General Gaming Article

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• How to set up a RAID 5 array in Windows 8 and Linux
• Newegg Daily Deals: AMD FX-9590 Vishera, Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti, and More!
• Fedora 22 Hits the Ground Running in Beta Form
• Reflecting on Nine Years Writing for Maximum PC
• CyberPower's Trinity PC Goes from Prototype to Shipping Product
• Linksys Wins Race to 100 Million Router Sales, Sets Sites on Connecting Cuba

How to set up a RAID 5 array in Windows 8 and Linux Posted: 21 Apr 2015 02:11 PM PDT Striping and parity across three drives, oh my! Of all the RAID levels that consumers are likely to use on their home systems, RAID 5 is one of the more exotic choices. While RAID 0 and 1 are pretty straightforward, RAID 5 is a little more complex. As we discussed in earlier articles, RAID 0 stripes data across an array of drives, making reads and writes faster, while also sacrificing redundancy. RAID 1 does the opposite, writing identical data across every drive in the array, creating a redundancy in the event of failure. RAID 5 is somewhere in between. Like RAID 0, RAID 5 stripes data across an array of drives. However, one of the drives is reserved as the redundant copy of the piece of data. As each block of data is written, the stripes and redundant copy rotate places, so that no single drive fills up with redundant copies (this is called distributed parity). For this to work, RAID 5 requires a minimum of three drives. When a drive in a RAID 5 array fails, the data can be located somewhere else in the array. If failure occurred on a drive that held a striped copy, the entirety of the data can be found on the drive that holds the parity copy. If the parity is missing, you still have a copy of the data striped across the other drives. On the flip side, if you lose more than one drive, you'll lose the entire array because parity is distributed across all the drives. In terms of performance, read operations will be similar to that of RAID 0, as the striped data can be read from several drives at one. Write operations, however, are more like RAID 1, since the parity data is written to only one drive. Drive space is also pooled, but less so than in RAID 0. In RAID 5, it works a bit differently. Due to the way parity works, if you have three drives, the available space will be equal to a RAID 0 array with two drives. In our examples, we used three 120GB SSDs, which resulted in arrays with 240GB of space. If you want install an OS on top of a RAID array, RAID 5 will work fairly well, so long as you're not trying to use it atop an array of multi-terabyte spinning drives. RAID 5 offers more resiliency than RAID 0, as well as significant gains in read operations for loading programs and games. Prepare your hardware If you've been following along in our series, you'll know that it's always best to use drives of identical make, model, and capacity when constructing a RAID array. Even if you're forced to use different makes and models (as we were in our examples), you have to make sure that the drive capacities are identical. Mixing drives will at best result in an array that will performs as if each drive were the slowest one. When connecting your drives for use in RAID, be sure to use the same interface for the drive. If two drives in your array are using SATA 6Gbps, use the same interface for every other drive you intend to add to the array. It's also a good idea to make sure all of the drives in your array are using the latest firmware. Firmware fixes can result in better speeds and fix potential bugs that can wreack havoc on your data. If you're going to use FakeRAID, make sure your motherboard has "onboard RAID." Most recent motherboards do, but if you're building a server out of an old machine, this is something you should check. Windows: Storage Spaces Creating a RAID 5 array in Windows is just as easy as creating RAID 0 and 1 arrays. It's important to remember Microsoft uses the name "Storage Spaces" instead of RAID, but the function is pretty much the same. To start, hit Win+S and search for "Storage spaces" and launch the utility. Next, click  "create a new pool and storage space." You'll be prompted for administrator access. Click Yes to continue. You'll be greeted by a windows showing all of the unformatted disks that can be used. Select all the disks you want in the array and click "Create pool." You'll have to select at least three to be able to create a RAID 5 array. In a perfect world, we'd use identical drives, but sometimes you have to use what you've got lying around. Reliability and speed could be negatively affected by using different drives. Next, give the pool a name and drive letter. The name will appear as the drive