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RuneScape 3 beta registration starts April 3
Jagex has announced RuneScape 3's beta program via a news posting on its website. There are several key dates to be aware of, including the beginning of the registration period on April 3rd. Interestingly, the new HTML5 beta client will access the game's live servers, and testers will be able to progress and earn XP in the main game while testing! Click through to the RuneScape website for full details.
The Game Archaeologist: When sequels attack!
Sequels are both the bane of and a fact of life for movies and video games. Well, "bane" is a strong word, and you're probably thinking of Batman right now anyway, but personally, I'm always willing to give the benefit of doubt to any continuation of a favorite franchise. While we don't see sequels pop up as often in MMOs, they do exist and have significant effects upon the original title that bears the same name. It's here that MMOs diverge from movies and other video games. With those, the original is not in any sort of danger, other than the perception of having its legacy dragged down into the muck (Caddyshack II, anyone?) and perhaps overstaying its welcome. An MMO sequel, on the other hand, can cause serious consequences to its ancestor. Here at Game Archaeologist, we look at classic games that have often seen their time come and go. But what happens to one of these titles when a sequel attacks? Almost anything, it turns out.
Jagex announces RuneScape 3 for summer 2013
Jagex has announced Runescape 3! A "significant improvement on all fronts," building on the last 12 years of the original game's development and history, RuneScape 3 looks as if it's following in the footsteps of RuneScape 2 by improving on the existing game rather than serving as a standalone title. RuneScape 3 won't require players to create a new account. Players will simply keep using the same avatars they always have. The game will take advantage of the HTML5 engine and web GL to run faster, look better, and suck players in even more deeply, though folks running with older computers will still be able to use the old Java client if they prefer. Jagex is promising more details in the coming weeks. Skip below the cut to check out the announcement video.
Botters are losing the farm with RuneScape's newest anti-botting tech
Have you noticed a reduction in RuneScape's bot population today? That could be because the game recently banned 20,000 gold-farming accounts in a single night! Thanks to the latest phase of RuneScape's Botwatch anti-botting technology, which targets third party clients and botting software as well as gold farmers, botters are being weeded out even better than before. But even with one battle won, the war on botting is far from over; RuneScape maintains its zero-tolerance policy and promises ongoing advances in eradicating this infestation. In fact, Jagex is already working on the next phase of the anti-botting technology and will be rolling it out over the coming months.
Old-school RuneScape early access starts today
Those old-school RuneScape servers we told you about earlier this week are launching an early access period today. The shards will revisit the title as it was in late 2007, a window that Jagex says is "heralded as one of the defining periods of the game by its players." The firm is opening up a voting period through which players will decide how much developer investment should be devoted to old-school RuneScape going forward. The options range from a basic service with critical maintenance to a full dev team that will iterate based on player input. Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard notes that this isn't the first time his company has left major decisions in the hands of its users. In 2011, RuneScape's Free Trade and Wilderness mechanics were reintroduced to the game following a player poll. "Our players' dedication, passion, feedback, and enthusiasm all provide the compass, energy, and satisfaction that powers Jagex," he said. Jagex says that over 250,000 votes were cast in the old-school poll. [Source: Jagex press release]
The Daily Grind: Would you pay to support a classic server?
The recent story of a possible new RuneScape classic server has caught my attention. Not because I have any particular attachment to RuneScape, but because I love the idea of studios offering older versions of the game (such as EverQuest Mac) for those who have a fondness for an earlier era. But what's even more interesting to me is how Jagex said that, depending on the number of players who support a 2007-era server, the studio may charge additionally for the privilege of playing on it. That takes the conversation to a new level. It's one thing to support, in theory or in practice, a classic server, but it's another thing entirely to back up that support with cold, hard cash. Then again, classic servers are basically entirely different versions of the game that need their own maintenance and support, so some fundraising is expected. This brings us to our question of the day. Would you not only play on a classic server of your favorite MMO -- but would you pay additionally to do it? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
RuneScape is bringing old-school back
There ain't no school like the old school. RuneScape players have spoken, and Jagex has listened: It's time to bring back a touch of nostalgia to the game in the form of pure old school servers, with the exact mix still to be determined. A recent announcement confirms that the servers will be coming back and reminds players to keep voting to determine the makeup of these servers. All voters will receive the first month on the throwback server for free. For those who want more hard information from the development team, a special live forum chat will be held on Wednesday at 3 p.m. EST. Players can also begin posting to a forum thread tomorrow to help give the developers some advance idea of what to expect. If you're one of the 160,000 players who wanted to party like it's 2007, it looks as if your wish is coming true.
