Weekly MMO news round-up: Dune hates Second Life, EVE gets an iPhone app, Guild Wars turns 4

Nothing major really took place in the land of MMOs this week, but there were are loads of little things that matter to someone out there.

That's why we're here.

Read on.

• Space MMO Black Prophecy got trailered during the week, showing a bit of the flight-sim combat. This one definitely looks much different than your average MMO, and we are keeping an eye firmly on its progression.
• Massively took a look at the new iPhone/iPod Touch app Capsuleer 2.0, the mobile portal into EVE Online's New Eden. Described as a "persistent real-world analog to EVE's in-game Neocom" it helps gamers on the go keep up with their characters.
• The estate of Dune creator Frank Herbert had it's lawyers issue a cease and desist order to a Second Life player who recreated the sci-fi world in-game. Seems this sort of flattery is not appreciated unless money has changed hands.
• EverQuest II users can now change the appearance and names of their characters providing they purchase "potions" from Sony. Each costs around 1500 in Station Cash, but you can get the works for 2500 SC, which is called the 'Norrathian Witness Protection Pack'. Nice way to start stalking that cute guild leader again with him/her being none the wiser.
• Guild Wars turns four April 28, and plans to celebrate are as follows: starting April 23, the Shing Jea Monastery is re-opening the Boardwalk, and it will be full of games like Rollerbeetle racing and the "infamous Dragon Arena." Plus no birthday is complete without presents, so expect to see some miniatures show up in your inventory.
• Noir Online was announced this week, and while it may look like your typical Korean MMO, the premise is not. For one thing, it is based on a re-imagining of 1930s Shanghai, where East meets West and the Mafia is in control of the city. Fight battles of integrity and betrayal while watching your family grow. Digitalic spent four years researching for this game before even starting on it - let's hope it was worth the trouble.
• SOE's Luke Sigmund told IGN that the job system in Free Realms is unlike anything else out there. You can have an unlimited amount on one character and with 15 jobs available at launch to choose from, it will get even tougher to decide which way to go when more are added later. "The coolest thing about Free Realms is that you can really be any class you want any time," Luke says. "So if today I wake up and I want to be a Postman, I can be one. If I want to be a Wizard, I can do that too. It's also really great for grouping. In normal MMOs, you can't do a dungeon without a healer. So here, you can always have whatever group setup you want."
• Frogster announced a new zone called Ravenfell for Runes of Magic: it's included in the next update. Yar! This be the land of pirates me hearties, but to get here, ye must be at least lvl 45 to hop on board. The new zone is full of added quests, bringing the game's total up to 1,600, while the update will also revamp the new player tutorial section.
• Fallen Earth was finally rated by the ESRB, and from here on out it is considered a Mature game. Glad that's straightened out - it's not like you have to fight off kittens or anything, just mean mutated bikers in a world ravaged by viral and nuclear Armageddon. Nice.
• The Jumpgate Evolution developers are starting a series of dev diaries. The first one has lead producer Hermann Peterscheck chatting about what made the group decided to do a space-shooter MMO in the first place. It's worth a watch, because it's pretty damn lovely to behold.
• The upcoming Chronicles of Spellborn patch features loads of changes and new features to the Arena. You can participate in Skirmishes and Leagues, each with its own USP. Find out more here.
• Cryptic has released three new screens for Star Trek Online, showing what we're sure is a Klingon Ship, and the rest of it - well, we're unsure. All we know is that they're cool.
• Masthead has launched a YouTube page for upcoming MMO Earthrise. The first movie is titled "Earthrise Dynamic Targeting" and is a very quick look at the game's PvP. Footage is rough, but still intriguing.