Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
How come Runescape is still a Living Legend?
i'll start by saying that i've been testing mmos since 94-95 and i've had my fair share of mmorpgs, at certain points in time i had to have installed like 5 to 10 mmos on my pc while trying to find something worth playing for more then a couple of minutes... for some i wasted more time downloading+install+uninstall then actually playing the game (like WoW <- best example) while for the "average" ones i've wested 20-50 levels of gameplay... even tho i'm pretty sure i can count on all my fingers the amount of "avarage" mmos that i have encountered, but sometimes i cannot stop and look back at what was on the market a few years ago and how much time some mmos were lasting, now i'm just wondering how come 5-10 years old mmos are still standing and the new ones... are going down before even going Live, some dont even get out of the main testing phases and it's kinda sad, because i found a few of them to be worth running that could have had loads of potential and revenue but still they got shutdown in their early stages, yet again sad but how the hell mmos like Runescape are still alive and going hard while others that cannot even be compared to a browser based mmo get to go down without a chance at all? are we so repetitive? are WE the problem? because most if not all of those mmos i was talking about came with new concepts and still they had no chance, why do we always compare x with y as being a clone of another game while in the same time WE reject anything NEW? are we so afraid to open that pandora box so much that we're actually killing anything NEW that even tries to reach the mmos surface? i have no idea where this might lead... but for sure not to something good...
How exactly do you learn from the past as a Dev or Publisher? since all you will be able to see is total rejection to anything remotely new... no idea..
ATM i'm testing ARGO online, it has potential but the lack of testers or players in general, just gives me this sad feeling that it won't last, now if i try to remember Runescape didn't have that many players in its testing phases either but hey... that was a loooooong time ago..
the main question remains, how come Runescape is still a Living Legend? even after getting their servers hacked countless times(starting from the early years), earthquakes, tsunamis, global crisis and all those... yet again it's UP and Running from day1 to nowadays... doesnt it make you wonder about things?
Comments
Why some like this and others that and why millions like something while others hate it.
I realy dont understand why so many for so long like runescape i think its awefull game terible looking outdated and even when they pay me i would not install it hehe.
But its nice for them its so succesfull 100.000 + players online everyday around 150+servers.
Legend i realy dont see that but if you say so hehe.
Are you fan of runescape hehe.
Games played:AC1-Darktide'99-2000-AC2-Darktide/dawnsong2003-2005,Lineage2-2005-2006 and now Darkfall-2009.....
In between WoW few months AoC few months and some f2p also all very short few weeks.
The reason this happens is that there are a lot of MMOs coming out, so people have a lot of choices. Our standards are high. if a game does something new, it must do that thing VERY well and also do the rest of the game VERY well. FFXIV is a great example. They did some things that were new (physical level separate from class levels, dedicated classes for gathering and crafting, MP does not regen) and some things that were not necessarily new but certainly different (bazaar system in place of a central AH, no level limits on equipment, nearly all equipment is crafted), but the two major things that they got wrong—lack of unique content and sluggish labyrinthine UI—overshadowed everything else. It doesn't matter how good or how innovative everything else in the game is; it will be judged by its worst quality.
I have no idea what this has to do with Runescape.
no i'm not a fan, but my point exactly was, how come a crappy game like that can stay alive for so many years and new games... GAMES! can't stay up and running even to pass their early testing phases completely...
Runescape may look and feel dated but it has a loyal fanbase. It is also a free MMO that isn't an asian grindfest or completely gimmicky. Moreover, Runescape has been around a long time and has a lot of content, items, etc and therefore feels like a "complete" game. It's gameplay is old school and there is plenty to do. It doesn't surprise me that Runescape is still alive and well while other games fail to launch because they fail to deliver on their hefty promises.
Favorites: Vanguard SOH, Final Fantasy XI, Dungeons and Dragons Online
Future:
Final Fantasy XIV 2.0
EverQuest NEXT
Wizardry Online
Vanguard F2P edition (fingers crossed)
http://vgrpgblog.blogspot.com/
I have played Runescape on and off for a few years. There are many aspects of Runescape that keeps me playing.
I love the quests and how they are unique and once finished can not be repeated. This helps to make it feel like a real world. I am also glad that the NPCs themselves don't have giant glowing question marks over them. Sure, the map will show you that there's a quest there but it's on the map where it should be.
I love the skill based system. You see I suffer from a terrible disease called alt-itis and with RS I can play all of the skills with just one character. I also like the competiveness of the skills, how once you get ranked in a skill you know getting more experience, will improve your rank.
I love that RS is a sandbox .... you can play how you like.
The grafics may be outdated a bit, but it's got a ton of content. Achievements for differerent parts of the world makes exploration fun. You can also unlock music from exploring which you can pre-program into the ingame music player.
I like that with RS your character isn't tied to play on just one server. Instead you can play on any server that you wish. This helps to make hunting easier because you can change worlds until you get to an empty / not busy world.
RS also has PvP again in the wilderness. PvP can be fun to break up the leveling up as skillls.
So, what else do you like about RS?
