Runescape turns ten in 2011, and Jagex wants to roll in the first decade with, and this is just a guess, an overabundance of the number ten. Throughout 2011, Jagex will be rolling the dice and picking lucky winners out of a hat in order to win fabulous cash prizes (real cash, not Jagex bucks). The competition runs through each month in 2011, with a winner drawn the following month.
For ten months in 2011, ten players will win one of ten one/tenth of ten thousand dollar prizes. So, ten players will win a thousand dollars every month for ten months. For every day you are a member, you will receive one entry into the competition. Remain a member the whole month and you’ll receive an entire month’s worth of entries. The competition runs January through October presumably, offering a one in approximately one million odds each month to win.
Best of luck, Runescapers. You can read more details on the competition here: http://www.runescape.com/competition_details.ws. But seriously, how much would a date with a real life version of that barmaid cost?
Here at MMO Fallout, we follow the intuitive systems that various companies use to keep your account secure. So far, the safest systems we’ve seen also happen to be the most cumbersome, such as the authenticator system used by Final Fantasy XIV and World of Warcraft, while others are intuitive and useful, such as the on-screen keyboard that multiple MMOs have made use of.
On Runescape, however, Jagex has decided to take the fight to brute forcing, by disconnecting the login name from the character. In an update today, Jagex has implemented a system that will take effect for new accounts: When registering, players are now required to submit their email address which will be used as the player’s login rather than their toon’s username. As a person’s email address is not displayed in-game, it will be impossible to guess a person’s login information.
In other Runescape account related news, Jagex plans on freeing up millions of account names by implementing a system where names are freed up as certain prerequisites are met. If an account meets all of the below requirements:
It hasn’t been logged into in the last year
It hasn’t been used to purchase any membership
It has no RuneScape skills of level 30 or above
The name will be put up for anyone who wishes to take it. If a player loses their username, they will be required to choose a new one upon logging in.
Undercroft is not a new game, by any means. In fact, it was developed and sold through the Apple store for Ipod/Iphone/Ipad up until last month, for a few bucks. Rake In Grass, the developer, sold the game and IP to another game studio, and I’ll give you one guess as to which studio bought it up (psst. Look at the title.) The app was pulled from the app store and re-released yesterday (the 16th) under Jagex’s branding, completely for free. Considering Undercroft weighs in at 18mb, the game is touted as holding over 20 hours of gameplay, 60 enemies, and over 750 items.
The game plays out like the old faux-3D games many of us used to play before you kids and your true-3D experiences. Players create a party of four adventurers who wake up in a jail only to find that they got drunk the previous night and chased a local peasant woman’s chickens all over town, and you will not be allowed to leave town until you find all of them. Everything is done from first person, and the game plays pretty differently depending on which abilities you choose.
For example, one of my party members is an old woman, who happens to be a priest. I gave her the spells heal and indulgence, the latter of which is an interesting spell because it persuades NPCs that they are sinners, and must pay as a penance. So I approached the woman whose chickens I had potentially killed in a drunken stupor, and made her pay me for her sins. Then I found all the chickens, obtained the reward, and made her pay me again. Afterward, I forced the guard who wouldn’t let me leave town to pay me for his sins.
Hopefully Jagex is working on a sequel/expansion, but until then Undercroft is available 100% free, no charges at all (except the cost of an iPod/iPad).
This game is literally foaming over with nostalgia. If you have an iTouch/ipod/iPad, you should check out this app. But don’t take my word for it, check out the trolls on the iTunes reviews!
My money is on pre-teens who have never played any old school RPG titles.
With the cancellation of Mechscape, you might think Jagex would put most of their focus on their current MMO Runescape and upcoming MMO Stellar Dawn, but in an interview published today by Eurogamer, CEO Mark Gerhard thinks otherwise. When questioned on the technical aspects of Runescape and Stellar Dawn, Gerhard stated the following:
“A lot of what we’ve done to push the boundary for Stellar Dawn will benefit RuneScape and another MMO we’re working on,”
In the same interview, Gerhard was asked if Jagex would like to go back to a fantasy MMO, to which he replied;
“We do, we totally do. We’re working on it as we speak.”
Luckily for those of you playing Runescape, Gerhard stated that Jagex still sees the game as their foremost product for at least ten more years. 2020 Runescape? That is a lot of discontinued holiday items! I reported just last week on Mark Gerhard referring to Free Realms as “insipid,” to which the Eurogamer interviewer was keen enough to get a following comment:
“Having played Free Realms there’s very little I get out of it. To me it just screams design by committee: 20 different people from 20 different focus groups to say, “Let’s have a little bit of this for the girls, let’s have a little bit of that for the boys, let’s get the six-year-olds, let’s get the 16-year-olds.” If you want a game for a six year-old you’ve got it, it’s called Club Penguin.
If you take a brand that accentuates its own identity, it’s going to resonate with the target demographic really well. Free Realms tries to be all things to all men and women and ends up being nothing.”
