Tip.It Times: 5 July 2009

[3rkid]

Forum Watch - @TipItCrew have another great Tip.It Times out at http://[Censored - Don't use a URL shortner]/djz2C. As always its A great read about #RuneScape. Ajd

 

 

 

Lot more people are going to read this week's article now.

[waheera1]

I think it's an absolute travesty that the majority of forum users dismiss the fictional articles out of hand. Many of the recent contributions have been of an extremely high quality whilst exhibiting their authors' vivid imagination and a fine grasp of story-telling techniques. It would do no harm to take the extra minute or so that it takes to read them, and realise what you're missing, rather than just posting "sorry, I don't read fiction articles." Those words are hollow and meaningless - if you were genuinely sorry you would do something about it...

 

 

 

Anyway, mini-rant over, I really thought Zonorhc did a fantastic job on this first installment, so I'm looking forward to reading the rest! Good job.

 

 

 

Now to the rest...

 

 

 

Brave New World:

 

This was a well written article, full of Necromagus' wealth of knowledge. However, it was also ENTIRELY irrelevant. There were numerous ways in which the Jagex of old could be compared to the company they now are. I have recently become disillusioned with the game, as periodically happens when I realise just how pointless it is, and thus have cancelled my membership and basically quit. No doubt I will return, but the truth of the matter is I'm just getting bored.

 

 

 

I've not got maxed skills, but then again I don't really want that - levels are a monument to wasted time, and as such are irrelevant to me. Hence I spend a lot of time setting deliberately meaningless goals like getting complete sets of armour from the barrows, various minigames and fun tasks with incindental levelling alongside, and helping my friends as much as possible. I'm fond of quests, and thus hate Jagex' stupidity in removing the regular promised updates which for years promised a reasonable quest AT LEAST once a month, regularly 2 or more.

 

 

 

What I find astonishing, and frankly appalling, is that having successfully tested and launched RS2, and running it so well for so long, they're now floundering. Updates are few and far between, rarely meeting with even majority approval and regularly riddled with bugs, promised updates such as Mobilising Armies are now over 7 months late, and Jagex seems to perpetually favour the incompetent player. All of these things have begun to rankle somewhat, as Jagex continually prove themselves unworthy of my hard-earned cash.

 

 

 

I realise that was somewhat off topic, but I hope you will now understand vaguely from that why I hate your article Necro. I also do not see why you wrote in the final paragraph: "Jagex should be applauded for successfully introducing this full overhaul of their game, which made sure that RuneScape would stay healthy for years to come, which is more than could be said for the majority of MMOs out there." That was, as you said yourself, over 5 years ago now. Why does it deserve applause now? They've kept going, and that is an achievement, but I suspect there is more behind their success than their game - often player interaction in game etc keeps people coming back for more.

 

 

 

Also: "Jagex wouldn't be Jagex if they simply rested on their laurels after this, as they continue to expand and improve their game even to this day." Really? That is exactly what they are doing... They have a big fan base, they're relatively secure, but they're stagnating. The recent push for popularity by MMG and others strikes me to be a sly and hollow attempt to curry favour by dressing up poor standards with pretty words.

 

 

 

I would have enjoyed your article more if you had made it relevant by bringing up such facts. I realise you may not share my views, but I like to think that Tip.It readers enjoy topical debates. History has its place, but it is something to learn from and compare the present to, which this article singularly failed to achieve.

 

 

 

Third Party Communication:

 

Racheya, I appreciate this is your first article, and well done for writing it well. However, it remains a relatively pointless topic as Jagex can NEVER condone 3rd party communications or out-of-game liaisons.

 

 

 

3rd Party Software can damage computer systems, meaning that Jagex cannot condone them without running the gauntlet of being sued by every unfortunate victim. Even thoroughly tested software from approved links cannot be guaranteed by Jagex, therefore they will never condone/advertise them.

 

 

 

Communications outside of the game lead to far more severe complications. A sad fact of life is that paedophilia does exist and chat rooms have long been associated with a risk of stalkers/fraudsters/sex pests and the like. For a games site which has a fan base comprising thousands of under-age kids, Jagex again cannot condone contact outside the game as, should the worst happen, they would likely face huge fines and possible closure.

