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RuneScape is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) by British developer Jagex and is programmed in Java. Nearly five million active players and counting, and 800,000 paying subscribers make RuneScape one of the top online video games in the world. RuneScape was launched on 4 January 2001 and offers both pay-to-play (P2P) and free-to-play (F2P) accounts. RuneScape is designed to be accessible from any location with an internet connection, to run in an ordinary Web browser, and to be undemanding upon system resources.

Players, shown on the screen as customized avatars, can see and interact with each other. Players can set their own goals and objectives, deciding which of the available activities they wish to pursue; there is no linear path that must be followed. Players can increase their experience (train) in any of the available skills from runecrafting to construction, complete quests, develop skills, or just hang out and chat. Players interact with each other through chatting, trading, participating in mutual missions, playing combative or co-operative mini-games, and visiting each other in their player owned houses (Referred to by most players as "POHs").

RuneScape takes place in the realm of Gielinor, which is divided into the Kingdoms of Misthalin, Asgarnia, and Kandarin, as well as the tropical island of Karamja, the Kharidian Desert, and the Wilderness, among others. Players can travel throughout the world by walking, by riding in vehicles (such as boats, mine carts, or gnome gliders), or by teleporting with magic spells. Each kingdom, island, or forest area offers different types of monsters to fight, different materials to process into usable commodities, and different quests to complete.

RuneScape is usually updated weekly by Jagex. Although the majority of content updates are accessible only to paying players, updates can bring new areas to explore, new quests to complete, new items to collect, new skills to train, and new monsters to conquer.

RuneScape servers

RuneScape usually has more than 100,000 simultaneous players online 24 hours a day, every day. During peak hours, it is uncommon to see less than 150,000 players online. The record for the largest number of simultaneous players is steadily rising. In March 2006, a record 180,000 simultaneous players was reached. This record was broken on 22 June 2006, when over 208,000 players were online simultaneously, making RuneScape the most popular online Java based game in the world. Jagex maintains 133 international servers, or worlds, for RuneScape and RuneScape Classic. Each of the 131 RuneScape servers is limited to 2,000 players, allowing a maximum of 262,000 simultaneous players. The two RuneScape Classic servers are limited to 1,250 players each, allowing 2,500 simultaneous players.

The RuneScape servers are located in the United Kingdom (20 servers including the 2 Classic servers), the United States (79), Canada (14), the Netherlands (6), Australia (6) and Sweden (8).

History and Development

Version 0.1: The first version started out as a one man project. Andrew Gower, the developer, started working on the original game in 1998. This version was very different from the RuneScape of today. It had isometric graphics, and was originally titled 'DeviousMUD'. This version was never released to the public, and only a few people ever saw it.

Version 0.2: Andrew scrapped 'DeviousMUD', and started work on a complete rewrite in 1999. Despite being a complete rewrite, this version was very similar to the first, with the same graphics as the first, but with some name changes. This version was released as a public beta for about one week, and then withdrawn.

Version 1.0: Andrew started yet again with a third attempt in October 1999. This time, he had some help from his brother, Paul Gower. The isometric view was replaced in favour of 3D graphics and 2D sprites. The game was renamed RuneScape and released to the public on 4 January 2001. It was featured on TechTV's (now known as G4) show The Screen Savers as a part of Megan's Download of the Day segment on 25 January 2002 This version is still online today and is currently called RuneScape Classic. On 12 January 2006, play was restricted to members who had logged in at least once between that date and 5 August 2005. Jagex has announced that no more accounts for this version will ever be created.

Jagex is formed: In December 2001, Jagex, which stands for Java Gaming Experts, was founded as a commercial operation. Jagex acquired RuneScape along with all related technologies and continued to develop the game further. Andrew Gower became its lead developer.

Members launch: On 27 February 2002, Jagex launched an optional "members service", allowing players to pay about £3.20 GBP ($5.00 USD) a month to obtain access to weekly updates. Paying members had a wider variety of things to do, but free-to-play remained. The amount of free content was also increased. While not a new version as such, since the game still ran on the same game engine, this update did significantly change the focus of the game.

