We're always tinkering with Old School, not least with our monthly Old School 'Ideation Days' where the J-Mods get busy pitching, designing and even prototyping possible new game content. In December's Gazette we highlighted a few of these pitches, and we explained the process in more detail last March.
The fruits of these endeavours have previously resulted in recreations of RuneScape adventures with a magical Old School feel. Seasoned players may remember our intensive work to recreate the Corporeal Beast (2014) and Grand Exchange (2015). Since then we've received additional support from our internal tools team making it much easier to essentially port game content from RuneScape to Old School. That's what led to Soul Wars!
Alongside Soul Wars, one of our J-Mods also set about trying to re-create Shooting Stars, which originally came to RuneScape back in 2008. Working on both projects side-by-side allowed us to learn as much as possible about backporting game content (especially as Shooting Stars spans most of the game world). Our recreations aren't simply like-for-like ports, though - as with the Soul Wars release, it's our intention to address any criticisms of Shooting Stars and resolve them in a uniquely Old School way. It's this Old School-ified version that we're hoping to poll soon and that journey continues with this blog!
We last spoke about Shooting Stars in September, outlining lots of Old School-friendly tweaks such as removing the daily aspect, rebalancing the rewards, adding more landing sites and throwing in some extra F2P elements too.
The same survey also mentioned the minigames Stealing Creation and Fist of Guthix, but the reason we're offering Shooting Stars now is because we've already got the game content working!
Most of the 6,000ish respondents (around 75.65%, to be exact) said they were interested in learning more, and in a Q&A livestream last week we were asked for an update. Having explained the headline changes we hoped to make, we then ran a short poll in the livestream chat, and the results looked very encouraging at 79% Yes! Coupled with the survey responses, it looks like the time is right to blog and poll Shooting Stars!
Changelog and Feedback (Updated 25/02/21)
| What You Said | What We're Doing |
|---|---|
| Some of you felt the Construction level required to use Telescopes for scouting a fallen Star might be too high for lower level players. | We feel the benefits of the Telescope warrants the Construction level we proposed. We’d advise lower level players use the House Party themed worlds or explore for fallen stars with others! |
| You were concerned the bonus XP granted for being the first person to find a fallen Star would benefit too much from the changing worlds and the use of scout/alt accounts, allowing players to achieve amplified Mining XP rates. | We’ve removed the bonus XP granted for being the first person to find a fallen Star. You will still be notified if you were the first person to find the Star and your name will be listed on a board in the Observatory if it was one of the last five Stars. |
| Many of you felt the Star Sprite design didn’t fit appearing throughout Gielinor in Old School, and that you’d prefer an alternative method of handing in the Stardust. | We’ll remove the Star Sprite from inside fallen Stars. Players will be able to spend their Stardust via Dusuri instead, a Dwarf located in Falador just outside the Mining Guild. |
| You wanted to know how the Gold Prospector Kit will look in-game. | We’ve included imagery within the blog to show the Prospector Kit would look after being upgraded with Star Fragments. You can see the design here. |
| You felt like the Celestial Ring should not be a ring as it would prevent players from using the Elven Signet. | We’ve added a poll question that offers the ability for players to combine a Celestial Ring with an Elven Signet. This will require 70 Crafting and Smithing, 100 Crystal Shards and 1000 Stardust. An NPC will do it for players without the requirement for an extra 50 Crystal Shards. This process is will not be reversible. |
| Some players felt like the increased experience gained from the Celestial Ring would impact current Mining training metas too much and would rather the extra ore not provide additional XP. | When the blog was released, it wasn’t clear if the rewards were tradeable. All rewards from Shooting Stars are untradeable, including Stardust, which is needed to charge the ring. We feel the additional time taken to obtain the dust will offset the additional Mining experience gained as to not impact current metas. |
| You’d like to know how much Mining experience per hour you should expect to receive. | We expect most players to get no more than 30k Mining experience per hour on average from fallen Stars. It's important to note that this is an average so some hours will give more and others less due to differing star sizes. |
| Some players were concerned over falling Stars landing within the Wilderness, and would rather these locations be removed from the possible landing sites. | As there is no extra reward granted from venturing into the Wilderness for a fallen Star, the need to go there is entirely optional. We would advise players not wanting to visit these locations to explore another world where the Star will likely be in a safer location throughout Gielinor. |
| Some players feel like the Essence Packs are worthless and should be replaced with something more valuable. | We’ve seen a lot of support for Essence Packs being introduced, especially from accounts that focus entirely on Skilling. As such, we’ll be leaving them in as a potential reward from Shooting Stars. There are plenty of other rewards to choose from! |
| You wanted to know if it will be possible to obtain the Mining pet whilst mining a fallen Star. | It will be possible to obtain the Mining pet from fallen Stars. |
| You wanted to know what happens if a fallen Star has been fully mined. | A fallen Star that has been fully mined will be removed. It can take some time to fully mine a Star though! |
| You wanted to know if each world has a unique fallen Star spawn, or if all worlds shared the same location. | Fallen Stars will appear in a different place on each world. |
| You wanted to know when the timer for a new fallen Star starts - is it after one lands or when the Star has been fully mined? | The countdown to the next fallen Star starts as soon as the last one landed. |
| You wanted to know if the Essence, Clay and Gem related rewards would be available to Ironmen. | Ironmen will be able to purchase all rewards from the Stardust store. |
| You wanted to know if the +4 Mining boost from the Celestial Ring will apply when the ring is uncharged, and if that same boost would stack with other similar boosts (like that of the Mining Guild). | The Celestial Ring will provide a +4 boost to Mining even when uncharged and the boost will stack with other similar boosts. This also applies to the Superior Mining Gloves. |
Shooting Stars
So, here's the concept in a nutshell: Shooting Stars fall on Gielinor and players are able to mine them for XP and rewards. Players use telescopes to figure out when and where they might land.
