Runescape Clan Citadel Planning

I thought that introduction of Clan Citadels would affect Runescape greatly, but I couldn't even imagine how profound the change would be. It's not only clans that got affected - everything, including gameplay has changed. At least from my point of observation.

Now people have a huge incentive to join a clan and not just any clan, but a big one. It looks like the time of small 4-10 people clans is over - no one wants to struggle with a low level citadel -it's all or nothing. And then comes resource gathering - let's face it, it's quite tedious, even at 1000 mark. Right now it amounts to 2-3 hours of chopping wood in a week, fortunately, not always alone, but still it's a lot of time if you don't play much. My average playing time is somewhere around 5 hours per week, spending 50% of that time on one activity is a daunting prospect. I did 1000 in the first week and I am at 700 this week, but it'll have to change - I am not happy with my Runescape experience. I'll have to find a balance between my inner commitment to Canting Away and the way I prefer to play the game. And I have a feeling that it's not just me who is going through this kind of struggle. And what will happen when say 50-60 members clan stop producing enough resources to advance through the tiers? Dissent and finger pointing? Breaking up? It is a possibility. I hope Canting will be immune from it, but only time will tell.

Will we end up with only really really big clans left standing in a half a year?

Why half a year? Apparently this is a minimum time required to build a tier 7 clan citadel. See Teacuptime's calculations, finding and suggestions for planning clan citadels here:

• Part 1
• Part 2

Very insightful. An interesting twist is that apparently after Tier 7 citadel is built, it's not that hard to maintain the level. If only 12 people out of 50 do their max in resource gathering in a week, the citadel will stand. So maybe, there is a chance for middle size clans after all :)

The magic number is 27775. If a clan makes this number of resources per week on a regular basis - it'll live. If not, I am afraid, there is a good chance of the clan eventually breaking up.

Share your thoughts, please. Especially if you were in a well established clan before the update. How did it affect your clan? I am very curious :)

History of Gielinor Quiz

I absolutely have to share it with you: just added new quiz called "History of Gielinor" to Runewise (thanks to Wabbit). I think it's the best Runescape quiz I ever saw. Try it!

25 Signs the Runescape Economy is tanking

An awesome video from Excl. The ultimate answer to "RS economy gone bad" remarks :)

Honest Players Overrun RuneScape

This one is probably from April 1 issue, but it's both funny and witty. There is even some hidden truth inside, if you really think about it. Enjoy!

What does it take to get into top 100 in Runescape

What does it take to get into top 100 in Runescape highscores nowadays? Check out these astonishing figures. I know that with my tempo, I'd reach those levels in approximately 23 years. Ouch...

There are also numbers for getting into top 1000 (total and in every skill). Those are more manageable, but still so freaking far away :) I actually used to be around 950 in Farming for a while, but it's in the past now and I don't think I'll ever get into top 1000 in any skill again. No matter how efficient you are, it does come down to playing time. 6-8 hours a week won't cut it.

Beware. New scams in Runescape

Return of the Wilderness and Free Trade brought scamming and luring back. No news there. But it does feel like there is more of it now than it was in 2007 and before. Maybe it's just me, but somehow I personally never was a target of so many scam attacks.

The last one was especially disturbing, as it came via email and was masqueraded as an official Jagex's email. The fact that it came via email, actually, means that it was originated by somebody who read this blog - which saddens me, I hope to be mistaken in this regard though.

Anyway, the email came from "Jagex Ltd" (noreply@jagex.com) (it beats me how the scammers emulate that, somehow they do...) and its content was the following:

Dear Player,

This is an automated message sent to inform you that your account has been suspended for Real World Trading. Please visit the Appeal section under Account Management to view evidence of your infraction and to appeal any infraction(s) that you feel were unjustified.

To view the evidence please click here: [link removed by me]

Please note: Due to a recent bug in our infraction system, some accounts may have received an void infraction. The majority of void infractions have been removed but we can not ensure that all infractions have been removed. We apologize for this and urge you to visit the appeal section to appeal any unjustified infractions received due to system errors.

Many thanks, Jagex Ltd.

Copyright © 1999 - 2011 Jagex Ltd. Jagex, RuneScape, FunOrb, War of Legends and Stellar Dawn are of Jagex Ltd in the United Kingdom and trademarks used in other countries of the world. By using our service you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

As you can see, it looks quite official. It came from seemingly Jagex's email directly to my email, which not many people are supposed to know. The link which I removed also looked like a real one, but led to a Runescape looking fishing site.

There were more problems with this email though:
1. I don't use my fan-site Runewise's email with my RS account, oops
2. I don't do RWT
3. The statement about "void infractions" does look fishy, doesn't it?
4. I happened to use WOT plugin, which promptly identified the link which I removed from the email as a link to a bad site. BTW, I'd recommend WOT to anyone - it does help to see if a site you are about to enter is a safe one or not (and it does that before you actually enter the site).

So here we go, don't fall for this one.

Also a few links to fellow bloggers talking about recent in-game scam attempts they encountered: from Alex and Steve.

Be safe.

RuneArt

Every once in a while I treat myself with a bonanza of awesome Runescape pictures from RuneArt. And they never disappoint me. Here are a few of my latest favorites:

• Monkeys! Here and here
• Very simple, but at the same time quite realistic Runescape runes
• Dragon cake, yum ;)
• And finally, absolutely mind blowing Nex picture

Being efficient usually makes my eyeballs bleed

Beautiful post from Jax. Don't miss.

Top Runescape Staking Tips

I am actually against staking. In my opinion it is the closest thing to gambling we have in Runescape and it is just as addictive and devastating. So the best tip I can give you: simply don't do it...

However, if you choose to ignore my advice, here are a few recent articles with best of breed Runescape staking tips: one from the Informer and another from Runescape Bits.

Flower Game

Have you seen people planting flowers near the entrance of the GE? It's been going on for a while, but only now I realized what exactly is happening there. Gambling and Scamming! Mostly gambling, as far as I could observe, but the one which is easily turned into scamming too.

