2009

2009 marks the 10^th anniversary of the formation of Jagex, and of the start of development for RuneScape Classic. It is also the "official Upgrade Year" for Jagex as mentioned in their 2009 Behind the Scenes update, released in January.

The following is a list of events that happened in RuneScape in 2009.

January

• 2 January:
  • Behind the Scenes - January (2009) is released.
  • Behind the Scenes for the year 2009 is released.
• 6 January:
  • In Pyre Need quest is released along with the Phoenix. Phoenix Lair, an addition to Distractions and Diversions is also released.
  • Players are no longer able to attack another player's familiar in single-way combat on a PvP world.
  • The "make-x" feature is introduced for filleting fish such as Leaping sturgeon, salmon and trout.
  • A second world for the Stealing Creation activity is added.
  • The 2008 Christmas event is officially removed.
• 9 January:
  • Players are reminded to change their passwords as "relatively large number" of players are using the "same few extremely common passwords".
• 13 January:
  • The logout timer is extended from 90 seconds to 5 minutes.
  • A number of words are removed from the chat filter.
  • An alternative location for Varrock teleport is introduced, located at south of the Grand Exchange. Players wishing to change to this location may speak to the NPCs involved in the Varrock Tasks.
  • Dragon daggers, and poisoned dragon daggers, can now be converted to coins via CoinShare.
  • Answers to the Betrayal at Falador Q&A are posted in the forums by the author, T. S. Church.
• 16 January:
  • Armies of Gielinor, a RuneScape-based game is released in FunOrb (released at FunOrb on 15 January).
• 20 January:
  • Seers' Village Diary is released.
  • The alchemy prices of Crystal bows and shields are reduced.
  • The operating delays for the Slayer ring, combat bracelet and skills necklace are removed.
• 27 January
  • The Magic Interface is changed, enabling a player to sort spells by category.
  • A button is added to show players where they are on the world map.
  • A new teleport option is added to the Ring of duelling - to the Fist of Guthix activity.
  • Players can no longer Fletch and use Alchemy spells while in the Great Orb Project.
  • Servers in US states are now identified according to individual states.
• 30 January:
  • Maintenance is carried out on the RuneScape forums. The forums are offline during this maintenance period.

February

• 2 February:
  • Jagex CEO, Geoff Iddison, is succeeded by Mark Gerhard.
  • Behind the Scenes for the month of February is released.
• 5 February: Postbag from the Hedge for the month of February is released.
• 9 February: The new CEO of Jagex, Mod MMG, announces changes to the RuneScape game, and talks about the Future of RuneScape.
• 10 February:
  • Soul Wars, a team-based activity, is released.
  • The rewards for the Seers' Village Tasks are changed. Karamja gloves 3 reward from the Karamja Tasks now grants free access to Brimhaven Dungeon.
  • The Quick Chat system is modified to allow greater access for players to converse with Player Moderators.
• 16 February:
  • Mod MMG answers RuneScape questions posted by players in the RuneScape forums.
  • The first batch of questions are moved to the RuneScape forums.
  • Minor delays are announced for "Game updates" of the week.
• 17 February: Wilderness and Real-World Trading questions are answered by Andrew Gower.
• 25 February:
  • Random events are updated.
  • Evil Trees, part of the Distractions and Diversions, are released.
  • Ava's Attractor and Ava's Accumulator are allowed into Soul Wars, and the Soul Wars avatars are upgraded to give them more power.
  • Lokar Searunner, Captain Bentley and Bill Teach are given right-click options to expediate travel.
  • The Quest List is given options to filter and to sort.
  • Price checking is made easier for players with the introduction of a new button.
• 27 February: The Bounty Hunter craters are closed temporarily due to several problems.

