for his commentary during the Alliance Tournament), Song Li (from the Missions Collide podcast), Helen Highwater and Mike Azariah.

Whenever an MMO hits the big ten-zero, we tend to get a little misty in the ocular slots on our heads. Asheron's Call holds a special place in many a person's heart -- because everyone has a first -- and so this post is for all of you players both past and present who cherish and adore your little personal slice of gaming love.

Turbine has plans to run live events throughout the day as part of their celebration, which includes bringing back some of the most loved (and feared) characters and villains. We hope the event is fun for all, and if any players happen to attend why not take some awesome screens and send them into our One Shots feature? You can do so by emailing oneshots AT massively DOT com.

We still don't know nearly as much about Mortal Online as we would like, but the slow deployment of information we've been getting is certainly appealing. With promises of open PvP, long-term repercussions of actions rather than the usual respawns and resets, a crafting system encompassing nearly every item in the game... suffice to say it aims at being a niche game that knows its place and its peers. Unfortunately, as it's in beta and under an NDA, information is slow to be released. The October newsletter for the game has mercifully given us a few more bits of information, most importantly the next features being brought out in testing.

November 1st (that's today!) will see the release of the next beta build, which carries with it the opportunity to start taming and harnessing mounts as well as building houses. The newsletter specifically mentions that building materials -- most likely the type of wood -- will be integral to the home's quality, keeping with the very detail-oriented approach the game has taken so far. There's also an in-game event promised for the patch, which should certainly be a nice bonus for the players lucky enough to take part. For those of us not yet in the testing, however, there's a promise that there are more lore and developer updates coming to the site in the near future. You can currently get into the beta by pre-ordering the game, which might be a bit of a risk for some players... but for the niche Mortal Online is aiming for, it might well be the sort of thing you can't get anywhere else.

CCP Games is holding a play test of the new Sovereignty system in EVE Online on Friday, October 30th at 17:00 GMT/UTC on the Singularity test server. The devs are looking for players to jump in and help them fine tune Sovereignty for the Dominion expansion release, which is very much focused on this particular game mechanic. Interested parties are encouraged to show up early, as the devs want to give players a short demo of the new Sovereignty system beforehand. Also, they'll need to divide players into two teams, Red vs. Blue. EVE Quality Assurance dev CCP Tanis writes, "We will be testing several aspects of the new Sovereignty system, think of this kind of like a 'king of the hill' game in EVE."

EVE players interested in helping out (and getting a feel for how the new system will work) should read through the info the devs have listed in the playtest announcement. The developers have stated the testing event will take two or three hours to complete. (As an aside, they're putting the Sovereignty game mechanics through its paces on Mischief Night... what could go wrong?)

Major EVE Online roleplaying alliance Curatores Veritatis Alliance (CVA) disbanded today, possibly the result of a traitor within their ranks, leaving a power vacuum in the Providence region they once held. It's possible for high-level directors of an alliance to disband the organization, and this is exactly what happened today to Curatores Veritatis Alliance. CVA was an alliance loyal to the game's NPC faction the Amarr Empire and had a long history of enforcing rule in lawless space and resisting rival player organizations of Minmatar freedom fighters -- notably Ushra'Khan -- who they branded as terrorists. In short, CVA has played a significant role in the player-driven setting of EVE Online.

At this point, speculation as to how CVA was disbanded is rampant. The concept of a mole using high-level access to destroy an alliance from within is not unprecedented in the game, although some players are asserting an account hack took place. EVE pilot "BULLETPROOF 50CENT" of the corporation Traceless Representatives of Anonymous Players (TRAP) has claimed credit for the disintegration of CVA. He stated: "I am known as bullet, just a small, relatively unknown member of a covert organization, created by and dedicated to the taking down of what we saw as the single largest evil in EVE -- CVA."

Retcons are valuable things in Champions Online, and they are used only with care, as their effects can be far-reaching and are assured to be constant for quite some time. (This marks a major point of divergence between Champions Online and most current comic books, but we'll leave that to one side for the time being.) So it's a bit significant when Cryptic announces that everyone will be getting a free retcon on October 27th, just in time for the Blood Moon event to kick off in full swing.

Cryptic's official explanation is that the free retcon comes as a result of server troubles over the weekend, and is their little way of extending an olive branch to the community. It does come with a bit of a caveat, however -- if you've been banking up your previous free retcon in anticipation of needing it later, they won't stack. You just get the one free.

But that's not such a big issue, when you get right down to it -- you can use the retcon if you need it, and start enjoying the zombie-smashing fun. And if you aren't already playing, perhaps now is a fine time to mention that there's a free weekend starting on Friday?

This weekend we had the chance to hang out with a bunch of rough-and-tumble types in the wastelands of Fallen Earth. No, we weren't just doing our typical weekend gaming! We were lucky enough to get to spend some time in-game, hanging out with Marie "Arosei" Croall, Content Team Lead for Fallen Earth. During the evening, we asked her some of the great player submitted questions we solicited last week. She also tossed out a couple of interesting asides to the huge crowd that amassed to take part in the event - and to get some of the free goodies we were handing out!

For those of you who may not have been able to make it - or would just like to check it out without all the cross-chatter - we've transcribed the interview (and some interesting asides) behind the break. Also, remember that we have another Massively Fallen Earth event happening this Wednesday night at the Embry Satellite, starting at 9:00 PM Eastern. This time our very own Shawn Schuster will be dropping by to hold a Massively Reader Meet-up, with - you guessed it - more free stuff, and a special Halloween-themed show on Post Apoc Radio.

