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Trewavas
Jun Member 2014

Trewavas

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Mod Alex recently focused on graphically updating the Necromancer's Tower near Ardy as part of his GameJam project.

A link for those who are curious:

reddit.com/r/runescape/comments/14n533r/jagexalex_so_this_gamejam_ive_been_overhauling/

Looks pretty nice.. and it has a nice tower!

30-Jun-2023 18:34:43

Dilbert2001
Jun Member 2006

Dilbert2001

Posts: 30,176 Sapphire Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
"@JagexAlex: So this gamejam I’ve been overhauling the Necromancer’s Tower near Ardougne. We didn’t have time to do it as part of the new skill and I just couldn’t let something that looked THIS BAD be associated with it "


OMG! It looks THIS BAD? :P

We definitely must see the new City of Um.

Thank you Mod Alex and all the other RS3 artists. Even the gamejam projects like Karamja and water bodies overhauls changed the perception of this 20 years game so much.

30-Jun-2023 18:56:15

H 1 L D A
Apr Member 2020

H 1 L D A

Posts: 1,666 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
I really wish Jagex Moderators wouldn't single out an older piece of content and say "this looks bad" simply because literal years have passed, a relevant project pops up, and all of a sudden the content is outdated.

Especially with the understanding that the community is split between two games, one of which has many places that look like the old Necromancer's Tower, on purpose.

The real problem that Mod Alex, and Blkwitch, and any of the other awesome graphics folks in the studio should be addressing isn't the agedness of older content because "it's ugly", its that the agedness of older content clashes mightily with more recently updated areas of the game.

The problem isn't appearance, it's consistency. That applies with everything from landmarks to character models (including the player's.)

I know this is a personal tweet about a personal project, but this is the kind of PR that could cause Jagex to lose out on potentially getting players to try out the new skill from OSRS and could hurt engagement.
---

Furthermore, I would be way more happy about this beautiful new Necromancer's Tower is Alex were to tease that it was actually relevant to Necromancy the skill in some meaningful way.

As it stands, the City of Um, and much of the Necromancy experience, is seemingly merely attached to Gielinor through a door into Death's office, which itself is a plane removed from Gielinor proper.

One of the best hallmarks of a skill is how well the skill feels it belongs in the game. One of many people's hangups with Dungeoneering? Much of the experience is confined to Daemonheim.

Necromancy is banking on the combat aspect of the skill carrying its weight and then some everywhere beyond the City of Um.

Unless of course, some NPCs like the Kandarin necromancers get involved in the story. From the sound of it, this was not prioritized during the project though, which means it really just is a "beautification" project and sadly nothing else.
Quest Cape Owner since 2021

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01-Jul-2023 08:43:31 - Last edited on 01-Jul-2023 08:44:46 by H 1 L D A

H 1 L D A
Apr Member 2020

H 1 L D A

Posts: 1,666 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Lastly, I think that GameJam projects should not be solely limited to passion projects for the developers and that making the game look graphically consistent from area to area should just be something Jagex does. Full stop.

For GameJam, as a consumer, I would like to see developers use that time to pitch and show off unique ideas none of us would have thought about that may improve the game, while they are given the time to work on something that they really care about.

Now, I know the graphics folks care about the graphical fidelity of the game world, and that they may even have some agency on which locations they want to focus on, but imagine if this was just a guaranteed update alongside other content releases routinely.

For GameJam, that means the graphics folks can work on creating on new full-on assets like Alex did here, for some of these newly textured locales (l.e. Karamja). Outside of it, the game reaches a higher graphical fidelity at a much faster pace than the slow drip we've received as more and more areas get the correct texturing and some appropriate newer assets are brought in replace very old ones in the meanwhile.

All in all, an old thing I liked got insulted, the new thing is perhaps nothing more than a pretty bauble, and the whole concept of relegating graphical reworks for older areas as "GameJam projects" for certain developers feels like it isn't correctly prioritized and doesn't truly offer those devs the agency other devs are given during such weeks.
Quest Cape Owner since 2021

Maxed
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01-Jul-2023 08:59:41 - Last edited on 01-Jul-2023 09:05:52 by H 1 L D A

Dilbert2001
Jun Member 2006

Dilbert2001

Posts: 30,176 Sapphire Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Mod Alec is just mocking himself in a tongue in cheek manner about how "bad" his work is. I think most of us know how good and perception changing are the GameJam updates of all the RS3 artists in just a matter of 2 months or so.

GameJam projects are meant to be a chance for Jmods to do things outside their assigned projects. If they don't have their own dream projects or don't want to spend time to work on them, they will just follow Jagex's schedule and don't go to GameJam.

01-Jul-2023 19:14:42

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