Tip.It Times: 23 Aug 2009

[n_odie]

Time for a new release of the: >>>Tip.It Times!<<<

 

 

 

When replying please make sure to clarify the article you are replying to! Thanks!

 

 

 

Enjoy the articles!

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. Also if you notice any kind of grammar/spelling mistakes, please PM me instead of posting on here. Thanks!

[Ezz]

My Observations: WoW for a Month: I kind of agree there. Although I played WoW for about half a year, but it got boring after that and too addicting (boring + addicting = bad combo). My preference is RS.

[sarg1010]

Wake me up! (or whatever that was :P ): I must say, I agree 110%. Can someone list the major updates this year? Also, I think this has been said before, but has anyone else noticed that since the removal of the BTS, almost all of the updates have had bugs in them? The BTS almost guaranteed a good/great update BECAUSE Jagex had a timeline to get it done. Now, without any real "deadlines", Jagex can just choose to take however long they want on an update, and not have to really work as hard on it to get it done.

[metoo1000]

Even Michael Phelps wouldnt bother to hold his breath to a Jagex timeline.

 

 

 

lol :thumbsup: best quote

[GibberEsh]

Wake Up!: I think that's what a lot of people are thinking right now. They've also said that they're planning a new skill so hope for it to come out sometime soon. I don't really mind it right now but that's probably just me.

 

WoW one: I don't really like reading about game comparisons really since there's always bound to be arguing on both sides. Still read it though and I've never tried WoW since it looked too complicated and I really don't want another addiction.

 

Good job guys.

[Grasle]

The first article summed it up well. This has been a very sleepy year for us all.

 

 

 

The WoW one already said itself both games are too different to compare, so I have no input.

[wab]

DYK: good one, never knew that \

 

 

 

wake up: I don't agree there isn't major upadtes. Mobolising armies, soul wars, bounty hunter worlds are all kinda big projects of jagex. Even if some of them fail, but thats another story.

 

I do hate a ranter opinion to be full article of tip.it times... :x

 

 

 

WoW article: and I thougth these were about runescape articles...my bad.

 

 

 

fictional: never read those tbh :|

[Danqazmlp]

I agree with the Wake up! article, but there have been some larger updates, but still nothing to compare with some of the big updates from 2-3 years ago. But the thing is, after 8 years of runescape, is there much more that can be done which is new and fresh?

[Mungo0]

I agree with the Wake up! article, but there have been some larger updates, but still nothing to compare with some of the big updates from 2-3 years ago. But the thing is, after 8 years of runescape, is there much more that can be done which is new and fresh?

 

 

 

 

 

Actually, I would have to say yes - there are so many things that Jagex could draw inspiration from, such as books, culture, and so on. It's a matter of thinking outside the box.

 

 

 

And on the topic of upgrades - it has been dry recently, but maybe it wil pick up soon? All we can really do is wait and see.

[ilovecuttingyews]

I agree with the Wake up! article, but there have been some larger updates, but still nothing to compare with some of the big updates from 2-3 years ago. But the thing is, after 8 years of runescape, is there much more that can be done which is new and fresh?

 

Actually, I would have to say yes - there are so many things that Jagex could draw inspiration from, such as books, culture, and so on. It's a matter of thinking outside the box.

 

And on the topic of upgrades - it has been dry recently, but maybe it wil pick up soon? All we can really do is wait and see.

 

 

 

I was talking to someone ingame and he said he had inside info and the new skill will be October. I don't really beleive him, but it really got me thinking about how soon it could be out. After the new skill comes I'm sure there will be a wave of updates after in support of the skill.

 

 

 

Also, I agree with Danqazmlp, after 8 years I would be hard-pressed to find new updates other then the "make more powerful items".

[Mungo0]

Oh, I was speaking in terms of quests, but yes, I can see where you're coming from, in terms of skills. To be adding weapons that requires 80 or even 90+ combat skills would be hugely overpowered, unless Jagex could balance it somehow.

[Zaaps1]

Should change "busker" in the Did You Know... fact to "musician". I had no idea what a busker was until I looked it up, and Musician is the more popular/official term for them in Runescape.

[Danqazmlp]

Oh, I was speaking in terms of quests, but yes, I can see where you're coming from, in terms of skills. To be adding weapons that requires 80 or even 90+ combat skills would be hugely overpowered, unless Jagex could balance it somehow.

 

 

 

Yep but then the thing is, with every quest, people want rewards to go along with them. And then if the quest only has exp and not some great new item, people seem to totally dismiss the quest, which must disheart the developers alot, and make them almost want to have the reward plannned out before the quest, so they know how tough to make the quest.

[Tim]

I whole-heartly agree with the "Wake-Up!". If it wasn't for my current role in TETAU, I'd have quit this year since the updates are horrible, nothing major, and all the prices of my commonly used things are stupidly high, I cant train efficiently.

 

 

 

Im still waiting for name changing though, I cant stand being called "Matthew16200" with 99 Defence on a player with both a common name + numbers. :|

[Moogel]

As with most everyone, I did agree with the wake up article, although I don't really want a new skillm to be honest. I think (this is my opinion, mind you) that if Jagex continues adding skills at the current rate, runescape will have 50 skills pretty soon (time is relative, though).

