Upcoming updates (planned for August)

It's pretty hard to imagine the first days of RuneScape. For a start, there were no monsters, no Zamorak and no god wars, which would imply that RuneScape was a breeze. Surely you could just wake up, have a cup of tea with Guthix and settle down for some farming. Easy peasy, right?

Erm, no. The first quest of this month, Meeting History, will reveal the struggles that the first settlers faced on RuneScape. This sequel to Making History will encourage you to get more hands-on in your research of the past, giving you insights into the world's quiet beginnings and its harsh realities. It will even divulge the beginnings of magic and strange objects called 'runes'.

Man's knowledge of magic and runes has come on leaps and bounds from the time of Meeting History. Just take a peek at the next release: the Runecrafting Guild!

In the guild, wizards will be bent over books, trying desperately to unlock the secrets of Runecrafting. How is a rune made? Why are yellow and green orbs released when the reaction occurs? For Runecrafting scholars, these questions pale in comparison with the following: which is more significant - green orbs or yellow orbs? For years arguments have raged on, and two wizards will be creating something that'll end the debate once and for all: the Great Orb Project!

The Great Orb Project will be a fun minigame for two opposing teams who have been given one simple task: collect more orbs than the other team. Only problem is, your opponents will do all they can to stop you winning - including pushing your orbs away before you can get to them! This fast-paced and manic minigame will offer you a great alternative for training your Runecrafting, with minimal fuss, tutorials or complex rules.

Not content with updating one skill this month, we've decided to reignite Firemaking too. In Varrock, King Roald has become increasingly wary of the evil eyes casting greedy looks at his city, so he'll be taking precautions: fourteen warning beacons, running from the River Salve to the western end of the Wilderness. The problem is, no one will be available to test them out, so - surprise, surprise - you'll become the most suitable candidate.

So begins All Fired Up, a sizzling new quest that acts as a simple and very short tutorial for beacon lighting. What can you do with large cauldrons full of sticks, you may ask? Well, your task, if you should choose to accept it, will be to light as many as possible at one time, offering you an entertaining and alternative method for training your Firemaking - oh, and the rewards will make you the toast of firemakers everywhere...

Behind the Scenes of the Behind the Scenes:

In the coming months, we'll be making some changes to the Behind the Scenes, offering you a more attractive look and a better idea of upcoming content. So, if you'd like a tour of what we've got in store, please read on...

The first change is screenshots. Instead of just telling you about our updates, we'll be bringing you images of them in glorious technicolour - and in RuneScape HD, of course.

We've also got plans to hint about future content, outside of the month's releases. The 'glimpse of the future' section will include handpicked updates that excite us, and that you'll be excited about too. So, what better way of getting you used to this new feature than producing one for this Behind the Scenes?

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Glimpse of the Future (Updates in development and planned for later than August)

One update that just missed this month's Behind the Scenes was the Clan Wars update. This is a priority for us, and we'll be releasing it as soon as we feel it is ready, featuring bucketloads of new arenas and game options, plus two 'free-for-all' PVP battlegrounds where you can fight in any way you please. Check out the preview of the Clan Wars setup screen below...

The minigame additions don't just end with Clan Wars: PvP fans will be pleased to know that there are three PvP minigames planned, all coming in the last few months of the year! If you're more interested in single-player content, however, you can expect a range of updates to keep you busy. One we can mention now: the concluding part of the Spirit of Summer series will be released at the end of the Summer, and it'll be throwing some pretty daunting obstacles in your way.

There's room in the Behind the Scenes for your ideas too, so please feel free to suggest features, articles and additions on the Forums. If your ideas are good enough, you may see them in the larger and improved Behind the Scenes, coming soon!