21 February 2008 – The State of Play

If you look back at the last few months, you may have mixed feelings about some of the releases. Unbalanced trade removal; Bounty Hunter and Clan Wars; LootShare; the Assist System; the Grand Exchange: these were all massive changes affecting a huge number of people. They were so big, in fact, and released in such a short period of time, that we could not get everything right while also making every player happy. We certainly aimed to do so, but we still came some way short.

We decided, soon after their release, that we could address many of your problems with them. Your feedback on the Forums has really helped, and we have even been able to consult you on a number of instances. This led to the ‘Future Changes to Recent Updates’ in January: a list of our proposed changes to our recent content. It’s been a while since we released that newspost, and many of you seem worried that we’ve forgotten about the changes to LootShare, Grand Exchange and our other releases. Well, we can assure you that we haven’t forgotten. In fact, we have allocated nearly half of our content developers to getting these recent updates back on track!

We plan to release a State of Play regularly, to give you a real idea of how the most anticipated updates are progressing, so keep your eyes peeled for more news in the future.

The green progress bars will give you an idea of how close each project is to being released.

Grand Exchange Improvements:

Some changes to the Grand Exchange interfaces are entering the final stages of testing. We’ve listened to your feedback and we are finishing off interface changes to really speed up your selling and purchasing.

We also promised ‘a new web page…which will allow you to track item prices over a long period of time’. This is very close to completion and is currently with our Quality Assurance team. This will be a comprehensive and very visual means for you to find out item values and compare them with others, or see how they fluctuate over time. As you can imagine, we believe that this will be really useful to any merchants out there.

Finally, the Grand Exchange pricing errors are being fixed in what will be an ongoing process. We have staff members dedicated to collating information from the Forums and in-game sources, so you’ll see amendments occurring as the weeks go on. Here are a few examples of pricing issues that we have remedied:

• We’ve allowed Summoning items to be traded on the Exchange for a wider range of prices over a prolonged period, and allowed their prices to adjust with their large number of sales.
• We have made the price of items such as jewellery, poisoned dagger and clockwork toys behave more consistently, so that you are always getting a fair deal.
• We’ve allowed a more generous range of prices on the Exchange for those items that are sold in shops.
• We’ve also fixed a number of bugs that have been highlighted in the Forums, such as how potions behave.

We’d also like to remind you that the ‘Grand Exchange Price Feedback’ thread in our Suggestions Forum is the place for any constructive feedback you have on our market prices.

Fairer LootShare:

One of the most requested improvements will be to our LootShare feature, which has been worked on solidly since its announcement in the ‘Future Changes to Recent Updates’. We will be calling these changes ‘CoinShare’. With it activated, a clan will not receive a high-value item as a monster drop; instead, the item will be put on the Grand Exchange at the median price. The team of LootSharers will immediately gain a share of coins equal to that item’s lowest market value, without waiting for that item to sell on the Exchange. This is in final testing, at a similar stage to the Grand Exchange tweaks.

Item Lending:

Currently at a briefing stage is the item-lending feature. It has been incredibly difficult to find that balance between versatility and stopping cheaters from abusing it. We believe we’ve found a solution that achieves this, and we will give you more news in future articles.

New PvP Minigame:

Clan Wars and Bounty Hunter did a fair job of offering new PvP gaming choices, but they weren’t without their problems; in particular, Bounty Hunter was dominated by large clans, which just wasn’t how we intended Bounty Hunter to be used. We are aware that this week’s Bounty Hunter changes leaves only Clan Wars for multi-way fighters, which does not offer the level of danger and reward that Bounty Hunter did. We can reveal that changes to the Clan Wars arena are at a proposal stage and future multi-way minigames are planned, all of which should alleviate these concerns.

It must also be said that Clan Wars and Bounty Hunter were never alone intended as a replacement for the Wilderness. We saw them as the first in a series of PvP minigames, with other games being briefed that would attempt to cater for all types of PKer. Well, the next PvP minigame is now finishing development and entering the first round of quality assurance. We’re certainly very excited about this single-way, one-versus-one safe minigame.

Summoning Improvements:

When we started work on Summoning, we made the decision that it would be interesting, fun and rewarding, while also taking longer than most skills to level up. We feel now that we weren’t so hot on the ‘rewarding’ aspect, which has been an obstacle to many people enjoying the skill. Despite a few tweaks, we still don’t believe that it is as rewarding as it can be, and the worst thing we can do is to keep making tweaks every week for a long period of time.

So, we have decided to rebalance Summoning and release it with Summoning Batch #2. This rebalancing is about 20% complete and we will keep you informed about how it progresses. As you can imagine, this is a huge priority for us, so you can expect this percentage to rise rapidly.

We do appreciate that all of these changes are taking a while, and that a lot of people are urgently awaiting them. So, we are treating them as a priority. This is not the last you will see of progress reports like this, either: you can expect similar updates in the future, as we make more of an effort to inform you about the state of play…

Direction quotations from RuneScape.com:

19 February 2008 – Bounty Hunter Combat Changes and Rewards

Direction quotations from RuneScape.com:

When we introduced Bounty Hunter in December 2007, we intended it, alongside Clan Wars, to be the first of a series of enjoyable PvP minigames. Three months on, we have had a chance to look at your Bounty Hunter feedback and comments, and have come up with changes that will really improve it!

For information on future PvP content and minigames, keep your eyes peeled. We have news for you in the coming weeks!

Combat Change:

First on our critical ticklist was the multiway aspect of Bounty Hunter. Occasionally, solo players would walk into Bounty Hunter and be ambushed by huge clans who they didn’t stand a chance against.

