The Stargate Worlds team recently published the second update to the game's Web site since May, and this one features new screenshots of armor and weapons for the Goa’uld, Jaffa, Soldier and Scientist. The team prefaced the reveal of the images by thanking the MMO's "loyal and very patient fan base for hanging in there with us over this long period during which we did not have a lot to report or show."

According to the post, each of the armor sets will have unique traits that will make them ideal for certain situations. You can see the screenshots of the armor and weapons in our gallery. The team also states it will be revealing some exciting news very soon, so keep an eye on the Stargate Worlds Web site for more information.

Despite the fact that Stargate Worlds gameplay footage was used in the first episode of "Stargate Universe" and Cheyenne Mountain’s Shane Hensley told MMORPG.com in August that the company had received new funding, the future of the game still seems in doubt.

The official Stargate Worlds site was taken down on Oct. 9 to change DNS server providers. The site was down for a few days and has since been restored, but the absence prompted Massively to contact Timothy N. Jenson, the president and CEO of Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, for a response. "While there continues to be a lot of desire, enthusiasm and excitement about the project from our employees, investors and fans, we will not be able to provide any updates on the development of Stargate Worlds until sufficient funding is available," he said.

You can read the full statement after the jump. It looks like only time will tell if Stargate Worlds will become a reality.

The first episode of "Stargate Universe" debuted on the Syfy channel on Friday, and Stargate Worlds just happened to make a cameo appearance. The MMO itself was not mentioned by name, but in-game footage of Stargate Worlds was used as the game that Eli Wallace plays in the beginning of the episode.

The full episode, "Air," is now available for viewing on the Syfy Web site. The in-game footage of the MMO can be seen around seven minutes into the episode. You can also watch David Blue, the actor who plays Eli, discuss the character's gaming habits in this series of interviews with the "Stargate Universe" cast.

The announcement of Stargate World's brief appearance in "Stargate Universe" was the first bit of news to be published on the game's official Web site since May 26. The post states that the SWG team will "have much more to show very soon."

Just today, MMORPG.com has posted that Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment has "received the funding that they believe will allow them to complete work on Stargate Worlds." Peppered with all sorts of uncertainties, Stargate Worlds initially came under the vaporware microscope when MMORPG.com reported that Firesky (a publishing subsidiary of Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment) had until August 1st to raise enough capital for Stargate Worlds, otherwise MGM would sink this ship before it even flew. Following this, when August 1st came and went, Editor Josh "WaxPaper" Bashara wrote an in-depth article examining the delicate fate of Stargate Worlds. A few days later, the director of new business development for Firesky, Shane Hensley, wrote that "my understanding is that a significant portion of the funds have been raised." After that, nothing new has come out in the past two weeks.

Well, now the tables have turned once more as MMORPG.com confirms that Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment has secured that additional funding and they should be able to "move forward." Shane Hensely even went on record to note that "things are actually very good here right now." Is this a sign that Stargate Worlds could go from vaporware to MMORPG? Only time will tell.

Cyaneyed, a user on the official Stargate Worlds forums, has posted a message from Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment President and CEO Tim Jenson regarding the future of game that was received via e-mail correspondence. As we've reported, Cheyenne Mountain and Firesky have being having some trouble raising investment capital, which puts the future of Stargate Worlds in question. Well, according to Reynolds, "at this point we have several attractive potential opportunities but no confirmed funding."

Due to confidentiality restrictions, Reynolds can't give more details on the possible funding opportunities, but he did say "we are evaluating multiple Stargate IP products to see if we can get some products flowing sooner than Stargate Worlds, but nothing has been approved or decided at this point."

While Reynolds says there's no confirmed funding, Shane Hensley, the director of new business development for Firesky, did say the following last week on the forums: "My understanding is a significant portion of the funds have been raised." Only time will tell if Stargate Worlds will see the light of day. You can read Reynolds' full statement below.

