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By Mod Tytn 26-Nov-2009
I’ve just finished the development work on Fairy Tale 3 and I should be happy, relieved and pleased with myself. But I’m flummoxed, perplexed and generally vexed; the most challenging task is yet to be completed! A fairy quest’s subtitle is generally the most difficult thing to invent. This isn’t as simple as it sounds - it requires a subtle, humorous, tantalising and yet revealing insight into the quest, but shouldn’t give too much away. Perhaps I need to go on a course to improve my quest naming skills.
This project has taken more than the usual number of twists and turns on its unique trip through production - let me explain. The initial developer, Mod Greg, passed the Fairy Tale quest series on to Mod Ingrid. Both developers did great work and created a wonderfully whimsical world. The honour of writing the code and developing Fairy Tale 3 from the design brief came my way and I’ve done my best to realise Mod Ingrid’s vision for the final chapter of the Fairy Tale series.
Military madness
One of the new characters in the quest has a slight tendency towards military speak and getting into this character and writing the dialogue has been very interesting. Having done some amateur dramatics and also experiencing the old school pencil-and-paper role-playing games, I know what a difference it can make to ‘act the part’ in a story.
Writing dialogue for characters can be fun, I really try to put myself in the place of the adventurer having to deal with this person and imagine the kind of verbal interaction that would happen. But at least I don’t take my work home with me. For instance, it’s rare you’ll catch me barking orders to imaginary fairy soldiers - "Get into line, you numbskulls; we’ve got a job to do!" That never happens.
Orkish military precision
Mod Chihiro mentioned in his Design Review blog that a significant element of this quest was the boss fight. He wrote, "designing a boss fight for this was challenging". Well, the boss fight certainly is challenging, not just from a player’s point of view, but very much from a coding perspective too.
In this particular challenge, we really wanted to do something a bit different, really explore the tactical possibilities for a boss battle where the player has the choice about how to take out the enemies and which enemies to take out first. Yes, that’s right, multiple hard and tough enemies, all of them not liking you very much, all at the same time. Don’t worry, though, we’ll give you a few allies, though they may be a bit long in the tooth.
Initial feedback
The project has completed development and is getting initial feedback. This means that QA and some of my RuneScape Content colleagues have written what they think of the project with an aim of making it better. Most of the comments have been positive, but it’s clear that more improvements are possible. I’ve compiled this list of suggestions and have started implementing them into the code. That which doesn’t kill a project only makes it stronger. I’m enjoying this phase of development, seeing the slightly raggedy edges being polished and wrought into shape.
Implementation
What I really love about developing RuneScape projects is the mixture of different skill sets it requires. It requires a technical mindset to force this chaotic creativity into the very particular constraints of a binary computer system, and it needs creativity to solve those technical problems. So, here’s a silly, but not too dissimilar example of a conversation I might have with myself:
"Do I need to store all this information in so many variables, or can I just assume the player is going to do this specific thing?"
"We can never assume anything of our players! They’ll always do something slightly odd that we hadn’t expected."
"Okay, so I have to use all these variables then? Seems like a bit of a waste for the end result?"
"Hmm, maybe you’re right; but what if you put a nice PINK FAIRY in that space there, wouldn’t it look nice?"
"Oh yeah! Yeah, it would... but hey, that’s not answering the question..."
"But it was a boring question, just store the information in another way!"
"Yeah, but what other way?"
"If you had a PINK FAIRY, right there, she could remind the player of all the stuff that you needed to store in those variables."
"Oh yeah!"
And, of course, I’m sure that every other developer does exactly the same thing, and if they don’t, they ought to.
Once all the initial feedback for the project has been implemented, the project will go into QA for a thorough testing. I’ve already done a lot of my own testing, so I’m hopeful that the few issues that QA always find will be minor. This is usually the point at which I start to get a little nervous, even though I’ve developed content for years; this is the start of the countdown for the project being ready for release.
And release means players, and players means feedback. I like to take a balanced approach to player feedback; read and accept all the positive comments and ignore anything negative - that works well for me! ;) But that’s not exactly true, I’m far too interested in doing better next time to ignore any critical comments, I always want to make my next quest the ‘best quest ever!’.