Basically, players ("flower planters") collecting bets on a color of the next flower. There is about 1x7 chance to guess the color right, but the bet-to-prize ratio offered is usually 1x5 (here goes "casino" approach), plus the "flower planters" can always walk away and don't pay the prize if they choose so (that's where the scamming part starts). And flowers add the charm of innocence to the whole affair. Sick.

I doubt Jagex will do anything about it - after all this kind of staff is a natural by-product of the free trade update, but be aware about it and don't fall for this scam. Speaking of which, check out this useful page about RS cheats and scams from RS Wiki and be safe.

Paying for Runescape accounts

Right... A lot of controversy and outrage about the recent move from Jagex to accept money for un-banning some Runescape accounts. Vast majority of comments about it (at least from what I saw) were very negative (and here is an example from Xela).

However, I don't believe that it is a sign of desperation from Jagex or that they are scrambling for money. Quite on contrary, I think, this move is directly tied to the success of the Wilderness Return update. I bet there are so many old (and yes, previously banned) pkers that want to get back into the game after this update, that Jagex support team has really really hard time trying to deal with it. Offering to take money for unbanning these account is an easy (though not very gracious) way to simplify the process and greatly reduce the load at the same time. That would be my guess anyway.

Does Runescape Wiki make RS fan sites obsolete?

Helm Lardar is talking about an interesting problem: fan sites loosing their competitive advantage due to the raise of RS Wiki. He is talking specifically about the items data base and how Sal's version of it can't compete with RS Wiki, but the problem is broader. W13 talked about it too, and I actually agree with both of them, RS Wiki is destined to overshadow traditional fan sites in many areas. Things like item and monster data bases, skills and minigames guides, descriptions of locations and NPCs. Eventually, maybe, even quest guides.

Is it a bad thing? I don't think so, RS Wiki is like a force of nature - it's neutral, there is no point in getting upset about it.

So... Should fan sites stop making all these guides and data bases? Absolutely NOT, and here I disagree with Helm Lardar. The fan sites should continue what they are doing now - after all this is what traditional fan sites are about! Working on this kind of content is not only about producing it - the process itself is very important for fan sites health. How to make this content useful (and used) is another question though. I think the answer lays in going beyond the traditional "let's create the content and people will see it" approach. There has to be some value add on top of that. Something that RS Wiki model is not suitable for.

For instance, personalized content. Similar to what Runewise has been doing all along, I do think that traditional fan sites will have to start doing more than what they have been doing so far in this area. Another example, opinionated guides and editorials - that would include RS news papers, of course, but also potentially RS guides that go beyond "dry facts" by adding personal touch to them as well as references to other content (especially personalized one). Also making services out of content. Imagine items data base turned into a "lite" service and used by other RS fan and clan sites. That'd be a meaningful use, don't you think? Making widgets for other RS fan and clan sites is another possibility. I am sure the list can go on and on, but that's what comes from the top of my mind.

So, is emergency of RS Wiki means death to traditional RS fan sites? No, it means an opportunity for a change, opportunity for providing even better services to Runescape players.
That's what I hope for, anyway.

Runescape year: 2010

Full summary of major changes in Runescape during 2010 from the Informer. Amazingly Dungeoneering appeared in Runespace in April 2010 - less then 9 months ago! Somehow it feels like Dungeoneering was part of the game for a lot longer.

And here are my personal highlights of the year:

• Quests! Jagex continues to make awesome quests. I wouldn't say they outdone 2009 quests, but still I enjoyed pretty much all of them. Especially the Love Story.
• Dungeoneering - duh! A new skill which I found very relaxing.
• Bonus XP weekends - I loved the preparation for the second one (I missed three weeks before the first weekend). It also helped me to get 99 in Herblore, which was nice :)
• Canting Away summer and winter festivals - pure fun and joy
• Partnership with Sal's - very important, huge and somewhat scary step for Runewise
• Series of interviews with Ruescape and Stellar Dawn fan site founders, owners and developers - apart from enjoying the actual interviews I also had very interesting time reaching out and talking to all involved fan sites. Priceless experience.

Runescape Engine Q&A

For the techies out there very insightful (and very technical) Q&A session with Jagex developers.
For those, who don't want to read all of it, here is a short summary from the SDC forum.

21 interviews with Runescape and Stellar Dawn fan sites

21 interviews. Yes, that many. I couldn't even imagine receiving so many interviews back in early December when I started reaching out to Runescape and Stellar Dawn fan sites I knew about. But reception was overwhelmingly positive and I want to thank all the fan sites and all the people who participated, as well as people who helped me to obtain the interviews. Thank you very much!

Did I achieve the initial goal of "helping Runescape (and future Stellar Dawn) players to better understand what is driving and motivating people behind all these wonderful sites everybody uses, why were these sites created and what fan site owners/developers/admins have to deal with in order to maintain the sites"? I think so. And I hope you would agree with me.
There is something else, though. What I see in these interviews is a clear sign of united and much more open Runescape community. There is no way such series of interviews could appear just two years ago. Absolutely no way. And for that, I think, we should thank Jagex and their changed attitude towards fan sites.

Here is the full list of interviews (in the same order as I published them). If you missed some of them or want to find a particular one, this page would be a good place to start from. Cheers!

1. Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: Draynor.net
2. Interviews with Runescape Clan Sites: Surreal
3. Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: Zybez
4. Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: RuneSlayer
5. Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: RuneArmada
6. Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: RunePlanet
7. Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: The RSMG
8. Interviews with Stellar Dawn Fan Sites: StellarStop
9. Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: RsHun
10. Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: Impact IRC Bot
11. Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: Sal's Realm
12. Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: RuneScript and RuneTracker
13. Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: Lunagang
14. Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: Rsenespanol
15. Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: Grand Exchange Central
16. Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: Runescape Bits and Bytes
17. Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: Tip.it
18. Interviews with Stellar Dawn Fan Sites: Stellar Dawn Central
19. Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: Rune Village
20. Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: Global-RS
21. Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: RuneHQ

Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: RuneHQ

Today's interview is with RuneHQ's founders and owners: MrStormy, Stormys_Amazon, Dravan, Apuredelite, and Roklykthat. RuneHQ is a Platinum level Runescape fan site and rightly so - it's one of the biggest and well known among Runescape players.
This is the final interview of the series and I could've hardly find a better way to close it out. Enjoy!

