*Trekkies are true Star Trek fans, for all you readers unfamiliar with Sci-Fi**.
**Sci-Fi is science fiction for all you readers not familiar with science fiction. Don't ever call it SyFy to my face unless you want a dirty look.

We've been harping on the space combat in Star Trek Online for quite some time, and now Cryptic gives you a look at what we're so excited about. It's possibly the best video game representation of Star Trek space battles so far, and utilizing bridge officers as special powers and abilities during combat is rather brilliant.

So forgive me if I can't come up with enough Star Trek quips or effectively weigh in on the Kirk vs. Picard debate. I can, at best, recite the lines from the J. J. Abrams film and shout out "Khan" when somebody cuts me off in traffic. Also, I can tell you about this here Star Trek MMO that's been something like six years in the making.

What Is It?
Star Trek Online is a massively multiplayer game previously under development at the now-dead Perpetual Entertainment. Cryptic Studios picked up the aborted project in 2008 and started almost completely over for the game we have now.

What We Saw
I saw a quick demo of a space combat and ground combat before being turned loose on the mission "Stranded in Space" which combines elements of the two.

How Far Along Is It?
The game is due out February 2, 2010.

What Needs Improvement?
Canon Clarity: Licenses are a funny thing – so much so that the developer couldn't exactly articulate to me what Star Trek Online can and can't do as far as incorporating stuff like the Borg and Space Lincoln. They did say that the MMO should be treated as canon since it takes place in the prime timeline (the non-J. J. Abrams one) and that canon things like the Borg might show up. However, there was some confusion about the alien races that players can customize right down to the skin color. As Cryptic seems to understand it, if a custom-made alien race gets really popular, it could become canon if enough people download it. The possibilities are heady and all; but it's kind sad to think somebody could put a lot of work into building an alien race of their own that then magically winds up in a new Star Trek movie and they don't get any credit for their creation.

No Catchphrases/Bridge Banter (Yet): Currently, the only talking that goes on between non-playable characters and the captain that you take the role of happens in text boxes. There's no free-flowing banter between bridge crewmates and no way to click on individual NPCs during away missions just to chat them up. Cryptic says they're currently looking into adding the catchphrases we're used to hearing from the series during space combat ("Warp speed," "Reroute power to the shields," "Great shot kid, don't get cocky," etc.) – but at the moment, it's all silent and somewhat stilted.

What Should Stay The Same?
Space Isn't Slow: I was afraid the space combat and travel would be too much like Eve Online – where you have to wait ages for anything to happen. Instead, I was pleased to see somewhat snappy movement and reasonable physics to account for the fact that you're maneuvering a huge starship, not a tiny fighter craft. And while the game confines the 360 degrees of space to just forward, back, left and right for the shields, you have the full range of 360 degrees to use in movement so you can evade fire and break line of sight (and tachyon blast) by getting behind asteroids and stuff. Also, the game gives the player the ability to throttle more or less power between the four sections of the shields. This comes in handy when you're too close to a ship about to explode and need to absorb the shock on your aft shields.

Ground Isn't So Bad: It's totally not regulation for a captain to take half the bridge planetside with him as an Away Team (that's what Red Shirts are for!), but the game lets you do it anyway with your three favorite bridge crew members. While in space, these members have special abilities and buff/debuffs depending on their class (Science Officer, Communications, etc.) – but on the ground, you can outfit them with whatever weapons and equipment you like and either let the AI drive them around, or command their every move. The Away Team will still bring some special abilities with them planetside like Harvesting or Diplomacy stats you can use. But if you don't feel like making room for them, you can always leave ‘em on the ship and meet up with other real-life buddies on some planet to shoot at stuff.

Set Phasers To Vaporize! During ground combat, when people are shooting NPCs, you'll sometimes see a yellow icon pop up on a disoriented enemy. Pressing the secondary fire on a certain gun vaporizes that enemy and it's pretty neat. Who needs a stun function, anyway?

