During our recent
Q&A Session about Microtransactions
we unfortunately didn't have time to answer all of the questions which were sent our way. As such we've compiled those which were asked by you, the community, the most and have answered them below.
Jikkir - Twitter
"What's stopping you from changing your mind on directly selling GP/XP?"
I can say with confidence that there are absolutely no plans current or future to do so as discussed in the recent live stream. Of course we can’t always know what the landscape will look like in the future or if I will even be lucky enough to still be at the helm 10 years from now to make those decisions but I can tell you my compass is guided by two factors; as a gamer - I feel very strongly about this as a matter of principle and secondly - as the CEO charged with the duty of ensuring the long term success of the game as well as the livelihood of hundreds of talented, passionate, individuals that dedicate their careers to making RuneScape a great game for our community. I have no doubt it would make a ton of money in the short term but I simply don’t believe it would help ensure the games long term future and all our strategic decisions are predicated on a long term strategy so it simply wouldn’t make sense from that perspective either.
Jacob Greenacre – Facebook
"The SoF pumps tens of millions of GP into the economy every day. In the short term this seems to make no difference, but in the long term, this could potentially damage the economy. How do you intend to combat this, if at all?"
While it may appear that there is a huge amount of gold is entering the economy, the Squeal of Fortune rewards have been carefully considered and balanced to make sure that the amount of money being added into the economy is not having a detrimental long term effect on the game. We have a team of people who are responsible for ensuring that this is and will never be the case.
Hispid Gnome – Forums
"You only have 4 developers working on 'Solomon’s store' and 'Squeal of fortune' out of a team of 23, which is over 20%!!!!! That is beyond a joke. I understand that you are a business and need to make money, but 20% of your 'Developers' working on such a minor part of the... well, not even the game. 20% of your developers working on a money making spin of... Really?"
Just to clarify a few points here, the 4 people mentioned work on both Solomon’s store and Squeal of fortune (not 4 on each). As mentioned on the live stream there is approximately 15% of the team working on these updates overall. It’s also really important to understand that we doubled (2x) the size of the team before we even started working on this project to over 130 people so the core team responsible for producing the weekly updates and game improvements has actually significantly increased.
We are only able to sustain the increased size of the team due to the added revenues from micro payments meaning overall there are many more developers working on RuneScape content and much needed tech upgrades than there have ever been before in our entire history. The added revenue has not only helped us grow and sustain the team but also helped grow the amount of new players in game, crucially everything is being reinvested back into the studio to secure the future success of the game – again something that never happened before the our 10 year history.
Robert Ashman - Twitter
"Is SOF coded to give paying players better odds? I've not sent a single penny to SOF, and all I ever get is junk!"
NO, absolutely not, I can confirm that Squeal of Fortune has EXACTLY the same odds regardless of whether it’s free, paid or earned spin. I guess you have just been unlucky till now, some people have won phenomenal prizes from their free and earned spins.
Chris - Twitter
"Shark fists are exclusive to SOF and are a weapon, you just said there would be no gear exclusive to SOF?"
The mention about having exclusive gear on Squeal of Fortune was in reference to a question about a new or highest tier weapons and armour which can’t be earned in game and gives a significant unfair advantage to the game. Shark Fists stats are lower than other weapons you should be able to use at their level. So to explain...
• Intimidating Shark Fists are weaker than bronze claws
• Menacing Shark Fists are comparable to Adamant weapons
• Lethal Shark Fists are comparable to Rune weapons
• Deadly Shark Fists are weaker than Dragon weapons and have no special attack.
To reiterate, we will not add any items in the Squeal of Fortune which provide a superior advantage to items which are available through game play.
Stacey Tyner – Twitter
"Many players are concerned about the lore being ruined by out of place emotes and animations."
I think the topic of breaking the “4th wall” is a very interesting question. For example many have questioned in the past whether “Cold War Penguins” have a place in a medieval fantasy setting, or bunny ears, I say absolutely yes! RuneScape has always tried to strike deft balance between immersive game play and smart humour. We feel these updates are in line with those and certainly do not undermine the story line of the game.
Andrea Gilman – Facebook
"Roughly when can we expect to start seeing more updates & content for the loyalty programme? And I'm interested to see if you guys actually do somehow tie in the Loyalty Programme with Solomon's Store & Rune Coins. It'd be nice to be able to get some of Solomon's store stuff just by being a member for a decent period of time."
You WILL be able to get Solomon’s store stuff just by being a loyal member and the team hope to be able to announce more details about this shortly, sadly I can’t give you a time scale as to when we will see the loyalty programme and rewards finalised as they are currently being planned out.