Q: How would you describe your site in a few words?
A: We try to have a site that provides users with accurate information that will help them to get through the game successfully. We have a lot of users that use only the information part of our site, but we also have a forum community that has been together for some time now and we all feel like family.

Q: Can you tell us about major milestones of your site? A little bit of a history?
A: We recently celebrated our another anniversary as a fansite. We typically hold various events in game and on our forums to celebrate with our members. MrStormy had previously worked on other fansites but was unhappy with the information that the site provided and with how the site was run so he put together his own fansite which quickly grew into a well respected and used fansite for Runescape.

Q: What were your original goals for the site?
A: Original goals were to provide the best information possible to help players get the information they needed to be successful with the game. Originally MrStormy had no idea that the site would grow so quickly and become so large, so many changes had to take place to keep the site usable for the growing number of Runescape players that became followers of the site.

Q: Had your goals changed over time? If yes, how and why?
A: As the site grew there were many changes. MrStormy's wife (at the time, not Stormys_Amazon) helped start and run the site along with some friends/players of Runescape. She was rather strict and there were many growing pains, but as we made changes with owners and admins, those problems seemed to calm down. Many of the initial rules have been altered to make the site less strict, though we still look out for member safety and security so we limit the ability to post potentially harmful links or images to the site. We try to make sure that the younger players have a place where they can talk with friends safely and for this reason, many of the core ideals of the site (safety and security for the members and the site) will always remain at the core of RuneHQ.

Q: Was it the first web site you ever created?
A: This was one of the first sites MrStormy had created but since then there are several others. Some need some MAJOR work, but we do what we can.

Q: What technologies were used to create the site? Did you add new technologies into the mix after you created the original version?
A: The original site was basic HTML and PHP which it remains, however some other web languages are also used now. The site recently received its first ‘makeover’ and plans are to revise the look of the site on a more regular basis in the future. We are already working on totally recoding the site to clean up old code and to add more flexibility and features to future site versions.

Q: Is there a unique feature/service your site provides to Runescape players?
A: RuneHQ has many features, though, they are not really unique. We try to listen to our members and provide them the features they want (to the best of our ability) and we have been told that many users prefer our databases for looking up items, monsters, etc. over some other sites. We also have several calculators (which are being looked at for revision), a toolbar for use on Firefox (similar to the one Jagex has recently released though we had ours first J), we try to get guides out the same day as updates, and we are a Platinum level fansite for our level of association with Jagex.

Q: Which feature/service took the most time and effort to create?
A: By far revision of the site appearance itself. This is something that should have happened long ago but what can we say, MrStormy is stubborn and is not a big advocate for change. His wife, Stormys_Amazon has helped to get him to ‘see the light’ and has softened his stance on many things with the site so we hope to make some huge improvements over the next year.

Q: Which feature/service was the most complex from the programming stand point?
A: We recently updated our forums to the latest version which allowed us to move the forums to the same server(s) as the site data. This created some programming issues in trying to get the forums to sync with the multiple servers we use (there is so much traffic that we currently use 4 servers to help keep the site from lagging as much as possible). This was a big improvement for our members as it allowed all of the site information to be on essentially the same location rather than a separate web address for the forums.
We also try to avoid using programming that will cause additional lag for our users. We know that people want information and want it fast so the use of JavaScript (which many users turn off) and other similar languages are kept to a minimum so that users with slower machines are not forced to wait for long periods of time for the site to load. We realize we still have some issues, but we try to work out the bugs as quickly as possible. We welcome feedback on our site and will consider any ideas or suggestions that might help improve the site experience for our users.

Q: Is there a feature/service of the site you are most proud of?
A: We like the new design of the site. We think it is cleaner and less cluttered (which was a complaint for many years from our members) – though now that we have changed it, many users state they preferred the old look – go figure J

Q: Did you start the site alone or with friends?
A: The original site was started by MrStormy and his future wife along with Dravan who MrStormy had worked with on another fansite. They then brought in Apuredelite and Roklykthat who also became owners of the site. There are still many members on the site who have been with RuneHQ since the beginning.

Q: Are you the only developers of the site's code?
A: Originally yes, but over the years several others have helped and we currently have a coding team that is headed by Lilroo503. His team works on the coding for the site itself. Im4eversmart continues to help with the site appearance and forum skins as well as the editing team headed by Alfawarlord and Knight who help keep the guides and databases up-to-date (with the help of other staff and members who gather information for the site).

Q: How much time do you normally spend supporting the site? A few hours a day? A few hours a month?
A: This varies – MrStormy is on call 24/7 but the site really requires a team to keep it running. There is a lot of work involved with a website that most people do not realize. Very simple problems can lead to major outages and this all takes time to troubleshoot. Lilroo503 and Double_D_Edd help to monitor the site so that problems can be dealt with as quickly as possible.

Q: What is the most difficult/challenging task you have to do to maintain the site?
A: Running a site that is as big as RuneHQ is a huge challenge. Dealing with outside vendors who manage the servers can lead to delays in keeping the site live. Having volunteer members who help to keep the site running is also a challenge with people in varying time zones and in various countries all create challenges to site maintenance. Communication can also be a big factor since there are so many people who are involved in the daily running of the site.

Q: How many staff members do you have? How did you find/chose them?
A: The number of staff members varies. We do not have a limit on staff we have and try to allow adequate numbers of active individuals to help with the running of the site. To become staff we have staff applications that we have all potential staff fill out. Varying information is required depending on the job they will hold. For example, people who do coding will have to provide more personal information than someone who is just going to help on the forums. We have open positions listed on the announcement area of our forums as all staff must become a member of our site (membership is free).

