Cryptic Studios released their September “State of the Game” today to discuss some of the updates that took place over the summer and what is in-store for players into the future, including Comic Series 2, which now has a name, “Whiteout”.

It looks like players will be traveling into the great white north as they venture into Canada to investigate mysterious signals interfering with Steelhead’s communications. As you proceed with the investigation you’re interrupted by a spaceship crash landing nearby, which you’ll also need to investigate and leads you into battles with aliens know as Roin’esh. Comic Series 2 is slated for release in early November.

Other update are also planned such as a new mini-arc, Alert missions, which is ahead of schedule, and a review of unarmed powers.

Cryptic also mentioned that the Nemesis system is planned to be further integrated into every aspect of the game including comic series, alerts and future events.

To read the full Champions Online State of the Game, head over to the CO website.

Cryptic released its answers to July’s community questions today revealing the released date for Champions Online second comic series.  Comic Series #2 will be be released on Nov 1st, 2011 and will included 5-6 issues.

We are working on streamlining the process so we can get new series out to you sooner. Currently we have 1 group dedicated to the Comic Series and plan to get another group starting on another Comic Series to reduce the wait between each Comic Series. That second group is currently working on some top secret Confrontation “rumbles” and other soon to be announced events.

Cryptic also released new information about their new Confrontation “rumbles”,

We are currently developing and testing a new “Confrontation” or “Villain Alerts” system to be introduced to Champions Online:Free for All in a future update. The Champions Universe is filled with many nefarious villains. We really want to tap into that lore to provide you with more new and exciting opportunities to defeat these evil forces. The content in this system will have you rescuing civilians, stopping bank heists, and thwarting the plots of evil doers everywhere. The goal is to let you live through some truly classic, comic book like events.

The QA is pretty lengthy and touches on a lot of issues and upcoming events.  If you want to see the full FAQ, head over to the CO site.

Heroes in Champions Online now have a place to call home as phase one hideouts rolled out today.  Heroes can choose from one of four hideouts, cave, basement, moon or sanctuary, with more coming.   Hideouts are per account, so you don’t need to buy your alts their own, and are customizable for each of your characters.  All Hideouts include Tailor and have access to the Socrates Crime Computer with additional features coming in future updates.

Now Champions Online heroes have somewhere to go to rest, hangout with a few superhero friends or just let loose and be themselves without having to worry about some villain sneaking up on them.  Although if we learned anything from Batman it’s that no matter how well hidden your hideout is, it can be found.

Lifetime and Gold members will have free access to Hideouts while Silver member will need to purchase access to them via the C-Store for 500.

The fifth issue in Champions Online new weekly content update, Dark Tower, is now live.   Each series in Champions Online new comic series will consist of six issues and each issue before must be completed before moving on to the next.

After a detour through Demoiselle Nocturne’s twisted dreamscapes, it was revealed that both Luther Black and the last group of soldiers were being held in one of the towers of the Kings of Edom. The heroes must now pursue her through the portal and rescue the last handful of survivors before the Kings of Edom arrive and the very fabric of the Qliphothic Realm unravels around them!

Below are some of the creatures players can expect to find in the Dark Tower.

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The latest free content update for Champions Online has been released today.  Issue 4 Bad Dreams are Made of This takes players deeper into the depths of the Qliphothic Realm as you help UNTIL troopers escape from captivity.

Having defeated the Army of Horrors, the UNTIL troopers took shelter in a cave. But they’re not alone. Unable to resist the Horrors that followed, the soldiers are now being marched away in captivity. The heroes must pursue this group through a twisting cave that descends into the depths of the Qliphothic Realm what they find there is more than one reason to be afraid of the dark.

Bad Dreams are Made of This is the fourth issue in Champions Online first comic series, Aftershock.  To participate in issue 4, players must first complete the first 3 issues, then they can contact UNTIL Liaison Bradley, who is in the Ren Center, near Defender.

Star Trek Online turns a year old on February 2, and the discount should nudge devoted fans to plunk down $240 for Lifetime access to the space MMO. It helps Star Trek Online’s cause that its recent content additions like the Weekly Episodes have been a hit with current players, as our own Tim Williams attests. But newer recruits who may be biding their time until Star Wars: The Old Republic arrives may let the discount pass.

