Dev Blog - Prestige

[Lord Zophar]

I don't actually understand how this was supposed to make it easier to compete on the hiscores. If I'm level 80, how does it help me compete against someone who's 99? They have just as big a head start as they had before. If I have 99, I can prestige and...what? Try to catch up to the guys who already have 5 prestige? Increase my rank from 10,000 to 8,000? Removing the cap only makes it more competitive for players who are capped already.

I think that all the 200m people start even when they reset, actually. AFAIK, the way they described it nobody got extra prestiges for having more than 13m xp.

 

I also suppose it's possible that it might help use up some of the obscene gold piles many of those players have. Since they'll all be spending +40% ge price on resources to get them quick, so they can be the first to power through another 200M <buyable skill> xp.

[Miss Lioness]

 

What about 99 Smith back in classic days?

If those are the days people long for, then they should be hoarding energies for the production skill at the end of the year, no? Because the only good part about that was the control they had over the market of those items and the money they made as a result. Even still, today's much-larger player base would nullify any benefit of reaching 99 just to make money. By the time you hit that milestone, either so many people have made it with you and will viciously undercut you to sell their product or you got it too late that the undercutting has finally lead to a bottom-out of prices that hardly make the effort seem worth it.

 

99 smith was only worthwhile because you made money off of it. People only talk fondly of it because it's a mythical-styled time period that this game can no longer regain because it's grown so much in size that it just wouldn't work. You can't have a 10year old game and not have any overlap, and there's too much overlap AND too many players to ever have that time period come again.

 

Using it as a benchmark for when skills were meaningful at this point is comparing apples to oranges, as terrible as that saying is.

 

 

I was more directing at useful rather then moneymakomng scheme...

[Kimberly]

But it wasn't useful for the average player to get 99 smith. They could buy the byproduct from others for a lot less than the cost of 99 smithing, even in classic. The only time when this wasn't true was when there were only a handful with 99 smith and no one was undercutting each other to keep the cost too high to reasonably buy without getting the levels yourself. And even then...

 

Just wasn't worth it.

[SwreeTak]

It is great to see that Jagex actually listened this time. Now I really hope that they suggest a system which doesn't include that all those who achieved 200M XP will have to start over from the same point as those who just achieved level 99. As well as that there will still be a cap of some sort (just much higher than the current one of 200M XP). Great work listening though, Jagex.

[helring]

It is great to see that Jagex actually listened this time. Now I really hope that they suggest a system which doesn't include that all those who achieved 200M XP will have to start over from the same point as those who just achieved level 99. As well as that there will still be a cap of some sort (just much higher than the current one of 200M XP). Great work listening though, Jagex.

 

Or maybe the 200m's could start off at the same point but not have it have anything to do with exp. Like comp cape and comp trim stuff.

[SwreeTak]

 

It is great to see that Jagex actually listened this time. Now I really hope that they suggest a system which doesn't include that all those who achieved 200M XP will have to start over from the same point as those who just achieved level 99. As well as that there will still be a cap of some sort (just much higher than the current one of 200M XP). Great work listening though, Jagex.

 

Or maybe the 200m's could start off at the same point but not have it have anything to do with exp. Like comp cape and comp trim stuff.

 

Could be a good idea. I will admit that I am actually quite excited now to see what for kind of system Jagex will be coming up with next.

[helring]

Yea, I just maxed div tonight and got my comp trim back so could use something else to do.

[NukeMarine]

 

It is great to see that Jagex actually listened this time. Now I really hope that they suggest a system which doesn't include that all those who achieved 200M XP will have to start over from the same point as those who just achieved level 99. As well as that there will still be a cap of some sort (just much higher than the current one of 200M XP). Great work listening though, Jagex.

 

Or maybe the 200m's could start off at the same point but not have it have anything to do with exp. Like comp cape and comp trim stuff.

 

This would have worked and worked great if Jagex didn't (in hindsight) screw up in the Dev Blog by saying that Prestige would be supplanting the High Scores. People would have fallen over themselves to back this idea as a new race of sorts just like people did when Player Owned Ports hit. What's that, everyone with a 99 in a race to get 99 again (and again) in a long term contest? People would have done it. 

 

First, put the Prestige Hiscores under the Community tab. Then about 3 months later (or longer depending on player adoption), oh so nonchalantly, merge Prestige Hiscores with the XP Hiscores with XP HS as a secondary selection. Prestige becomes the default high scores.

