http://services.runescape.com/m=forum/f ... ,336302378Mod Kelpie schreef:Hey all,
If you’ve been ingame, you’ll have spotted a poll on the future of Runelabs. Specifically, it asks how we should reduce the number of Runelabs updates. This forum post will explain why we have reached the decision to reduce Runelabs, and why we haven’t taken the decision lightly!
For those of you who have not seen the poll, it’s reproduced below:
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You told us that the Runelabs updates and ideas have not wowed you. Many of you have said that this is due to a lack of Runelabs features, and we plan to improve them. In the meantime, we will be reducing the number of Runelabs updates, but which schedule of updates would you prefer?
•Ten small updates
We would aim to gather at least ten small updates over twelve months. These would always be small criteria tasks, and no medium+ ideas would be accepted.
•One large, medium and small
We would dedicate one month of 2016 to Runelabs, which would include one large Runelabs update, one medium Runelabs update, and one small.
•Four medium updates
Every three months, we would dedicate a medium update to Runelabs ideas.
•No commitment to updates
We would keep Runelabs open but treat it as a pool from which we can draw good ideas, as and when we spot them, or they rise to the top.
•Remove Runelabs completely
Rather than spending time producing Runelabs updates, we would dedicate our time elsewhere. It is likely that the updates would be slightly bigger, since we would not be spending time moderating Runelabs.
•I don’t mind
Choose this option if you do not have a strong opinion on what should happen to Runelabs
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Why reduce Runelabs?
Since we launched Runelabs, we’ve been keeping an eye on the number of people using it - from visiting to suggesting to supporting. We were hoping for a large enough proportion of players to justify the proportion of updates dedicated to Runelabs (roughly one-third of updates are Runelabs).
As you can probably guess, the numbers haven’t been as good as we hoped. Less than 4% of you have ever submitted an idea, and less than 10% have ever supported an idea. On average 70 ideas are suggested each day, and there are 250 supports each day. While there are likely many reasons why the numbers are so low, including limitations of the system (see later FAQ questions), we can’t ignore that only a small percentage of players are creating and supporting updates, yet they are being played by a much greater percentage of players.
But data doesn’t give us the whole picture. It doesn’t tell us what you think about Runelabs, and how it might be improving the game. To gather that info, we created a survey that over 3000 of you completed. If you were in that group, thank you! In the survey, we asked you whether you agreed or disagreed with various statements about Runelabs. You gave us the following results:
Looking through the results, it’s clear that you don’t want to remove Runelabs (59.73% of you disagree with removing it). It makes you feel more involved in updates, and it is a system that has real potential if we make improvements ( you have told us that ideas are hard to find, we should moderate ideas more, and more time should be spent improving it). However, there is a slight indifference about the quality of the game content in comparison to Jagex updates, and very few of you believe that the best ideas are winning each poll (19%).
The survey also included an open field for telling us what you think of Runelabs. There were thousands of responses here – too many to highlight – but a recurring story was appearing. You told us that Runelabs is a good idea, flawed in its execution, with ideas that aren’t as good as they could or should be. There is a real 50/50 split about whether improvements to the Runelabs system would increase the quality of the ideas, or whether they would have no impact.
We want to find out whether improvements to Runelabs will have a positive, to see if this signals a surge of interest and quality ideas. Those improvements will be released gradually over the next year. When the full range of improvements are launched, we will judge their impact and make another decision about Runelabs. If there is a real upturn, then we can look at kicking Runelabs back up again. If there is no real improvement, we will remove the Runelabs system.
In the meantime, however, the survey has told us that people aren’t getting enthused about the updates coming from Runelabs, which is not the standard we aim for! We want everyone to be enthused about game updates. With that in mind, we have decided to reduce the number of Runelabs updates, creating a greater concentration of impactful ideas.
Why only reduce Runelabs? Why not just remove it?
A large majority of players disagree with removing Runelabs, as you can see from the table above. We also agree with survey responders who say that Runelabs could be improved: better moderation, better filtering of ideas, more ways to view ideas that are trending, better communication about upcoming criteria. We want to see whether numbers improve with these changes, rather than make a kneejerk decision to remove it.