Final Thoughts
I wasn't so wowed by the ground combat, but space blew me away. If this were a singleplayer game, I'd still be happy with it. But I guess with so many Trekkies in the world, it'd be a waste not to turn Star Trek into an MMO for the masses to enjoy.

Atari and Cryptic announced the one million character milestone today, using the figure as an example of the strong reception Champions Online has received from both fans and game critics since the game launched in early September. A million superheroes running about saving the day is nothing to scoff at, though I'm sure the companies would rather that was a million registered players. Still, Atari seems pleased.

"We are very pleased with the wonderful praise Champions Online is receiving," said Jim Wilson, CEO, Atari, Inc. "We credit the great MMO fan base and look forward to seeing what players create as the game continues to grow and develop. We are working hard on new content and updates that will expand the universe and give Champions fans more to explore."

Expect that number to increase by a large amount this weekend, with a free trial of Champions Online kicking off tomorrow.

Right now FilePlanet subscribers and those with preorder codes for Champions Online can download the game and start playing immediately, as long as they don't run into any patching issues. Seems there might be a few of those going around, but Cryptic already has a workaround in place while they iron out the issues.

Other than that issue and a very large download, nothing is keeping you from rolling around in spandex with your fellow caped crusaders leading up to the game's September 1st release! Go play.

I love videos like this, personally. As much as I enjoy playing the games themselves, I find the stories behind the formation of the companies that create them fascinating. Having a deeper insight into how and why Cryptic Studios formed and the motivation behind the creation of Champions Online might not enhance the gameplay, but it can make you look at their creation in a slightly different light.

Fight aliens in Champions Online, and you can be an alien in Star Trek Online, but Cryptic wants a commitment. Gamers who purchase either a six-month or lifetime membership to Champions Online, priced at $59.99 and $199.99 respectively, will be guaranteed access to the Star Trek Online closed beta, whenever that might occur. Those who opt for the lifetime sub will also get a Star Trek Online Mirror Universe costume set, which may or may not come with a removable goatee.

"Beyond the deep discount on the subscription rates, we wanted to come up with added incentives and exclusives that, as gamers, we could get excited about," said Jack Emmert, Cryptic Studios' Chief Operating Officer. "With an early commitment to Champions Online, granting guaranteed early access to our next big game, Star Trek Online, seemed like a great way to engage Cryptic's biggest fans in other projects at the studio."

Seems a little iffy to me. For some it's a great value; for others, it's paying $60 for closed beta access. As a big Star Trek fan...I'd probably consider it.

STO Beta Access [Star Trek Online]

Yes, Cryptic and FilePlanet have teamed up to help streamline the beta testing process. There are now two ways to get beta keys, either by actually preordering the game at select retails, or going through FilePlanet. Either way, FilePlanet will be your source for the game client, with paying subscribers to the service getting their hands on the client on August 5th, nearly two weeks before the beta kicks off on August 17th. As I understand it, those not subscribing to the service will have to wait until the beta test is live.

FilePlanet will have 50,000 codes to give away for players in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, so if you aren't planning on preordering you might want to keep an eye on their Champions page to make sure you secure a spot.

My beef was that a lot of massively multiplayer online game developers claim that their combat is somehow fundamentally different than the usual system of point, click, cool down, then click again established in MMOs like EverQuest II and World of Warcraft. I said Cryptic's claim about Champions Online's action-oriented combat was no different and admitted that the question would need more hands-on time than I had had to really determine if Champions' combat is different or just looks different.

Never one to shy from skepticism, Cryptic Studios stepped up with a second hands-on for me so I could get a better feel for the combat. Here's what happened.

What Is It?
Champions Online is a superhero themed MMO developed by Cryptic Studios for PC and eventually Xbox 360. Combat in the game takes place both between superheroes and villains and in arena style player versus player fights between superheroes. The primary controls for combat with the keyboard configuration are the number keys 1 through 7 and on 360 controller, it's the face buttons and face buttons plus left trigger – although the exact controls haven't been finalized yet.

