Runefest is so close that we can taste it, and we can't wait for 23rd September to roll around so we can meet you all once again.

We want the Runefest Reveals session to be something special, with some surprises held back for this big day. The session will include more info on the Clue Scroll Rework, Combat Pets, and the announcement of new projects that address RuneScape's Unfinished Business. For those, you'll have to wait and see.

But there's still plenty to get excited about. Read on!

Mining & Smithing Rework

First off, thank you to every one of you who voted in our recent poll.

The question was whether we should prioritise new high-level Mining & Smithing content over a wholesale rework of the skill, and your answer was clear: 69% voted no.

As such, we will be focusing our attention on reworking the skill across its level range, based on the design presented in our Mining & Smithing Dev Diaries.

We'll share specific design details with you in upcoming Dev Diaries and subsequent polls, including what the new, desirable reward specific to Smithing will be.

Until then, though, we'll be getting our noses to the grindstone. Mining & Smithing is perhaps the epitome of Unfinished Business, and it's time to get it done. Onwards!

Polls

There's been a good deal of criticism on our recent use of polls. We hear you, and are taking immediate action to address your concerns.

From now on, our process will be:

Open discussion. We'll start by posting a discussion thread on the forums, detailing the aspect of development in question. We'll outline what we're hoping to achieve, perhaps propose a few starting ideas, then open it up to you. Dev blog. Next, we'll gather together all your thoughts, ideas and feedback and propose a solution that we think fits, in a dev blog format. We'll include proposed poll text, and make it clear what happens if either side comes out on top. We'll take your feedback on this and adjust the poll text accordingly. Poll goes live. We'll publish the poll through the in-game system. We'll monitor the results, and if there's any indication that unforeseen issues are corrupting the results, we'll re-run it. Post Results. Finally, we'll make a short dev blog-style post confirming the outcome and where we're going from there.

In the past, we have resolved to take a strict ‘Yes/No' approach, but we will reconsider this in the future. Where appropriate, expect to see ranking polls, run-offs like the Combat Pet poll, and others.

That said, we will do all we can to avoid pitching content against other content. Everyone's different, and we won't risk underserving particular player types, producing winners with only a small proportion of the total vote, or creating yet more Unfinished Business.

Look out for a new Poll Survey System within the next few months. It'll allow us to ask multiple questions at once, as well as different kinds. We want you to be able to have real control over the content that matters most to you, and the new system will be indispensable as we tackle the big bits of content like Mining and Smithing.

Finished Business

There's some big content on the horizon, but we're geared up to tackle it head on. With your help, we're confident that we can handle everything that's needed – and more.

What's more, we're already starting to see the fruits. Achievements Pt. 2 is with us already, bringing much-needed interface improvements and utility. Shattered Worlds anima rates have been improved, and next week's update sees the launch of Invention batch 2.

Expect more of this for the rest of the year and beyond – meaningful updates every month, improving the game we all know and love.

See you at Runefest!

Mod Osborne and the RuneScape Team