Update:Behind the Scenes - October (2007)
This update was added on 1 October 2007.
The month of October starts with another graphical improvement to an existing area. This time, Evil Dave’s house and the well-used town of Edgeville gets a lick of paint. The team of decorators were a little scared to progress down into Edgeville Dungeon, however, so stay tuned for further improvements to this area. You see, Vannaka is a little defensive of his existing décor and, as he can wield a two-handed sword in one hand, we don't want to question him too much...
The shops of RuneScape will be delivering a hefty blow to bots this month. Instead of finding shops empty of stock because a bot has bought it all, you will find infinite stock of various key items. With the Shop Improvement update, you will have everything necessary to make buying and selling more fun, and far less frustrating! Of course, we will also be tweaking the prices so this doesn't unbalance other aspects of the game.
More information on this subject will be made available via this month's “Development Diaries – Shop Rework”.
This month's quest brings us to the continuing tale of Ardougne's favourite bachelor, Lord Francis Handelmort. Recent break-ins to his mansion (Tribal Totem) have left him without a showpiece for his next dinner party, so he has ordered a Karamjan jade vine after looking at some "artists' impressions" in the G.A.G newsletter. Can you help retrieve a cutting? Large over-ground mazes, giant ants and some really funny content all await for those with a penchant for all things tropical. Your prize will be similar in nature to the “Tears of Guthix“ minigame, with repeatable rewards specific to two skills (not just Farming) while being a lot less wet. Be warned, however: this quest's bark is worse than its bite.
Also this month, we will be adding support for those players who play the game in organised groups or clans. In this case, we are offering a better means of distributing loot amongst your team: the 'Shared Loot' system. This is designed to be an extension of the Clan Chat channels. Each item drop recorded while signed into the 'Shared Loot' system will be allocated randomly to anyone within the group, regardless of how much damage the individual did to the creature. Anyone who does not get many drops will find that the drops balance out over a longer period of time. Of course, this system is entirely optional, so you can still group-fight just as you did before. We hope that using it will provide a safer, fairer way of sharing out your treasure during your next run to the Dagannoth Kings or Kalphite Queen!
“So,” I hear you all cry, “that’s all well and good, but what about Hallowe'en?” Well, you certainly won’t be disappointed. Most of you are aware of the results of the Guaranteed Content Poll back in June and the results will be gloomily fantastic. Being invited to the Grim Reaper's house isn’t an everyday experience, so don’t expect a nice cup of tea and a biscuit. Well, maybe a biscuit - he does love a good fig roll after a hard day's work.
As always, expect a healthy dose of your own contributions via the Postbag and the Players' Gallery, a Development Diary on the shop rework, the release of the Triple Trouble wallpaper (as decided by you) and lots more additions to the Knowledge Base.