HTML5 / Runescape 3 will be a big deal

Anyone who doesn't know should have a look at this:

http://services.runescape.com/m=forum/forums.ws?16,17,234,63977242
http://services.runescape.com/m=news/mod-mmg-on-runescape-micro-payments

Jagex plan to sunset Java and put the game on HTML5, with a graphics overhaul to boot. And it actually looks pretty good:

http://services.runescape.com/m=rswikiimages/en/2012/8/b4aft-29173657.jpg
(Java left, HTML5 (new version) right).

This will be a huge boost to its waning numbers over the coming years. Much bigger than the revival of free trade in the game. Why?

1. Expanded market. Smart phones, tablets and computers that lack java will suddenly be able to play it. While it is true that webgl support is still pretty limited on phones and tablets, that will change over the 6-18 months as no one wants to be left behind on the emerging standards.

2. Bots will be nuked. And I mean properly nuked if Java is taken out. Bot developers will have to start over. I predict once Java is no longer an option for playing the game, there will be a period of about 3-6 months with almost no public botting.

3. Re-attracting old players. Lots of people have left with the new changes, this is true. But the game is getting an overhaul and is finally coming off its laggy ball-and-chain java platform. If they fix up some of the other stuff people don't like it won't be hard to get some renewed interest.

"Runescape is dead" we've been hearing for years. I submit to you that this is the bottom of the bear market and it's about to make a big come back. That's my prediction. Only time will tell.

 

[Cape Max]

Wow, nice name!!

 

[I_Lobster_I]

Wow, nice name!!

He's the owner of this site.. lol

 

[Laptop65]

Well, graphics are one thing, but gameplay is another. I mean the HD update back in 2008 I think it was made things pretty cool, but then they started changing the game itself after that, which people didn't like. The game right now is still based around the £. Admitted it might look nicer and be more available to play on more devices, but aside from looks, the game still seems to be the same thing.

 

[Alesso]

I +1 the hell out of this. Going to be a much better game to play.

 

[Kenpen]

Runescape is dead, the SoF and Micro payments were just like a beta test for the players of runescape, Seeing how far jagex can take it before people start noticing they are doing the one thing they've always been against, real world trade.

Why? Jagex are no longer a fully UK based Corporation, 55% has been bought out by american consumers and an unknown percentage is private investors trying to milk the game for every last Pence and Cent, the game won't last as people think it will and Jagex will keep feeding updates that will make the game worse and worse until it just ceases and dies, More then half the population are full out against the Evolution of Combat update, Jagex are trying to develop ways to keep the Idiots, yes idiots who play the game around; In hope's that the players think maybe someday they'll see a good update, I doubt Jagex will even get around to coming close to put the game on HTML5 when they don't even care about their own ethic's they've always stood by.

 

[HamzaAbbasi]

I honestly think its quite good including the EOC as they are redeveloping the way the game is played, the graphics and are modernising it which I quite like.

 

[xX h4x0rz Xx]

Graphics wise Runescape is improving, however game play wise it isn't. Tank rangers, pures, and other types of characters people play this game for and spend hours creating will have no use because of he EOC update. I don't think old players will be coming back as people left because of game play not graphics.

 

[BGlave]

Yes expansion comes into play, but it's a bit unsettling playing a big game such as runescape on other devices that don't have ease of access to as the computer or laptop.

Reply to my pm sythe, if you haven't read it.

 

[Jeroentjo]

Hmm. Nice point u have there, unfortunaly, Runescape is death, and i dont expect any recovery from that point..

 

[Nathan]

How would this be played on a phone? Even if you were able to boot runescape from a smartphone, it would be near impossible to do anything worthwhile.

 

[user960]

How would this be played on a phone? Even if you were able to boot runescape from a smartphone, it would be near impossible to do anything worthwhile.

You could do your spins pretty easily on a phone

 

I don't think the better graphics and less bots is going to bring back players who've quit at all. The micro transactions and the skills being made piss easy won't go away, and that's why the game's "dying". It's sad to see it copy every MMORPG out there and be so money hungry.

 

[2332]

Sadly runescape is dead and the graphics suck & don't really matter imo, it's the game play for me. Back how it was in 2006... ahh good times. That HTML5 is just crap imo.

I'll be quitting after EOC lol.

 

[speedster]

If we only get to see the day RuneScape reaches HTML5, Jagex is freaking slow when it comes to pushing big updates....

 

[pawnscape1414]

Runescape is dead, the SoF and Micro payments were just like a beta test for the players of runescape, Seeing how far jagex can take it before people start noticing they are doing the one thing they've always been against, real world trade.

Why? Jagex are no longer a fully UK based Corporation, 55% has been bought out by american consumers and an unknown percentage is private investors trying to milk the game for every last Pence and Cent, the game won't last as people think it will and Jagex will keep feeding updates that will make the game worse and worse until it just ceases and dies, More then half the population are full out against the Evolution of Combat update, Jagex are trying to develop ways to keep the Idiots, yes idiots who play the game around; In hope's that the players think maybe someday they'll see a good update, I doubt Jagex will even get around to coming close to put the game on HTML5 when they don't even care about their own ethic's they've always stood by.

