RuneScape 3: Top 10 Facts You Need to Know

RuneScape 3 is receiving a substantial update that’s going to definitely spruce up gamers experience with the browser-based MMO. Now that the game is making a major transition over to HTML5, more eyes and hands will be devoted to the development/play time for this engrossing MMORPG.

We spoke with the game’s design director, Mark Ogilvie, about the game and all the new improvements coming along with its third iteration.

Before you start, check out these two fun facts about the series’ current statistics:

– Every day, 1000+ player made videos are posted to YouTube and 27000+ forum posts are written
– Every minute in the game, 208 bosses are killed and enough weapons are crafted to equip 10 Roman Legions

What is Runescape?

RuneScape is an instantly accessible free to play MMO set in a welcoming world of medieval fantasy. It is an empowering game full of opportunities, where players are at liberty to build their wealth, master skills, rally friends and seek adventure as they please.

How did it become the world’s most popular F2P game?

The game has grown in popularity at a frantic pace and has seen more than 220 million players since its launch in 2001. The popularity of RuneScape is down to three key factors, namely, deep and rich gameplay, accessibility, and price point.

RuneScape is a massive world, open to all. It is free-to-play with no glass ceilings or time limits on fun, accessible on almost every internet enabled PC and, critically, packed full of compelling gameplay to keep players entertained for hours on end. If 12 years of content isn’t enough to satisfy the appetite of RuneScape fans, new content is added weekly, so the adventure grows every 7 days.

What’s the difference between RuneScape and RuneScape 3?

To put the update in context, RuneScape 3 is the biggest change we have ever made to RuneScape. RuneScape 3 brings about a completely new age in gameplay, story and technology. We are keeping the story a closely guarded secret, so that the community will discover it for themselves, but we have been very open about the technological improvements. HTML5 is truly at the bleeding edge of technological advancement in browser gaming and allows for a more immersive, polished experience.

We believe RuneScape 3 is the most ambitious HTML5 project to date and brings a host of benefits to the players, including better use of the hardware on people’s computers, improved performance in-game and almost unidentifiable load times, increased draw distances, lighting and environments, dynamic shadows, water and textures, greater colour palette, skyboxes to create the illusion of distant three-dimensional surroundings and camera flexibility to name a few.

RuneScape 3 (Before HTML5).

RuneScape 3 (After HTML5).

How hard was the process towards upgrading the game from Java to HTML5?

RuneScape 3 has been a massive job and thousands of hours of development time have been spent re-writing the game in HTML5. The challenge was mammoth, nobody has tried to do something this ambitious in HTML5 before, but we are delighted by the results.

RuneScape 3 (Before HTML5).

RuneScape 3 (After HTML5).

What are some of the new benefits for existing players?

Naturally the technology improvements will be please our community, but what we are really excited about is the new gameplay and storylines we are adding. We can’t spoil it for the players, so will have to remain tight lipped but jump in the game if you want to experience the game-changing update for yourself.

What are some of the new skills added to the game?

We have announced one of the new skills, Divination. There is a great deal of speculation about what this skill will involve but, like the new RS3 content, players will need to discover the new skill for themselves.

What are some helpful tips for new players?

RuneScape may appear a little daunting for new players but joining such an established game means there are literally thousands of hours of content to enjoy as soon as a new player joins the game. Creating your account is easy and you can be in the game in minutes. There is a helpful entry experience to guide new players through the early game and then the choice of path is totally up to you.

How can gamers play RuneScape 3?

RuneScape 3 will be able to play direct through your internet browser, simply log in to www.runescape.com and begin your adventure.

When is RuneScape 3 officially launching?

RuneScape 3 will launch on the 22nd July 2013.

Are there any plans for patches/DLC?

Rather than traditional patches or DLC updates, we will continue the rigorous weekly content update schedule so there will always be new things for players to do. It’s the most updated game in the history of the world – nobody could ever dream of offering the amount of DLC we have. But our players have access for free or a small monthly cost: RuneScape is truly an evolving world.

RuneScape 3: Top 10 Facts You Need to Know (Interview with Mark Ogilvie)