Thread: The problem with Runescape Private Servers

Right well, best introduce myself first ...

I'm Athenrad. Some of you may recognise my name if your an oldie . I first got interested in private servers back when Kaitnieks was around. Not at the dawn of it but when it was still a new thing. Anyway, it went down and all members interested in private servers flocked over to RuneStatus. Back when Dan and Phate had started what was to be a big boost in terms of private servers (sorry for blabbing on). Anyway, i was an Administrator at RuneStatus. I've been at the top and sunk back down to the bottom.

Point in all that blabber is I've witnessed this scene from near enough the very beginning. I've grasped a good understanding of whats going wrong i think.

So whats the problem?

The problem lies with the type of people in the community. I don't really want to stereotype you all, as i know everyone is as unique and individual as each other but yeah.

Sharing. How can each and every one of you expect to progress in any great way when everyone is so protective over their work?
So what if people leech. If you have built a big enough name for yourself people are gonna know its your work.

Teamwork. If it was one man/woman coding everything the project would take 8 years minimum. Sure, people initiate projects and get everything set up reasonably well; but team members don't talk as much as they should do. Everyone should bring an equal amount of say and work to the party.

Preparation. Anyone with any experience in life knows when you take on a big project the best thing you can do is prepare beforehand. By this i don't mean start an Invisionfree forum. I mean, sit down with your team, over Skype or whatever and talk about how you see the server going. Don't just dive in. Sit and plan how you plan to structure your classes. Set standards to meet.

Lack of understanding of the client.

Eagerness. Why are people so eager to have a cool server with pest control when you cant walk 2 squares without glitching. People lack the understand that without a foundation no server will survive well. People need to realise that you don't want a server that has some cool feature. You want one that's stable and has perfect basic features.

Specialty. People join a server going ill do this that and the next thing. Don't have someone coding the server and the website. If they are good at what they say they are then they should specialise in that area.
Only settle for the best, cause you don't know a thing about php and web servers don't allow someone with a little knowledge to. Seek a master.

Whats the solution then genius?

I guess i cant really say, we are all entitled to out opinions and they can all differ vastly. My personal view is that the community should work together. Look for the best coders in the community. Maybe even bring back some people who abandoned the scene. Don't start coding the next day. PLAN ahead. SHARE everything. A community member with crap coding skills may just come up with a genius idea that can save you a lot of time and effort. This next bit might sound weird, don't always listen to the people. Because you hear an up rise of add this or that doesn't mean that's whats best; however don't be ignorant :L. Don't be scared to fire people. Don't be scared to add parts of code people outside the project provide.

I know I'm not the greatest speech writer, in fact my literature skills are pretty mince. I hope you get what I'm saying and agree with me and start paving the way forward.