With the Days of the Dead in full swing in Fallen Earth, various different player groups are holding their own events. If you love to spin spine-tingling tales of terror set in the post-apocalyptic world of Fallen Earth, the players at The Shop (with help from Saints Incorporated clan) have a great contest for you! They're looking for player-submitted spooky stories for their Halloween Narrative Contest - and you could score some sweet prizes in the process!

The idea is pretty simple: write a story of no more than 2500 words having to do with something evil, spooky, scary, or macabre. Some suggested examples were digging around in a crypt for treasures, fighting off Blight Wolves, or even throwing a Halloween party at The Shop. The first prize winner will make off with 45 blue chips and their choice of an Electric Motorbike or a Dune Buggy. Second place will win 30 blue chips and whatever vehicle isn't chosen by the First place winner. Third place will take home 20 blue chips. For all the specifics, be sure to head over to the Fallen Earth forums and read all the delicious details. Good luck to all who enter!

Warhammer Online has turned once again to the community for their questions, and the result was -- unsurprisingly -- a number of questions about the game's now-live Halloween event, Daemon Moon Rising. That means that the most recent grab bag has slightly fewer questions that are relevant to the game as a whole, but far more that are relevant to the things that every player wants to know at the moment. Namely, how do you get your masks, where do you get them, and what do the masks do?

The downside (for those of us familiar with the setting) is that there will be no Skaven-themed masks this year. On the other hand, nearly everything else in here provides some solid information and a nice confirmation that the only thing recycled from last year's event are some of the masks. The iconic and much-coveted Leather Face Mask can be obtained by winning a Daemonball Rally match, an RvR holiday event similar in execution to football. The question grab bag also offers some teases of the ultimate event reward, which promises to be a notable (if temporary) buff for anyone who takes aim at it. Take a look at what's in the event, and then you might be well-served to log in and take part in the festivities.

Player response has been great since the launch of Champions Online September 1st, and Blood Moon generated even more excitement. If you haven't tried it yet, Cryptic Studios is aiming to change that in the same way so many games do: give you a little bit free to draw you in. Next weekend, you can give the game a try during their free Blood Moon Weekend.

The official site asks you "Hate zombies? Abhor mummies? Detest the dreaded undead? Like to play MMOs for free? You could be the one. You could be the Champion we need!" It's probably safe to say that most of us meet the criteria, especially that last one. A free weekend combined with the ongoing buzz about Champions Online should be all of the reason you need to try it out if you haven't yet. The free weekend begins Friday, October 30th and runs until Monday, November 2nd. (If only employers had such a generous definition of "weekend") Since the Blood Moon event begins on the 27th, you'll get to experience that along with the rest of the game.

Visit the official site to sign up, download, and log in.

The good folks at NDoors Interactive have begun a new bi-weekly Atlantica Online developer article here at Massively where they'll showcase the latest and greatest news they'd like to feature to the Massively readers. This week, it's all about a new event where the prize is a snazzy set of in-game wings as teased in the header image, and shown in its entirety with another exclusive image after the jump. Here's what they have to say about the event, the wings and their game:

NDoors Interactive Inc. currently has an exciting opportunity for players to join the highly acclaimed MMO, Atlantica Online with their newly launched Stimulus Package Event. Atlantica Online delivers an RPG style battle system and a lush world that incorporates characters that players might find familiar, such as, Caesar, Charlie Chaplin, Beowulf, and many more. However, instead of controlling just one character, players have the opportunity to lead a party of nine unique mercenaries into battle, such as, the inventor, Da Vinci; the pirate, Anne Bonny; the minstrel, Paganini; the Spartan, Leonidas; and many more!

The Stimulus Package Event is an opportunity for players to try out the game and have a chance to win 500 Gcoins by simply referring friends while exploring the world of Atlantica. As a special prize, the individual who has the most referred invites will receive a special item, the Blessed Argos' Wings. The next top five players with the most qualified referred invites will each receive normal Argos' Wings.

As we mentioned last week, we have quite a treat for you today as part of the Fallen Earth Halloween event. We're happy to present 2,000 trial keys for anyone interested in trying out this indie post-apocalyptic game before forking over the cash. This special trial key is good for 15 days, which will bring you through their entire Days of the Dead Halloween event, as well as our own upcoming in-game events.

To get your trial key, simply visit our giveaway page and follow the posted directions. For more information on our in-game events - including a great developer interview - keep reading below.

It's time for Halloween in MMO Land: the usual contingent of zombies are running amok and panicked NPCs are everywhere, requesting that you go deal with it for them. Virtual Worlds are not immune either, it seems.

For those who prefer their Halloween without a side of gore, there is no shortage of games taking a more lighthearted approach. Metaplace is one of them as they're celebrating Halloween with cute pumpkin masks and pirate costumes, ghost stories, and parties. Costumes and masks are available now in The New You, and the Halloween festivities kick off today. Metaplace is celebrating fall with a fashion show and dance party this afternoon.

The festivities don't stop there, though. The New You will have their Halloween gear available until November 5th, Friday the 30th is the official Halloween party, and the 31st sports a full calendar -- Metaplace fans will be celebrating from morning until night.

In between these events are decorations, gifts and prizes, and there are even rumors of the Great Pumpkin handing out special treats. Not that one, but keep an eye out anyway.