What We Saw
I played through the beginning and the boss fight of what's called a "lair" in Champions both with a ranged character and with a melee character. It's an instanced dungeon where a group of players face off against and/or rescue non-playable characters. This particular layer involved a mastermind villain taking over a prison and (full disclosure) was partially developed by Kevin Stocker, a guy I know outside of work who knows a thing or two about the movie Aliens.

How Far Along Is It?
Champions Online goes live September 1. The 360 version is still a long ways off, according to creative director Jack Emmert.

What Needs Improvement?
Targeting Gets Tricky: You can change between targets on PC by just left-clicking a target with the mouse and on the controller, you tap the left bumper. However, the frenetic pace of combat makes these simple controls tricky, especially on PC if you're holding down the left mouse button to adjust the camera while running to one side to avoid an attack. I'm hoping that on the controller scheme they work it out to where you could tap the left bumper repeatedly to change targets among a mob – that would really smooth things over.

The Picky May Not Be Pleased: There are things you can do in Champions Online combat that single-MMO players may not be used to; however MMO connoisseurs probably won't be surprised – or impressed. For example, a WoW devotee may not be used to the idea that you can dodge any attack (even spells) by moving out of range and an Age of Conan fan might not be used to the idea that bosses and mini bosses have specific tells that require you to block or dodge, depending on which attack they're signaling. If you've played both of those games plus a dozen other MMOs besides, however, none of this will sound especially new, different or special and you'll probably stay skeptical while the less picky players are enthralled.

Still Feels Like A Cool Down: Technically, the spells in Champions don't need cool down periods after you cast them. However, you can't cast higher level spells without building up endurance with low-level attacks. It's a little bit less boring to mash the X button over and over than just sitting there and watching the timer on your best area-effect spell expire; but it still feels like a cool down period just the same.

Ranged Combat Is Cheap: This is actually a plus for a jerk like me – but I think it's cause for complaint. Emmert says that the tradeoff between a ranged superhero who can just spam a single fireball attack while flying around in a circle is that a melee superhero's attacks are more powerful. He says that this makes it more rewarding for the melee character if he or she can just get to that fireball-spamming jerk and execute an attack. But if the jerk is me, I'm telling you right now, you'll never catch me. You'll die cursing me for the cheap jerk I am.

What Should Stay The Same?
There's Always Something To Do: To quote Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw's review of Eve Online, MMO combat works like this: "You click on an enemy and start kicking his shins. He then starts kicking your shins. Then you take it in turns kicking until one of you falls over." Champions Online shakes that up a bit by giving the player more to do than just stand there and kick. At any one point during combat you could be kicking someone's shins, raining fire down on them from the air while you hover overhead with your fiery fairy wings, dodging an attack with a well-timed mashing on the A or S button, or waiting for a command to pop up and tell you to mash a button to collect an item drop or escape an enemy attack or hold. You're always moving in Champions, always changing targets and never not mashing on an a button once combat gets going. Big plus.

It's Console-Oriented: What makes Champions feel action-y to me is the fact that everyone is moving all of the time and you're frantically pounding on attack keys to keep up. It's more like Marvel Ultimate Alliance than WoW, and that's exactly the feel that Cryptic was going for, according to Emmert. He says that the future of MMOs lies in consoles, so their goal was to get an action RPG experience inside ofa persistent, well-populated MMO world that worked just as well on console as on PC. To that end, Champions was planned with consoles in mind all along, with none of the built-in "latency" of other MMOs where you have to wait for a spell to cool down simply because the technology on which the MMO is built cannot handle a bazillion particle effects at once.

Final Thoughts
After the much-longer hands-on, I've changed my mind. Combat in Champions Online does feel different than combat WoW because of how fast everything moves – including you. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a revolution in MMO gameplay, but the quick combat is going to go a long way toward making the jump to console smoother and more fun. My only conflict now is deciding whether or not to wait for the 360 version.

