Jump to content

Tip.it Times - 12th December 2010


Racheya

Recommended Posts

Just a reminder:

 

Rampant flame wars have taken control of virtually every week's times discussion topics. The following guidelines must be followed when posting on this topic. Posts that ignore these guidelines will be removed.

 

1. You are invited and welcome to express like or dislike on articles and a particular author's writing style. It is not acceptable, however, to flame or personally insult an author. Posts that aren't anything but an attack will be removed from the topic.

 

2. Spelling and grammar errors can be reported to Racheya by PMing her and they will be fixed promptly. It is not necessary to post them on the discussion topic.

 

3. Off topic posts that do not discuss the content of that week's articles will be removed. This is not the place to discuss the direction of the times, how much you love or hate the times, etc. Off topic posts will be removed.

 

By keeping within these guidelines, Times discussion topics will mean more for the Panel and Administration than just a place for flame wars. Flame wars do not provide any useful feedback to the Times, which is mainly what we're aiming for with these topics: feedback.

 

This policy is effective as of now, November 17, 2010. Any posts prior to the creation of this policy may or may not be removed according to the new guidelines.

3 posts were removed for this reason, some of which had other content aswell. If you find your post missing and want a copy to repost the on topic part, please send me a PM.

 

Laikrob,

Tip.It Administrator.

You're accusing me of bigotry, how ironic. It's a nice attempt at argument, but your responses are facile and asinine, if not diatribe. Who's arrogant now?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So.... What are we supposed to discuss? If we hate the material are we supposed to just ignore this? I seriously think hindering discussion on a discussion board is a bit harsh. :mellow:

Low_C.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jonananananananananas:

I know what you mean, and I know where this problem is... When writing like this, you got to create an image of these people in the readers' minds... One way to do that is with nicknames and/or references to his or her past... Since more than half of the characters are directly from the game, it's hard to do this while trying to tell your own story...

 

Rest asured I will try to make up for this in the next and final chatper... And even if I fail there, the epilogue should make everything clear... (yes, 2 more issues to come)

 

 

Low_C: the discussion must obviously be about the subject addressed in the Tip.it Times articles

Former Leader of The Tal Shiar Alliance - An Original Tip.it Clan
Member of the Wilderness Guardians and Founder of the Silent Guardians
Founder of The Conclave - A Tip.it Clan institution
Tip.it Times author (click for all my articles) - When I use the wrong reasons to make the right statement, argue the reason, not the statement.
MSSW4 General - Did we kick your ass too?




Check us out!
wildsig3.gif
clanmotif.png
==> No seriously, if you like FREE GP, XP and Dung tokens, as well as Community, Opportunity and above all FUN... <==
CLICK IT!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After careful review, we have come to the decision that as one of the articles directly touches the subject of unfair criticism, the removed posts have been merged back to this topic. (And no, it had nothing to do with the post questioning discussion on discussion boards.)

 

However, keep in mind that this is not a get out of jail free card; personal attacks or naming anyone in a negative light is still not allowed. Please tread carefully when discussing this specific topic, as it can easily become heated.

 

I apologise for any inconvenience the temporary removal of posts may have caused.

 

 

Laikrob,

Tip.It Administrator.

You're accusing me of bigotry, how ironic. It's a nice attempt at argument, but your responses are facile and asinine, if not diatribe. Who's arrogant now?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I understand, I was merely referring to Forsakenmages' article dealing with the subject.

 

To stay on topic, the article "Deja Vu" really made me think about the direction Jagex is going as a company with quests. I've played other mmo's and questing is basically the same if not worse. More epic boss fights is all i can think of that would improve the questing in general. All of the other schematics jagex use isn't any different than other mmorpg's out there.

Low_C.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I liked your article Forsaken - well done! :thumbup:

 

OFF TOPIC;

I came up with a thought of "Highscore" for Tip.it Times;

 

If you like a article, you give a thumbs up ( :thumbup: ). You can only pick one article to give thumbs up, and you can't give thumbs down.

 

Example of "first round";

Three articles:

A, B and C

 

Let's say the first round with Highscore becomes this;

1. B - 14 :thumbup:

2. A - 9 :thumbup:

3. C - 4 :thumbup:

 

Point of Tip.it Times High score?

Friendly compeition between writers.

 

And as more articles are published for later rounds, Highscore will be updated. :shades:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do No Evil was more of a fetch-quest than a puzzle-quest, really. There even was a puzzle and fetchmission combined, which was pretty niftily done.