 

It would have worked fine then. Jagex releases prestige, thousands of 99's race for first in each skill and overall, Jagex gauge player interest (and plug a few holes), then they make it the default high scores as by then it seems a natural replacement.

 

Jagex had two choices. Either allow xp rollover of some sort which would have increased acceptance of Prestige replacing the Hiscores or do like the above with no xp rollover and subtly replace it over time.

[Miss Lioness]

 

Prestige Poll - Stats Breakdown

Hi everyone,

 

While the recent Prestige poll gave a decisive outcome, I thought it might be interesting to publish a breakdown of the voting stats compiled by analytical wiz Mod Porky.

 

In the discussion threads on the forums there were many theories about how different types of players would vote. A popular theory I saw was that maxed players would be much more likely to vote “no” than others.

 

It turns out that the voting patterns were fairly similar across different levels totals and combat level. Very high-level players were slightly more anti-Prestige, but only by an extra 10%. There was a similar result for those with very high combat levels, who were an extra 14% against. 

 

However, we can see from the charts that there was no really big variance, and that there was no segment of players who would have voted a majority “yes”. 

 

 

 

The stats also give an indication of which type of players were interested in the poll, and motivated to take part and vote. As might be expected, a feature aimed at very high level players ended up with many more of that group voting than anyone else:

 

 

As Mod Jack mentioned in the poll results news post, we’re now moving on to look at what alternative approaches we can take to improve competition at high levels and make the hiscores more relevant for more people. Please give us your thoughts, and we’ll take them on-board when coming up with new approaches, and we’ll come back to you with those ideas for feedback in the future.

 

Thanks for reading, and let us know if there are any other breakdowns you’d be interested in seeing - either for this poll, or any we do in future.

 

Thanks,

 

Mod Pips

 

 

UPDATES

 

Mod Porky's been making the databases work overtime to answer your requests for even more info...

 

Firstly, a chart which shows the vote breakdown based on the number of 99's players had. In general, the more 99's, the less popular Prestige was:

 

 

Next, we can see a significant difference in players who've totally max'd a skill to 200million XP:

 

 

And here's two sub-sets of data which show voting behaviour based on a players the average XP across all skills. I've also included the table which shows the quantity of voters in each banding.

 

 

 

 

If there are more requests we'll try to fill them tomorrow or next week.

 

 

Didn't see it posted here so for you guys who want to read it =3!

 

[qfc]16-17-919-65190716[/qfc]

[Ambler]

This graph is interesting, assuming the majority of players voted, that's a rough breakdown of what percentage of players have what levels... That's pretty surprising.

 

e: http://imgur.com/wyo8xRL,DHSQdDG,znuuq1T,YSFJbWu,3S95sMJ,6MR7h0i,w85naSn#6 uploaded the images off the rs site as for some reason it's being really dodgy. :-(

[Miss Lioness]

Not really... I'll quote what someone said in the topic:

 

 

 

Not necessarily, just because the people who voted on the poll were mostly high-level players, doesn't mean that there are not low-levels.

This poll was for high level content, so those who would have been unable to access it may not have been interested. Also, the poll itself wasn't very well advertised (it spend most of its time at the bottom of the news page and there and then forums were the only locations) which means that the only way somebody would know about it was if they were very involved with the game and whats going on.

 

and

 

 

 

Low levels have no real reason to vote on this poll, it's simply not relevant to them. The more casual you are the less likely you would be to even know the poll exists. It also comes as no surprise that low levels are getting quests because most of the good ones required you to already be clearly interested in the game before playing them; low levels need a taste of how incredible RuneScape's story is.

[Aiel]

This graph is interesting, assuming the majority of players voted, that's a rough breakdown of what percentage of players have what levels... That's pretty surprising.

except that high level players are more likely to be paying attention to news and care more. 

[Hedgehog]

 

This one was the most telling to me. It only dropped to below 70% no for people who are unmaxed or barely maxed, and wasn't even close for everyone else.

[Troacctid]

 

I don't actually understand how this was supposed to make it easier to compete on the hiscores. If I'm level 80, how does it help me compete against someone who's 99? They have just as big a head start as they had before. If I have 99, I can prestige and...what? Try to catch up to the guys who already have 5 prestige? Increase my rank from 10,000 to 8,000? Removing the cap only makes it more competitive for players who are capped already.