Check out the full interview, as Gerhard gives some insight into why Mechscape was cancelled, what parts are continuing to Stellar Dawn, among other issues.
More on Stellar Dawn, Runescape, and this new MMO as it appears.
Mark Gerhard, current CEO of Jagex, isn’t a bad guy by any means. Hell, he was featured here on MMO Fallout specifically this past March for his help in toppling the court case of Evony Vs a blogger. Runescape players may be at a divide on his positive or negative impact on the game, but it seems as though his presence has brought Runescape far more into the news than in previous years.
It isn’t exactly private knowledge that Sony once had plans to invest in Jagex back in 2005, that were scrapped for a simple reason, as noted by Gerhard;
“John Smedley said, ‘I can do this myself.'”
You will of course be aware that Sony Online Entertainment moved to create their own rendition of a browser based MMO, Free Realms, that launched last year and quickly shot up in registered users. Mark Gerhard, in a recent interview with Eurogamer (the full interview is yet to be posted at the time of this writing), is not impressed.
“The thing that saved us was that Free Realms was perfectly designed by committee. It was 100 per cent micro-transactions, 100 per cent subscriptions, 100 per cent male, 100 per cent female. As a result, it was neither fish nor fowl; it didn’t resonate with anyone, didn’t have any identity. It was, I guess, largely insipid, gorgeous graphics and everything else, but it didn’t have have the joie de vivre.”
Harsh words, and unfortunately for John Smedley and Free Realms, Gerhard has the Guinness Book record to back it up. Hopefully there will be more information when the full interview goes live.
Previously known as Mechscape, Jagex’s entry into the Sci-fi genre of MMO brotherhood has had a shaky startup. Not only has the title been delayed, canned, delayed again, seen two CEOs, but there hasn’t been much in terms of coverage for the fledgling title. Promised to not be “Runescape In Space” (likely why Mechscape was dropped as its name), Stellar Dawn is set to be Jagex’s biggest new offering to date, next to Dungeons of Demonheim on Runescape.
Luckily, Stellar Dawn has officially launched its website with an early 2011 release date. Over on the Stellar Dawn website, you can apply for the closed beta, check out some concept art, and join the forums to discuss the upcoming game.
Earlier this year I started Checking In With The Better Business Bureau, a segment talking about the consumer protection group with no authority. Back in February I checked up on a few MMO developers to see their scores, and this time I want to go more in depth on each company and their score.
For those of you who have forgotten or do not live in the United States, the Better Business Bureau is an independent organization that fields complaints and offers the company a chance to respond. The idea is to create a web of trusted businesses where people can check what is being complained about and how the company reacts to those complaints. When it comes to your score, a business can maintain a good score if they respond in a way that pleases the BBB.
Blizzard: B
Blizzard’s score has plummeted from February’s A+ rating. The BBB’s explanation is as follows:
“Recent complainants allege the company closed accounts on 130,000 users without providing notice, and accused them of using “hack” techniques to cheat on gaming. Most of these complainants deny any illegal usage, and in some cases, they challenge the company to provide them some proof of the alleged violation. The company responds in some cases concerning faulty servers by advising that new servers installed should remedy the problem. The company addressed a few complaints regarding account terminations by issuing the same letter in each instance of complaint, accusing the complainant of cheating, lying or using hack programs.”
Cryptic Studios: C+
Cryptic’s rating has remained steady since April, and the BBB has some kinder words for them than Blizzard.
“Our complaint history for this company shows that the company responded to and gave proper consideration to most complaints. However, more than one complaint is unresolved meaning the company failed to properly address the complaint allegations or their response was inadequate.”
EA/Mythic/Bioware: A
Technically lumped into EA, the BBB scores Electronic Arts with an A.
“When considering complaint information, please take into account the company’s size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm’s responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.”
Funcom: A+
Funcom is maintaining their A+, with surprisingly few complaints in the past year. The BBB had this to say:
“BBB had previously identified a pattern of complaints concerningcustomer service issues. The company discussed with BBB in October 2008 ways to correct the cause of the customer complaints. Complaints have decreased in volume since the meeting.”
Gala-Net: F
For those of you unaware, Gala-Net is gPotato, publisher for such games as Allods Online and Aika Online.
“Our complaint history for this company shows that the company responded to and gave proper consideration to most complaints. However, more than one complaint is unresolved meaning the company failed to properly address the complaint allegations or their response was inadequate.”
Jagex: C-
This is based off of one complaint.
NCsoft: B-
NCsoft is up, from a C- to a B-. According to the BBB, this is due to a few unanswered complaints:
Based on BBB files, NCsoft Corporation has a BBB Rating of B- on ascale from A+ to F.
Reasons for this rating include:
Failure to respond to 5 complaints filed against business.
Sony Online Entertainment: A
Most of the complaints, according to the BBB, are from people who forget to cancel their trial accounts.