NB: No PINK FAIRIES were harmed during the development of this blog.
If you'd like to discuss this blog on the forums, please visit this forum thread.
For those with the steely determination and the requisite clue-solving abilities, a new item and emote will be yours for the claiming. Simply head over to the official Cryptic Clue Fest thread for your first clue and an explanation of what to expect, and then keep checking the thread each day of this holiday weekend (Thursday-Sunday) for subsequent clues.
That’s not all this Thanksgiving, though. For anyone who’s not yet helped him out, the Lumbridge cook’s brother has some turkey-related shenanigans he’d like some help with. Either talk to the cook’s brother in Lumbridge Castle’s kitchen or check out this Knowledge Base page for more information.
Good luck and happy Thanksgiving!
If you're after something else to do between solving clues, our friends over at FunOrb have recently launched a single-player campaign for the RuneScape inspired game Armies of Gielinor. The God Wars are in full swing and the forces of Saradomin and Zamorak are engaged in a struggle for domination. Take control of the Zamorak horde as it enters the fray and battles for control of Morytania. This update is free-to-play for all and comprises of 17 mission of tactical action against some fiendishly clever opposition. Six Achievements are available for you to earn, so head over to FunOrb to try the game and see if you can claim Morytania for the forces of Zamorak.
Mod Howes and Mod Mark H
RuneScape Community Management
Mod Korpz
Head of FunOrb
A glorious day for Zamorak! Today we bring you an update we’ve been talking about for quite some time; the first single-player campaign for Armies of Gielinor is now available. Lead the Zamorakian horde after the god returns to Runescape, and battle the forces of Saradomin and other armies in order to conquer Hallowvale.
The update features a map-driven, dynamic campaign, allowing you to complete it in any number of ways. Each mission rewards you with a different upgrade, providing trinkets, additional unit types to summon, or a mana boost that you can use in other battles.
This campaign is available to free players and members alike, and there are six Achievements for you to collect. Each mission can be played multiple times even if already completed, allowing you to perfect your skills and get a position in the Highscore tables! By the way, your progress in an ongoing mission is saved automatically, even if you log out.
So head on over to Armies of Gielinor and ready your army for battle. Hallowvale will burn!
Mod Shade
FunOrb Developer
There is good news, though, if you missed out on the opportunity to join Classic this time: it’s not the last chance! We will be opening Classic up to allow new members to join the game every six months from now on.
The plan is:
- After Wednesday 25th November, there will be two Classic worlds.
- If you are a veteran (that is, if you logged in to Classic between August 2005 and January 2006), you will have access to both worlds.
- If you are a Classic member (that is, if you logged in to Classic in the last two weeks but are not a veteran), you will have access to world 2 only.
- If you stop being a member, you will not be able to access Classic until you become a member again, at which point your access will be restored.
- If you did not log in to Classic in the past two weeks, you will get another chance in around six months’ time. We will announce the exact dates nearer to the time.
As for the player-owned servers idea, we have decided not to proceed with it in Classic at this point: the game is working fine as it is, with new people playing it, and there’s no reason to continue with such a big project with the numbers of players in Classic as they currently are. We do still really like the idea of player-owned servers, though, and will continue to think about it.
Conga line that went around the building for 6 times!
by Mod Maz 19-Nov-2009
Back in 2006, Mod Mark and I sat down and started to develop what we then called ‘area tasks’. This idea was concepted and developed into the very first Achievement Diary: Karamja. This was a completely new idea within the game - not a quest, yet not a minigame or skill. It was quite an adventure finding and pushing the boundaries of what was possible at the time, and yet staying within our core ideas for what was to become Achievement Diaries: "To highlight existing content that perhaps players hadn’t used in a long time or simply didn’t know about, and to show players around an area by using existing content in the area."
Elite
So, seven diaries later and what has changed? Well, we give far greater rewards for the newer diaries than we gave to Karamja; we’ve added a special beginner diary to Lumbridge to introduce new players to the concept; and, of course, we recently released the Ardougne diary with a hidden elite section.