label. Select NTFS as the file system. For Resiliency type, select "Parity," which is the equivalent to RAID 5. When you're ready, click Create storage space to create the array. If you want to remove a RAID array for any reason, simply click Delete next to the storage space you want to remove. To remove the pool, remove all of the storage spaces in it first. Linux: mdadm and disks Creating a software RAID 5 array in Linux takes only two terminal commands. In Linux, the program mdadm (we like to pronounce it "madam") is what we'll use to set up the array. First things first, you need to get the RAID software. You'll need to download and install mdadm from your software repository. It's pretty common, and is included in most software repos. In Ubuntu, type the following command: sudo apt-get install mdadm The command will install mdadm for you, along with a dependency called Postfix. Postfix is an SMTP service that sends emails. The reason it's included is because if a drive fails or something else happens to your array, the system can alert you with an email. That's great for IT administrators, but Postfix is a PITA to administer. In many cases, you can just set the program to use no configuration if you like. If you do take the time to set it up, it can give you early warning when drives fail. Once mdadm is all set up, all you need to do is use the following command: sudo mdadm --create /dev/mdX --level=5 --raid-devices=[number of drives (3 or more)] [drive name] [drive name] [drive name] [etc] The above command will vary based on the size of your array, and how you'd like to name it. RAID devices are generally named /dev/mdX where X is the index of the array. Drive names can be any valid Linux device path, e.g., /dev/sda or /dev/disk/by-uuid/[UUID]. If you're not sure how Linux has identified your drives, you can use lsblk to identify them: lsblk -o name,model,mountpoint,size Once you create your array, you'll have to wait while the drives synchronize, which may take several minutes. The Disks utility is an easy-to-use GUI that allows you to create RAID arrays out of disks and partitions. You can also create RAID arrays in Linux using the GNOME disk utility. In Ubuntu, search for "Disks" and open the utility. On the left side of the window, click the checkbox above the list of drives. Then, select the drives you want to use to create an array and click Create RAID. Using onboard FakeRAID Onboard FakeRAID is harder to set up, but is your only real choice if you want your RAID array to be accessible to both Windows and Linux. You can also install an OS on top of a FakeRAID array. Once your drives are physically installed, boot into your BIOS by tapping the key prompted on startup. The message will say "Press DEL to enter Setup…" or something similar. Once you're in your BIOS, look for an option called "SATA mode." This option is in different places for each motherboard manufacturer, so refer to your user manual if you can't find it. Once you've found the setting, change it from AHCI to RAID. This will let your onboard RAID software know that there are possible RAID devices to be started. When you're done, save and reboot. On the next boot, you have to get into the RAID software to set up your arrays. If you have an Intel RAID controller, you may be prompted to hit CTRL+I to start the Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RST) RAID software. The software varies by vendor, so consult your motherboard manual on entering the RAID utility. In this example, Gigabyte's implementation let us use the RST tools from inside the UEFI BIOS utility. In Intel's RST menu, you should see some options and a list of hard drives on your system. Select "Create RAID Volume." Give your volume a name and select "RAID5 (Parity)" as the RAID level. The Gigabyte motherboard we used allowed us to access Itel RST from inside the UEFI BIOS utility. Each motherboard manufacturer will do things differently. Consult your user manual to figure out how to access Intel RST. Next, select the drives you want to include in your array. Other RST implementations may have you select drives first. Make sure that the drives you select are the correct ones; you'll lose any data saved on the drives that you use in a FakeRAID array. On the next boot, your FakeRAID array will appear as a single disk to the operating system. Additionally, RST may display the status of your RAID disks during the boot process, before the operating system loads. RAID 5 is a bit different and a little more complex than RAID 1 or 0, but it offers a compromise between the two extremes. This special RAID level will give you some wiggle room, just be sure not to ignore a drive failure. If all the drives are identical and one goes down, others may soon follow.

