Napalm Riot

The following is a post I recently put on the Runescape, yes, RUNESCAPE forums. I used to play, I'm not ashamed to admit that. But then Jagex killed it.

Thanks Jagex, thanks for all you've done. Really. Thanks. It's amazing, everything. You know, all the really cool monsters, the hard quests, the "cut-throat" pay attention or die marketplace, the good skills, the overall good gameplay. Thanks for it. It *was* wonderful. Too bad it's gone. Yes, gone.

Now, I know there's been countless posts on this line of thought, and that I may not bring anything to light that has not already been said (we've had about 3 months to rant), but I still intend to speak my piece. So sit down and listen to someone who's been a member for 4 years and knows what makes a game. Or stop reading. If you do not want to hear any more issues about this game, then stop reading. You have been warned.

So, let me begin by stating exactly what makes a game, or an MMO in general appealing to the older players who are more willing to pay for it, and actually care enough to give feedback to maintain it. Yes. Older. There is, or, at least was a section of players on Runescape who were not the "eight year old at a library computer" stereotype all members appear to have of the f2p players. These players were mostly members, with the occasional few who stayed non members. We looked past the poor graphics of Runescape (in comparison to the glittering constructs of other MMO's) and went to the game's hear:

It's Gameplay

That is what makes a game. Gameplay. Without it, a game is nothing more than a movie. Runescape had, for it's Java coding, good gameplay. Key to that was it's challenge. Death could mean a hefty loss to one's funds. Not knowing the market could as well. Not knowing the game could. Now, new players may not have liked this, but they got over it. It was what made the game. You thought about what you did. You didn't just do things, you thought about them first. You planned. Your actions mattered.

Now they don't.

Continued in next post.

But how do they now matter? I imagine many of you are thinking that it still does. It doesn't, at least not in the way that I, that we, liked.

Death

Yay, gravestones. Now I can go back and get my stuff and if I have a nice friend I can have even longer. One more reason to get prayer. Wait. I can go kill that thing. If I die, it doesn't matter. I'll just come back, get my stuff and try again. What's it gonna cost me? The food? Eh, I can get that back. Where's the risk? Seriously, what have I to lose? Sure, there's the chance I may lose things if I don't hurry, but really, I've plenty of time. At least I don't have to worry about my fellow clanmates stealing my stuff. Yes. that was an "issue" before. When you died, someone else could steal your stuff... And? That was the challenge. (That's also how some of us made money, but didn't I just say that was all part of the game?). I'll admit, I feel victim to a scam kind of like that. Oh well. That's the game I guess.

Market

Laissez-Faire Economics (Free Market, no interference) is what most games are made on. People make money from it. Some dishonestly yes, but the most honestly. With the addition of known, player influenced values on things that could easily be seen, that would have all but stopped except for the unobservant. But RWTers were abusing it. Yes, some were. But not that many. "Unbalancing the economy" was what they were said to have been doing. If they were, in my four years of playing, I didn't see it, even when it supposedly got "bad." The trade restrictions eliminated this, yes. But in doing so they effectively stagnated the market. Who remembers when Bow Strings went from 100 ea to 200 ea because people started selling flax at 100 ea. The market was dynamic, changing. You had to pay attention (I fell victim to poor price knowledge more than once). You had to play. Now, you cna log any time and be fine.

My 3rd part to this - making all of the above relevant, will follow.
So, along with a now boring market, with other issues which have already been listed by the countless others sharing my opinion, we have a boring, easy game. There's nothing left to play for.

So, let us ask ourselves, what has Jagex done?

Well, if you read the "State of Play" announcement, the answer is clear. When a politician has to remind his or her own people the good that they've done whilst they are in office after making a huge decision, what do we say?

Said politician no longer has anything to go on.

Really, what is left in Runescape that keeps it playable. Jagex was determnined to stop the rule breakers from ruining the game, which I commend them for. Yet their own actions have backfired. They ruined the game they tried to save. I know that some of you think I'm just an angry "old man" (I assure, I may be a veteran Scaper, but I'm not old), and that everything I've said is a bunch of bologna (I would have too a year ago), but let me assure you of this - there are many who share my view. If you do not think that Jagex's actions have affected the game's core players, it's members, look at all the posts like this. Look at how many people have complained of the same thing. Every single one of those players is a member. They have to be, that's the only way to post here. Everyone of those players is unhappy.

Now, I will probably accused for not offering my own suggestions as to how to help it. So I will. Bring back the wild (A recent post dealt with that quite well), eliminate the trade cap, bring back the the old death, and you'll bring back the members. We liked Runescape for the challenge. The younger players liked it for the ease of starting. Yes. Ease. I know I said it was hard, but the difficulty curve was easily overcome, at least to play the game enough to like it. Now that curve is gone. The challenge is gone. Many of the mature players are gone. So, really, who does that leave deciding the future of this game.

Think about it. As a final note. I no longer have an active subscription. If Jagex brings back the old game, I shall join again. However, that seems unlikely. I thank you Jagex for the game you had, the $250 I spent on it was well spent, but now, I see that a waste.

So far, I'm only at 3 pages. Most likely too much text for the average Scaper. But oh well, I'm getting support, and I'm getting my opinion out.

http://forum.runescape.co…s?27,28,268,55784869,bump

For the original.

http://wolfe-kael.deviant…ex-YOU-killed-it-72432717

A cartoon I did about it when they first announced it.