The official Hero's Journey site has been updated with information on three of the game's ranged classes: the Necromancer , the Ranger and the Wizard .

Thanks to Darrt for pointing out new class updates at the Hero's Journey site.  Simutronics has added details on the Necromancer, Ranger and Wizard - head over to read up.

Dana Massey from WarCry chats with Hero's Journey Lead Designer Stephanie Shaver in this interview:

WarCry has a look at Hero's Journey and the HeroEngine, which is already licensed to five developments incuding BioWare.  Here's a sample:

Jon Wood speaks with Eric Slick of Simutronics about progress on the company's upcoming Hero's Journey.

Hero's Journey has always been, right from the beginning, about doing something new and interesting. Plans are still in the works, for example, to give players multiple options in combat. The example that is most clearly remembered is the batch of mobs in a canyon pass. You can either engage them, or you could blast an overhang of rock at the top of the canyon, defeating them that way.

Ten Ton Hammer has an exclusive in-game video of Simutronics' current project, Hero's Journey.

Ten Ton Hammer is pleased to bring you the first in-game footage of Hero's Journey since E3 2006. Since the opportunity presented itself quite suddenly (note: we filmed with Simutronics' permission), the video was shot without the aid of a tripod and the perspective is a little skewed. My apologies to the viewer and my thanks to Tech Director Eric Slick and Simutronics for continuing to whet our appetites for Hero's Journey.

Simultronics has updated their Hero's Journey site with information on three of the playable classes, beginning with melee types.  Head over to read about the GeaKnight, Rogue and Warrior.

Thanks, Darrt!

Simutronics has added a couple of updates to the Hero's Journey site, with some new concept art and news they have closed submissions for content writers and GMs.

Thanks, Darrt!

RPG Vault has kicked up a First View for Hero's Journey, offering a very brief overview of the game.  Here is their "reservations" section, with some interesting comments:

The flow of information has declined noticeably since around the time of the above-noted deal, which has prompted some questions about Simutronics' overall resources. The current target launch date is 2007, a year in which several titles with higher profiles are slated to enter service. We haven't seen any announcements about publishing partners. The game's fan base, although enthusiastic, could certainly be larger, and the general level of awareness greater.

Jonric: What is HeroEngine? What does it handle in addition to graphics? What are its distinctive strengths? Why did you create it, and how long has it been in development?

Neil Harris: HeroEngine is a complete solution for MMO developers. We built a client, a server, a toolset for the development team, and a back office billing and customer service solution. The client is not only an advanced graphics engine on par with the industry leaders, but it is tightly integrated with the server for optimizing MMO performance.

We built HeroEngine for ourselves after evaluating the engines available on the market and deciding they just were not up to the job of creating the type of MMO that players want. We've spent five years building HeroEngine, which is now more than three million lines of code plus middleware like SpeedTree, FaceGen, and other best of breed tools we integrated from other vendors.

FiringSquad: Why did BioWare, which already uses its own engine technologies as well as the Unreal engine, decide to pick HeroEngine for its own MMORPG?

Neil Harris: The BioWare Austin team knows us very well. They are very experienced in the industry, as we are, and they knew how we liked to build out technologies. In fact, a couple of their employees used to work for us, so they got it right away. We saved them a year or two of development at the beginning of the process and enable them to rapidly prototype live, online, to test their concepts. I'm pretty certain that once they got their hands on the engine they realized that it was more of a bargain than they thought, compared to what it would have taken them to build anything close.

In much the same way that they formed the Clockwork Dragons, the Triumvirate orchestrated an exchange of resources between the Kinnaes and the Arcanum to benefit Quillmore in the wake of the Sundering. The product of their effort is the White Lotus Society, which today serves as nurturers within the ever-growing population of the Lowlands area.

In the 75th year after the Sundering, the House of Quill became guardian to an order of knights known as the Clockwork Dragons. This elite force was assembled under the auspices of the Triumvirate in an attempt to bridge the prevailing hostilities between Gear and Magic. Let's face it - there was still a lot of blame-laying going on.

The effects of the Sundering on the world of Elanthia have done more than reshape the landscape and the use of magic. Societies have also adjusted to the new world, in reaction to the physical (and metaphysical) changes that have seized the various sentient races.

So, too, have the Humans of Quillmore gradually acclimated to their new existence. The Curse of Breaking that afflicts all Humans claims lives across the age spectrum daily, rotting the ties that bind the Human soul from its body, and leaving behind a shambling horror that kills indiscriminately. Every family knows a loss. Every quarter of Quillmore knows a tragedy.

Hello people of the free world!

Again I must insist that the topic of the day be superseded, despite the Shadowbosses desire for me to speak about that fantastic upcoming MMORPG Hero's Journey, so that we can discuss the single most important issue that faces our world today...global warming.

More specifically, the ability for players to "heat things up" themselves and organize and run their own fun events, gala affairs, or flaming jugglethons! Those familiar with Simutronics' level of attention to personalized customer experience in our previous games will be happy to know that we will continue to blow people away with everything from massive festivals to personalized wedding ceremonies for your characters. Seen that before? Not quite! But, sadly, as this is not an official area I'm free to babble publicly about yet, I'll have to bow to the knee-chaffingly wicked wills of my masters.

Quillmore and the Grenmeer Lowlands

Once considered an outsider by the world's great power centers, Quillmore is now the last of the Old Blood cities, and finds itself as the keystone of Elanthia's restorative efforts. The remnant citizenry of hundreds of communities call Quillmore home and look to its ruling House to provide sanctuary in the wake of the Sundering.

In an effort both to contain the Lowland's resources and protect its inhabitants, House Trugar undertook the building of a massive wall to fortify its eastern border along the Green Mirror River.

Like everything touched by that onerous episode, the former kingdom is not without scars.

Theg and the Rakshaal

We mortals are generally hard pressed to consider that our actions have devastating effects on worlds unseen, for our understanding of the universe is limited to those things that are plainly in our sight. What lives beyond the gossamer membrane that envelops the physical plane is pretty much left to fend for itself, though quite often, it "fends" by doing what is necessary to repair the damage we've done.

Such is the case with the Rakshaal, that dastardly legion of immortal beings intent on destroying Elanthia. We have the Sundering to thank for their jaunt across the celestial interstice. If it weren't for those 10 seconds in time, they would have had no reason to migrate.

As revered and influential as the gods of the Trium are among the scattered inhabitants of Elanthia, there is another charismatic deity whose worship infiltrated the lands roughly four years after the Sundering.

Considered the abiding spirit of a reconciled Elanthia by her followers, Lorstra, the Chantress, rose to prominence shortly after the Triad of Temsyne, Urwir and Takut. She is celestially distinct, however; her deistic agenda runs contrary to their very existence.