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Free for All: Jagex answers more questions about nuking bots
Recently Jagex, maker of the mega-popular browser-based MMO RuneScape, bragged about the success of its Bot Nuking Day, an event of epic proportions that promised to rid the game of the thousands of bots that plague legitimate players. The proof is in the pudding, as they say, and any long-term player can now tell you that the effort seems to have worked. But for how long? Players have been promised a solution for a long time, so what makes Jagex think that the recently nuked will stay nuked? I wanted to know more, and Daniel Clough, VP of RuneScape, was nice enough to answer several of my questions about the event. Did the nuking work as well as the team hoped? Will the bots stay dead? It didn't work in the Terminator, so why now? Click past the cut for all of the answers!
RuneScape sings, gobbles, and slays its way through November
RuneFest, Halloween, and Bot Nuking Day may be over, but the RuneScape team is far from taking time off for good behavior. If anything, the devs' eyes are as big as their stomachs as they detailed plans for the game leading up to Thanksgiving. Speaking of the holiday, a turkey invasion led by the fearsome Captain Turkerton is imminent and only the players will be able to negotiate a truce before the gobblepocalypse arrives. As incentive for participating in the event, RuneScape is planning to award Thanksgiving crests and turkey pets for the diplomatically savvy. Jagex has a lot more on its plate for November, including revamping elements of the interface, overhauling the website design, and introducing the Slayer-centric Polypore Dungeon. Additionally, the November quest, "One Piercing Note," is a first for the game: a fully voice-acted experience that will incorporate singing and dancing into the story! Following Bot Nuking Day and the resulting dip in population, Jagex has consolidated several servers into new multi-country European worlds. The team is also hard at work addressing some current issues with players having problems logging in and experiencing lag. A fix is scheduled for later today.
RuneScape dev panel highlights incredible success of bot bans
Over the past few weeks, we've heard a great deal about browser MMO RuneScape's struggle against botting and RMT. The bot problem has become progressively worse over the past year, with bot makers countering every change developers made to stop their bots from working. This week developer Jagex celebrated bot-nuking day as it deployed a massive update designed to permanently stop all of the popular reflection and injection bots from working. At this year's annual RuneFest event, Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard presented a fantastic insider panel on the facts and figures behind bot-nuking day. Mark explained the company's position -- that normal players botting to speed up gameplay was counter to the goals of RuneScape. "We don't want your computer to play with our computer," he told attendees, "we want you to have fun with our community." Before delving into facts and figures, Mark reminded attendees of the element of unfairness that bots create. "I want to know that if I'm putting in 30 minutes this evening, that that 30 minutes is equal to everyone else's 30 minutes." Want to know how many million accounts were banned since bot-nuking day? Read on for a summary of the facts and figures from the talk and to watch the full video in HD.
Free for All: Why RuneScape is almost perfect for me, not bots
As I write this, I am eagerly awaiting the morning and the Bot Nuking Day in RuneScape. Hopefully, this means that "98 percent" of the bots in game will be busted, destroyed, banned and "nuked." Of course, I can't say that I have ever met a bot. For all I know, they are a friendly bunch, restricted only by the crippling desire to grind out items and gold. Poor fellows; this is going to hurt to watch. Other than the bots (who otherwise seem like charming individuals,) I enjoy myself in the game. In fact, I love the game. There are few titles that reside in that warm spot in my gut (I keep my heart there), but RuneScape is one of them. If you'd like to skip the article so you can post snarky comments about how horrible Jagex is and to claim I'm not actually having fun, you have my permission. Otherwise, click past the cut!
RuneScape celebrates 'bot-nuking day' this Tuesday
Last week we reported that veteran browser MMO RuneScape was losing its ongoing war on bots. Players have begun botting on a massive scale, and it's become increasingly difficult to distinguish bots from ordinary players. Developer Jagex asked for help from the playerbase in solving the botting problem and announced its intention to continue fighting legal battles against the creators of bot programs. In a new community update this week, Jagex Chief Executive Officer Mark Gerhard announced the release of a new doomsday weapon in the war on bots. In an upcoming patch on October 25th, Jagex will be "launching our most formidable bot-busting weapon in our history, targeting what we believe to be 98% of the bots seen in game." This update permanently prevents reflection bots from working and the effects should be immediately visible in-game. To celebrate "bot-nuking day", Tuesday's patch brings four days of events and minigame bonuses for regular players. [Thanks to David for the tip!]
