4 September 2006 - Myreque Pt III - Darkness of Hallowvale

The new Myreque base in Burgh de Rott seems to be safe for now, although the loss of Sani and Harold is still keenly felt. Veliaf has organised patrols in the area and is keeping a watchful eye on nearby Vampyre activity. Some of the locals succumb occasionally to the ravages of a nearby Vampyre Juvinate, but without more help, there's little that the Myreque can do. Or is there? Veliaf has an ambitious plan to try and gain entry into the Vampyre ruled lands of the Sanguinesti region and the blood tithed ghetto of Meiyerditch. With luck, there may still be some resistance in that dread area. But if there is, it's most likely very well hidden. Navigating the maze-little ghetto of Meiyerditch will take cat-like agility skills and an incredible eye for detail, especially when trying to evade the demanding, ever-watching Vyrewatch who patrol the skies above. If this resistance exists, and with your help, there maybe a chance to pull back the Darkness of Hallowvale. In other news... The small fishing village of Witchaven has been added to the map, just east of Ardougne. It has lost all its trade since the construction of the nearby fishing platform, and the villagers are getting desperate. But there's something very fishy going on... you'll have your chance to investigate the secrets of that village later this month.

1 September 2006 - Behind the Scenes - September

Yes, September is here already and we've filled it with some really exciting stuff! We kick off the month with the next chapter of the Morytania storyline. The new Myreque base in Burgh de Rott seems to be safe for now, although some of the locals still succumb to the ravages of nearby Vampyres. Without more help, surely there's nothing that the Myreque can do? Or is there? Veliaf has an ambitious plan to try and gain entry into the Vampyre-ruled lands of the Sanguinesti region. With some small amount of luck, there may still be some resistance hidden away in the murky depths... The ghetto of Meiyerditch has been built, destroyed and rebuilt so many times that the streets and alleyways connect to the roofs in a maze-like web of broken doorways and shattered dreams. Only an adventurer with the agility skills of a cat and the eyes of a hawk will be able to take on this task, especially when trying to evade the demanding, ever-watching Vyrewatch who patrol the skies above... The free world and the members' world alike will benefit from the introduction of the Lumbridge Guides, a collection of experts in the skills of RuneScape. New players will find them a very useful source of information, especially when they are giving out limited numbers of free runes and arrows and replacing your low-level starting equipment if you lose it. We're also introducing a free teleport for less experienced players to return to Lumbridge if they get lost, and some useful advice if you find yourself at the wrong end of a goblin spear... The guides offer advice to more experienced players too, so you might find one or two level-up messages advising you to go and get more information from these guides. Take it or leave it, they will always be there if you get a little confused. We're also updating the way signposts work, just to give you a little more information about the game map. The way we use sound in the free and members' games will be getting another massive boost from the inclusion of area sounds. These area sounds add a new level of immersion into our game world, with waterfalls growing louder as you walk towards them, trees with birds and animal sounds in them, bubbling fountains, wind whistling through the mountains, the sound of the sea lapping against the shore and mysterious howls haunting the peaks of the Wilderness. It really does add a new dimension to the game, and we have enjoyed developing them immensely. Also this month, we will introduce the Village of Witchaven to the map. This small fishing village, located on the outskirts of Ardougne (Can you say "Arr-Doy-N"?) has lost all its trade since the construction of the nearby fishing platform. As you may be aware, the fishing platform itself has since been taken over by vicious mind-controlling sea slugs. Naturally this rather odd turn of events has attracted the attention of the Temple Knights, a secretive organisation with whom some of you may have worked before. Can you discover the ancient power hidden behind this wall of slugs, or have the fisherman on the platform just drunk too much “rum”? The village will surely fall... unless you can save its livelihood. This new horror-inspired quest launch will be accompanied by a complete rework of the fishing platform itself, and more! We will be adding other useful characters around the world to help with specific skills or tasks. Keep a look out for characters like Fritz the Entrana glassblower, who can teach you all about... you've guessed it... Monkeys! No, he actually knows all about glassblowing, and might even buy your molten glass off you if you ask him really nicely. As the Postbag goes from strength to strength, we are introducing a new feature to Postie Pete's bag, called The Gallery. This collection of player art will be available for all to see and enjoy. Already the quality of pictures we're getting in is amazing. No doubt Pete will be a busy little, erm, postman this month! We're also completing another batch of essential maintenance work on our game engine and language. These updates allow us to work on more interesting and exciting content in the future. Happy adventuring!

31 August 2006 - Knowledge Base update - Area Guides

Reldo and a few dozen other educated types have been slaving for months to find out all they can about every town, city, dungeon and major island in RuneScape, and now they're ready to show you the results of their labours. During this time even Evil Bob stopped bothering them, because - no matter how evil he is - Evil Bob knew how utterly amazing their project would be. Yes, the Area Guides have arrived in the Knowledge Base, and both Bob and Evil Bob are most pleased! For now, we have the free areas covered, so there are guides to: Al Kharid Asgarnian Ice Dungeon (the Blurite Mine) Barbarian Village Crandor Crandor and Karamja Dungeon Draynor Village and Manor Edgeville Edgeville Dungeon Falador Lava Maze Lumbridge Lumbridge Swamp Port Sarim Rimmington Varrock Varrock Sewers Each area guide includes: a little history and culture, maps of the area, a detailed run-down of all the interesting features and sights, the local personalities, the quests that can be started there, the beasties and guards you can fight, and much more. The Knowledge Base is a very useful tool for new and experienced players alike, and is always being updated. Why not take a look and see for yourself? Coming Soon to the Area Guides: The frozen lands of the Fremennik Tree Gnome Stronghold Keldagrim Happy adventuring!

29 August 2006 - Demons, Dragons and Giants

This week we have given some of our more popular creatures a bit of a make-over. We had noticed that while all our new monsters and villains were improving all the time, it meant that some of the old favourites were looking a little tired and neglected. Nothing quite brings out the sparkle in the KBD's eyes (all 6 of them) like a well deserved trip to the Ardougne training area for a workout and a day or two in the mime's make-up department. Other beasts strutting their new-improved look include: Blue, Red, Green and Black dragons Fire, Ice, Moss and Hill giants Lesser, Greater and Black demons. Now, don't worry! These beasts still have all the same stats, effects and drops as they had before, so the normal care and attention should be followed if you're going to visit, or you'll be finding yourself in need of a makeover! Anti-dragonbreath shields, pots and food at the ready... Just as we have in the past, we will continue to improve the graphics of the older areas of the game to keep them up to date with the high standard of updates. Graphical improvements currently being worked on include Bats, Rats and Varrock!

Post Bag From The Hedge

In the Postbag this month, we hear more from the King Black Dragon about the 'Kin', a belligerent Fremennik replies to a belligerent adventurer, Rocnars get their say and there's something involving peanut butter and jelly. You all know that Postie Pete likes to read your letters... but he loves to look at your artwork too! Recently he has noticed that quite a few of you are budding artists, and has asked us to put together a new Gallery page to exhibit your work! Although this is a great idea, we don't have quite enough examples to start yet, so get sending them in! We're looking for all sorts of things from all of our community - whether you paint like Leonardo Da Vinci or Rantz the Ogre. Have you drawn a portrait of the Duke of Lumbridge?Do you have a cartoon of the Drunken Dwarf?Have you recently sketched the inner workings of the Elemental Workshop?Do you have a sculpture of the Kalphite Queen you're just dying to take a picture of?Have you made your character out of Sticklebricks?Can you capture the beauty of a Penguin by moonlight? If so, send your image via email to the address shown at the bottom of the postbag letter. Happy painting!