This was not what we intended to happen, therefore, we have tweaked the rules so multiway combat can only be used in certain circumstances. The aim is that going in with some friends or a clan does, of course, still give an advantage, but not to such a ridiculous extent. As such, a skilled solo player has a fighting chance as well.

So, this week, we have made Bounty Hunter single-way combat, meaning that only one player may attack another player at any time. There are two exceptions to this rule:

• You are able to attack someone who is in combat if they are your Bounty Hunter target
• You can be attacked when in combat if you are the Bounty Hunter target of your opponent

We would like to remind you that Bounty Hunter is a dangerous minigame, and you risk losing your items when entering the caverns.

Cash Rewards:

We have introduced another reason for being a bounty hunter: cash rewards for defeating your bounties.

Mandrith loves to reward bravery, so players who kill 10 or more bounty targets will earn cash rewards based on the market value of their combat items. This cash amount is worked out by taking only the second, third, fourth and fifth most expensive combat items you are carrying and giving you access to an amount of coins based on their value. You will have to defeat at least 10 bounty targets to receive your reward, which you can do by speaking to Mandrith.

There is a limit to the amount you can receive per 10 kills, according to the crater you entered:

• Low-level crater – You may receive a reward up to a limit of 40,000gp for 10 kills
• Medium-level crater – You may receive a reward up to a limit of 80,000gp for 10 kills
• High-level crater – You may receive a reward up to a limit of 120,000gp for 10 kills

A summary of your kills will be given when you exit each crater. You do not have to kill all 10 players in one go – Mandrith will remember how many more kills you need for your next visit.

Bounty Locate Change and Rune Rewards:

Some of you felt that the Bounty Locate spell was only available to members and was slightly too high-level, giving the advantage to more experienced players.

Well, we have made tweaks that should make the Bounty Locate spell more accessible and affordable! Firstly, we have reduced the Magic level required to cast Bounty Locate to 32, and reduced its cost to 1 law rune, 1 air rune and 1 fire rune.

We have made the spell available to F2P, and once you have made 10 Bounty Hunter target kills, you will receive a prize of 15 law runes, 15 air runes and 15 fire runes – the number of runes required to cast 15 Bounty Locate spells!

To get a running total of how many targets you need to kill, or to receive your rune rewards, visit Mandrith outside of the Bounty Hunter volcano. You do not have to kill all 10 players in one go – Mandrith will remember how many more kills you need for your next visit.

Summary

Where to access Bounty Hunter:

In mid-level Wilderness, north of Edgeville.

Requirements to use these Bounty Hunter changes:

None! Bounty Hunter and the Bounty Hunter changes are available to both free-players and members

Access to:
Single-way PvP combat, without being ambushed by clans
Cash rewards for killing 10 Bounty Hunter targets when you carry expensive items
Bounty Locate spell available to F2P
Bounty Locate spell reduced to level 32 Magic
Rune rewards for killing 10 or more Bounty Hunter targets

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In other news…

Mandrith has decided to make some amendments to his tutorial, so you may visit him at any point to read more about the Bounty Hunter changes.

Due to the recent improvements to Bounty Hunter, it will no longer be possible for you to take Summoning scrolls, pouches or summoned familiars into the dangerous minigame. This is because familiars cannot help you fight in single-way combat areas.

Players who return to their own gravestone in time can now pick up their Recipe For Disaster gloves if they died with them.

We’ve had a few words with Ordan at the Blast Furnace about his maths skills. He was getting a bit confused but he should now quote you the correct price for the amount of ore you wish to uncert.

The bank scrolling issue has been fixed so that it will now jump to the row of your bank that you were looking at when you last opened the bank interface.

19 February 2008 – Vinesweeper and Amulet of Nature Update

Direction quotations from RuneScape.com:

Vinesweeper:

Winkin the gnome has taken his crops to market, so Farmer Blinkin has been left in charge. Simple instructions have been left: harvest the Farming patches while Winkin is away. Unfortunately, a family of hungry rabbits have moved into the neighbourhood and they are eating the seeds before Winkin can say,”Get off my land”!

As if this wasn’t nuisance enough, the hired farmhands have had one too many blurberry specials and forgotten where they planted their seeds. It has all become a bit too much for poor Blinkin, so he has opened the farm’s doors to any adventurer who is willing to help.

It’s not all bad news, however. Everyone knows that gnomes are magical creatures and industrious, to say the least; so, the farmyard has been imbued with magic that will let you know when you are close to a seed. So grab a spade, start digging and improve your Farming levels while helping out poor Blinkin!

Oh, and be sure to pay a visit to Mrs Winkin’s Farming Emporium. Here you can trade in your hard-earned points for prizes, like seeds and chunks of Farming XP!

Summary

Where to start Vinesweeper

Speak to one of the Farming patch leprechauns across RuneScape.

Requirements to play Vinesweeper

A Farming Level of 10 is required to visit Winkin’s Farm

Access to:
A brand new Farming minigame
The ability to win Farming XP and high-level seeds

New Farming Amulets:

The magical amulet of nature has been revised by the clever druids of Taverley to provide budding farmers with even more assistance! Not only will it retain it’s previous functions – updating it’s owner on the state of their Farming patch – it will also offer you two welcome additions and the ability to talk!

You will now be able to contact a farmer that is near your patch, and you can use the amulet to teleport to your diseased plant. These changes will certainly allow you to manage your patches much more effectively.

But that’s not all! The druids have been able to put some of the original amulet’s magic into a new amulet of Farming, which can be bought from Farming stores throughout Runescape. These lesser amulets have only a limited number of uses and will only work with vegetable or flower patches. These will inform you of the state of your chosen Farming patch, much as the amulet of nature did previously.