Newegg Daily Deals: AMD FX-9590 Vishera, Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti, and More! Posted: 21 Apr 2015 01:36 PM PDT   Top Deal: Had Intel stuck with its Netburst architecture, maybe we'd be looking at 20GHZ single-core CPUs by now. Who knows where that direction might have taken us. In the end, efficiency and multi-core processors won out, leading to chips like the one that's the focus of today's top deal, an AMD FX-9590 Vishera 8-Core Black Edition Desktop Processor for $220 with $3 shipping (normally $240 - use coupon code: [EMCARNK23]). Eight cores, 4.7GHz, 8MB L2 cache...yeah, it's like that. Other Deals: Refurbished EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card for $280 with free shipping (normally $310 - use coupon code: [EMCARNK29]; additional $10 Mail-in rebate) XFX Double Dissipation Radeon R9 290 4GB Video Card for $260 with free shipping (normally $270 - use coupon code: [0421SGSL130]; additional $20 Mail-in rebate) XFX Double Dissipation Radeon R9 290X 4GB Video Card for $300 with free shipping (normally $310 - use coupon code: [EMCARNK27]; additional $20 Mail-in rebate) Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card for $140 with free shipping (normally $150 - use coupon code: [EMCARNK83]; additional $20 Mail-in rebate)

Fedora 22 Hits the Ground Running in Beta Form Posted: 21 Apr 2015 12:53 PM PDT Looking beyond Windows Much of what we cover on Maximum PC revolves around Microsoft's Windows operating system, though lest anyone forget, there's this alternative called Linux. And of course there are many varieties of Linux to choose from, including Fedora 22 beta, which is now available. According to the Fedora Project, desktop and workstation users may not notice huge changes, but will see better performance behind the scenes in managing updates. Furthermore, Fedora users who manage applications using the command line will note that the updated package manager for RPM-based Linux distributions called "DNF" is faster while still keeping CLI compatibility with Yum for most tasks. There are three distinct editions of Fedora 22, all in beta form. They include Fedora 22 Cloud, which includes a Vagrant image for Fedora 22 Atomic Host Beta along with the addition of the Atomic command to provide a single point for managing host updates and container; Fedora 22 Server, which adds the new Database Server role through Rolekit and updates to the Cockpit management application; and Fedora 22 Workstation, which offers a refined Fedora desktop experience with better GNOME alerts, expanded use of Wayland, and some other tweaks. You should always consider beta software carefully since it likely still contains bugs that need eradicated, though reports around the web is that Fedora 22 is pretty polished, as was the Alpha release. Download links: Fedora 22 Workstation Fedora 22 Server Fedora 22 Cloud Fedora 22 Spins Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Reflecting on Nine Years Writing for Maximum PC Posted: 21 Apr 2015 12:13 PM PDT It's time for an introduction Wow, has it been nine years already? Happily (or sadly, to some of my critics), this isn't another article bidding Maximum PC readers a fond farewell—we've had too many of those over the past several years. Instead, it's a "thank you" note to those of you who've stuck around to justify my continued presence, a re-introduction for newer readers and anyone else who missed my first one eight years ago this month, a reflection on my time at Maximum PC and technology in general since contributing my first articles to the magazine nine years ago (reviews of the Wolfking Timber Wolf and Ideazon Merc keyboards), and commentary on where I think things are headed. Let me start things off simply by saying, "Hello!" My name is Paul Lilly and I've been a contributor to this wonderful publication since single-core CPUs and AGP graphics cards were still prevalent. I've been a fan of Maximum PC for even longer, as a subscriber and an active member of the forums, which back then were hosted on Delphi and known online as The Commport (it still exists, by the way). Like many of you reading this, Maximum PC helped fuel my passion for PCs and technology, though interestingly enough, it was another Future brand that dug its hooks in me early on—PC Gamer. My Journey to Maximum PC I started reading PC Gamer when it was called PC Entertainment, and while some adults lament having thrown away old baseball cards, my big regret is not holding onto the many issues of PC Entertainment/PC Gamer from the early days, along with rags like Sierra's InterAction. These were my teen years, an era not far removed from the Commodore 64 (my first PC) but firmly entrenched in x86 computing. I was hooked on adventure games and used to cut out pages and posters from game magazines and tape them to my wall. At one point, I even wrote a sequel on notebook paper to Maniac Mansion and enlisted the help of my cousin to draw up sketches with the intent of submitting the finished outline to Lucasfilm (the LucasArts gaming division didn't exist at the time). Ah, the naivety of youth! To be clear, I had no hand in making the eventual sequel, Day of the Tentacle, which was awesome. My story goes back further and includes time spent on the C64 and Atari 2600, but rather than add more nostalgia to the mix, the point I'm making is I've been a computer geek for a long, long time, and it eventually led me to Maximum PC. There were pit stops along the way, most notably a place called HardwareLogic. Before it was sold to a new owner, I wrote a variety of product reviews for HardwareLogic, everything from RAM and motherboards to media players to funky-looking cases like the Lian Li PC777-B Anniversary Edition, and helped manage the website. Having also been a longtime reader of Maximum PC and active forum member at the time, I saw that former Editor-in-Chief Will Smith and company were looking to hire an editor. I fluffed up my resume, collected some links of reviews I had written, and rolled the