Q: Are there aspects of web site management you were able to completely delegate to others?
A: Much of the daily running of the site is delegated to staff but owners are available 24/7 for any problems, questions, or concerns. Most owners and staff have irl situations such as jobs, school, family obligations, etc. so we try to be as flexible as possible with everyone.

Q: Did you ever had to deal with hostility and/or attacks from other fan sites?
A: Definitely. We have had people try to hack the site, people who have hacked access to staff accounts, but all are dealt with very quickly. Staff access is removed immediately for any compromised accounts and passwords are changed frequently to help maintain a safe and secure site. There are currently posts on hacking sites offering to pay to hack into MrStormys account. We are very prudent with security and take any and all attacks on the site seriously and will prosecute if needed. We want our members to have a safe experience on the site and do our best to make sure that happens. As for hostilities with other sites, of course there are. We are rivals for the same fan base – much like competing stores seeking business. We have had rival fansites try to spoil events, try to start arguments, and various other things both in-game and on our forums. Our goal is to provide our members with a choice and while we hope that people will use RuneHQ, we do not encourage any criticism or interference with other sites or their members.

Q: Did you ever consider making money with the site or is it just a hobby?
A: The site has to make money in order to pay for the very expensive server space, but the primary goal is not to make money. RuneHQ is a business so we have to bring in income to support it but making money is not the main goal of the site.

Q: What do you think about the current Jagex's fan sites support program? Do they do too much, too little? Is there something you'd wish would go differently?
A: We were overjoyed to see that Jagex was changing their attitude regarding fansites. For so long it was just the opposite with fansites being viewed almost like the enemy. While we appreciate all of the support they currently provide, like other sites we wish they would be more open with upcoming projects, updates, etc. we understand that if something is written down that people will expect it to happen, especially if a timeline is given, but sometimes it feels like they are being a bit overly secretive. They get everyone hyped about an update or new release and then nothing… no word on how it is coming, if it is still happening, etc. fansites can be used to help Jagex spread the word about upcoming things in game and we believe that fansites could be used more to their advantage if they would involve fansites more.

Q: Do you still play Runescape? If yes, how often?
A: All of the owners have active memberships in Runescape. While not all of them are able to play as often as they would like, they do still pop-in from time to time to check on things.

Q: Are there other Runescape fan sites you personally use as a Runescape player?
A: Of course we check out other fan sites. And various members of the site prefer various aspects of other sites which are being taken into consideration for the revamping of the site. We will not copy other sites but do use them for inspiration based on input from our members/users.

Q: Do you follow/read Runescape blogs and news papers from other sites?
A: Various members of the site keep very close attention to these areas.

Q: Is there something you don't mind revealing about your RL (age, country, hobbies etc.)?
A: MrStormy is 49 and lives in the United States. He works as a consultant doing work with backup, storage and recovery of data with a major company.
Stormys_Amazon is also 49 and is working on her dissertation for her PhD in Instructional Design. Her area of study is learning via games. She also helps with other sites owned by Global Gaming HQ (the company that owns RuneHQ).
Dravan, Apuredelite, and Roklykthat also live in the United States in various locations. All have jobs they also work.


Thank you very much, MrStormy, Stormys_Amazon, Dravan, Apuredelite, and Roklykthat!

P.S. And, by the way, I love the new site design :)

Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: Global-RS

Today's interview is with Aliensvortex, founder, owner and developer of Global-RS. Global-RS is known for their high quality guides. I also love Global RuneScape Herald - an awesome Runescape newspaper. It used to be one of best (if not the best) in 2007-2008 (it's not as active anymore, but there are some promising signs of revival :))
Enjoy the interview!

Q: How would you describe your site in a few words?
A: A small, but friendly and helpful RuneScape community with high quality guides and tools for RuneScape players of all levels.

Q: Can you tell us about major milestones of your site? A little bit of a history?
A: The site was started in March 2005. Back then, I didn't really have any experience with making websites, but a few friends and myself decided to try making a fan site for RuneScape anyway. I don't really remember what inspired me to do it, but I enjoyed it and quickly learned more about coding web sites and everything else related to running websites. However, I soon realized that the others who started the site with me had lost interest, so for a few months I did everything by myself. It started out as a site on a free web host, and it wasn't until September 2005 that I actually got a domain name for Global-RS.
Most of the milestones actually coincide with the anniversaries of the website: In March 2006, a set of advanced skill calculators was added to the website. In March 2007, we released the item database, and in March 2008 we released a lot of small community-oriented features such as hiscore history, community hiscores and upgraded the calculators from 2006. We didn't have a major new feature in 2009, but in 2010 we released a new design, which is the one currently used. Most of the other features on the site are a product of continual development.

Q: What were your original goals for the site?
A: I felt that the existing fan sites put quantity over quality, and I wanted to do it better myself. Over time, I realized that it is simply impossible to make a comprehensive site with absolutely everything. Therefore, today we're focusing less on a having information about everything, and instead focusing more on making the existing content we have the best possible (you could say that we're still putting quality over quantity). This was partly due to the Knoweldge Base, which didn't exist when Global-RS was started. Instead of focusing on basic content which already exists in the Knowledge Base, we're now focusing more on walkthroughs and tools that can help players beyond the plethora of information Jagex has published in their Knowledge Base.

Q: Was it the first web site you ever created?
A: No, I had created a few other websites, but I doubt they were ever seen by anyone but my friends. Global-RS is the first website that has attracted a significant number of visitors.

Q: What technologies were used to create the site? Did you add new technologies into the mix after you created the original version?
A: Originally, the site was made with basic HTML and frames. However, updating the menu became tedious as I added more pages, so I decided to learn PHP to deal with that, while relying on simple HTML for the content.
The underlying PHP code was completely rewritten for the March 2008 update, when all content was moved to a MySQL database and made editable through an administration panel. Since then, I've used more and more JavaScript for various features on the site, but as I've said earlier, it has mostly been a continuous development with no major switches in technology.

