FunOrb Updates The latest FunOrb updates. http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:15:23 -0500 20 Shattered Plans Update http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=305573 Shattered Plans has been revamped, enhanced, extended, and relaunched! Newcomers should find the game easier to learn and master, while experienced players will find that the fundamentals of the game remain the same, so you can still command fleets of warships and control empires spanning dozens of star systems. Key features of the update are:
  • Revised map layout: systems are now laid out on a regular hexagonal grid, making it easier to see the battlefield at a glance and who has the largest empire
  • Redesigned interface: the interface now takes up less of the screen, and most of it is presented in windows that you can drag to different positions
  • Alternative rules: the Streamlined rules make managing your empire's defences and production much easier. The Classic rules are also still available for those who want the additional depth of the tactical options they provide
  • Additional game modes: as well as the traditional Conquest mode where you need to kill your opponents, Shattered Plans now has three new game types:
    • In Points mode you earn points each turn for every system you control, and if you can reach the target score before your opponents, victory is yours. This mode has similarities with Conquest mode, but takes less time to play
    • Capture and Hold mode (known as Sol mode in the multiplayer lobby) takes placed on a fixed map layout. Players start at the edges, and Sol, with the scorched remains of Earth, is at the centre. You earn points by capturing and holding Sol, and whoever has the most points at the end of 20 turns wins
    • In Derelicts mode the map is scattered with abandoned alien objects. Capturing a derelict will earn you points each turn as you research its secrets, but this research is expensive and reduces your income. To win, you need to strike a balance between earning points to reach the target score first and having enough forces to hold your territory
  • New Achievements: there are 10 new Achievements in Shattered Plans, designed to test your mastery of the various game types and your ability to dominate the battlefield. Oh, and your understanding of the mysteries of Time.


The galaxy is yours for the taking, so click here to start your career of conquest.

Mod Photon
FunOrb Developer
]]> Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:29:14 -0500 http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=305573 <![CDATA[FunOrb Hallowe'en]]> http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=303779 FunOrb has been invaded by sneaky spirits and ghastly ghouls...it must be Hallowe'en! Are you brave enough to conquer every spooky Achievement?

We've added extra terror to loads of our games, with a host of Hallowe'en Achievements to master. We have even included all of the Achievements from Hallowe'en 2008, so there are plenty of spine-chilling challenges to keep you busy.

The following games have been given the Hallowe'en treatment:
  • Arcanists
  • Armies of Gielinor
  • Bouncedown
  • Brick a Brac
  • Chess
  • Crazy Crystals
  • Geoblox
  • Hold the Line
  • Kickabout League
  • Miner Disturbance
  • Orb Defence
  • Pool
  • Steel Sentinels
  • Stellar Shard
  • TerraPhoenix
  • TetraLink
  • Tor Challenge
  • Torquing
  • The Track Controller
  • Transmogrify
  • Vertigo 2
  • Virogrid
  • Wizard Run
  • Zombie Dawn
  • Zombie Dawn Multiplayer

In addition to this, there are several global Achievements available for the most fearless players. The Hallowe'en Achievements are only available for two weeks, starting from today, so dust off your ghost-hunting gear and go get stuck in!]]> Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:02:00 -0400 http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=303779 <![CDATA[Funorb Cm Live Q&a]]> http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=303753 This Thursday at 8pm forum time, myself and some of the FunOrb Community Management Team will be here for a live Q&A session!

So, if you've got any burning questions about community management in FunOrb, want to know what we do and how we do it, or even just how Mod Raven is progressing with his plans for World Domination ™, then stop by the 'Announcements' forum, as we'd love to chat.

We'll open up one question thread and one answer thread, and we will do our best to answer all your questions.

See you there!

Mod Markg
Head of FunOrb Community Management]]> Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:42:56 -0400 http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=303753 State Of Play http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=303232 It’s been a while since the last time we did a State of Play update on FunOrb and I know that a lot of you are asking questions about releases and the like, so here goes our most in-depth and honest appraisal of where we are with FunOrb currently.

