waheera1

I will refer you to the 6th Paragraph down: Quote: I will tell you of a time (sounding like a really old lady, there). I was minding my own business, killing Aviantese spawning in 2 specific points, attacking 1 while my fire titan attacks the other. After a while of peace & quiet (which is what I love about this place), a player logs in with a whopping 135 combat level. He's wearing full Armadyl with a Sara GodSword and a Zammy stole (cape-thing from the treasure trails), a fury and Bandos Boots. He then proceeds to kill a few higher-leveled Aviantese, and once those have been finished off, he then turns around, attacks my Aviansie level-73, and KOs it. Yes, you read correctly, killed it in one hit! (End of Quote) [/hide] Ah, i had only seen the part quoted on the first page where the writer was talking about the other time i think. Yeah, i see what you all mean now. Always happy to help. :-) It's not just your text that's annoying...

Big LOL :lol:

I will refer you to the 6th Paragraph down: Quote: I will tell you of a time (sounding like a really old lady, there). I was minding my own business, killing Aviantese spawning in 2 specific points, attacking 1 while my fire titan attacks the other. After a while of peace & quiet (which is what I love about this place), a player logs in with a whopping 135 combat level. He's wearing full Armadyl with a Sara GodSword and a Zammy stole (cape-thing from the treasure trails), a fury and Bandos Boots. He then proceeds to kill a few higher-leveled Aviantese, and once those have been finished off, he then turns around, attacks my Aviansie level-73, and KOs it. Yes, you read correctly, killed it in one hit! (End of Quote) Oh and the stole is the item worn in the necklace slot, the "cape-thing from the treasure trails" is in fact rather succinctly called a cloak... :-P QFC - 15-16-383-58815309 Hopefully, they will remove Dfs and DFH drops from the list :) I suspect that simply removing the DFS and DFH as PvP drops will do little to restore their value and undo the damage already done by PvP.

No, it's affect. "To affect something is to change or influence it, To effect something is a rather formal way of saying `to make it happen'." The PvP worlds have affected multiple things in the game, hence why it's the PvP affect. And I'll be honest and say that the article was rushed and I'm sorry about that. :oops: Sorry to defy your descriptions of it, but gramatically you're wrong. Yes, PvP worlds have AFFECTED multiple things in the game, but your article was discussing the physical PvP EFFECT. Effect is, in fact, the correct term to use when applying it to a physical or conceptual entity as you have here, considering you are actually describing a singular effect that PvP has had. Thereby making it a complete "PvP effect". As for the article itself, I thought it wasn't bad but it glossed over too many things and had a somewhat blinkered view. I myself do not particularly enjoy Pking, but your article sounded too much like you wholly disapprove. This may well not be true, but considering for example that you completely failed to mention Vesta's and various other PvP only drops alongside the mistakenly added drops like DFH, it is far too incomplete. I use the phrase "mistakenly added" because I agree that such drops should have remained exclusive to PvM. I also agree that PvP is currently receiving an inordinate amount of attention, however I would have been more interested to hear solutions than just the problems I already know exist. And now for the rest of the articles! KSing and GWD: I wholly agree. I hate that people feel, for whatever reason, that they have a greater right to be in a spot than an established player. I don't believe I have ever been a KSer, but have often had to defend my own spot from other such people, a problem exacerbated by necessity when slaying. Of course it's not illegal, and in the real world there is an element of "dog-eat-dog", but given the fantasy nature of the game, and the minimal benefit of kill stealing over getting off your fat [wagon] and finding your own kills, I don't really see the point of it. One point though, did any of this really happen? I only ask because it is of course impossible to melee aviansies. Therefore a GS vs a whip shouldn't make much difference as both will be firing blanks... (Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe that has been altered by any patch notes etc recently) A Study of Prayer: I disagree. PvPers know exactly what is out there when they enter combat, if they can't handle it they shouldn't be there. Prayers have been there for as long as I have played (quite a number of years now), and as a relatively high combat player I see no need to remove prayers from PvP combat. Sure, it makes fights harder and slower, but chances are the poor sod who has to use prayer will lose anyway, and any idiot knows that they can equally well counter the praying opponent's attacks with their own use of prayer... I didn't find it a particularly enlightening study anyway, and for those of us who aren't much interested in PvP, this did little to put fire in our bellies and make us fight. If anything it simply reinforced the stereotype of PKers as a generally unfriendly bunch of sore losers. Also as a minor aside, if it was a study of prayer, why did the introductory paragraph create the concept of "potions noob" rather than "prayer noob", which should after all have been the main focus? Sure, you made a thinly veiled reference to prayer, but it was lost a little following the potion flaming. Interview with Obama: Nice concept, and quite funny. Confess I did get a bit bored halfway through, but I did appreciate the thought behind it. MMmmmm great, just the kind of person I want in society... Grow up and read something past the meaningless levels and pixels. Or perhaps you'll just start to realise that as you take your absurdly intolerant approach, very soon people stop caring about you or your opinions...