Q: Is there a unique feature/service your site provides to Runescape players?
A: We've focused a lot on good tools on Global-RS. For example, in the monster database, it is possible to open a calculator that shows how many times you have to kill a monster to either level up attack, strength, defence, hitpoints, ranged or slayer using any of the combat styles, which is something really useful for training combat. In the past we've had several other unique features that have later been copied by other fansites. For example, we were the first site where it was possible to only list members-only or free-only quest guides. We were also the first site with the ability to compare item stats, and the first site to have a hiscore history which shows any player's skill progress over time. We're also planning more features that do not exist on other sites, but which we will not reveal just yet.

Q: Which feature/service took the most time and effort to create?
A: The current version of the item database took a lot of time to create. It is also very time consuming to keep it up to date.

Q: Which feature/service was the most complex from the programming stand point?
A: Right now I believe either the item database, calculators or forum hiscores were the most complex because in all of those projects, I had to spend a lot of time learning about things I didn't have any previous experience with. However, I'm currently working on a new (somewhat secret) project, which is quite unique, that is extremely complex - much more complex than any previous single project.

Q: Is there a feature/service of the site you are most proud of?
A: The item database, forum hiscores and calculators.

Q: Did you start the site alone or with friends?
A: I started the site with friends who lost interest after only a couple of weeks, so I was effectively the only one that ran the site in its early stages.

Q: Are you the only developer of the site's code?
A: Yes.

Q: What is the most difficult/challenging task you have to do to maintain the site?
A: I'd say the community part is the most difficult, because it's a completely unpredictable factor which takes a lot of time. Especially when there's any sort of "internet drama", which does happen from time to time. It is often hard to keep everyone happy, but we try the best we can.

Q: Did you even had to deal with hostility and/or attacks from other fan sites?
A: Not from any major fansite, no. We used to have a clan which sometimes got into trouble with other clans and people from both clans were joining the other clan simply to spam and flame. We've also had instances of small, new fansites that tried to PM every active member on Global-RS asking them to join the new site, but those issues were usually resolved quite quickly.

Q: Did you ever consider making money with the site or is it just a hobby?
A: I've considered it. I do not think the users would mind if I did actually made money with the site as it would allow me to spend more time working on it. However, I am currently spending more (on hosting and domain names) than I earn from advertisements, so it currently isn't more than a hobby.

Q: What do you think about the current Jagex's fan sites support program? Do they do too much, too little? Is there something you'd wish would go differently?
A: I think they were too late in recognizing the importance of fan sites in the RuneScape community. They've certainly done a much better job working with fan sites lately, but I think they can still improve in many ways. For example, we'd love to have more interactions between our members and Jagex such as by having a Jagex account posting officially on our forums from time to time. Also, many fansite owners are very interested in getting direct access to more information from the game, such as up-to-date item prices (we can only get approximate prices from the GE website), possibility of accessing players information such as non-ranked skills (even free players which do not have an adventurer's log). I also think that they've been a little strict with the advertisement policy they have with fan sites (we are not allowed to advertise for other games, which makes it hard to use certain advertising networks as they insist we should have gaming ads as a gaming-related site).

Q: What kind of Runescape player are you? Which Runescape aspect is most appealing to you: quests, role-playing, skilling, pking, minigames etc.?
A: Mostly a skiller. I rarely do mini-games, pking or role-playing, and I'm not a very active quester either. I used to play daily, but lately I haven't been able to play as much due to "real life" issues getting in the way.

Q: Do you follow/read Runescape blogs and news papers from other sites?
A: Yes, I regularly check blogs and fansites to keep up to date with what's happening at other sites.

Q: Is there something you don't mind revealing about your RL (age, country, hobbies etc.)?
A: I'm a 20 year old Norwegian male. I've actually worked on Global-RS since I was 14! With the coding experience I got from working on Global-RS, I've gotten a great job as a part-time web systems developer, and I'm also studying computer science. I'm also very active in Norwegian politics, but it's something I intentionally never discuss on Global-RS. I also love hiking in the mountains, skiing (hey, I'm Norwegian, what do you expect?) and rock climbing.


Thank you very much, Aliensvortex!

Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: Rune Village

Today's interview is with hiker, founder, owner and one of the developers of Rune Village. Rune Village is one of the oldest and most comprehensive Runescape fan sites out there. Enjoy the interview!

Q: How would you describe your site in a few words?
A: An active forum community and source of guides for quests, skills and general information as well as databases of characters and items from the Runescape world.

Q: Can you tell us about major milestones of your site? A little bit of a history?
A: The main site came online the first week of November, 2002 and the forum followed a few days later on November 13, 2002. New members were just a trickle until the following spring when it seemed that membership seemed to take off in a single day. All of the sudden we were getting 150 to 200 new members each day. This growth continued though 2003, 2004,2005 when we reached our peak forum membership of about 65,000 members.
At that time we had an active community of traders, PK's and graphic artists, but with the elimination of the Wilderness, free trade, and the Jagex policy of not only refusing to recognize fan sites, but actually telling players to stay away from them, our membership dropped dramatically during that time.
However, we have remained a close-knit community, and although we are smaller these days, we have many Villagers who have been members for 6-8 years. Recently we have redesigned the forums, and our guides team is in the midst of re-writing and updating our extensive guides library, and well as adding new material. Jagex's recent reversal in now supporting fan sites has helped a bit.

Q: What inspired you to start a Runescape fan site?
A: There were not many fan sites in existence -- only one good one, and their graphics were pretty plain. I thought we could do a good job of presenting the material in a more pleasant manner.

Q: What were your original goals for the site?
A: To be a comprehensive community for Runescape players - forums, guides, data and news.

