RuneScape Classic

RuneScape Classic (Also known as RS1, RuneScape Classic or RS Classic) is the forerunner to RuneScape 2, which is the current form of the game. It is currently found when searching "Classic" in the game guide.

Overview
When the idea of RuneScape first came into programming, it was released under the name, Devious MUD. Although never released, Andrew then rewrote it, and set it out as a beta for about one week, and then withdrew. It was then reworked, and was first released as a beta in 4 January 2001. Later on in that year, the Gower brothers and Constant Tedder then formed the company Jagex. RuneScape Classic is now closed to new users, but users that currently have an active account can still play the game. The game also receives no new updates, as it has been completely replaced by the latest version of the game; sometimes referred to as RuneScape 2.

Accounts
RuneScape Classic is not currently open to new players, however those with existing accounts can continue to play the game. An active account has to have played once within the dates of 3 August 2005 to 3 February 2006, or within the 2 week temporary open period, 11–25 November 2009. There was also recently another open period for 2 weeks from 15-29th September 2011.

Gameplay
In RuneScape Classic, players control a 2-D online avatar. These avatars can be customized by the player by newer clothing, weapons, armour, and hair style. Many of the items needed to customize are sold by other players.

While playing Classic, others across the globe are also playing. The user can interact with each other by talking, trading, dueling, and many more activities.

Worlds
Each player is connected to a "world", where all players in that world can interact with each other, but can only talk privately to other players in other worlds. There are 3 servers, sometimes referred to as "worlds" for RuneScape Classic. World 1 is for veteran players only (those who logged into RuneScape Classic between August 2005 and January 2006). World 2 and 3 are the only worlds for players who signed up for RuneScape Classic during the two week open period in November, the worlds can also be accessed by veteran players.

Skills
There is much to do on RuneScape Classic, including skills! There are a variety of skills, from the combat skills, to the gathering skills. Training skills is one of the things many people choose to do, as it can unlock many advantages over others in the game. Some of the advantages is able to produce your own armours, or fight a mighty foe. A skill example is woodcutting, where a player collects logs for use. Several advanced quests have high skill level requirements, particularly in combat.

Quests
Quests are an important part of the gameplay of Classic. Some quests are just a one time quest, while others have continuations in the story line. Quests take a variety of skills to complete. Once done with a quest, the player gets rewarded with items, experience, new areas to explore around in, and more!

Classes
Prior to the release of Tutorial Island, players used to choose a class when created. This system has been removed from the game. Depending on the class chosen, new players would start with a higher level in the appropriate skill at a compensation of lower skill levels in other areas.


 * Necromancer (BadMagic, later removed after a major update to the magic skill) - Started out with a black wizard hat and a regular staff.
 * Wizard (7 GoodMagic) - Started out with a blue (later black) wizard hat and a regular staff.
 * Warrior (3 Attack, 3 Strength, 3 Defense, 12 Hits) - Started out with a bronze short sword and wooden shield.
 * Miner (7 Mining) - Started out with a pick-axe, which at that time was the only type available. These were later turned into bronze pickaxes.
 * Ranger (12 Hits)- Started out with a shortbow and 10 arrows. These later became bronze arrows after the release of the Fletching skill and multiple arrow types.
 * Adventurer (2 Attack, 2 Strength, 2 Defense, ) - Started out with a tinderbox, a bronze hatchet and one piece of cookedmeat.

Forums
The Official RuneScape Forums has a section for RuneScape Classic users. To gain access to these forums, you need to have a members account, and have an active account on the forums. These forums are hidden to those that are not logged in, or those that do not have Classic access.

Before January 2009, anyone could have viewed the Classic forums, many non-RuneScape Classic players were spamming and creating threads requesting RuneScape Classic to be reopened. Jagex closed access to the Classic section of the forums, and only users who had an active Classic account logged into the forums would be able access this area by submitting an application in a dedicated thread.

After the temporary re-opening of RuneScape Classic in November 2009, Jagex re-opened the Classic section of the forums to all users, and it is now available without the need to submit an application.

Future updates
As stated in the Classic Q&A's by Mark Gerhard, RuneScape Classic might be open to the public again, but with a set of cheat codes to give players whatever they wanted, that is with skills and items. As stated in the article, this may take years to implant to get everything right in the coding.

It has been stated in the development diaries that the purpose of the cheat codes was to prevent Real World Trading within the game. This is a major problem with RuneScape Classic, as it is no longer maintained or updated and has a small community, meaning that dealing with cheaters is a difficult task. By providing all players with cheats, the aim is to negate the need for players to turn to third party websites/software, as JaGeX provide the cheats within the game.

Reopen
On 11 November 2009, Classic was reopened to RuneScape Members. This was done to raise awareness of the game and to allow curious players to experience it. Any members account that signed up in the two week period after the reopening will continue to have access to RuneScape Classic after the deadline. JaGeX plans to reopen it again in roughly six months time for new accounts, in order to allow further curious players to experience the game.

Playing RuneScape Classic
There is currently no permanent direct link to RuneScape Classic from the RuneScape website, but for the two-week open period, the link is the third button down on the right sidebar. Alternatively, players can search for "classic" in the search bar.Click here to play RuneScape Classic.