Do you really expect anyone to care what you think when you take such an imbecilic, aggressive approach to their comments? As far as I can make out you're the first "idiot" to take that counter-productive approach on this specific forum. Sort it out. As for your other points, a large number of the aforementioned "stupid complainers" made similar observations to those you just made... Their main criticism seems to be that a complex statistical analysis of this particular comparison is a waste of time and effort since the results were blatantly obvious before any of the sums were done. True, there are many "stupid" p2pers, but the same goes for f2pers, and your style of arguing marks you as just such a person.

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! =D> =D> Quite right too! (and if anyone knows how to combine my 3 posts in a row into one longer post, please feel free to do the honours!)

Small tip - If you're going to comment on grammar, make sure your own is impeccable! Otherwise it will surely come back to bite you in the arse! I highlighted "the" simply because either you meant there is only one single differing view to the forum expressed ones, and this is indeed it, or you should've put "a"! :-P That said, I agree with you!

My two-penneth for the week then: First article: I liked it, but I really hated the way it was written. It seemed a little too much like the accumulated musings of a wise old gamer rather than a cohesive editorial. Even so, I liked the points that were made and I appreciate this thoughtful approach. Second article: Pointless. I hate to be a killjoy here, but anyone with half a brain to compare weapon statistics and the like would be able to tell you that broad bolts could hit harder, whilst bone bolts are cheapest. This comes largely from the improved ranged statistics of the rune xbow when compared to zanik's, as well as (I believe) a higher ranged strength boost from the bolts. A more useful comparison for example might've been the comparative training rates/hit rates when using standard ranged armour, since the issue of void/hides/karils is rather more contentious. Or perhaps by extrapolating the gathered data to work out the approximate costs of gaining lvl 99 from 70/80 ranged. That would be far more useful than just confirming an obvious truth. Another idea might have been to compare the alternative methods available at the 48 ranged marker that Zanik's requires. After all, most people purely seeking speedy ranged xp will probably not be using any of these methods anyway. Also, what benefit is there, when allegedly examining the merits of zanik's xbow v rune xbow, not to compare rune xbow with mith bolts as well as zanik's? It seemed like a poor attempt to pad out the sparse times with a VERY basic assessment of relatively obvious statistics.

Remind me to come crash your world sometime... Since you so freely disregard the laudable concept of the unwritten codes of conduct, surely you should also disregard a misguided concept of rights. All a combat level (or indeed total level) counts for is an indicator of wasted time. If in fact, you are a pleasant person to talk to, that is worth far more than meaningless levels (which in my experience tend to lean more towards pest control/soul wars levels now anyway). I will happily accredit a lvl 3 character with more respect than a 138 if they are decent folk. Levels are the most abysmal reckoning of a person's value, skill, and personality that I have ever come across, and I can say this freely as a high levelled player who enjoys the game for the sake of it. Yes, I have wasted many hours of my own time in levelling, but I don't expect respect for that, or some Darwinian status of dominance. Do I respect Gertjaars just because he could give me a worthy fight at any given slayer location? No. Do I respect Zezima because he's turned his back on No.1 after many years to study for a real career? Yes.