dice, figuring it was a long shot at best. And it was. Residing in Michigan, my application was set aside while Maximum PC searched locally for a candidate. And then it happened—I flew out to San Francisco for an interview, met the staff and toured the new facility, saw some of the local sights, and caught a red-eye back home. Not many know it, but I was offered and accepted a position as a Technical Editor. Unfortunately, it ended up being a short stint, as I resigned for personal reasons, but it was a stint all the same. More importantly, it was my foot in the door, and I've been contributing to Maximum PC as a freelance writer ever since. A Look at the News My contributions to Maximum PC went from sporadic to frequent to daily in just a short time. With the relaunch of Maximum PC's website in 2007, the old regime introduced Community Blogs, which later morphed into daily news postings. Some of you may remember the Daily News Briefs that I used to post—single articles with short blurbs and links to multiple news items. Those are gone, replaced by more in-depth articles on what's happening in technology, and under the leadership of current Editor-in-Chief Tuan Nguyen, we're again tweaking the content. More on that in a minute. First, I want to reflect a bit on what I've seen from covering the news over the years. If you listened to Gordon Mah Ung's farewell podcast, you might recall that a recurring theme he's heard time and again is the death of the PC. He never bought into it, and neither have I, though I have reported on the multiple market firm reports and analysts predicting the same thing over and over. Yet here we are, still writing about PCs and still as passionate as ever. Some of the form factors have changed in popularity—small form factor and micro PCs are gaining steam, and we've yet to see what impact true Steam Machines will have on the market—but we haven't traded in our desktops and gaming laptops for tablets, and we're not using our smartphones for CAD work or encoding videos. I've also seen a lot of untapped potential, which excites me for the future. Hardly anyone uses a single-core processor anymore, and now dual-core and quad-core chips are common. Six-core and eight-core processors will be the norm before long, yet developers aren't taking full advantage of the hardware at their disposal. Part of the reason is because they're coding for the lowest common denominator. And perhaps others have yet to let go of the MHz/GHz mentality that drove the market before Intel gave up on its Netburst architecture. Regardless of the reason(s), we've yet to see the widespread benefits of owning a mulit-core CPU, which means the best is yet to come. By far, though, the biggest thing I've seen is change. Bill Gates is mostly retired from Microsoft, and so is Steve Ballmer. Steve Jobs and many other pioneers passed away, AMD purchased ATI Technologies, Toshiba acquired OCZ's memory and storage businesses, form factors and technologies like BTX and RAMBUS have come into the limelight and been pushed back into the dark, PC games have transitioned from physical media to digital downloads, the floppy disk finally died (for most of us), and cloud computing has become a major focus of many organizations, including Microsoft. And that's just the tip of a very big iceberg. Maximum PC and the Future As longtime readers know, Maximum PC hasn't been immune to change, either. Jon Phillips, Will Smith, Katherine Stevenson, Gordon Mah Ung, Michael Brown, Josh Norem, Norman Chan, George Jones, David Murphy, Nathan Edwards, Alex Castle, and others have all moved on, either entirely or mostly, some of them still contributing freelance articles on occasion. And speaking of freelancers, former news contributors like Ryan Whitwam, Brad Chacos, and Justin Kerr deserve acknowledgement for helping to shape Maximum PC after the relaunch. Perhaps I'm a little biased, but freelancers often don't get the credit they deserve, and I've had the privilege of working with some wonderful contributors through the years. I'll admit, it's been tough to see so many talented individuals move on and out. At the same time, we're lucky to have a newer cast that understands the brand, its storied history, and what it will take to keep Maximum PC ticking. I don't know Alex Campbell real well (yet), but I trust Tuan Nguyen's judgement, who's shared with me his specific vision for the future and some of the exciting things that are in store. And Jimmy Thang, whom I've had the most communication with, is exactly the kind of blood this magazine needs. Put another way, and for what it's worth from someone who's been here one year short of a decade, the current cast has my stamp of approval. If you're not fans already, I think you will be once all the changes take effect and the dust settles. Going forward, I plan to continue to cover the news, but as you've probably noticed, there's been a reduction in stories. That's so we can collectively focus on content that's more interesting and relevant, and more narrowly focused. There will be some growing pains, but in the end I think you'll see more of what you like and less of what you might be inclined to skip over. Final Words (For Now) Coming around full circle, it's been one helluva ride these past nine years. I've made friends in the forums with people like Satchboy, Chumly, Jipstyle, and Hitman (to name just a few), and look forward to what you, the readers, have to say in the comments section of posts. I don't always agree, but I appreciate the insight from folks like LatiosXT, jgottberg, praetor_alpha, and others. So, thank you—for reading, for engaging, and being a part of this community. And if you ever feel like it, don't hesitate to drop me (or any of the writers) a line. I'll be happy to discuss technology, answer questions, offer advice, or shoot the shit about outside hobbies, like sports (go Celtics, Patriots, Red Sox, and Bruins!) and motorcycles (I ride a 2013 Yamaha Raider S). Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

