MMO News Wrap Up

As always, there's been tonnes of MMO news around this week, and because I know it's hard to stay on top of it all, I've wrapped it all up in one place. Read on for the very latest on Star Trek Online, EVE, Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, Champions Online, Stargate Worlds, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Age of Conan.

Blizzard Entertainment caused a stir earlier in the week when it announced that all World of Warcraft players would need to merge their accounts with a Battle.net account by the 11 November to be able to play WoW. This announcement sparked off rumours that the beta for the upcoming StarCraft II was imminent, namely because the state of Battle.net's development was cited as the cause of the RTS's delay earlier this year.

Despite Blizzard's insistence, many players remain reluctant to merge their WoW accounts with a Battle.net one, but the developer is keen to convince players that the conversion will be a smooth one (anyone still worried about the change can read the FAQ, or ask a question in the comments here – I'll be glad to discuss it).

To help persuade players to make the change to Battle.net, all WoW players that merge their accounts between now an 11 November will receive an in-game Penguin pet.

Speaking of pets, if you weren't lucky enough to go to BlizzCon this year or pay to watch it live on TV or over the net, then you will have missed out on claiming the exclusive pet that attendees and subscribers received. However, through our WoW channel Worldofwar.net, you have another chance to get your hands on 'Grunty' the Murloc Space Marine. Check out the news item to find out more.

Blizzard also thrilled fans by finally opening the Icecrown Citadel raid to players on the public test realms yesterday. US testers tried out the first encounter, Lord Marrowgar, in the raid where players will eventually face the Lich King himself. Read about the fight and check out screenshots here. European players will get the chance to try out Icecrown Citadel at a later date, which is yet to be announced.

Star Trek Online fans were treated to a video this week, featuring the game's developers talking about events between the Star Trek film 'Nemesis' and the time in which the game is set, 30 years later. The game has two playable factions; the Federation and the Klingon Empire, so the developers explain how the former allies come to be at war. It's all the Romulans' fault of course. Check out the video to see part one of 'The Future Past'.

Bioware also released a video at the weekend, showing developers discussing the creation of the Republic's capital, Coruscant, in the upcoming MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic. Developers talk about how they dealt with issues such as the creation of a planet with no terrain, and designing buildings that were perhaps 1,000 storeys high. There is plenty of story to be told on the planet too, the Sith have recently sacked the capital, and parts of it are still in ruins, or are being rebuilt. Players will learn the Jedi's role in the galaxy, and that of the Republic and the Senate here as well. The main point that comes across, though, is that the playing area is huge, incorporating the breath-taking skyscrapers in the upper part of the planet where the rich and powerful live, and the dark underbelly where crime is common-place. Bioware's aim is to make players feel daunted when they first set foot in Coruscant. Check out the video on IncGamers TV.

Some other news that came to light this week was regarding Stargate Worlds, the unreleased MMO based on the hugely popular film and TV series. It's safe to say the franchise has reached cult status, and news of the MMO has been enthusiastically followed by millions of fans but, sadly, funding has always been a problem for developers, Cheyenne Mountain.

Troubles were first highlighted when a website simply named DaysSinceCheyenneMountainEmployeesHaveBeenPaid.com appeared on the net (it reached around 125 before it was shut down), then earlier this year we heard that the company was being sued over an unpaid open account. Things have been fairly quiet since then, but recently fans were worried when the official SGW website closed down for maintenance, and didn't come back up again for several days. When the CEO of CME responded to queries, he confirmed that money was still a huge problem and that there would be no further news on the game's development until sufficient funding is available.