Getting into a closed beta is usually good news for the player, with one unmistakable caveat -- the NDA. You can't talk about anything that's going on when you play the game, either the cool features that are encouraging to anyone on the fence about the game or the horrible problems that make it a miserable slog. Mortal Online has long been fairly quiet to the outside simply because of its NDA -- but that changes now. As of today, the NDA is lifted on the game and it can be discussed freely.

Henrik Nystrom on the official forums explains that while the game is still undergoing more polish, the core features have all been implemented and tested, which means that the developers are comfortable having the game discussed and dissected elsewhere. The post also states that the release date might be pushed back a little, as well as the plans for the game to move into a fully-open free-to-play beta as they move on to the next phase of testing. It's certainly good news for people interested in Mortal Online who didn't want to purchase the game sight-unseen. So, if you've been playing the game in beta so far, what are your thoughts? You can tell us all about it now.

[Thanks Mortal Online Radio!]

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.

Did you miss the first round of Dawntide beta testing applications? Well fear not, as Working As Intended has re-opened their request for testers as they march Dawntide into its second phase of beta.

Dawntide's beta testing has been quite unique so far, as it hasn't come with an NDA to keep testers quiet. The testers have been sharing their opinions on the game, as well as offering lots of feedback over on the Dawntide forums.

While information on the game has been quite limited, the website has been updated with a wealth of information regarding general gameplay, combat, territory control, and plenty more. Plus, we here at Massively got to sit down with Dawntide's producer, Christian Hummeluhr, and talk with him about his vision for the game. So if you're interested, don't drag your feet, sign up for a beta testing spot!

One of the unique aspects of the sci-fi massively multiplayer online game EVE Online is that it has a peer-elected council of players that represents the interests of EVE's subscribers to the title's developer CCP Games, working with them to improve the MMO. This select group of EVE Online players is called the Council of Stellar Management (CSM).

No other online game in operation has anything quite like it, but that's because EVE Online is one of the few games where something like this would even work. Given the scope of interactions that happen in EVE's single shard setting of thousands of solar systems where player actions have the potential to affect others in the game, it comes as no surprise that players can take the game very seriously. They form military and political alliances to conquer and hold regions of space. Players even establish financial institutions built upon the game's virtual economy. Any insider knowledge about how the game's New Eden galaxy will change through future development could be valuable. CSM delegates are expressly forbidden from divulging or using insider information for their own advantage, or those of their friends.

However, CCP Games revealed today that exactly such a situation has arisen. Larkonis Trassler, a prominent member of the Council of Stellar Management, used insider information to attempt to profit in the game's virtual InterStellar Kredit (ISK) currency. He has stepped down from his position on the council and his accounts have been banned by CCP for Non-disclosure Agreement violations.

Champions Online closed beta testers, please observe a moment of silence for your now-deleted characters. They died yesterday as part of the server wipe to make the world a better place for open beta, which kicks off today. The biggest news here is that the NDA is now lifted, and we're expecting there will be a flood of impressions about Champions Online in the coming days from people who've spent time in the game.

The Cryptic Studios superhero MMO will enter open beta today at 10 a.m. PDT, and will last through August 24th at 10 a.m. PDT. Barring unforeseen technical issues, daily server downtime is scheduled from 1 a.m. PDT - 3 a.m. PDT. Aside from that, open beta testers have a solid week of gameplay ahead of them.

We just received the official word from NC West and can confirm that the North American NDA has dropped for Aion. This is great news for the 5% of testers who exhibited enough self-control to uphold the NDA, while the other 95% spoke freely as if it didn't exist at all. Some bloggers even took the loophole approach and downloaded the Chinese client so they could share their early impressions without breaking the NDA.

We can expect to see all sorts of new goodies release now that the NDA is no more. One such tool is called the Aion Armory, which is a database project partnership between AionSource and Curse. Anyone familiar with WARDB or WOWDB will find themselves quite at home on this site. AionSource also opened a new free guide subforum you may want to check out before participating in the Asmodian beta event taking place this weekend.

An early September release is looking more and more likely every day.

Today's The Daily Grind is a bit of a personal pet peeve of mine, as I've been seeing this happen more frequently in the world of gaming journalism. I'm speaking of the growing practice of breaking NDAs. Not only is this something practiced by beta testers more and more frequently, as Johnny Blogger decides it's okay to brag about this shiny new beta he's in, but "professional" game journalism sites are joining in the fun more frequently by revealing embargoed information the day before the embargo actually lifts.

Where this really chaps my hide is when there are no consequences for it. The larger gaming sites can get away with this, and the game studios will continue to give them the exclusive information because of traffic numbers. No consequence equals repeated NDA breaks. So my question to you, Massively readers, is if this bothers you as well. Sure, it's great to get the info a bit earlier than you were meant to, but it's a question of integrity here. Should there be harsh consequences for those sites or blogs that break their beta NDA? Oh, and don't even get me started on those large-name gaming sites that don't even play the games they discuss. Seriously, don't.

Earlier this afternoon, the Non Disclosure Agreement for Darkfall Online has been lifted, in preparation for next's week's highly-anticipated launch. With this NDA lift comes complete information on the game's pricing, availability and system requirements.

According to the announcement by Tasos, the European launch is still on track to happen next Wednesday, February 25th. North Americans are welcome to participate in the European launch, with North American servers coming soon. They say the option will come to migrate servers later. Continue reading below the cut for the complete announcement, and look for our own post-NDA coverage of Darkfall's beta coming soon from Massively.