Oh, here're a couple of other tidbits of interest that came up during my extended hands-on:
—They're already planning out a secret identity system for DLC
—The 360 controller will work at launch, but it won't be "supported" technically until a deal on the 360 version is reached with Microsoft
—The biggest criticism Emmert fears hearing is from superhero players who want a purely solo masked avenger experience. That's just not what Cryptic is out to do with Champions Online – so if any potential reviewers are reading this, think Justice League instead of Dark Knight going into it.
ETA: Cryptic Studios clarifies that "You can play solo in Champions as much as you like; you don't have to team up to enjoy the game. However, this is a Massively Multiplayer Online Game, with the emphasis on Multiplayer. Other players will affect the world of Champions Online. You'll see them running off to stop a bank robbery, while you're on your way to rescue hostages. This isn't a game for players who want to be the only superhero in town."

Champions Online takes the rich character creation that Cryptic created for NCsoft's City of Heroes and brings it to the next level. Not only can you spend hours designing the perfect superhero costume, the ability to pick and choose your powers rather than relying on set archetypes means that no two character need be exactly the same.

It also means that it is a bit harder to manage group roles in the game. With players able to select their own powers from a pool, players will have different ideas as to what constitutes the tradition roles of tank, damage, crowd-control, and support. At least it won't be dull, right?

The basic need-to-know info about this game is this: it's City of Heroes, only bigger and better. And, no, Marvel and/or DC Comics won't be suing anybody anytime soon over it because the developer is scrupulous about original intellectual property. Not to mention Cryptic has plenty to work with from the pen-and-paper game on which the game is based.

That just leaves these five things you might not know—and probably should—before diving into a superhero-centric world.

1) Player customization will consume you
The player customization system isn't based on classes and doesn't require you to adhere to any pre-set superpowers. In other words, if you wanted to a be a gadget-using, fire-and-ice based golem or a scantily-clad dark magic cowgirl elf, you could make it happen—and no armor pick-ups or costume limitations would mar your mental image of what your hero is supposed to look like. There are default superpower sets you can choose from and a randomization option for body type and costume that let you get your character going that much quicker. Even better, you can lock certain options while clicking random so that you can keep a color scheme you like but try different body types, etc. And if you decided you liked one but clicked "Random" too soon, you can click "Undo" and go back to it.

This will probably occupy my first three and a half hours of gameplay.

2) Yes, there is PvP
Player versus player belongs in a superhero game. What do superheroes do besides flying around clobbering people out to destroy a city? Sure, they have girlfriends, sidekicks and drama with alter-egos – but Champions Online is an MMO, not a dating sim. Ergo, we need PvP.

PvP in Champions takes place both in the world and in special maps. The incentive to PvP (aside from satisfying your inner jerk) comes from very rare item drops (which are not subtracted from the loser's inventory) and experience points awarded for victories.

We were shown the dueling system that you can activate in the world by selecting a hero and challenging them to a duel. Once the other player agrees, a force field goes up around both players, preventing all other characters from interfering in the fight. From there, fighting game rules apply: first one to lose all hit points or get knocked out of the ring loses.

The PvP-centric map we saw was a five on five "prison break" level where five heroes are on the red team (trying to bust out of prison) and five were on the blue team. Both teams had two leader characters – the goal of the other team was the kill those leaders and take over as many turrets and hack as many computers as possible to make things difficult for the other three players to cross the prison to find the leaders.

3) The Nemesis System is like the Buddy System, only evil
What would a superhero be without a nemesis? A spandex-wearing Good Samaritan maniac, that's what.

Cryptic works in every hero's own private nemesis by letting the player customize their own evil villain who will then constantly try to destroy the player. The nemesis' visual appearance is determined with the same menu as the hero's character creation screen – but there are four "Nemesis Details" the player has to fill out in addition to the crucial costume and gender choices. First you pick the fighting style, which determines if they're a cold-hearted mastermind or a crazy savage. Then you choose their superpowers, which are like yours, but they have to use one of the presets – also, unlike regular enemies, a nemesis can use all powers within a power set instead of only a few. Next, you choose their minions (robots, ninjas, etc.) and a smaller power set for the minions.

