RU_Insane
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Posts posted by RU_Insane
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Follows is information from the Future of RuneScape Q & A which more or less corroborates the chat transcript I posted. It's also from Mod Mark, and he is lead content developer, so I don't see why doubt should be cast on this possibility any longer. Gambling alternatives are a reality now (emphasis mine):
33. Are there any plans to either remove player-hosted gambling from the game or make a casino for them to operate in?
[Mod] Mark: It’s a good question and it is things that Mark and I have talked about a lot. Previously I’ve always believed that gambling wasn’t right in RuneScape, but actually when I thought about the activities that they were involved with, it wasn’t too far away from the kinds of things that you do in the Wilderness. RuneScape players are looking for high-risk, high-reward game play. The idea of putting some GP on the result of a flip of a coin is high-risk game play. The downside with what’s currently going on in the game is that the way the players are gambling; there are no rules to support them. They are at the mercy of being scammed which is a real shame and I’ve had some good meetings this week with some of the customer support team on how we can do more to help people who have been scammed and to stop scamming.
Also, we know and we’ve proved that a lot of the GP which has gone through different hands ends up going to gold farmers and being sold which is something illegal and which we don’t tolerate in any way at all. I’m committed to removing the problem we currently have in the game and giving the players an alternative; something which is similar to the kind of gambling that they’re doing at the moment but something that we’re more comfortable with in terms of the way that it works in the game world and also something where we think we can give them the support that they need to not get scammed. There are a lot of better and safer ways where we can provide that kind of high-risk game play without all of the downsides we currently have and I’m definitely 100% committed to doing that next year.
Take from that what you will. We've had confirmation since last week. :P
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Ironic JMod name ^.^
Got my first one today!
Also, the video I recorded got compressed alot, here is the full size ending of Jad. Thanks Fraps.
Aww yeah! I'm in that screenshot! :D Congratulations on your cape again. :3>
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Bumping this for the inevitable discussion today. :) Hope the mods don't mind.
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Thanks for the feedback! :D
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Task: 317 Maple Shortbows
Reward: 50K fletch xp, challenge bag and a spin on SOF. Not bad :P
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In response to the Meddling article:
Players self-organize in particular ways, given that the material conditions to do so exist. I think it's pretty explicit when Jagex intends to influence player behavior in a meaningful way. Look at the recent attempts to strangle third-party gambling; that didn't go over well. Can't it be said that most updates are, in the grand scheme, a protracted effort to influence game-play and hence user behavior? In what direction isn't always clear, though. Sometimes the updates don't function as intended, because the target group finds new, creative uses for them (i.e. emergent gaming and dicing).
The problem, I agree, is with Jagex fixing things that aren't broken, or failing when they are. Both outcomes can be seen as attempts to influence behavior. Though for the first outcome, it could also be filler content offered as an alternative to mainstream gameplay. In this case, it's not so much "influencing" as it is trying to spice up game-experience, but being too out of touch with the population to do it effectively. This is the probably the reason why social Slayer didn't have as large an impact as it could've.
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Some additional commentary for You Don't Speak For Me:
My point isn't to say that there isn't a threshold at which we cease playing the game. It's merely that packing your things and leaving isn't an appropriate response to every negatively received update. This is defeatism, what I'm arguing against. Quality of game experience is subjective and reliant on the particular user interacting with the game. It follows that each player threshold is subjective, though there are clear common threads strung through each one. If an update or set of updates greatly interrupts your normal playing experience, by all means, pack up and leave. But don't criticize the others who decide to ride out the rocky road; their grievances are no less legitimate than yours. They simply have different ways of resolving them (i.e. constructive criticism). Just in case this wasn't clear in the article.
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Dat whip. :3>
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Cape particles <3
Kind of lame that you vote not for innocence but for ban animation, but that's what I expected. Kangaroo court.
It's not a kangaroo court when evidence exists that they've botted. :P
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[photo]
Fishing fail. Header spoofing, same "final warning" and same case number. Derp.
Let's examine the contents. Commentary in bold:
Dear Customer, [if this person were so sure I was RWTing, they would mention the account name suspected to have RWTed. And what if I were F2P? Free-players aren't customers.]
