Ok so I found this server through there Github page as I thought it would be funny to search for RS emulation there. There are some cool things on this server:
- They have a artificial player system (bots) which make the game feel really alive and there is so much that can be done to further develop them. It also works well (conceptually) as mini games that are typically dead can use bots to play them.
- Open source projects are nice to see and should have been made available in the community a long time ago
With that being said, I hate to be the 'bad' guy here and say that, in my opinion, there are issues with how the project is being managed and advertised. I know Im 1 post but hear me out.
First, some of the developers are kind of assholes about everything. If you took a look at the Github you will see constant denial that anything is wrong (or a bug) regarding issues raised, and sometimes flaming of the issuer of the bug or request (if you look at previous issues to) . If you go on the discord and raise a issue you will often be met with toxic remarks or general condescending tone in messages. I think they forget that not every person on the discord is a developer or has interest in developing, but still wants to contribute in a way and have fun even if they do not have those computer skills. There is something to be said about asking for help with setting up you own server (dont, same issues as asking a question or raising a issue) - good luck if you run windows, you will receive more hate and be criticized for not using Linux and the weird obsession this particular server has with hating Microsoft or Jagex (the latter being ironic considering what this project is). This does not surprise me much, because this development team had to be split into a separate discord because they were toxic towards the developers on the other team (the 2006 version.).
Secondly, the project scope is way out of control and overly ambitious. For example, you not only have the main repository for 2009scape, but now you have a 'single-player' version (which, by the way, is just the main repository exported and pointed to your local pc) and ALSO manage separate repositories for Windows and Linux. Both get updated rarely, but even then the windows version is unsupported. I'm not sure of the decision behind this, but I think there could have been better options for providing players with other ways of getting single-player versions.
Thirdly, to call this server "the most complete 2009 remake" is stretching the truth if not straight up misleading the people who are looking at playing on this server. I hear the server this was made from had a lot of issues. Major updates have been pushed to this server, but issues that were in the old server are still existant in this one. Meanwhile, back-end has been improved but content has been completely neglected. New content that has been implemented has also been incompletely done (like bots, they get stuck and are dumb) . Quests are still broken and many mechanics and content are incorrect to how they were in 2009. Things might work but they are far from 'complete'. And dont get me started on focusing on QoL rather than making actual content for the players to do.
I could say more stuff about each issue, but I am dragging along my suggestions on how to improve some aspects of them if the developers who manage this are still reading and are interested in improving they're community and server.
for the players who are interested in this: I would download the server (main one) if you want to just fool around on a 2009-like runescape, avoid the discord at all costs unless you would like to ruin your day. There are more authentic projects in the project section of this website if you want something more accurate to 2009 (even then there are some differences).
for the developers or managers who are still reading this: get some proper moderation for toxic behavior in the discord (both developer and player), better separate the actual server from the development if you can not do that. Scale down the project for a time - focus on the f2p content first, and DO IT RIGHT - you will be surprised to find many systems that need improvment there if you hate making content. If you still support single player, move them to the release section of the main repository, no sense keeping them in they're own ones. Lastly, humble yourselves. No need to talk shit about the creators of the game when you are literally stealing there content anyway. You are not sticking it to anyone by doing that.
My suggestions are all a dream in my mind, as I do not think they will be considered. I wanted to get this off my chest and feel it would benefit the length of the community on this project.
Hopefully I got my point across (english is not my first language) and hope this helps the server improve.