First off, we’ve had a number of major back-end infrastructure changes take place over the summer. The first and most visible of these was the display names project, which allowed players to choose a different name. This has been the equivalent to a game’s worth of work for us, principally due to the number of systems we needed to update. The development team have been working hard on integrating the changes required to every one of our games and service modules; it’s been time consuming and complex and has highlighted the need for us to improve the maintenance overhead that the games currently require (more on this later).

Prototype screenshot from Mod Cloud's current project

Prototype screenshot from Mod Cloud's current project.

The second, currently invisible, change is the release of our Graphics 2 library, which will allow our games to use graphics card acceleration. We will be able to provide multiple screen resolutions (whatever fits your PC best), high speed 3D rendering, texturing, lighting, reflections and other 3D effects. Essentially we’ll be able to use all the best bits from RuneScape HD. No game is currently live using Graphics 2; we are working to build our new games on this library now. The first of these is likely to launch next spring (again, more on this later).

Thirdly, we’ve appraised what we originally wanted to do with FunOrb Central, and compared it to the strategic direction that Jagex now wants to take. In certain areas we’ve expanded on what FunOrb Central was going to deliver and in others curtailed it somewhat. One area of expansion is into what we call our 'game skeleton'. Skeleton 1, the current framework on which we build all of our games is showing its age; it was tailored towards level-based, single-player games first and foremost. With the release of our real- time multiplayer games and the growing need to improve the maintenance cost of the service, we’ve taken the step of building 'Skeleton 2'.
Prototype screenshot from Mod Nirdgerl's latest game
Prototype screenshot from Mod Nirdgerl's latest game.
Click here to see a larger version of this image.

Currently Mod Zeph and Mod Artifice are both assigned to the architectural and code work construction of our new game development framework. Once complete, this will allow us to make games faster, but its major benefit will be in improving the maintenance overhead of the entire service. It will also provide other benefits, such as global chat in single-player games (once they’re converted).

Here are the other projects that the team is working on (please note that these projects are not complete and are subject to change):

* Mod Photon is finalising the revised version of Shattered Plans. This has essentially been a complete re-write of the game’s display and the AI, and the addition of a new rules set and a number of new game modes. It brings a lot to the game and we hope the update will improve the fun in this title immensely.

* Mod Sporx is putting the finishing touches to Bachelor Fridge. We plan to have this game with you before the end of November.

* Mod Shade is continuing his quest to add the campaign mode to Armies of Gielinor. This has required us to add complex AI routines, a campaign map, missions, Achievements and improved win conditions. The first campaign, 'Zamorak', will be with you before the end of the year. The next two campaigns should be available before the end of February next year.

* Mod Thor is fighting with the hostile spawns in Hostile Spawn. This is a complete graphics rework and the addition of a new campaign. The new graphics look superb and the campaign will offer hours of monster-blitzing mayhem.

* Mod Vile has the glorious task of making Dungeon Assault 2 a reality. It’s tricky task, due to the nature of what we have planned. Currently it’s being made fully 3D with the new Graphics 2 library.

* Mod Wivlaro is swashbuckling his way through the development of Pirate Empires. The timescale for this massive project has been affected by the introduction of the Graphics 2 libraries. When the game is released, we hope it will look suitably stunning.

* Mod Dunk is battling with another early prototype: a work-in-progress, multiplayer, starship combat game.

* Mod Quark, Mod Iain, Mod Crispy, Mod Cloud, and Mod Nirdgerl are all working on very early stage prototypes. More information on these projects in future dev diaries.

* And as for Mod Thomas? He is working as our Lead Designer, and generally helping out with everything.

Our Graphics team is working hard to get the games looking as polished as possible, along with trying to understand the complexities of just what the new Graphics 2 libraries are capable of.

* Mod PeteS and Mod Vega are working on the concept art and concept models for the game Mod Dunk is making.

* Mod Davroc and Mod JessH are making aliens for Hostile Spawn

* Mod Smudgerinc is working on some corporate imagery that the company needs (the chaps here often do 2D graphic work for the website and other business needs). Prior to this, he was working on the interface for Shattered Plans.