We have strong evidence that you may have attempted a transfer of RuneScape accounts [This e-mail purports to have been sent from Jagex's legal department, but only mentions RuneScape. That's oddly specific considering the speculative language of "may have attempted".] or traded virtual items [Again, this is very specific. It would likely mention "Real World Trading", not whether I specifically traded items or cash.] outside of the game environment. [A real Jagex message wouldn't mention this either, considering its RWT policy was recently changed to accommodate micro-transactions.]
Real-world trading destroys the economy of RuneScape [i don't think a Jagex representative would use such alarmist language in a formal letter, even if it has some truth.], violates your agreement with us, [in a formal legal letter, all relevant parties to the contract would be capitalized e.g. "Us", "You", "Product", "Agreement", etc.] and any player ["User" would be more appropriate in this instance.] that continues to engage in the illegal activity [Third-party RWT is not illegal, but it does violate Jagex TOS.] has no place in our community.
All of your accounts, main and otherwise, [Jagex wouldn't use player colloquialisms in a formal legal letter. "Accounts" would be capitalized as it is relevant to the contract.] are now on our watch list and will be monitored for real-world trading. [but the tone of this letter suggests I've already been monitored!] Regardless of who you are or how long you've been with us, ["Us"] if you ["You"] decide to real-world trade ever again [Jagex-endorsed RWT or third-party?] we will have no hesitation in: (1) permanently removing your account from our wonderful community in order to protect Jagex's rights, ["Remove" is a vague term. Remove privilege of account access? Delete my account? If the latter, Jagex only does so if the User specifically requests it.] and (2) naming you as a defendant in Jagex Limited v. John Does, which is a lawsuit based on antitrust law violations that is currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Civ. Action No. SANC-V12-00972-CGC).[i think the case has long ago been settled in Jagex's favor.]
If you ["You"] decide to ignore this email [Why didn't Jagex contact me through my account inbox?] and instead continue Real-World Trading, [Nothing in this e-mail explicitly tells me to cease my alleged RWT.] we (Jagex Ltd) ["We"] reserve our ["Our"] rights to pursue statutory damages against you for between $200 to $2,500 per act of past, present, and/or future real-world trading in accordance with 18 U.S.C. 1304©(2). [Jagex's operations are based in the UK. American law is irrelevant.]
In addition, new infractions have been added to your RuneScape account. [i checked my account to humor this person. No infractions were added.] If left unchallenged your account will be temporarily or permanently suspended. [They should have decided a punishment already. That seems pretty speculative.]
Please complete the following security form to monitor your account's status or to appeal the infractions you have recieved: ["Received". Spelling fail.]
[removed]
Please note: Due to recent technical problems, some accounts were unfairly punished. [sounds unlikely.] Most of the void infractions have been removed. You should visit the appeal section to appeal any unjustified infractions received due to system errors. [Failed attempt to lure me into clicking the e-mail link. Also, if they're so sure I RWTed, why do they mention the "technical errors" to ensure I wasn't "unfairly punished"? Huge inconsistency.]
Sincerely,
Mod Mark. [No space in between the salutation and signature. And if this letter originated from the legal department, Mod Mark wouldn't be the one sending it. Another inconsistency.]
Phishers really need to improve their tactics. -.-
Sad thing is this is probably more than enough to get the average rs player to fall for it.
True. :P And funny thing is that most legit Jagex e-mail goes to my spam inbox anyway. When I clicked on a password change notification, for example. I was like, did I really request this e-mail? Then I'm like, oh yeah, I did. :P
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Fishing fail. Header spoofing, same "final warning" and same case number. Derp.
Let's examine the contents. Commentary in bold:
Dear Customer, [if this person were so sure I was RWTing, they would mention the account name suspected to have RWTed. And what if I were F2P? Free-players aren't customers.]
We have strong evidence that you may have attempted a transfer of RuneScape accounts [This e-mail purports to have been sent from Jagex's legal department, but only mentions RuneScape. That's oddly specific considering the speculative language of "may have attempted".] or traded virtual items [Again, this is very specific. It would likely mention "Real World Trading", not whether I specifically traded items or cash.] outside of the game environment. [A real Jagex message wouldn't mention this either, considering its RWT policy was recently changed to accommodate micro-transactions.]
