The developers behind Atlantica Online are at it again and have sent their latest developer journal to our inboxes. This week we're featuring the Spearman, a powerful mercenary that is also defensive enough to stand on the front lines. Are you willing to learn more about this awe-inspiring warrior? Do you think you could stand toe-to-toe with this fierce gladiator?

If you're up to the challenge, keep on reading!

Sony Online Entertainment announced today in a press release that more than three million user-created quests have been made in Star Wars Galaxies using the Chronicle Master system since its launch just over a month ago. This number includes one individual who has created more than 6,000 playable quests! That's definitely a dedicated player.

In addition, the Star Wars Galaxies: The Complete Online Adventures Premium Plus Pack is now available on Steam and Direct2Drive for 50% off for a limited time. Players who purchase the pack through these sites will receive three exclusive in-game vehicles, including an AT-RT, a Queen Amidala Transport Ship and a General Grievous Wheel Bike.

Cryptic revealed on Wednesday that the Nemesis Confrontation lair that is currently on the public test server will go live on Nov. 24, and the dev team is hosting a dev chat about the feature today at 4 p.m. PST. If that's not enough Nemesis news for you, Cryptic just announced in a press release that the update will launch alongside a free weekend of play from Nov. 26-30.

It looks like the free-to-play weekend event will be the perfect chance to check out the Nemesis Confrontation update and decide if they want to stick with the game. You can view a trailer for the lair at MMORPG.com and read the full press release after the jump.

A blue post in the official technical support forum seems to suggest that patch 3.3 isn't scheduled to launch for at least another month. In response to a player complaining about how long it takes to complete the 448MB background download, Datth said, "We only provide mirror links for full client patches. Background downloads do not count. You have around 1+ month to download this file so we're not really worried about your speed."

This comment certainly shouldn't be taken as any sort of official confirmation of the 3.3 launch window. After all, Datth could have just been talking about the timetable for background downloads in general. Regardless, it's just something to think about while we all wait for 3.3 to hit the live servers on one of these upcoming Tuesdays.

What does the future of Aion hold? North American Community Manager Andrew "Tamat" Beegle posted an interesting hint on his Twitter page yesterday: "On November 24th, we will be showing a movie that demonstrates the future of Aion with actual gameplay."

We'll certainly be keeping an eye on the official Aion site and Tamat's Twitter feed next Tuesday. Do you have any speculation as to what Tamat means by his statement? Head over to our Aion general forum if you'd like to add to the discussion.

Star Trek Online may have just entered closed beta about a month ago on Oct. 22, but Cryptic just announced that the open beta will be held from Jan. 12-26, 2010. Keys will be given on a first-come, first-served basis on the game's revamped Web site.

Star Trek Online is scheduled to launch on Feb. 2, 2010 in North America and Feb. 5 in Europe. Do you expect the game to actually be released on those days, or do you think the game will be delayed? We asked this question when the launch dates were announced, but it seems like a good time to ask it again since the open beta has already been scheduled.

Regardless, we're looking forward to the launch of the Star Trek MMO. We gave the game the "Best in Show" and "Most Innovative Gameplay" titles in our 2009 PAX Awards, and we also took another look at the game at the convention.

The Fallen Earth team has selected the winners of its Thanksgiving screenshot contest, and they are all the proud recipients of festive in-game food items like Fried Prairie Chicken, Gritty Pie Crust and Pumpkin Jam. You have to be thankful for what you can get in the wasteland.

The first prize winner will also recieve a Fallen Earth T-shirt. You can view all of the screenshots on the official contest gallery page. Which screenshot is your favorite?