* Mod LauraW is working on finalising Bachelor Fridge.

Our QA team Mod Ken, Mod Thaddeus, Mod Star and Mod Socrates, are desperately working to hunt down bugs from our releases and playtest the games to death in an effort to make sure they are balanced.

So there you have a real snapshot image of what the team is working on. We do try to keep the service up to date with new content as much as possible. This year has seen some excellent games released so far and we aim to add to these before the year is out. There have not been as many releases as we would have liked, I’ll be the first to admit this and a lot of what we are doing now will make it possible to release games more frequently in the future. From the beginning of next year, it’s our plan to release a new game every month, and if possible, updates to popular titles too.

We also feel that our games are capable of standing up on their own as independent, commercially viable products. Next year you will see a greater push to popularise the games individually, rather than to try to market FunOrb as a whole. Having said this, there is discussion concerning the FunOrb model of global Achievements, Highscores and Ratings and how well it has worked, and how Jagex can extend this model to more of its services. Interesting times at Jagex at the moment!

Well Hallowe'en is just around the corner, and for me at least this hails the start of a period where we plan to have more releases than we have recently. I can give you no guarantees, as we still want to make sure we get everything we release to as high a standard as possible, but hopefully the creative products of FunOrb should begin to flow a little more freely from now on.

Thanks, and keep on having fun.

Mod Korpz
Head of FunOrb]]> Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:31:18 -0400 http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=303232 Web Page Security http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=303166 Following yesterday’s update to the web page login form, we have introduced two more changes to our websites.

When logging in to website features, such as the forums, we now have Extended Validation SSL certificates, which will turn the address bar green in most browsers: Extended Validation involves a rigorous checking procedure so you can be sure that data is securely transferred and that the owner of the website is who they say they are.

In addition to this, we have changed the internal addresses of some of our pages, so you may want to update your bookmarks if you have any. The old addresses will continue to work for the time being.

Go Here to respond.]]> Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:35:06 -0400 http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=303166 <![CDATA[Future Q&a Sessions]]> http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=302711 We got a lot out of the recent Q&A sessions, so we’ve decided to hold them on a more regular basis. To that end, we’re planning to do the next round of Q&A sessions in January next year, with a further session or two to be held throughout 2010.

As with the previous Q&As, we would open a thread for everyone to ask questions in, collate and then answer those questions a short while later, then hold a live Q&A session on the forums. A schedule for the next session will be published early in the new year.

Mod Markg
Head of FunOrb Community Management
]]> Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:00:18 -0400 http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=302711 Forum Rpg - The Endless War http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=302324 The Endless War is a brand new, forum-based role-playing game, brought to you by the deranged minds of the FunOrb Community Management team.

In this game you can complete quests, battle other players (and steal their stuff) and level up your character across a variety of stats and skills. You can also gain powerful items, unleash deadly spells and command mighty minions.

Originally inspired by a JMod clan feature, the Endless War offers additional content for any members of a JMod clan, but is also completely accessible to non-aligned players. You can join in with the Endless War by logging in to the FunOrb forums and visiting the section called 'J Mod Clans - War of the Realm' (start at quick find code 51-52-0-29953). These forums contain all of the information you need to get involved.

So, head over to the forums, switch on your imagination and try out the brand new FunOrb forum role-playing game.

Have fun!

Mod Raven
FunOrb Community Management
]]> Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:18:22 -0400 http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=302324 Website Maintenance http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=302187 We are currently performing maintenance on some of our web systems.

During this time, the following areas of the website will be unavailable:

* Create a free account

We apologise for the inconvenience and are aiming to restore service as soon as possible.

This does not affect existing users wishing to login to the game.]]> Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:09:02 -0400 http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=302187 Armies Of Gielinor - Update 2 http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=302185 While you wait for the single-player campaign expansion for Armies of Gielinor, you can now enjoy some new maps for the multiplayer mode.

