CrimeCraft Executive Producer Matt McEnerney wrote this up for you, the community, and asked me to post it here. Be on the lookout Monday for the "Ask the Devs" thread for a chance to get your questions put straight to the dev team! 

Hey guys,
 

Just wanted to give you all a quick update on the important questions we’ve been hearing a lot about lately. We don’t want anyone to think we’re not listening to them, but it’s pretty easy to get caught up in work and believe me, we’ve got a lot of stuff we’re pulling together based on feedback we’ve gotten from you guys!
 

First of all, we’re committed to CrimeCraft and the game servers will be up for the foreseeable future. Money is not an issue right now, we’re just focused on making the game better so we can be as successful as we can be in the long run.
 

I hope you all have noticed a drop off in cheating since we recently fixed some issues we had with HackShield. We’re not done working on it yet, we’re still tweaking the settings and finding ways to close the loopholes. This is an all-out war on hackers and they always fight dirty, so we’re working overtime to find cheaters and ban every one of them. If you are one of the cheaters, consider this your last warning: Stop now, because we will find you and you will be banned.
 

By now I hope you’ve all heard about the new content we’ve got coming at the end of this month and the free trial program that we will be offering. I’m really excited about delivering the first of several bi-monthly updates. We have a new PVE mode that’s going to be rolled out on some of our existing maps. I know some of you play more PVE than PVP these days, so we’re giving you guys more chances to beat up on some bots! For you PVP guys, we’re working on new ways to calculate your ranking to shake things up a little bit.
 

You’re also going to see some cool new features like the Sunrise Times in-game newspaper that will let you know what the top players and gangs are up to in game world. You’ll also see some of the statistical leaders and “most wanted” on some of the billboards in game.
 

We pay attention to these forums and we hear your suggestions, so please, keep them rolling in. The community team and the mods do a great job of working with you guys and keeping us in the loop with what’s on your mind, so use them at every opportunity. When you talk to a mod, you are talking to the team!
 

So, to sum up, we are financially secure, the game servers will stay up, HackShield is on, new content is coming and we’re listening to you, the players!
 

I’m going to have our community manager KevinB (Capo) open up an “Ask the Devs” thread on Monday that he will track for us and we’ll have the team get answers for you guys on a regular basis.
 

Stick with us guys, there’s good things coming soon!

Matt

Most of you have heard we were out in San Francisco earlier this week meeting with the media. Today we're officially announcing our Original Gangster Loyalty Program that's going to take care of you guys that have been with us from the beginning! We also will kick off an Unlimited Free Trial program late this month aimed at bringing more targets ... I mean, more players ... into CrimeCraft!

And that's not all, we're also announcing a crime lord's vault full of features we'll be adding to CrimeCraft in the next few months!

For you players who have been our best supporters, we're giving you an exclusive "Original Gangster" in-game tag and icon that will set you apart from the masses and we're going to give you an extra free month on your subscription plus you're going to get priority access to future content!

You can read all about the Original Gangster Program and the features coming to CrimeCraft in our press release:

Vogster Reveals Free Trial, New Subscription Structure and First Major Content Update for Online Shooter CrimeCraft
Company Proactively Addresses Community Feedback

NEW YORK, NY, October 2, 2009 –Vogster Entertainment, LLC, an international innovator in video game design and content, today announced an unlimited free trial, an enhanced subscription model, the game’s first major content update, as well as a loyalty reward program for existing customers of their PC-based Online Shooter, CrimeCraft. All changes are slated to commence later this month.

“The CrimeCraft community talks and we listen,” said Mario Kroll, Director of Marketing at Vogster. “We’ve been working closely with the community to find ways to enhance the content, depth and player experience to make CrimeCraft the best it can possibly be. In addition to our first major content update, at the end of this month we will offer a non-expiring, free trial that will allow gamers to experience the major features of the game without paying a subscription.”

Details of the free trial and subscription model changes are as follows:
 

• Unlimited Free Trial –New CrimeCraft players will be able to experience the major features of the game for free for as long as they want.
 

