Ryan "Imago-Quem" Favale, EQII Graphics Programmer, has been working on the highly anticipated Shaders 3.0 since before Fan Faire.  He's been great about keeping in touch with the players via the official forums and posting "before and after" pictures of the project.  Many people were disappointed Shaders 3.0 didn't hit Test with GU54 this week.  When asked by players for a timeline on the project he posted:

I wish I could tell you before it hits the news, but decisions are always being made and if I say one thing then it's like a promise and I would get in huge trouble.  I can only repeat what's been announced already about release dates.

The planned date for GU54 is December 1, barring unforseen complications.  Kiara posted in the GU54 Test discussion thread that the new shaders are still undergoing analysis and performance tweaks.  In the meantime, Ryan posted a little teaser video showing the Dragon Armor in Shaders 1.0 vs Shaders 3.0.  See it below the jump!

EverQuest II's fifth birthday is November 8.  There's a birthday party and you're invited! Actually, there are two parties:

• When:  November 9th at 5pm PST (1am GMT)
• Where:  in the Community Lounge on the Test server

• When:  November 10th at 11am PST (7pm GMT)
• Where:  in the Community Lounge on the Test server

There will be cake, fireworks, and some trivia with prizes! Make sure to update Test well in advance, especially if it's your first time on the server. 

Here's a time zone converter to help you plan!

Blizzard has updated its Tier 10 sneak peek page with the priest and paladin armor sets. The shaman set is currently the only one that's missing on the official site. You can view high-resolution images of the priest and pally designs after the jump.

So what do you think of the priest and paladin sets? How about Tier 10 as a whole? Do the designs live up to your expectations for patch 3.3 or were you expecting more?

The WAR Herald is full of interesting news today, from City Siege hotfixes to a dev diary on combating hackers. To start things off, Mythic has officially introduced the endless free trial. It should come as no surprise since we reported on it earlier this week, but you can now play the free trial for as long as you like if you remain in Tier 1 content, below Rank 11. Check out the FAQ for more information.

Now that we've got that out of the way, let's look at today's hotfixes. According to the notes, Mythic is "making a number of changes that will improve the overall Capital City invasion experience for all players." For example, guild halls, the Emperor's Palace and the Eternal City will now remain open to players at all times, regardless of the city's current rank. You can read all the changes after the jump.

Lastly, Development Manager John Cox has written a diary entry explaining how Mythic deals with hackers. While it doesn't contain and earth-shattering news, it is an interesting read. "Believe it or not, any of you hackers out there, we’re members of your online communities, sometimes silently listening, sometimes actively participating. The best place to figure out what hackers are trying and what they’ve figured out about us is to hide among them," he said.

Fallen Earth players who own iPhones will soon have the ability to keep track of their characters while they're away from their computers. The Fallen Earth team just announced that it is developing an iPhone application that will allow players to connect to the live game server to check on their characters, view maps, craft items, use the Auction House, chat with friends, and perform all sorts of other tasks.

The iPhone application is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2010. It's good to know iPhones have survived in the post-apocalyptic future. Honestly, the app sounds like a great way for players to stay connected to the game when they can't log in to Fallen Earth. What do you think? Will you be downloading the application?

Friday is always an exciting day for Star Wars: The Old Republic fans because it marks the addition of new content to the official site. Today is no exception: the next class has officially been revealed as the Imperial Agent, Senior Writer Drew Karpyshyn published a blog entry about creating the Jedi Knight storyline, and Threat of Peace #19 was released. You can read Karpyshyn's blog after the jump.

The Imperial Agent was actually announced at the Electronic Arts European Press Tour earlier this week, but Sean Dahlberg officially revealed the class in the forums today. "Imperial Agents work behind the scenes to get the work of the Empire done. Specializing in high-tech gear, the Imperial Agent always has the right tools at the right time," he said. The Imperial Agent will be added to the HoloNet next week and you can view screenshots of the class over at IncGamers.

According to Eurogamer, Cryptic and Atari have confirmed that Star Trek Online will be released for PC on Feb. 2, 2010 in North America, followed by a Feb. 5 launch in Europe. Both Amazon and GameStop started listing Feb. 2 as the release date earlier this week, so it may not come as a surprise to excited Star Trek fans.

The closed beta for Star Trek Online just started on Oct. 22. Do you think the game will actually be ready to launch in three months, or will the release be delayed? Start placing your bets now! Personally, I hope the launch goes smoothly because I'm looking forward to taking command of a starship.