They’re set in the Hallowvale Swamps, the area you may know as Morytania, and should add a spooky tone for your game sessions just in time for Halloween. We’ve also added a few Achievements based on the different map types, so make sure you conquer those lands!

Free players can now also try to brave the heat of the Kharidian Desert maps.

Have fun!

Mod Shade
FunOrb Developer

P.S. What do you get if you summon a werewolf in the Frozen Wastes?

Frost bite!]]> Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:05:42 -0400 http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=302185 Making A Game http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=301557 During our recent Q&A sessions, some of you have been asking about the process we go through here when we make a game, so I thought I’d jot down some notes on how our production process works.

As with most things, it starts with an idea. Inspiration for a game can come from numerous sources. A good game designer will be looking at the world around them and seeing "systems": mechanisms by which things interact with each other. By understanding the systems we see around us every day, we can see how these systems can be adapted into games.

Prototype screenshots from an upcoming game.
Click here to see a larger version of this image.

Anyone can come up with a game concept here at Jagex; we take ideas from all sources. We have a short two-page document that highlights the core of the idea, why it’s fun and why it’s commercially a good idea. The concept then gets discussed by the Senior Design Group: a team of senior developers with a lot of design experience. We examine the likely pros and cons of the concept and, if we like the idea, it’s pushed forward into the prototype phase of development. Only about 1 in 5 ideas makes it to the prototype stage.

Prototyping comes in two forms: physical and code. Often we start the process by building a physical design for the game. We've done this with miniature figures, hex grids, paper counters, wooden models... you name it. These physical prototypes are used to test out the cornerstone rules of the game and make sure they work. From here we move on to a code prototype and this is where the real work begins. A lot of what we do here is pushing the boundaries of what the Jagex library code can accomplish, so we have to make sure that the game is fun, the rules for the game work and that the code required to create them is possible. On average we discard about 25% of our games at the prototype stage; some may be picked up again later, though.

Prototype screenshots from an upcoming game
Concept art for an upcoming game.


Once this prototype is complete and the senior design group have agreed that it’s worth taking forward, the design work of the game can begin. Up until this point we've had an idea about how the game will work and we've experimented with the core systems. Now we sit down and design the key elements of the game and write them into a design document. Previously the design was done "on the fly" as part of the work of building the game, but this has proved inefficient for us. We now try to capture as much of the design work as possible early on in the process, but we are aware that there will be changes once ideas we want to implement are examined in a real game.

We then build the game. This simple statement incorporates a lot of work. Graphics and audio work needs to be allocated, performed and scheduled to arrive with the developer at the correct time. We work using build iterations: we add something, playtest it and change it until it works the way we anticipated. Sometimes we need to completely remove elements we've added, because they just didn't work the way we thought they would. And so the game progresses: add, test, refine/reject/replace, test again and so on, until we've got the best result we think we can get.

The last things we do to a game are often the most important. We add the instructions, the tutorial and the Achievements at the end of the process. These are critical elements in the game to get right and we've learned the hard way what can happen when we get it wrong. We also spend a lot of time on polishing the game. Polish is the term the industry uses to describe all the small elements you add to a game that really make it feel like a high quality product. These can be as simple as a transition effect or a button mouse-over, or as complex as CGI video, but these elements really make the game feel finished and superior in quality. The customer rarely notices when polish is there, but they always notice when the polish is absent.

The last element of the process is quality assurance or QA. We are always pressed for time where QA is concerned; we could always do with more testing, but there comes a point of diminishing returns where the game is essentially "good enough" to release. The difference in quality between "good enough" and "perfect" is usually small, but the difference in terms of time is staggering. Nothing ever goes live as perfect as we'd like to make it, but the delay that would be caused in making it perfect would simply be too long.

So that’s a cut-down snap shot of the entire process. Concept - prototype - design - build - revise - build - revise - build etc., etc., etc. - test - release and then back to concept. I hope this has given you a good insight into what goes on here and just how hard the entire team works. Thanks for reading.

Mod Korpz
Head of FunOrb]]> Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:53:24 -0400 http://runescape.salmoneus.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=301557