Things to Possibly Look Forward to in OSRS

Take it with a grain of salt

Communication has always been a two-way street. Old School Runescape has it in the form of polls, where the developers pitch an idea and check if the players want it or not; however, that’s only one side of the equation. To be fair, there should also be a line of communication between developers and players. That’s what the Weekly Q&A live streams are for — it gives an insight into developers’ creative processes and the work that goes into the game. Whether it’s new ways to earn or spend OSRS gold or clarification on some features, this is the time to ask.

Note that the answers are not to be taken as confirmation that Jagex will implement these things in the future. These are only what and how they are thinking about future developments. Still, the answers have a lot of potentials, even if they might not come to fruition.

The entire Livestream is filled with exciting information, but here are the highlights.

About Polling

There has been some worry about the changes to the poll system. Namely, it became a validation of an almost completed feature rather than giving a green light for development to truly begin. It may seem a slight difference, but in the case of the former, the addition will be completed no matter what, but maybe some aspects of it will be changed. For the latter, if the polls refuse it, the development will be halted, and the content won’t be added.

The mods understood the situation and explained that the change wasn’t intentional. They’re still finding the balance between having an idea to be pitched and having something that they can ask for feedback on.

That is to say that they can’t poll on an inadequate or half-formed design, but for it to be better-formed, they need time to work on it. The devs can’t do a survey too early when it’s likely to not be passed, but polling later makes it look like the content will be added either way. At any rate, they’ve noticed the situation and are thinking about it.

There’s also an issue about restricted polling, which players did not appreciate. While the mods neither confirmed nor denied things, they only mentioned that the system is still an experiment. They disliked the backlash, but genuine feedback about improving things is something they’d like to look deeper into.

Nothing is set in stone, and they are not sure if it’s going to be a permanent feature of polling or not. Everything’s still up in the air.

Linear Dungeon-Crawling

A question described dungeons as a ‘field with a bunch of mobs.’ It asks if the devs are planning to add a linear dungeon players can do instead of just a room.

Oh, the mods were interested in the suggestion. They named the Taverly Dungeon and how it’s different from the Slayer Dungeons, which are the mentioned rooms. Taverly had some bits of storytelling, and they want to push that idea even more. They tried a little for the Forthos Dungeon, but it’s not quite a full-scale raid dungeon like on other MMOs.

All in all, they’re enthusiastic about the idea. It’s something that can foster cooperation and party play, but it may take a while for this to be implemented or created.

PvP and the Predator vs. Prey Relationship

For the uninitiated, the predator vs. prey thing refers to how non-PvP-oriented players must go through the Wilderness to access some PvE content. Because they’d don’t like to engage in combat, they’re seen as prey by the many PK-ers that roam about the area.

The question in the Livestream wants an explanation of why this is a good thing from the developers’ perspective. That is, instead of isolating PvP activities to PK-ers and PvE stuff to those who aren’t interested in the former.

There was a lengthy discussion, but here are some key points.

The PvP community might be too small. In real life, practicing against the same opponent gives you bad habits that will be hard to shake. You also start to predict their moves, and the fight wouldn’t be as challenging. Similarly, going against the same old group of people in PvP wouldn’t be fun in the long term. It needs to have the influx of PvE players wanting that reward from the Wilderness to keep things fresh and novel.

The mods would rather keep this aspect of the Wilderness because nobody is genuinely forced to go to the zone. Players are free to avoid it if they don’t like participating in PvP. It is a risk to go to the area anyway. Things like the Chaos Altar, where skilling will be much faster at the cost of the dangers of going through the PvP location.

They don’t want to force players to use or do something they don’t enjoy. They are trying to balance between the predator and prey players and thinking of ways to keep the two sides (PvPers and PvE players) fair.

They don’t want the zone to be somewhere it’s inevitable to die when you’re prey. Some features prevent PK-ers from ganging up on a victim or skull-tricking. Also, it’s not like the PvE player is entirely defenseless.

Outside of this discussion, a Redditor brings up a good point: players do not always know what they need. Sometimes our brains trick us into thinking, ‘we want something, so it must be good.’ That’s not always the case; that’s why the mods aren’t exactly agreeing with that solution. From the developer’s perspective, complete isolation of the PvP and PvE sides is unhealthy for the game.

Quest Porting

Many players want to see While Guthix Sleeps and the Mahjarrat storyline in OSRS. However, the mods say they’re not currently working on this content. They’re still going to discuss it, though at least they have something to start with.

When they do, it paves the way for even more quests and storylines to OSRS. We can only look forward to it.

Dungeons With Modifiers or Invocations

Tombs of Amascut is a hit with its invocations. They give each run a sense of novelty and challenge. The idea of modifications for the game jam blue inferno (the Tasakaal Trials) is also a similar mechanic. Players ask if they can expect to see it in dungeons in the future.

While the mods think it’s interesting, the mechanic is still pretty experimental. It’s a good option for players of any level to complete the content, so nobody is alienated from the dungeon. However, it isn’t good if an ‘invocation meta’ comes up and everybody uses the same powerups.

It also increases the replayability of the dungeon because players can shake things up with different combinations. It’s a mechanic filled with potential, and the mods are looking forward to playing with it.

The Future of OSRS

A question about how the mods see the game’s state in five years came up.

One plays it safe and goes with ‘we want to discuss this with you’ and is pretty much a non-answer. Another says an additional five raids and a new skill. The next one says they want a new continent and quests and stories, as well as endings to some storylines.

The last one gives an interesting idea. Player-hosted servers where you can create your own content. Others can visit and play with what you made. This gives way to various player-created stories, characters, and quests, which could be a big draw to the game. It’s an excellent idea, though who knows if it will come true?

That’s all the highlights for the Q&A Livestream on June 16. With this insight into the dev’s ideas and creative process, you can see that they want OSRS to live on. Well, it’s back to the OSRS GP grind. Have fun playing Old School Runescape!

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Lucas

With a passion as deep as the ocean, Lucas unravels the enigmas of marine life. At fishyfacts4u.com, he plunges into the aquatic realm, surfacing with tales and truths that captivate. Embark with Lucas and navigate the fascinating currents of the underwater world.

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