Q: Had your goals changed over time? If yes, how and why?
A: Not really... at one time we had got a bit behind on maintaining some of the guides, but we have an ongoing program of updating going on now. Our guides team posted 28 new or updated guides on Christmas eve!

Q: Was it the first web site you ever created?
A: No. I've created 100's.

Q: What technologies were used to create the site? Did you add new technologies into the mix after you created the original version?
A: The usual web technologies -- html, php, mysql, flash, javascript and recently a bit more java and some C/C++.

Q: Is there a unique feature/service your site provides to Runescape players?
A: We have several unique features, including a searchable world map. But probably the most unique is our items database. Individual item records are connected to the jagex computers and they display that item's current price on the Grand Exchange in real time, as well as showing a price graph for the previous 30 days. We also have our own chatroom, which is a bit unique.

Q: Which feature/service took the most time and effort to create?
A: Probably the interactive world map - which is being revamped, by the way. Although that would be a close tie with the chat room.

Q: Which feature/service was the most complex from the programming stand point?
A: Again, I'd have to say either the world map, which was/is done by our Staff Administrator, Glodenox or our custom chat, which was originally programmed by meepster, and recently updated by fantasy_guy (fire_adept).

Q: Is there a feature/service of the site you are most proud of?
A: I'm proud of it all. For the past 3-4 years, the site has been developed and maintained by teams of Villagers, and I'm proud of *all* the work each of them has done. It has all been volunteer workers doing a professional job.

Q: Did you start the site alone or with friends?
A: Started it alone.

Q: Are you the only developer of the site's code?
A: I was originally, but for the past four years or so, it's been development teams made up of members who volunteer their efforts and directed by a Staff Administrator.

Q: How much time do you normally spend supporting the site? A few hours a day? A few hours a month?
A: A few hours each day.

Q: What is the most difficult/challenging task you have to do to maintain the site?
A: Keeping up with everyone and focused on their tasks.

Q: How many staff members do you have? How did you find/chose them?
A: We have about 12-15 involved in writing and editing guides and site maintenance. They were recruited or volunteered. We have another group of about 15 that are moderators and admins, and they were all selected from the members.

Q: Are there aspects of web site management you were able to completely delegate to others?
A: While "the buck stops here", I try to delegate as much as possible, so that all the staff have some personal responsibility. Our Staff Administrator generally guides the technical side of things and our Administration team directs Moderators for the forum, site chat, and clan chat.

Q: Did you even had to deal with hostility and/or attacks from other fan sites?
A: Only once or twice have we had real hostility from another site. We have had several who attempted to unlawfully reproduce our information or link to images in violation of our copyright. We have generally been successful in getting those sites closed.

Q: Did you ever consider making money with the site or is it just a hobby?
A: I'd love to make money with the site, but it's all we can do to pay the bills-- especially since we have always had a policy of limited ads to make the user experience more enjoyable.

Q: What do you think about the current Jagex's fan sites support program? Do they do too much, too little? Is there something you'd wish would go differently?
A: I think they were years late in realizing the impact that fan sites have on their business. I'm glad they have started to support us and would like to see more, but it's a new program, and both sides are pretty much feeling their way along right now.

Q: Do you still play Runescape? If yes, how often?
A: I had quit for about 3 years, and have recently started to play again.

Q: What's you Runescape goals, if any?
A: To get all my skills above 50, and hopefully a couple of them up to 99.

Q: What kind of Runescape player are you? Which Runescape aspect is most appealing to you: quests, role-playing, skilling, pking, minigames etc.?
A: Mostly enjoy questing and role-playing.

Q: Are there other Runescape fan sites you personally use as a Runescape player?
A: Well, if I absolutely had to go to another fan site, I'd probably go to tip.it, just based on the quality of their information.

Q: Do you follow/read Runescape blogs and news papers from other sites?
A: Not really. It's about all I can do to keep up with my own.

Q: Is there something you don't mind revealing about your RL (age, country, hobbies etc.)?
A: I currently live in Nashville, Tennessee, and I really have been a hiker for most of my life- ever since childhood, having hiked the entire 2200-mile Appalachian Trail in a single trip.


Thank you very much, hiker!

Interviews with Stellar Dawn Fan Sites: Stellar Dawn Central

Today's interview is with Ren, founder and co-owner of Stellar Dawn Central. Stellar Dawn Central has the largest Stellar Dawn community and currently is the only Stellar Dawn fan site officially recognized by Jagex.
There is more to it, though. Stellar Dawn Central is one of the few sites where various Jagex related news are discussed (it is my "go to" place for this kind of information) and, of course, it is the place where Ren publishes his awesome reports (RuneScoop and Tip.it users should be familiar with them). BTW, the latest report about Jagex's finances in 2009-2010 just appeared, check it out here.
And now the interview. Enjoy!

Q: How would you describe your site in a few words?
A: Stellar Dawn Central (formerly MechScape World) is the first Stellar Dawn / MechScape fansite. We have an amazing community and cover all things Jagex.