Happy to say I ALMOST entirely agree with you! I do have one small issue to take up however: Author Skill... As possibly the most obvious pedant and critic regularly posting on the times feedback forums, I regularly criticise the quality of writing. This is for one reason only - ensuring the quality of writing improves. Where possible I try to give helpful feedback for suggestions of how to improve articles rather than just flaming the author, but even so I often end up criticising the author's skill rather than the topic. I often find that a good topic can be ruined by poor quality writing, so I feel there is a requirement for some criticism where it is due. It is because of this that I criticised Necromagus for some of the more gratuitous descriptions and other discrepancies in part 1 of rat kings. I'm happy to say that, whether he read and acted upon my comments or not, the quality of his writing in the remaining parts of the rat kings series HAVE vastly improved. Conversely, Altricious' article this week had a topic that appeals to me purely because I am a more mature player and she happens to hold the same view on RS as I do! Added to which it was written in such a way as to make it an interesting read even if you do disagree with the content. Just for the sake of [very debatable] humour, would you read/enjoy a topic on your favourite aspect of runescape if written by an illiterate 12 year old? Or conversely would the majority of merchants give a damn if a Ph.D scholar of economics tried to demonstrate how runescape's very basic economy runs, whilst using complex models based on micro- and macro-economic studies?! I think not, the first would obviously be an issue of writer skill, but so would the second as, no matter how well he wrote it, it would be well wide of the mark with readers' expectations. Thus writer criticism is both relevant AND crucial to ensuring that quantity and subject are matched by QUALITY. Oh and just before I sign off again, a little pointer to those that didn't enjoy the latest fremennik quest: Yes it was too long, given the fairly poor rewards. And it wasn't the most entertaining "easy" quest by a long way either... But do bear in mind the introduction of a new and apparently peaceful Mahjarrat, with clear references to the ritual of regeneration. Taking into account the recent activities of Lucien in WGS, and the ambiguity of the prophecy tablets in Glorious Memories, this could be a small introduction for a new Grandmaster quest due in the future. It doesn't make Tale of the Muspa any better as a quest, but it could lead to some nice updates in the future. Let's hope eh, we're well overdue some GOOD quality updates!

And in return I would like to thank you for writing it. I always enjoy reading mature, well thought out editorials, and yours was one of the best I've read in a long time. My warmest regards and best wishes to you!

Totally agree. As I see it, solely from a gamer's view, they're an abysmal let-down. Perhaps if I had any interest in game development rather than just playing the end result I may be less disappointed, but even then I suspect the diaries would become rather patronising. Let's just hope they actually start doing something awesome, rather than trying to dupe everyone with the development diaries and then releasing poor quality updates!

why would you do that? jagex says they are different than the first ones. they are supposed to be more like blogs,and i for one like them. also, knowing of a third part in thr fairy series is far from useless, i hope its as rewarding as the second though. I for one learnt far more from the cryptic clues in the chaos elemental's postbag comments than I did from a pointless diary showing some pretty pictures. There was a suggestion of a fairy quest in there, and anyway you'd have to be pretty dense not to get that the fairy godmother can't really stay exiled for ever, leaving orks roaming through zanaris... Like the diaries if you like, but for anyone wishing to find out something INTERESTING (from the gamer's view, not the developer) they are pretty useless.

No, it's not a surprise as Jagex did mention this last year. It was my fault for assuming that meant we were trading in quantity for quality. Most people were in favor of doing away with a barrage of weekly mediocre updates in favor of one big update a month. I think there was even a poll showing that awhile back. I find it hard to defend them when, in your own words, "the amount of content so far this year has been disappointing." =D> :thumbsup: =D>

