13 January 2014 - Power to the Players - New Poll System

Members only

The Power to the Players poll system is here!

From today, the future of RuneScape is in your hands. Through frequent polls - voted on in-game through the Community interface - you'll set the course for RuneScape's content updates. You'll vote on the order of our most anticipated releases; set the tone for our holiday events; decide which monsters are in need of a drop table rework, and much more.

From now on, almost everything headed for the game goes through you first. With your input into every major update we release, we'll make RuneScape the game that you want to play.

Read on for more details on Power to the Players, or log in and vote now!

You Decide

You can access the new poll system in the game itself. Open the Community (previously Social) interface, and you'll find the polls under the 'Vote Now!' tab.

Note that the quick polls displayed on the RuneScape homepage itself are not part of the Power to the Players system. We'll be adding a way to vote in the new polls to the RuneScape homepage soon.

Polls are divided into three types:

• Dragonstone polls are where you'll decide the direction of the game - voting on topics that define what RuneScape is. You'll see our biggest blockbuster updates polled in the Dragonstone category - as seen in this month's Invention vs Elf City poll - as well as core mechanical changes, and other game-changing updates. There'll be just one Dragonstone poll each month, usually running for its entire duration.
• Diamond polls cover major updates, or changes to key game features. You'll see two Diamond polls each month, running for up to a fortnight each.
• Ruby polls get down to the nitty-gritty. They'll tend to be about specific aspects of upcoming updates, or content that caters to a specific group of players. You'll get three or four Ruby polls each month, each running for around a week.

There are three polls up and running already, which will stay open during the listed date ranges:

Dragonstone: Invention Skill vs the Elf City (13th January - 31st January)

In this month's big poll, you'll decide which of two hotly anticipated updates we create first: the Invention skill, or the Elf City.

Diamond: Drop Table Improvement (13th January - 20th January)

Decide which type of enemy you'd like to be less miserly with their drops, out of beasts, demons, elementals and ghosts. Alternatively, you can say they're all fine as they are.

Ruby: Decide on Maps for a New Minigame (13th January - 20th January)

We've got a doozy of a new minigame coming up soon, featuring instanced maps that are themed around iconic RuneScape regions. We've decided on several themes already, but here's your chance to pick one more: Ashdale, Canifis, Isafdar, the Wilderness, Zanaris, or none of these suggestions.

The following polls are coming later this month:

Diamond: Decide on a Spring Holiday Event (20th - 31st January)

Do you like your springtime celebrations traditional - an Easter-based theme, complete with bunnies and chocolate eggs aplenty - or would you prefer something different: an ape-vs-vegetable clash between Marimbo and Brassica Prime?

Ruby: Which New Dragon Would You Like? (20th to 27th January)

Choose which type of draconic foe you'd most like to tangle with: alchemical, celestial, gemstone, gold, or none of these.

Ruby: Should We Reduce the Number of Worlds? (27th to 31st January)

Reducing the number of game worlds would make those that remain livelier, with more players around to trade, talk and adventure with. Would you like us to do this, or would you prefer to keep the number of worlds as they are?

Cast Your Votes

Updates agreed on in these polls are guaranteed to happen, so choose carefully. However, you can change your vote up until the poll closes (10am GMT on the stated closing date), so you'll have time to think about your decision.

The first three polls are open right now, so get voting now! Be sure to visit our dedicated Power to the Players forum to give us your feedback, as well as your ideas for future polls.

RuneScape's your game - help us make it the game that you want it to be!

The RuneScape Team

How to use the Power to the Players poll system:

Open the Community interface and select the 'Vote Now!' tab.

Requirements:

You must be a RuneScape member.

Play Now!

In Other News

• Tonight - 5pm GMT on the 13th of January - the Community Team will be running a Q&A session on the new poll system. Head over to the Power to the Players forum from then to ask your questions.
• Hati and Sköll will be menacing the Fremennik Province from the 16th of January.
• World map icons are now divided into categories, and can be hidden or displayed as needed.
• Zooming into or out of the world map using the mouse wheel now focuses the zoom on the mouse pointer.

Take a look at the patch notes for other updates released today.