Q: Can you tell us about major milestones of your site? A little bit of a history?
A: We launched the website on the 23rd of October 2007 and the forums on the 10th of November 2007 back when Jagex saw fansites as a threat and wouldn’t even confirm that MechScape existed. However, things quickly changed when Mark Gerhard became CEO and I got a phone call from Jagex on the 13th of February 2009 which featured various Jagex staff including Gerhard himself. I’d been up all night doing coursework and was pretty nervous so probably wasn’t on my best form but it was really great to chat with them about how Jagex wanted to work with fansites.
On the 16th of February 2009 Jagex sent us the first official concept art for the game ever released and later that day we suddenly got a huge spike in traffic. We managed to get 3,000 unique hits and had 347 people using the forum in a 20 minute period and were blown away by this level of attention. At first we feared the site might be under attack, but I asked one of the people who had just signed up to the forum and they told me that they had heard about our site from a tweet by Jagex (the first time Jagex had promoted a fansite through Twitter). After that we became the first fansite in years which Jagex would allow to be discussed on the RuneScape Official forum and on the 13th of May 2009 we became the first MS/SD recognised fansite. PoultryChamp managed to get Jagex’s first face-to-face interview with a fansite on the 24th of March 2009.
We achieved 40,000 posts on the 16th of January 2009; 50,000 on the 23rd of February 2009 and 100,000 on the 18th of July 2009 and are currently approaching 300,000 posts. On the 28th of April 2009 we achieved 8,000 registered members and now the figure is up to over 12,000 (including several Jagex employees who post from time to time). However, the community’s history is perhaps better defined more in terms of the various changes in management such as PoultryChamp joining me to run the site and the various competitions and in-forum events we have had such as the Art Contest, the Pliigi Invasion, the Easter Egg Hunt and the Not-so-Cold War.
Of course one can’t talk about milestones without mentioning the cancellation of MechScape and its rebirth as Stellar Dawn which was announced first on our forums by Mark Gerhard himself on our birthday, the 23rd of October 2009. This led us to change our name from MechScape World to Stellar Dawn Central on the 22nd of July 2010. The change took a while because we didn’t want to change the name before there was Stellar Dawn related content and we wanted to co-ordinate it with an update to our forums. Furthermore we wanted to go for the right name so we spent a long time consulting the community and evaluating the various possibilities to help ensure that our new title would be fit for the future whilst respecting our past.

Q: What inspired you to start a Stellar Dawn fan site?
A: I was inspired to create a MechScape fansite because at the time there weren’t any fansites, I was excited about the game and had research about it I wanted to share. I’ve always been a big fan of the sci-fi genre and have been following Jagex since when I started playing RuneScape in February 2001. As a programmer I have always respected and been interested in Jagex as a company so was really stoked to discover that they were working on a second major MMORPG.

Q: What were your original goals for the site?
A: The original short-term goal was to share my research and convince people that MechScape was real because at the time Jagex hadn’t publicly announced it and many doubted that they were working on a sci-fi MMORPG. I also wanted to establish the site as the premier MechScape fansite, build up a community and ultimately when the game was released to have all the usual fansite offerings such as guides and tools.

Q: Had your goals changed over time? If yes, how and why?
A: The focus changed from MechScape to Stellar Dawn and I no longer have to work hard convincing people that the game exists, especially now that Jagex have launched StellarDawn.com. My current goal is to maintain our position as the #1 Stellar Dawn fansite, keep up with my research and analysis and prepare for the launch of the Stellar Dawn beta (sign up at here)

Q: Was it the first web site you ever created?
A: No, the first website I created was a silly Geocities site which I created in NetScape Composer back in 1997. I’ve created various sites since, but Stellar Dawn Central is my most successful endeavor (thanks of course to the contributions of many people). The website theme was designed by PoultryChamp who has been doing this sort of thing for years.

Q: What technologies were used to create the site? Did you add new technologies into the mix after you created the original version?
A: The original MechScape Central site was hosted on Google Pages so didn't really use any technology. We soon moved to a proper web host and use PHP, MySQL and CSS. Our forums run on IP.Board which I really like, and we've fairly recently upgraded to IPB 3.1 which has more functionality.

Q: Is there a unique feature/service your site provides to Runescape/Stellar Dawn players?
A: Our forum is unique in its blend of an awesome community and a fairly liberal approach to what people can post (so long as it’s suitable for 13+ and isn’t spam, flaming, RWT, etc). We are usually the first to discover new information about Stellar Dawn and are one of the few sites who also focus on news and analysis relating to Jagex as a company. For now we're also the only recognised fansite for Stellar Dawn and have Platinum status, which has meant that Jagex employees post on our forums from time to time and give us exclusives. Oh, and we’re the only fansite with space pie!

Q: Is there a feature/service of the site you are most proud of?
A: I’m most proud of our community. Most people find the site due to MechScape / Stellar Dawn and many are still eagerly awaiting the SD’s release, but considering it’s been three years without a beta the reason people have stayed active is primarily because they enjoy being part of the community.

Q: Did you start the site alone or with friends?
A: I started MechScape Central on my own but MechScape World / Stellar Dawn Central has always been a joint project. At the moment I’m running the site with PoultryChamp (Laura) and she’s in charge of paying the bills and ensuring the website doesn’t go down while I focus more on research and content.

Q: How much time do you normally spend supporting the site? A few hours a day? A few hours a month?
A: Stellar Dawn isn’t out yet so there aren’t the usual activities such as managing guide submissions yet, but I do spend hours a day on the forums and am always keeping an eye out for relevant Stellar Dawn or Jagex related news. Most of my time on the forums is taking part in discussions but I always keep an eye out for potential mod / admin work which needs to get done. Two recent time-consuming projects were the changeover and rebrand from MechScapeWorld.com to StellarDawnCentral.com and the upgrade to the latest version of IP.Board, but PoultryChamp and Max did a lot of the work on the forum upgrade.
Being first for Jagex and Stellar Dawn related news is a time-consuming endeavor as you always have to be on the lookout. Fortunately I don't have to do all the research myself any more as others such as Pliigi do a great job at finding things and posting them to the website. When the game is released we'll be needing our staff to work really hard, but we'll also be depending on submissions from our community.

Q: How many staff members do you have? How did you find/chose them?
A: We have 5 administrators and 6 moderators who pitch in and do plenty of other things that need to be done as well as 7 other members of staff. When the beta is out we’ll need more staff but there’s not that much for people to do at the moment. For the general staff positions we had a formal application process but for the mods/admins we offered people who we knew would be good at the job the position, usually people who had been long-term users of the forum who had proved that they had sound judgment and were active members of the community.

Q: Did you ever have to deal with hostility and/or attacks from other fan sites?
A: We've had sites steal our content which we’ve had to deal with as diplomatically as we can. However, we’ve also had many positive experiences such as the multi-fansite event a couple of months ago.

