Massively^™

In a recent interview with Ten Ton Hammer, Champions Online's lead designer Randy Mosiondz divulged some of the first specs of information about the game's previously mentioned Omega System. Apparently the end-game system is being designed with the goal of offering content for solo, small groups and large groups alike. According to Mosiondz one of the ultimate goals for players participating in end-game will be to become an "Omega", which are some of the most powerful super-powered beings within the game's universe. Do we get a silver surf board too, or how about a gold one?

It all sounds pretty exciting, if a little bit vague. We can't wait to hear some more news about the system as time marches onwards. Springs isn't getting any further away so we suppose it won't kill us to be patient. Well, it could.

It's that time again! The latest issue of "Ask Cryptic" has found its way onto the internet. It includes answers from the development team to six Star Trek Online-related questions.

Here's the critical information up front! The ships in the game are based off of canon ships such as the Enterprise and the Defiant. Ships will be divided into three categories: Cruisers, Escorts, and Science Vessels. Any player character will be able to train to use any ship, although his or her specialized crew and attributes will affect its performance. Starfleet and Klingon uniforms will be highly customizable, as will bridge officers (including name, race, appearance, and gender). Ground PvP will be in the game, and PvP instances probably will be too.

Finally -- and perhaps best of all -- the article teases playable Horta and 3D chess games as planned-for post-launch content. But how can the Horta play 3D chess with no appendages? Oh, they don't necessarily mean they'll be playable at the same time. Okay. Or do they?

Magazine Game Informer's October issue (due to appear on stands any day now) will feature a ten page report on Star Trek Online, with new information and artwork. The game even graces the cover of the issue, which can already be seen online (to the right here). It's not a screenshot, though. It's just some artwork depicting Sovereign and Galaxy class starships.

Previously featured articles in Game Informer have generally been quite substantial; they have combined tons of new images with descriptions of gameplay and dozens of quotes from developers. We haven't seen the STO piece yet, but it's probably worth flipping through at your local newsstand.

There has to be at least something new to fill up ten pages, right? There probably aren't ten pages worth of info on the game out there at this point!

"The city needs me," David whispered. He ducked below his desk, rummaging for a few moments before emerging garbed in tight blue spandex. No longer Big Download's intrepid Features Editor, David became Might, a powerful warrior whose arms, back and legs are coated with jagged spikes, a savior to Millennium City whose chiseled six-pack quivers -- with the effort of sucking in his gut.

This is an excerpt from a recent story over at our sister site, Big Download, regarding their impressions of Cryptic's upcoming Champions Online. As stated in a disclaimer, they're trying something a bit different with this preview by presenting their impressions as a short story, instead of the usual news post format. It's certainly an interesting and entertaining article, and it gives us some informative points on what we can expect from the superhero MMO. Check out this extensive four page adventure to learn more about Champions Online.

Cryptic Studios was on-hand at this year's Dragon*Con, where they held a Q&A session regarding all things Champions Online. What follows is as much of the event as could be transcribed from the audio we brought back with us. This writeup was completed based on audio with some garbled sections. Some details may be glossed over as a result. Without further ado:

Cryptic Studios is Champions Online. This is not a product that we licensed. We actually partnered with them and purchased the intellectual property. So when all the additional supplements come out for the Champions pen and paper game, they're actually coming out with our cooperation. It's kind of jointly being developed. Cryptic Studios is now the owner of the Champions IP.

The latest Ask Cryptic focusing on Star Trek Online addresses a number of questions sci-fi fans have about where the IP is heading in the MMO space. Not surprisingly, many of the questions asked of Cryptic deal with how well they'll adhere to Star Trek canon.

The Cryptic Studios devs were asked about how they would handle the iconic story and characters of Star Trek, namely with voiceovers and cut scenes. The devs state that Star Trek Online avoids issues of tampering with Trekkie canon by setting the game in 2409, a good 30 years after Star Trek: Nemesis and Star Trek: Voyager. So while some of the locales familiar to Star Trek fans will be present in the game, players shouldn't expect to bump into any (or many) familiar faces.

While Champions Online was being shown at PAX08, we discovered something on the other side of the booth. It was a treasure trove of the tabletop books that the game is based on. When we say treasure trove, we really mean it, too. The amount and variety of books being sold was no less than astounding. Plus, the president of Hero Games was there to answer any questions or concerns regarding the books. We even got some tips on which of the books to start with for anyone interested in the game because of Champions Online. Also, we found out which book contains all your required Foxbat information, so that we can continue to worship him as one of the greatest villains of all time.

After speaking with John Layman at PAX08, our second Champions Online interview was with content lead Zeke Sparkes. We talked sound effects, travel powers, character creation, controls and zone creation among other things. In fact, we actually got a short period of hands-on time with the game prior to the interview.

So far, Champions Online had only been playable with the Xbox 360 controller, but we were able to finally try the keyboard and mouse controls at PAX. Instead of hitting a face button on the Xbox controller to do your basic attack, you tap an assigned number-key on your keyboard. As you do this, you build up energy and can move through the rest of the powers, which for us were set to the rest of the numbered keys. Overall, the keyboard and mouse controls feel tight and responsive for a game scheduled to launch in Spring of 2009.