 

 

 

I agree that the friendships made in game are valuable and something to treasure and enjoy, but perhaps they are most often best left in game...

[Earth_Poet]

Third Party Communication:

 

Racheya, I appreciate this is your first article, and well done for writing it well. However, it remains a relatively pointless topic as Jagex can NEVER condone 3rd party communications or out-of-game liaisons.

 

 

 

3rd Party Software can damage computer systems, meaning that Jagex cannot condone them without running the gauntlet of being sued by every unfortunate victim. Even thoroughly tested software from approved links cannot be guaranteed by Jagex, therefore they will never condone/advertise them.

 

 

 

Communications outside of the game lead to far more severe complications. A sad fact of life is that paedophilia does exist and chat rooms have long been associated with a risk of stalkers/fraudsters/sex pests and the like. For a games site which has a fan base comprising thousands of under-age kids, Jagex again cannot condone contact outside the game as, should the worst happen, they would likely face huge fines and possible closure.

 

 

 

I agree that the friendships made in game are valuable and something to treasure and enjoy, but perhaps they are most often best left in game...

 

 

 

The first thing that must be pointed out is that while the use of third-party software may not be relevant to your Runescape experience, there are thousands of players that find it vital. Many players use it to better organize large clan wars and try to give themselves an advantage over their opponents, and many more simply use them for the conveniences of them.

 

 

 

Also, in the four years that I've been playing I've met exactly one person who happens to live in the same town as me. I don't want to put down the dangers of predators stalking the internet, but much of the software we are discussing doesn't make you much more vulnerable than on Runescape, and in my personal experience so far I haven't noticed predators overrunning the place. If we are talking about small children, than it should be the parents' decision on what permitted, and the parents should be monitoring internet activity, not Jagex.

 

 

 

However, if we are talking about full grown adults like me, then it is my decision on what to choose, so long as it's not giving me an unfair advantage like macros. Yes, you are correct that Jagex can't legally condone any programs that aren't under their design and supervision. They don't want to be liable for any problems out of their control. So the risk then shifts to the players who still choose to use the programs.

 

 

 

While Jagex chooses not to condone third-party software, they don't have the right to tell me what software I'm allowed to download. Contrary to popular belief, I didn't buy my computer just to play Runescape on. Some of the programs aren't exclusively used for Runescape. The popular ones that are, like Swiftkit, are helping to make the game more efficient by providing all of your tools in one place. It makes up for the shortcomings in the game, like that worthless client they made available for download. The ironic thing is Jagex knows this. I don't think it was a coincidence that on the same day Jagex tried to ban Swiftkit (then called Swiftswitch), in the very same post, they promised us a clan chat.

 

 

 

Yes, the game can still function without the extra software, but I can also eat mashed potatoes without a fork. It makes it more convenient, more organized, and more fun for thousands of players. If you choose not to use them then that is your choice, but just as you have made your choices, I have made mine. I saw the real point to this article as this: If Jagex truly doesn't want us using third-party software, then have a long ways to go in upgrading their game.

[waheera1]

[hide=]Third Party Communication:

 

Racheya, I appreciate this is your first article, and well done for writing it well. However, it remains a relatively pointless topic as Jagex can NEVER condone 3rd party communications or out-of-game liaisons.

 

 

 

3rd Party Software can damage computer systems, meaning that Jagex cannot condone them without running the gauntlet of being sued by every unfortunate victim. Even thoroughly tested software from approved links cannot be guaranteed by Jagex, therefore they will never condone/advertise them.

 

 

 

Communications outside of the game lead to far more severe complications. A sad fact of life is that paedophilia does exist and chat rooms have long been associated with a risk of stalkers/fraudsters/sex pests and the like. For a games site which has a fan base comprising thousands of under-age kids, Jagex again cannot condone contact outside the game as, should the worst happen, they would likely face huge fines and possible closure.