Q: What do you think about the current Jagex's fan sites support program? Do they do too much, too little? Is there something you'd wish would go differently?
A: I think that it’s great that Jagex have a fan site support programme and that it's certainly not something which ever would have happened back when Iddison was CEO. However, there are plenty of opportunities for the program to be improved. There should be more APIs to allow easy access to relevant data and for Stellar Dawn there should be more fansites supported and more support for those fansites. Hopefully as Stellar Dawn approaches release Jagex will be more willing to share information and concept art with fansites and take part in interviews.

Q: Are there any Runescape fan sites you personally use?
A: I’m sure there are lots of great RuneScape fansites out there but as I’m more focused on Stellar Dawn I don’t spend that much time on my account “me” playing RuneScape these days. However, I’ve been visiting Rune Tips (tip.it) since early 2001 and it has always served me well.

Q: Do you follow/read Runescape blogs and news papers from other sites?
A: The only RuneScape blog I follow is the RuneScape Reader’s Digest which I visit all the time. If I hear about an interesting editorial I’ll check it our but I don’t regularly read RS newspapers.

Q: Is there something you don't mind revealing about your RL (age, country, hobbies etc.)?
A: I am a British guy in my mid-20’s who has BSc in Computing, does volunteer work for environmental causes and works as a self-employed techie. I am a big fan of the authors Sir Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman and George R. R. Martin. I enjoy watching Anime, Sci-fi, House and The Daily Show. Oh, and if the rumours are true I'm actually a robot badger from the future.


Thank you very much, Ren!

Interviews with Runescape Fan Sites: Tip.it

Today's interview is with _Peter_ , who is the lead tech administrator at Tip.it. Of course, Tip.it does not need an introduction, everybody knows this site and most of us use it. My favorite section being Tip.it Times (not surprisingly :)). Yet, just as many other Runescape fan sites, Tip.it has a side which is "hidden" from their users - that is a team of developers who work hard to deliver services to Runescape players. I hope this interview will shed some light on that "hidden" side :) Enjoy!

Q: How many developers are working at Tip.it?
A: It depends what you consider to be a developer. All of the "Website Crew" team contribute and are basically who make the site what it is. If you're wanting to know who writes the code to make things work behind the scenes (as in adding features and such, while not writing the guides for example), then there's perhaps 3 or 4 actual developers, myself included, who work on this.

Q: What is your role at Tip.it?
A: I'm the lead tech for the website and also the forum. Basically it's my job to (as much as physically possible) ensure the smooth running of both, and to develop, or aid in development of new features for both; as well as maintaining existing code.

Q: How and when did you start writing code for the site?
A: My first project was the dynamic signatures, and this was before I was actually an administrator or even Crew. I originally started as an IRC Staff member, and it was suggested we start some of our own dynamic signatures off. I began coding them, with tripsis creating the graphics, and eventually had some running prototypes and such. It was at this point there was a bit of an internal switch around and I was given my current position, and here we are.

Q: What is your main motivation for working at Tip.it?
A: Great staff, great community, first RS fan site I joined, need I say more?

Q: Is Tip.it the first web site you ever worked on?
A: Not the first, but by far the biggest. I've always enjoyed experimenting with my own web projects and offering to help others with their projects.

Q: What technologies were used to create the site? Were new technologies added into the mix after the original version?
A: The site was originally just HTML based with static pages, right back in the RSC days (before my time). A little later on, some PHP was used in conjunction to MySQL to create some simple databases for items and such. The newer site for "RuneScape 2" was then created using the same technologies (PHP/MySQL).

Q: Which feature/service took the most time and effort to create?
A: I wasn't around for the original creation of the website, and I can only really comment on the time taken to create features which I was a part of. Some of the Crew really need to be credited here as they've come up with a lot of the calculators/planners using just JavaScript, some of which are awfully complex, and I'd count this as part of development. I think one of the most time consuming and difficult things we did to date was to switch our forum software from phpBB to Invision Power Board. This involved a lot of staff learning the ropes again, as well as any custom features we had having to be recoded to work with the new software in order to try and make our users feel at home like they did on phpBB.

Q: Which feature/service was the most complex from the programming stand point?
A: Most complex is probably the Quest Calculator. When the initial developers first started storing data for quests, there was no idea that a Quest Calculator would be created, and so it took quite a large amount of logic and code to get around the barriers involved with something like that. In fact the Quest Calculator is occasionally under maintenance as someone discovers a bug that we didn't know existed.

Q: Are you implementing new site features alone or together with other developers? In other words is there a shared development environment set up for Tip.it developers?
A: Yes and no. Some projects, I or other developers choose to code individually, and for others, there is collaboration. However I'd say that at some point or another, one of us has added to another's work in almost every case.

Q: How much time do you normally spend supporting the site? A few hours a day? A few hours a month?
A: A few hours a week probably. I spend quite a lot of time on the forum reading although I choose not to post all that much. It also depends what I'm doing with University and if I have an active project. I'm the kind of person where if I have time off from University and a project to work on, I'll spend many hours per day working on it until it's done.

Q: How do you decide which feature should be implemented and when?
A: Usually by public demand but also suggestions from staff. Occasionally there are other factors, for example the Grand Exchange Centre was created because RuneCrypt.com, as a fansite, closed. They handed us their historical data that they had been using to generate their GE graphs, and so we couldn't have it sitting there doing nothing.

Q: Do you still play Runescape? If yes, how often?
A: Not any more.

Q: Are there other Runescape fan sites you personally use as a Runescape player?
A: When I used to play, I would often alternate between Tip.It, RuneHQ and Sal's for guides.

Q: Do you follow/read Runescape blogs and news papers from other sites?
A: It depends on the topic. If it's something which could be relevant to Tip.It on other sites, then yes I will keep up with it, otherwise, no.

Q: Is there something you don't mind revealing about your RL (age, country, study, hobbies etc.)?
A: I'm a 22 year old University student studying Computer Science from England.


Thank you very much, _Peter_!

P.S. Also a special thanks goes to tripsis who helped me to obtain the interview.