Meanwhile, Champions Online is ready to go free-to-play on January 25 with its Free for All update. While we’re upbeat that some Trekkers will bite the Lifetime discount promo, we’re less upbeat with Champions Online. It’s hard to convince a gamer to shell out the same $240 when he can just as easily be satisfied with paying $0 and still get to play the game, even though it’s only up to level 40 and with limited gameplay options. Couple that with the strong buzz around DC Universe Online these days, and it’s clear Cryptic will lower their Lifetime sub prices a lot more if they want to tie down players to their superhero MMO.

Cryptic has announced that sometime in the first quarter of 2011, Champions Online will be going Free-To-Play! Divided into Gold and Silver plans, gold players (14.95 standard subscription) will get full access to all new content and adventure packs as they are released. Silver players (F2P) will be able to access all of the content, minus the adventure packs and certain class combinations. Fear not, they have a matrix that describes everything.

The free to play beta will begin on November 9th and , we can only speculate as to why the decision was made to go free-to-play. Then again, with the wildly popular success of Dungeons and Dragons Online, Lord of the Rings Online, an Global Agenda, why wouldn’t they? It seems these days, any triple-A title having trouble just goes free-to-play and immediately becomes a hit. Stay tuned to MMOCrunch.com for information as it’s released.

As of today, Cryptic and Atari are revealing the fact that Champions Online, one of their more famous MMO titles, will be having a free trial period lasting until September 7th.

This trial period is in celebration of the first anniversary of the moderately popular superhero-based game and has swept up the disenfranchised population falling out of City of Heroes and City of Villains. Both older games were made by the same company, coincidentally, as Champions Online.

This makes CO an interesting player in the MMO genre as it is not often that a game company has the chance to go back and get another go at recreating a game they had a mid-level success with, then very little splash on the market after the initial release.

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Champions Online is very much the younger, but much bigger brother of those twin games.  It offers a much smoother and thorough superhero experience, while still paying homage to the silver age of Marvel and DC comics albeit ambiguously; Champions Online lacks the property licenses from both sources.

On top of the limited trial, all Champions Online store merchandise will be 20% off with the exception of the new “Millennium Costume Set”, the majority of which look like one-piece spandex outfits Freddie Mercury would have gladly worn on stage.

Now would be the best time to get your taste of Champions Online.  The game has never before offered free access to its servers or client and the opportunity is fleeting.  One week to potentially be the greatest hero the Champions Online universe has ever seen sounds like an invitation to fulfill one of the most entertaining childhood fantasies you may have ever had.

After two years of developing games such as Champions Online and Star Trek Online; the MMO giant Bill Roper has decided that he is going to depart Cryptic.  Nobody’s really quite sure why, other then Bill has grown tired and wants to branch out to find new opportunities.  Well that’s all fine an dandy I suppose, and if Bill feels as though he’s needed else where, then we should all support him in his decision.  What does this mean for Champions and Star Trek you ask?  Nothing at all.  Both of your beloved MMOs will continue as normal and life will go on as it should.  Who knows, maybe Bill left because he’s hard at work with Hanbitsoft on the Hellgate London sequel *hahaha*.

Anyways, here is a link to Bill’s final dying breaths from Cryptic Studios.  Oh, and for those of you that are interested in making friends with this man; he has stated that he will continue to play every Cryptic game ever!  So you guys might be able to spot him beating up/ beaming up online.  Good luck Bill, we salute you!

It’s once again time for Ask Cryptic, the feature in which Cryptic Studios answers player questions regarding the future of its games, in this Champions Online Q&A. Despite the fact that it opens with the disappointing, though understandable, news that there won’t be any four-armed player characters appearing in the game, there are bright spots. This is particularly true if you’re into Champions Online‘s character and costume creation system, and frankly if you play that game, chances are that you love that stuff. The focus of the community on costume pieces and effects comes through in how many questions are asked about them, but there are also answers on subjects such as event vs persistent content creation and future powersets.

Overall, there’s nothing in this Q&A that’s going to light anyone’s hair on fire with excitement, but it implies a great deal of careful planning within Cryptic. The tone is that of an experienced developer focusing on the long-term success of its game, and that’s never a bad thing. To check it out for yourself, head to the official site.