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PSA - note the below quoted passages! If you played RuneScape between 2001 and 2012 and have any data archives or machines sitting around from that time, you mi

PSA - note the below quoted passages! If you played RuneScape between 2001 and 2012 and have any data archives or machines sitting around from that time, you might be able to help this project :) > Contribute to the RuneScape Archive [1] with any lost RuneScape data prior to 2010 and receive any obtainable item of your choice as a thanks! [1] https://rs-archive.github.io/index.html https://rs-archive.github.io/index.html > Our goal is to recover missing versions of RuneScape from 2001 until 2012. These versions were not saved by Jagex and are at risk of disappearing forever, with over 2/3 remaining unrecovered. If you ever played Runescape just once on a computer, the full game files were all downloaded.

dandellion 4y ago
Seems a bit dishonest to ask people to contribute without explaining what the files are actually used for anywhere in the site, just "they could be used by Jagex". C'mon, I'm not against piracy, but I don't think it's cool trying to manipulate people like this.
- DEFEC8ED 4y ago
  I'm not sure what you're getting at here. Are you insinuating that people are being manipulated into unwittingly pirating software? The files alluded to are obfuscated Java byte code, so it's not piracy. It's useful for reverse engineering historical versions of the game for which no source or artifacts are known to exist. Perhaps you'd consider that unethical but I'd say it's ethically ambiguous at worst.
  - dandellion 4y ago
    > Are you insinuating that people are being manipulated into unwittingly pirating software? Maybe not, but it could be. They don't give any information so there's no way to know what they're doing, so you can assume good intention, or bad, or neither, whichever you prefer. To me personally it stood out how they put up a very nice landing page, with very verbose text, and never once mention any examples of what they're doing with it.
- cookmeplox 4y ago
  The FAQ https://rs-archive.github.io/faq.html https://rs-archive.github.io/faq.html is pretty clear about what they're used for: > They contain all the various raw assets used in the game (e.g. maps, models, sounds) and the definitions of content like NPCs, Items, and scenery objects.
  - dandellion 4y ago
    That's what they contain, it says nothing about what they're using it for.
    - bdhcuidbebe 4y ago
      For archival purposes, as the name implies. I don’t understand why you try to stir something up.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- bspammer 4y ago
  Piracy? No one wants to play random early versions of Runescape. It's purely about preservation. An example use case here, an interactive world map with a slider that lets you see how it was updated through the years: https://mejrs.github.io/historical https://mejrs.github.io/historical
  - dandellion 4y ago
    I've done a quick search through that repo and its dependencies, and I see no mention of the project above. How do you that they're using the files from there?
    - bspammer 4y ago
      The project is run by the runescape wiki [1]. I got the above link from a reddit comment [2], the author of which is a poweruser on the wiki [3] There's nothing nefarious going on here, I promise you. It's just a community project that has the usual poor documentation. [1] https://runescape.wiki/w/User:Manpaint55/T:CHD-main https://runescape.wiki/w/User:Manpaint55/T:CHD-main [2] https://old.reddit.com/r/2007scape/comments/100m73e/how_the_runescape_world_map_looked_in_2004/j2ihbch/ https://old.reddit.com/r/2007scape/comments/100m73e/how_the_... [3] https://runescape.wiki/w/User:Hlwys https://runescape.wiki/w/User:Hlwys
giancarlostoro 4y ago
Are they looking at the RuneScape Private server scene? I remember some OSRS servers that provided custom clients from those years. I don't know how accessible some of those are now, but it wouldn't surprise me if you could find those old clients that way.
- rileymichael 4y ago
  There is a project by a RSPS community member to accumulate all caches (https://archive.openrs2.org/ https://archive.openrs2.org/) by similarly asking people, pulling from other archives, etc. This is probably the best archive in the rsps scene / I'm sure they are aware of it, there are just caches nobody has.
- aprilnya 4y ago
  From the FAQ: > What about old private servers? > These didn't focus on keeping a historical archive of all versions of the game; only a handful of old game versions were found from these sources. Everything that was available from private servers has already been saved.
  - giancarlostoro 4y ago
    This is true, however, if you reach out to maintainers, you might be surprised to find old files from them.
DiggyJohnson 4y ago
Amazing! I’m writing a book about RuneScape, Why We Play, and this project is the most exciting thing I’ve seen toward this end in awhile. I can’t believe I didn’t know about it!
- ryanar 4y ago
  Any way I can find out about this book when its done? Sounds interesting!
  - wtfmcgrill 4y ago
    Second that, osrs had consumed my life after I found it. Dam crack addiction.
  - davis 4y ago
    Oh man, I also need to buy this book when it drops
  - dmazin 4y ago
    Absolutely would read this.
- fierro 4y ago
  haha I will 100% read this. I am endlessly fascinated by Runescape and the reasons it held such a grip on so many people. In my opinion, a far different appeal than a more mature game like World of Warcraft. There was something to endearing, innocent, and scary about Runescape, all at the same time.
- intelVISA 4y ago
  RSC was a good way to learn networking concepts, or: Why Closing the Browser in Varrock Sewers May Not Save You from Death.
philliphaydon 4y ago
I don’t know of my parents kept my old computer in NZ. I wouldn’t be able to check till end of the year when I move back. But I may have several versions from around 2002-2005.
markus92 4y ago
The botting community kept meticulous archives of the client and cache during these times. I know there was very complete archives of the 2004-2011 era and I can't imagine those having disappeared completely. moparisthebest ran a script that collected it and he wasn't the only one.

dandellion 4y ago

Seems a bit dishonest to ask people to contribute without explaining what the files are actually used for anywhere in the site, just "they could be used by Jagex". C'mon, I'm not against piracy, but I don't think it's cool trying to manipulate people like this.