Jikkir - Twitter
"What's stopping you from changing your mind on directly selling GP/XP?"
I can say with confidence that there are absolutely no plans current or future to do so as discussed in the recent live stream. Of course we can’t always know what the landscape will look like in the future or if I will even be lucky enough to still be at the helm 10 years from now to make those decisions but I can tell you my compass is guided by two factors; as a gamer - I feel very strongly about this as a matter of principle and secondly - as the CEO charged with the duty of ensuring the long term success of the game as well as the livelihood of hundreds of talented, passionate, individuals that dedicate their careers to making RuneScape a great game for our community. I have no doubt it would make a ton of money in the short term but I simply don’t believe it would help ensure the games long term future and all our strategic decisions are predicated on a long term strategy so it simply wouldn’t make sense from that perspective either.
Jacob Greenacre – Facebook
"The SoF pumps tens of millions of GP into the economy every day. In the short term this seems to make no difference, but in the long term, this could potentially damage the economy. How do you intend to combat this, if at all?"
While it may appear that there is a huge amount of gold is entering the economy, the Squeal of Fortune rewards have been carefully considered and balanced to make sure that the amount of money being added into the economy is not having a detrimental long term effect on the game. We have a team of people who are responsible for ensuring that this is and will never be the case.
Hispid Gnome – Forums
"You only have 4 developers working on 'Solomon’s store' and 'Squeal of fortune' out of a team of 23, which is over 20%!!!!! That is beyond a joke. I understand that you are a business and need to make money, but 20% of your 'Developers' working on such a minor part of the... well, not even the game. 20% of your developers working on a money making spin of... Really?"
Just to clarify a few points here, the 4 people mentioned work on both Solomon’s store and Squeal of fortune (not 4 on each). As mentioned on the live stream there is approximately 15% of the team working on these updates overall. It’s also really important to understand that we doubled (2x) the size of the team before we even started working on this project to over 130 people so the core team responsible for producing the weekly updates and game improvements has actually significantly increased.
We are only able to sustain the increased size of the team due to the added revenues from micro payments meaning overall there are many more developers working on RuneScape content and much needed tech upgrades than there have ever been before in our entire history. The added revenue has not only helped us grow and sustain the team but also helped grow the amount of new players in game, crucially everything is being reinvested back into the studio to secure the future success of the game – again something that never happened before the our 10 year history.
Robert Ashman - Twitter
"Is SOF coded to give paying players better odds? I've not sent a single penny to SOF, and all I ever get is junk!"
NO, absolutely not, I can confirm that Squeal of Fortune has EXACTLY the same odds regardless of whether it’s free, paid or earned spin. I guess you have just been unlucky till now, some people have won phenomenal prizes from their free and earned spins.
Chris - Twitter
"Shark fists are exclusive to SOF and are a weapon, you just said there would be no gear exclusive to SOF?"
The mention about having exclusive gear on Squeal of Fortune was in reference to a question about a new or highest tier weapons and armour which can’t be earned in game and gives a significant unfair advantage to the game. Shark Fists stats are lower than other weapons you should be able to use at their level. So to explain...
• Intimidating Shark Fists are weaker than bronze claws
• Menacing Shark Fists are comparable to Adamant weapons
• Lethal Shark Fists are comparable to Rune weapons
• Deadly Shark Fists are weaker than Dragon weapons and have no special attack.
To reiterate, we will not add any items in the Squeal of Fortune which provide a superior advantage to items which are available through game play.
Stacey Tyner – Twitter
"Many players are concerned about the lore being ruined by out of place emotes and animations."
I think the topic of breaking the “4th wall” is a very interesting question. For example many have questioned in the past whether “Cold War Penguins” have a place in a medieval fantasy setting, or bunny ears, I say absolutely yes! RuneScape has always tried to strike deft balance between immersive game play and smart humour. We feel these updates are in line with those and certainly do not undermine the story line of the game.
Andrea Gilman – Facebook
"Roughly when can we expect to start seeing more updates & content for the loyalty programme? And I'm interested to see if you guys actually do somehow tie in the Loyalty Programme with Solomon's Store & Rune Coins. It'd be nice to be able to get some of Solomon's store stuff just by being a member for a decent period of time."
You WILL be able to get Solomon’s store stuff just by being a loyal member and the team hope to be able to announce more details about this shortly, sadly I can’t give you a time scale as to when we will see the loyalty programme and rewards finalised as they are currently being planned out.
14-Sep-2012 19:22:27 - Last edited on 14-Sep-2012 20:21:15 by Mod Sushi Pi
