Behind the Scenes - May

[Stuart_G]

2 May 2006 - Behind the Scenes - May

 

 

 

This month sees the launch of our next big game engine upgrade, which Andrew has been working on for the last 6 months. This will be the biggest upgrade to the underlying engine which runs the game since we launched the new 3D engine two years ago. This time the changes are more under the hood, which means (if everything goes to plan) you shouldn't actually notice a huge amount of difference!

 

The game engine upgrades this time are focused on allowing us to make the game bigger, and on providing support for all sorts of features we want to do in future updates. These are the sort of changes that you won't see immediately, but do allow us to do all sorts of things in the future which we've been dying to do, but couldn't previously.

 

 

 

However there will still be quite a few improvements that you will see immediately, such as:

 

 

 

-Much faster loading times.

 

-Faster, cleaner updates. When we update the game it should download more quickly.

 

-Greatly reduced memory use, resulting in a smoother game.

 

-Vastly improved sound compatibility. Sound should work on far more machines, and work on firefox, and sound will even work in low detail mode with no performance loss.

 

-Better sound engine, with the ability to play more simultaneous sounds at a higher quality, which we will be using to introduce ambient background sound effects at a later date.

 

-Improved chat filter.

 

-Far better anti-macro technology. Those cheats are in for one huge shock! :-)

 

-Better compatibility with dual CPU computers.

 

-Better compatibility with firewalls.

 

-Better language support, with support for accented characters in chat, etc.

 

-And of course lots of underlying changes to let us do more exciting stuff in the future...

 

 

 

So... to the quests. The first of this month's quests asks the player to persuade the Wise Old Man to come out of retirement for just one last battle. Many years ago, he was possibly one of the greatest legends in the world ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ the most powerful adventurer in the land. Fame and fortune can cost dearly, though, so he hung up his mystic boots and followed a more careful life, offering help to new visitors to Draynor Village and causing the odd, erm, panic in the local bank. The time has come for him to dust off his armour and once again stand in front of the crusading hordes ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ but this time with you at his side! Great rewards, humour and some fantastic cutscenes have made this a firm favourite in the office during the past few months ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ we hope you enjoy it.

 

 

 

The second quest brings new life to the struggle between Miscellania and Etceteria, with the player investigating odd sounds and sightings coming from beneath the Miscellanian soil. Perhaps some great evil has risen from the deep, or perhaps it's those pesky Etceterians up to no good. Those players who have helped out King Vargas before will be invited to do so again, this time potentially adding the Etceterians to their pool of resources. This in turn means that the island will have new resources available for the locals to collect ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ including flax, seeds and even bird nests! We will also be rebalancing the normal Miscellania rewards to be more generous and less demanding, so you might be surprised what they can offer you.

 

 

 

Other updates this month include some new random events which ask the player to Grab the Evil Twin. Players operate a winch and crane with a large claw attached to the bottom ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ similar to the games you can see at fairgrounds. We also see the player being whisked off to a large troll area having to prod the correct pillars, just like a giant pinball machine!

 

 

 

We are also adding some other smaller features to the game later this month, such as clockwork toys for your cats, teleportation tablets, making your own cups of tea and even chairs you can sit down in.

 

 

 

Have fun!

 

 

 

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Looks like i might have to renew my membership if these updates turn out to be any good.

[Laikrob]

Great! Nice to see they keep trying to take out those macroers. :D

 

 

 

And finally a Wise Old Man quest!!!! 8)

[Aragorn86]

OMG!!! Wise Old Man quest. I have waited that for months :D

[xXru1n3dXx]

After all these years, my character finally will experience sitting on a chair! :shock:

[Adamskii]

I hope these chairs will be ergonomic...

 

 

 

Health and Safety ftw.

[akkillah5o]

Geez we finally would get to know whats up with WOM. :P

[jenova1692]

this month is gonna rock!!!!! *does strange dance*

[zaquierming]

AWESOME!

 

Finally WOM quest,

 

Ambient sounds, And normal music on low detail!