CyberPower's Trinity PC Goes from Prototype to Shipping Product Posted: 21 Apr 2015 09:48 AM PDT Get your starting at $955 We first spied CyberPower PC's funktastically designed Trinity gaming PC at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year. Back then, Trinity was in the prototype stage, and all too often we've seen such things turn to vaporware. Not this time. CyberPower today announced that its Trinity PC is available to configure and order, with prices starting at $955 for an AMD configuration. Before we get to the available configurations, let's talk a moment about the design. Trinity is unique in that it consists of three distinct compartments, or blades. This is partially to maximize cooling, as each compartment gets its own cooling scheme. The "Performance Blade" contains the graphics card with support for full-length models, such as the GeForce Titan X or Radeon R9 series. You can also mount several solid state drives adjacent to the graphics card. There's also a "CPU Blade" that's compatible with mini ITX motherboards, and a "Storage Blade" that can house up to three SSDs, two HDDs, and a slim optical drive. Now, onto the configurations. It starts with the Trinity 100 ($955), which includes an AMD A10-7700K CPU, 8GB DDR3-1600 RAM, Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti graphics card, MSI A88XI AC motherboard, 120GB + 1TB SSD/HDD combo, 8X DVD writer, and Windows 8.1 Next up is the Trinity 200 ($1,339) -- Core i5 4690K CPU, 16GB DDR3-1600 RAM, GeForce GTX 960 GPU, Gigabyte Z97N WiFi mobo, 240GB SSD + 2TB HDD, 8X DVD writer, and Windows 8.1. Finally, there's the Trinity Xtreme ($1,795). It comes with an Intel Core i7 5820K CPU, 16GB DDR4-2400 RAM, GeForce GTX 970 graphics card, ASRock X99E-ITX/AC motherboard, 240GB SSD + 2TB HDD, 8X DVD burner, and Windows 8.1. All of these configurations are customizable -- just head here and start clicking. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Linksys Wins Race to 100 Million Router Sales, Sets Sites on Connecting Cuba Posted: 21 Apr 2015 09:11 AM PDT Remarkable 15-year run Linksys today announced that it has sold over 100 million wired and wireless routers around the world. No other company has crossed the 100 million mark in router sales, a milestone that took Linksys just over 15 years to accomplish. As a pioneer in the router market, the company's first consumer grade product was the BEFSR41, a cable/DSL routers with a built-in 4-port switch. Fast forward to today and it's a much different landscape than it was back in 1999. Smartphones are prevalent and, more recently, the Internet of Things (IoT) category is growing at a breakneck pace -- give it a bit of time and even your toaster might one day be connected to the Internet. "The 100 million milestone of any product is something to celebrate," said Mike Chen, vice president, product management, Linksys. "For a router to hit this accomplishment in the same company as smartphones, game consoles, MP3 players, tablets and e-readers, shows how crucial sharing an internet connection has become. When Linksys introduced the first consumer grade router at Comdex in 1999, we never would have imagined it would have such a critical role for connecting the Internet of Things in the home." If you have a PDF reader handy, you can view a timeline of products Linksys has put out through the years. Arguably the most popular of the bunch is the WRT54GL, essentially a revision of the WRT54G but with more RAM to accommodate third-party firmware. Linksys brought back the aesthetic design of the WRT54G/WRT54GL with the release of the WRT1900AC, our current pick for the Wi-Fi Router category in our Best of the Best list, and the recipient of a 9-verdict + KickAss award when we reviewed it a few months ago. Going forward, Linksys is kicking off a Link Your World campaign with the goal of connecting people in Cuba with the rest of the rest of the world. "There is an opportunity here to develop and drive growth within Cuba," said Linksys CEO Chet Pipkin. "We believe that recent policy changes make this effort more viable, and we look forward to working with our industry partners and government officials to achieve this important goal." The iniative will include interactive programs and contests on the company's website and across its social media sites, along with retailers. So keep your eyes peeled on ways to win free gear. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

