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Posts tagged RuneScape
Runescape: Bounty Worlds Overview
May 6th
The folks at Runescape have posted an overview of the game’s new ‘Wilderness-only’ PvP worlds, also known as ‘Bounty Worlds’.
This week’s update introduces Bounty Hunter ‘Wilderness-only’ PvP worlds (or ‘Bounty Worlds’). Our aim was to get something that feels as close to the original Wilderness as we can manage, and to add another thrill with the Bounty Hunter mechanic. The new worlds are limited to the Wilderness, and use the old ‘who can attack who’ levels.
Bounty Worlds are basically a mix of 3 previous PvP games. It has the best bits we can reuse from Bounty Hunter, PvP worlds, and the old Wilderness. In short, we’ve increased the chance to get your opponent’s items and we added the thrill of hunting a bounty within the Wilderness while surrounded by hundreds of potential PKers.
Read more here.
Runescape: Dwarf Quest Dev Journal Part 3
May 5th
The folks at Runescape have posted the third part of their dev journal on the new Dwarf Quest.
Good news, everyone! The design brief for the new dwarf quest is complete. This is the core design document of the project that defines all the important details of the new quest. The initial concept document said things like “there’s a puzzle here involving such-and-such a thing”; the design brief defines exactly how the puzzles will work.
Creating the design brief involved a lot of back and forth between me, Mod Mark (RuneScape’s lead designer) and our balancing expert. We agreed on the bulk of the document pretty quickly, but a few of the details took a bit of haggling to get worked out. This took a while, but it’s important to get things right at the design brief stage, rather than trying to balance the project at the last minute.
Read more here.
Runescape: Zanaris Area Improvement Diary
Apr 21st
In the first dev journal in a series looking at the revamping of Zanaris, Runescape’s fairy area, the game’s art director takes us through the revamp’s concept phase.
Hi guys, I’m Mod Joe, RuneScape’s Art Director, and I’d like to give a rough overview of one of our graphical improvement projects. This will hopefully give you insight into how we choose projects for improvements and also take you through the different art departments that will then produce the final game assets. In this first part, I’ll talk about the concept stage. In the second part, we’ll go through modelling of game assets, such as creatures and scenery, then, in the third part, we will give you an overview of what it takes to bring things to life through the animation process.
The art team works very closely with the rest of the content developers, and when I heard that Mod Ingrid had been given the final part of the Fairy Tale trilogy to start briefing, my initial reaction was that we’ve gotta improve that area first. Zanaris itself had already undergone one graphical improvement a few years ago, but I think it’s important not to understate how much both the engine and More >
Runescape: Dwarf Quest Dev Journal Part 2
Apr 13th
The folks at Runescape have posted the second part in a dev journal about developing the game’s new dwarf quest.
Last time, I announced that I was just starting work on a new dwarf quest. All I had back then was a blank page that I needed to fill with ideas. Since then I’ve spent a few days brainstorming, bouncing ideas off other developers, and covering the wall next to my desk with post-it notes saying things like “Commander Veldaban” and “Red Axe base.”
I’ve found it harder to come up with a good idea for this quest than I have for any previous one, and I wrote down several ideas before rejecting them because they weren’t right. Finally, it clicked and I had a story I was happy with.
My next step was to write this idea up in a ’concept document’, which lays out the plot of the quest in broad strokes. I showed this document to Mod Mark, RuneScape’s lead designer, for approval. There was no point in developing the idea until he reached a decision; if he didn’t like it, it would be back to my blank page. It turned out that he did like it, so development could More >
Runescape: Development Diary: Dungeon Maps
Apr 8th
The latest dev journal form the folks at Runescape looks at the effort that goes into constructing new dungeons for the game.
The new line of Development Diaries continues today with the release of another diary: Dungeon Maps. Whereas last week’s diary talked about the design of a storyline and its characters, this Dungeon Maps project largely consists of technical challenges. Today’s diary, therefore, focuses on the technical work involved in creating this update.
It takes a long time to get even a simple project from initial concept to release. As we make progress on the projects for which we’ve released diaries, we plan to update the existing diaries to keep you informed of what’s going on, in addition to releasing new diaries about other projects. We’re also planning to have articles from other departments in the future, such as Graphics and QA. So, while the new development diaries are shorter than the old-style ones, they will be released more often.
Read more here.
Runescape: Equipment and Inventory Changes
Mar 31st
The folks at Runescape have posted an update detailing new changes and functionality additions to the equipment and inventory systems.