 

 

 

I agree that the friendships made in game are valuable and something to treasure and enjoy, but perhaps they are most often best left in game...[/hide]

 

 

 

The first thing that must be pointed out is that while the use of third-party software may not be relevant to your Runescape experience, there are thousands of players that find it vital. Many players use it to better organize large clan wars and try to give themselves an advantage over their opponents, and many more simply use them for the conveniences of them.

 

 

 

Also, in the four years that I've been playing I've met exactly one person who happens to live in the same town as me. I don't want to put down the dangers of predators stalking the internet, but much of the software we are discussing doesn't make you much more vulnerable than on Runescape, and in my personal experience so far I haven't noticed predators overrunning the place. If we are talking about small children, than it should be the parents' decision on what permitted, and the parents should be monitoring internet activity, not Jagex.

 

 

 

However, if we are talking about full grown adults like me, then it is my decision on what to choose, so long as it's not giving me an unfair advantage like macros. Yes, you are correct that Jagex can't legally condone any programs that aren't under their design and supervision. They don't want to be liable for any problems out of their control. So the risk then shifts to the players who still choose to use the programs.

 

 

 

While Jagex chooses not to condone third-party software, they don't have the right to tell me what software I'm allowed to download. Contrary to popular belief, I didn't buy my computer just to play Runescape on. Some of the programs aren't exclusively used for Runescape. The popular ones that are, like Swiftkit, are helping to make the game more efficient by providing all of your tools in one place. It makes up for the shortcomings in the game, like that worthless client they made available for download. The ironic thing is Jagex knows this. I don't think it was a coincidence that on the same day Jagex tried to ban Swiftkit (then called Swiftswitch), in the very same post, they promised us a clan chat.

 

 

 

Yes, the game can still function without the extra software, but I can also eat mashed potatoes without a fork. It makes it more convenient, more organized, and more fun for thousands of players. If you choose not to use them then that is your choice, but just as you have made your choices, I have made mine. I saw the real point to this article as this: If Jagex truly doesn't want us using third-party software, then have a long ways to go in upgrading their game.

 

 

 

I believe we're in agreement... The point I was trying to get across is that regardless of how useful people may find 3rd Party Software, it will never be recommended by Jagex, for the reasons I stated. Naturally, for adults like the two of us there are fewer risks, and it is entirely our own right to decide whether to use 3rd party software ourselves. I agree that for younger gamers it should be the parents' job to monitor their children, but in the real world that often doesn't happen and thus again Jagex have to cover their back.

 

 

 

I fully agree with your closing sentence though. I for one have been almost wholly disappointed by this "year of upgrades", let's hope they can change that.

[Pirate_Felix]

Article: Brave New World

 

 

 

Nice articles as always, though you should really check the names you use before you plagiarize them, as the title "Brave New World" is already taken by the author Aldous Huxley.

 

[quelmotz]

Any ideas for topics to write on? ;)

[SwreeTak]

I just wanted to comment on the first article here. It says that Jagex have kept updating RS and that's why it's still alive, other from many other MMO's. This is so true. The main reason to why RS is still here is because Jagex never rests.

 

Awesome work, Jagex, really awesome work with this part. Keep it up; RS has many more years to live!

[RealPlev]

I liked the premise of this article just because it brought back some memories for me. When I first started, this game was just a test game, no one really knew anything about it, there were like 3 servers, and PKing was the main attraction(in my eyes anyways.) I remember the combat triangle was a pretty big when we used to PK, we could get mass amount of kills in a day, either by myself, or with 1 or 2 guys, usually 2 warriors, and myself ranging. In that sense, this game has really gone downhill, no matter what they try to do, PvP worlds, BH, none of that matters, it's all the same, huge clans, focusing on chasing weaker players who have no chance, that's why I haven't PKed since about the 3d update. That being said, I'm not bashing on Jagex, I mean I still play the game, I applaud them for making the game much better in so many other areas. For as many people that play this game on a day to day basis, I'm surprised its not more laggy, lag [bleep]es still happen, but before the 3d update, it really was almost unbearable. I don't know about the new look for the game though, that's not high on my list, but it can't be all good, it just seems like Jagex is trying to cater to little kids now.