The GE Website Update

Well, I have to say that todays update of the official GE website (oGE) is kind of making me nervous.  It not that the update effects anything about my webiste, the Grand Exchange Central, which is an investment website.  But many RuneScape members in the official forums are venting pretty hard about Fan sites like the GEC that provide price data and graphs. 

 There seems to be an overlly sensationalized belief that price data helps clan minipulation.  It may help a little, but not to the extent that people are suggesting.  My stand point is that price data and graphs are of little use to a large clan with a huge collective sum to play with.  A big clan with enough money can manipulate any item at any time with no price information at all.  You just get everyone to start buying at the same time and then tell people to stop at the same time (the last one to the party is screwed but the clan leader is good to go).

It is my firm belief that extended price data like that which is provided by the GEC actually helps the small time investor.  It makes it easier for us little people not in clans to spot items that are being manipulated.  We can avoid those things and find other more secure items. 

Anyway, here is what I posted on the official forums.  Let me know your thoughts.

I’ve been reading the comments concerning this “update” which are particularly frustrating.

First of all, I agree with most of the comments that removing the most valueable list is a big mistake. That was a very useful feature and should be brought back.

What frustrates me is that people think this “update” was done to curb clan market manipulation. I am very against clan market manipulation (it has cost me a lot of gp and prevented me from buying items I wanted or needed). But I see nothing in this update that will have any effect on market manipulation what-so-ever. A large clan with enough collective money can manipulate the market with no data at all. It is obvious that this “update” was intented to improve ease of use and better “regular Joe” understanding. It did neither of those things, but the intent was clear.

I am also frustrated by comments that suggest that fan sites that provide extended price data are somehow contributing to market manipulation. Those fan sites and the extended histories now available on the official GE site can allow individual investors not involved in clan manipulation to spot what items are being manipulated and avoid those items.

Anyway, if Jagex wanted to curb clan manipulation it would attack it from a different angle. Data really has no effect. And I think attacks on fan sites that provide price data are unfair and not well thought out. Better controls need to be implimented within the trade system itself to detect these patterns and block them. Data is not the answer.

The Grand Exchange Central

What is the Grand Exchange Central?

The official version of this blog is part of a website known as the Grand Exchange Central (GEC). For almost a year now I have been developing this incredibly advanced RuneScape investing tool, and because of that I have neglected my blog more than I should. But I did want to explain what the Grand Exchange Central is so that even more people can enjoy this one of a kind RuneScape tool. And the best part is that it is free. Plus membership is not required to enjoy most of the sites basic features.

The basic description of the GEC is that it is a repository of data concerning items listed on the RuneScape Grand Exchange. But this description really does not give justice to the power that the GEC can provide RuneScape investors. Yes, the GEC is a repository of price data dating back up to 210 days. But there are so many more tools and features. Here are some of the highlights.

Mock Grand Exchange: Are you a fan of fantasy football or baseball? Well, the Mock Grand Exchange (MGE) is basically the same thing, except instead of having a fantasy team of players you have a fantasy team of RuneScape items. You are provided with mock (fake) RuneScape gp and can purchase and sell mock (fake) RuneScape items. You can watch you fantasy networth grow or decline in comparison to other MGE members. Plus it is an excellent way to try out investment strategies without the risk of losing real RuneScape gp. The Mock Grand Exchange is still in alpha testing, but very stable and has many active users.

Watch Lists: Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to check every day to see if that “killer” item finally has bottomed out or peeked? Well, the Grand Exchange Central lets users set up watch lists that will e-mail alerts when items have reached certain user defined thresholds. Wanna know when Strange fruit hits 9000gp. You can be alerted. Want to know when it hits 1500gp? You can be alerted.

Trending: This feature is in limited alpha testing right now, but soon visitors will be able to submit search queries that look into pricing trends on items. Want to know which items increased by %25 five times over the past three months. Trend Searching will do that. Find those great investments that no one ever thought of.

Runedexes: These are basically the same as Wall Street stock indexes except they lump RuneScape items into various categories such as headgear, malee weapons, gems, etc. You can watch these Runedexes to see how those categories are performing over time. Is it a good time to buy gems? Should I sell some armor? How are sets doing? Or just take a good look at how the overall economy is doing in general.

Counter Clan Manipulation:  The GEC’s data and graphs help small time investors spot items which may be manipulated by massive clan purchasing.  These allows the small time investor to avoid those items and find more secure.  Plus the tools the GEC provides gives small time investors a fighting chance against then rouge clans.

Parts Lists: Is it better to sell the parts of an item, or make the whole thing and sell it for major profit. Well, the GEC can help. Many items on the GEC contain parts lists that display what the item is made from and what those parts will cost individually. Just a glance at these lists can give you a wealth of information. And parts lists are being added to items on a regular basis.