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MMORPG News

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• EVE Online: Chronicles of New Eden - Varc Grayback's Greatest Fight
• General: The Daily Quest - What's Your Biggest MMO Pet Peeve?
• Star Wars Galaxies: Creating a Dynamic World
• Tree of Savior: Second Korean Closed Beta Teased in New Trailer
• ArcheAge: Ship Customization Coming with Dread Prophecies Update
• General: Star Wars Battlefront - Creating an Authentic Experience
• Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fallen Empire - First Image Revealed
• General: The WoW Token Rollercoaster - Price Hikes or Effective Option?
• Life is Feudal: Latest Development Update Released
• Star Wars: The Old Republic: Bioware Star Wars Games Not Canon
• Triad Wars: New Trailer Invites you to Own the Underworld
• TERA: Gunner Class Announced & Steam Launch Set for May 5th
• General: When to Embrace Themepark MMOs
• World of Warcraft: WoW Token Coming to EU Region April 21st
• Guild Wars 2: Slow And Steady Wins The Enjoyment Race

EVE Online: Chronicles of New Eden - Varc Grayback's Greatest Fight Posted: 20 Apr 2015 01:25 PM PDT EVE Online is a game with a story to tell--millions of them, actually. Every day friendships are formed, battles lost, revenge exacted. This week we sit down with Varc Grayback, leader of an elite PvP corporation, to hear his story.

General: The Daily Quest - What's Your Biggest MMO Pet Peeve? Posted: 21 Apr 2015 05:44 AM PDT We love these games. That's why we're hear. But MMOs are far from perfect experiences, and over the years there have been a great many trends that aren't always good for the genre. Today's quest is about that... what's your biggest MMO pet peeve?

Star Wars Galaxies: Creating a Dynamic World Posted: 21 Apr 2015 04:48 AM PDT Raph Koster has updated his blog with a look at the dynamic world of Star Wars Galaxies. The post gives a detailed look at the complexities of creating a world from a design perspective.