Real-world trading destroys the economy of RuneScape [i don't think a Jagex representative would use such alarmist language in a formal letter, even if it has some truth.], violates your agreement with us, [in a formal legal letter, all relevant parties to the contract would be capitalized e.g. "Us", "You", "Product", "Agreement", etc.] and any player ["User" would be more appropriate in this instance.] that continues to engage in the illegal activity [Third-party RWT is not illegal, but it does violate Jagex TOS.] has no place in our community.
All of your accounts, main and otherwise, [Jagex wouldn't use player colloquialisms in a formal legal letter. "Accounts" would be capitalized as it is relevant to the contract.] are now on our watch list and will be monitored for real-world trading. [but the tone of this letter suggests I've already been monitored!] Regardless of who you are or how long you've been with us, ["Us"] if you ["You"] decide to real-world trade ever again [Jagex-endorsed RWT or third-party?] we will have no hesitation in: (1) permanently removing your account from our wonderful community in order to protect Jagex's rights, ["Remove" is a vague term. Remove privilege of account access? Delete my account? If the latter, Jagex only does so if the User specifically requests it.] and (2) naming you as a defendant in Jagex Limited v. John Does, which is a lawsuit based on antitrust law violations that is currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Civ. Action No. SANC-V12-00972-CGC).[i think the case has long ago been settled in Jagex's favor.]
If you ["You"] decide to ignore this email [Why didn't Jagex contact me through my account inbox?] and instead continue Real-World Trading, [Nothing in this e-mail explicitly tells me to cease my alleged RWT.] we (Jagex Ltd) ["We"] reserve our ["Our"] rights to pursue statutory damages against you for between $200 to $2,500 per act of past, present, and/or future real-world trading in accordance with 18 U.S.C. 1304©(2). [Jagex's operations are based in the UK. American law is irrelevant.]
In addition, new infractions have been added to your RuneScape account. [i checked my account to humor this person. No infractions were added.] If left unchallenged your account will be temporarily or permanently suspended. [They should have decided a punishment already. That seems pretty speculative.]
Please complete the following security form to monitor your account's status or to appeal the infractions you have recieved: ["Received". Spelling fail.]
[removed]
Please note: Due to recent technical problems, some accounts were unfairly punished. [sounds unlikely.] Most of the void infractions have been removed. You should visit the appeal section to appeal any unjustified infractions received due to system errors. [Failed attempt to lure me into clicking the e-mail link. Also, if they're so sure I RWTed, why do they mention the "technical errors" to ensure I wasn't "unfairly punished"? Huge inconsistency.]
Sincerely,
Mod Mark. [No space in between the salutation and signature. And if this letter originated from the legal department, Mod Mark wouldn't be the one sending it. Another inconsistency.]
Phishers really need to improve their tactics. -.-
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Hi! :)
I'm level 67 Ranged, and I want to train it to level 70. I've heard that chinning skeletons at Ape Atoll is a great source of XP for 85+ ranged, but I want to know if it can work well for those below 70. How many red chinchompas should I buy, to get 70 Ranged in a timely manner? How much is the XP rate/hr for sub-70 rangers?
Thanks in advance!
RU
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No Botany Bay this week? I didn't think they'd try and cram both that and the Al Kharid update into the same week.
They started rolling out the updates. The botwatch system is in a state of passive learning, improving its detection as the days roll by. The anti-bot updates will be ready for a full roll-out next week :)
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I could really use this to level my ranged. :D
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I imagine Jagex would be concerned with the laundering of what is essentially their property, especially if that unreported revenue can be seized and redirected to corporate funds (is that possible?). Why wouldn't they pursue action if RWT has ballooned to this point? They took down iBot and RSBuddy, can't they take down the other major players?
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I'd like to argue that from its onset, RuneScape was never meant to be a grind-towards-the-top game. It started off as a light game of exploring a new world and having the freedom to do what you like. In fact, players are the ones who took on the mindset of "let's maximize the efficiency of our time here" and players are the ones who started this trend.
