Also the nod to Mod Osborne on the BTS video relating to Dragons Den, is about him always making 'very long' posts.

So yeah, now that the BTS is out and there aren't any more concrete spoilers coming, here are some (belated) suggestions to get the most out of the ports update:

 

Have max chi, plates, koi and perls. You'll likely also need a large amount of resources to max all buildings and make new weapons (my 20k cotta likely isn't enough).

 

For the storyline and distance race:

 

Have max all random event rewards (3 adv rerolls is the most important one, but other things are important in order to force further rerolls)

Have a random event roll over from the day prior.

Have 4 finished voyages waiting when the update hits (for distance, these have to be shield tier TG).

When the update hits, make 3 new port statues and use one adv. reroll.

Complete the random event from the previous day.

Check the 4 ships (most likely getting a new random event, although it's not necessary as you'll complete a few more voyages in the day).

Send out any Scroll or new adventurer voyages you get. Use another adv. reroll etc.

 

If you are lucky enough, you could complete a single adventurer storyline within the first ~24 hours of the update (max 7 adv rerolls within the first 10 hours of the update).

So yeah, now that the BTS is out and there aren't any more concrete spoilers coming, here are some (belated) suggestions to get the most out of the ports update:

 

Have max chi, plates, koi and perls. You'll likely also need a large amount of resources to max all buildings and make new weapons (my 20k cotta likely isn't enough).

 

For the storyline and distance race:

 

Have max all random event rewards (3 adv rerolls is the most important one, but other things are important in order to force further rerolls)

Have a random event roll over from the day prior.

Have 4 finished voyages waiting when the update hits (for distance, these have to be shield tier TG).

When the update hits, make 3 new port statues and use one adv. reroll.

Complete the random event from the previous day.

Check the 4 ships (most likely getting a new random event, although it's not necessary as you'll complete a few more voyages in the day).

Send out any Scroll or new adventurer voyages you get. Use another adv. reroll etc.

 

If you are lucky enough, you could complete a single adventurer storyline within the first ~24 hours of the update (max 7 adv rerolls within the first 10 hours of the update).

Are there new areas coming out, though? i.e., are we actually going to need more distance? Seems like this update just provides more uses for terracotta and azure

 

So yeah, now that the BTS is out and there aren't any more concrete spoilers coming, here are some (belated) suggestions to get the most out of the ports update:

 

Have max chi, plates, koi and perls. You'll likely also need a large amount of resources to max all buildings and make new weapons (my 20k cotta likely isn't enough).

 

For the storyline and distance race:

 

Have max all random event rewards (3 adv rerolls is the most important one, but other things are important in order to force further rerolls)

Have a random event roll over from the day prior.

Have 4 finished voyages waiting when the update hits (for distance, these have to be shield tier TG).

When the update hits, make 3 new port statues and use one adv. reroll.

Complete the random event from the previous day.

Check the 4 ships (most likely getting a new random event, although it's not necessary as you'll complete a few more voyages in the day).

Send out any Scroll or new adventurer voyages you get. Use another adv. reroll etc.

 

If you are lucky enough, you could complete a single adventurer storyline within the first ~24 hours of the update (max 7 adv rerolls within the first 10 hours of the update).

Are there new areas coming out, though? i.e., are we actually going to need more distance? Seems like this update just provides more uses for terracotta and azure

 

 

It is confirmed there are NO NEW REGIONS.

No new regions doesn't 100% equate to the distance limit staying the same, but yeah, that's exactly why my post was focused on how to get the most adv rerolls (and thus scrolls+story missions).

No new regions doesn't 100% equate to the distance limit staying the same, but yeah, that's exactly why my post was focused on how to get the most adv rerolls (and thus scrolls+story missions).

 

I think the distance cap doesn't increase, due to there being no new region.

 

No new regions doesn't 100% equate to the distance limit staying the same, but yeah, that's exactly why my post was focused on how to get the most adv rerolls (and thus scrolls+story missions).

 

I think the distance cap doesn't increase, due to there being no new region.

 

 

I'd agree without new regions there is no real reason to up the distance cap.

 

The distance cap was upped in the first add-on because there were new regions which required more distance to unlock than the existing cap allowed.

