Will H

Landed 100 Dungeoneering (and 95 Strength on the side) and got this little beauty: Going to go for 101 :)

Unfortunately, Rimmington has a minor balance issue when it comes to having a bank. The various house portal locations get generally more and more useful, with the Yanille one at level 50 being the most popular because it is the closest to the bank (and even then, it's on the other side of town). I don't think it would be that bad if we just abandoned that completely though, it's a pretty weak mechanic when it would be far more interesting if there were far more house portal locations.

I knew you'd like it.

Hah, ditto. They should do things like this instead of BXPW, but vary them each time. I used to play less when the weekend would be announced because the market was so inflated for such a long time. This, on the other hand, has motivated me to have another go at Dungeoneering.

I think what you're describing is "compassion" or "empathy". The average human balances compassion with individualism. Too much individualism, and you get wars and genocide. Too much compassion, and we become vulnerable to the individuals who would take advantage of it, and you get slavery and oppression. There is no ideal solution, but being in the middle is better than being at the fringes. What does improve the situation is when we as a whole learn lessons from bad experiences. For example, the Allied forces didn't hand out another Treaty of Versailles to Germany after World War 2, it was rebuilt to become a country with one of the strongest economies in the world. Guilt clauses on peace treaties aren't a good idea, now we know that. You yourself named a decent lesson. Comparing, say, Afghanistan with Libya, we now know that transitions from oppressive regimes to peaceful countries work much better and have more stable results when it's fundamentally fuelled by the people of the country, instead of by foreign intervention. There are plenty of lessons that we now take for granted, which is why many people think that nothing has actually happened. It's a slower progress than a human lifetime can provide the perspective to fully appreciate. That's why giving history lessons to our children is so important. EDIT: Oh, and I hear that a record number of poppies were sold this year. [/hide] I agree, it is important to learn from past mistakes. But.. I think there is something much more sinister at the heart of all of this. Improving on past mistakes is, if you'll pardon the hastily thought up analogy, like putting icing on a cake made of horse manure. No, seriously, it's going to taste a little better, but the foundations are still fundamentally terrible. I'm not saying let's not do it, but I mean.. Ok to put what I'm saying in perspective. We have learned that excessive and cruel reparations will cause backlash, and we should in stead approach from an angle of democratic reform. That is an improvement. But still, existing in the same world, is the quandry that; There are enough resources and wealth on this planet to feed, clothe, and educate everyone. Yet people starve. We're adding all these extra rules and safeguards to improve on what we've got, but what we're really not questioning is the very foundation of the whole thing in the first place. We're making the world a little better each time, but eventually will reach the point where we can't better it anymore, because it is the exact principles of our identities and societies that cause these problems in the first place. I believe that the fundamental cause of all of this is the fact that we perceive reality, thinking that we are separate entities living our own, separate lives. This creates all the greed, all the suffering, all the cruelty. Because as they say, its a dog eat dog world. People want to get over on other people and have more than other people. When coming from an angle of universal unity and oneness, such desires are rendered utterly meaningless, and frankly absurd. Yet there are still desires to excel, to create, to flourish. (Capitalism has corrupted to such a degree that people think that expansion of wealth is the only way in which competition is meaningful. "But wouldn't everyone just sit around miserable, with no incentive to work harder!" As if the gaining of money is the only end goal, and they have no desire to excel by any other unit of measurement. Creativity, expression, happiness, communication, connecting with others, anyone?) But I do agree, you can't force these changes on the people. You can't have a communist government that just dictates these things into being. It's disingenuous and fantastical. My point being, there needs to be a fundamental change in the ROOT of human perception and experience. Change has to come from the bottom up. Obviously we should keep improving and learning from past mistakes as it is pragmatic in the actual world we live. But eventually.. we're gonna have to look inside ourselves, and start to build a new society with a new unit of measurement, from the direct will of the people, if we want any real lasting change. I don't think that's idealism, I think it's realism. Although you're right that it's the human conditions and societies that cause these problems, that's the state with the most stability we know of. Even if we still don't like it, it's the hand that humanity has been dealt, and we can't fold. All we can do is be pragmatic. If everyone had a psychological sense of 'universal oneness', everyone would be presented with the opportunity to live a better life by shunning that and turn to amoral individualism, and plenty would take it, no doubt. Expand that notion to one hostile country, and the death toll would be far greater than either World War. I don't believe that we'll ever reach the point where our own social identities will be the last limit for improvement, either. New problems will always come up, and the rules of politics and warfare change so often that we'll never concieveably run out until humanity/civilisation ends. It's like saying "What happens if science answers every single question?". It's an interesting question, but we're so unlikely to get there that we needn't prepare for it. What you're suggesting is the definition of idealism. It's got merit, but it won't last long in practice, because at least one person is out there to ruin it.