Once created, a nemesis will encounter the hero randomly in the world. Additionally, optional "popcorn" missions will appear where the hero takes on his or her nemesis in a special map. When a superhero encounters their nemesis in the world, other players can join up to defeat him or her (and they don't die – they just go to jail or whatever); but the popcorn missions are solo instanced. We only saw one of these and it was mostly about "go here, clobber this, go there, rescue that non-playable superhero so he can join your party, etc."

According to creative director Jack Emmert, there's more to most maps than this (like "how do I get out of here?" puzzles), especially when it comes to nemeses. Also, he says, at higher levels, you will get the opportunity to put your nemesis away for good and choose a new one.

4) It may be action-flavored, but it's still MMO combat
I hate to be cynical, but a lot of MMO developers claim that their combat is somehow different than the usual click-click-cool down-click-click. Cryptic is no different, claiming that the frenetic pace of combat is what makes their MMO more action-y than most, despite still having to click on attacks, charge up certain attacks and do the cool-down thing. However, in the lone five-on-five prison break map we were permitted to play, I'm not sure it felt all that different than, say, World of Warcraft. Also, it may have something to do with the powers your character has. The ranged lighting chick I played felt like WoW because I just clicked and sat still while she shocked the beejesus out of the targeted enemy; but the brawler kung-fu guy I tried probably would have felt different in up close and personal melee (if I was continually getting him killed by ranged characters, that is). Definitely something that warrants a more thorough study.

5) There are no limitations besides the level
To me, what makes a good comic book superhero is the drama that comes from superpower limitations. The best stories are not about what Superman or Spider-Man can do; it's about what they can't. Champions has no limitations like these. There are no two superpowers that won't go together and no vulnerabilities to anything that comes from items, enemies or powers. The only limit is the level – you gain more superpowers as you level up (capped at 40 for now), so at lower levels, there might be things you can't do… but there's never any drama to any of it.

I brought this up with Jack Emmert because he's a comic book fan who knows what I'm talking about. He seemed really intrigued and is already talking about plans for patches and expansions to build out the role of the nemesis. So there may be more to this idea yet to come – but for now, no drama. Only superpowers.

All in all, I really like what I saw with Champions Online. It looked great, played decently enough (although two PvP matches really isn't enough time to be completely sure) and it's about superheroes – one of my favorite things in the world next to unicorns. If my computer can stand it, I'll definitely have to give Champions a try when it launches seven weeks from now.

Here, have some screens:

In what feels like the fastest massively-multiplayer online role-playing game development turnaround in the history of the genre, Roper told Strategy Informer that the company's new take on the online superhero game would be simultaneously launching in Europe and the states on July 14th. The game was officially announced just last February, though one assumes that Cryptic's resources and assembled knowledge in creating the City of Heroes franchise for NCsoft aided greatly in the design process.

Champions Online Dated, releases 14th July 2009 in US and Europe [Strategy Informer]

Out of the three images that Cryptic passed along, the top one here is the one that truly spoke to the Star Trek fan in me. That right there, my friends, is a starship that's boldly going somewhere to seek out some stuff. The planet-side depicts a nice place to pick up alien spores or lose your memory and live life as a caveman, and the third shot reinforces the fact that things will indeed be exploding in space. Very nice, but the first shot makes me desperately hope that there's some sort of epic travelling music in the game.

No, not "Faith of The Heart".

One of the big problems with City of Heroes has always been the inability to make a convincing Spider-Man clone. Hulk and Wolverine were not a problem, but without web-swinging, there really couldn't be a Spider-Guy or Spyder-Mans01 worth a damn. Thanks Cryptic!

Oh, and be warned, the video ends at around 55 seconds but then keeps going on. There is nothing hidden there; feel free to stop it at any time.

Representatives from Cryptic Studios have been sending private messages to players in City of Heroes, inviting them to come participate in the closed beta test for their new online superhero game, Champions Online. Rumors of such dubious activity have been circulating for the past week, but surely no developer would ever stoop so low as to blatantly recruit players inside the competition's game, right?