Players vote for 2007-era RuneScape server
Believe it or not, an "old-school" RuneScape server may be in the making. The crazy developers over at Jagex discovered a complete backup of the game from August 2007 and are allowing the community to vote on whether or not there's interest in playing this five-and-a-half year-old copy of the game. The poll will go live on Friday for the following two weeks, but Mod Mark wanted to explain the hows and whys of this potential project in advance. He also set milestones for voting, with the minimum for the old-school server to become a reality being 50,000 votes for a maintenance-only version. If the server project gets enough votes, Jagex will actually hire a team to develop for it. Mod Mark did want to clarify that possibility, however: "If this idea gathers sufficient support, then we will not need to take our current talent away from all of the exciting updates to be implemented into the current version of the game, as we will be able to hire a new dedicated team to work specifically on this project." Tell you what: Why don't we have our own unofficial pre-poll poll right now? Vote on whether you'd play on a classic server after the jump!
Jukebox Heroes: Eleven MMO soundtracks you can get for free
Collecting MMO soundtracks is a scattered, scavenger-like experience. Releasing video game soundtracks isn't exactly high up on studio and publisher to-do lists (although we're seeing more love from digital stores), so whether or not a title will get a music release is really a crapshoot. What does get released is never in the same place twice: Some game soundtracks are released as special editions only, some only as CDs, some as full MP3 album releases, some directly from the composer, some are buried on websites, and so on. So I'm constantly looking everywhere trying to beef up my MMO soundtrack library, and as a result I've uncovered several scores that the studios are giving away for free. I'm all over free (legal) music, especially when it's in my area of interest! If you've been looking to start an MMO soundtrack collection or are looking to add to what you have, I've put together a list of 11 MMO scores that you can get today free of charge. Sound good? It does to me!
RuneScape explains why it does what it does
Have you ever wondered how an MMO studio plans its upcoming content delivery? A new RuneScape dev diary takes us behind the scenes at Jagex, where Mod Mark outlines the nuts-and-bolts of the process: "We think about the next 12 months of content and what we want to achieve within those 12 months and have a broad idea of what we want to achieve over the next three years. We think about what sort of players we've got and we try to make sure that the content we have planned over the next year is appropriate for all of those groups of players." Mod Mark said that the team also considers what it's focused on recently, what areas haven't been touched on in a long time, and what parts of the game may have become dated. Content additions and improvements are then scheduled according to the time available to the team. One lesson to take away is that it always takes the development team a lot more time and effort to create new content than players assume. Sometimes even a single quest may spend up to a year in development before being pushed to live. You can watch the full dev diary after the jump!
RuneScape turns 12, releases gaudy statistics
Take a moment and think back to what you were doing on January 4, 2001. Kinda hard to recall isn't it? We bet that a few of you were playing a new MMO called RuneScape, though, and if you were, well, congratulations on being an MMO nerd before being an MMO nerd was cool. Jagex's browser title turns 12 years old today, and the company has queued up a list of impressive statistics that include more than 486 million hours of gaming achieved by RuneScape players in 2012. Those players killed each other over 3.2 billion times, too. Jagex also says that the game passed the 200 million account mark last July. Today's press release isn't all about gaudy numbers, though. Updates for 2013 will include a Grandmaster-level quest, Wilderness Warbands, Construction skill revamps, an improved grouping system, and a customizable UI. Finally, Jagex is running a number of events this month as part of its birthday celebration. [Source: Jagex press release]
RuneScape adding level 90 boss fight and weapons
RuneScape's hitting 2013 above and below the belt like a rabid wolverine who has aspirations of being a champion kickboxer. Jagex posted a hefty preview of new and returning content that should hit the game this month, including never-before-seen level 90 weapons. These weapons are a reward for defeating a new boss, the Kalphite King. Mr. King comes in his own battle instance so all can participate and loot his quivering remains. Apart from that exciting news, the RuneScape team plans to add a task set across the Kharidian Desert, new demon flash mobs (not the dancing variety), more rewards to Squeal of Fortune, and the return of a pair of wolf boss mobs.