I think what you're describing is "compassion" or "empathy". The average human balances compassion with individualism. Too much individualism, and you get wars and genocide. Too much compassion, and we become vulnerable to the individuals who would take advantage of it, and you get slavery and oppression. There is no ideal solution, but being in the middle is better than being at the fringes. What does improve the situation is when we as a whole learn lessons from bad experiences. For example, the Allied forces didn't hand out another Treaty of Versailles to Germany after World War 2, it was rebuilt to become a country with one of the strongest economies in the world. Guilt clauses on peace treaties aren't a good idea, now we know that. You yourself named a decent lesson. Comparing, say, Afghanistan with Libya, we now know that transitions from oppressive regimes to peaceful countries work much better and have more stable results when it's fundamentally fuelled by the people of the country, instead of by foreign intervention. There are plenty of lessons that we now take for granted, which is why many people think that nothing has actually happened. It's a slower progress than a human lifetime can provide the perspective to fully appreciate. That's why giving history lessons to our children is so important. EDIT: Oh, and I hear that a record number of poppies were sold this year.

I reckon this makes a far more interesting and fun 'Bonus' event gameplay wise than Bonus XP Weekends do. Competition during that time will help balance out the potentially more rewarding activities like GWD and the Forinthry dungeon, but there's always some things to do to still take advantage of it if you don't want to do it. Couple that to the economic effects being fairly restricted to certain parts of the market. I approve.

Just a friendly reminder to everyone, Jagex staff are ultimately part of our community. With that, we have the responsibility to treat them like we would each other. Be respectful, friendly, and enjoy each other's company. And thanks for posting, Andrew. :)

The fact that Andrew was at RuneFest pretty much debunks that theory. It's likely that Andrew's looking for new projects which requires both his time and monetary investment. He has no obligation to keep his money at Jagex, and we really should lay off him.

I personally hang around with people who don't really care what TV shows I like, so I don't think I've had the chance to have a conversation about it without forcing it. We're all dirty jokes, gaming and student humour instead of TV/film nerds. Besides, they're on the Internet enough, they should all know about it and should have made their opinions on it.

Oh yeah, feel free to add words if you think it does improve it. I just think that that kind of thing is difficult to pull off. If you're up to the challenge, go for it. :)

That's really professional. If we lived in a better world, that would stand up in a nightclub, well done to the composer. Also, on the subject of pictures, don't put any words on it if it stands up on its own. Like in poetry, it's best if you leave out what doesn't improve it, because the imagination is the best artist.

Those figurines sit in the pony version of the uncanny valley to me. They're close proportionally, but not quite right, which makes looking at them jarring. I'm more of a "cushion with a cutie mark embroidered on it" than a "Luna figurine" person, but I'd be tempted if I see a figurine sold nearby that looks like the custom ones I've seen up on Equestria Daily and the like. Hasbro could do much better in using this community's potential as a cash-flow, although I suspect it's because they weren't equipped to deal with it when it happened. I hear that the Financial Times has a short but fair article about MLP on the front page, complete with a picture of RD. That's a pretty good indication that this is an unexpected phenomenon that businesses need to pay attention to and learn from. These are the lessons that I can see: 1. Not enforcing copyrights (e.g. not taking down videos from YouTube) can work as a product model when you're searching for exposure. 2. Demographic targeting isn't an exact science, and sometimes the right mixture will give completely unexpected results. Don't assume what you put in will be exactly what you get out, and makes these checks after you release a product. "We're aware of it, but we don't understand it" is a stance you should try to avoid for long periods of time. Do your utmost to understand it. 3. In the era of the Internet, if your resultant demographic correlates to Internet users, especially late-teens to early-30 males, word of mouth really is an effective advertising tool. People can mentally resist adverts or otherwise avoid them, but they can't avoid it when it's the thing they're talking about. 4. There are parts of the internet that's useful to businesses that aren't social media. 5. If your target demographic isn't what you expected, consider adjusting your strategy for related products. In this example, fans are more willing to pay for expensive but high-quality figurines instead of children's toys. They're also probably looking for adult T-shirts, posters and high-quality memorabilia, not just pencil cases and children's backpacks. 6. Conversely, make sure you know where not to interfere in your products. In this example, the producers know that practically ignoring the fandom in the show itself is a good idea. EDIT: And I. too, wasn't aware that you could burn juice.