• Varied Subscription Options – CrimeCraft will introduce a new Standard Subscription for $4.99/month in addition to the current $9.99/month Premium Subscription option. The major differences between the subscription levels is the extent of customization, skill slots, speed of experience gain and inventory capacity. Standard and Premium subscription features will also be showcased behind “velvet rope” areas to allow players to make a fully-informed subscription decision.
 

• Seamless Transition – Players can seamlessly convert from a free trial to a paying account and switch between subscription levels. Features will be placed “on hold” or unlocked based on the current subscription level.
 

• Original Gangsters – In appreciation of our current CrimeCraft customers, everyone that purchases the game between launch and the introduction of the free trial later this month will receive a third month of Premium Subscription at no cost, and a host of in-game rewards including an “Original Gangster” tag and icon for their characters as well as priority access to future content .
 

The boxed version of CrimeCraft that is sold exclusively at Best Buy and FutureShop retail stores will remain the ideal way to jump into the world of Sunrise City. It now includes three free months of premium membership, an initial stake of 100 gold bars and access to exclusive in-game items – virtual apparel from Marc Ecko and Atticus Clothing, a discount card for in-game purchases and a combat backpack to expand carrying capacity.

CrimeCraft will also bring the first of many scheduled content updates online at the end of October. This first update will increase the game’s depth and adds many of the features most requested by our fans, including the following planned enhancements:

• Sunrise City Times – In-game newspaper that will feed information to the players concerning the latest news and happening in the game, including dynamic exploits by players and gangs.
 

• Your Name in Lights – In addition to making stars of players inside the newspaper feature, top ranked gangs and players will see their alter egos promoted on billboards.
 

• Titles Through Achievements – By completing certain difficult achievements, players will gain access to in-game icons and titles to make their character stand out and further communicate street credit and reputation.
 

• Kill the Boss Mode – A new PvE mode that allows players to cooperatively fight AI controlled enemies across every in-game map and take out bosses to get the best loot. This dramatically enhances the variety of environments for the highly praised PvE instances currently in the game.
 

• Storytellers – New Municipal Agent NPCs will provide a more in depth look at the back story that makes the universe of CrimeCraft a place of guns, gangs and intrigue.
 

• New NPC Gang and Mission Chains – A new NPC gang will offer additional missions and jobs.
 

• Player Loot Drops – Now players will be able to gain loot from participating in Riot Mode PvP, with the highest ranked players dropping more valuable loot if killed.

Labor Day weekend was big in the mixed martial arts world as Shine Fights hosted Shine Fights II: American Top Team vs. The World. Premier and Main Event sponsor CrimeCraft had two fighters in the event. Middleweight Junior Assuncao, sporting the CrimeCraft logo on his trunks, took down Pete Grimes, winning a split decision. CrimeCraft lightweight fighter Anthony "Mean Machine" Morrison took the fight to his opponent Micah Moore, but was caught in an arm triangle choke in the second round.

You’ve been waiting impatiently for this day to arrive, and it’s finally here! THQ and Vogster Entertainment today announced that the highly anticipated Persistent World Next-gen Shooter CrimeCraft®, has shipped to North America and is available for purchase at exclusive retail partners Best Buy (USA & Canada) and Future Shop (Canada) in addition to directly online via download from Steam, Direct2Drive and right here on CrimeCraft.com.

Daniel Prousline, vice president of development for Vogster, said “The streets of CrimeCraft are ready to be filled with players anxious to leave their mark and earn leader board glory for themselves and their gangs. We are pleased to work with Best Buy as our exclusive retail partner to develop a one of a kind program for their customers.”
 

CrimeCraft is a Persistent World Next-Gen Shooter that blends a gripping, action-packed shooter experience with the best community and role-playing elements found in massively multi-player games. CrimeCraft is set in a gritty fictional city of the near future, following an ecological disaster of unprecedented scale, where the price of life is far less valuable than one’s reputation. Join thousands of players online as you learn the rules of the street, build your own gang and do whatever it takes to survive amidst the chaos.