 

And with the WoW article, I did agree. Most people who play Rs can't pay $15 a month, or don't want to waste $15 a month. I also agree with the "can't compare" since, blizzard is a lot larger company.

[Makoto_the_Phoenix]

RE: Wake Up!

 

 

 

Personally I think that the author had too high of an expectation for this year. When I read "upgrade year", I kind of figured that there'd be no ultra-super-cool new content that was just waiting in the pipeline. I suppose that it's just the nature of most RS players; when we're given a glimpse of the future, we let our own imaginations dictate what will come to pass. I don't know why anyone, let alone the author, got their hopes up for something super cool and exciting anyway; it's almost as bad as the BTS hype (when players would buy X item in anticipation of an update, but get their hopes dashed).

 

 

 

It should also be noted that the game engine is under an extensive refactoring project. For those that don't know what it is, it basically means that legacy, stable code is being replaced with new, unstable code, and as such, it can cause things to break. The reason that anyone would want to re-factor an engine would be to support new updates, make it easier to update, isolate parts of the game further, or allow the game engine to extend well into the future (think 64-bit platforms).

 

 

 

I'll wrap up here - the author got their hopes up for something big that was never promised; they feel let down by an artificial promise, now they want this year of upgrades to end for no conceivable reason other than to get that "big update" that's in the pipeline. Take it with a grain of salt; no major updates were promised to us, and I still don't see why anyone got their hopes up this year.

 

 

 

RE: My Observations: WoW for a Month

 

 

 

At the very least, even if it undermines the whole point of the article, the last statement the author made was right on the money. You just can't compare WoW to RuneScape, no matter how hard you try, since it will always be about personal preference.

 

 

 

Overall, both articles were good reads. When I finish with my Calc homework, I'll give the Fictional series an earnest look.

[Lore]

I agree with deathmath on his WoW article - it's nice, but only in small quantities.

 

 

 

As for jp's "Wake Up" article.. well, I hated it.

 

In the last five months we've had 5 new quests, 4 pvp updates, MA and it's update, Two summoning upgrades, the run energy upgrade, and a change to the gravestone system that I love.

 

Granted you might not yet have a shiny new skill to play with, but I this 'upgrade year' is doing alot for RS to bring the underlying gameplay up to a higher spec.

 

 

 

He also pointed out that everything seems to be in the pipeline, but nothing comes out.

 

I believe this is because new content these days has to be bigger, better, and more polished than it did in the last few years. Your expectations have gone up, and so has the corresponding development time.

 

 

 

Perhaps I have a different perspective, because lately I've been kept busy trying to catch up to the levels of those in my clan, but perhaps those who are complaining should go and take a look at what they enjoy most about Runescape. If it's the first twenty minutes of trying out a new update, I think you'll continue to be sorely disappointed.

[Great_one]

I have been saying the same thing as the first article for months now, yet every time i get flamed saying that they are trying their best and if i don't like it i should quit. This is not their best though, i find '08 to be one of their bests, only missing 2 weeks without updates(summoning and hd), this year we have missed a multitude of weeks without updates, not to mention them hiding behind the lack of a bts because they can't stick to a damn schedule!

[BloodShard]

Nice articles this week.

 

 

 

The WoW article - I personally hate WoW. I do not think that it is worth 15 dollars a month for a game that is mostly combat. yes there are skills but they arent i think as good as runescapes. I have played WoW so do not flame me saying ive never played it and should stfu.

 

 

 

While i know some people find it a good game to play i do not like it and think that if you pay 15 dollars a month for a game thats not right but you have your opinions i have mine.

 

 

 

 

 

WoW article: and I thougth these were about runescape articles...my bad.

 

 

 

I know right

[Troacctid]

On the first article: While I can understand the dissatisfaction some feel with this year's updates, I've been fairly pleased with the recent changes in philosophy. It's high time Jagex started fixing old content instead of churning out lame new minigames once a month. And it's high time every new quest advanced existing stories. And stuff. So I disagree.

 

 

 

On the second article: I dislike WoW. I played it for about a month of two. You have to walk everywhere, the quests suck, and the whole game is heavily focused on combat. Meh. It has its good points, but I prefer Runescape.

[BloodShard]

 

 

 

On the second article: I dislike WoW. I played it for about a month of two. You have to walk everywhere, the quests suck, and the whole game is heavily focused on combat. Meh. It has its good points, but I prefer Runescape.

 

 

 

 

 

agreed

[Tim]

It's high time Jagex started fixing old content instead of churning out lame new minigames once a month. And it's high time every new quest advanced existing stories. And stuff. So I disagree.

 

On that note, I'm still waiting for Castle Wars to get a face lift. It IS the oldest Mini Game to date.

