Development Diaries Q&A ~Update-new Diary Q&A~

[Uaexkiller]

Every week when a diary is released, Jmods answers some questions about the diaries that people ask.

 

If a diary is not here, its been eaten by the 51 page monster in RSOF forums so i can't get them :lol:

 

 

 

Ill be updating this every week with the new Q&A

 

Latest Update - 8th June - New Diary Q&A and few more Q&A for dwarf 4

 

 

 

[hide=Design Review]"Tooth Fairy will probably just hand you a toothbrush to fight the monster with. How childish."

 

 

 

I can confirm this won't be the final boss fight. What we have planned is much more complex than that.

 

And persuading you of the value of brushing your teeth is not going to be the moral of the story ;)

 

 

 

Also, as I mentioned in the Blog, The Fairy Tale Quests do have a serious undertone, and this will continue. Although there are aspects of fairies that appear childish, the aim is to juxtapose the inherent silliness associated with fairies with a serious and somewhat martial story.

 

 

 

we are aware that adding an NPC with a big combat level is a pretty unsatisfactory way to create a good boss fight.

 

 

 

Although many of the earlier boss fights were like that, these days, we have more techniques available to us to manipulate a boss fight, and indeed if you look at the more recent quests, there is usually something else going on than simply clicking on the big boss and eating food till he dies.

 

 

 

But, it does mean that the process of designing, prototyping and implementing a boss fight is a lot more complicated now. A lot of the thinking that went into the FT3 brief was designing the fight.

 

 

 

I think it looks great on paper, I hope you find it to be a good challenge when you get to play it.[/hide]

 

 

 

[hide=New Dwarf Quest]As a Developer, how much freedom are you given in regards of the story and plot, especially when it involves major elements of the World's history?

 

I'm given general objectives, but within that I have quite a lot of freedom. Any idea I come up with has to be accepted by Mod Mark, and if he doesn't like it he can send me back to the drawing board. When involving major elements from the world history, I consult with the developers in charge of other pieces of content to make sure I don't contradict anything their storylines are doing.

 

 

 

I know that a Grandmaster difficulty quest will have skills of around level 70-75 as a requirement, but will you release what skills that will be required in the new quests?

 

The skill requirements for the new quests haven't been decided yet, but, since we're talking about Dwarves, Mining and/or Smithing will probably be involved at some point. There will probably also be 'defeat a level something enemy' requirements as well.

 

 

 

I know you've worked on the Cave Goblin storyline in the past, but which other quests have you been in on the development for? Would you say this one is a lot like the others, or is it radically different? (in terms of writing, "style," etc.)

 

I've written the following quests:

 

 

 

The goblin series:

 

The Lost Tribe

 

Death to the Dorgeshuun

 

Another Slice of H.A.M.

 

Land of the Goblins

 

The Chosen Commander

 

 

 

The Golem (this was my first project when I joined the company )

 

Shadow of the Storm

 

Tears of Guthix

 

Perils of Ice Mountain

 

Recipe for Disaster (just the Evil Dave segment)

 

Dragon Slayer (rework)

 

Demon Slayer (rework)

 

Goblin Diplomacy (rework)

 

 

 

(rework) means I didn't originally write the quest but I did re-write parts of its text, so it's partly my work.

 

 

 

I also wrote The Chasm of Lights (Lores and Histories website page)

 

 

 

The big difference with the new dwarf quest is that I'm continuing a storyline that another developer had already started. All my other quests have either been stand-alone or part of my own goblin series.

 

 

 

rumors have been going around of a new myreque quest.. can you confirm this, and tell us if its just in concept or allready in practical development ?

 

I can't say anything about projects other than the dwarf quest. Sorry!

 

 

 

Mod john A, now that we know there is a splinter cell of the Red Axe (at least I think they were with the Red Axe, cant remember) will that play any role in the new quest?

 

The Red Axe in the new quest will be the real Red Axe, not any splinter group.

 

 

 

Mod John A, will the Red Axe be involved in this quest at all? Without giving anything important away, could you confirm whether or not we'll see the head of the Red Axe (I can't remember his name, but he's the old dwarf with the cat and the beard)?

 

I don't think I'm spoiling much to say that yes, the Red Axe are involved. The head of the Red Axe (his name is Hreidmar) will be making an appearance.

 

 

 

How many diaries do you think will be released in total for this quest? And will you be releasing diaries up until the release?

 

I don't know how many diaries will be released in total, but I am planning to keep doing diaries up until the quest is released.

 

 

 

Was the new penguin quest the dwarf quest?

 

No. The new dwarf quest is still in development.

 

 

 

Do you think it'll be launched before or after the third fairy quest will be launched? Or in other words, who is further in developing their quest now, you or Mod Ingrid?