Wrong.

Community relations representative IronAngel posted this message from Cryptic's marketing and communications manager Ivan Sulic on the official Champions Online forums yesterday:

"So, we're currently running the closed beta test for Champions Online and a few of our employees thought it might be a good idea to contact avid MMO notables and various guild leaders floating about to see if they wanted to test. I'm certain this wasn't meant to be a malicious attack on a competing product, nor did anyone intend to steal players, violate user agreements, kill babies, or knife hardworking farmers in the back. We had invites to send and the folks who send them figured people who play MMOs most might want them most. If a line was crossed, it was totally inadvertent and no harm was intended.

If a line was crossed? That line was run over in a monster truck, set on fire, and stabbed multiple times.

If the players of City of Heroes want to beta test Champions online, they're quite capable of signing up via the normal means. You cannot simply walk into another company's place of business and invite their customers to come over to yours, even if your company was instrumental in creating their product, as Cryptic was the original developer for City of Heroes.

Sulic finished up his comments by promising to keep things on the up and up from here on out.

That being said, we have just recently restructured the Community, PR, and Marketing departments (part of the reason I'm here), so we'll make sure to stay straight as an arrow from here on. Shills, poaching, bullshotting... No chance, man. We make good games and we hope people will play them. Best anyone can do, right?"

I don't know; I still have a very bad taste in my mouth. How about you guys?

Rumor: Cryptic using City of Heroes for Champions beta recruitment [Champions Online Forums via Massively]

An aquatic kingdom accessible to player characters via a submarine, Lemuria is in the grip of a deadly civil war between the humanoids who follow King Arvad, who controls the three-faced, sixty-foot tall Bronze King and the lizard-like Lemurians, who have given themselves over dark gods called The Bleak Ones.

It sounds awfully complicated, so I'll let the following screens, concept art, fiction, and the Lemuria trailer explain the whole thing. Just keep an eye out for the giant shark-thing in the trailer, and be sure to coo appreciatively.

Lemuria

There are secrets under the Ocean.

You've heard whispers – children's stories of underwater people, mermaids and naiads. Or myths of ancient civilizations, lost in the depths of the ocean floor. And you've ignored those stories. You've laughed them off as idle fancies. But you'd be wrong.

There are people in the sea, but they are nothing so gentle nor so tame as mere mermaids. They are the Lemurians, the last of an ancient race of cold blooded lizard-men. Once, they worshipped the Bleak Ones, vengeful gods who devoured the souls of their followers upon death. The Lemurians turned from their gods in fear, forsaking also the ability to change shape and trapping themselves forever in human forms. Their own pride sank them into the depths of the Indian Ocean.

Once, they ruled half the earth. Once, you would have bowed in fealty to them. Once, you would have cowered in fear when they went to war. And they went to war often. Their dream was not merely world domination, no. Their dream was immortality, and if they had to conquer all the world to unearth the secret of eternal life, then so be it.

Listen very closely and you will hear whispers. You will hear of a civil war in the ocean trenches, of a king deposed and desperately trying to retake his Kingdom. You will hear of the Mandragalore, a weapon so deadly, so vast, that it destroyed an entire continent. You may even hear that the Bleak Ones have returned.

If you are very lucky – or very, very unlucky – you may be able to convince the captain of the Aegir to take you there aboard his submarine.

Welcome to Lemuria.

The Bleak Ones

They wait in the darkness, as they have for longer than mortal minds can imagine. In that darkness, they plan. They dream of freedom. They dream of fire and blood and broken worlds. They ache for the screams of the dying, for the tears of defeat, for the last broken hope of the fallen.

They are not kind gods, but they are gods. They are the gods who created the Lemurians, from mortal clay and cold fire. They are the gods who gave the Lemurians overweening pride, endless ambition, and terror to goad them. They gave the Lemurians the ability to change shape, skill at magic, and a promise. And what a promise it was!
To the Lemurians they said, You will struggle all your days. You will fight for your glory, your place in the world. And when you die, we will bring you home. We will gather you to us. We will devour your souls in the ever after. You shall be our sustenance.

