cryptic-studios posts

It's been revealed that Champions Online is going free-to-play on January 25th, and the folk at Cryptic have put together a new trailer to commemorate the launch. Titled "System Shock," it covers the changes that have happened to Champions Online in the past year as well as new content that can be expected from the free-to-play update. Some of the new stuff includes the inclusion of pre-defined archetypes, reworking of melee powers, and the polishing of the Westside subzone to be more friendly to newer players.

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On the day that DC Universe Online officially launches, developer Cryptic Studios and publisher Atari announced that their own super hero MMO, Champions Online, will officially turn into a free-to-play title on January 25. The game launched as a subscription-based MMO in September 2009 but Atari announced its plans to turn the game into a free-to-play MMO last October.

The game also gets a slight name change to Champions Online: Free For All for the occasion. Under the new business model nearly all of the game's content will be free to access to any player and with no limits in terms of maxing out your character's level. The exceptions will be additional Adventure Packs which can be purchased via the in-game store. Players can still choose to keep their monthly subscription fee for $14.99 a month. You can check out the differences between the free (Silver) and subscription (Gold) versions on this web page.

As promised earlier this fall, Cryptic Studios has now released a major update, Season 3, for its sci-fi MMO Star Trek Online. The big new edition in this update is the launch of the beta version of Foundry, the game's mission creator. Players will now be able to create their own Star Trek adventures and share then with all of the other game's players.

Other additions in Season Three include being able to go back and replay earlier missions (and gain some new rewards in some cases), the ability to install Borg-based tech on your in-game ships, a revamp of the game's Sector Space and more.

Cryptic Studios may be preparing to turn Champions Online into a free-to-play MMO but at the moment the super hero game is in the middle of a holiday sales event. Cryptic has announced that everything in the game's online in-game item store is on sale for 20 percent off its normal price. That includes costumes, character heads, enhancements, collectible action figures and more.

Cryptic's other MMO, Star Trek Online, is having the exact same sale for its in-game items, although this event does exclude the newly released in-game costumes and ship based on the Star Trek: Enterprise TV show along with several new Klingon ships. The sales for both game ends at 1 pm Eastern time on Monday.

Star Trek Online has kept trekking on for most of the last year. Today developer Cryptic Studios and publisher Atari announced plans for "Season Three" the next free content update for the MMO that's due out in December. The big new addition is the previously announced Foundry tool set that will let players create their own missions.

Players will also be able to go back and replay any previous mission in the game and some will have some new rewards. there will some new Borg-based special items that can be put onto your ships and the game's Sector Space has got a new look. You can get a more detailed look at the upcoming additions at the game's official message board.

Champions Online's move to a free-to-play business model beginning in 2011 is a way to actually generate more revenue via micro-transactions. But Cryptic's super hero-themed MMO has also decided to reinstate something it offered players before the game launched in 2009: lifetime subscriptions.

Yes, it might sound a bit odd to offer such a deal for a free-to-play game but Cryptic is offering quite a few benefits with this $299 price. It includes permanent access to the game's Gold Members features (which will be priced at $14.99 a month for non-lifetime members) plus exclusive in-game costume items and action figures, a special VIP room in the game world for your character and more. There's no word on if this lifetime subscription offer will expire like the previous one.

Last year, Paragon Studios released its Mission Architect tools, allowing players of the super hero MMO City of Heroes to make and share their own missions and storylines in the game. Now yet another major MMO developer, Cryptic Studios, is prepping to release similar tools for its title Star Trek Online.

Cryptic has already launched a forum for discussing the release of the tools, called The Foundry, on the Star Trek Online message boards. The FAQ page in the forums has more info on the tools which will let any player of the game create missions for the title. The Foundry won't allow players to import their own models and art into the game; you will have to work with Cryptic's content for the game. The tools will be released in beta form sometime in early November.

[Via Massively]

Yet another high profile MMO, Champions Online, is switching its business model from the monthly subscription to the free-to-play service. The move was announced this morning by publisher Atari who stated the switch to the free-to-play model will happen sometime in the first quarter of 2011.

Current players of the game developed by Cryptic Studios can continue to subscribe to the title which will enable them to access most of the game's content. New players can choose to subscribe to Champions Online as well or download and play the game for free while purchasing Adventure Packs, costume pieces, powers and more via an in-game store. A beta test of the free-to-play model will begin on November 9. The game's official web site has posted up a "State of the Game" message from Cryptic's Shannon Posniewski who goes into much more detail on what will be added and changed in the game as it moves to a free-to-play model.

Last month, developer Cryptic Studios co-founder Jack Emmert was quoted as saying, "We've got plenty of other games under wraps." Now the new print issue of PC Gamer magazine may have revealed a little more about one of those unannounced games.

The new December 2010 dated issue (the one with the Guild Wars 2 cover story) reports via The Spy rumor column that Cryptic maybe working on a dinosaur-themed MMO game.That's pretty much all the info the column had to say on the project although if true it sounds like a game that's very different from Cryptic's previous titles. Cryptic is currently working on the non-MMO game Neverwinter for release in late 2011.

It's been just over a year since Champions Online launched and the development team for the super hero MMO at Cryptic Studios continues to give its players more content. This week the game's official web site announced plans for the next "adventure pack" for the game called Demonflame that's due out later this month.

You and your super hero friends have to stop the evil Luther Black from taking the power of the "Qliphotic Realm" Of course you have to stop him and his DEMON organization. In addition to new enemies for players of levels 11-40 to deal with the new adventure pack will also add some new costume pieces, new perks and three new action figures.