According to Eurogamer, Cryptic and Atari have confirmed that Star Trek Online will be released for PC on Feb. 2, 2010 in North America, followed by a Feb. 5 launch in Europe. Both Amazon and GameStop started listing Feb. 2 as the release date earlier this week, so it may not come as a surprise to excited Star Trek fans.

The closed beta for Star Trek Online just started on Oct. 22. Do you think the game will actually be ready to launch in three months, or will the release be delayed? Start placing your bets now! Personally, I hope the launch goes smoothly because I'm looking forward to taking command of a starship.

Gamespot has posted the second part of "The Future Past" video series for Star Trek Online. In case you missed it, the first part focused on the civil war between the Romulans and Remans and explained how the the Klingons and Gorn got involved in the battle. Associate Producer Andy Velasquez kicks off the second part by discussing how an alien race attempted to infiltrate the Klingon high command in 2395, which ultimately made the Klingons' attitude toward other races more aggressive.

After seven years of war, the Klingons seized control of the Gorn homeworld and discovered that the Gorn government had fallen prey to the same alien plot. Executive Producer Craig Zinkievich then picks up the lore starting in 2404 and explains the chain of events that led up to the war between the Klingon faction and the Federation. Zinkievich then welcomes players to 2409 and the setting of Star Trek Online. For more details, check out the Path to 2409 series on the official site.

For the past few weeks, the ZAM staff has been titillating our readership with exclusive Star Trek Online screenshots that have managed to be - as a whole - utterly captivating. This week's batch of exclusive STO screenshots is no exception and features a few spectacular shots of starship combat and one of our first peeks at a (rather studly) Cardassian!

So don't waste your time reading this, go check out the images!

Beam me up, Scotty! Cryptic just announced that Star Trek Online has entered closed beta as of today, Oct. 22. If you applied to be a beta tester, keep an eye on your e-mail and the game's official site to see if you've been accepted. The team will "periodically be inviting people to join in and share their feedback," so don't give up hope if you're not part of the initial wave.

There's still time to sign up for a beta spot. All you have to do is fill out the preview application and make an account if you haven't yet. We're definitely excited about the upcoming Star Trek MMO and suggest you sign up if you're at all interested in the franchise. We gave Star Trek Online the "Best in Show" and "Most Innovative Gameplay" titles in our first PAX Awards if that's any indication of our feelings about the game.

For more of our thoughts, check out our most recent preview of the game and some exclusive screenshots featuring Klingons and the Borg. So have any of you applied to be in the beta?

The transcript for yesterday's Star Trek Online dev chat on player progression has been posted on the official forums. System Designer Steve "Snix" Nix answered numerous questions on the topic, which was also covered in the two most recent Ask Cryptic segments.

Nix said your characters will have species traits based on the species you select. "Most species have one or more Traits that are always gained, while allowing the player to chose a few from the species list to customize their character," he said.

In response to a question asking if NPCs can leave your team, Nix said Cryptic is interested in exploring the gameplay options that could occur if your bridge officers advance to Captain. He also said they will be offering a version of "sidekicking" in Star Trek Online to "encourage player groups of various experience to play together." You can read the full transcript after the jump.

Cryptic will be hosting a Star Trek Online dev chat today at 11:30 a.m. PDT on player progression, but that didn't stop them from answering questions on that same topic in the 16th Ask Cryptic segment. The 15th segment also focused on player progression, so fans should certainly have a good handle on the game's skill-based progression model by the time the dev chat has ended.

According to Ask Cryptic #16, you shouldn't feel too underpowered if you choose to fly lower-tier ships: "It’s not a linear progression; it’s a difference of around 5 percent in terms of overall ship performance between tier 4 and 5. So the disparity between the two is very small. Effectively, a tier 5 ship is twice as good as a starting ship, and a tier 4 ship is 80 percent better than a starting ship." However, the team acknowledged it's a game of progression and tier 5 ships are ultimately better than tier 4 ships.

Keep reading after the jump for the full Ask Cryptic segment, which includes a discussion on endgame content. There will be PvP content, solo and team PvE content, raids and fleet actions, as well as the opportunity to continue to add to your skills once you reach Admiral.

Star Trek Online Executive Producer Craig Zinkievich confirmed during an interview with Videogamer.com (via MMORPG.com) that the sci-fi MMO "will be out the first quarter of 2010." If all goes according to plan, you can expect to take command of your starship between January and March of next year.

As for the closed beta, Zinkievich said its "really just right around the corner. I think that there's a press release that's going to go out in just a couple of days." You can still apply to be a part of the the beta on the official Web site.

In other Star Trek Online news, Cryptic will be hosting a dev chat tomorrow, Oct. 20, at 11:30 a.m. PDT on player progression. All the information you need to participate in the IRC chat can be found after the jump.

Cryptic's new Star Trek Online trailer can be found over at IGN, but don't expect to see any sympathy for the Federation. The video, which appears to contain both CG and gameplay footage, follows the Klingon point of view: "Their Federation is a force for peace. They are explorers, but not conquerors. They are cowards! They are weak!"

The trailer feels like a recruitment video for the Klingons by enticing players to command a warbird and crush the Federation. Which side are you going to choose?

Gamespot is hosting a new video called "The Future Past: Part 1" that was made by the Star Trek Online team to update fans on the lore of the upcoming MMO. The short video is packed with pre-beta gameplay footage, so check it out to get an idea of what the game will look like once it launches.

Executive Producer Craig Zinkievich explains to viewers that Star Trek Online takes place in the year 2409, which is 30 years after the events of "Star Trek: Nemesis." The movie shows the internal power struggle between the Romulans and the Remans, and Zinkievich says the Remans demanded self-sufficiency from the Romulans in 2381. The Klingons take advantage of this civil war in 2382 and strike at Romulan space to retake the Khitomer system and the sector surrouding it. The Federation denounces the invasion, but the Klingons say they just took back what's rightfully theirs.

Art Lead Lee Dotson says that by 2384, the Klingon are fighting wars with both the Gorn and the Romulans. In fact, the Romulans don't halt the Klingon advance into their space until 2391. Associate Producer Andy Velasquez explains that peace talks mediated by the Federation have broken down as the Gorn attack a Klingon planet, which resparks the war. For more details, read the Path to 2409 series or wait for part two of the video.

In a beefy interview with Eurogamer, Cryptic Studio's executive producer, Craig Zinkievich, talks about playing the Klingon race in Star Trek Online, among many other juicy details (via Massively.com). We've known for some time that the Klingons will be a playable race and faction in STO, but the recent Eurogamer interview, published Friday, includes quite a few interesting tidbits about the Klingon gameplay story arc, and how it will differ from the Federation.

Admitting that it wouldn't be much of a Star Trek game unless the developers let players "live out their Worf fantasy," Zinkievich confirms that Klingon players will be able to use an array of weaponry distinct from the Federation, including the beloved, bladed Bat'leth. (On a side note, he also confirms players will be able to use the Vulcan Lirpa; a staff-looking weapon with a fan blade at the end). Zinkievich says the Klingon gameplay story will be "drastically different" from the Federation's, and that the ability to play a Klingon will "unlock" after a couple hours of gameplay. Check out the full interview for more information, and visit out Star Trek Online portal site for continued coverage, exclusive news and screenshots.