[Phox1515]

regarding the wake up article i gotta gree with it... the only update that wasnt released in last 2-3 weeks i can remember easily is mobalizing armies... and the only reasons for that is because of all the hype and hwo long it took them... i dont rem3ember it for being a good update in fact i find a lot of things bad about it.. 1-2 points a game requiring 100 pointys to move up ranks, each game lasting at least 5 min min to even get points... i mean seriously its quite time consumking and rewards are not that good... i thought at first teh higher lv rooms had better rewards for the same 10k cost as first room... i get the lv 100 rank and to my dissapointment the cost for them goes up... then you "had" the multi lv armies... there was no point at all... you had to have lv 2 in lv 2 room, lv 1 in lv 1 rom, lv 3 in lv3 room... and everyone was same lv... you had no advtage for having higher rank... i thin they should ahve kept the different lvs but let them all in same room.. then there might be some challenge..

 

 

 

anyways the times wasnt about ma... so back to the point. i dont remember ma for how good it is i remember it for how long it was delayed and all the hype for something so worthless... imo 2008 still has me remembering stealing creation... NOW THAT was a good update... especialy when they made the double exp patch... so as far as 2009 goes i dont remember a single update older than 3 weeks except ma... if i strain on my memory i can remember things such as the pheonox... but i dont even do that... i did the mini game once and that was it... too much hassel so that update was prob 6 months of jagex work wasted on my behalf

[Sir_Squab]

Should change "busker" in the Did You Know... fact to "musician". I had no idea what a busker was until I looked it up, and Musician is the more popular/official term for them in Runescape.

 

 

 

Yeah, does need to be changed.

 

 

 

And I wish Jagex could give us SOME sort of timeline on new updates. Tell us about some of the updates; specifically start of the month updates, because then you can say you expect it to come out in say september, and then if it gets delayed you still have till the end of the month. Or maybe if you have a big MA update planned to come out in 3 months, say it's planned for the next 6 months, and update that info if something comes in 3 months later?

 

 

 

Also, yeah, why is the QA team on such a tight timeline that forces them to prioritize what bugs they fix if Jagex got rid of the BTS to prevent that in the first place? I semi agree with the "Wake Up" article about deadlines and such; but then again, they DID say it was an upgrade year; as someone pointed out they are updating old code so they can make better upgrades, and I also FREAKING LOVE all the quest storyline continuations.

 

 

 

As for WoW versus RS....another reason why it's a bit unfair to compare them is because, at the end of the day, Runescape is still nothing but a simple Java based game, whereas WoW requires major downloading. Jagex could probably intergrate things like jumping, swimming, numbers for casting spells, etc, if it required a serious download. One of the key things ABOUT RS is that you can play it on a simple web browser that supports java. Hell, certain phones meet that criteria! I can very easily see an iphone the supports full playing of runescape tbh.

 

 

 

I can't say much else about comparing the two games as I have never played them.

 

 

 

regarding the wake up article i gotta gree with it... the only update that wasnt released in last 2-3 weeks i can remember easily is mobalizing armies... and the only reasons for that is because of all the hype and hwo long it took them... i dont rem3ember it for being a good update in fact i find a lot of things bad about it.. 1-2 points a game requiring 100 pointys to move up ranks, each game lasting at least 5 min min to even get points... i mean seriously its quite time consumking and rewards are not that good... i thought at first teh higher lv rooms had better rewards for the same 10k cost as first room... i get the lv 100 rank and to my dissapointment the cost for them goes up... then you "had" the multi lv armies... there was no point at all... you had to have lv 2 in lv 2 room, lv 1 in lv 1 rom, lv 3 in lv3 room... and everyone was same lv... you had no advtage for having higher rank... i thin they should ahve kept the different lvs but let them all in same room.. then there might be some challenge..

 

 

 

anyways the times wasnt about ma... so back to the point. i dont remember ma for how good it is i remember it for how long it was delayed and all the hype for something so worthless... imo 2008 still has me remembering stealing creation... NOW THAT was a good update... especialy when they made the double exp patch... so as far as 2009 goes i dont remember a single update older than 3 weeks except ma... if i strain on my memory i can remember things such as the pheonox... but i dont even do that... i did the mini game once and that was it... too much hassel so that update was prob 6 months of jagex work wasted on my behalf

 

 

 

Some updates are always wasted on someone, and the people more likely to say something about an update are the people who hate it; people who like the update play and use the update instead of commenting. Also, quite a bit of the MA hype was players. They mentioned before it came out that MA involved a lot of new code, and that new code development, although good in the long run because you now have this new code to use, is bad in the short run BECAUSE PLAYERS GET HIGH EXPECTATIONS AND GET DISAPPOINTED. In otherwise, JaGex subtly pointed out to us before MA came out that it would be kinda disappointing.

[quelmotz]

I strongly disagree with "Wake up!"

 

 

 

The author clearly has gotten too high of expectations solely based on the year of 2007 and 2008. And as a poster before me mentioned, NOT ALL updates Jagex is working on will be put on the front page, e.g. the game engine thing.

 

 

 

And I'd say Jagex did a reasonably good job in churning out some new content while fixing things up and all in all making the game more streamlined.

 

 

 

The author also made it seem like the only thing a game should have is big updates and new skills. I disagree. What is a game with huge things but crappy flow and no updates/upgrades to make it more streamlined? I think Jagex has gotten to a point where there are already a lot of things in the game, now they have to focus more on making it streamlined and smooth-playing.