When it comes to great weapons and armour there is plenty of choice in RuneScape. In fact there are so many different items it’s sometimes hard to keep track of them all. This is why we are introducing the pre-purchase advice tool. Before you buy anything – from a shop, at the Grand Exchange, or from another player – you can now check out what the bonuses of the item are, and, in the case of worn items, whether there are any restrictions that might prevent you from wearing them. You can use this tool to find out what skills you need to train, and what quests you need to complete, to use a particular item.
Those of you who are in possession of a dragon platebody will see that it has undergone a graphical overhaul, as requested by you on the forums.
Next, we have made a change to the equipped inventory screen for Ranged weapons, so now you can see the ranged strength of weapons like javelins, arrows and crossbow bolts.
Read more here.
Runescape: Dev Diary: Reviving an Old Quest Series
Mar 30th
The folks at Runscape have posted a new developer diary which talks about reviving an old quest line, specifically the next dwarf quest.
Welcome, O seekers of development truth! I’m Mod John A, RuneScape Content Developer, and in this diary I’ll be taking you through the development of a new quest.
My last major quest project was the goblin quest series, which reached its conclusion recently with The Chosen Commander, leaving me free to work on another series. RuneScape has several storylines that have yet to be concluded, and I’ve been given one of them. I can now reveal that I will be working on – drum roll, please – the next dwarf quest!
I can’t give you any details about the next dwarf quest yet, because right now there aren’t any details. I’m at the very start of the development process, and nothing has been decided yet. It’s a very exciting place to be, but it’s also daunting. I’m confronted with a blank page, and there are so many different things that I could write there that I don’t know which one to pick.
Read more here.
Runescape: The Chosen Commander
Mar 17th
The folks at Runescape have posted a look at the final mission in a long running quest series, recapping previous events and guiding players to the final chapter.
Ever since Dorgesh-Kaan made contact with the surface, the cave goblin adventurer Zanik has helped to defend the city from Sigmund’s villainous plots. Now Zanik has disappeared, her fate and whereabouts unknown, and Dorgesh-Kaan is more vulnerable than ever.
Captain Undak of the Dorgeshuun guard is responsible for the city’s defences, and he needs your help to investigate a possible HAM attack – but this will only be the start of your adventure. The mystery of Zanik’s disappearance will be resolved, and the truth behind a goblin prophecy will be revealed, as events move inexorably towards the realisation of Zanik’s destiny. Your adventures will include the discovery of a new Agility course, learning more about the history of the Dorgeshuun, and uncovering the plots of the Big High War God.
Read more here.
Runescape: More Answers from the Devs
Mar 9th
A month ago the folks at Runescape called on the community for their questions and feedback about the game. Now they’ve posted the latest round of responses to those questions.
Q) Dark armor14 – Are you planning on making any more changes to Summoning? I would really like to see more popular combat places like the lesser pit in Karamja Volcano, Brimhaven Dungeon and other single-way combat areas open to familiars, as I feel the combat aspect of the skill is grossly neglected.
A) Paul – I’d also love to see the combat familiars able to be used in more areas. Allowing familiars to fight in a single-way area has some technical difficulties, though. Switching some areas from single-way combat to multicombat is a possibility, but would have a bunch of other gameplay side-effects such as making the areas more dangerous. Since Summoning, most of the new monster training areas are multicombat training areas that are suitable for bringing familiars. We plan to continue in this vein and add more such training areas.
Mod Mark – That will also include adding new and interesting ways of getting charms, like the recent Soul Wars minigame.
Q) Acejesse13 – Most of the skills end at lower More >
Runescape: Agility Overview
Mar 4th
MMORPG.com Runescape Correspondent Faisal Baig writes this article outlining the Agility skill in the popular old-school MMO.
Many people play RuneScape without actually realizing all that you can do in it. The first step is to learn about all of the different skills you can train and practice. Many of the skills will help you have a bigger range of ways to make money. Each time you practice a skill you will gain experience or p and when you reach a certain amount of experience, you’ll gain a level in that skill. The total amount of experience required to obtain the next level is the same for each skill, for the most part. The problem many encounter is that there aren’t any fun skills in non-members worlds, but rather in members. You can get past this problem if you learn to utilize the skills in the right way. The best way to start is by finding out what each skill’s primary role is! For my next few articles, I will be going in depth on all or most of the skills.
Read the Agility Overview