They howled in rage when the Lemurians turned from them to worship false gods. They exacted revenge and publically tortured the soul of the false prophet upon his death. They laughed to see their Lemurian children lose the ability to change shape. They delighted to watch Lemuria sink into the sea amidst fire and chaos. They have waited, and hungered for thousands of years, as the Lemurians strove for immortality.

They are done waiting. They are calling their children back and offering, in trade, the power of a reptilian form that can live freely under water. They are watching in delight as Lemuria collapses in civil war.

Their promise remains the same because they will never change. They are the Bleak Ones, and they are hungry.

The Bronze King

Once, he was King. He ruled over Lemuria with more wisdom than any one man could ever boast. He was wise, just, and in possession of the vast arcane secrets of his underwater kingdom. That was before he went mad.

But the seeds of his madness were sown long ago. For the Bronze King was no mortal king, was no single consciousness. He was the result of sorcery, science, and human sacrifice. He was never born of mortal woman, but was born, instead, of Civil War.

Tens of thousands of years ago, in Lemuria's last Civil War, a sorcerous cabal captured and dethroned the last of the Priest-Kings. After centuries of strife, they had learned that the gods of the Priest-King were completely false. In anger, they gathered all the false priests and sacrificed each one by slowly lowering him into a magical construct full of viscous green liquid. That liquid disintegrated flesh and bone, freeing the souls of the sacrificed to be gathered and devoured by the Bleak Ones, but capturing all the memories of the dead priests. Last to be sacrificed was the Priest-King, with all of his knowledge of Lemurian history and magic. And that was the birth of the Bronze King.

Standing sixty feet tall, he wore three faces: the falcon, for matters of magic, the lion, for matters of war, and the man, for matters of ruling his people. For thousands of years, the Bronze King ruled well and justly. He carried all the knowledge of the sacrificed priests, but none of their mortal flaws and foibles. However, as magic in the world began to fade, the spell that allowed him to contain the minds of so many people began to weaken. He still retains all his knowledge, but he is completely mad.

The Bronze King no longer rules Lemuria. Two hundred years ago King Arvad took over Lemuria and used his psychic powers to subjugate the Bronze King. It is only Arvad's power that controls the Bronze King, and at that, not perfectly. For so long as Arvad finds him useful, the Bronze King serves as historian and advisor. Arvad has not yet used him as a weapon, but that day will come.

About the Bronze King
The Bronze King is an immense magical construct, driven mad by the many minds he contains. He feels no emotions and will not listen to anyone other than King Arvad. Thanks to Arvad's psychic powers, the Bronze King will obey him, but without Arvad's guidance, the Bronze King could wreak havoc on the world. He is a weapon in his own right, but what makes him a truly terrifying threat is his knowledge of ancient Lemurian weapons. He may well be the only one left on the face of the earth today able to use the Mandragalore. And, should King Arvad lose control of him, there is no way of predicting whether he will chose to do so.

Cute Vulcan? Adorable Andorian? Foxy Ferengi? Apparently, one can create whatever wrinkly-nosed race one can come up with in Star Trek Online, as proven by this seemingly endless stream of unique examples of bad skin conditions. That could lead to literally zillions of races infecting the virtual galaxy, sure to give Star Trek continuity fundamentalists eye twitches.

Near limitless race creations is probably not enough to get me to throw down for another MMO subscription — my World of Warcraft one went horribly — but enough for me to retain passing interest in STO.

Quick question: anyone know if you can play as an Orion slave girl? I've got a friend who wants to know.

Champions Online will be an vastly action-oriented MMO — the brief clip screened featured battles with exploding forcefields and clashing katanas. Unlike games where a single enemy is encountered, Champions will have its heroes fighting off squads of attacking henchmen at first, with new strategies and tactics introduced as gameplay progresses and your advancing character comes into contact with hardcore villains and supervillains. The game is especially interested in elevating the level of personalization and character-building, allowing for unique modification of powers and putting more power than ever in the hands of players.