Comparisons: Many items also have easy read comparison charts so you can quickly tell how it compares to related items. How much does cutting that gem stone effect it’s price?

Extended History: Most items have data going back up to 120 days with graphs covering time periods as short as a week or up to four months. Plus item 120 day Hi’s and Low’s are prominently listed. It’s a wonderful way of quickly determining if an item is about to bust or is primed for a major increase.

Accuracy: The GEC is updated multiple times throughout the day so the data is almost always fresh.

Forums: Get together and talk with other people interested in RuneScape investing. Our forums have strict policies to prevent violation of RuneScape rules so if you’ve been concerned about getting involved with other merchanting forums, the GEC is the place for you. No advice on RWT, macroing, bug exploits or cheats allowed. Feel comfortable talking in a place where if anyone tries to promote violating RuneScape rules they will be banned from the forums and the GEC/MGE. Many other sites are tolerant of these things. We are not. We want our members to be safe. 

There are many items I forgot to mention. But what I did mention should already have you wanting to check out the site. So go ahead, check out the

GRAND EXCHANGE CENTRAL

If RuneScape Were Mobile

Artistic representation. Not actually RuneScape on an iPhone.

One thing I have been very disappointed in even before I purchased my iPhone is that the device is incapable of running the game. Runescape, written in Java, was designed to run on as many platforms as possible through the use of any standard web browser. The iPhone is unique in its distinction of containing a mostly functional web browser, Safari. So it would seem only logical that Runescape would run just fine on the iPhone. Sadly, Apple, in a stroke of illogic that boggles the mind, has prevented the use of Java on the iPhone. That needs repeating. Java is a platform whose main design is to run on as many kinds of devices as possible. Java is a leading force within the mobile phone market. Java is a cornerstone of web based application. Yes, Java is restricted on the number one leading Internet enabled mobile phone.

Before I go on, I want to address what some of you may have seen on the Internet concerning the iPhone and Runescape. There are some videos out there showing what appears to be Runescape running on an iPhone…

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In a Pickle with Sauerkraut!

I seem to be in quite a pickle (or sauerkraut may be a better word). The last time I played Runescape was during the April Fool’s event. When I logged out I was still holding onto a cabbage. Well, today (April 3) I logged back in and still have a cabbage. Obviously I can’t store it or sell it. And I’m fairly certain that if I remove it, the cabbage will disappear all together. It does look like I can still chuck it to other players, but of course I don’t want to try that. And for all I know chucking it will cause it to disappear also. Of course, having a cabbage in both my hands means I am very limited combat wise. I really can only use magic and I hate magic. But yet there is a morbid curiosity in my brain that wants to know exactly how long one of these April Fool’s cabbages can be kept “alive”. Then again, Jagex in a few days might make it go away without any action by me. So I am caught between a rock and a hard place. Do I limit my actions actions for a few days or do I just chuck it to another player and hope that it lives on through other people? Of course, if Jagex doesn’t spontaneously remove these April Fool’s cabbages then they will become untradeable rares. No real value but there will be that all important “cool” factor that seems to impress newbs and makes the rest of us roll our eyes.

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Cabbages

Okay, the cabbage April Fool’s event is cute. Not nearly as cute as my idea for a Runescape Rickroll, but it is cute. Oh well, maybe next year. Anyway, for those of you who haven’t seen it yet there a free roaming cabbages floating around Runescape. A good place to go is Lumbridge castle to see and play with them. You should have accept aid turned on and both hands empty. Then you can play catch with the cabbages. There are also kick and tap options available but I’m not sure what those do yet. I only looked around for a few minutes. I am also not sure if there is more to the April Fool’s event but if I see anything else I’ll report it here.

By the way, if you are looking for more April Fools day related events on the web check out April Fool’s Day On The Web for a list of this years and other past years. The upside down YouTube is also pretty funny.

In other related news: I didn’t get off my butt to do anything for April Fool’s concerning my blog or the GEC. So there are no jokes here, sorry. Maybe next year.  I am also working on a blog post about the new Magic Dragon Kite Shield wieldable only by Rangers with combat level 90 or higher that was introduced in last weeks update.  I personally am dissappointed because my character Absenm is a combat warrior and I won’t be able to utilized its considerable stat bonuses (+37 fishing and +15 farming).  But atleast it is tradeable on the GE for just 24.4m gp so it may prove to be a good investment item. Other restrictions are that it can only be wielded while also wielding a two handed iron longsword. It is a rare drop after barehanded fighting Olivia the seed stall girl in Draynor Village.