Amidst the rather large -- but also surprisingly polite -- crowd surrounding the Cryptic Studios booth, we were able to talk with the writer for Champions Online, John Layman. Discussions revolved around the breadth and depth of content within the game's zones and the possibilities of space-based zones lying in wait for higher level characters. Two words to get you excited: interplanetary threats. We also learned about John's fondness for sprinkling lots of homages throughout the game. Overall, it was a fun trip into the mind of a man who really loves zombies, pajamas and nerdy in-jokes that future players of Champions Online will be able to find some humor from.

This Friday marks the kickoff of the Penny Arcade Expo 2008 in Seattle, Washington. If you're going, you may already have your schedule planned out with which panels you'll attend, which booths you're stopping by and which contests you're going to enter.

However, you may be overlooking the most important part of this entire weekend: the parties! That's right, a few of your favorite developers are throwing their own afterparties where players can mingle with the game developers, community teams and other fans of the game. Leave it to us to compile a comprehensive list of these parties for you all to enjoy. Check after the cut for a detailed list of these top MMO developer parties.

The very first Ask Cryptic leveled at Star Trek Online takes some time to address cannon questions about the game. With regards to whether or not Cryptic plans to make the game as close as possible to the official canon, worry not. They're watching and re-watching all the TV shows and movies to make sure your Gorn attacks are as authentic as possible. They've also received all the sound effects featured in the movies and TV series from CBS. So your phaser blasts and teleports will sound pitch-perfect. As for the music, Michael Henry -- Cryptic's director of audio -- has been a huge trek fan for a long number of years. So plan on hearing music both new and old that helps recall you to many a days spent watching Star Trek.

Other answers include adherence to exploration as an "integral" and encouraged aspect of the game, not just a side thought. We really like hearing that said. Although, what we especially like hearing is further confirmation that extensive customization (a Cryptic trademark, really) for both interiors and exteriors of player ships is definitely part of the game. Now we can finally dress our Klingon ships in bright pink stripes, oh happy day!

When it comes to MMOs, we've always felt there was a serious lack of cybernetic velociraptor representation. When contacting the coalition for better representation of cybernetic velociraptors (or CBRCV) the only comment we got was, "Screeee!" However, if you're as well-versed in "Velocish" as we are, you then know they were quite enamored with Champions Online's, uh, championing of them. Our take on the whole thing is that Cryptic should be formally rewarded for bringing to light the serious lack of these majestic and robotically-enhanced creatures in our games.

Putting aside that white hot rage-inducing subject matter, we're happy to report that several new screens for Champions Online are out and they look technologically pleasing. There's a magical guy in there, but his demonic spittle is no match for the copious amounts of lightning and glowing buildings he's going up against. Not to mention the cybernetic velociraptors!

As a kid, I grew up on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Mostly because my parents watched it constantly, but also because I found that I enjoyed the show. Another staple of my nerd-influenced upbringing was a steady diet of Star Trek movies. Since those formative years I've also watched Deep Space Nine, Babylon 5, Voyager and more recently Battlestar Galactica. So it's safe to say I'm at least a casual sci-fi and space nerd. In fact, when I'm not entrenched in some form of entertainment, I tend to spend my extra time over at the official website of Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

Of course Star Trek has never been purely about Science. It's always been -- to me, at least -- a mixture of social-political issues, engaging drama and several degrees of actual science. Different writers and directors have, over several decades, writ large their envisioned versions of Star Trek, with varying amounts of the three critical factors that make up a Star Trek experience. So, obviously, I now find myself wondering what Cryptic Studio's massively multiplayer online version is going to be like.

Fans of Champions Online are getting their first hands-on time with the game at GenCon Indy this year. The superhero MMO is finally being shown openly to the public, which means a fan by the name of ikky68 was able to take plenty of gameplay footage without being melted holy grail-style by Jack Emmert's laser eyes. There are four videos in total and they're each anywhere between two to five minutes long, so we hope you've got a little time to kill. Each of the videos features a different person playing a different character, which means a good amount of variety to each play-through of the demo Cryptic is showing off this weekend.

The newest Ask Cryptic for Champions Online is out and you know what that means: more information! This time around, we start off with some news about weaponization of objects within the game world. The short answer is that players will be able to grab all sorts of stuff and chuck it into the faces of their enemies Next we've got confirmation that players will indeed be getting additional power sets after Champions Online launches. We're glad to hear it, because it's quite exciting when a new patch is about to hit with all sorts of new powers to play with inside.

Moving away from the more mechanical workings of the game, Cryptic lets us know that roleplaying will indeed be supported through social hot-spots in Champions Online. If you've ever played around with City of Heroes for very long, then you'll know that Atlas Park was -- aside from a newbie zone that featured a big dude carrying a globe -- a great place to hang out and chat with all sorts of people. As cool as these reveals are, the next one is probably the biggest and best news from this iteration of Ask Cryptic.