[Informer Article] Is RuneScape Changing too fast?

Well, I'm back with another article, this might induce some raging and flaming against me. As you read this, remember that I am an old RuneScape player (I've been playing since before the HD graphics update, around 2006 or so). I also haven't been playing much RuneScape recently so that also has a little to what I'm going to talk about this article, so here I go.

Hati & Skll, the most recent update to this articles writing date. Within this update, an update to what happens when levelling. 4 years or so ago it used to be just some slices of colour that appeared above your head and a message in your chat box. Back in the day, that used to be all that was needed to tell you that you levelled up. It might have been that the technology wasn't good enough at the time, but I think it was because all that was needed to congratulate someone was some small fireworks and then off you go. Now it's turned into a grand celebration in which everyone needs to know that you levelled up. I'm going to talk about how RuneScape has gone from being a game geared towards young adults (age 16+) to a game with a mean age of 10-12. The content has become flashy and is meant to attract and keep new players. The game is losing the core values that make it a good quality MMORPG and being transformed into a vehicle that will make them money. Despite the bot nuke they did a couple of months ago, the bots are back (not as many as before, but they are back) and the only way for Jagex to calm the current day gamers is to have a constant stream of updates (and when that stream is updates is delayed chaos ensues in the RuneScape Official Forums) and to also make the game look as flashy as possible. It is at this point that I think the game is moving too fast.

Every week on the Update! Shane and Trekkie go over patch notes. Those patch notes are there because Jagex is rolling out updates faster than they can make sure that they are COMPLETELY ready to be released. I think at this point in RuneScape's life even if you're maxed, there is something to do, minigames for example, get xp so your rank goes up, etc. Having a constant supply of things to do should make a light in Jagex's head and say, let's think up stuff for a couple of months, then release it in one big update, like what StarCraft 2 and World of WarCraft do.

Now while those are the big things, there are a lot of smaller things that could also have been avoided. One that I remember recently was the task button when you were in full screen or resizable would always be highlighted, and nothing could be done to get rid of it. It took them a couple of weeks for Jagex to fix it. If they had more time to work on their game something like that would have never occurred, but it did because they didn't completely make everything presentable for their subscribers. The lag is another problem that Jagex has had for a LONG time, but I really started to feel it once Dungeoneering came out. Now I know it has to do with how big the game is, and all the different things that need to be loaded in a specific area at a time. I'll tell you now, I have no knowledge about this sort of thing, but I know Jagex does, and I think they know how to fix this, but they don't have the time to fix it because they are pumping out update week after week with little time to do anything else. It's just small things that show that Jagex needs to think about working more on making their game internally before adding new thing that attract more people to their game that has revolutionized the browser MMO.

Well, that is my mind about why I think RuneScape is just moving too fast. They are just making a lot of little mistakes which people like me notice and make them want to stop playing for a little. The lag problem has been one of the biggest things that have made me stop playing as frequently as I used to. I left for a couple of weeks a little while ago and when I came back, everything felt different in the matter of just 2-3 updates. I've ranted enough for now, I'll see you all next article. Tim Out!

This was originally posted as an Informer Runescape article.

I disagree. I am an even older Runescape player (around 2001/2002) and I am quite happy with the updates, especially recently. I took about a five year break starting in 2006/2007 and came back to Runescape earlier this year and I am pleased with how much Jagex has developed as a serious game company. As for completeness of updates, I don't have any qualms with how Jagex releases updates. Now, I'm not sure if you've actually played WoW recently but the amount of bugs that existed at the time and the obvious lack of care that was put into recent versions is pretty apparent. Jagex has done a great job of a) keeping classes balanced and b) not allowing older activities, areas, and quests to become outdated, two issues which games like World of Warcraft have significant issues with.

And, on the topic of lag, Runescape is a browser game, there is only so much that Jagex can do to combat lag and, in my opinion, they have been doing a decent job with it. I never have any significant amounts of lag and if it's that bad for you it likely has something to do with either your settings or your internet connection rather than Jagex.