It's time again for a State of the Game address from Game Designer Bill Roper as he updates readers on the progress being made in Champions Online leading up to its Sept. 1 release date. According to the address, the team is currently focusing on balancing powers and items, as well as polishing PvP.

Roper said patrol missions have been extended to the Desert and will show up in Canada next, and the team is continuing to squash bugs. They're also working on getting contest rules in place for European players so they can participate in future Champions contests.

You can read the full State of the Game address below.

Another week, another update. Like clockwork they come out, which is just how this time-shifter likes it. As usual there’s a lot happening around Cryptic HQ, across every team in the company. This means that not only is the Champions Online team working on making the game as great as possible, but our core technology teams are cranking out new things, as well. Social features like Twitter support, networking backend tools for better customer support and service, and the web group is putting together more and more features to make our community stronger than ever. Cryptic has done a lot of growing over the past few months, so when you see announcements of new features that aren’t purely game-only elements, that doesn’t mean we’re neglecting things.

Balance, Balance, Balance

We’re in full balancing mode with powers and items now, so beta players should expect to see positive changes in the upcoming weeks. We’re also running our internal Combat Triage team at full bore, working to make fights more engaging and fun – and yes, we may even make some changes to different mechanics and powers in the game to accomplish this. Beta tester feedback is going to be more vital than ever, so watch the forums for specific announcements on where to put your focus starting next week.

Calling Our Heroes in Europe

We know that our European players have expresses dismay at not being able to enter any of our contests. We’ve been battling against the villainous super group known as The Rules Lawyers and are very close to victory. Cheeky banter aside, we’ve been working on getting EU contest rules in place that adhere to applicable laws and restrictions, and we should be able to extend our contests into several European countries very soon. We have always wanted to include all of our community, and now we’ll be able to do so!

Ramping Up the Hero Games

We’re putting a big focus on PvP this week both here at Cryptic and out in the real world. Select members of the press are going to be battling against developers at a live event in San Francisco this Thursday. Back here at Champions HQ, we’re putting in Ranks & Rewards, polishing up the B.A.S.H. battleground in Westside, and finishing up our final Area that will be reserved for the top tier of combatants. Beta players can expect to see some of these dropping in starting next week.

The Power House

Our beta players will see a new structure in Force Station Steelhead, Project Greenskin, Renaissance Center, the Bureau 17 Docks, and aboard the Aegir submarine. This is the portal and energy plant to the Power House and the facility should be fully operational within the next week or so.

Patrol Missions in the Desert

Since they were such a hit in Millennium City, Patrol Missions have been extended in to the Desert. Next up – Canada!

Our Biggest Arch-Enemy? BUGS!

We’re crushing some last minute show-stoppers that prevented us from getting Nemesis back into the beta test this week. QA is running a white-glove test and as soon as they give us the green light, Nemesis will return.

See you online, Champions!