MMO Roundup: Massively's week in review

Runic Games talks Torchlight, the upcoming MMO, Diablo comparisons, more
Can't wait for Diablo III? Try Torchlight. The single-player action-RPG, available for just 20 bucks via digital distribution, has got PC gamers talking. But why should Massively readers care, you ask? Because eventually, in about two years or so, developer Runic Games will make it a full-fleged MMO.

Ground combat! Star Trek Online community answers
Your answers on ground combat in Star Trek Online are here and we think you'll be pleased with the results. This week, your questions were answered by Andy Velasquez, producer at Cryptic and all-around knowledgeable Trek guy. It's a hefty Q&A, so we hope you've got a few minutes to spare while you whittle your way through all this text. Enjoy!

The catch point of the free-to-play model
With the successful transition of Dungeons and Dragons Online to the free-to-play model, there's a lot of talk about why other games don't move over to the same model, with Warhammer Online frequently being cited as a game that would enjoy a great benefit from the switch. It would bring in more players, certainly, but there's more to the business than just bringing in new blood.

Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment reveals Stargate shooter instead of MMO
After over two years of work on Stargate Worlds and an increasingly dubious outlook, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment launched a website revealing Stargate Resistance. The game defines itself as a third-person shooter, and is scheduled for a release very soon -- Q1 2010.

Choose my Adventure: Goodbye, Eberron
As our final week in Dungeons and Dragons Online for the Choose my Adventure series, I decided to do something special by creating a video of the last day. The previous week's vote decided to make one large video -- showing one long quest as a walkthrough of sorts -- but I cheated a bit there. Since we ended up playing over four hours that night, in multiple dungeons, I went ahead and compiled two long quests in a 16-minute video I hope all DDO (and Choose my Adventure) fans will enjoy.

Massively Speaking Episode 80: A chat with Star Trek Online's Rekhan
Massively Speaking Episode 80 is a chat with Cryptic's Joe "Rekhan" Blancato, who joins Shawn and Kyle to discuss the upcoming Star Trek Online. If Joe's name looks familiar to you, it's not only because his name is all over the STO official site news, but he was also once a writer at Massively.

Bill Roper on Champions' free weekends, nemesis and content updates
With two content updates behind the game and 2010 looming just over the horizon, we spoke briefly with Bill Roper on a multitude of Champions Online topics. Specifically, you'll find discussion on Cryptic's free weekends, Nemesis Confrontation and even a hint at future updates in the coming weeks and months.

The roles we play
To some people, the term "role-playing" conjures up images of guys with tinfoil swords and shields shouting "Lighting bolt!". Role-playing in MMOs gets a similarly polarised reception, suggesting scenes of people playing pretend and speaking to each other in Shakespearean tone. To those of us that grew up with pen-and-paper role-playing games and single-player RPGs, it might mean the opportunity to play fantastic characters like wizards and rogues.

Star Trek Online offers advanced retail programs
If you're still thinking of preordering Star Trek Online, waiting a bit to consider may turn out to be a very good decision. Cryptic is offering some nice bonuses for pre-ordering, but you'll find different items depending on where you place your pre-order. Everyone who pre-orders will receive guaranteed open beta access, and access to the Early Start program, which allows you to begin playing on January 29th, 2010 -- several days before the February 2nd launch.