We are planning to reassess Runelabs when the improvements have been made, and then the Runelabs question will be reopened. This could lead to Runelabs being expanded, changed or removed.
Why make changes to Runelabs now?
We reached a few milestones with Runelabs recently: we launched our first Runelabs updates (Dragons, Slayer Belt, Faster Lodestones) and we have got six months’ worth of criteria. That’s more than enough time, in our opinion, to make an assessment of Runelabs. Also, we, as the new management team, are looking at 2016. The next Runelabs criteria will commission an update for January 2016, so it’s important to us to answer the Runelabs question so that we can better plan next year, and know how many Runelabs updates will feature.
The surveys are just a small sample – why not poll all of us on whether to reduce Runelabs?
While the Player Poll system receives a fantastic number of votes, it is also limited to asking one question rather than many. While many players would be fine with ten different polls on Runelabs, others would not and would find that tiresome. The survey gives us a very strong sample of 3000, gives us results in a short amount of time, and also offers more tools for analysing the finished data. We feel it gives us everything we need to make an educated decision, and the sample is more than large and varied enough.
But the results from the survey were still more positive than negative…
While player responses were skewed towards the positive rather than negative, we were surprised by how many people ‘neither agreed nor disagreed’ about each option. It hasn’t inspired passionate feelings either way. Whenever we release something, we want it to inspire passionate feelings. We shouldn’t be aiming for indifference!
Regardless, there is still positivity surrounding Runelabs, which is why we are not removing it and we are determined to see the results of improving it.
Why not give Runelabs a chance with more frequent criteria, larger updates and more effort?
We discussed an approach of ‘going big’ with Runelabs: improving it in every way, advertising it more, making more updates into Runelabs updates and maybe even bringing it ingame. It would certainly tell us, for certain, whether Runelabs could be a success or not! However, this path is costly and time-consuming, to the detriment of other updates, and there simply is no evidence to support that dramatically increasing our focus on Runelabs would generate a dramatic increase in people using it - nor an improvement in the quality of ideas. The concept just hasn’t seemed to click with players to the degree that it should dominate everything we do.
We have also recently put together a survey on potential updates for 2016, asking players to rate them. The response has been hugely positive, and there are some updates – God Wars Dungeon 2, Slayer Elite Skill, Mining and Smithing Rework - that players seem to be passionate about. If we dominated 2016 with Runelabs updates, we would not have as much room for the updates that are capturing people’s imaginations.
The opinion on Runelabs is lukewarm because the system isn’t good enough. Why aren’t you adding trending, commenting, better moderation and others?
We definitely agree that the system is flawed, and we have a long list of things we want to improve. When the improvements are released, we hope to have a better idea of whether features were the only things holding back engagement and quality ideas.
How is RuneScape about ‘Player Power’ if you are reducing Runelabs?
Runelabs is not the only way of getting you involved in RuneScape. We are determined to do more dev blogs, livestreams and design documents on upcoming content, so you can give feedback as content is developed. We still firmly believe that RuneScape should be directed by you.
It’s also notable that the number of Player Power polls reduced with Runelabs. This is because Runelabs was generating ideas that had little room for polls, because the player-ideas left no room for poll-able elements. We are planning to increase the number of Player Power Polls with the reduction of Runelabs, so that you have real input in the updates we produce. These polls will also be substantial and big decisions.
What will happen to the existing Runelabs updates and criteria?
These will not be affected. You can still expect Seren Quest, Elf City Waterfall Fishing, Icthlarin vs Amascut, slayer mobs and whatever is chosen for December’s criteria.
What happens to next month’s criteria?
We will wait until the results of the Runelabs poll are in before we decide what to do with January’s criteria.
What will happen to the Runelabs BTS videos?
It is likely that they will reduce in number. Replacement BTS videos will focus more on upcoming content. Sorry Mod Luna!
Are you planning to re-assess Runelabs in the future?
We will look at Runelabs again, once the additional features are included. In all likelihood, we will send the survey out again, to see how sentiment has developed.
QFC: 387-388-19-65653470