I think its hillarious that you think the reason jagex is "all of a sudden" like this is because they were partially bought out. It's been like this every since andrew gower left or have we all forgotten what mark has done before micropayments? he was the reasoning behind just about every major update that hurt runescape.

 

[BGlave]

Runescape is dead, the SoF and Micro payments were just like a beta test for the players of runescape, Seeing how far jagex can take it before people start noticing they are doing the one thing they've always been against, real world trade.

Why? Jagex are no longer a fully UK based Corporation, 55% has been bought out by american consumers and an unknown percentage is private investors trying to milk the game for every last Pence and Cent, the game won't last as people think it will and Jagex will keep feeding updates that will make the game worse and worse until it just ceases and dies, More then half the population are full out against the Evolution of Combat update, Jagex are trying to develop ways to keep the Idiots, yes idiots who play the game around; In hope's that the players think maybe someday they'll see a good update, I doubt Jagex will even get around to coming close to put the game on HTML5 when they don't even care about their own ethic's they've always stood by.

It's certainly not dead. They aren't forcing the micro payments on anyone either. It's an option to the player if he or she wants to spend extra money for cosmetic benefits, or some extra bank space.

Milking the game would be directly selling cash, they would make tons from doing that, but they choose not too.

Are you not noticing the weekly updates? Solomon/squeal or any other update that comes is still new content. For them to make weekly updates like this it costs money. Now they want to expand their team and by doing so, they need more money. Don't forget the bot destruction project they've been working on for the past 9 months. It looks like they're trying to restore the game to the numbers they had before people quit back in the day.

Respectively, they've been trying to please a lot of players, but instead they bash jagex for assumptions made by everyone else.

I for one think the squeal of fortune isn't bad and enjoy my daily spins here and there. As for the solomon's general store I enjoy the costumes and animations in the store so it's my choice if I want to buy it or not. They aren't forcing it on me, so there is no need for me to get angry at what a company "should" be doing.

As for your ignorance, well... There's a club of people like you hating every other thing they do so it's whatever.

 

[iJava]

No? They're just changing the way in which the game is loaded on the website. The game will still be made in java and always will be.

 

[S]

Milking the game would be directly selling cash, they would make tons from doing that, but they choose not too.

They don't 'choose not too'. The only reason they aren't selling gold is simply because over the past decade they have said they NEVER will directly sell gold. If they decided to now, it would literally hold no value to their word and would exhaust all attempts of recovering the game.

I guarantee you, had they not mentioned they would NEVER sell gold in the past, we would currently have Sythe.org Advertised on Runescape's Home Page.

- All I'm going to say is.

Since the Gower brother sold their share, years ago, the game has gone downhill, and will never, not ever improve. I played since classic, and quit late 2006, early 2007.

People should note, a high percentage of people that quit after the Wilderness was removed in 2007, wasn't only due to that, it was due to age and other rationals. Most people from back then that were Pkers/Stakers/High levels were around 15+, and wouldn't even bother coming back to Runescape at the age of 22. I know this first hand, as I'm still active on another forum, that was the #1 f2p/p2p clan on Runescape from 2003-2007, and had many Jmods and Pmods in it.

The game is passed the stage of reconciliation. Old players aren't going to return, no chance. Even if the game was to be returned back to its state in 2006, people aren't of that age and interest anymore.

Yes, Updating to acquire and attract a new userbase is what they need to do, and is what they are doing.

 

[Trent!]

2. Bots will be nuked. And I mean properly nuked if Java is taken out. Bot developers will have to start over. I predict once Java is no longer an option for playing the game, there will be a period of about 3-6 months with almost no public botting.

Java will still be used, HTML5 will just change the way that browsers render and process the game. Also, I spoke with someone who graduated with a degree in networking and programming; he knows how to proficiently code with most programming languages, and he said that HTML is easier to inject than Java is. So even if Jagex completely removes Java, it will not be very long before certain bots are back up. Also, after this update there still will be multiple bots that are untouched (at the most a few days to update scripts to new graphics). Some examples are Scar, Simba, and Robotz In Disguise. These bots operate using color so the HTML5 update won't do shit.

"Runescape is dead" we've been hearing for years. I submit to you that this is the bottom of the bear market and it's about to make a big come back. That's my prediction. Only time will tell.

So many people say that Runescape is about to die and is dying. Well the fact of the matter is that the game was actually dying from 2007 until 2011, with Jagex actually losing annual revenue at an alarming rate every year. Mark Gerhard, CEO, has actually stated on live video that as of 2012, the game has actually started to grow and improve for the first time in nearly 5 years. This growth is going to keep going with the way Jagex have been doing things now and Gerhard and Mod Mark have both said that they intend to continue Runescape for another 10 years or more. To quote Mod Mark, "I want to see another 200 million accounts." You guys may all believe that the game is dying, but the fact of the matter is that it's showing more growth this year than it has in the last 5.