[/hide] We've had 2 months without BTS and 2 months with, each of the two sets of months have had roughly the same number of updates. Jagex late last year I believe it was that they'll be cutting down the number of updates and we shouldn't expect them every week, on top of that they've said this year will be an upgrade year. You've stated all the content updates but decide to ignore the other upgrades the game has undergone in that time including a few engine changes. Sure the amount of content so far this year has been disappointing, as has the content itself but it didn't come as a surprise if you'd paid attention to what Jagex have been telling you. Even with BTS we'd still not know why Mobilising Armies has been delayed and it's not the sort of thing that Development Diaries are about, I really think you're missing the reason behind them and are thinking of them as a straight replacement for behind the scenes which they're not intended to be. Perhaps my comments were unclear, but what I was actually disputing was the claim that the game is becoming more open. Admittedly my frustrations at the lack of significant game material are also quite clear in my comments above, but that wasn't intended as the crux of my response. As for your response to my comments: I'm aware of all of the points you make, as I make a habit of reading any important news on the Runescape main page. To my mind a large number of game improvements have been along the lines of tweaking head-shrinking hats and other graphics, including a few new useful options such as the leprechaun noting, and 2 massive glitches. Obviously this is a snapshot intended to illustrate my disappointment, so no need to worry about disputing the factual accuracy of that statement. As was discussed regarding a previous Tip.It Times, minor upgrades making a minimal difference to gameplay do not attract customers, nor especially mollify many existing ones. On your final comment in paragraph 1: just because they said updates would be less frequent etc doesn't make it acceptable for the few releases we've had to be of poor quality. As an analogy: would you take that same viewpoint with someone who said "I'm going to shoot your [Mother/Father/Boyfriend/Girlfriend/Brother/Sister etc]" and then did, just because they'd warned you beforehand? Clearly not. Jagex have an obligation to its consumers to deliver good quality updates as they always used to be able to, otherwise those same consumers will end up off their "investors" list... That I'm afraid is a fact, and one that will become increasingly dominant if Jagex perpetuate their "Year of rubbish releases". Whether the updates are every week or every month, the less frequent the releases, the greater the importance for them to be good quality. As for Mobilising Armies, I don't expect a development diary to explain why it's so late in its release, but surely if the game is now as open as the author suggests, we should know something about it... Maybe development diaries were not intended as a direct replacement for BTS, but the reality is that since we now have no other way to find out about future releases many people have been heavily disappointed with the new and haphazard diaries. I have yet to experience first hand any of the hollow promises Jagex gave on being open.

An interesting bunch this week. As usual, here's my weekly review! Tug of War: This wasn't a bad article, but it was far too long. It didn't have the substance to merit its length and could easily have handled being a couple of paragraphs shorter. Other than that, not bad at all! Diaries of Development?: Suck-up any harder and you'll have Jagex' brains coming out of their [wagon]... I couldn't help thinking this was one rose-tinted viewpoint that missed the bare facts for the sake of MAJOR brown-nosing. To my mind, BTS was far more open in that whilst it did restrict things to the strict timetable imposed on their developers, we always knew at the start of each month what was coming out. Later ones also included hints of future updates and the Chaos Elemental letters also give massive spoilers where future updates are concerned. As a result the development diaries seem to me to be just a way of dodging deadlines and releasing tiny amounts of relatively insignificant information. I'm not that fussed if BTS doesn't come back, but Jagex never mentioned the axing of weekly updates with their removal of BTS... I believe someone already mentioned only 3 quests, 1 minigame and 1 d&d... Strange form of progress... Anyone else wondering why Mobilising Armies is 1/3 of a year late, with no mention of it in any of the diaries so far? Call that open? Sod that. How I Came to Play Runescape...: I enjoyed this one rather a lot, and as an older player myself I can certainly appreciate the parallels. Nicely written, succinct, and with a pleasing conclusion. One small point though, Miniclip wasn't the only reason the player base has become less friendly. In the micro-community of Runescape, real life society still has an impact. Rat Kings: Again Necromagus, the standard is much improved on the first chapter of the series! :-) Taking some interesting turns along the way here, I'm interested to read where you plan to take us next! That's all folks! Back next week!