With Darkfall set to launch in Europe a couple weeks from now, MMORPG.com caught up with lead developer, Tasos Flambouras, for an interview. Things have been a bit quiet on the Aventurine front since late January, which Tasos attributes to them working furiously on getting the game ready for release and supporting thousands of beta testers.

Several interesting things were revealed in this interview, including denial that they are planning on delaying release yet again, their plans to lift the NDA to give players enough time to make an informed decision, and that they aren't looking past the EU launch for a North American one just yet. The most interesting piece of information is that they plan to release a limited number of pre-order and launch copies of Darkfall to ensure their infrastructure can support the initial rush of players eager to get their hands on the game. This is a very different strategy than most MMO developers take. Usually, players are forced into long server queues or servers that can't handle the player load and crash frequently. This can lead to more servers being opened that spread the population too thin once the initial rush is over. Given Aventurine's strategy, you may want to keep your eyes on eBay if you miss out on a pre-order or launch copy.

The latest news surrounding Darkfall should have some gamers whipped up into a frenzy -- the first wave of invites for clans and for individual testers has been sent out. Those for whom the pearly gates open will be able to download the Darkfall installer and patch their way in to the game.

The announcement from Darkfall's creators, Aventurine, states that they're spacing out the invites to better accommodate the number of people they'd like to bring to test Darkfall. So if you haven't been invited yet, there's still hope that you may be; they'll be sending out more invites each day until they've hit their capacity. The NDA will remain in effect throughout this first phase of testing, however. The final bit of info Aventurine put out there deals with their website issues: the site and forums have been coping with denial of service attacks, which Aventurine is working to resolve... it looks like the PvP has begun before the game's even launched.

[Via MMORPG.com]

We here at Massively are happy to announce that the Non Disclosure Agreement for Lord of the Rings Online's Mines of Moria beta will be officially lifted tomorrow! We've spent several weeks in the beta, exploring the deepest depths, leveling the two new classes and experimenting with the new Legendary Item system all for you!

You can look forward to several feature articles about Moria coming out from Monday until the release date of November 18th, and beyond. In fact, you can look for our first one, a complete guide to the entire Book 1 of Volume 2 to be released Monday morning, with many more to follow. We'll provide galleries, helpful class guides and much more over the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

The Warhammer Online NDA has been lifted, and a veritable tidal wave of WAR-related information has struck the internet. The open beta test is imminent, but countless pre-order customers are already in the closed beta. The game's launch is only a month away! So this is a great time to ask for your predictions: is Warhammer Online the long-awaited World of Warcraft killer?

Some folks hoped it would be Age of Conan, but while that game is doing all right, it hasn't lived up for the hype for everyone. Are all your hopes placed in WAR now, or will it take BioWare's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Online or Cryptic's Star Trek Online to move the genre into the next era? Hell, maybe WoW will never be dethroned by one game.

Make your predictions here, but we have a disclaimer: we won't be held responsible for any shame and embarrassment when you're proven way off base in the future!

The Warhammer Online NDA is expected to lift tomorrow, according to Mark Jacobs, GM of Mythic Entertainment. The announcement has popped up in a few places, but the message is clear: the NDA is lifting. Jacobs' announcement also touched upon why they're running the Open Beta as they are and early client downloads, but it's the NDA lift that seems to be catching most everyone's attention.

Jacobs said, "We expect to lift it tomorrow morning. I was hoping it was going to be today but I wanted to wait till I got the beta reports from the weekend and we just didn't have enough time to get everything coordinated with our partners in order for the press release to go out today." Jacobs also stated that he'll explain the reasons for the delayed NDA release tomorrow. WAR bloggers everywhere are already freaking out (in a good way) over the news, so expect a literal flood of Warhammer Online info for tomorrow.

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	Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!

Oi you lazy gits, listen 'ere or we'll beat you up good! Warhamma Online 'as got an official North American open beta date an' it's Septemba 7f!

Oh, excuse us, we must have had some kind of green- thing, in our throats. So anyhow, everyone who pre-orders the game (at select retail partners, of course) will get to play free of charge for just over one week until the game launches on September 16th. Also, all testers in the closed beta will automatically receive open beta access, too. What's interesting is that there is no mention of the open beta rank 20 level cap spoken of on the official pre-order page. It's probably just happenstance, but the omission is a bit odd.

If you're just too impatient and want to know everything that can be known about Warhammer Online as soon as possible, then check out our pre-NDA lift coverage of the Dark Elf and High Elf content, tiers one and two. Also, watch out for full coverage of every race and more from Massively as soon as the NDA is fully lifted.

[via Press Release]

[Update] Added source and updated post to reflect information on the official pre-order page

[Update 2] There appears to be an official open beta website, but it's currently down.

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	Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!

In this, our weekly query of what you good readers are up to in the world of MMOs, we're probably going to see more and more people talking about playing games that aren't actually out yet, as those seem to be the hottest lately. Case in point: Wrath of the Lich King dropped its NDA a few weeks ago, and ever since, there's been nothing but great news coming out of that. And Warhammer Online, the next big kid on the block, is about to drop its beta NDA, which means brace yourself for a flood of news about that one as well. In this weird dry period of new videogames before the flood of great releases this fall, it seems the games that haven't even come out yet are the biggest draws around.

So what are you playing this weekend? Even if you're under NDA, you can tell us that you're playing "something," and if you're not, drop into the comments below and share with us what you're up to, whether its heading back into Star Wars Galaxies to get yourself psyched about the new movie, still playing around with Tabula Rasa, or spilling guts in Age of Conan. What aRe yoU Playing?

Previously on WRUP...