March

• 3 March:
  • Deposit-all feature is introduced, where players can deposit all items in the inventory simultaneously.
  • Items Kept on Death interface is updated to show the total value of items carried and worn by the player.
  • The value of items that can be dropped while in combat is reduced to 1,000 coins.
  • Bird's nests' audio is updated to be more audible.
• 5 March:
  • The Evil Tree wallpaper is released.
  • RuneScape Q&A continues with answers by Mod Mark, Paul Gower, and Mod Roderick.
• 12 March: The Chasm of Lights is added to Lores and Histories.
• 17 March:
  • The Chosen Commander is released. It is the 150^th quest released by Jagex.
  • The Route-finding bug, where player characters would move in the wrong direction, is fixed.
  • Second server blackout of 2009 occurs.
• 25 March:
  • Pre-purchase advice feature is introduced; which activates whenever items are purchased by players.
  • Dragon platebody is given a graphics overhaul.
  • The Equipment Stats screen for Ranged weapons is modified to allow players to see the "Ranged Strength" of weapons such as javelins, arrows and crossbow bolts.
  • The Prayer icon in the minimap is given an overhaul; prayers can now be activated or deactivated with a click.
  • For the Culinaromancer's Chest and the gnome cuisine shop in the Grand Tree, the stock prices are returned to their former state, and the option to sell stock back is removed.
• 26 March: The first future content Development Diary is released, which discusses an upcoming dwarf quest.
• 30 March: PayPal subscribers experience problems with the billing systems.
• 31 March:
  • The rants section of the RuneScape Forums is reinstated.
  • Pay by SMS is made available in Australia.

April

• 1 April:
  • Forum Maintenance is carried out on the RuneScape forums. The forums are offline during this maintenance period.
  • Glorious Memories is released.
  • 2009 April Fools is released, later removed on 8 April / 1 week later. (Features are: Cabbages running around, ability to wield cabbages, and the ability to catch, kick and tap cabbages)
• 2 April:
  • The Dungeon Maps development diary is released.
  • RuneScape Duel Cards, a card game, is released.
  • Postbag from the Hedge 39 is released.
• 6 April: The Windows client for RuneScape is updated.
• 8 April: The 2009 Easter event, Splitting Heirs, is released.
• 9 April:
  • The forums are opened to high-levelled free players.
  • The second part of the "New dwarf quest" Development Diary is released.
• 17 April: The Fairy Area Improvement development diary is released.
• 20 April: PayBySMS is made available in Canada.
• 21 April:
  • Tale of the Muspah is released.
  • The process of picking seeds from bushes and trees is sped up.
  • Self-injury items can no longer kill a player.
• 23 April: The Run Energy development diary is released.
• 28 April
  • Several new hairstyles are released.
  • Summoning familiars' timer can be restored to 100% with the corresponding pouch.
  • The limit for pets owned is doubled.
  • Exchanging pouches and scrolls with Bogrog is now more straightforward.
  • Quest journals now provide a link to the corresponding QuestHelp page.
  • Lilies of the valley and Afro wigs are released.
• 30 April: The third part of the "New dwarf quest" Development Diary is released.

May

• 6 May: Bounty Hunter Wilderness-only PvP is released.
• 7 May: Tools for Games development diary is released.
• 11 May:
  • Offence Appeal system is temporarily unavailable.
  • Offence Appeal system is updated.
• 14 May: The second part of the Fairy Area Improvement development diary is released.
• 15 May: Limited edition zipped hoodies based on The Chosen Commander are released in the Jagex Store.
• 19 May: Missing My Mummy is released.
• 21 May:
  • The second part of Run Energy development diary is released.
  • The results of the Name a Pub Guaranteed-Content Poll are announced.
• 27 May: Dungeon maps and spam filter
  • The dungeon maps are released.
  • The less important game messages in the chat interface can now be filtered through the Spam filter.
  • Graphical improvements are made to the leprechauns, life points (then Hitpoints) bar, hitsplats, minimap flag, and world globe icon under the minimap.
  • Any members' content (e.g. shortcuts) are removed from free-to-play worlds.
• 28 May:
  • Postbag from the Hedge 40 is released.
  • The fourth part of the "New Dwarf Quest" development diary is released.
• 29 May: The Jagex Clan Cup 2009 results are announced.

June

• 1 June: PayBySMS is made available for players in Estonia and Lithuania.
• 2 June: The Hunt for Red Raktuber is released.
• 9 June: The run energy feature is upgraded.
  • The Rest feature glitch occurs due to this update.
  • World 64 crashes due to this update.
• 10 June: The Rest feature glitch is fixed.
• 11 June: The Macro-detection systems is updated. The Game Engine: Game Engine Improvements developers' blog is released.
• 12 June: The Friends List is unavailable for some users.
• 14 June: The third server blackout of 2009 occurs.
• 16 June:
  • Several changes have made to PvP worlds, Bounty Worlds, and gravestones.
  • The special attack of the Abyssal whip now drains 25% of the target's run energy, compared to 10% previously.
  • Servers based in European countries are temporarily unavailable due to a hardware fault. This is fixed within the same day.
• 18 June: Membership cards are made available in 7-Eleven stores.
• 22 June: Extended Agility courses
  • Agility courses throughout Gielinor are extended.
  • Right-click quick starts are introduced for Balthazar Beauregard's Big Top Bonanza circus.