 

I really can't say. I don't want to start talking about release dates. Both quests will be done when they're done.

 

 

 

Human chatheads ALREADY highlight how bad the old-style dwarves are. I'd say it would make the quest a whole lot better if we didn't have to stare at the old ones. If you could at least consider it, that'd be great.

 

We've considered it, but I think the best option will be to do the whole graphical rework in one go rather than try to get certain bits of it ready for release before the rest.

 

 

 

If you really don't like the dwarf graphics, you can always hold off doing the quest until the rework has happened. (I can't say how long that would take, though.)

 

 

 

I remember from an earlier diary that you were also tasked with adding a new training area to Keldagrim. Any ideas with regard to that? Will it be added independently of the quest, involved in the quest, or will we be given access to it as a reward? Can you tell us anything at all :P?

 

I've been coding this today, actually. I won't say anything specific, but I think I can reveal this much:

 

In the end we decided on adding three different training areas/activities for different skills. Two of them have the quest as a requirement, but the third one won't. As for what they are and what skills they will involve, you will have to wait and see!

 

 

 

Do you plan to make a sheduled time bar like is done with Impetious Impulses Dev Diary?

 

No. I'll be describing the rough stage the project is at in the diaries, but I don't want to give any kind of progress meter or completion date. It'll be done when it's done.

 

 

 

Hopefully it will be out very very soon^_^ Yes, im the incredibly impatient type!

 

Sorry to disappoint, but developing any piece of content takes time and we are still talking about months rather than weeks until release.

 

 

 

Very Good, but what team do work with Java?

 

The Game Engine team work with Java.

 

 

 

We distinguish between the game engine and pieces of game content. The game engine is written by the game engine team, in Java, and the content is written by the RuneScape content team, in RuneScript.

 

 

 

It works kind of like this:

 

The code that gives NPCs the ability to talk is written in Java by the game engine team.

 

The code to make a specific NPC say a specific thing is written in RuneScript by the content team.

 

(That's a bit of a simplified example, but you get the idea.)

 

 

 

will kelgadrim also be recieving an update along with the dwarven npcs?

 

I don't think that's been decided yet, but I'm pretty sure that the main focus of the rework will be the dwarf NPCs rather than the architecture.

 

 

 

Will the Dwarven Explorer who wrote the explorer's notes about the Godwars Dungeon before it was released be making an apearence? And will you also be delving further into the troll vs dwarves war?

 

It's probably best if I don't give any details about the plot or which characters will appear. I don't want to accidentally give everything away

 

 

 

Did you think up a name for the Quest yet, Mod John?

 

Not yet. :( It wouldn't be the first time I've left a quest nameless until right before it's finished.

 

 

 

Also, even though the full dwarf rework won't be until after this quest, would it be possible for the Chatheads of dwarves involved in the quest to be updated upon release, much like was done with Hazelmere for While Guthix Sleeps?

 

I don't think this is something we're planning to do. We don't want to update only some of the dwarves and have two different types of dwarf in the game at once. It would just make the old-style dwarves look even worse!

 

 

 

Is this bluescreen thing playable? I mean, are you able to play the puzzles or move around in new places to search items? (like the red squares, what are they for?)

 

As I said in the diary, right now the quest is just about playable with the placeholder graphics. The majority of the content is still unfinished, but the 'skeleton' is in place. (For example, there are some bits where I talk to an NPC and rather than having a conversation it says 'conversation to go here'.)[/hide]

 

 

 

[hide=Dev diary]More great ideas!

 

 

 

Here are some comments to posts I've seen so far:

 

 

 

You'll be pleased to hear that some of your suggestions (or very similar) are already on the list, and others are things I'd like to keep in mind for the future. Some (the stopwatch and the manual counter) are so good for this project that I've just spoken to Mod Mark and we're going to squeeze them in :D They're really good examples of how a little effort on our side can be a worthwhile benefit for you.

 

 

 

I know it's frustrating to have things to suggest for a project and only hear about it after we've designed it, but Mod Emilee has run threads for just this kind of thing on the misc/other suggestions forum. Sorry if you missed them.

 

 

 

At this stage there won't be any support for putting rewards in your player-run events. I know you'd like to and I'd love to give you that ability, but so far we haven't found a way that we can be sure would be safe against real-world traders.

 

 

 

This project won't change anything fundamental about the way Clan Chat works. There are loads of things we'd love to do to improve the support for clans but unfortunately the way it currently works means that making any change would be a huge project. That doesn't mean we won't keep looking into it, of course, but it does mean it won't change soon.