What's special about this game?

—Customization! A huge part of what they're excited to bring to Champions Online is enabling players to have hands-on creativity within the game's world. The game will be classless, featuring pre-defined themes and power sets, but your character will be defined by the skills and talents you choose, entirely self-constructed. There will be opportunity for hybrid characters that can switch between offense and defense capabilities, and characters in general will be able to temporarily take over the action role of a team member if they go down. You'll be able to select various roles, switch up your build, and learn about more powers than you'll be able to use at once. The mobility of switching between active and supporting roles is an exciting development, meaning no one team member will feel forced into a box by their chosen skill-set.

—The Nemesis System — the creators seem the most excited about this new, extensive feature. You'll be able to build your own villain that you can fight once you build up your reputation. You can customize your villain entirely, choose their power sets and minions, even create a background and mythology for them. The game's creators suspect that as much time if not more will be pored into villain-creation than into heroic character-building. You'll be able to invite people to fight with you, then show off your nemesis-constructing skills when your personal villain attacks. This element of being able to create and share the result with friends is one of the features creators wanted most for Champions Online. By the time you're creating your own nemesis, you'll be very well-acquainted with the game, and your own villains will likely be the most difficult enemies you encounter.

—Action-oriented MMORPG — There will rarely be static fights and there will always be somewhere interesting to go. You'll be able to constantly move around, with lots of interaction in many different environments. There will be constant activity on the game, marked at first by fighting off swarms of lower-level minions. If you've always wanted to take on a ring of bad guys and show them how it's done, this will be your chance. It'll feel heroic to battle coordinated attackers, feel even better when you reach more challenging solo opponents.

—A Variety of Vistas — Champion Online's creators wanted to bust out of just being set in city-scapes. Millennium City (set in the ruins of a very old Detroit) will be the hub of adventuring, but there will be a ton of different places in the world to visit and find new challenges. Every area will have a strikingly different feel. A few of the settings the panel let slip featured a desert, a location in Canada, and Monster Island. While "everything and the kitchen sink" is in Millennium City, there will be many types of neighborhoods/genres within the disparate cites sites. Each place will look and feel distinct, and offer a different type of gameplay, from typical showdowns to espionage to crime-solving.

—Complex Storylines — One writer shared that "the amount of dialogue and scripting is insane." He had recently submitted 29 pages of dialogue for one neighborhood of one setting. Although there are several overarching storylines threaded throughout, there willl be tons of stories and missions that mingle horror and comedy with heroism.

Info from the Q & A:

—The stats operation system will be unique, and you'll be able to use items, talents, and "perk rewards" to alter your status.
stat operation: use items and talents and perk rewards, able to alter your stats

—Will there be unusual weapons? (The questioner wanted a guitar). There will be a lot of unusual weapons on top of more than 200 "mundane" weapons, plus we are promised "crazy fun cool new stuff."

—You'll be able to band together with other players to form "supergroups."

—Can you punch people through plate glass? There'll be breakable surfaces, along with interesting things to pick up and hurl (the biggest at the moment is a tank, but they hinted there may be an F-14 jet to throw at some point).

—Do you have to grind out levels with the daily grind so many other games require? Certain levelling-up is a feature of most MMOs, but the creators believe that Champions Online is unique because there are no limitations to where superheroes can go and what they can do; the genre gives more freedom, and players will be involved in creating their own content.

—Will there be super-vehicles? The game's creators are starting to work on vehicle tech, aware that some players are interested in "supercars and motorcycles and superpogo sticks," and are in development stages with those ideas. Super-vehicles aren't guaranteed for launch.

—What happens at the max level? Work is progressing on the endgame now. Items will continue to mean upgrades to your character, and they're working on having an arena-like fight club. The game is built to be in the hands of the players, and the endgame will grow with player suggestion and input.