Tag: Runescape

Jagex Lays Out the Future Of RuneScape/Old School


RuneFest 2017 at Battersea Evolution – David Portass/iEventMedia

Runefest has come and gone, and Jagex has laid out the plans for the next year of content in both variations of their popular MMORPG.

Attendees were able to get their hands on RuneScape mobile to test the game out this weekend. While compatibility information will be rolling out within the next couple of months, Old School RuneScape is expected to hit mobile devices this winter with RuneScape 3 coming in 2018. On a more current front, RuneScape 3 will be seeing a PvE update in October called Dimension of the Damned. Adventurers will travel to another dimension where all of RuneScape has died, and battle a zombie hoard in return for unique cosmetics, achievements, and other rewards.

The entire list of RuneScape updates coming is massive, and since the game updates weekly this just covers some of the major stuff.

“Every year it gets more and more difficult to top the previous RuneFest, but I think with 2017’s convention we’ve managed to do it. We were thrilled to see so many of our hardcore players try out both RuneScape and Old School RuneScape on mobile devices for the very first time, as well as experience the tension of a Deadman Invitational live at RuneFest,” said Mark Ogilvie, Design Director, RuneScape. “Exciting new content, together with new ways to play, will delight and entice players to the world of Gielinor like never before, and in addition to our millions of active players we’ll be here ready to welcome our old friends back from being ‘AFK’.”

Over on the Old School side, players can expect to see a new 5-man raid called Theatre of Blood coming in June 2018. For questers, January 2018 will see the launch of Dragon Slayer II, a brand new Grandmaster quest. The fall Deadman tournament came to a close with one player (5PLUS50K12) walking away with the grand total of twenty thousand dollars. An additional ten grand was donated to Make a Wish by the winners of the team Deadman tournament, #TeamLUL.

The livestream of upcoming Old School updates can be found below.

 

Fossil Island Comes To Old School RuneScape


Old School RuneScape this week saw the launch of Fossil Island, a new batch of content for the retro RuneScape. Fossil Island opens up a ton of new content, including the much awaited launch of skeletal wyverns. You can collect fossils, take part in one of several new skilling locations, and uncover new artifacts to fill the expanded Varrok museum.

“Fossil Island has been something of a myth in RuneScape and the community for a long time,” said Mathew Kemp, senior product manager, Old School RuneScape. “The first design documents were drafted more than a decade ago, so we were really pleased the Old School RuneScape community voted so overwhelmingly and backed its development and release into the game.”

More on the update can be found at the link below.

(Source: RuneScape)

[Video] RuneScape Showcases Mobile Prototype


Jagex today released prototype footage from RuneScape Mobile. Check it out at the link above.

Jagex Announces RuneScape For Mobile Devices


Jagex has officially announced the death of productivity today, as the company revealed plans to bring its two editions of RuneScape to mobile platforms, allowing millions of players to mine coal from the comfort of wherever they feel like. In a press release sent out today, the RuneScape developer revealed that both Old School and standard RuneScape will hit iOS and Android platforms, with Old School coming first during the winter months and RuneScape to follow later on.

Both versions will be cross platform, allowing you to continue where you left off on the PC. COO Phil Mansell commented that Jagex is quite excited to bring a much requested feature to the community.

“We believe in taking our games to wherever our players want them; recent player surveys showed an overwhelming 90% of active players and 64% of former players telling us of their very high intent-to-play on mobile. Our innovative approach to mobile is also evidence of our ambitions in the mobile sector, and a further indication of our investment in extending the RuneScape franchise to additional devices and territories.”

Players can head over to the official website and sign up to beta test the release.

(Source: Jagex Press Release)

[Video] RuneScape: Invention Batch 2 Diary


The next RuneScape expansion is right around the bend, and Jagex is talking about a major update to Invention coming along with the update. For now Jagex is taking community feedback regarding changes to Invention as well as new device ideas.