If this add-on has no new regions there is no need for new distance so no reason to increase the cap, especially if you consider increasing the cap could make future expansions unfair as new regions could be insta-unlocked due to a distance cap that exceeds the require distance for max region by too much.

I see what you're saying, although I hope that J realizes as much and doesn't continue to use the same pattern in an arbitrary fashion :P

 

I'm quite ill-prepared for this update other than having shettons of trade goods stockpiled - I've hardly any cotta or azure to speak of.

What exactly are the new buildings supposed to do? :|

Do what the old buildings did, but better!

From twitter:

 

Today (Tuesday)'s #RSTV Stream features:

- Tuska

- Boss Practice Mode

Make sure you don't miss out!

1600 Game Time! twitch.tv/runescape

 

Please, someone cover this if you can. If not i will be trawling the media for information for you.

The Dukes Team Blog

 

 

The Team – All hail the Dukes!

 

Within RuneScape we are split into smaller teams of content developers, graphics artists, designers and QA testers. We are the Dukes, one of the three core teams that produce the main weekly updates you've come to expect. Our goal is to continue the fun by providing a variety of quality content updates such as minigames, quests, skill updates and more!

 

Previous Projects

 

4th February marks the anniversary of the first Dukes Team release; the Demon drop table update. In the past year since then our team has developed and launched Action bar sharing, Bank Loadouts, Mahjarrat Memories, The Mighty Fall, Pest Control improvements, Skillchompas, Barbarian Assault Redux, Hallowe'en 2014 - Death's Door, Broken Home and Dominion Tower improvements. It's been a busy year!

 

Current Projects

 

Zamorak Heist quest

Easter 2015

 

 

Zamorak Heist quest

 

If you've been keeping up to speed with the Dukes recently you'll be well aware that we've been hard at work to bring you the 199th quest, the follow-up to Missing, Presumed Death, in which the revolutionary god of chaos, Zamorak, puts his plan to take back the Stone of Jas into motion with the aim of restoring the power he lost in the Battle of Lumbridge.

 

We've three reveals for you today! The quest's name has been pinned down and we’ll be calling it Dishonour Among Thieves. You'll be able to play it from the end of February!

 

Finally the quest's requirements are:

 

Level 30 Thieving

Level 30 Agility

Missing, Presumed Death

Hazeel Cult

Also recommended are combat stats of at least 50.

 

 

You voted in droves for Nomad to be included in the heist team and Zamorak will be employing him within an elite combination of chaotic characters that, together, have an array of particular skills. We've already shown you his art concept but here it is again, alongside the old and new models. Ooh, shiny!

 

https://twitter.com/JagexOllie/status/542340554231910400/photo/1

 

 

 

 

 

Easter 2015

 

Thank you for your feedback!

 

We've been asking you, the players, for your feedback in what you look for and don't want to see in holiday events in threads such as 16-17-898-65524919. We've taken this feedback on board and used it as a basis for this year's Easter event to make it as enjoyable as possible for as many people as we can.

 

We're going for a quest-like structure with a concrete start and end. While some elements will be replayable for fun or with friends we've made note that you're generally not fans of grindy content in holiday events and it shouldn't feel like you're missing out if you don't turn up every day.

 

The Easter Bunny has been away for a while on eggciting adventures and he’s brought back something eggstraordinary that is bound to be a basket of trouble.

 

 

 

Future projects

 

Small skilling project - Livestock

 

Early design is now underway for a small addition to Farming, allowing the player to raise and care for Livestock, with rewards for other skills. As a small project there will only be a small selection of creatures for you to farm however we plan to add more in the future if it proves popular. We've had questions around the office already like "What? But I can already kill cows for cowhides or shear sheep for wool!" and existing gameplay isn't something we're looking to reproduce. More info as time goes on!

 

Quest #201

 

Soon after Dishonour Among Thieves goes out and The Guardians release the 200th Quest, Dimension of Disaster, The Dukes are back in the questing game with number 201, with a tentative release date of Springtime. We'll keep you guessing on what this quest might be though, so keep your ears open for future Dukes correspondence!

 

#RSTV

 

The Dukes will be livestreaming again in the second half of February. Tune in to see us showcase our upcoming projects and ask us questions in chat!