That is the point I bring up in the article: It's fine to do your own stuff (maybe you're working with 200+ APM, switching prayers and drinking potions and using familiars, oh my!), but it's good to realize that secluding yourself from the social aspect of the game can lead to the deterioration of the playing experience of others. By "social" aspect, it doesn't necessarily mean clans and clans only. The term 'social' encompasses those new players who haven't got a clue, who need someone to reach out to them.
Thinking back to Croce's article (about Trolls) certainly highlights one of the negative aspects of anonymity. Anonymity can cause people to do stuff they wouldn't do in real life, they insult others, they say hurtful things, they act immaturely, etc. On the other hand, anonymity can be a beautiful thing. I can meet someone on a Slayer task and talk to that person and I won't have the faintest idea who that person is, his/her background, etc. I think this positive aspect of anonymity should be highlighted in the community.
I just don't think RuneScape's interactions should be limited to Friends Chats, existing friends, and clan members. It has the potential for so much more.
Beautifully written. I think you and I essentially agree on social potential. My earlier comment expanded on that. I think that the deterioration in the social experience witnessed recently, specifically in RuneScape, can be partly ascribed to updates which incentivize the limiting of social interactions to the bare minimum required for the task. And this is perhaps true of all popular MMOs which rely on producing high-level content to remain profitable (this is where the phenomenon seems to be concentrated, due to the nature of such content). Par for the course, anonymity plays a role in this social disconnect as well, as it mitigates responsibility for actions which would normally be held accountable.
I think that as a phenomenon, a degree of social seclusion seems to be an inevitable stage in an MMO's player's development, as he obtains access to higher level content et al. We should take care not to idealize social interaction to the point where we see disconnect as being inherently harmful, and take care to avoid prioritizing idealistic solutions to problems (as a general guideline. I'm not accusing you of that). The player attitude toward efficiency is a product of the material conditions found within the game. Someone just had to take advantage of it.
It's a trivial point -- all major trends are started in some way by the players. This is largely seen in dicing and other forms of emergent gaming. It was to be expected, especially as the game progressed in terms of content offered, thereby encouraging efficient game-play. I don't think that players should be held responsible for its perceived failures, as it appears to be a systemic quality, not an individual one. Just because RuneScape wasn't intended to focus on grinding in its inception does not mean it couldn't have progressed to this point.
If anything, I think the general attitude toward efficiency (among other hot topics) demonstrates that players can approach the game in both a positive and negative manner. I think it's a balancing act between seclusion and socializing, as you brought up with your example. We have the potential to interact positively with others. It's up to us, on an individual level, to judge how our actions affect others and follow up on them accordingly -- positive or negative.
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Thanks to both of the above users! :) I'm waiting to receive my 350K xp lamp at the end of September, as I didn't subscribe early enough to receive the other reward. I think it'll work the same way, so that's a relief. :P
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Sorry for the double post, but I have a question (otherwise I don't think it will be noticed). Can you use the lowest leveled XP lamp on a skill below level 30? As per the above, I'm hoping to obtain 52 Summ thru bypassing the level reqs this way.
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I obtained 70 prayer
[posted image]
nice, now get 99
I'm fine with 70 for now. :P
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The did you know fact was the most interesting part for me.
Mm. I thought so too, naturally. :P
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I obtained 70 prayer :)
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[posted image]
So I don't know what it will mean for long term gambling but this could either play into gambling alternatives or it's another hotfix solution like "Just say neigh!"
Heh. Given Jagex's track record so far, I'm inclined to think it's the latter.
But I hope it's the former.Most likely a way to chose your color. That'd be the smart thing anyways but RU_Insane hit the nail on the head.
That's brilliant. So simple, yet effective. :D
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Kind of a stupid question, but if you die and lose your stuff in Beta, do you lose it in the real game too?
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I really want Botany Bay to come out this week. :( I hope it does :)
Jagex: Thinking of Gambling Alternatives?
in General Discussion
Posted
Yeah. IMO, it's good to know that they at least acknowledge the need for a safe alternative. It's too little, too late to continue with the heavy-handed tactics Jagex have used in response thus far.