Jace Hall's next show is going to include an interview with Red Sox pitcher and MMO addict Curt Schilling along with an early look at Schilling's massively multiplayer game Copernicus. The actual show hits on Thursday. In the meantime hit the jump to listen to the catchy extended-version of the Jace Hall theme song. It has head-lopping and base capturing!

Cyan Worlds said it's formulated a plan to bring Myst Online back to its fans, after GameTap shunted control of the property back to its creators.

Cyan CTO Mark "Chogon" DeForest said in a community board letter that despite having a plan in place, cheerfully titled the "Myst Online: Restoration Experiment (MORE)", there are some "hurdles to overcome". Among the necessary compromises will be an implementation of a $US 25 fee for a six month subscription.

"We are not trying to make any money on this at this stage - but we do need to cover some of the costs", he said.

Russians, listen up! Warhammer Online is coming. That's right, a fully localised version of EA Mythic's MMORPGH Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning will be released in Russia for PCs early next year. Whew! Make it through the post without a "Because in Soviet Russia, Warhammer Online plays you" joke. Oh. Wait.

Hit the jump for the short press release, which is thankfully free of such tired humour.

Never one to give up on a dead horse, Sony Online Entertainment today announced that they are launching an online trading card game version of Star Wars Galaxies.

Following in the footsteps of Legends of Norrath: Oathbound, Champions of the Force will be playable through your SOE online account. Playing the virtual trading card game will require a "fully-paid subscription" to Star Wars Galaxies.

The game will let you play on either the light or the dark sides and play on your own or against other players. Hit up the jump for the full run down of the card game as well as some of the other things SOE and LucasArts are doing to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the MMO.

Champions of the Force [Star Wars Galaxies]

Behold the official logo for NetDevil's massively-multiplayer Lego Universe. The logo features the classic Lego logo surrounded by the U-shaped hand of a Lego minifig - the principle characters in the game - symbolizing the entire Lego universe being in the hands of the players. An innovative logo design for what very well could wind up being one of the most innovative MMO titles on the market. To celebrate the launch of their new logo, the Lego Universe folks have also released a wallpaper incorporating some concept art into the design for fans to stare at longingly while they wait for the game to be finished. You'll find the wallpaper craftily hidden after the jump, complete with innovative "click for a larger version" feature!

I know. That sounds awfully vague. And it is! But heck, we're talking BioWare's mystery (KOTOR 3?) MMO, so even the vaguest of discussions are interesting ones. Speaking with MTV, BioWare's Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk have opened up - just a little - on what they're looking at implementing in their own MMO. Discussing the pros and cons of Age of Conan, Zeshuck says an "important part" of getting an MMO right is balancing the singleplayer and multiplayer aspects. They believe that players should be able to choose how they want to approach the game, whether as a solo experience or a social one, and that's what they're going to try and implement in KOTOR 3 whatever it is they're working on.

BioWare On MMOs: 'Conan,' Their Own And Maybe A Console One [MTV]

Square Enix's free-to-play, item-based MMORPG Concerto Gate is gearing up for a North American release via publisher OnNet, and now gamers are getting a very, very limited chance to get in on the closed beta for the game. How limited is very, very limited? 5,000 keys will be up for grabs via FileFront later today, which is probably something I should have waited to tell you until I had secured my own. Oh well. The closed beta only lasts today through July 14th, so if you miss out you won't be missing out for long.

"It is our pleasure to introduce Concerto Gate to American audiences through Gamescampus.com. We hope now that even more players can experience our game's revolutionary world and its exciting, new features such as 'Terra Generating'", says Mr. Noriaki Watanabe, producer of Concerto Gate at Square Enix Co., Ltd.

Check out the game's official site for more info and screens, or hit the jump for the full press release.

I should preface this by saying the idea behind a hybrid class is fantastic. I'm the sort of player that can't stand being pigeon-holed. I like flexibility. To be stuck in the same role for months, even years, in a massively multiplayer online game sounds like torture - the sort you'd endure if someone were to swap your butt with your gonads and force you to sit the same way you always have.

Ouch? You better believe it.

No one likes being sidelined, underpowered or having their class poorly understood by their peers, but these are the issues hybrids have had to endure since the dawn of massively multiplayer games. Is there a solution to the hybrid problem, or should players of classes like the Druid, Paladin and Shaman face the fact that they will never be balanced?

My choice of classic line: "Can you actually make her have small boobs?" No, Simon's girlfriend, it's Conan.

GF AoC [Youtube, thanks Simon]

Worlds In Motion sat down to talk about IMVU with CEO and president Cary Rosenzweig; I think we're seeing the second coming of Second Life if the New York Times picks up on this. The interview itself is interesting, with a lot of attention paid to the creative/economic aspects of item transactions and so forth. On how it all works (and how it's working out in IMVU):