 

If you missed our December broadcast in which we spoke about the Zamorak Heist Quest and Dominion Tower improvements you can watch it back here;

 

http://www.twitch.tv/runescape/b/594942059

 

 

 

Until Next Time…

 

Please let us know what you think of these projects and any ideas/questions you have about future ones. The feedback you give us is invaluable.

 

Thanks,

Mod Chaose and The Dukes

 

---

 

Get in touch with the Dukes directly! While it's best to post your feedback here in the dev-blog thread, if you have even more feedback/discussion points about previous or currents projects you can find a few of us on Twitter!

 

Mod Ollie - @JagexOllie - Content Developer [Dishonour Among Thieves]

Mod Ollo - @JagexOllo - Content Developer [Easter 2015]

Mod James H - @JagexJamesh - Lead QA Tester

Mod Chaose - @JagexChaose - QA Tester

 

Livestock sounds like a fun idea. Let's see how much you like it when NPC's go run in and kill your farm animals! :P

 

Also glad to hear the Easter Bunny will return, hopefully with chocolate. I suppose Valentine's Day will be delegated to another Treasure Hunter promotion?

For the 201th quest: they say it has a springtime release. But Rowley said last week quest 200 is only to be expected late june. I don't get it quite.

From Mod Ryan on Twitter, looks like we're getting a "True" final boss title:

Seems like the requirements will be:

100 of each boss (Normal Mode)

100 of each hardmode boss

5000 total boss kc

Every. Single. Pet. That includes Vitalis, Bombi, TzRek-Jad, and all of the Barrows Bobbleheads, along with everything added in the recent update.

 

 

Let the games begin, this is a PvM goal I'm willing to work towards.

Minigame Spotlight - Approach

 

 

 

Gentlebeings,

 

We're looking to implement a system that increases focus on our main minigames on a permanent rolling basis. The goal is that games which are less often visited at the moment will be seen by more players, increasing the population of those games (and countering the self-reinforcing 'dead minigame' issue).

 

What we'll seek to do is provide a daily or weekly spotlight on the Big Eleven: Heist, Stealing Creation, Cabbage Facepunch Bonanza, Soul Wars, Barbarian Assault, Trouble Brewing, Flash Powder Factory, Fist of Guthix, Mobilising Armies, Great Orb Project and Castle Wars. Regardless of which option we go with, each of these minigames will spend a portion of every month offering additional benefits when played.

 

What we'll not seek to do for now is rebalance all the rewards for the listed minigames - that's a bigger job for the future.

 

The following options are approximately equal in development cost, and just show three different approaches to how that additional benefit would appear. I'm interested in your thoughts and preferences for which option we take further (or a hybrid of two options, etc).

 

Option 1

 

A new shop is added to the game which sells Castle Wars / Void / Sacred Clay armour, altar teletabs, ring imbues and all the other minigame-only rewards.

 

Every day one minigame is spotlighted and will reward you for playing several rounds by giving you an amount of currency for this new shop.

 

TL;DR - Daily Challenges for minigames giving you currency for an all-minigames shop.

 

Option 2

 

Every day one random minigame is spotlighted and throughout that day will give boosted rewards for playing it. These boosts would fit the Mad May / Winter Weekends pattern of double Zeal, double SC points, +1 ticket per Castle Wars game etc.

 

TL;DR - Mad May Minigame style boosts every day throughout the year.

 

Option 3

 

Every weekend one minigame is spotlighted and throughout that weekend (12pm Friday game time to 12pm Monday game time) will give boosted rewards for playing it. These boosts would fit the Mad May / Winter Weekends pattern of double Zeal, double SC points, +1 ticket per Castle Wars game etc.

 

During that weekend you can vote for which minigame you'd like to see up next weekend (barring the three most recent so it's not just always Castle Wars).

 

TL;DR - Mad May Minigame style boosts every weekend throughout the year that you choose the rotation for.

 

FAQ

 

Q: Hey, this was my idea ages ago!

 

A: That's not a question, but anyway - yep, we've seen this suggestion a number of times in the past, and it's a good one. Now the DEVCOM team exists, with its focus on supporting the community, and supporting the minigame-playing community is a good endeavour for us. Anyone who's posted a similar idea in the past feel free to contribute here (smile).