Version 2.0: Originally planned to be a graphical update, Jagex went for a complete rewrite and introduced a new game engine, changed the graphics to full 3D, and made many other significant improvements. While in development, this version was called RuneScape 2. The name was changed to simply RuneScape, but the name RuneScape 2 is still used to differentiate between it and RuneScape Classic. An incomplete beta of this version was made available to members on 1 December 2003, and the finished version was launched on 29 March 2004.

Version 2.1: On 16 May 2006, Jagex upgraded RuneScape's game engine, improving aspects of it, such as the chat filter. Version 2.1 appears to the player to be basically the same RuneScape as Version 2.0 as the upgrades are much more low key than previous changes; however, this version has major changes in the underlying programming. Most importantly, they reduce the amount of memory the game uses, which will allow the game to be expanded and improved in many ways without increasing its load time for most players. This is the current version of RuneScape being promoted by Jagex, and is the version most people associate with the word RuneScape.

Membership

Players can choose to play RuneScape free (F2P) or to pay for extra content (P2P). P2P players can participate in all the activities available to F2P players; in addition, they also have access to quests, items, map area, skills, shortcuts, and mini-games that are not available to F2P players. The monthly fee when paid by credit card is £3.20, $5.00, or €4.70. Other payment options, including paying by cheque or money order, charging to telephone bills, and using online cash processors such as PayPal, are available at rates that include additional service fees. In addition to more content, P2P players also have the ability to vote in polls and to post on the official forums. When the paid membership option was first introduced, content was updated usually on a weekly basis for members. Updates are still done on a weekly basis (Every Monday at 1:30pm GMT), but content for F2P players do receive occasional updates. Paid membership is also required to play RuneScape Classic.

Combat

Combat Knowledge Base Page

Combat is an important aspect of RuneScape. Combat level is usually referred to as simply "level". It is the only skill level visible to other players while in game. A player's combat level is calculated using the seven combat skills: attack, strength, defence, hitpoints, magic, prayer, and ranged. Other skills increase total levels and overall rankings for players, but not their combat levels. The maximum combat level in RuneScape Classic is 123, and the maximum in the current RuneScape is 126.

Combat is one of the most direct ways of gaining wealth, in the form of both cash and items, in RuneScape. Combat is also needed to complete many quests in the game. Combat is subdivided into three primary categories:

• Melee - fighting at close range with or without weapons
• Magic - fighting with magical attacks
• Ranged - fighting with projectile weapons

Prayer can also deal damage when activated in combat.

Unlike many similar games, character classes do not exist in RuneScape. Players are not bound to a specific category of combat, and they may freely change between the three forms of combat at any time simply by switching weapons, armours, and/or methods of attack. Players can even carry the weapons and armours of all three combat categories in their inventories, switching between the forms at will. Many players also combine combat types. For example, players may choose to wear ranged armour and wield melee weapons when fighting mages, since ranged armour provides the best defence against mages while melee weapons render the most damage to them.This is called the Combat triangle. See

to see how it works.

Weapons

There are many types of weapons in RuneScape. Most are medieval and fantastical in nature; they include such weapons as swords, bows and arrows, and magical staffs. Different weapons have different powers, strengths, and requirements. Players generally rank weapons by their attack bonuses and speeds, but consideration is also given to the availability of special attacks or other special abilities. Melee weapons can be produced from bronze (the lowest weapon/armor grade), on up through iron, steel, black, mithril, adamant, and rune (the best available grade for non-members). Dragon weapons (the highest grade available to members) cannot be produced but can be purchased from a shop or obtained as a drop from killing certain high level NPC.

