A few weeks ago, Champions Online put out the call for your best festively-themed screenshots in their Winter Screenshot Contest. They began this by saying that winter was “almost here” to which one reader replied that he’d spent 30 minutes defrosting his car and winter is not “almost” here, it “is” here. So now that winter has arrived, Cryptic was ready to see the community’s take on it. Whether it be a peaceful snowy scene or a raucous holiday celebration, they wanted to see your favorite shots.

The response was very enthusiastic — the submission thread hit fourteen pages in nine days, and Cryptic announced the five lucky winners of the contest on Tuesday. The submissions ran the gamut from quiet and peaceful to loud and celebratory to funny.

Each of the winners will receive a code for an in-game Retro Destroyer action figure. All of the submissions can be seen on the forum thread, while the five winning screenshots can be viewed here. Congratulations to the winners!

Filed under: Super-hero, Events, in-game, News items, Champions Online

Champions Online announces screenshot contest winners originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Today we bring Star Trek Online fans two big chunks of information and a whole slew of Klingon screens, too. First is a short trailer featuring Zachary Quinto laying down dialog for the game. Make sure you watch the video until the very end, as there’s a fun extra you won’t want to miss.

Second — and arguably much more exciting to specific fans — is the reveal of Klingon gameplay. Klingons are PvP only, meaning their progression contains no PvE questing of any kind. Just how much information are we talking about here? Well, pretty much all of it. In fact, we’re kind of wondering why you’re still reading this and not looking below the cut, where vast amounts of Klingon gameplay treasure awaits.

Continue reading Zachary Quinto in STO as Klingons gameplay is revealed

Filed under: Screenshots, New titles, PvP, News items, Star Trek Online

Zachary Quinto in STO as Klingons gameplay is revealed originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cryptic has revealed the free costume pieces in next week’s Nemesis Confrontation update, which come in addition to two unlockable costume sets. Among the new free costume items are some exceptionally sweet capes, although we’re sure many players will be filled with glee to see new weapons being added to the costume creator.

While these are only cosmetic costume options, they’re important to players who wield specific guns or swords. It may seem like a minor issue to some, but having an outfit that makes sense — and looks cool at the same time — is surprisingly important to players who revel in a game like Champions Online.

You can also now put guitars on the back of your characters; something that immediately reeks of potential. We have to wonder if guitars are going to be added as visual replacements for sword based powers, enabling us to whack enemies with our musical axes. If someone at Cryptic could make that so, it would be somewhere within the vicinity of pure awesome.

Free costume parts galore in Champions Online originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This isn’t often a question we find ourselves asking others when it comes to character creation in an MMO, but, well Star Trek Online is different in this regard. Considering the very specific sort of wish fulfillment Cryptic’s next game offers, do you plan to first create a fictional captain or in-game version of yourself to captain a starship?

You see, we began thinking on this very subject not too long ago and a dilemma struck. While being a Vulcan or some odd new species is undoubtedly a tempting concept, seeing ourselves sitting in the captain’s chair is nearly as exciting. Considering Cryptic’s knack for powerful character creation tools, we’ve no doubt that coming up with a close approximation of our likeness wouldn’t be too difficult.

We know that every Star Trek fan is going to create themselves at some point but your first “main” is so very important. Since creating a Klingon-sided character is unlocked after some initial Federation play, we’re thinking of making ourselves first, and then, wait for it… a Gorn second. Yes!

The Daily Grind: You or not you, in Star Trek Online? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a recent interview with Boomtown, Bill Roper spoke his mind on everything from Hellgate: London hate to Champions Online’s launch and future. In fact, the man spoke quite candidly on all topics, particularly that of Cryptic’s missteps with their second superhero MMO as well as their successes.

Of particular note, there’s a mention of how Champions Online will handle DC Universe Online’s 2010 launch given that the superhero MMO market hasn’t really expanded of late. Curiously, Roper says he feels that the Xbox 360 version will help to vastly expand Champions’ user base. There’s a chance Cryptic could be pushing to get into the console market by or before SOE releases their superhero MMO. Although given the headaches Cryptic has expressed at getting an MMO on Microsoft’s console, we get the feeling much of the developer’s focus is presently on Star Trek Online and continued live game support.

Filed under: Interviews, New titles, News items, Champions Online

Bill Roper on Champions Online’s launch, current state and future originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Power management.

Power management is going to play a big role, which we known about for a while. You can see some detailed pictures of part of the power management UI in yesterday’s article, located along the bottom of the screen with words like Defense, Attack, and Speed. Say you have 100 units of power, in STO you’re going to be able to devote 25 of those units to the shields, 10 to auxiliary systems, 50 to weapons, and 15 to the engines. Power allocation will not be immediate, it will have some sort of delay associated with it. That means you’ll have to think ahead about your strategic choices.

Continue reading Star Trek Online ship tactics, part 2

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, New titles, News items, Star Trek Online

Star Trek Online ship tactics, part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Trek Online may launch on Stardate 63554.5 (February 2, 2010), but beginning January 12, fans can beam into the open beta. The intergalactic guinea pig session will take place from January 12 until January 26. Players interested in kicking the warp nacelles should head on over to startrekonline.com to enroll.

If you’re also interested in learning more about life in the 25th century, check out some of Star Trek Online’s videos and developer interviews.

We sense Star Trek Online’s Beta-zed delegation arrives Jan. 12 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Once again, Cryptic Studios is giving you a great excuse not to spend time with friends and family over a holiday weekend. The developer’s superheroic MMO, Champions Online, will be free-to-play from November 26-30 as a promotion for the game’s second free content expansion since its launch in September.

The free update, which is titled Nemesis Confrontation and launches November 24, will include new costumes and perks, and tasks players with escaping from a hostile intergalactic prison — a mission made much more difficult by the facility’s unfriendly inhabitants, seen above. You’ll also face off against the Shadow Destroyer (the party responsible for your hero’s unrequested detention) and even your user-generated Nemesis. Sounds like a pretty dangerous calling — but nowhere near as perilous as the crushing throng of Black Friday shoppers that awaits you at your local mall.

[Via Big Download]

Free Champions Online expansion on Nov. 24, plus free-to-play Thanksgiving weekend originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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According to a press release put out today, Star Trek Online will hold its open beta from January 12th through January 26th. There are some preorder deals that will give you an open beta key, and there are bound to be numerous opportunities to win one at various spots around the net.

Star Trek Online is currently in closed beta, which began last month. Champions Online six-month and lifetime subscribers have been told that they’ll be in the closed beta before the end of the year, so those folks should get at least a month of beta access before the game hits the retail shelves on February 2nd, 2010.

Once the open beta begins, you’ll likely see a flood of information and guides about STO since the NDA will have been lifted. This will provide everyone with key information as to the finer details of the gameplay mechanics.

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, News items, Star Trek Online

Star Trek Online open beta dates announced originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are a few points that STO Director of Production Craig Zinkievich, Game Designer Zeke Sparkes, and Producer Daniel Stahl make which are worth noting. We’ve already heard most of it, but the in-game footage demonstrates most of these concepts nicely.

You can watch the video above, or head over to our sister site Big Download to grab the hi res version. The hi res version of this video is worth it.

After the break we’ll take a look at the major points, as well as talk about some of the high resolution screen grabs of the UI shown in the video.

Continue reading New Star Trek Online video shows tactical combat, UI

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, New titles, Star Trek Online

New Star Trek Online video shows tactical combat, UI originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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