We were a little wary about how this elite section would go down considering how few players could actually complete it. Overall, the feedback appears to have been positive, with many players using it as a goal, rather than seeing it as a disappointment that they’ll never reach.
So, I’m now starting to design the elite sections for all of the diaries (hard for Lumbridge). What does this involve? It’s generally split into two parts: coming up with tasks and coming up with rewards.
By far the easier part is coming up with the tasks, which is in no small part due to you, the players. I cannot begin to count the number of good tasks that have been suggested for previous diaries on the forums. Being a player of RuneScape as well as a developer, I’ll also use my own game knowledge of the area to come up with some tasks, as well as walking around the area to get a feel for it.
In the case of elite tasks, I will also be talking to the curators of the other diaries that I didn’t develop or do not curate - that’s Mod Roderick (Lumbridge and Varrock), Mod Trick (Falador) and Mod Hew (Fremennik) - to see what they’d want. Oh, and listening to the squirrels’ instructions for world domination... Wait, what?
Task master
What do we look for in elite tasks? Well, pretty much the same as any normal task, but they should be higher in level than the hard tasks for the area.
This means:
- Bearing in mind the core aims of the project.
- Trying to stick to the skill ‘theme’ of the area, if at all possible. This is the loosest requirement; after all, a diary that only featured Thieving tasks would be fairly boring and predictable!
- Avoiding anything that relies on a random possibility, as this has caused problems in the past (remember the gout tuber in Karamja’s Achievement Diary?). This means avoiding things like monster drop tables, clue scrolls and other such random features.
- Avoiding bottlenecks - e.g. things players can only do one at a time, such as successfully Thieving from one particular stall or killing the KBD, which prevents other players from doing the task for a short time.
- Never using any part of a quest as a task. This last one is quite tricky, as things like getting some boots of lightness would make for a nice little task, but as it is part of a quest, we don’t add it as a task because the mechanic has already been used.
Rewards
Having found some good tasks it’s then on to the hard part: the rewards! At least here we have a small start, as all of the diaries have XP lamps as part of the reward, but what else to give that is both balanced (so as to not be overpowered) and in keeping with the previous rewards? At the moment, that, along with the tasks, is a question I am pondering and coming up with ideas for.
Overall, I’m very proud that I am able to reward players through these diaries for their everyday playing of the game. Not just the XP and the item rewards, but the reward of discovering (or re-discovering) parts of the game that you find fun and useful.
If you feel you’d like to contribute ideas for elite tasks, elite rewards or tasks/rewards for any of the areas that don’t yet have an Achievement Diary, please post them on this forum thread. If you have questions relating specifically to this blog, please visit this forum thread.
You can access RuneScape Classic here.
RuneScape Classic is the predecessor to the current RuneScape game. It was closed to new members over four years ago, but we want for players to be able to try out this important part of our history. We also have potential further plans for Classic (as discussed in this blog), so another reason for this re-opening is to see how many people are interested.
If you have any questions or wish to discuss this, please visit this forum thread.
Mod Jack H
Tools Developer
Note: If you would prefer not to play through the RuneScape Classic tutorial, there is a button to allow you to skip it under the 'Spanner' menu in game.
As you play we’ll be generating interesting news about your character’s experiences: high-level NPCs killed, expensive monster drops, and even player kills made on PvP Worlds will be logged. You can also look at other players’ logs (if they’re public) and compare characters. We feel we’ve covered a broad selection of newsworthy events, but would love to hear your ideas for what else you might like to see.
Be advised that every player’s Adventurer’s Log is publicly viewable by default, but you can set your profile to be available to ‘Friends only’, or make it ‘Private’ so only you can see it. Regardless of your Log’s privacy setting, your ‘Time Played’ information will only be visible by you. The Adventurer’s Log can also be accessed via the website’s Community menu, or by clicking here.
We also like to point out that it’s possible for members to directly link to the images of their avatar as taken in the Photo Booth. These are the images displayed both on the forums and in the Adventurer's Log. The process for doing so is quite straightforward, and is explained here.