RuneScape offers limited-time Premier Club memberships
2013 is just around the corner, and RuneScape has big plans for the year, including another huge update and plenty of new content. To make sure that no one misses out on the updates, Jagex is introducing a special set of membership packages for a limited time. Called the Premier Club, these memberships come in tiers -- bronze, silver, and gold. Each tier grants special bonuses and benefits; some bonuses include a 10% store discount, RuneCoins, beta access, and armor. The gold package also grants all 2012 promotional items. The bronze package gives three months of membership for $21.95, the silver is six months for $39.95, and the gold lasts 12 months and costs $74.95. If you want to get your hands on one of these packages, you'll have to act fast. Players must subscribe to RuneScape between December 20, 2012 and January 31, 2013 in order to take advantage of this offer. For more details, check out the official FAQ. [Source: Jagex press release]
Dev videos hail the arrival of RuneScape's player-owned ports
Last year, Jagex announced a new feature that would allow RuneScape players to own ports from which to sail out and explore new, unmapped areas of the world. Starting today, higher-level players can claim their port and restore it by upgrading the dilapidated buildings. Gamers can then commission ships to take them to previously undiscovered lands with new lore, monsters, and races. For more details on the new port feature (or to watch dancing devs in pirate costumes sing a jolly tune), check out the two videos after the break. [Source: Jagex press release]
RuneScape offers exclusive item to celebrate Facebook milestone
The game with over two million registered users has now reached one million likes on Facebook. To celebrate hitting this milestone, RuneScape is giving all fans an exclusive in-game item -- the Book of Face. This cosmetic item is a mask emblazoned with the RuneScape logo and the symbols of Zamorak and Saradomin, the game's two most prominent gods. However, the item won't be available long, so players who want to claim theirs will need to log in and grab it quickly! [Source: Jagex press release]
RuneScape doubles rewards in minigames this Winter Weekend
Wondering what to do this weekend? If you play RuneScape, you can take advantage of the special Winter Weekend running from 7 p.m. EST (midnight GMT) tonight through the same time on Sunday night. As part of an ongoing series of winter celebrations, this weekend's festivities will offer double the rewards in the following seven minigames: Castle Wars; Soul Wars; Trawler; Pest Control; Big Chinchompa; Evil Tree; and Shooting Star. As an added bonus, anyone who is a member during the month of December also gets a special additional 50 percent XP boost for 30 minutes each day with Festive Aura. So jump on in and take advantage of these holiday specials before they disappear! [Source Jagex press release]
MMObility: How RuneScape's Evolution of Combat changed my game
RuneScape has long been a favorite of mine, but I have to admit to being more of an explorer than anything. Combat was always sort of sluggish and tedious. It just wasn't very exciting. I see so many comments from players who AFK, watch television, or play a second game while simultaneously grinding in RuneScape. Luckily RuneScape is a living, breathing, open MMO that comes from the olden times of MMOs but still adds on new bits of design and updated systems. There aren't many other MMOs that are updated as often as RuneScape, and hardly any of them provides as much to do. Along comes The Evolution of Combat. Jagex has called it the biggest thing to happen to RuneScape, probably ever, and after playing with it for a few day, I tend to agree. What does it change, though, and why do I enjoy it so much? Let me tell you.
Free for All: Justifying the subscriptions I maintain
Subscriptions are a funny thing. For as long as I can remember, they've represented a level of quality to many gamers. To those players, only those funny Eastern MMOs didn't have a sub. Granted, I loved a lot of those funny Eastern games and didn't care how a game monetized itself. Watching Western players spin on a dime about subscriptions has been a pretty weird experience. The Western developers have changed as well, providing tiered services and other models that would have been seen as suspicious only years ago. I've been known as a free-to-play guy for a while. Heck, I was originally hired here at Massively to cover free-to-play games. Now that there are more free games than not, this column has spread out a bit, covering multiple topics. Payment models do still come up, as they did this week. I thought it'd be cool to examine the subs I do maintain and why -- not press accounts or accounts from long before I began working at Massively, but accounts that I choose to pay for with my own money.
Evolution of Combat now live in RuneScape
Two weeks ago, Jagex announced the launch date of RuneScape's big Evolution of Combat patch. And lo and behold, that day has arrived! Players can now log in and try their hands at dual wielding, explore different combat styles, and see how the all-new action bar speeds up skill training and resource gathering. Jagex also offered players a handy launch day FAQ to explain what will happen when they first log in. All players will be teleported to a bank where they will find 15 extra slots of space available, which will come in handy since all gear will be unequipped and placed in players' inventories. Players will also find their depleted player points fully restored and task totals recalculated. For more details about the new patch, check out the full notes.
RuneScape's oracle predicts through 2013
With the clock running down on 2012, one might be forgiven for overlooking the rest of the year in favor of what the next will bring. That's a mistake with RuneScape, as the devs have promised that they've saved the best for last with a couple of sizable updates to the game. On tap for the remainder of the year is the addition of a super-tough Grandmaster-level quest, player-owned ports, and a very lonely dog that will need help come Christmas-time. Looking ahead to 2013, Jagex revealed its ambitious plans for a variety of content as well as something called RuneScape Next Gen. The description of the latter is quite intriguing: "Featuring our innovative new browser-based technology and with big investments in graphics and gameplay, RuneScape is set to take a monumental leap forward in 2013. Higher visual and audio fidelity, improved camera mechanics and a much more customizable interface system are but a taste of what you can expect."