This is what I wear to pretty much any clan event, and I wear an eyepatch ever since I won a Pirate costume competition. I practically live in my Void armour.

Sounds like a pretty nice gesture. It's going to be an insignificant amount, but the thought behind it is what counts.

Yeah, I got landed with the 3 god-monkey-things with nearly all the handicaps, but I did have prayer. I got massacred after taking out Ayuni, but I might have been able to do it if I used a bit of strategy, which is a very welcome feeling when it comes to boss fights. Climber gets extremely challenging very quickly, but I think the three monkeys at the same time is the most interesting one. Putting them together in the same battle was a stroke of genius, but I think the frequency of stupidly easy guys like Count Draynor and Solus Dellagar, especially when an arbitrary 110 combat level cap has been put in, makes it a bit tedious. Have them as one-offs, breathers if you will, but don't repeat them. The Dominion Tower is a really great concept, and a good implementation, but it needs tweaking and bug fixes. This is a prime example of a bit of content that could have done with a public beta.

I think the consensus here is: 1. You probably shouldn't get a longsword. It's has far fewer uses than the others, especially since you've got a rapier already. 2. We can't tell you for certain whether to get a Maul or a Crossbow without knowing more information, such as which bosses do you like to do, or do you plan to train Slayer etc. They're both really nice weapons (although I think the Maul is really fun :)) Also, how is it physically possible to have two chaotic weapons and at the same time hate Dungeoneering? That's some serious perseverance right there.

I find the RS music strangely charming, I listen to it a lot. I still think that one of the biggest upgrades they could do is "orchestralise" the music, though. I've said it before; Jagex, you're based in Cambridge. If that place doesn't have budding, young and talented musicians looking for employment, nowhere has.

This is a really good idea, and long overdue. There are thousands of people able and willing to beta test. Why not use that?

It's more interesting and 'fun', but it's not what the game needs. I think that's their justification here, and I'm inclined to agree with it.

That would be sweet. I think that it's a wise move to try to tackle the grindfest that is Runecrafting. It's extremely interesting from a lore standpoint, so how it's actually trained doesn't seem to do the skill justice. Hauling essence back and forth isn't "magical science", it's manual labour, pure and simple.

By the sound of it, the people designing this have done something extremely clever. You can't stop bots, but you can force them to have to update frequently enough that it becomes impractical to run or distribute. Similarly, tracking for erratic behaviour (suddenly stopping after doing a repeated activity etc.) as soon as variables such as object IDs change is an effective auto-detection mechanism. This whole thing is most impressive.

I got an email telling that I was a known offender for engaging in RWTing, and should promptly log back into my account and send my details to a given email to prevent my account from being permanently banned. It was talking about a World of Warcraft account. I have never played World of Warcraft in my life. Go figure.

And Sarkozy would be exactly right. Greece, according to the criteria made in the EU, shouldn't have recieved permission to adopt the currency in the first place. Of course, stupid emotive ideas like a 'united Europe' seemed to take precedence over cold hard fact that this would end in disaster. The EU should have learned to say 'no' before it was given the ability to say 'yes'.

The effectiveness of swearing is inversely proportional to how often you use it. I know lots of people who will insert the 'f-word' into most sentences, even when it's not called for, and eventually I block them out. All you do is sound desperate to be heard without having anything to back it up, and I don't really respect that. I swear in real life only marginally more than I do here, so when I do swear in front of people who know me, they know that I really what to emphasise what I'm saying. Holding back the urge to say those words more often is worth it every time.