Mod Dylan
RuneScape Content Developer
As part of this, we’ve slightly changed the way in which the extreme magic potion works – it now provides a visible Magic stat boost of 7, which decreases over time as with other stat-boosting potions. The normal magic potion’s level boost has been increased to +5. We have, however, also made a change to the Magic skill itself, so that if your Magic level is boosted by any means, you will inflict +3% magic damage per boosted level. This is on top of the +10% magic damage you inflict when wielding certain staves.
Part of the reason for these changes is that we’ve added four new high-level elemental battle spells to the standard spellbook. The Wind Surge (level 81), Water Surge (level 85), Earth Surge (level 90) and Fire Surge (level 95) spells each require one blood and one death rune, and some air runes (and some water, earth or fire runes for those respective elemental spells).
The max hit of Fire Surge is:
28 without boosts
30 with a magic damage-boosting staff
33 with extreme magic/overload
37 with both extreme magic/overload and a magic damage-boosting staff
With those updates, you’re going to need some more runes, so, to top it all off, Runecrafting also gets a tweak. As of today, crafting multiple runes out of one essence has changed for the better. Before, you would only gain the ability to craft an extra rune at specific Runecrafting levels (e.g. 2 air runes at level 11, 3 air runes at level 22, 4 at level 33, and so on). Now, there is a ‘chance’ of getting an extra rune on ‘some’ of your essences if you are between those set levels, with that chance increasing as your level increases (e.g. at Runecrafting levels 12-21, you will gain 2 or 3 air runes per essence). If you want to imagine it visually, what used to be a step graph has been smoothed out into a curve. This is explained in a little more detail in the Game Guide, but the bottom line is that you’ll receive more runes for your hard work.
Mod Chris L (potions/Magic), Mod Rathe (new spells) and Mod Nancy (Runecrafting)
RuneScape Content Developers
In other news...
Your run mode setting is now stored between logins.
You can now take Ava's Attractor and Accumulator to Lanthus and you will be able to retrieve dropped ammo while in Castle Wars. There's also a toggle option on both items to allow you to stop receiving junk.
The pharaoh's sceptre now displays its remaining charges in the name of the item.
The Summoning skillcape now has a boost option to match other skillcapes.
Cannons will no longer waste cannonballs on NPCs in the process of dying. You can now also top up the ammo when it's already firing and there’s an auto-setup feature.
Bones to Peaches and Bones to Bananas can now be used to convert any bones up to and including big bones.
Shattered Plans has been revamped, enhanced, extended, and relaunched! Newcomers should find the game easier to learn and master, while experienced players will find that the fundamentals of the game remain the same, so you can still command fleets of warships and control empires spanning dozens of star systems. Key features of the update are:
- Revised map layout: systems are now laid out on a regular hexagonal grid, making it easier to see the battlefield at a glance and who has the largest empire
- Redesigned interface: the interface now takes up less of the screen, and most of it is presented in windows that you can drag to different positions
- Alternative rules: the Streamlined rules make managing your empire's defences and production much easier. The Classic rules are also still available for those who want the additional depth of the tactical options they provide
- Additional game modes: as well as the traditional Conquest mode where you need to kill your opponents, Shattered Plansnow has three new game types:
- In Points mode you earn points each turn for every system you control, and if you can reach the target score before your opponents, victory is yours. This mode has similarities with Conquest mode, but takes less time to play
- Capture and Hold mode (known as Sol mode in the multiplayer lobby) takes placed on a fixed map layout. Players start at the edges, and Sol, with the scorched remains of Earth, is at the centre. You earn points by capturing and holding Sol, and whoever has the most points at the end of 20 turns wins
- In Derelicts mode the map is scattered with abandoned alien objects. Capturing a derelict will earn you points each turn as you research its secrets, but this research is expensive and reduces your income. To win, you need to strike a balance between earning points to reach the target score first and having enough forces to hold your territory
- New Achievements: there are 10 new Achievements in Shattered Plans, designed to test your mastery of the various game types and your ability to dominate the battlefield. Oh, and your understanding of the mysteries of Time.
The galaxy is yours for the taking, so click here to start your career of conquest.
Mod Photon
FunOrb Developer
Sounds a lot like a magic update ^_^
Once you have purchased your card, you can use the PIN number on the back to subscribe to RuneScape. Click here to find out how.