 

And, We will finally be able to sit down!

[caskade]

can't wait to put my wagon in a chair. *woot*

[Jimmy_Kak]

I hope these chairs will be ergonomic...

 

 

 

Health and Safety ftw.

 

 

 

LOL you rule!

 

We definately don't want a breach of workplace health and safety.

 

 

 

 

 

On the other hand i look foward to less lag whilst pking!, the eventual begining of Poh's, a big war hopefully with WOM. Man this is shaping up to be a swell month in my eyes. Hopefully it can be delivered by Jagex after they hype it up.

[gonzlar]

Other updates this month include some new random events which ask the player to Grab the Evil Twin. Players operate a winch and crane with a large claw attached to the bottom ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ similar to the games you can see at fairgrounds. We also see the player being whisked off to a large troll area having to prod the correct pillars, just like a giant pinball machine!

 

 

 

Those macroers are in for a shock indeed :)

[Trojann2]

Yay! WOM Quest baby!!

 

 

 

*can't forget about the awesome chairs*

 

 

 

Btw, where are the new attack animations they promised? :evil:

[Aus_Fighter]

Other updates this month include some new random events which ask the player to Grab the Evil Twin. Players operate a winch and crane with a large claw attached to the bottom ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Ãâ similar to the games you can see at fairgrounds. We also see the player being whisked off to a large troll area having to prod the correct pillars, just like a giant pinball machine!

 

 

 

Those macroers are in for a shock indeed :)

 

 

 

Will only be a matter of time until they work out how to beat them.. took only 1 hour to work out that lady with the rolls..

[Sensei_3_tails]

After all these years, my character finally will experience sitting on a chair! :shock:

 

yeah... i really hope that they make sittable chairs for non-members, but if there is some benefit to sitting (i.e. faster hp regaining) then i can understand it being members only... but i doubt that it will be members only. there are how many chairs?

 

also, is it me, or is this some kind of hint they are working on carpentry?

[Jimmy_Kak]

Sensei i really hope that the chairs wil lead to poh's, but it still wont be for a few months at least. Unless they just bring it out one day. How good would that be, with no warning or anything.

[highlanders]

Woot! We will be able to sit on chairs! I like the new engine already, but I hope it's not going to go slow on my junky computer...

[akkillah5o]

There is alot of excitment about being able to sit down but where does it say that we will be able to do it? :?:

[slayercool66]

woot, finally wise old man quest...

 

 

 

And chairs you can sit on.. I have waited for that since i started :lol:

[henk333]

:shock: Gameplay update! Will I finally experience the sounds and song of runescape on my patched together McGuyvered connection?

 

*dreams of the endless possibilities*

 

 

 

 

 

Man I can't wait to see what the WOM quest will bring us. I've done quite a lot of tasks for him but never got to kill the mysterious monster under his bed :x Maybe we even get to learn the spell he used in the bank robbery :shock:

 

 

 

I wonder what chairs will do... maybe you can alch while sitting down or pull up a chair while ranging from a safe spot :lol:

[hmmsk]

sure sounds like a nice month :D wohoooooooooo!

[Risen_The]

As soon as I read "Faster Loading Times" Jagex made my day. :oops:

[nirvana2512]

Improved chat filter - I hope I can say my name on runescape now :D

[Bauke]

Woot. I love those technical upgrades. I hated the memory and cpu use RS made me go through.

 

Great updates, I'm really impressed they will all add this in just this month.

[DiLord]

I remember wanting sittable chairs since RS2 came out, and a littlebit when they intraduced sleeping with fatigue. I got to hang out wth a few mods in Beta and always talke dto them about it. Now we will finally get it. I'm more excited about that than anything.

[gonzlar]

I remember wanting sittable chairs since RS2 came out, and a littlebit when they intraduced sleeping with fatigue. I got to hang out wth a few mods in Beta and always talke dto them about it. Now we will finally get it. I'm more excited about that than anything.

 

 

 

I smell the return of Fatigue :(