I was not at all referring to players who are gaining potential and then actually fighting for a kill. I'm referring to those who are building potential and then taking turns killing each other as cheaters. I used the dragon full helm and mage training arena items as examples because they have been some of the hardest hit items. Sure, they may have come down as a result of legit PKing, but not anything like they have from this item farming garbage. I don't argue your point that the system is broken. Players have a responsibility not to abuse such flaws. Jagex has the responsibility to fix them. quote] Sorry Zev, perhaps I was unclear. I similarly have no issue with people who legitimitely pk, and I'm all too aware of the impact the 26k system has had on the price of items that were previously considered relatively rare. If anything, the runescape economy bothers me far less than the community, which by my reckoning has been hit much harder than the economy. Many a disgruntled pker has quit through jagex' incompetence in dealing with this problem, while the new system replaces those old pillars of the community with amateur gold farmers. I never pked because I was never good enough where tactics were concerned, now all I have to do is call a friend, give them 26k and say: "let me kill you"... Seems a strange route to progress!!

Nice work, good to see a rational response to the huge problem that is PVP. At a guess I'd say Brianite is or was a serious pker and really understands the problem. :-) Nice to see.

Sorry but I have to disagree with your opening statement. Perhaps the people doing the trick ARE completely missing the point of pking as it once was, but at the same time, pking isn't the same as it used to be. The fact is that whilst yes, I hate that I've never had a dfh from the countless mithril dragons I've slain, whilst other pkers have become rich risking a tiny fraction of what I have to when slaying, it says more about the PVP system than the players that such a thing can happen at all. As I'm keen to point out to Jagex - if you create a flaw in your programming, people WILL exploit it. Now, whilst that may be technically against the rules (in some cases, although I do not think the PVP trick sits in that category), Jagex must accept accountability for the problem existing at all. There most definitely is an absurd imbalance in the current system, but perhaps it is up to jagex to rectify that problem more than their players to stop exploiting it. With Jagex seemingly creating glitches for fun at the moment - first penguins, now the easter PVP glitch, it is up to them to work hard to make things right again. If this really is to be a year of improvements, let's see it happen. Thus far I'm still waiting for an update that really makes me think "Good work Jagex"...

Happy to report that after giving Necromagus such a hard time last week, he's clearly the most improved writer on this week's panel. Could still handle a few tweaks, but vastly improved on last week, so a big thumbs up Necromagus! =D> :thumbsup: As for the rest... Oh dear. None of them really hit the mark as far as I could tell: Interview with Das: Forgive me for being disinterested in this, but I didn't really find anything that particularly fascinated me about the interview. Nothing wrong with the quality of writing etc really, just didn't interest me. Oh and a minor grievance - don't make it sound quite so sensational that he agreed to the interview - he does after all "work" on the tip.it team!!! 2 Birds 1 Stone: Was ok I guess, again it appeals to a minority group, specifically pkers. I can however say that it is unwise to portray the current system as totally flawed. Having heard about the 26k trick I tried it this evening with a friend. Several times we were left with drops of a lower value than the 26k "spent" on the trick. I really miss the old wilderness even though I never pked back then, but the current system is not ALL bad and for those bothered by RWT, it has hugely curbed that side of pking. Behind the Editorial Scenes: Rubbish. Sorry to be so blunt, but I already know how the process of writing an article is achieved. It seemed like a jagex-inspired justification for the occasional (if increasingly more frequent) poor article. Thankfully the behind the scenes article didn't necessitate it for itself, but I'm almost surprised that reference to other such banal essentials as a quick click on the spell-check button were not also included in this frankly pointless article. Again sorry that I'm leaving a trail of destructive bluntness in my wake, but after a solid start I'm beginning to wonder if the 4 articles a week idea is beginning to falter... Don't write for the sake of having something for people to read, write for the sake of making people care, even if it's in disagreement!!!!