DEFEC8ED 4y ago
I'm not sure what you're getting at here. Are you insinuating that people are being manipulated into unwittingly pirating software? The files alluded to are obfuscated Java byte code, so it's not piracy. It's useful for reverse engineering historical versions of the game for which no source or artifacts are known to exist. Perhaps you'd consider that unethical but I'd say it's ethically ambiguous at worst.
- dandellion 4y ago
  > Are you insinuating that people are being manipulated into unwittingly pirating software? Maybe not, but it could be. They don't give any information so there's no way to know what they're doing, so you can assume good intention, or bad, or neither, whichever you prefer. To me personally it stood out how they put up a very nice landing page, with very verbose text, and never once mention any examples of what they're doing with it.
cookmeplox 4y ago
The FAQ https://rs-archive.github.io/faq.html https://rs-archive.github.io/faq.html is pretty clear about what they're used for: > They contain all the various raw assets used in the game (e.g. maps, models, sounds) and the definitions of content like NPCs, Items, and scenery objects.
- dandellion 4y ago
  That's what they contain, it says nothing about what they're using it for.
  - bdhcuidbebe 4y ago
    For archival purposes, as the name implies. I don’t understand why you try to stir something up.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
bspammer 4y ago
Piracy? No one wants to play random early versions of Runescape. It's purely about preservation. An example use case here, an interactive world map with a slider that lets you see how it was updated through the years: https://mejrs.github.io/historical https://mejrs.github.io/historical
- dandellion 4y ago
  I've done a quick search through that repo and its dependencies, and I see no mention of the project above. How do you that they're using the files from there?
  - bspammer 4y ago
    The project is run by the runescape wiki [1]. I got the above link from a reddit comment [2], the author of which is a poweruser on the wiki [3] There's nothing nefarious going on here, I promise you. It's just a community project that has the usual poor documentation. [1] https://runescape.wiki/w/User:Manpaint55/T:CHD-main https://runescape.wiki/w/User:Manpaint55/T:CHD-main [2] https://old.reddit.com/r/2007scape/comments/100m73e/how_the_runescape_world_map_looked_in_2004/j2ihbch/ https://old.reddit.com/r/2007scape/comments/100m73e/how_the_... [3] https://runescape.wiki/w/User:Hlwys https://runescape.wiki/w/User:Hlwys

giancarlostoro 4y ago

Are they looking at the RuneScape Private server scene? I remember some OSRS servers that provided custom clients from those years. I don't know how accessible some of those are now, but it wouldn't surprise me if you could find those old clients that way.

rileymichael 4y ago
There is a project by a RSPS community member to accumulate all caches (https://archive.openrs2.org/ https://archive.openrs2.org/) by similarly asking people, pulling from other archives, etc. This is probably the best archive in the rsps scene / I'm sure they are aware of it, there are just caches nobody has.
aprilnya 4y ago
From the FAQ: > What about old private servers? > These didn't focus on keeping a historical archive of all versions of the game; only a handful of old game versions were found from these sources. Everything that was available from private servers has already been saved.
- giancarlostoro 4y ago
  This is true, however, if you reach out to maintainers, you might be surprised to find old files from them.

DiggyJohnson 4y ago

Amazing! I’m writing a book about RuneScape, Why We Play, and this project is the most exciting thing I’ve seen toward this end in awhile. I can’t believe I didn’t know about it!

ryanar 4y ago
Any way I can find out about this book when its done? Sounds interesting!
- wtfmcgrill 4y ago
  Second that, osrs had consumed my life after I found it. Dam crack addiction.
- davis 4y ago
  Oh man, I also need to buy this book when it drops
- dmazin 4y ago
  Absolutely would read this.
fierro 4y ago
haha I will 100% read this. I am endlessly fascinated by Runescape and the reasons it held such a grip on so many people. In my opinion, a far different appeal than a more mature game like World of Warcraft. There was something to endearing, innocent, and scary about Runescape, all at the same time.
intelVISA 4y ago
RSC was a good way to learn networking concepts, or: Why Closing the Browser in Varrock Sewers May Not Save You from Death.

philliphaydon 4y ago

I don’t know of my parents kept my old computer in NZ. I wouldn’t be able to check till end of the year when I move back. But I may have several versions from around 2002-2005.

markus92 4y ago

The botting community kept meticulous archives of the client and cache during these times. I know there was very complete archives of the 2004-2011 era and I can't imagine those having disappeared completely. moparisthebest ran a script that collected it and he wasn't the only one.