 

Q: Why don't we just rework the minigames so they are no longer dead content?

 

A: In the longer term we want to revisit reward rates for minigames to ensure they're in line with today's standards, but that's a project larger than the DEVCOM team can commit to. The purpose of this Spotlight is to encourage more people to try more games and give them a reward for doing so, while at the same time concentrating the player count into games which in some cases need the help.

 

Q: Would the minigame shop sell all the different bonus xp items?

 

A: No, we'd likely condense all of those down into one XP lamp or star option.

 

Q: What about (other minigame not listed)?

 

A: In brief, it doesn't work for those games. Either they don't have a currency to tie into, or don't run in discrete game sessions, or don't offer any unique rewards barring XP, or a variety of other contraindications.

 

Q: Does this mean I can just play my favourite minigame to get all the rewards if we choose option 1?

 

A: Yes, although you'd only see your favourite minigame an eleventh of the time, so you'd be far better off giving everything a go.

 

Q: How will this affect hybrid armour?

 

A: Whichever option is chosen we'll ensure it has a slightly beneficial effect on the rate of gaining hybrid armour.

 

Q: Will the shop have any unique rewards?

 

A: Yes, we'd have a couple of utility items you couldn't find elsewhere - consumables like Slayer VIP Tickets in theme - and probably a cosmetic to show off with.

 

Q: Will this update have any negative effect on minigames highscores?

 

A: No, scores within the minigames themselves will remain the same process as currently. Unless your question means 'I'm scared more players means I'll lose my high slot', in which case get in there and defend your position.

 

Q: Will this devalue the completionist cape?

 

A: I can't deny that eg the Castle Wars armour will be a small measure easier to get due to either of these Spotlight proposals. We'd balance its cost in minigame currency quite high if the first option were chosen, and in the latter case Castle Wars will only be an eleventh of the rotation, so the effect will be minor.

 

World eater armour from tuska event:

 

From Mod Ryan on Twitter, looks like we're getting a "True" final boss title:

Seems like the requirements will be:

100 of each boss (Normal Mode)

100 of each hardmode boss

5000 total boss kc

Every. Single. Pet. That includes Vitalis, Bombi, TzRek-Jad, and all of the Barrows Bobbleheads, along with everything added in the recent update.

 

 

Let the games begin, this is a PvM goal I'm willing to work towards.

Well that's crazy. Requiring every single pet makes several of those requirements practically superfluous <_<.

Raids time...

 

 

From Mod Ryan on Twitter, looks like we're getting a "True" final boss title:

Seems like the requirements will be:

100 of each boss (Normal Mode)

100 of each hardmode boss

5000 total boss kc

Every. Single. Pet. That includes Vitalis, Bombi, TzRek-Jad, and all of the Barrows Bobbleheads, along with everything added in the recent update.

 

 

Let the games begin, this is a PvM goal I'm willing to work towards.

Well that's crazy. Requiring every single pet makes several of those requirements practically superfluous <_<.

Honestly, I am so damn lucky to have a Vitalis already when going for this. Bombi's going to be a pain, but lots of other people will want the 100kc so it shouldn't be too hard. The rest is just grinding, the profits from everything will cover the other pets, and soul wars isn't too difficult if there's people doing it.

So Insane Final Boss will actually be undeniably better than Defeater and we can stop this titlescape shit once and for all?

Sounds like they are trying to split up the 'endgame' content with multiple paths to take... one for skillers/lore/minigames(trim comp), one for pvm-ers(final boss).

Something is missing though. Where the hell is the PVP path?

Sounds like they are trying to split up the 'endgame' content with multiple paths to take... one for skillers/lore/minigames(trim comp), one for pvm-ers(final boss).

Something is missing though. Where the hell is the PVP path?

It went to '07.  :mellow:

Raids time...

Whats the point of this? Is this part of the livestock update?

 

Also the next item in the expired spin ticket thing:

 

 

Who do you think we give the essence to?

GOD DAMNIT THE CLUE IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!

Ooof look at that magnificent beauty!
(Left: Old ingame model of Nomad.
Right: New ingame model of Nomad.)