These patch notes are certainly epic. Never before has a developer attempted to defeat the Iliad with the power of bug fixes and game improvements. The patch notes for DDO go over everything from the new class, to the new level cap of 20, to the UI enhancements, feat changes, class specific patch notes, adventure areas, and much, much more.

If you're interested in checking out what's in store for you at the launch of DDO, look no further than Turbine's patch notes. Enjoy your scrolling!

Turbine has been a busy bee lately when it comes to DDO Unlimited (launching September 9th) but we're pretty okay with that since the game is a whole lot of fun. Likewise, these new screens featuring the new Favored Soul class and add-on adventure pack, Reaver's Reach, are pretty entertaining. Screens from this particular developer have always been pretty great, and yet Turbine has stepped up their game here.

So even if you don't plan on playing DDO Unlimited too much, we highly recommend that you check these babies out. If you're looking to kill some time, especially, because they're oh-so shiny and pretty. It's so distracting that you could almost forget what you were, uh... what were we saying again?

It looks like Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited won't be seeing another delay, as Turbine has announced that the revamped version of the game has gone gold. Of course, while such a concept doesn't really have the same meaning in the digital world, it's a good way of saying they're completely ready for prime time.

Current subscribers will be getting an early start with the game on Sept. 1st, instead of having to wait for the official North America launch on Sept. 9th. Turbine has always been exceedingly gracious towards their subscribers, so we wouldn't have expected anything less from the company.

If you're wondering what all this is about, you can check out Massively's previous coverage of the new additions through our features and image gallery.

If the cry of, "Stress test this evening!" isn't enough to get you into the servers, how about, "Free Dungeons and Dragons Online!" Does that work for everyone? No? How about, "Win ATI Radeon HD 4890 cards!" Now do I have your attention?

This evening, starting at 8 PM Eastern time and going until 11 PM, will be the DDO stress test party! Turbine has some new hardware that they're looking to push to the limits, and to do that you need people. Lots of people.

The stress test will be occuring on the new Lamannia server, which requires a different client than the usual one. This also requires that you be enrolled in the Dungeons and Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited beta test. The full instructions on what all of that means can be found over at the DDO forums, however, so you're not left entirely in the dark.

Staying online gives you more chances to win one of the five ATI cards, or perhaps one of the ten DDO posters signed by the development team. Even if you don't win, there's still going to be sneak peeks at some of the new stuff coming to DDO and you can have a fun night with friends. Many friends. Lots and lots of friends. All packed into one server. Fun times!

If you're interested in playing Dungeons and Dragons: Online Unlimited (or already subscribe to the game) then this is a DDOcast that you absolutely shouldn't miss. It's packed to the rafters with information about upcoming additions such as MyDDO, the social website that we're sure will be as big a hit with players as MyLotRO.

Something of particular interest to us is the discussion of Half-Orcs, although we're certain most players are excited to hear talk of full character respecs. The only thing that could've got our geeky blood pumping faster would be Turbine talking 4th Edition and the brand new Eberron books -- specifically concerning Mournland and the newly revamped Artificer class. Then again, we're not even sure their license covers any of that, but it would make for an interesting podcast nonetheless.

Our plan? Boot up DDO sometime very soon and hit the play button on iTunes. There's nothing like a double-dose of Turbine goodness. Well okay, maybe some actual table-top D&D with old friends -- but what videogame can compete with something like that? It's practically inconceivable.

Well, we can't say we exactly saw this one coming. Turbine has pulled back the curtain on some details for Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited, namely the new class being added with the major business model shift. Although, we've also learned there'll be new combat updates and a return of Stormreach's marketplace, which was destroyed last year.

As for the new class, it's been revealed to be the Favored Soul. According to Turbine's press release, "Favored souls draw on divine magic to both heal and destroy. Like clerics, favored souls have access to powerful healing spells, but they are also more skilled with weapons than any other spell caster. Like sorcerers, they get a larger number of spell points than other spell casters and cannot freely switch spells at taverns or rest shrines." So it sounds like we're dealing with a cross between a Cleric and a Sorcerer, which is pretty awesome actually. What sorts of weapons -- and screens of the class itself -- remains to be seen, sadly.