July

• 2 July: Wallie Cards is made available for players in Sweden.
• 3 July: The Fairy Area Improvement: Animating developers' blog is released.
• 8 July: Mobilising Armies is released, along with a new teleport spell to the area, and a graphical overhaul of the game interface and the introduction of the Notes tab. Several worlds crash due to the update.
• 10 July:
  • The Infrastructure: Back-end Upgrades developers' blog is released.
  • Jagex opens a poll on Jagex security keys.
  • PayBySMS is made available in Singapore.
• 13 July: Incomm cards are made available at Rite-Aid and Wal-Mart.
• 14 July: Jagex performs website maintenance where the Hiscores server is successfully moved.
• 15 July:
  • Mobilising Armies is added to Lores and Histories.
  • PvP world changes are announced.
  • Faruq's Tools for Games is released.
• 16 July:
  • The developers' blog Animation Update: Pack 1 is released.
  • The fifth server blackout of 2009 occurs.
• 17 July:
  • +1 Item Bounty Worlds are announced.
  • Jagex addresses the fifth server blackout of 2009.
  • Jagex continues to experience ISP problems.
• 21 July: The Curse of Arrav is released.
• 23 July:
  • The Updates: Upload Manager developers' blog is released.
  • Jagex releases the game and website in Brazilian Portuguese.
• 24 July:
  • Jagex announces the release of the game and website in Brazilian Portuguese.
  • The Community Management: Introduction to CM and Community Management: Volunteer Moderators developers' blogs are released.
• 28 July:
  • Poison Arrow Pub and Aquanite
    • The Poison Arrow pub is released.
    • Aquanite, a Slayer creature, is released.
    • Players now lose 20% of their Earning Potential (EP) if they teleport while in combat.
  • Animation Pack 1 is released.
    • Animations for several weapons and Agility are updated. Tweening, or animation smoothing, is introduced into the game.
• 30 July: A second Q&A session with Mark Gerhard and the Jagex staff is announced. A total of 6 Q&A sessions are announced, held every Thursday beginning 6 August 2009.

August

• 5 August: Postbag, Gallery and Wallpapers
  • Postbag from the Hedge: Issue 41 is released.
  • Players' Gallery for the month of August is released.
  • New-look Zanaris and Curse of Arrav wallpapers are released.
• 6 August: Mark Gerhard answers questions posted by RuneScape players. Mark Gerhard's answers are posted in a Q&A developers' blog.
• 10 August: Fur 'n' Seek, the sequel to Rag and Bone Man, is released.
• 11 August: RuneScape Machinima Competition is announced.
• 18 August:
  • Several changes are made to the Mobilising Armies activity.
  • Menagerie, Familiar Controls and Butlers
    • The menagerie, a pet-owned house, is released.
    • The Summoning status globe in the minimap is improved with one-click options.
    • Butlers are now more knowledgeable when it comes to fetching items (and payments) from the bank. They will now follow players unless told not to.
• 20 August: Player Support answers questions posted by RuneScape players. Their answers are posted in the Q&A developers' blog.
• 21 August: A blog entry by the QA team is released.
• 25 August: The deadline for the submissions of videos for the RuneScape Machinima Competition is set at midnight.
• 26 August: The Game Engine: RuneTek 5 developers' blog is released.
• 27 August: The Display Names: Changing Names developers' blog is released.
• 28 August
  • Andrew Gower's live Q&A session is rescheduled to 3 September.
  • Players in Sweden are given 20% extra credit with Wallie-cards.