Mods Ollie, Deg and Erator take you through what they have planned for the second batch of invention, due to be released with the next RuneScape expansion. Check out the video and give us your thoughts and feedback on what you would like to see added to invention, as well as how to complete the skill.

Interested players are encouraged to head over to the official forums and Reddit to voice their suggestion.

  • Benefits for reaching higher levels
  • New devices, focusing on 99+
  • Machines, which will slowly automate simple processes for you
  • Quality of life improvements.

And more!

(Source: Youtube)

Weekend Starter: A Collection of Free Weekend Games


What is free to play this weekend? Everything, apparently. Well maybe not everything, but there are a fair amount of free games to fill your weekend, especially if you’re willing to subject yourself to things like the Uplay launcher. Of the games listed below, Battleborn is permanently free to try and Payday 2 is the only one that you can snag now and keep forever. Regardless, if you’re looking to kill some time, you’ll find plenty of grinding to do in RuneScape and The Division.

  • RuneScape is hosting a free weekend until June 12 where players can log in and access members-only content. You’ll also be able to snag a free mummy outfit from Solomon’s Store during this weekend.
  • The Division is free to try on Uplay this weekend. The promotion includes the base game with progress saving for the full version if you do buy it.
  • Trials Fusion is also part of the Uplay weekend.
  • Steep is also part of the Uplay weekend.
  • VR shooter Battledome is hosting a free weekend on Steam.
  • Mirage: Arcane Warfare is also hosting a free weekend on Steam.
  • Payday 2 is free for the first five million people who grab a copy.
  • Deformers is hosting a free weekend on Steam.
  • Battleborn has transitioned to a free trial game.

[Column] RuneScape Pride Day Provokes Bigoted Backlash


This Thursday sees the launch of a mini-event in RuneScape, something that given its scope and scale probably shouldn’t elicit much more than an “oh okay,” or a “that’s neat” at the peak of emotion. Jagex is adding in a rainbow scarf, obtained through finding a small number of rainbow fragments hidden all over the game world, in support of Pride Day. This is why players are rioting in RuneScape.

And because a small section of the base wants to show that they are not, in fact, bigots and simply don’t want politics “shoved” in their game, people are showing up in Old School RuneScape dressed in a manner to resemble KKK uniforms, shouting racist obscenities about Jewish people, lobbing homophobic comments at Jagex, and advertising for Alex Jones’s Infowars. Because it’s all about keeping politics out of gaming and nothing to do with bigotry.

RuneScape has previously held events for political subjects, including the YMCA, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Prince’s Trust. In case you were wondering if these players reacted similarly to “politics being shoved down their throat” when the subject wasn’t gay pride, they didn’t. Regardless, Jagex isn’t backing down from their plan to release the scarf. While there are no plans to ban players for simply protesting the event, bans have already been handed out for players using offensive slurs or bigoted speech in chat, as well as for those walking around dressed up as Klan members.

Despite the bigoted backlash, there have been level-headed players offering fair criticism of this event, including the fact that it was not polled. While players have disagreed on whether or not such an event needed to be polled, those of you who read MMO Fallout are likely aware that the game is pretty well built on polling for content, with updates not being delivered unless voted on by at least 75% of respondents.

MMOments: RuneScape Menaphos Details


Menaphos is the first expansion to RuneScape, a series of massive updates that are set to release every three months. While the content drops on the live servers today, MMO Fallout was invited to preview some of the changes last week, and the new content looks pretty exciting. As I have mentioned in previous update teasers, it’s been a while since Menaphos was first revealed to the public: Twelve years in fact, it’s like Boyhood but with a lot less growing up and a lot more angry desert deities. The city of Menaphos was first added to the map on April 26, 2005.

But players couldn’t get in. While its sister city Sophanem became available, Menaphos immediately closed its doors to outsiders amid rumors of corrupt leadership and stayed that way, for twelve years. In that time, players have come in contact with numerous desert deities, learned new magics, and assisted in god-tier sibling rivalries. Now, the cruel Pharaoh has reopened the doors and adventurers are flooding in to see what secrets the city holds.