Still, we should have even more details in the coming weeks and hopefully Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited will launch sometime this summer.

We all seem to have that one game that hangs on the edge of our radar -- taunting us with alluring gameplay mechanics while still being just expensive enough for us to pass up the offer. You want to play it, you really do, but you just don't want to pay that much for it.

Yet, Dungeons and Dragons Online has shown that it's certainly not impossible for developers to embrace a new business model. So that now begs the question, "What game would you jump all over if it went free to play?" If you could choose any game in the whole MMO genre, what game would it be?

Furthermore, why that particular game? What about it makes you want it to be free, so you can get your paws all over it? Speak to us, oh readers, via that little comment box below, and shout your opinions to the internet beyond!

Dungeons and Dragons Online going free to play is undoubtedly an awesome announcement. But exactly how awesome of an announcement is it?

Yesterday we were all over the announcement, covering the basics of what can be expected with this changeover from subscription based to free to play. But now, I'd like to break that down even further, and really look at the changes in an in-depth manner.

Certainly not everything about the new version of DDO has been defined by Turbine, but we're going to take a look at the basics of what this new version offers and compare the ups and downs of what's being offered. By the time we're done looking over the new system, you'll be able to answer that one burning question that's plaguing your mind.

Is free to play DDO worth it for you?

The cons of the whole switchover

Item malls that offer players the ability to purchase items or item upgrades degrade the gaming experience. We've been over this before -- letting Mr. Moneybags deck out his character at level 1 so he's 10x more awesome than everybody else is a major downer to people who don't have the money.

While I've pored over the text that Turbine is released, it doesn't appear that they will be offering items like weaponry or armor. They will be offering "items of convenience" to the players. My best guess is things like potions, perhaps portals, resurrection scrolls, things such as these. Even though these are low powered items, they can still annoy you when Moneybags can teleport all over the place and you're left walking and taking the slow route.

This con is, however, offset by the fact that points can be earned by actually playing the game. It sounds like they are attempting to make the cash shop available for everyone, not just the Moneybags of the world. This will be interesting to watch, as no other developer as truly tried this in the American market.

"I could easily see some players offering up items in the auction house above the amount that a free player's wallet could hold."

The big con to this is the limited play that free players get. Limited auctions and limited mail are two nasty inconveniences in their own right, but limited gold storage and limited chat seem to be the features that take the cake. How would you like it if you couldn't chat in all of the chat channels, or were restricted to how much you can say in game? Even worse, limited gold storage may mean that you might not be able to purchase the best items from the auction house simply because your wallet just doesn't hold enough.

I could easily see some players offering up items in the auction house above the amount that a free player's wallet could hold. This is going to inconvenience the player further because it's going to restrict how the player can interact with the auction house and interact with the vendors in the world.

Another two bites out of the pro pile are the fact that free players rank lower than DDO VIP subscription players in the login queue and free players don't get access to customer support. This means that a constant influx of DDO VIP players could easily keep bumping free players back in the login queue, should the server become overpopulated. While I don't exactly see this happening, it could become problem should the lines really get backed up. I know I wouldn't like to see that my place in line as number 27 get jacked backward to 30 or 35 just because a few subscribers chose to log in.

Lastly is the fact that free players are stuck with the online knowledge base and the forums as their source of aid should they encounter problems. I can foresee some free players attempting to play the game, getting stuck on some odd technical problem, and then becoming unable to solve it simply because the knowledge base doesn't have their problem on file. You're going to inevitably lose some people over this, just because they don't want to deal with the frustration of attempting to make a free game work. It's a free game, so if it doesn't work, just move onto the next game.

The bottom line?

The final thoughts for all of this is you should weigh it for yourself. If you want to save some cash and you like Dungeons and Dragons, then this might just be the experience for you. If you're looking for a second quality MMO to have as a side-game, then this might also be what you want to pick up.

If you're someone who's easily frustrated by limitations, however, then you might not enjoy this experience. Some of the stuff, like decreased auctions, gold storage, and chatting capabilities might hamper gameplay just enough to turn off some people.

But, don't take my word for it. Judge the game for yourself when it hits free to play status later this summer.