Couple of comments to make here. Those who know my usual comments may not be surprised by some of them...! 1) The Journey or the Destination? I liked this. It was not an exhaustive list by any means, but I always approve of someone who draws out the fact that a large part of the fun of Runescape should always be the community. I have made a good many friends within the game, and whilst the majority are not people I would choose to replace friends in the pub or take out to dinner, I appreciate who they are and the fact that I have "met" them purely because of runescape. I would just add that I'm not one of those who adds all my RS friends on Facebook/MSN etc, but I still enjoy their virtual company! This brings me rather nicely on to number 2) The nature of names. Now, forgive me if I am too blunt here, but this struck me as a blinkered view of the nature of names and blurred it with other somewhat irrelevant factors. I put it to you that, whilst your friends would not know you under the same name, the name itself has no impact at all on the outcome of this game or the character. Has it affected my runescape career that I chose the name of a musician whose music I was listening to at the time for my RS account, even though I have moved on to different tastes since? Would I be richer in the game if I had chosen the name Bill Gates? Or a better quester if I'd chosen Marco Polo? Or a better cook by choosing Heston Blumenthal? Or should I have attempted to research the names of the Chinese developers of the blast furnace from the 5th Century BC just to help me along the interminably dull road of mining and smithing? No, they would not have changed who I am and the way I like to play the game. Sure, I might have preferred a slightly more original name rather than poaching somebody else's, but just as Michael Jackson sang: "It doesn't matter if you're black or white", the outward "physical" features of the character do not define the player who makes it complete. I have not spent hours chatting to friends because I think their name is cool, their hair looks nice, or because I appreciate the exposed midriff of female characters in RS ( :P ), but because of the simple fact that the people who made the characters what they are, are those people. It would be a shame to lose sight of the wonderful features of the PERSON you're interacting with, so perhaps readers should also consider: If you think something's cool, it is. If you disagree with me and in fact, you agree that numbered accounts are pointless, that's great too. But don't be fooled into thinking that just because someone likes the name they chose for their character and decided to write a lengthy spiel about that fact, that you must follow suit. Do what you like and be happy with it! The people you meet in game will appreciate you for who YOU are, not your character. 3) Rat Kings I disliked this intensely. Forgive me, Necromagus (for I assume it's you and not some phantasm "Necomagus" as the posted name suggests), if I have this wrong, but your style was a little too forced. I like the concept of your stories, I can see where they're likely to lead to and I'm sure they will all entertain in their own way as usual. However, there are a few things that really bugged me throughout: Quote: The thick smoke left a thick coating of soot on the damp stones that made up the arches of the sewers under the city. So, thick smoke leaves thick soot? Wow... I mean, that's really quite shocking... Could you not have been more imaginative, even to just describing a shade of soot...? You could even have said something like "the thick smoke left a dark grey smear of soot on the..." etc. You shouldn't repeat descriptions in consecutive sentences if it can be avoided, within 4 words is diabolical. Secondly, relating to the quote above, you may have noticed I underlined a few segments. Why did you describe it so meticulously vaguely? By this I mean that you seemingly went to some length to describe essentially unimportant features in an equally boring fashion, adding little. The descriptions you gave were not especially illuminating, other than the damp stones. But ALL of it seems gratuitous. Thick smoke is barely describing it at all. Thick soot is unimaginative. Damp stones is passable, but even then could have been better described with myriad other words. And I'm sorry to be cynical, but where else would sewers be, if not under a city?! :P Also, perhaps consider the timescale. One flickering lamp, no matter how thick the smoke from it, would not instantly leave a thick layer of soot. Better, surely, to describe this as something along the lines of: "The clinging, black smoke of many torches had left a deep layer of soot..." etc. Simply guidelines, but it would have made it more interesting to play around with things like that a little more. Clearly the rat pits are not a new thing, given they're apparently under new ownership, so make it sound like the clandestine organisation it really is, with the history it deserves. Finally, a personal irritation. Whenever someone feels it necessary to write about "foecal matter" I can't help but think the author is a child with delusional thoughts on "humour". The humour behind a man smelling of faeces and the like does not really do it for me, and anyone seeking out real humour would do well to observe the art as demonstrated by greats like The Two Ronnies, Morecambe and Wise, and Tommy Cooper. They were never uncouth yet implicitly obscene, but essentially without an adult mind the adult jokes were shrouded superbly to appeal to all. Now, Necromagus, I do not wish to suggest that you are puerile, or indeed a kid writing on a generally intelligent forum, so don't take this as a personal attack. But please beware of writing "witty" prose using immature imagery. I hope some of that at least was helpful. Keep the times coming, it always brightens up a Sunday! =D>

