There are no pictures in this latest developer blog from the Firefall team, so I had some difficulties paying attention, but I managed to power through. In a quick update to what's going on behind the scenes, the team notes that they were able to run a beta test on Saturday, complete with multiplayer matches and a full implementation of the recently revealed Dreadnaught Battleframe.

Staying on topic, the blog also touched on the optimization and polish that was going into the game, including getting a proper installer, a polished UI, and other various small tweaks. The team is also confirming that they "are not rolling out invites at the same rate that we had hope to when we got back from PAX in September." Perhaps we'll see more invites sometime in the future, but for now the team wants to keep their numbers low so that they can focus on server stability. Whew, that was a lot of words to read, I think I need to watch some flashy lights or something.

Are you a fan of the heavy gunner class? Does the thought of mowing down legions of enemies with a mini-gun put a smile on your face? If so, then you might want to check out Firefall's latest revealed battleframe, The Dreadnaught, which features some awesome siege-mode capabilities in addition to defensive shields, energy bursts, and even energy-stealing abilities. So for all you players who dream of becoming a veritable human tank, go take a look at the Dreadnaught!

Red 5 Studios founder Mark Kern just released a video that shows off Firefall's world-building tool, Forge. He hints that the team plans to expand the game across its virtual world over the next couple years.

Red 5 Studios just announced that it plans to start sending out Firefall beta invites by the end of this week. The initial invite wave will be very small. Here's some clarification on your chances to be selected for the test:

"Those of you that signed up at PAX, GamesCom, or any other event we have done, have the same chance to get into the beta as those that signed up on our website. Date of registration or number of posts will not have any impact on your chances. We still need to merge the database of all those that signed up at PAX, so expect to see an e-mail to confirm your account in the next day or two. Those of you that registered at GamesCom should have received your e-mail verification already. If you haven’t, please register on the website."

Director of Content Cody Bye got his hands on Firefall at PAX and was excited by what this free-to-play title offers both MMO and FPS fans. Be sure to check out Cody's hands-on preview of Firefall!

As I weaved my way through the overcrowded hallways and intersections at PAX Prime, I couldn't help but pick-up on two points regarding Firefall:

1. No one had heard of the game prior to PAX and now it dominated the halls, bathrooms and escalators.
2. Those that had waited for their turn with the game were IMPRESSED.

By mid-afternoon on Saturday, I knew I couldn't miss my first hands-on time with this upcoming free-to-play MMOFPS. Firefall, for those that haven't been following the game closely, was originally announced at PAX Prime in September 2010 and was playable for the first time at PAX East in March. Red 5 Studios has been working on pushing out their first title since 2007, so this isn't a game that's coming to the world half-baked. With several years of development time and polish, this PAX Prime public demonstration was a long time coming; and even though expectations weren't high going into the show, attendees were definitely intrigued by the massive amounts of marketing dollars on display throughout the halls.

UPDATE, 9/1: We've already given out a bunch of swag, but we still have more! We'll be giving out more prizes next week after Labor Day Weekend. Be sure to check your Twitter messages! While we have only a limited amount of physical things we can ship, we have tons of codes to give away, so keep your eyes peeled.

Gamescom may have come to an end, but the summer convention season isn't over just yet! PAX Prime will be held in downtown Seattle from August 26-28 and we'll have members of the ZAM team on the floor, including Director of Content Cody "Micajah" Bye. He'd love to give out PAX swag to some lucky readers, and all he wants in return is more followers on Twitter!

We'll be giving away PAX gear to people who follow @ZAMOfficial and @CodyBye on Twitter. The more followers the pages get before PAX, the more chances you'll have to win prizes. Check out the constantly updated prize list after the jump to see what you could get simply by clicking the "follow" button!

A few days ago, Red 5 Studios CEO Mark Kern stated on the official Firefall forums that the game will be launching in December. To offer further clarification, Kern said in a follow-up letter to The Escapist that Firefall's expanded beta program will begin this month after PAX Prime and that the team feels the game has already launched. Here's Kern's explanation:

"To explain our launch process further. We already consider ourselves 'launched.' We will not have a traditional beta, open beta, launch process. We no longer feel this makes sense in a modern, online, service oriented business, especially a free2play game. Instead, we have modeled our launch after G-mail’s invite system.

The way this works is that we bring testers and content up in layers. As each layer proves itself out, we give our testers invite slots, which they are free to send to their fellow gamers. We use different criteria to decide when and to whom we release more invite slots. This process never stops, as it didn’t stop for G-mail for a very long time. It’s a great way to grow the game through people’s social networks, which is what we want for our team and clan oriented game."

So what happens in December? According to a new post regarding the whole beta process, Red 5 Studios said that's when they plan to open up the Firefall virtual item store and begin taking micro-transaction payments that will fund the game. It's also the point in time when they will perform the final character wipe to reset all players for the last time.

If you'd like to get into the beta (even though the game has "launched"), head over to the official Firefall site and sign up!

Cody Bye, ZAM's director of content, is a guest host on the latest episode of This Week In MMO on GameBreaker.TV! In TWIMMO episode 56, Cody joins Gary Gannon and Hillary "Pokket" Nicole to discuss Diablo III's real money auction house, the new Firefall trailer, Dragon Nest's open beta launch and TERA being pushed back to spring 2012. Find out what they had to say by watching the video below!

Some interesting Firefall news came out of ChinaJoy 2011 over the weekend, including a launch window and a new trailer! Following an interview, Red 5 Studios CEO Mark Kern confirmed on the official forums that the free-to-play shooter will be launching in December. While you wait for the holiday season to arrive, watch the ChinaJoy trailer below to see the game in action!

Red 5 Studios has released its Firefall video dev diary for July, and this one's all about "auditory bliss." Composer Michael Bross and Sound Designer Boon Sim sit down to discuss the sound and music of this upcoming free-to-play shooter. Watch the video below for all the details!

In case you missed last month's dev diary entry, Red 5 Studios announced that Orson Scott Card is fleshing out Firefall's story! The sci-fi author is best known for his Ender's Game series of novels and short stories. In addition to that big news, the studio also revealed that it's creating a Firefall manga novel in cooperation with Orson Scott Card, his daughter Emily Janice Card, and Udon Entertainment.