SPOILER ALERT! This article discusses elements of the plot of the new "Star Trek" movie (it's the eleventh one in the series for those of you who are counting). So if you haven't seen it yet, read on at your own risk. Actually, get up from your computer and run/drive/transport (yeah, I said it) to the nearest movie theater. It's worth it. Then come back and keep reading.

For those of you who have already seen the film, you may be wondering how Star Trek Online will coexist with the timeline of the movie. Well, Cryptic has released a handy chart and article outlining exacting how the movie and game tie together. Keep reading after the jump for the details.

Alright, now that the spoiler alert is over, those of you who have seen the movie know Nero and Spock travel back in time from 2387 to 2233, creating an alternate reality. It's how director J.J. Abrams and crew were able to reboot the franchise for a new generation of viewers. Of course, it wouldn't be any fun if Star Trek Online was set in an alternate reality we're not completely familiar with, so it takes place in the "prime" universe — the timeline of the five television series and the first 10 movies.

That doesn't mean the events that occurred in Star Trek XI won't have an impact on the MMO. Romulus is destroyed. Spock and Nero are gone. The prime universe continues to move forward as the alternate reality created for the movie exists in a parallel universe.

Remember when Doc Brown drew a timeline on a chalkboard in "Back to the Future II" to show Marty how they traveled to an alternate 1985 because Biff got his hands on that damn sports almanac? Well, it's the same thing, as seen in this chart (click it for a bigger view):

So as you can see, there's many more stories to be told in the Star Trek prime universe. Keep watching the new films to get your alternate reality fix, but get ready to play in the main timeline in Star Trek Online (and read about it in the Path to 2409 series).