 

 

 

Above all, thanks for your suggestions and please don't be offended if you don't see your idea in game. Some things need to wait for a different style of project, while others are much harder to make than you'd think (the Engine moves in mysterious ways) and you'd get more benefit from us doing simpler things instead. Some are definitely going on the list of things to do if we get time later :)

 

 

 

For now though I need to get off the forums and get some coding done, otherwise you might not even get these ;) Keep the ideas coming.[/hide]

 

 

 

[hide=QA Development Diary]As a player that took the time and effort required to get 99 Agility, I'm concerned as to how this will affect that.

 

A: This update will be beneficial to both high level and low level players. It is something which is currently being balanced.

 

 

 

Whats that platebody the pink haired guy is wearing?

 

A: I believe it is just normal player kit when a character is first created :)

 

 

 

I'd like to ask, if we will be able to "sit down" any where?

 

A. You will be able to sit down anywhere within reason, even when your run energy is 100%.

 

 

 

I just want to know if there will be any bards in the main areas

 

A. The musicians are placed on well visited routes, both in main areas and the routes between.

 

 

 

I noticed one of the things you test is whether or not the updates clash with existing run-based stuff. When I read this, I immediately thought of a few things that might have issues:

 

A. Those are exactly the kind of things we've been checking, thanks!.[/hide]

 

 

 

[hide=Development Diary]1. Will you be able to rest anywhere?

 

Yes. Resting near musicians will simply improve your runenergy restore rate.

 

 

 

2. Will Resting nerf agility?

 

No. It should make agility more useful in fact. The walking restore rate is calculated based on your agility, and so will both the normal resting or musician resting restore rates.

 

 

 

3. What about lvl 99ers who won't need to rest

 

I agree, those players on low to mid-levels of agility will see the greatest benefit from this feature. Those on high levels of agility will see little effective benefit at the moment, as the times when you need to restore run energy at all are already pretty rare, and there is little other reason to have very high agility.

 

 

 

However, I don't think this is a problem with the resting mechanic, but rather an indication that we do not have enough high end agility content.

 

 

 

I'm afraid this is outside the scope of the rest project, but I assure you we are well aware of this, but I can't make any promises about how and when this will be addressed.

 

 

 

4. How will resting affect energy potions?

 

Pots restore you runenergy instantly, resting will not, so pots will still be very useful in combat, or other situations where staying stationary is not an option.

 

 

 

5. Will Rick Astley be in this update?

 

No he will not ;)[/hide]

 

 

 

[hide=Dev Diary Fairy Graphics 2]"Can we have a downloadable wallpaper of the new fairy area?"

 

- Yes, we'd be happy to do one for you :)

 

 

 

"Will we be able to enter tree-houses? Are there any cool features in them? Do players shrink when they enter the houses? Does the player appear larger when inside?"

 

- Currently there are no plans to be able to enter the really small houses (although this would not be impossible).

 

 

 

"Are you going to add fairy style houses to the Construction skill?"

 

- Again, there are no plans at this stage, but it wouldn't nesessarily be something I would rule out if we are going to investigate the above point :)

 

 

 

"Will there be any more Development Diaries on this topic?"

 

- Yes, we are writing the animation diary right now which will take you guys through the next step in our graphics pipeine.

 

 

 

"What is happening to the non-fairy NPCs? Do cows still talk and such?"

 

- The non-fairy npcs are still there. Cows still have the power of speech :)

 

 

 

"Do you have any plans to update Mortania?"

 

- Good question, glad you asked. We have a big plan of where in the world we want to update. I think Morytania for me certainly could be improved but we would like to focus on some of the really dated parts of the game first, such as the Gnome race and areas and the Dwarves (Koennijssen9 - we are actually looking at the Dwarven Mine right now ;) ). Although we don't have anything set in stone for Morytania itself I can tell you that Vampires are slated for some kind of update. Watch this space :)

 

 

 

"Are you going to update the circus fairies too?"

 

- Yes, the entire Fairy race will be updated and made consistent, including the Circus ones.

 

 

 

Mod Joe - There were a couple of questions about future graphical updates "Are There Going to be better graphics on trees,armor,weapons?". All I can say at this stage is that trees and some of the basic weapons are being considered at this time. I can't say any more than that - watch this space :)

 

 

 

In response to some of the queries as to the final colour of the area - don't worry too much, you will almost definitely find the final colour of the area may look different from these screenshots. For me, this is an interesting aspect of us showing you guys a little more of our development process - many things can (and do) change before they are released...

 

 

 

Yes, we are still planning on releasing the new quest and the graphical update at the same time.[/hide]

 

 

 

[hide=New Dwarf Quest]Will the plot force the player character to act stupid?

