Bigpoint is getting closer and closer to launching the browser-based Battlestar Galactica MMO. Open beta is due this December with the launch exclusively on SyFy.com

At the moment closed beta players are being asked to finish a tutorial mission -- as either human or cylon -- then are sent off to freely explore the universe. They can experiment with mining, PvE or PvP content, or even exploring the Battlestar, space outposts, planet bases or a Cylon basestar.

Dramatic missions will help to shape the overall storyline of the game. Tactical space combat seems to be the primary focus, but avatars are obviously involved.  As the game is officially licensed, it will feature sights, sounds and ships from the series. 

Source: massively.com

The game will give you the chance to walk around ships in avatar form as well as fly out into space on fighters and larger starships. The majority of the gameplay will be out in space in ship form, playing more like EVE Online than more twitch-based space combat games, but you will at least be able to wander around the decks of ships between missions Wing Commander-style to upgrade and interact and in general find out what's going on.

Player versus player and player versus environment content will both be in the game, and I'm hoping that means it won't be too difficult to engage in the epic space conflicts between monstrous ships that were so exciting to watch in the TV show. As it stands the game will take place in an expanded universe setting, sometime around the events of season 2 of the show, though specifics aren't available at the time.

At the beginning of the game you can choose whether to go Cylon or human, and then move through space mining asteroids and engaging with other fighters to power up. It's not yet being said whether or not you can actually work your way up to being able to pilot a Battlestar, but I'm hopeful that might be able to make it in. If you've never played EVE Online, the ship to ship combat is centered around targeting and facing. You won't be able to use a joystick with this game, but will use WASD controls and mouse and keyboard commands to highlight a target and then ensure your ship is facing the right way, at which point your shots will be aided by a limited auto-aim functionality.

As progress is made you'll learn new skills, including special moves for your ship like Immelmann turns and other flips and evasive maneuvers. In terms of what there is to do, you can pull up a large star map and mouse over territories to see which side has control of the sector, then travel there to either help your side achieve dominance or defend. It sounds like, if you're completely outnumbered, there'll also be a way to call in reinforcements, which ideally will lead to situations where giant armies suddenly pop into existence right near each other and glorious chaos ensures.

It'll be a free-to-play pricing model when it launches in winter 2010, but there will also be options to pay for cosmetic and statistical upgrades. In case you think that might give an advantage to players who pay more, I'm told it's still possible for even a superpowered ship to be taken down by a large enough swarm of enemies. Anyway, the game's looking fairly pretty right now, with ship designs faithful to the show and some nice reflections as they flip around in the light of star systems, and as a fan of the fiction I certainly look forward to hearing more. No word yet on whether you can actually participate in a pyramid mini-game.

Source: IGN UK 

When it was announced that Bigpoint – a developer of web-based games – had acquired the Battlestar Galactica license and intended to create an MMO with it (to be called Battlestar Galactica Online), it was met with a mixed response. The response was based purely on the fact that it was to be free-to-play and browser-based, and typically browser-based is associated with "cheap and/or ugly". There was understandable speculation that it would be a standard game with few ties to the much-loved Battlestar Galactica universe.

Today, it was announced that many major characters from the popular SyFy show would have a presence within the game, rendered in fairly impressive 3D, considering it is running in your browser.

According to the announcement, the game will contain the likenesses of:

Human 

William "Admiral" Adama portrayed by Edward James Olmos
Kara "Starbuck" Thrace portrayed by Katee Sackhoff
Lee "Apollo" Adama portrayed by Jamie Bamber
Galen "Chief" Tyrol portrayed by Aaron Douglas

Cylon

Number Six portrayed by Tricia Helfer
Number Eight portrayed by Grace Park
Number One (John Cavil) portrayed by Dean Stockwell
Number Two (Leoben Conoy) portrayed by Callum Keith Rennie

Source: UK IGN

Press Release

HAMBURG - When the doors to Gamescom open in Cologne on the 18-22 August, Bigpoint's stand in Hall 9.1 will be impossible to miss. High-energy stage shows and three premieres in four days will combine to create an unforgettable experience for all attendees.

Battlestar Galactica Online – The First Technical Demo of the Space Adventure in Europe
At the conference, fans of Syfy's fantastically successful television series, Battlestar Galactica, will also get their money's worth. For the first time in Europe, Bigpoint will give select journalists a glimpse of Battlestar Galactica Online (http://battlestar-galactica.bigpoint.com) under development. The online space game developed with Unity 3D offers cutting-edge graphics and immersive gameplay. Once launched, it will be playable directly from any web browser.

Source:  IGN UK Edition