These cards are also available in the United States, and they can be found in branches of Target, 7-Eleven, Wal-Mart and Rite-Aid. We are hoping to launch these convenient cards in more countries in the future, so keep an eye on ‘Recent News’ for updates.
Excl was the winner of that top prize, and so, last week, we had the pleasure of his company. Now he’s back home safe and sound, he’s taken the time to write up a summary of his trip to share with you all, which we've published in this blog.
If you haven’t checked out his winning video yet, you can do so now by going to our RuneScape YouTube page and clicking on the playlist titled “Competition Finalists”.
Thanks, Excl, it was awesome having you over. =)
If you'd like to discuss this blog on the forums, please visit thisforum thread.
Mod Paul M
Community Management
If you'd like to send us your computer's specs, please visit this link and log in to begin. You will be guided through an agreement page to make sure that you understand what is required, and the process does not take long, so you should be back to RuneScape in no time.
The applet is completely secure and official. We can guarantee that your information will only be used by Jagex to develop future games and improve RuneScape. It will not be shared with any other organisations.
Once you have downloaded and used the program it will tell us the following things about your computer:
- Your operating system
- Your graphics card
- Your CPU
- Your Java version
- Relevant graphical drivers
When we've gathered together all of this information, we can begin planning RuneScape improvements and our future projects to work within these specifications. This means that very few people will miss out on any such future updates.
If you access Classic during this two-week period (using your normal username and password), you will continue to be able to do so after the two weeks are over. If, however, you do not, you will miss out on the chance to do so, so give it a try.
There are 15 members' worlds, one of which will be left as being only accessible to those veteran Classic players who have stuck with it all the way through.
You can access RuneScape Classic here.
RuneScape Classic is the predecessor to the current RuneScape game. It was closed to new members over four years ago, but we want for players to be able to try out this important part of our history. We also have potential further plans for Classic (as discussed in this blog), so another reason for this re-opening is to see how many people are interested.
If you have any questions or wish to discuss this, please visit this forum thread.
Mod Jack H
Tools Developer
Note: If you would prefer not to play through the RuneScape Classic tutorial, there is a button to allow you to skip it under the 'Spanner' menu in game.
Once you have purchased your card, you can use the PIN number on the back to subscribe to RuneScape. You can do this by:
- Click “Account” on the home page;
- Choose “Start/Extend Subscription”;
- Log in;
- Select “Subscribe by RuneScape Card” as your payment method;
- Accept the terms and conditions.
Also, three new races have just joined the guild. If you prove yourself to be their enemy, one of them might just drop a scroll challenging you to a duel with their champion, so keep an eye out when battling monsters! Meanwhile, Glophren, the gnome champion of champions, is waiting for the worthiest of adventurers so he can finally issue his challenge. Will you be one of them?
What with the days getting shorter and colder, we thought we'd brighten things up with some new hairstyles! The much requested ‘mullet' haircut is now available, as well as a few variants on existing styles. The full list is as follows...
Male hairstyles: Dragon variant, Mohawk shaved, Mullet.
Female hairstyles: Asymmetric fringe, Half-up/half-down, Headband, Page boy.
Mod Maylea (Champions’ Challenge) and Mod Nancy (Hairstyles)
RuneScape Content Developers
In other news...
Two worlds have been designated ‘Skill Total’ worlds - that's world 113 (free) and 114 (members). Only players who have a total level of at least 1,000 will be able to log into these worlds. If this proves to be popular, we can always add more worlds.
We've created a handful of item packs for some shops, similar to the box of spirit shards. In certain shops, you can now buy the whole stock of eyes of newt, empty or water-filled vials, raw bird meat, and empty baskets or sacks in one go.
A click-delay issue has been fixed in Castle Wars. The game engine has been modified to adjust the behaviour of these clicks back to their previous speed.
An animation has been added for when players are viewing the world map. Other players will see them in-game looking at a map.
A large number of items with parentheses after their names have had spaces added for consistency and easier searching on the Grand Exchange (e.g. “Agility potion(4)” is now “Agility potion (4)”).
An altar has been added to an upper floor in Falador Castle for players to recharge their Prayer points at.