Monsters

Many NPCs populate RuneScape. Almost all NPCs in Runescape can be fought against, although some, such as shopkeepers, cannot be engaged in attack by players. Attackable NPCs are generally refered to as monsters, whether they are human, animal, elemental, demonic, or perhaps something else. Monsters range from common, low level varieties like chickens and ducks to unique, much more powerful monsters like the King Black Dragon,Chaos Elemental or Kalphite Queen. Each type of monster has its own strengths and weaknesses. Demons, for example, have low defence against magical attacks while dragons have extremely high defence against magic. Monsters may also be aggressive (attacking any player who comes within range, regardless of level), non-aggressive (not attacking players unless provoked, regardless of levels), or partially aggressive (attacking only those players who are within a predetermined number of levels above or below their own level). This can make certain areas within the game dangerous to players depending upon their own combat levels.

Player versus player combat

Players can fight against other players in player versus player (PvP) combat in several areas of RuneScape. The most common place is in the Wilderness, where players risk their lives as well as their items, challenging other players. Players can engage in PvP combat without risking their items in mini-games, such as Castle Wars and the TzHaar Fight Pit or in combat arenas in POHs. In the Duel Arena, another mini-game, players must agree on the rules of engagement and the stake, before combat begins.

Skills

Skills are abilities that enable players to perform activities in the game. Players gain experience in a skill when they perform activities that utilise that skill, for instance mining a rock would increase the mining skill. In general, the higher level required to perform a task, the more experience points the player receives, and the more desirable the result. The combined skill level of a player partly symbolises the player's status in the game. The RuneScape hiscores tables can be viewed by all players, and players with higher overall levels are well known. RuneScape has twenty-two trainable skills, seven of which (marked with*) are available only to P2P players:

Combat

Attack, Strength, Defence, Magic, Ranged, Prayer, Hitpoints

Extraction

Mining, Fishing, Woodcutting, Thieving*, Farming*

Processing

Cooking, Smithing, Crafting, Runecrafting, Fletching*, Herblore*

Independent

Agility*, Construction*, Firemaking, Slayer*

Random events

See also: Random Events Knowledge Base Page

Players often encounter random events that require some type of player input. Some random events are simple, requiring a player only to click on an NPC or to leave the area temporarily; others require the player to navigate a labyrinth, answer a question, or imitate another NPCs actions. Players must respond to these events quickly and correctly in order to avoid a negative effect, such as being teleported across the map. Players correctly responding to random events can receive rewards or experience.

Random events deter players from macroing, which is the act of using a program to play the game with no human interaction. Postings in the RuneScape forums by Andrew Gower suggest that random events were designed not only to hinder macroers but to alleviate the monotony that can occur while leveling skills for long periods of time (referred to as grinding).

In the event of a broken internet connection, players can be kicked off the server before they have a chance to remove their character from the game. In the time that the character is still active, random events could occur, killing or otherwise harming an innocent player. For this reason, random events are a controversial part of the game.

Quests

See also: Quests - Knowledge Base Page

Quests in RuneScape are one-time adventures that serve a variety of purposes. The novice quests act as tutorials to acquaint new users with the various skills and abilities they will need in the game and are usually linear in nature. The harder quests are designed to challenge experienced players to resolve a world conflict of some kind, which might just open up a new area to be explored for fun or profit. Quests can be found throughout RuneScape. All quests include some kind of reward, such as money, rare or valuable items, or an increase in skill experience. All quests also give the player a number of "quest points", usually dependent on the difficulty of the quest. A certain number of quest points is required to start some quests, as a demonstration of ability. A certain number of quest points are also required to enter the Champion's, Hero's, and Legends Guilds as well as to start certain other quests. A quest start is represented by a blue star on the minimap located in the northeast corner of the screen. Some quests are part of an overlapping storyline, the most famous of which is the Plague City story line, which has been in RuneScape for several years and currently contains seven separate quests. On 15 March 2006, Jagex released the hundredth RuneScape quest, Recipe for Disaster, which is a sequel to the first quest, Cook's Assistant.

Mini-games

See also: Mini-Games Knowledge Base Page

RuneScape has a number of mini-games, which are activities somewhat like quests but that can be done multiple times. Mini-games take place in certain areas and normally involve a specific skill. Many mini-games involve cooperative efforts or allow players to compete with each other. Popular mini-games include Castle Wars, Pest Control, Duel Arena, Tears of Guthix, The Stronghold of Security and Barrows.