As the title implies, CrimeCraft's Head Start is underway, which means that any and all who preordered the game can now join a CrimeCraft realm and start their journey in Sunrise City.

And if that's not enough, we've also got a brand-new slate of events for the players joining us during the Head Start, with rewards like CrimeCraft-branded clothing and in-game items, including gold bars.

But that's not all. If you're looking for something even more exciting, we'll be running a special contest spanning two weeks. If you're one of the top finishers, you'll have a chance to win a new ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB graphics card.

Interested? If so, read on.


GM Meet and Greet

When CrimeCraft's Head Start kicks off on Saturday, August 22nd at 2:00 PM Pacific Time, players will be greeted by our team of GMs, who will be in-game to level alongside players, field questions, and run special instances that will include small prizes for the best performers. So if you want to jumpstart your life in Sunrise City, come join the GMs starting at 2:00 PM Pacific Time on Saturday.

Read more about the GM Meet and Greet ...

PvE Day

On Sunday, August 23rd, players that join PvE instances between 4:00 PM Pacific Time and 11:59 PM Pacific time will be eligible to win real-world and digital prizes. All you have to do is be one of the players with the most PvE kills during that time period. Sound easy? Then at the end of the day, you might be enjoying things like CrimeCraft-branded clothing, for your real-life person, or gold bars for your in-game persona.

Read more about PvE Day, including rules and prize listings ...


PvP Day

If you couldn't make the competition on Sunday, you'll have another chance to earn prizes on Monday -- but this time you'll have to show off your PvP skills, because beating up on the AI just isn't good enough.

On Monday from 4:00 PM Pacific Time to 11:59 PM Pacific Time, be one of the players with the highest number of PvP kills and you'll be eligible to win more prizes.

Read more about PvP Day, including rules and prize listings ...


Rogue Master

If you're reading this, you're probably interested in winning the ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB graphics card. Not that we blame you.

So what do you have to do? You have to prove you're a master of all things Rogue.

Players earn a score in every PvE instance based on a number of factors. Different amounts of points are awarded for killing different enemies, killing an enemy via headshot, multi-kills, and things of that nature. For a two-week period from the start of our Head Start launch, all your scores in PvE instances will count towards a cumulative total. At the end of two weeks, the 50 players with the highest cumulative totals will win prize packages and earn an automatic entry into a raffle for the ATI graphics card.

Read more about the Rogue Master competition, including dates, times, and rules ...

The CrimeCraft website and forums will be temporarily offline on August 22nd, from 12:00-2:00 pm PDT, 3:00-5:00 pm EDT in preparation for the pre-order head start.

At 2:00 pm PDT, 5:00 pm EDT the website, forums, and CrimeCraft game servers will all be online. Note that only pre-orders will be allowed access to the CrimeCraft game servers at that time. The official launch for all players will be on August 25th.

The last two videos in GamesRadar.com's exclusive CrimeCraft "Skills" trailer series has posted!

These two videos take a look at the power of the Molotov and the sneaky Remote Mine. Check them both out at GamesRadar.com!

--KevinB

The third in GamesRadar.com's exclusive CrimeCraft "Skills" trailer series has posted!

In this video, we take a look at the awesome Cluster Rocket! It ain't subtle, but it gets the job done. Check back daily this week for more Skills videos at GamesRadar.com.

--KevinB
 

Don't forget that the CrimeCraft Preorder Head Start program kicks off Saturday, Aug. 22 at 2 p.m. PDT, 5 p.m. EDT. Make sure you check out our offers page for all of the great preorder packages!

--KevinB

The second exclusive CrimeCraft "Skills" trailer has posted on GamesRadar.com!

In this video, we look at the sneaky Active Camo skill and how it can be used to ambush your enemies! Check back daily this week for more Skills videos at GamesRadar.com.

--KevinB