Reader's Letters - March 28-Mar-2006
Today we have released the March edition of the Postbag from the Hedge, where you get the chance to ask in-game characters the burning questions that have been bothering you since last Pentember.
This month, what is the new Chaos Elemental all about, how does the KBD feel about being a bit of a wuss, and what exactly do Elven gods look like?
Sweden worlds offline/5 new worlds in Sweden/***Other News*** 24-Mar-2006
We have taken our Sweden servers offline whilst we fix a problem some people are experiencing with them. No other worlds are affected by this problem. Thank you for your patience whilst we resolve this issue, please use another world in the meantime.
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Update: We have taken our Sweden servers offline whilst we fix a problem some people are experiencing with them. No other worlds are affected by this problem. Thank you for your patience whilst we resolve this issue, please use another world in the meantime.
We have yet again broken the simultaneous player record, with just over 197k players online at the same time. To accommodate for this massive growth we have put 5 new worlds online in a new location - Sweden. This should alleviate some of the contention for slots on our busy Amsterdam servers. 3 of the worlds are for free players and 2 are for members only.
Enjoy the extra space!
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Runescape is really spreading in popularity! Today there was more than 197,000 people playing at ONE time. Because of this new record break, Jagex had tried to add 5 new worlds in Sweden, although as soon as they did they took them offline to fix a "problem that players were expiriencing". This should be fixed by tomorrow. Also, I have added the Rune HQ In Aid of Myreque guide link.
Responsible gaming reminder 23-Mar-2006
RuneScape is a fun, challenging, and exciting game which is very important part of the life of many people. More important to us here at Jagex is our players' well-being and safety while they play the game. We realise that a lot of our players can get very passionate and immersed in the game and we would like to take a time out to remind everyone to take care while playing. We have a whole section of our website dedicated to your safety and health which we would recommend you take the time to read; simply follow the Safety and Security guidelines link on the front page.
Whilst playing the game will mostly be a fun and rewarding experience there are times of great frustration involved with that fun, something which helps give the game the sense of challenge which we all know and love. The loss of items due to character death or the actions of other players can all be very disappointing but it must be kept in the context that without these setbacks the victory would not be as sweet. Always remember that this is just a game, that it should never become your life, and that you should always be making time for other activities such as your studies or job, and meeting your friends in real life. Also remember that if events in the game are getting too emotional then you should take a break from the game and do something less stressful until you're happy to return.
If you continue to feel upset due to an in-game incident then we would recommend that you continue to take a break from the game and talk to someone. You could talk to a family member, work colleague, teacher or friend; whomever you feel the most comfortable with. There is also counselling available in most areas which can easily be found on the Internet or a local telephone directory. RuneScape will still be here when you return and will be filled with even more new content for you to enjoy.
We are aware that a small minority of players attempt to scam in RuneScape and we are continuously introducing new ways to protect you while playing and prevent scamming from happening. Already we have Customer Support, the player mods, Bank PINs, and the Password Support system in place, with more innovations being developed all the time. However all of these systems can only be truly effective if you work with them and use them regularly.
It is vitally important that everyone secures both their accounts and the computers which they use to play the game. To secure your account you should have a hard to guess password, a Bank PIN set in-game, and recovery questions set via the main website. Full details on how to secure your PC can be found in the Security Tips section of the main website. It is also important never to tell anyone your password or to share your account with anyone.
Whilst buying or selling goods in the game, always remember to read the second trade window as it shows everything that will be traded. Also, always be careful and pay full attention to the game whilst in dangerous areas so that your character does not get killed and cause you to lose valuable items. This goes doubly so for the Wilderness where monsters and players can attack you. If you don't want to lose an item then the best thing to do is avoid taking it anywhere where you might lose it. Finally everyone has access to the Report Abuse button at the bottom of the screen so you can hit that button and help us remove the small minority of rule breakers who get in the way of honest play.
At Jagex we are fully aware that behind each character is a real person, many of whom put in a lot of effort and passion into their accounts. When someone in game is hijacked, scammed, or verbally abused it can seriously upset the person in real life and can sometimes lead to tragic results. This is why we not only put so much effort into improving the game content but also deterrents against breaking the rules. This is also why we will remove from play anyone found breaking our rules. RuneScape is not a place for a small minority to abuse other players. Jagex will continue to use all the resources at its disposal to ensure RuneScape stays a fun, honest, and enjoyable place for you to spend your time.
In Aid of the Myreque/***Music Moving*** 22-Mar-2006
The peasants of Burgh De Rott are nervous. With no champions to defend them, it is only a matter of time before the Vampyres bleed them dry and leave them to disappear into the swamps. Will you allow the persecution to continue? Can you sit by as the Myreque, damaged from their last struggle in the Search of the Myreque quest, try in vain to stem the tide?
This update brings new hope to the desolate swamps of Morytania. With an entirely new village to help repair and even the hope of a new weapon to help combat the Juvinates, those who are brave enough to take on the challenge of the swamps are once again invited to help the agents of the Myreque in their struggle. A new base of operations must be found... can you find one and come to the Aid of the Myreque (Rune HQ Link)?
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Since all my music files are too big to stream off the web, I removed the links off my homepage so now all you have to do is goto my downloads page, right-click on the music link, and select "Save Target As...". This will save the music to the area of your choice on your computer so now all you have to do it double-click on the media file that was just saved and it will play instantly. Have fun in the new part 2 quest and be sure to check out the Rune HQ links I'm going to add as soon as they have the quest guide created!
***Spring Time...?*** 21-Mar-2006
Today was actually the first full day of spring, as I miscalculated earlier, and with it comes the beautiful blosseming of flowers and that sweet smell in the air. It also starts to warm up (yeah!) but today I had about 4-6 inches of snow to fall in the freezing cold! A few days ago , incase anyone forgot, was Saint Patricks day. Today I removed the snow and replaced it with falling rain. Have a good time splashing in puddels!