Community

Players of RuneScape represent a wide range of nationalities and ages; however, because the game is currently only available in English, almost all players speak English to some extent. Players who speak languages other than English tend to gravitate to worlds that are populated by other players who speak the same language. For example, some worlds have a greater percentage of players who speak Spanish, Dutch, or Lithuanian. It is not uncommon to see many languages on the chat screens throughout RuneScape.

RuneScape forums

A group of official forums created entirely by Jagex programmers is available to players on the RuneScape website. By accessing the forums, paying members are able to participate in game discussions, post support queries, make arrangements to buy or sell items, and interact with the community. F2P players can read the forums but are unable to post messages. The RuneScape forums are quite diverse, allowing thousands of players to access them at any given time. The forums have their own Code of Conduct; each forum also has its own specific list of rules. These rules are enforced by forum moderators. Forum moderators are not moderators in the actual game (although they can access the forums without membership).

Letters

Players can submit questions to any NPC in the game. Selected letters are answered in an update called Postbag from The Hedge at the end of each month. This feature of the site started on 26 September 2005 and has since become one of the most accessed pages of the site. From September 24, 2002 through December 9, 2004, players could also submit questions to the RuneScape gods; however, the gods will no longer communicate so directly with mortal beings.

Graphics

Character appearance

RuneScape places a lot of emphasis on allowing players to customise their character by supplying a wide choice in character models. Unlike many games in the genre, all characters must be human; however, players can choose their gender as well as their hairstyle, body type, and facial features while on Tutorial Island or on the mainland. Appearance can be further optimised by wearing or wielding different items, with each different item having a unique image. In addition to these small equipment changes, players may also change their appearance radically with special equipment, or during certain events. Players can be transformed into frogs, mushrooms, and small animals such as chickens and pigs. Players wearing certain rings can transform themselves into piles of stone or eggs, allowing them to avoid the effects of poison or desert heat. All such morphs are temporary, and players cannot perform any activities other than chatting while morphed. In addition, players wearing armour that conflicts with their team god in Castle Wars will be transformed into imps, sheep, or rabbits while in the waiting area. Players holding a monkey gree-gree from the Monkey Madness quest may transform into primates in specific areas.

Character animations

There are many different animations in the game for the variety of things players can do, from combat to the numerous quests. There are also "emotes", which are animations that allow players to express an emotion whenever they choose. Players will start with most of the emotes, but some of the emotes must be earned, either through quests or from random events. The "scared" and "rabbit hop" emotes were only obtainable during past holiday events. If players did not unlock them during those events, they will never be able to obtain them.

Detail levels

RuneScape can be run in high or low detail level. High detail mode gives different things a more graphically intense texture and design, while low detail gives everything a cleaner cut look and reduces 'lag'. Some monsters and landmarks will also appear less detailed in the low detail version of the game.

Area appearance

Starting in February 2005, Jagex is updating the graphics in the RuneScape cities and the wilderness. Some of the changes have been met with player dissatisfaction. Jagex plans ultimately to improve the graphics of the whole free world without causing more lag for people using dial-up internet connections.

Economy

The RuneScape economy is similar in many ways to real-world economies, as the concept of "supply and demand" plays an important role in determining the price of items. The currency used in RuneScape is gold pieces, mostly referred to as "gp" or "coins". Unfortunately, the RuneScape economy is plagued by inflation, as the number of gold pieces in circulation is unlimited and ever-increasing due to NPC drops and alchemy. Conversely, items that players may consider valuable, such as armour or treasure trail items, decline gradually in price as more of them appear. Jagex tries to counter inflation by adding features and items on a regular basis. One of Jagex's attempts to slow down the economy was the addition of the construction skill. Since this skill requires players to purchase most of the items needed to construct the furniture and items they place in their houses, this was a more successful attempt at countering inflation than anything else attempted in the past.