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Fairwell Ole Random Events

I’ll admit it. I am one of the very few who actually likes random events and was totally happy with how the old random event system worked. I thought the events were a charming little quirk of RuneScape life that interjected themselves into the sometimes mundane aspects of skilling. For the most part I found the events amusing, whether they happened to me or to other people. The one exception being when I once was fighting Chaos Druids in the Edgeville Dungeon and I ignored the Lunch Lady too long and got my sorry ass teleported way the hell over to White Wolf Mountain. But aside from that, I usually enjoyed being party or witness to random events. Of course it was also loads of fun to see bots get killed because they couldn’t respond to the events.

Do not get me wrong. I am not particularly disappointed in the recent random event update Jagex performed. I understand that Jagex wanted to cater to those players who found the events disruptive for one reason or another………

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Time To Do Some Weeding

After reading some of the feedback about the February 2009 minor update delay and the feedback to some of the Mark Gerhard’s posts about RWT I have come to the conclusion that the people at Jagex really do need to make a few separate areas for some “special” players. Most of the feedback was constructive and proper. But a lot was so mind numbingly idiotic I nearly had to scream.  And that is why I suggest the following separate and restricted Runescape Worlds.

Brat World: Let’s get the most needed world out there first. I think an easy way of getting a point across would be to restrict players who get mutes or temporary bans to a special type of “half-way-house” world to play on for a month of two. Of course those worlds would need to be quick chat only, and maybe even a more restrictive version of the current quick chat. If not quick chat only then at least filter out the word “noob.”  That would be traumatizing to most of the people sent to these worlds because they don’t know how to chat without using ”noob”  in every other sentence. There would only need to be two of these worlds, a free player world and a members world. If they are always full then too bad for people waiting to get connected. It isn’t supposed to be pleasant. Also maybe some other restrictions could be placed on these worlds. Like a two hour daily play limit. I would like to see such a world nice enough for “rule breakers” that they actually feel like they have been given a chance to redeem themselves and yet unpleasant enough so people won’t purposely try to get sent to one of these world.

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Summoning and hitting 1000

Wonderful news for those of you interested in the investment side of this website. The Grand Exchange Central has now surpassed the 1000 items mark. This exceeds how many items I thought the database would contain and is only half of what I expect to have entered into the database within the coming weeks. Each item is updated daily and we are now maintaining a 90 day history on all items (though because the GEC itself is not 90 days old it will take a little time to fill in the histories). I am kicking around keeping a year long history of weekly averages.

Another big news item is for those of you involved in Summoning. The GEC now contains a listing of all the summoning pouches and scrolls. But the best part about this is the “parts list” included on each item page. Now at a simple glance you can see exactly how much each pouch will cost to produce. This will let summoners out there see which pouches actually make a profit (sorry, most do not).

Even though the GEC is not as complete as I would like, to the best of my knowledge, I have all the headwear, bodywear, and handwear already entered. There is also a lot listed that is not included in those categories. I am diligently working on getting footwear, weapons, and legwear entered. And please remember that the GEC only lists tradeable items (it is an investment website after all).  Also, if you happen to spot something I may of forgotten please leave a comment here or on the GEC main page.

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Thoughts on Real World Trading

After reading the nice personal post by Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard I decided to read through many of the replies he received. I couldn’t read all of them because there were already 5000+ replies within the first day. But of the ones I read, most were well reasoned, well written, and well thought out. But I did read a few comments that made me want to reply but I didn’t want to waste the space on a 5000+ rely thread in the forums, so I will do it on my personal blog.

Real World Trading: Someone mentioned that real word trading doesn’t hurt anyone. I do take exception with this point, at least in part. I understand that a person selling a character or goods for real world money would still need to work to get that character to where it is valuable or get those items through various other means such as mining or what-not. In that respect it seems alright. Someone did the work. Why shouldn’t they get paid? In fact, that is how the internal Runescape economy works. Many people buy items they would rather not work on getting. I for one almost never cut down trees, I buy the logs. I buy the secondary ingredients for summoning pouches because I am not going to spend hours hunting around for those ingredients. That is what drives the internal Runescape economy.

But here is what people forget. Runescape is designed for everyone, no matter who they are in the real world. Remember that 80% of the people who play Runescape are free players…….

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The Runescape Rickroll

I can’t have a stupid idea without sharing it, so here it is. I think that on April 1, 2009 the people at Jagex should toss in a Rickroll. Maybe right in the middle of Varrock square. Before I go on I probably should mention a couple of things for those few people who are oblivious to the greater workings of the Internet.

First, over the past fifteen years April Fools Day has become the most universally accepted holiday on the Internet. April Fools Day is a holiday that everyone can enjoy because there are no religious or political drawbacks. And it is not geocentric; every place on Earth has fools and pranksters. It is a safe holiday to observe on websites. And most major websites take part….

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