Dungeon Runners plans to go live with Membership Package on January 31st 2007.

We are pleased to announce the Dungeon Runners Membership Package will be made available to current players for $4.99 a month, starting January 31st, 2007.

We've come to the point in our grand experiment known as Dungeon Runners where we need to test billing and you are our guinea pig!

Some of you may not have read the official website or any other information on the game and just got right in there to hack and indeed to slash. We don't blame you.

However, it's important to note that while the basic game of Dungeon Runners will always be free to download and play; there will be a membership package that offers some good reasons to pay $4.99 a month.

Remember, even if you don't want to pay now or ever - you can continue to play for as long as you want - you'll just not have access to the good stuff (see below). And you want to the good stuff...don't you? We'll never kick you out - unless you're very naughty - and you'll never be made to feel unwelcome.

The benefits of membership i.e., the 'good stuff' currently looks like this:

Access to all top level armor, weapons and items. Not only will you be more powerful than non-members, with superior stats - you'll also look cooler than them as irrefutably determined by our science team.

Stackable potions - taking up far less room in your inventory and therefore allowing space for many more potions than normal (you'll need 'em where you're going) and of course for all that lovely loot.

Log-in queue priority. If the Dungeons are full, you jump to the head of the log-in queue. Enjoy a rush of superiority as you glide by the 'common people'.

Hold on to more stuff! Members get access to the Dungeon Runners bank - essentially a storage facility. As you know, you pick up a LOT of stuff in Dungeon Runners. Imagine being forced to sell or simply drop loot just because your inventory is maxed out and there's nowhere else to keep your stuff. That would suck. This prevents or at least alleviates the suckage.

Testing the billing system goes like this:

Using complex formulas and the occasional ceiling cat, we will look to see how many of you decide to pay for the current benefits of membership. If that number is impressive enough, we'll know we're on the right track.

The test isn't about how much stuff is in the membership package; it's about what is in the membership package. We plan to add more and more good stuff to the package and we will, but we want to make sure it's the right stuff.

If we hear the sound of crickets or impolite booing, we'll know we got it wrong and work to fix it. Nobody can force you to pay - you'll pay if you like what's on offer - it's as simple as that.

And that's the whole point; we want you to love this game and what better, more honest way to find out if we're doing the right thing than for people to vote with their wallets?

So what happens when we throw the switch?

Many if not all of you currently have in-game items that are considered 'members only'. What happens to these items once billing is turned on?

If you decide to continue playing Dungeon Runners without membership all your members-only items and privileges will become inaccessible. Your items will appear in your inventory, but you won't be able to use them or gain any benefits from them. You can hold onto them (they'll take up inventory space), sell them or drop them.

If you decide to become a member, you can carry on as before with full access to everything.

Basically, your membership is like an on/off switch. If you're a member you can use all your members-only items and access your members-only privileges. If you're not a member, you can't.

Dungeon Runners will continue to be 'invite only' for the next few months as we continue to test systems and fine-tune the various ways of providing you with a fun game to run around, kill the bad guys and get lots of loot.

We want to get things right and you are helping us do that.

Read more here.