 

I don't really mind the structure of the quests, as long as the puzzles and bosses feel fresh. As for a possible change: throw the bossfight in at the halfway point?

priest_wiz.png
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is purely in response to article 1: *CAUTION! VARIOUS QUEST SPOILERS!*

 

Ever since I had done While Guthix Sleeps, I had become an advocate of questing without guides in order to enjoy the quest's story, puzzles and battles as much as possible. Along with this, I have noticed a similar "pattern" in many of the quests I do. While this doesn't mean the quest isn't as enjoyable, it does mean that I expect various things to happen at various times. The problem is that there isn't a whole lot else that I can think of other than puzzles or combat that can be a new category of tasks to do in quests that are still enjoyable, i.e. I don't want to have the quest simply telling me to make 10 super restore potions for no reason whatsoever. Since RuneScape is controlled entirely by the mouse, there isn't much that can be done in terms of non-combat "action segments" relying on quick thinking or reflexes. The quest can't rely on multi-human-player segments because there is always the possibility that the quester is alone (like me). Thus, puzzles and combat are really some of the only things that can be done in a quest that can be classified as "interesting" enough (at least in my opinion). I wouldn't mind going back and forth talking to people trying to deduce the solution to a problem from the clues the NPC's give, but that is under the category of a "puzzle" anyway. Part of the problem with the pattern is that a puzzle is a ridiculously broad category. Some things are obviously puzzles, such as EW parts 1 2 and 3, but others are not so obviously the usual "puzzles". A perfect, recent example is getting that *bleep* chimp ice over all of Gielinor without teleporting or using normal gnome gliders in Do No Evil. The only thing I had to solve was how to re-freeze it again, but the bulk of the task was schlepping it over the land. Does this mean that the task is a "puzzle" because I'm not fighting something? Because I had to learn how to freeze it even though that alone didn't complete the task? This may still be put in the category of "puzzle" anyway for reasons I don't understand.

 

One of the reasons why we may feel that there are issues in terms of lack of ingenuity in a quest's general progression is that we are looking at it in general at all. Sure, we may perform similar *types* of tasks in each quest, but the beauty of RuneScape's quests is that we aren't doing the same thing in each one. While in quests of other MMOs, you simply kill X and return (or kill X for X items and return) meaning you are performing the same type of task (fight this thing in the same manner as everything else and go back), in RuneScape each puzzle is different, and each fight only shares a few similarities. To keep RuneScape's quests fresh, all that really needs to be done (in my opinion) from the perspective of the developers is to maybe switch up the order of the task categories, and include super-unique tasks like that chimp ice trek (though don't do that same one again, it'd be too soon to never have to do that again =P). Also, perhaps the puzzles and combat can be mixed. Imagine taking on a Tormented Demon while trying to create two primed elemental bars to smith into an elemental ballista bolt to pierce the demon's anti-death shield (so you can't simply kill it), while still distracting the demon enough with your fighting (i.e. not just doing one attack and running, actually having to damage it a bit) so the demon doesn't destroy your machinery, and you have to keep moving because the demon's attacks can cause small quakes around you which could also damage the machinery as well if they are subjected to too much at once. Also, the machinery is complicated enough that you need to periodically change around the settings on it to new ones so the machine can adapt to your changing environment. Now THAT is one heck of a quest task in my opinion.

 

As players, it may be better also if we don't try to look at it in such a general manner, instead appreciating the different tasks we have to perform, instead of negatively looking at how they are all different ideas in the same category of task, when the category is very broad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bah, I love puzzles, I love fights, I love bosses. I don't see anything wrong or repetitive about quests. I look forward to new quests with enthusiasm. No two quests are the same. The only thing i can say is that having boss fights only at the end of a quest makes me not worry about bringing combat gear everywhere I go. I wouldn't mind being challenged midquest by a powerful boss, just so I was forced to always be prepared for a fight. However, I like the way Jagex does their quests, and the story lines totally rule. I honestly laugh out loud during many quests. I hope they keep it up, except maybe release quests a bit more often!

 

Flan

Life is short. Eat dessert first.

I am never wrong. Once, I thought I was wrong, but I was mistaken.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only quibble I had with that quest was the fact that I really, really hate Ape Atoll, and this quest just kind of emphasizes everything annoying about it. :D

 

On the other hand, it was kind of entertaining running through all that like some sort of half baked movie plot in which a bomb is strapped to you and you have to keep resetting the timer, and not at all impossible, although I had frequent lag problems at the worst possible times, so I think the ice timer could have used a little loosening?...

 

The boss fights were all different, so they did a good job with that. Jagex just expects us to "guess" what kind of strategy you need by now and just tosses you in with a vague clue and no instruction as to what kind of damage you're trying to defend against (before the hitsplat update), so by those standards it should be fine that doing the wrong thing ends up nearly killing you. The same thing happens in a lot of the other boss fights, so when a sparkling bolt of something is coming towards you and perhaps it is melee based, surprise! Joke's on our vital organs when that punch hits several squares further than you'd think somebody could reach with their arm.

 

I'd say the structure is the least of our problems, and that there's really no point in rearranging events if it doesn't serve as a logical progression of the story, or try to shoehorn a variety of such either by promoting more quests that are written in another way, or by forcing a story to follow a certain way of doing things, other than certain standards set by the supervisor to include a specific type of reward or area or activity, which is often already suited to the quest's environment anyway.

8f14270694.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only quibble I had with that quest was the fact that I really, really hate Ape Atoll, and this quest just kind of emphasizes everything annoying about it. :D

Poison spiders + Humid foliage areas + monkeys + that stupid jail = bad memories and a pain in the ass.

 

+1. :thumbup:

Amitoz.png

Come to my Clan chat (I'm there if I'm online) if you wish to borrow a Green H'ween mask, Blue H'ween Mask, Red H'ween Mask, or Santa for a reasonable price.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.