Criticisms

Players of RuneScape usually have strong feelings about the various aspects of the game. They may criticise one aspect as they praise another, but few players are neutral on all topics.

• Graphics: Some people argue that RuneScape's graphics are substandard. Because RuneScape is designed to run in a web browser and download quickly, it's graphics will never compare particularly well with desktop PC games. Some people disagree with this comprimise, whereas others argue that the quality of a game does not depend solely on its graphics, and point out that the graphics actually compare quite well with other browser based games.
• Speed: RuneScape sometimes runs slowly and in-game latency ("lag") can occur. This is usually caused by playing RuneScape on older computers or using slow Internet connections, although straight after weekly updates it is common for other players to also get poor latency.
• Gameplay: Tasks in RuneScape are criticised for being repetitive, requiring users to click repeatedly in the same pattern to train skills. Jagex designed the farming skill with this criticism in mind, but their efforts to make it less repetitive were criticised for making the process of levelling too complicated.
• Cheaters: Attempted scamming is common in RuneScape, although this exists throughout the MMORPG genre. Scammers use diverse methods to trick players into trading items for much less than they are worth or into revealing their passwords. Some players use illegal automated bots or scripts to play the game for them. Jagex has taken various measures to prevent this. They introduced random events that require immediate human response into RuneScape, and provided safety warnings in player trading. Jagex has banned over 15000 accounts through an "advanced macro detection system".
• Chat: RuneScape's chat filters often censor legitimate words. Players are also often able to use intentional misspellings, leetspeak, or symbols to bypass the filter. Jagex made changes to the filter on 16 May 2006 that were successful in alleviating some of the problems, although other problems remain. The chat filter is constantly being updated by Jagex to avoid offensive language being used.
• Free play limitations: Some players criticise RuneScape for not having enough free content or not updating the free content often enough. While RuneScape does have a considerable amount of free content, most updates and most features for high-level players are limited to P2P players.
• Customer support: Players express dissatisfaction with Jagex's customer support. Jagex has made efforts to increase the size of their customer support team and has expanded the online Knowledge Base in order to take some stress off the customer support team.

Footnotes

1. "www.mmogchart.com" - Retrieved 1 July 2006.
2. "Virtual gamers reveal themselves" - BBC News, 7 October 2004. Retrieved 15 June 2006.
3. "How gaming is all work and no play" - BBC News, 14 March 2006. Retrieved 15 June 2006.
4. RuneScape world map - RuneScape.com, retrieved 15 June 2006.
5. "5 new worlds in Stockholm, Sweden" - RuneScape Technical News, 27 March 2006. Retrieved 4 March 2006.
6. "6 new Australian servers online!" - RuneScape Technical News, 28 December 2005. Retrieved 4 March 2006.
7. "Free Download of the Day: Runescape" - g4tv.com, 25 January 2002. Retrieved 31 May 2006.
8. "Nearly 5000 RS-classic accounts banned" - RuneScape Customer Support News, 12 January 2006. Retrieved 4 March 2006.
9. "The biggest update ever..." - RuneScape Game updates news, 13 February 2003. Retrieved 15 June 2006.
10. "Weapons Update" - RuneScape Game Updates News, 29 March 2005. Retrieved 4 June 2006.
11. http://www.runescape.com/lang/en/aff/runescape/varrock/letters/lettersindex.ws
12. "New Improved Game Guide Released" - RuneScape.com, 13 March 2006. Retrieved 24 July 2006.

External links

• RuneScape – The official RuneScape website.
• Jagex site – The official Jagex site.
• Knowledge Base – The official RuneScape guide.
• Forums - The official RuneScape forums.

Wiki

• RuneScape Wiki

Official affiliates

• Miniclip (runescape.com)
• Mofunzone (runescape.com)

Fansite

• Rune HQ - Fansite with the most traffic

• RuneScape
• Massively multiplayer online role-playing games
• Java platform games
• Miniclip games
• Browser-based games