 

No. This is something I really dislike in games and I will be avoiding it.

 

 

 

What other quests will the new quest require?

 

Probably only the previous quest in the series, Forgettable Tale... . I thought about making Between a Rock... a requirement but decided to do that for the fourth or fifth quest in the series rather than this one.

 

 

 

Could the "Red Axe" stand for a Dragon Pickaxe?!

 

It certainly could do, but whether it does or not remains to be seen. (I'm not going to reveal anything about rewards at this stage.)

 

 

 

Since the Dwarves can't use magic, does it really make sense to have a mage level requirement?

 

There's no Magic level requirement in the next quest. There was one in The Giant Dwarf, which makes sense in the context of the quest even though dwarves don't use magic. I don't know yet whether there will be a Magic requirement in the last two quests of the series.

 

 

 

Would players be able to access more of the dwarven realm as a reward?

 

I'm not going to reveal anything about rewards.

 

 

 

As an aside, though: one of the advantages of a series that takes place underground is that it's easy to add new areas. On the surface, it's quite hard to find an area of land that isn't already used to something. With content that's set underground, I could just add a new cave entrance that gives access to a whole new area.

 

 

 

If in the Dorgeshuun series you turn into a goblin, will you need to turn into a dwarf in this series?

 

This isn't something I'm planning, although I'll think about it.

 

 

 

Will we have more drinking parties with Dwarves?

 

Quite probably. :)

 

 

 

Can one of the rewards for the next quest be a teleport to keldagrim spell? / will there be a way to make keldagrim more accessible?

 

Yes, I'm going to be making it easier to get to Keldagrim (although it won't necessarily be a new spell).

 

 

 

The Update for the Dwarf Commander was interesting, however, he was commander of the "Black Guard" so mybe his armour should be more black?

 

The picture was just an initial concept, and the final graphics will probably be a bit different. I'll be making sure his armour is appropriate for the Black Guard.

 

 

 

Will you be releasing a new development Diary on the Dwarf Quests showing some Graphical Imrpovements?

 

Yes, eventually, but there won't be anything to show for a while. The next dwarf dev diary probably won't have any very impressive graphics, I'm afraid.

 

 

 

theres 3 diaries so far for this quest, so im expecting this new quest to be exceptional :)

 

I'll be doing my best, but please don't assume that the dev diaries mean that this quest will be special in some way. Think of it as an example of the quest writing process, rather than a special case.[/hide]

[oliboli1992]

wow nice! me like! :thumbsup:

[UserOnRS]

5. Will Rick Astley be in this update?

 

No he will not ;)

 

:cry:

 

 

 

Very nice work though. :)

[Mil]

Nice find, thanks for these. Didn't know they existed.

[Bauke]

Nice find indeed. Some interesting points came up.

[Dexek]

I wasn't aware of these. Definitely interesting to read. Thanks. :thumbsup:

[Mirror]

Yes, very interesting little tid bits of Q&A. I enjoyed reading these, it's almost like a bit of extra DD for everyone to read. :)

[Tesset]

 

Since the Dwarves can't use magic, does it really make sense to have a mage level requirement?

 

There's no Magic level requirement in the next quest. There was one in The Giant Dwarf, which makes sense in the context of the quest even though dwarves don't use magic. I don't know yet whether there will be a Magic requirement in the last two quests of the series.

 

 

But...I thought that dwarves were masters of magic? I read somewhere that they had grown so adept at using magic that they didn't have to use furnaces, they just cast the smelt ore spell without runes...

[Den]

Never knew they did this.

 

 

 

Very interesting read.

[Troacctid]

 

Since the Dwarves can't use magic, does it really make sense to have a mage level requirement?

 

There's no Magic level requirement in the next quest. There was one in The Giant Dwarf, which makes sense in the context of the quest even though dwarves don't use magic. I don't know yet whether there will be a Magic requirement in the last two quests of the series.

 

 

But...I thought that dwarves were masters of magic? I read somewhere that they had grown so adept at using magic that they didn't have to use furnaces, they just cast the smelt ore spell without runes...

 

It was the Imcando dwarves who were known for such magical prowess. (They were also known for their love of redberry pie.) They were wiped out in the God Wars and the clan has only two known survivors.

 

 

 

I'm happy to see that they're planning an update to vampires like I requested...they really do look like a bald lv2 Man with his mouth stretched across his face in Photoshop.

[Uaexkiller]

4 more Q&A by Mod John A(dwarf diary 4)

[Weiyao]

One thing I would say is that he seems to make an effort to say it'll be out when it's out... :/

 

Although I suppose that could be to do with the fact that it is rather a long way away and he doesn't want to overhype it way before ti comes out.

 

 

 

meh