I think nostalgia plays a roll in why older MMOs are still around as well as other factors. I still play Ragnarok Online, it was my first, and it has a special place in the ol ticker. When theres nothing out there that captures my attention, I'll play that.
Im sure Runescape was alot of peoples introduction into MMOs. And it still is, being F2P and Browser based gives it easy accessabilty. Ive never been able to get into it myself though, and I've given it a few fair shots over the years.
i wouldnt say Runescape is a living legend, but its often the first taste of an MMO that kids get, one of my grandchildren plays it, along with some fantasy browser pet game, it's ideal for kids his age (10), and i think thats the kind of demographic that Runescape is aimed at, and does best, the 8-12 age group, they even sell runescape time cards in Tesco's these days (along with aerendia and itunes cards) a while ago PCGamer was running a review of Runescape, even decided to try it myself, it was too bland for me, but its easy to use and it eases the players into the mechanics of it all fairly quickly, given the usual age range of the players, its does it pretty well. Chances are as the average Runescape player has gotten older etc, they have drifted into games like WoW..
Its a full fredged browser based mmo, tahts still pretty unique as far as i know.
"I will Turn your name into a synonym for weakness"
Actually, I find the opposite to be true. Kids are more happy with games like wow because much in runescape is just too tedious and complicated for them to figure out. For example, when you look at the elemental workshop series of quests in Runescape, most kids will never be able to finish them due to the extremely long series of puzzles to figure out in order to finish the quests. If it were not for quest guides in Runescape most adults wouldn;t be able to make it through their quests either. LOL
Overall, I feel WOW is a much easier game to play, and at a higher speed which would make it more attractive to children due to their short attention spans. Hell- I don;t even have the attention span to have Runescape keep my attention very long if I am working their insanely repetitive and grindy skills, I do not see how kids would be able to handle that for very long at all.
There is quite a large adult crowd in Runescape, even their live event, " runefest" was limited to adults, since it was for those of drinking age only since they gave away free booze. LOL
More older people drift to a slower paced game like Runescape due to them not being into smash and bash nonstop and the ' cutsie cartoony animal characters" which draw large young crowds on games like WOW.
Runescape's loyal fan base is based more on addiction than actual love of the game.
As for it not being an " asian gridfest" it is actually far more grindy and repetitious than even the most grindy asian grinders. But it just splits the grind up into what they call " skills" so you repeat the same actions over and over and over again just changing the skill pretty much in name only.
It feels more complete because they have been working on it much longer, and have been able to add many more items, mini games, skills than most games simply because they have had more time, and are using older tech which is much less expensive than the high end new graphix engines other games are using. When you have games that have been out for 4-5 years vs a game like runescape that has been out like 10 years, of course you should expect it to be more " complete".
A few reasons I attribute to the longevity of Runescape are:
1. Browser based game that can be played anywhere. People play this game at school and at work. This game has low system req. so it can be played on some of the worst POS computers as well making it much more accessable to a larger player base.
2. Simple game controls, good entry level mmo due to how easy it is to get started and to play. You can play this game after 15 shots of tequila and still manage to actually do something on the game because it is just that easy to operate.
3. Addicted player base. Many have difficulty stopping this game because they are level addicts. They can;t stop until their goals are finished, but Jagex keeps adding higher and higher golas to meet so they can never stop playing.
4. Constant updates. The game is constantly expanded and updated weekly if not daily at times.
5. Low monthly sub. Though part of the game is free, the majority of the game is accessed by membership only. Their $7.95 monthly fee is much less than other mmorpgs on the market, which allow for friends and families to play together easier. Whether it be starving college students, or parents that are struggling to get by, a reduced monthly entertainment cost makes it more attractive to lower and middle income households due to affordability.
6. Comfort. When a game has been around as long as this, many people develop long time friendsships within the community and become comfortable with their surroundings. It is like "Cheers" when Norm walks in and everyone yells " Norm!" Even after years of being away, I can always log into this game and be greeted by those I played with for years. There is a comfort factor in games like that vs starting new games where you go in and don;t know the community well. For many long time players, that is more like " home" vs going on vacation to a strange place when playing other games.
I would also like to add it offers a few things the other games on the market are lacking in:
1. You can access all game content from one character.
2. The game is zoned so that players with many different likes/ dislikes/ playstyles can play together on the same game and still have fun. This allows many friends and families to play together in the same game and still have something to do.
3. It is not a race/ class based game, which it is very difficult these days to find many games that are not, so it takes that corner of the market fairly easy. Many players, like myself detest the race/ class systems in other games and find it refreshing that games like this still exist to escape from them. You can do everything the game has to offer from one character allowing you to have more involvemnet with that character that is lacking in race/ class based games where your involvement is split between having to create numerous characters to access all in game content.
4. Combat and noncombat skills, many mini games and other activities. Lots to do in your down time between battles, easy to interact with other players outside of fighting. There is always something to do reagrdless of your mood. You do not have to go play a bunch of different specialized games in order to find a change of pace. This game offers a larger variety of styles and activities in one game instead.
