Space may have been the final frontier when Gene Roddenberry's original "Star Trek" first aired in 1966, but Cryptic Studios' upcoming MMORPG will provide a new undiscovered country for Trekkies and Trekkers alike to explore using fully customizable characters.

In the newest "Ask Cryptic " dev blog, the development team focuses on character customization as a "hallmark feature" of the game. Players will have the ability to modify their characters' uniforms, as well as change their Bridge Officers' race, appearance, gender, name and physical appearance. I suggest refraining from dressing your characters in red shirts or your gaming experience may be short-lived.

Also, the team discussed the roles of Federation ship classes in the game.

Will ship roles be analogous to naval combat roles or will they be more like the party roles in other MMOs - will ships be cruisers or destroyers or they be tanks or healers?

Federation ship classes are inspired by the television shows. So, for example, you could have a ship like the Enterprise, the Defiant or the Voyager. We call the different classifications of ships Cruisers, Escorts and Science Vessels.

More details on the exact roles and differences are coming soon, but for now, suffice it to say that the ship roles are a combination of naval combat and traditional MMO gameplay. Klingon ships are different, and reflect their style and culture. And everything will be very customizable and very Star Trek.

The full blog, which includes brief mentions of 3D chess and PvP zones, can be read here .