If you prefer first person MMORPG types that set in open worlds, then you should probably check out Star Vault's newly announced Mortal Online. It may be scheduled for a Summer 2009 launch but even at this early stage, the game is showing a lot of potential. Know more after the jump!

Now that the The Chronicles of Spellborn is fast approaching its open beta, we are starting to gain a clearer picture of the post-apocalyptic MMO game. Today, with twelve new screenshots, developer Spellborn NV gives us a tour of Quarterstone, the jewel of the Spellborn dimension. Head over the full article to check it out.

More video game development companies are beginning to adopt Unreal Engine.">Epic Games' Unreal Engine technology, such as the most recent licensee of the Unreal Engine 3 known only as Bluehole Studio. The Korea-based developer is now set to build its flagship title which promises to take the Korean MMORPG scene to knew heights. Details are at the full article.

NCSoft is sending word that it's got two to-be-named MMO games in the works. What makes this announcement interesting is that both titles will be powered by the Unreal Engine 3 - the same engine used in high-profile titles like Gears of War. More details are available in the full article.

Major League Baseball pitcher Curt Schilling's video game company, 38 Studios, just announced that it signed an agreement with Epic Games to use the Unreal Engine 3 technology in its upcoming MMORPG. With an all-star cast in its development team, Copernicus is shaping up to be a promising title for 2010. Know more about it at the full article.

If you're wondering how Spellborn NV's The Chronicles of Spellborn is shaping up visually, then you'll be happy to know that we've got some exclusive screenshots showing off some of the dark places on the Shards that players can dare to tread. The new visuals definitely set off the somber tone that this hardcore fantasy MMORPG sets to achieve with images of dark glades and even darker temples in the full article. Check 'em all out in the full article.

With Asian MMOs licensing Western engines such as Unreal Engine 3 and CryEngine 2, Crytek's Harald Seely shares some of his thoughts regarding this issue.

Seely even adds what their stand is when it comes to MMO expansions and developments. Read more on the interview after the jump!

Want to see how Spellborn NV's MMORPG, The Chronicles of Spellborn, is coming along? Well, you might want to take a quick look at the screenshots they've released. From all indications, they're making good use of the Unreal Engine in the game.

Those of you who are anxiously awaiting this game's release early next year might enjoy the six screenshots we've got. Head on over to the full article for more details.

For those Sci-Fi buffs among you who are looking to sink their teeth into a good futuristic MMORPG, Kevin Balentine, Marketing and PR Manager of Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, is here to talk about the many pros of their upcoming game based on the Stargate TV series in Stargate Worlds.

Co-developed with the big time film and television media company MGM, Stargate Worlds takes a look into the early seasons of the TV series, with five playable races so far included in the roster. Aside from the typical humans, players will be able to play the role of the friendly Asgards, as well as the evil symbiotic alien race, the Goa'uld. Sadly, the god-like Oris won't be making an appearance in the game since they were only recently featured in season nine of the TV series.

Balentine also mentioned that the game will concentrate on selling itself to a majority of gamers on "average" systems, with the Unreal Engine 3.0 being the basis where the game will be building itself on. One of the biggest hurdles encountered was its fusion with the BigWorld technology, which was the infrastructure of the game that they were particularly proud of implementing successfully.

A lot of the elements in the TV series will definitely be seen in the MMORPG - from the races and locations to even the gate technology which the series takes its name from. Balentine explains how Stargate Worlds will be making use of the concept of gate technology in-game:

Gate technology seems almost made for MMO's. In a standard MMO you might get a quest to kill ten wolves, you travel this great distance to kill the wolves only to find out that you have to go back there to kill something else. The gate compresses all that walking and can put the player nearly to where the action is.

There has been no definite schedule for the beta so far, but fans of the series can expect to see it sometime next year.

Volunteers of David Perry's Project: Top Secret will have something to expect this Christmas since they have been such very good boys and girls. And what is this great big present? Volunteers will be given all the tools necessary to develop the Top Secret racing MMORPG.

"This is like Christmas for the mod community," said Perry. Like Christmas it is, since the brave souls who volunteered working on the game will be able to choose and use any game engine of their choice, be it the Unreal Engine, Crysis, or id.

IGN's Modcenter is in charge of giving out various development tools to the participants of Project: Top Secret, while Acclaim will pay for the usage of every budding game developer's gaming engine of choice.

Since Project: Top Secret will eventually award the person who made the most contributions into the development of the game, the free usage of tools is nothing short of entirely helpful, and awesome.

If you're interested in joining the community effort of making the next best MMORPG, then there's no more reason to hold back: the gaming development tools are already taken care of.