News Update #16 21/05/09

Today's news brings you all some intresting/totaly boring information!

I am back to training Attack to 99, 91k to 96 right now, I hope to have it by the end of the month. Also, NO MORE EXAMS! W00T!

in more related to this site news, OSPRO is waiting for the installation disc for the capture card. All I know is it is shipping from Hong Kong and will probably take the same amount of time as the card it self it. in other words, about 2 weeks.

I have decided that since Bungie.net doesn't make updates for Halo much I am going to post anything they post for, say, competitions they hold to win yourself Recon Armour.
I'd love recon but I can wait for Halo 3 ODST but that won't stop me taking part =P.

In RuneScape news, We see a double update with the Pub Name Poll results and the development Diary for the up coming Run Energy Update.

"The deserted pub in East Ardougne needed your suggestions to bring it to life. Several weeks ago, many of you submitted your ideas for a name for the pub, the NPCs who will populate it, and the food and drink the pub will serve. The best ideas were whittled down and organised into five themes. Then, two weeks ago, we launched the Guaranteed Content: Name a Pub poll. More than 70,000 of you voted for the ideas you wanted us to add to the game, and we were very pleased with the response from the RuneScape community.

The poll is now closed, and we can announce that the winning option is ‘The Poison Arrow’. Further details can be found below:

* Suggested name: The Poison Arrow
* Suggested NPCs:
o Marion the barmaid used to lead a group of merry bandits, but now she is content to stand behind the bar and polish her numerous archery trophies, in between serving drinks to thirsty travellers.
o Geoff sits by the dartboard fletching arrows, which he tests by flinging them at the board. He once tried to join the Ranging Guild, but failed his entry test after accidentally shooting a squirrel out of a tree, injuring it.
o Sparky the squirrel’s injured leg hasn’t been the same since, but Geoff promised to look after him, and gave him one of his arrows to use as a crutch.
* Suggested beverage: ranger’s ade – golden in colour and flavoured with local honey for a sweeter taste, it really hits the target.
* Suggested snack: skewered kebab – grilled meat and vegetables skewered on an arrow.

Expect to see The Poison Arrow winging its way into the game during the next few months!

We really enjoyed getting you involved with the game, so we will be running another Guaranteed-Content Poll two weeks from now. The aim of the poll will be to name a new Slayer creature, so the first thing we need to do is get your ideas. Head to the “Suggestions – Monster and NPC” forum to find out more. The “Name a Slayer Creature” thread (Quick find code 79-80-957-58851629) contains more information about the creature, and even some concept art to inspire you. We hope to see lots of imaginative ideas soon!

Mod Kat
Web Content"

"On another cold morning in the Jagex office, deep in the Wilderness, we were offered the prospect of working on a slightly different project from normal. Run energy is seen as a stumbling block by new players. No one likes to see their run energy drained and be forced to run-walk to their destination, so we were determined to make sure the new improvements would benefit the average player.

Before beginning our full test cycle, we had to ensure we understood the content as much as possible by reading through the design documentation and also having face-to-face meetings with the developer, Mod Chihiro. This was the ideal opportunity to outline any aspects of the project that needed to be given more careful consideration. The main issue that arose was that some balancing had been done, but that the numbers were not final. This meant that the time it took for run energy to recharge while resting, either anywhere or at a specified rest spot, was not finalised and liable to change.


Outerlanders welcome at the Fremennik Province rest spot

We tackled this issue with a variety of in-game scenarios, such as running through the major cities from point A to point B. Additionally, we set up a testing map square, which was designed to more accurately reflect the advantages gained by someone using the new rest system over someone who wasn't.

Our lead balancer had toyed with the timings and had an idea of how she wanted things to work. What she wasn't sure of, initially, was how this would 'feel' in-game. After recording countless hours of tests, we fed our results back to the lead balancer. The figures were altered and we began testing the timings again.

While we waited on the new run energy balancing figures, we continued with the general functionality tests. This included:

* Re-testing the current in-game run energy boosts, such as potions and familiars, to ensure that the changes had no adverse affects on existing content.
* Ensuring that the music played by each of the musicians was reflective of the instrument they use. We especially liked 'bad' music Mod Bond composed.
* Graphical testing in both Standard and High Detail modes. Unfortunately, the lying down animation shown in the previous Development Diary had to be removed, as it was causing excessive graphical bugs with clothing items. This has been replaced with a slight variation of the sitting down animation.
* Making sure the changes to the run energy button on the main interface didn't cause any adverse affects.
* Checking each of the musician’s chat and possible issues that could arise with their positioning. Mod James H even introduced a couple more musicians to areas he felt would benefit from the new system.


Karam-jammin'

Once the numbers have been completely balanced and finalised, we will need to ensure the recharge rate is working as expected for both normal rest and in musician rest spots. Due to the nature of QA, we are now knee-deep in other upcoming projects while we await the final figures. Meanwhile, it is being edited, translated and the Knowledge Base entry is being written.

We hope you will find the new system as useful as it is intended to be. Bangin'.

Mod Frantic
RuneScape QA Tester"

Thanks for Reading and I'll see you later.

~Osborne1992~