Tree of Savior: Second Korean Closed Beta Teased in New Trailer Posted: 21 Apr 2015 03:00 AM PDT Nexon is getting its players prepped for the second closed beta event for Tree of Savior. The six day Korean event will give layers a look at the game's forty-four classes and a taste for game play mechanics. Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think.

ArcheAge: Ship Customization Coming with Dread Prophecies Update Posted: 21 Apr 2015 03:20 AM PDT Trion has published a new, comprehensive look at the upcoming ship customization feature headed into ArcheAge when the Dream Prophecies update goes live in the near future. Customization options aren't just cosmetic either. Players will be able to tailor their ships into deadly destroyers, stealthy traders or, as Trion put it, anything in between.

General: Star Wars Battlefront - Creating an Authentic Experience Posted: 20 Apr 2015 04:40 PM PDT DICE has sent out an intriguing new video developer diary to give fans the inside track on how the team is working to create an authentic experience for players of Star Wars Battlefront. The video is one of the first in a series that will be hosted by Gamestop to tease buyers into preordering the highly anticipated title, not coincidentally giving them early access on December 1st.

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fallen Empire - First Image Revealed Posted: 20 Apr 2015 01:08 PM PDT Bioware teased an expansion at the recent Star Wars: The Old Republic Cantina Tour stop in Anaheim, California. Today, the first image from "Fallen Empire" has been revealed possibly heralding an official announcement of an expansion.

General: The WoW Token Rollercoaster - Price Hikes or Effective Option? Posted: 18 Apr 2015 06:32 PM PDT When we last looked at the topic of WoW token for World of Warcraft, Blizzard hadn't yet unleashed the new subscription option onto the market. Now, after more than a week of availability in North America, the option has seen a rollercoaster in the market as those looking to make some cash came up on the demand for the first time. With the tokens costing $20, does this really provide a good service, giving players more options?

Life is Feudal: Latest Development Update Released Posted: 20 Apr 2015 12:19 PM PDT The Life Is Feudal team has published a second video development blog that focuses on questions taken from the game's social media. In addition, an inside look at the most current development activities and a first-ever community spotlight are featured.

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Bioware Star Wars Games Not Canon Posted: 20 Apr 2015 12:15 PM PDT Kotaku is reporting that Disney has admitted that all of Bioware's Star Wars games fall outside of the official canon for the intellectual property. Anything that is considered the 'extended universe' is now non-canonical to the overall Star Wars story. Disney had announced several months back that most novels, comics, and video games would be considered part of the unofficial, unvisited part of Star Wars.

Triad Wars: New Trailer Invites you to Own the Underworld Posted: 20 Apr 2015 11:50 AM PDT A new Triad Wars trailer has been released that invites watchers to own the underworld. It's a spicy look at the upcoming game with language and violence to suit. Check it out and see what you think.

TERA: Gunner Class Announced & Steam Launch Set for May 5th Posted: 20 Apr 2015 11:43 AM PDT En Masse Entertainment has announced that a new class is coming to TERA to celebrate the official Steam launch set for May 5th. The Gunner class will specialize in, as the name implies, arc canons and rapid fire AoE. Check out the video below and mark your calendar for May 5th.

General: When to Embrace Themepark MMOs Posted: 20 Apr 2015 09:49 AM PDT There are hundreds of MMOs out there, and many of us have played dozens or more of them. Along the way, we've picked up a few favorites, maybe even made a mostly permanent home. But there's always that nagging thought... maybe it's time to go back and try that other game again?

World of Warcraft: WoW Token Coming to EU Region April 21st Posted: 20 Apr 2015 09:45 AM PDT Blizzard has announced that the WoW Token will be headed to the EU Region on April 21st after normal maintenance (approximately 5:00 pm CET). WoW Tokens will cost 20 Euro and buyers will be able to place the tokens for sale on the special regional auction house. The initial price to purchase a token that can be traded for 30-days subscription time will be 35,000 gold.

Guild Wars 2: Slow And Steady Wins The Enjoyment Race Posted: 18 Apr 2015 06:26 PM PDT This week, Jason enlists the help of the Jedi Order to explain his approach to making MMOs feel more like fun and not work.

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