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Turbine has just announced that Dungeons and Dragons Online will be moving to a free-to-play business model, and we have the inside scoop. Be sure to read our complete coverage of the changeover, and look for more info as DDO Unlimited approaches launch.

You, much like myself, may have had summer MMO plans a month or so ago. But like many things in life, circumstances changed and both Champions Online and Jumpgate Evolution were met with delays in their schedules -- making any plans to play them over the summer null.

It's a bummer, but not all is lost. Another thing I'm certain we all share is our love of gaming in general. I've been thinking of a list of games I plan to play through this summer in lieu of shiny new MMOs to delve into, with an emphasis on filling the void left by a lack Cryptic's and NetDevil's still forthcoming titles. I'm sure I'll play more than just three, but these are the ones I'll definitely play the most of overall.

I never played any of the numerous MUDs -- let alone DikuMUD -- back in the early nineties, and it's probably for the best, as my then youthful mind wouldn't have spared more than a few minutes to learn how they worked, let alone spend the necessary time to play them. We're talking pre-teen here, just to be clear, and I was really interested in stuff like point and click adventure games. Oh, and also Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Even though I wasn't around for the progenitors that would eventually lead to things like Ultima Online, EverQuest, Dark Age of Camelot and World of Warcraft, it's not hard for me to see in the wake of all those titles the line of ideas and creativity that connects all of them. Hell, you can trace it back to the original release of Dungeons and Dragons if you really wanted to, but let's focus on the future for today.

Should MMOs try to become to gaming what Rocky is to movies? A series of sequels with the same base setting, familiar characters, and expected outcomes? Or should they create a new world with each release? This is the debate offered in a recent article from WarCry, exploring the types of intellectual property offered by MMORPGs.

In the past year, we have heard announcements from some of the largest MMO companies that AAA titles were being closed and games with tremendous recognition may not be getting sequels. It seems there is a movement towards the new and unfamiliar out there, even as the lists of new titles are filled with the likes of Star Wars: The Old Republic, Star Trek Online, and DC Universe Online. So it begs the question, are the games you're most looking forward to based on what has come before or a fresh new world and lore to explore for the first time?

As a caveat to an example used in Mr. Steinhauer's article, this blogger would point out that the Forgotten Realms setting was originally from Dungeons & Dragons settings and had a rather extensive series of novels behind it.

Above is the sole bit of evidence that the World of Warcraft movie has seen any completed work at all -- one item of concept art. We know very little about the film, and the only news we've gotten recently is that Uwe Boll will not be directing it (admittedly that's very good news). Joystiq blogger Kevin Kelly is perfectly fine with that, as he wrote a blog entry over at Spout about why this movie really oughtn't ever get made at all.

Three reasons were provided: Dungeons & Dragons was a disaster, it couldn't earn back its huge budget even if every WoW player in the world went to see it, not even most WoW players know what the story of the game really is. There was a fourth reason, too, but it isn't so much a reason as why it shouldn't be made as why it won't be -- the concept art is all we have after two years.

It's true that the movie couldn't make it on WoW players alone; it'd have to be appealing to people unfamiliar with the franchise, too. But we really doubt that's going to happen, and it doesn't matter anyway because, as we said, it probably will never get made!

[Via WoW Insider]

If you go to Paul Barnett's personal blog, you'll discover two enticing things. One, there's a lot of videos with him doing his thing in a pretty much unfiltered manner. And two, you can grab sneak peeks at upcoming Warhammer Online updates and fixes in general. Today Paul posted a video in where he flashes a sheet of paper filled with his thoughts on expansions and new careers, but not just one's we've heard of apparently. Nope, Paul quickly points out that these are "new-new careers" before Mr. Josh Drescher (also featured in the video) pulls the latch shut on that topic. Oh, how they love to tease us.

So now we're left the with a question: Are these new-new careers to possibly replace one of the old ones, or for an eventual expansion? We wouldn't be surprised if they were for both, honestly. Don't put it past Paul -- a man who just finished having a wonderful time playing D&D over the weekend -- not to have oodles of careers ideas written on pieces of paper. Check after the break for the latest video update.