I sincerely hope this post is not flamed for its insight. I heartily agree with the points made, except perhaps over whether the new small updates are affecting the future of the game. They ARE, but not in a way that should be lauded as admirable work by Jagex. Having only just noticed there was an achievement diary out, I am disappointed. Having made us wait so absurdly long, there was only a tiny amount of detail on one relatively small quest line. I fear my damning prophesies (about a decline in Runescape heralded by the removal of guarantees of monthly content (BTS) and the like) are being proved to be all too close to the mark. Where, for example, is mention of the almost mythical Mobilising Armies minigame promised before the year even began? Are we really a full quarter of the way through with still no breakthroughs? Is something that COULD have become such a successful minigame really unworthy of special mention in the tiny bulletins we now receive? There is just one small, and relatively insignificant, example of my many frustrations with the new policies of Jagex. I hope for their sake they get things back on track, because otherwise I fear I will not be playing by the end of the year, with many others joining me in abstaining from what was once a hugely enjoyable past-time. The game is still good, but for how long? And will it ever be able to top gaming league tables, or has that target been abandoned already?

Call me a cynic if you will, but there is one major problem I have with the removal of BTS, and it is this: What will happen to the frequency of updates of worth? Now I may be wrong, but the way I viewed BTS in the same way most companies would view sales targets, ie something to aim for. Now, I can accept that this puts pressure on Jagex' development team, but surely that is what they're paid for? In delivering BTS, they essentially told us what to expect for the upcoming month, both as an incentive to keep the player base active in anticipation, but also to impose some form of responsibility on the developers to deliver. I, along with many other high levelled friends, have become increasingly frustrated with the poor quality of updates recently which seem to play into the hands of the lazy and the stupid. Take slayer for example: Soul Wars, although a fun game, was not in any way NEEDED as a way to improve slayer. Sure, charm rewards from it are nice, but would it not have been a better update to slayer to introduce new slayer monsters, or tweak drops and extend the assignment lists from each of the masters? Instead what we have is a complete replacement for proper slaying, in the way that for many Pest Control has replaced conventional combat as players strive for meaningless levels faster. Now, if removing BTS is the way to halt this descent towards a state of universal stupidity and laziness within the game, great. Sadly I fear it will do no such thing, and will in fact alienate people who like to KNOW that good things are planned for the near future. I could yet be proved wrong in my damning analysis, but don't hold your breath...

In a report or a debate topic, it is well-known that where possible, you are meant to show to the readers that you understand other peoples possible oppinions on the topic. This is to show that you have not only done the research, but you have not written off the fact that you may be wrong! OT: The penguin post was both interesting, relevant and well structured! Well done! Any chance of at translation here? Why did you quote troacctid, a regular and highly articulate poster, before writing seemingly unrelated drivel that was "poorly edited, riddled with errors"? Actually, he's right, it is good advice. Acknowledging the opposition, making concessions where you agree with them, and then refuting their argument...it can do a lot to increase your ethos and make your own argument more persuasive. (You learn this stuff when you've taken English classes taught by the coach of the debate team. Sure beats Lord of the Flies if you ask me. :) ) I thought of pointing it out myself when TS Stormrage posted that he got complaints from people who thought he didn't cover all the sides of the story, but I suppose I just never did. 'Course, when I see people quoting my posts... ;) As for "highly articulate," well that's just great, now you've fed my ego. Next thing you know it'll be wearing a Roy Orbison wig and running amok all over town. I was being a bit harsh perhaps, given I was in a pretty foul mood at the time. I couldn't see the point of his quoting your post without making any reference to it. I can accept the points he made, but the way they were written irritated me, there being no actual need to quote your comments even though they do concur! Also yes, I know there are ways in which one can improve the strength of one's arguments through making concessions etc, but thanks for pointing it out for anyone reading who didn't know that. :thumbsup: I look forward to seeing Roy Orbison in action! :-P And a big lol for the Lord of the Flies comment! :lol:

Sorry to hear that. As I've said, I can only half-heartedly condone permanent bannings for something like this which essentially involved their error coming first in a "chicken or egg" kind of situation. Hope you'll be able to shrug off the money they've squandered, and assuming you were innocent I hope you never get caught out unfairly like this again. Brace yourself though, it does happen and it probably will in some way at some time in your life. All the best.