 

I think that all the 200m people start even when they reset, actually. AFAIK, the way they described it nobody got extra prestiges for having more than 13m xp.

 

I also suppose it's possible that it might help use up some of the obscene gold piles many of those players have. Since they'll all be spending +40% ge price on resources to get them quick, so they can be the first to power through another 200M <buyable skill> xp.

 

 

I know you don't get extra prestiges for more than 13m xp. I meant the people who have actually prestiged five times. How are you supposed to be in the running if you aren't starting right when it first comes out?

[Alg]

except that high level players are more likely to be paying attention to news and care more. 

Especially when they're the demographic that the update is aimed at, and the ones who are directly impacted by it.

[Yoko Kurama]

I find it amusing that there were statistics by 'combat' bands, as if the combat level isn't a totally meaningless and pointless signifier that tells you nothing about a person's combat skills/ability/time spent. A joke, nothing more.

[WeatherMatt]

Those stats are exceedingly revealing.

 

Jagex's stated aim was to increase competition among high level/maxed players, but the further the playerbase goes (both higher in skill total, and higher in average XP) the more negative the response got.

 

Clearly Jagex - how to put this nicely - completely bombed with the theory of Prestige. The very players subject to this system were the ones opposed to it in the greatest number.

 

Back to the drawing board. I doubt Jagex tries to salvage anything from this; they're probably best served coming up with something new entirely.

[helring]

Those stats are exceedingly revealing.

 

Jagex's stated aim was to increase competition among high level/maxed players, but the further the playerbase goes (both higher in skill total, and higher in average XP) the more negative the response got.

 

Clearly Jagex - how to put this nicely - completely bombed with the theory of Prestige. The very players subject to this system were the ones opposed to it in the greatest number.

 

Back to the drawing board. I doubt Jagex tries to salvage anything from this; they're probably best served coming up with something new entirely.

 

Its possible that it also shows that the higher levels don't want more competition. They may just want to compete the same way they always have instead of having new ways. It makes sense that those heavily invested in the old ways would be the most resistant to changes.

[Aiel]

 

Those stats are exceedingly revealing.

 

Jagex's stated aim was to increase competition among high level/maxed players, but the further the playerbase goes (both higher in skill total, and higher in average XP) the more negative the response got.

 

Clearly Jagex - how to put this nicely - completely bombed with the theory of Prestige. The very players subject to this system were the ones opposed to it in the greatest number.

 

Back to the drawing board. I doubt Jagex tries to salvage anything from this; they're probably best served coming up with something new entirely.

 

Its possible that it also shows that the higher levels don't want more competition. They may just want to compete the same way they always have instead of having new ways. It makes sense that those heavily invested in the old ways would be the most resistant to changes.

 

runescape also has a very stagnant player base at the moment, and even with the changes a player joining today would be ~3000 hours behind top players, so it makes more sense to cater to the current high levels.

[helring]

I agree but they need to cater to us while not pissing us off which for such a fractured group is like walking through a minefield. Talk to 50 high level players and you'd probably get 45 different opinions about what the highest priority should be. (I say 45 because 6 people would want them to finish the elf quests.)

 

I thought the prestiging part of the update was good, but the high scores table held it back. Others may want them to focus on seasonal high scores which I don't care about in the slightest. Others may not want prestige or new high scores at all. Catering to high level players seems enough to give you whiplash.

[Yoko Kurama]

Prestige was a stupid idea, and I am happy it got canned. 

[God Of Lego]

I don't really see prestige as compitition. Because in a few years many players would of had gone through hell of alot compared to a new player that will never be able to play catch up. Its only a tempory thing. It was very flawed.

[strilmus]

I'll admit that in hindsight, this is a bad concept

 

for Runescape

 

but it might work in a game that isn't largely populated by people who fixate on arbitrary numbers because they appear to be more significant on the basis that they are told so, through the process of elimination of most of the other players caused by the focus on this to the exclusion of other things like attempting to make positive changes

 

in this light, EoC was probably a bad idea, since the expectation for the game at that point was a large series of simplistic minigames, timewasters, and cosmetic flaunting stapled to a chatroom, and there was no reason to make those people feel uncomfortable for enjoying that

 

who are we to try to be something else? this is runescape, after all