Update:Clan Camp, Support and Web Pages
This update was added on 12 April 2011.
The new clan updates have arrived! We know that existing clans have many free-to-play members, so these new clan tools will be available to both free-to-play and members. They will give clans a real presence in the game, offering tools to help you organise and administer your clans, as well as ways to advertise and show your allegiance in-game.
In-game Clan Support
You will be able to create clans in-game and recruit new clanmates, assigning ranks and job titles to them. We are also offering three new chat channels that you’ll be able to use: the current 'Clan Chat' system remains as it is, although we're renaming it to 'Friends Chat', while we're also offering access to a chat channel unique to your clan (and access to chat on another clan's chat channel as a guest, if the clan lets you...). You'll even be able to keep track of chat in all three channels at the same time.
The Clan Camp is the starting point for all of these features. Here, you’ll find everything you need to start a clan, and it's designed to be a place for clans to meet, recruit and plan. It will also be the staging post for clan content, and the place to go if you're curious about clans and want to ask a few questions.
Customisation
As well as your clan name, you will be able to set a clan motto, design a clan motif and assign colours that will be reflected in other clan features. You’ll have a vexillum (wieldable flagstaff) and a clan cloak to display your clan's motif around Gielinor, and you can stand the vexillum in the ground while you get involved in clan activities, 'marking your spot'. Passers-by will be able to access essential clan information and get in touch via the vexillum.
Clan Web Pages
Each clan will have their own clan homepage, housing lists of clanmates, basic information and links to the clan's own clan forums, making the experience of managing a clan painless. Select keywords for your clan in-game, and others will be able to search for that keyword on the website, in an effort to find likeminded groups of players. You'll also be able to tag your vexillum and in-game clan noticeboards within these threads. Clan forums will allow you to keep secret 'planning threads' private, but will also allow public recruitment threads, to tempt and interrogate potential clanmates. Your clan forum is private and accessible by logging into your clan’s homepage and clicking on the forum tab. You may wish to bookmark your clan’s homepage for ease of access in the future. Finally, you will have clan hiscore tables, where you’ll be able to compare clan kills and skills.
Rated Clan Wars
As our first piece of new clan-specific content, we are releasing Rated Clan Wars. This is a redesigned version of Clan Wars, allowing clans to challenge each other directly. We'll have a rating system and ranking table as well, so you’ll be able to compete to be the best RCW clan.
We Want Your Feedback
We're offering clans a load of tools and features that we hope and expect you'll use constantly, so we need them to work for you. We've spent time talking to existing clans and clan leaders, trying to make sure we've selected the best and most useful features we possibly can, but we do want to see how you use them, so we encourage your ideas on how we can improve them.
To this end, we’ve set up two feedback threads: the Clans: Website Feedback thread and the Clans: In-game Feedback thread.
This is Just the Start
We hope you find these features to your liking, but, remember, this is just the start. For all this work to be worthwhile, we'll need your participation in creating clans, and getting involved in clan activities. It's up to you, with the help of our clan community J-Mods, to create and maintain a vibrant and varied clan community. We have created the infrastructure, but that's not where our plans end: we plan to keep an eye on your feedback, making improvements to the clan systems in the future.
For those of you who have already reserved clan names within the clan forums, you will find that your clan is ready for you now, with the leader and four others set up in ranking positions, ready for you to start recruiting immediately.
The RuneScape Team