As we've reported, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment and Firesky apparently need to raise capital to keep MGM from pulling the plug on Stargate Worlds. A former employee who recently left Firesky had told MMORPG.com the company had until Aug. 1 to raise the funds, and that deadline has come and gone. As one would expect, a player asked on the game's official forums if investors had been found to save the game. In response, Shane Hensley, the director of new business development for Firesky, said today, "My understanding is a significant portion of the funds have been raised."

Hensley is currently on leave right now, as are a lot of other people. But according to the post, "the guys showing the game to investors and upper management are all there trying daily to get us re-started." Due to the delay of the game and negative press, Hensley said all parties involved are taking the time to make sure the amount of money invested is enough to cover all of the team's needs to complete Stargate Worlds. "A significant number have pledged money on completion of their research into our books, however, so I find that very encouraging," Hensley said.

You can read Hensley's full post below.

Conceptualized in early 2006 by Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment (in association with MGM), Stargate Worlds is a PC game under development that hopes to bring the Stargate franchise to life within the open-ended, playable worlds of an MMORPG. Mainly based around the military sci-fi atmosphere that SG-1 fans are familiar with, the MMO focuses on the Tau'ri-Goa'uld conflict and promises to immerse players in the same world as the TV show. Early SGW gameplay announcements and trailers inspired confidence among many Stargate fans, especially because of the game's unique first-person-shooter and combat mechanics.

But consumer faith in the project has waned over the years. More recently, developer CME and its subsidiary publishing company, FireSky, have begun receiving a steady stream of criticism from the media because of the ways in which the companies have operated during the game's production. In an interview with GateWorld a few months ago, Stargate series executive producer Brad Wright expressed his doubt about the MMO's release.

Perhaps under the most scrutiny is Gary Whiting (founder and board chairman of CME), accused by the community of being everything from a PONZI schemer to an embezzler. Adding even more fuel to the fire is the recent news that MGM will reportedly revoke the publisher's licensing rights on August 1, unless $8 million in capital is raised in investment funds. But despite all the scandal accusations and media circus, FireSky has continued declaring that the MMO is still on-track and under development.

A former employee who recently left Firesky has told MMORPG.com that the company has until Aug. 1 to raise capital for Stargate Worlds or MGM is pulling the plug. Oddly enough, the article indicates a group of doctors is considering an $8 million investment in Firesky, but the anonymous source doesn't believe it's going to happen.

Shane Hensley, the director of new business development for Firesky, confirmed they're talking to investors, including the doctors. He also denied the license was about to be pulled. "MGM certainly isn't thrilled with our current situation, but neither do we have any specific indication they're pulling the license on any particular date," he said.

Firesky has had financial woes for about a year, and according to MMORPG.com's sources, "there is only one member of the client team and one member of the server team still at work on the game."

The team over at Cheyenne Mountain has posted three new Stargate Worlds screenshots on the game's official Web site. The shots show a "Praxis commando fighting his way through the treacherous Sewer Falls district on Lucia and exploring Dakara."

There's also a fourth screenshot of a Distortion suit-wearing Praxis commando on the planet Agnos, which is a teaser for a set of shots we'll be seeing in the future.

You can view the new images in our screenshots gallery.

Monday may be just around the corner, but you can still check out all of the exclusive features and noteworthy news articles that have been posted on ZAM this past week. You can find more links after the jump.

ZAM features

The Endless Forest: Oh Deer: Is The Endless Forest a relaxing experience or just lacking content? Sam "azerian" Maxted investigates.

We Dream of Genie: The newest update to Perfect World International includes genies, and we talked with Product Manager Jonathan Belliss to get all the details.

Gunz Online: Fast, Intense and... What Else?: Christopher "Pwyff" Tom checked out this MMORPG/FPS hybrid to see if the game is packed with anything besides adrenaline. Pwyff wasn't too impressed. Find out why in his editorial.

MapleStory: Still Worth Playing?: MapleStory just celebrated its fourth anniversary, so azerian decided to venture into the game's virtual world to see what's changed over the years.

Rub Our Exclusive Media Lamp: We got an exclusive look at the genies introduced in the newest Perfect World International update. Check out the screenshots to see what they look like.