According to the website for the in-development MMO Perpetuum:

In the not-too-distant future, a strange anomaly opens the gates of the universe for humans. With this new technology, energy, information and atomic size objects can be transported to anywhere in space.

The most intriguing of all new discoveries is an Earth-like planet, where humanity discovers a new source of energy, vital to its unbroken advancement. However, this planet is inhabited by a synthetic, robot-like life form. Their technology and resources are the goal of humanity's new conquest.

Players may take part in various areas of the project. They may fight on the front lines for new territories, develop the already established infrastructure, trade goods or services, or even set their own goals and set up their own corporations.

There's a ton more info at the website, including some screenshots and a complete future history of the next 200 years of human development. Let's just hope the finished project looks as kick-ass as this concept art of alien landscapes, robots, teleportation gear and stations.

You probably already knew that Spock and Nero created an alternate universe, where Vulcan got vulcanized and James Kirk's dad died when he was born. So the TNG continuity still exists, just as an alternate reality. But just in case you got confused, here's a chart to explain it all for you. Also, is this the first time we've seen official dates for the events of J.J. Abrams' recent Trek movie?

[Star Trek Online]

The license provides deposit insurance for all the funds held in the MMO's currency, Project Entropia Dollars, up to $60,000 worth. But it also allows regulators to keep a closer eye on the touchy issue of money laundering in virtual worlds.

Project Entropia Dollars are pegged to the U.S. dollar at a 10-to-1 exchange rate, much the way China's yuan used to be (until 2006 or thereabouts.) You can convert "real" funds into P.E. dollars, and then if you make money in the game, through mining, hunting or trading, you can withdraw your funds again and turn them back into regular dollars. (The game has had its own ATM card for the past few years.)

And now that it has a banking license, MMO producer MindArk plans to lend out money, pay interest on deposits and allow you to deposit your paycheck directly onto Planet Calypso. I wonder if the relatively small size of the Calypso economy ($420 million last year, about the same size as the Pacific island Kirabati) makes it easier or harder for people to launch speculative bubbles. Somewhere, a macroeconomics PhD student is getting very excited to study this new planetary economy. [AP]

The phrase heard most often at the press launch for The Old Republic was "We can't tell you that yet." Questions about the gameplay, scale, price, delivery system and release date of the game were all answered with those frustrating words, but at least BioWare's Gordon Walton acknowledged how frustrating he knew it was:

A lot of the things we're not talking about is not because we're teases or because we don't know yet, it's because it's not settled... At this point of time, [anything we tell you about the release date] would be a lie. It's all about the quality, and until we get close, we don't know yet. We don't want to overhype [the game]. No games are overhyped like MMOs are overhyped, and a Star Wars MMO may be hyped the most of all.

So what do we know about the game? Well, it'll be a cross-platform MMO. taking place 3,600 years before the movies — and 300 years after the Knights of the Old Republic games — where players will decide upfront on what "faction" their character is. (The only two were were told of were Jedi or Sith, but others were promised. "Not everyone's fantasy is to be a Jedi," said lead writer Daniel Erickson). You'll also decide on your character's class and race, as well as whether you're good or evil.

From there, the players will get to explore new worlds, complete tasks and — unusually for an MMO — experience a story. As BioWare's Co-CEO Ray Muzyka explained, the addition of a story to the MMO format is a groundbreaking — and, in his eyes, necessary — move, adding "emotionally compelling storytelling" to create something unique. (Lead writer Erickson agreed, saying that story was a central concept of "every RPG until we went to MMO-space, and then something fell off the truck").

While staying unsurprisingly cagey about the amount of work that's already gone into the game, BioWare's lead designer on the project, James Ohlen, admitted that the game is the equivalent to not just one sequel to Knights of The Old Republic 1 and 2, but several; "[The Old Republic] is the equivalent of every other BioWare game ever released, combined," he explained.

The game will offer players the chance to travel between worlds and interact with AI-driven companion characters as well as other players. ("What would Han be without Chewbacca?" said Muzyka when asked about the role of companions in the game. "What would Luke be without R2?" But don't worry; you can kill them if they annoy you). You can also choose between following the light or dark sides and, maybe most importantly, have awesome lightsaber battles.

Ohlen said that BioWare and Lucasarts' aim with the game was to "allow players to carve out their own epic stories - and that's important, because Star Wars is all about epic stories." Muzyka perhaps put it more succinctly:

We're going to allow you to experience the great moments of Star Wars... What are the cool things that you've seen in the movies? If you can do it in the movies, we're trying to do that in the game.