“Consumer complaints received by the BBB allege difficulty in using this company’s online gaming service and being over billed or billed after they cancel the trial offer. In response to these consumer complaints, Sony indicates that some of their games may come with a limited number of days of game-play with purchase of the game software…”
Square Enix: A
Along with Sony, score remains in place.
“Our complaint history for this company shows the company gave proper consideration to complaints presented by the Bureau.”
Turbine Inc. : A+
Technically now part of Warner Brothers.
The BBB had nothing of interest to note.
A few companies on the list slipped in the past couple of months, most notably Blizzard over that mass ban. I guess it depends on how these companies view the non-authority of the BBB that dictates their reactions.
More on the BBB in three months when I follow up this article.
In regards to freemium titles, MMOs that offer a small portion of the game for free with the rest at a subscription rate, that the existing free portion of the game technically serves as a trial. It may not be limited by time, but it is limited in content available. With Runescape, Jagex would prefer that the free portion was not referred to as a limited trial, as their goal is to create a fully realized game that free players can indulge themselves in without paying a dime, ever. Other than that, there is no way for players to gain access to the members worlds without actually paying a membership fee.
With the above image leaked from the player moderator forums on Runescape, June 23rd will bring us the first ever limited time trial in Runescape, for Runescape memberships. And that is where the niceties end. Oddly enough, in order to partake in the 7 day trial, you have to provide a credit card that can only be used on one account, and there is a several dollar fee that is taken out as a deposit and returned at the end of the process. In addition to all of that, the player must manually disable their subscription before the seven days are up, otherwise they will be automatically put into the billing system for the full game.
The credit card reason is obvious: To stop real money traders from ravaging members with countless throwaway accounts. The fee, on the other hand, makes little sense. The cost is small enough as it is, but if you have a credit card and those few dollars, why not spend the tiny amount more and experience members for the full 30 days rather than just a week? You don’t get the money back, but if you have the credit card and the few dollars to plop down as a deposit, would you really miss it?
In order to combat abuse, you will only be allowed one account to a credit card, not that the real money traders have ever had much of an issue stealing credit cards before (Hint: The 2007 Runescape anti-rwt updates were in response to rampant credit card theft being used to pay for membership on bot accounts).
Back in pre-MMO Fallout 2008, I pondered whether or not Square Enix hired sadists to create the biggest bosses for Final Fantasy XI, and if I remember correctly my verdict was yes. Of course, the barrel of that day’s gun was pointed at Beyond The Limitation, a Final Fantasy guild that gave a detailed description of their fight against the boss Pandemonium Warden, before they finally gave up and trudged out some 20+ transformations and 18 hours later. Oddly enough, the group left the fight so that their, presumably 20+ hour, victory would not have been picked up by the press and used against gamers. Rather, their defeat was picked up by the press and used against Square Enix, especially the following quote:
“People were passing out and getting physically ill. We decided to end it before we risked turning into a horrible new story about how video games ruin people’s lives.”
So Square Enix later altered the boss battle, and several others, to be shorter, but the story still stands almost two years later as one of the remaining reasons why MMOs have some of their less desirable reputations, mind numbing tediousness.
But speaking of mind numbing segues, Runescape launched a pretty substantial update to the mini-game Castle Wars, a capture-the-flag style game where players representing one of two deities fight to take the other team’s flag. Each Castle Wars game lasts 20 minutes, and on more populated worlds regularly runs down to who can zerg rush with the most area of effect spells.
The armor Castle Wars provided was something of a status symbol, as despite not being particularly powerful, the armor took a lot of dedication to the game to obtain. For winning a game of Castle Wars, you gain two tickets. A tie results in one ticket, and a loss results in no tickets. At twenty minutes per round, even the most basic set requires almost five hours of game time, assuming you win every match.
The rewards become increasingly ridiculous as you move up to the tier 4 armor, as shown in the chart below:
Quite a leap.
Rank 4 armor, Profound, requires a minimum of 1,975 games (this is assuming you win every game), which will take 658 hours to complete. This amounts to over 27 days of pure Castle Wars, 24 hours a day, assuming you win every game you ever play. To put it bluntly:
For each win, the statistic remains the same.
For each tie, add 20 minutes.
For each loss, add 40 minutes.
Every time your win:loss ratio goes down 10%, you waste over 70 hours of pure game time. So a player with a 75% rating will lose over seven and a half days of pure game time. That is an extra 182 hours of time spent making no progress. To top it off, my figures don’t include the wait time in between rounds. Factor that in, and you end up with almost 150% of the previous estimation.
The Castle Wars professional cape, which costs 2 tickets, is only available after playing five thousand games of Castle Wars. Accomplishing this would take almost 87 days, factoring in waiting time, playing 24 hours a day. I don’t dictate to players how they should spend there time, but there is a fair line between grind and ridiculous that both the Profound armor and the Professional cape crosses. Players who obtain this cape will surely be greeted as they wear it in the streets, but I have a feeling it won’t be with the “respect” they might anticipate.
MMO Fallout 