***The 100th Quest!*** 16-Mar-2006
If your stuck on this just visit the new Knowledge Base to get a few tips. I can't tell you much about the storyline, though, since I'm still waiting on Rune HQ to come out with a guide for it (in case you wondered, I'm not a member so I can't do it myself). Also I am adding more links to my website so that now it can actually start helping people out because before I was busy working on getting setup and the feel of running my website. Note that I am just now starting on creating my own guides so new ones will occasionally come out! Also be sure to check out the old news page if you need some more info on canoes and the other quickly coming updates and if you want to add snowflakes to your website visit my downloads page to copy the javascript.
***Celebrations, some confusing pages, and a few changes*** 15-Mar-2006
Hurray! Hurray! Today was the BIG 100 for RuneScape quests. This new and exciting adventure, all though sadly only for members :(, may be the biggest quest, mot neccisarily in length, but this is the first quest to feature several different endings! See Rune HQ tomorrow fo a quest guide (but try not to spoil the fun unless you really get stuck!) and have fun. In other news "See THE NEW and AMAZING GAME GUIDE!!!" (not). Although I think this is a great idea (I really do) since there is lots more pictures to give you a visual and more detailed info, but there are lots of different links to different pages. Note that this only a beta version so hopefully they will make it easier to navigate. Since they have made this, the links on older news will not work, but I am leaving them this way and will continue to update my main guide links.
Hundredth Quest - Recipe for Disaster! 15-Mar-2006
The cook in Lumbridge has a surprisingly small number of ingredients to hand in his kitchen, possibly as a result of an endless stream of newcomers with light fingers taking anything that isn't nailed down. Luckily, in the past a kind Cook's Assistant was willing to help him in his culinary duties, but now a problem has appeared that could spell... a Recipe For Disaster!
Almost all members can attempt to solve his tricky predicament, and be rewarded accordingly, but only the very elite of questers will be able to put paid to his problem permanently! The quest itself has several sub-sections, each with their own unique rewards. Check out our new look quest pages for more information.
Players willing to take on the challenge of this, our hundredth quest in game so far and possibly the largest yet, should head immediately to Lumbridge Castle's kitchen, and help out their old employer the Cook immediately...
In other news, some players will be asked to help out Leo, the short sighted Gravedigger. He's buried in some serious trouble and needs his problems laying to rest. Can you help identify which grave is which? This new random event has a new costume to collect and some new emotes for the players to unlock if they can solve the puzzle.
New Improved Game Guide Released 13-Mar-2006
Today we have released a beta version of our new
Knowledge Base system, packed with hints+tips about the game and answers to your gameplay and technical questions. With over 150,000 words, hundreds of pages and thousands of images, there's lots of information to improve your RuneScape experience.
The aim of this update is to provide better support for our players, so that if you're stuck or just need some friendly advice, you can quickly get the help you need rather than asking Customer Support or hoping someone is talking about it on the forums. The Knowledge Base includes:
- Statistics for armour and weapons
- Quest rewards fully detailed.
- XP gains listed for many activities, to help you decide the best levelling strategy.
- Tips and tricks on how to train.
- Hints on successfully completing minigames.
- Location and transportation guides.
- Basic and advanced sections for every skill.
- In-depth FAQ documents.
- Detailed guidelines regarding customer support, rules, forum use, reporting abuse, bans and safety and security documents.
- Scamming prevention guides.
- Website, billing and technical support.
- Special Knowledge Base news.
- Lists of the most popular articles.
... Plus all the normal "how to start playing" guides.
The RuneScape Knowledge Base also has a search function to help players find the information they want at the touch of a button.
Important Information
This is a BETA launch so that we can get your ideas and suggestions to make the Knowledge Base a better tool. It is, after all, designed to help you, so we want to know if it does!
Whilst it's packed full of info, it's very much a work in progress at the moment. We know some bits of it aren't perfect (yet), and there is still lots more we want to add, and further improvements are planned over the next few weeks. But we thought we'd let you see what we've been working on and have produced so far.
Your feedback is important to us. If you wish to discuss any of the features in the Knowledge Base, we have provided a specific forum for members to discuss the content of the pages and even on the way it is presented. If you find any bugs or mistakes in the Knowledge base, please use the category provided in our bug reporting page and be as clear as possible with your feedback or report, so we can make it a super accurate source of info.
Please remember, some articles contain suggestions and opinions on how to play the game. Your views may differ from the authors' views. Please feel free to discuss this on the forum, but do not submit it as a bug. Opinions are only opinions.
So, if you need illumination about where to find candles, seek enlightenment about the prayer skill, want to hook up with more detailed fishing information or even get technical with technical support, the KB is the place to be!
We hope you find the KB useful, and that it makes your experience in RuneScape a better one.
Visit the Knowledge Base today!
***Some Technical Problems Fixed*** 8-Mar-2006
2 days ago I was busy re-aranging the news and I had to get off my computer before the changes were complete. As some of you have probably noticed, the link at the bottom of the page was not working all because I typed "veiw" instead of "view", but the link at the top of the page that says View Old News was functioning correctly. I have finnaly moved all the old news to another page and will only leave the 5 newest on my homepage. I also removed my Webpage Help link because the only thing that could mess up my site is if you have on pop-up blockers (causes all links to be disabled) or you brought up this page restored (or not taking up the whole screen) and then maximized it (the snowflakes would only appear in the areas visable when it was smaller and to fix this simply refresh the page). I am now working on a combat calculator and putting a few game hints on my Other Stuff page.