You may be asking at this point: How is RuneScape sixteen years old and is only releasing its first expansion now? For the better part of that time, Jagex has been releasing content updates on a weekly basis with various major updates every year to add in new skills, update the game engine, and more. Last year Jagex polled players on whether they would like to continue the current system of trickling updates out on a weekly basis or release major content packs every three months. Players chose the latter, and here we are.

Content in Menaphos is targeted towards mid to high level players, although most players will find something to do after completing the three pre-requisite quests. The city itself is divided into four areas, with access to everything from a Grand Exchange, new skilling areas, a merchant area to steal from, and more. Each of the four areas has its own reputation system, and while it is possible for the more dedicated gamer to maximize his rank in all four areas, Jagex told me during the preview that it will take some time and most players will just focus on one or two factions.

The centerpiece to Menaphos is the giant pyramid around which the city goes about its daily life. Inside that tomb you can find the Grand Library which will be comprised of stories submitted to Jagex by the player base. As massive as the library is, we were told that so many players had submitted quality stories that Jagex is having a hard time fitting them into the game!

Shifting Tombs is a randomized dungeon crawler with procedurally generated tombs and monsters. Players have a set amount of time to plunder the dungeon, gathering as much loot as possible while still making it to the end and escaping within the time limit. Personally, I’m looking forward to meeting Krondis, the alligator goddess of life and pleasure. Krondis, as with much of the rest of the city, has been corrupted and is currently hoarding the treasures for herself, but we’ll see if that can be changed.

The city is full of lush trees and vibrant colors, a rather stark contrast to the other desert areas. Every area has its own stylistic theme, from the extravagance of the imperial sector to the downtrodden workers district. A big piece of the Menaphos update is that the Slayer skill is having its level cap increased to 120 along with new content to fill in that level gap. You can check out the update details on the launch page here.

Players can also get in on a free weekend beginning on June 9th, allowing free players to enjoy all member content throughout the weekend until the 12th.

Old School RuneScape Launches The Inferno


RuneScape just got more challenging, as Jagex today launched The Inferno, the most difficult PvE content to date. Deep in the depths of  Mor Ul Rek, players will be tasked with taking on waves of monsters and challenges, fighting their way through increasingly powerful enemies for the golden ticket: The infernal cape. The cape is so difficult that Jagex has put up a special reward: The first person to beat final boss TzKal- Zuk will win an all expense paid trip to Runefest, as well as lifetime membership and a real life version of the infernal cape.

“Every piece of content that goes into Old School RuneScape is voted on by the players. Back in March we polled the Inferno to our loyal player base, and they clearly were not afraid of a challenge, with 84% deciding they wanted to have it as part of our game. Our goal for this content is to make even the veterans of Old School RuneScape quake with fear” said Mathew Kemp, Senior Product Manager, Old School RuneScape.

You won’t be able to just pop in and start fighting toward that cape. The infernal cape requires that players beat the Fight Caves and have already won the fire cape.

(Source: RuneScape press release)

Jagex Lifts Lid On ‘The Shifting Tombs,’ For Menaphos


RuneScape’s first expansion Menaphos: The Golden City doesn’t come out for another month, and Jagex has revealed the first mini-game coming along with the desert city: The Shifting Tombs. Playable alone or with a group, The Shifting Tombs is a fast-paced skilling activity for mid to high level players launching alongside the expansion. Adventurers will navigate through procedurally generated catacombs with the goal of gathering as much loot as humanly possible and cleaning the corruption that has spread through the city.

Access to the tombs requires a minimum of level 50 in Agility, Construction, Crafting, Divination, Dungeoneering, Prayer, Runecrafting, Thieving, with better rates unlocked at levels 70 and 90.

(Source: Jagex Press Release)