September

• 2 September:
  • The RuneTek 5 game engine is released.
  • Changes are made to spell autocasting.
  • Shops are personalised for each player.
• 3 September: The RuneScape Q&A session by Andrew Gower is released. The answers are released in the Q&A developers' blog.
• 4 September: A poll to choose a winner among six finalists in the Machinima Competition is released. Both free players and members are allowed to vote in this poll.
• 9 September:
  • Forgiveness of a Chaos Dwarf is released, and its accompanying lore, The Coat Thief, is released.
  • The dragon pickaxe, hand cannons, and hand cannon shots are released.
• 10 September: The Q&A session by the RuneScape Content team is released. The answers are released in the Q&A developers' blog.
• 11 September: The winner of the RuneScape Machinima Competition is announced.
• 16 September: Website Maintenance
  • Some systems are moved to new servers. This only affects account management.
  • Some core game systems are moved to new servers. This disconnected the Friends List and Private Chat for a quarter of users.
• 17 September:
  • The Living Rock Caverns are released.
  • Advisors and Objectives system are released.
  • The Q&A session by the Community Management team is released. The answers are released in the Q&A developers' blog.
• 18 September: Game worlds are moved to a new ISP.
• 21 September: Some systems are down while servers are moved to a new facility. Friends List and Clan Chat updates since 16 September are lost and the servers are rolled back to a previous state.
• 23 September:
  • The Woodcutting skill is rebalanced. Several logs and trees are released.
  • Jagex's web billing page is redesigned.
• 24 September: The Q&A session by the Localisation team is released. The answers are released in the Q&A developers' blog.
• 30 September: Web systems are brought down for maintenance.

October

• 1 October: Members are given the ability to change their display names.
• 2 October: The Jagex Store is given the "Worst Update Ever!". New merchandise are made available, including T-shirts, posters, and packs.
• 7 October:
  • New High-level Herblore Potions are released.
  • A Photo Booth and Forum Avatars are now available.
  • Some European worlds are moved.
  • The Community Management: Player Visits developers' blog is released.
• 8 October: Update:Postbag, Gallery and Wallpapers (October 2009)
  • Postbag from the Hedge 42 is released.
  • Players' Gallery for this month is released.
  • 5 new wallpapers are released.
• 13 October: Update:Within the Light
  • The quest Within the Light is released. Players are now allowed to use "k" (for thousands) and "m" (for millions) in the Bank interface.
  • Website maintenance is performed on one of the web systems.
• 16 October:
  • Future Q&A sessions are announced, including weekly CM-related Q&A sessions, and up to 3 Q&A sessions in 2010.
  • Wallie-cards are made available for players in Norway.
  • The Updates: Within the Launch developers' blog is released.
• 20 October:
  • The Ardougne Tasks are released.
  • Duel Tournaments, a feature in the Duel Arena activity, is reworked.
  • Jagex's shortlisting in the Golden Joystick Awards is announced. Players are encouraged by Mod MMG and Andrew Gower to vote for RuneScape and Jagex.
• 21 October: Website Maintenance is performed on several web systems. The way players log into the website is changed, and the new form requires players to decipher words from scanned books if the log-in attempt fails.
• 22 October: The security of the website is improved further using Extended Validation SSL certificates, which will turn the address bar green in most browsers. Some internal addresses within the website is also changed.
• 23 October:
  • The Website: Postbag and Gallery developers' blog is released.
• 26 October
  • Web of Shadows, the 2009 Hallowe'en event, is released.
  • Anti-'76'king measures are put in place.
• 28 October
  • The Rework: Impetuous Impulses developers' blog is released.
  • The 12,000^th article, Phoenix/dialogue, is created in RuneScape Wiki.
• 29 October:
  • RuneScape pre-pay cards is released in the United Kingdom.
  • Website maintenance is performed to move some of Jagex's web systems to their new hosting facility.
• 30 October:
  • Jagex wins the Golden Joystick 2009 UK Developer of the Year award.
  • System downtime is planned to occur on 2 November.