We've added a confirmation when casting High Alchemy on items with a Grand Exchange value of 500,000gp or higher. This should prevent the accidental alching of those expensive items.
We’ve also converted the Superheat, Lvl-x Enchant and Plank Make spells to work in a similar fashion to High and Low Level Alchemy spells (i.e. you can now queue up your next cast).
Slayer Masters have now been given a right-click ‘Get-task’ option to speed things up a bit. You can also find out how many more kills you need with a right-click option on enchanted gems, which will even work if you are currently in combat. Finally, gargoyles have a new ‘Smash’ option when they're near death to allow you to more easily finish them off with a rock hammer.
Drop tables for the TzHaar have been significantly reworked and now drop more TokKul than before. This is to make up for the changes in the TzHaar shop prices earlier this year. The TokKul awarded for defeating TzTok-Jad in the Fight Caves has also been doubled.
The fairy ring network has been given an auto-dial feature. You’ll still need to discover each fairy ring destination to put in your log, but once there they can be simply clicked on to input the code for you.
Yanille has had more points of entry added to it in the form of a new ladder and doorway.
This week’s patch notes are also more extensive than usual. To read the complete list, check out this forum thread.
By Mod Nancy 05-Nov-2009
When I wrote King's Ransom over two years ago, we introduced a judicial system to RuneScape, by way of
I've been toying for quite a while with the idea of involving the Court House in either another quest or possibly making a minigame out of trialling cases. No quests I worked on really needed a trial, though, and a full-on minigame seemed as though it would be difficult to code and very boring.
This month, my workload finally cleared up enough that I had a chance to start concepting a new Distraction & Diversion to take place in the Court House. I wanted to use a lot of the same mechanics we had in King's Ransom, but add some new ones and give it some spice.
Getting the format of the D&D wasn't hard, since I had King's Ransom to work off of, but I hit a roadblock when it came to what cases should be about. Who in RuneScape should go on trial?
I happened to mention this idea to Mod Osborne and Mod Srowley (the RuneScape editors), seeing as they create the Postbag, and they had tons of ideas! I also went through the website's area guides to see what interesting characters from all over RuneScape might have an issue they'd want resolved in court. You'll see a lot of familiar faves in court including a few that used to be familiar, but were recently retired...
I've coded a prototype case involving a certain 'Mugger (level: 6)'. Mod Mark played through it and loved the gameplay, so I've been given the go-ahead to code the rest of the project.
Currently, you'll be given a case and get to choose whether you want to prosecute or defend the accused. Then you read a few documents on the background of the case and do a bit of sleuthing. When you feel ready, you start the trial and present all your findings to the jury, just like you did in King's Ransom, but with a few new surprises...
In a follow-up blog, I'll hand you over to the RuneScape editors who are going to be writing a few of the court cases
If you'd like to discuss our support for community events, check out this thread.
It wouldn’t be right to celebrate this incredible, humbling achievement without expressing our sincerest thanks and appreciation to the entire Jagex community for helping make this landmark achievement a reality. We have never seen so many people simultaneously spit their champagne at each other as when Jagex was announced as the winner! It was truly a vision that will make me smile forever. =D
This award was indeed special as not only was there some really tough competition, but this is one of the only awards voted for by the players themselves rather than an industry “old boys' club”. This year, over 1.2 million votes were cast, ensuring a World Record in itself for the Golden Joystick Awards as the biggest ever player-voted competition, and I would like to believe that most of those votes came from you, our epically sized community, not to mention the small fact that you managed to crash their website four times with all your votes!
The Jagex development team have worked tirelessly over the last eight years, their only concern creating great content for our players and games that we wanted to play ourselves – all totally under the radar of the traditional games industry and press. So while it is nice to be recognised so publicly by the industry (no doubt they will all be thinking about developing online games of their own), I would like to give everyone the assurance that our focus will remain on building great games for our community, and that we’ll continue to work hard and do all we can to try to live up to this prestigious award.
So, once again, many thanks to you all! The credit goes to our much-loved players and we hope that our entire Jagex community will share in the success along with the team at Jagex. A big cheers to all the players!
Mod MMG & Andrew