Hey, I agree with most of the points given here and one thing that hasn't been mentioned that keeps players coming back is the community. In game the community sucks but there are a lot of fan forums and communities that have been there for 10 years so they have a loyal following.
These people, like me, play the meta game, too. I mean stuff that isn't even in the game but we play it with other people. For example, there is no real clan support in the game but we (the older players) have been playing in clans and clan politics since the game started back in 2001.
MMORPG.com blog
Runi is fun. It's also one of the few true free games.
LOL, you've got to be kidding!
Almost no-ones playing these days. On 1 bot site I saw 1 script has well over 85k Ruinedscape accounts using it being half the total game players these days. I think this script was for mining but of course it makes sense with probably 50 lvl3 solely mining bots in the mine guild alone & how many worlds in total to multiply for the total mining lot since lots at Rimmington Mine aswell as both ends of Varrock too.
Consider it's reasonably common for 1 kid to have 8-10 bot accounts working for their couple of main bot accounts. But then this isn't good for them either since the Chinese & African higher-powered computers run lots more bots again and faster so beat the silly kids to fill up (basically they get those sites scripts & modify them to work better).
Any fool that thinks trying to play this game now is good has no idea of how bad it is. We used to all chat to each other but now it's a crime to talk as when you do you seem like a bot reporter and those superior bots can report you for annoying instead aswell as auto noting your name just to steal your account instead. It used to be nice when it was a family game and 600-700k real people were actually playing back then and levelling did have addictions. Now nothings worth skilling as notice how the bots move to respawns before you even see them on your screen.
Just forget playing as members was best by far but paying for nothing is just filling Jagex pockets and they don't care if it's a bot paying them, they just ban odd site bots now and then to look legit when they aren't legit at all. Times are tougher now so save your cash for something you can actually receive real benefit from.
Also beware that even world sporting games are getting this bad too with refs taking over and determing any sport games direction simply to allow Paid Viewing to edit each game so they make it look legit but instead everything in life is deception simply to fill someone elses pockets!
My god Jalice no way will even dare trying this game after what I just read.
runescape =
storyline: really not bad, not superlong but still enjoyable
pvp: ..right..bit autoattack but ok
graphics: Is the game behind those pixels?
https://ashesofcreation.com/r/Y4U3PQCASUPJ5SED
OH how crazy kids reply here.
storyline: how many years you need to play lots & lots of wasted pixels for levels to see only half the game story now. Get real as by botting no accounts actually know the storyline, those that do have played far too long paying for nothing much at all except over-powered computers beating the rest botting just to sell to real life idiots paying without gaming knowledge. It used to be so dumb a lvl120 asking 'Where is Catherby?' because they just bought an account that was fully botted with too little left to play. How many dummys still buy these stupid accounts?
pvp: whats the point of going into this just to get a few wins before a maxed auto-pvp bot account on a faster computer takes everything you 'feeling a hero' had on you. Any worthwhile accounts they fight and like they note the account name then hack your account needing only your account name.
graphics: this is what every dumb kid demands to be improved but is what slows the game-play down more and more every single update. We used to mine 15-20 coal at lvl50 in a couple of minutes mining when the game was popular with real players but now at over lvl90 mining you are lucky to get 10 coal in 5 minutes (unless of course you bot it to get 20 coal in 5 minutes after running that account over 2 hours as luck improves over time. This game engine failure helps bots yet is why real players get nowhere at all trying to play honestly.
Runescape is about as honest as the pay tv stations are corrupting all the worlds sports these days! Clearly European Soccer is controlled by dishonest referees that are paid by the Pay TV organisations to control who wins for viewers false impressions due to editing of the tape from real games played. This sporting scamming has now gone worldwide and ruined most of the popular teams sporting games so why bother to support any of them now.
I'm not going to put another $ into rugby. I really enjoyed it until the refs in the Super 15 and local competions screwed it up totally. The best teams playing the game honestly have been continuously penalised to the point they have lost the drive to play properly and only disgraceful cheats laying all over the ball illegally get the points on the scoreboard.
It's time to go back to old Playstation 1s & 2s where only you playing works the game. Removing outside influences is the only way to beat gaming and sporting crime.
LMAO! Yea I remember back when a 126 came up and asked me, " what is a duel arena?" when I came back I had a 136 ask me where the wildy was. It is sad really. Need to start a thread titled" you know they botted or bought their acount when.." lol
If you speak now people get freaked out. LOL People there are actually proud of how many bots they have and do not even bother hiding it anymore. Last time I was on a guy on my list PM's me, "oh yea, if I don't respond during the day it is because I am botting." Their bot account resettings are just for show, not much else. It is a joke.
I gave Runescape another try and I just can't go there.
I don't mind old-fashioned graphics. But I do mind the pseudo-3D three-quarters angle fixed POV. So I can't turn and look, have to interact with stuff that is behind a wall, etc. And click move. Like UO, maybe there is something fun there, but I just can't handle it. I so desperately want to move and see freely.
When I started playing EQ there was also UO online. And to me there was absolutely no comparision. The true 3D environment was, and is huge for me.
Just my 2c.
---------------------------
Rose-lipped maidens,
Light-foot lads...