November

• 2 November:
  • Due to the migration of all of Jagex's core systems mentioned in the blog Infrastructure: Back-end Upgrades, Jagex is expected to restart the servers. Thus, major system downtime is expected.
  • The Community Management: Events Support blog is released.
• 3 November: Jagex expresses its gratitude over its win in the Golden Joystick Awards as UK's Games Developer of the Year.
• 4 November: Website maintenance is performed to migrate Jagex's web systems to their new hosting facility. This maintenance does not affect game logins.
• 5 November: The developers' blog Distractions & Diversions: Court Cases is released.
• 6 November: Incomm cards are made available in GameStop stores.
• 9 November: Champions' Challenge Update and Hairstyles
  • Champions' Challenge is given an update.
  • New hairstyles for both male and female players are released.
  • Two worlds (world 113 and 114) are designated Total level worlds.
  • An animation is added for when players are viewing the world map.
  • A confirmation is added for casting High Level Alchemy on items valued of more than 500,000 coins.
  • Slayer Masters are given a right-click "Get-task" option.
  • The fairy ring network is given an auto-dial feature.
• 11 November:
  • RuneScape Classic is temporarily reopened on a two-week period for subscribing members.
  • Players are asked to send in their specifications to Jagex again after the first request back in May 2008.
• 13 November: Machinima Competition – Excl’s Visit
  • The developers' blog Community Management: Excl's Visit is released.
  • RuneScape pre-pay cards are now available in W H Smith stores in the United Kingdom.
• 17 November: Update:Potions, Spells and Runes
  • Extreme-versions of potions are reintroduced to safe PvP Activities. The behaviour of extreme potions is also changed: stats, boosts, damage, etc.
  • 4 surge Magic spells are introduced: Wind Surge, Water Surge, Earth Surge, and Fire Surge
  • Runecrafting is tweaked to allow players the chance of getting an extra rune. Visually, "what used to be a step graph has been smoothed out into a curve."
  • The Summoning cape is upgraded to have a boost option to match other skillcapes.
  • Dwarf multicannons are updated so that it will no longer waste cannonballs on dying NPCs. In additions, players can now reload the cannon when it is already firing, and there is now an auto-setup feature.
  • The spells Bones to Peaches and Bones to Bananas is updated so that they may now be used to convert any bones up to and including big bones.
• 18 November
  • Members are given a reminder to log in into RuneScape Classic before 24 November so that they will be able to continue playing the game.
  • The Adventurer's Log is officially announced.
• 19 November: The RuneScape Forums is offline due to some technical issues. The blog Achievement Diary: Elite Tasks - Design is released.
• 25 November: Jagex announces its future plans for RuneScape Classic.
• 26 November:
  • The 2009 Thanksgiving event and 2009 Thanksgiving community event is officially announced.
  • The blog Fairy Tale III: Subtitle Yet to Be Approved is released.

December

• 3 December:
  • The quest The Temple at Senntisten is released.
  • The delivery cost for dragon daggers is slightly adjusted and their initial shop supply is improved.
  • The recharge costs for most items (excluding gloves) from Fist of Guthix is reduced.
  • New animation effects are introduced for dwarf multicannons five minutes before they decay.
  • Hidden update: The font is RuneScape is changed in terms of neatness.
  • A Christmas Card Competition is launched.
• 4 December: Jagex announces a brand new Jagex Store.
• 8 December:
  • Kuradal's Dungeon is released, along with Kuradal, the highest-level Slayer Master.
  • The font is changed back to the one prior to 3 December.
  • The Cryptic Clue Fest event is removed.
• 11 December: Christmas cards
  • The 2009 Christmas event is announced. Three Christmas cards are released in conjunction with this announcement.
  • A developers' blog, Holiday Event: A Christmas Warble, detailing the development of the holiday event is released.
  • Bouncedown, a FunOrb game is released in iPhones and iPods.
  • A new Jagex Store is launched.
• 15 December:
  • The quest Blood Runs Deep is released.
  • Changes are made to the way the Tzhaar shops work.
  • Improvements are made to Kuradal's Dungeon.
  • The font of the 0 is adjusted to be slightly different from capital Os.
  • Hidden update: Quests Cook's Assistant, Ernest the Chicken, Sheep Shearer, The Restless Ghost, and Rune Mysteries are updated to have an overview available in the quest interface, and NPCs involved in these quests are updated have an icon of the respective quest next to their name. These quests, with the exception of Rune Mysteries, now offer additional rewards.
• 18 December: The developers' blog, Animation Update: Particles, is released.
• 21 December
  • The 2009 Christmas event and the Dramatic Point emote is released
  • Particles make their first appearance in the Christmas event
  • Several wallpapers and a Players' Gallery is released.
• 22 December:
  • The developers' blog, Community Management: Clan Submissions Page (December 2009), is released.
  • The winner of the Christmas Card Competition is announced. Another Players' Gallery is added to showcase the some of the entries of the competition.
• 24 December: Mark and Andrew give Christmas wishes to the community.
• 29 December: Credit card payment systems are temporarily offline.
• 31 December: Mark, Andrew, and Mod Fetzki wish everyone a Happy New Year!