On every world, a Shooting Star will fall at a random spot selected from a predetermined list roughly every two hours (with a variation of up to 15 minutes to stop them being too predictable).
A Star (Hunter) Is Born
A lot of you will find Stars by just happening upon them on your travels. However, dedicated hunters can use the telescope in their Player Owned House to determine the rough landing location of the next one. Different telescopes will offer varying levels of accuracy.
Sounds easy? Actually, your telescopes will only point to the general region where a Star will fall, so you still need to find the exact spot.
Telescopes
| Telescope | Window | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Oak | 24 minutes |  |
| Teak | 9 minutes |  |
| Mahogany | 2 minutes |  |
Landing Sites
| Misthalin | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Varrock (South East) | Varrock (South West) | Lumbridge Swamp (South East) | |
| Varrock (East Bank) | Lumbridge Swamp (South West) | Draynor (Bank) | |
| Kharidian Desert | |||
| Al Kharid (North) | Uzer (North West) | Desert (Quarry) | Sophanem (North) |
| Nardah (Bank) | Duel Arena (Bank) | Al Kharid (Bank) | |
| Wilderness | |||
| Pirates' Hideout (South East) | Lava Maze (North) | Bandit Camp (North East) | Dark Warriors' Fortress (South) |
| Edgeville (North) | Resource Area | Mage Arena (Bank) | |
| Asgarnia | |||
| Rimmington (North East) | Crafting Guild | Falador (West) | |
| Mining Guild | Dwarven Mine | Taverley (North West) | |
| Crandor or Karamja | |||
| Crandor (South West) | Brimhaven (North West) | Brimhaven (South West) | |
| Tai Bwo Wannai (South East) | Shilo Village (North West) | Crandor (North West) | |
| Fremennik Lands or Lunar Isle | |||
| Keldagrim (South) | Rellekka (North East) | Miscellania (North) | |
| Jatizso (North West) | Neitiznot (North East) | Lunar Isle (North East) | |
| Piscatoris or Gnome Stronghold | |||
| Piscatoris (South) | Gnome Stronghold (South Bank) | Gnome Stronghold (North Bank) | |
| Tirannwn | |||
| Lletya (Bank) | Gwenith (West) | Prifddinas (South) | |
| Isafdar (South East) | Arandar (South West) | ||
| Kandarin | |||
| Coal Trucks | Ardougne (North East) | Ardougne (South) | |
| Port Khazard (South West) | Yanille (Bank) | Catherby (Bank) | |
| Fossil Island or Mos Le'Harmless | |||
| Mos Le'Harmless (Bank) | Museum Camp (East) | Volcanic Mine | |
| Feldip Hills and the Isle of Souls | |||
| Myths' Guild (North East) | Feldip Hills (Centre) | Corsair Cove (Bank) | |
| Myths' Guild (Bank) | Feldip Hills (North East) | Isle of Souls Mine | |
| Kebos Lowlands | |||
| Kebos Swamp( North West) | Mount Karuulm (West) | Mount Quidamortem (Bank) | Mount Karuulm (Bank) |
| Great Kourend | |||
| Hosidius (South) | Kourend Castle (South West) | Port Piscarilius (South West) | |
| Arceuus (North East) | Lovakengj (North West) | Lovakengj (Bank) | |
| Morytania | |||
| Canifis (Bank) | Burgh de Rott (Bank) | Haunted Mine | |
| Ver Sinhaza (Bank) | Darkmeyer (Essence Mine) |
F2P Stars
Shooting Stars was originally for RuneScape members only, but in Old School they will land on F2P worlds too. However, without access to a telescope, players will have to find Stars by chance. Additionally, Stars may still land in non-F2P areas on F2P worlds, rendering them out of reach.
Stars will offer 50% of the usual value (including the bonus for finding them) on F2P worlds, and as the Reward Shop is not available, XP will be the only benefit. However, Stardust (see next section) will still be given on F2P worlds. It's a good idea to save it up ready to be used should you ever decide to become a member!
Mining Stars
Once a Star has landed, it is ready to be mined.
The bonus Mining XP for mining a Star in the original RuneScape was x75 - for balancing reasons we've lowered this for Old School.
The landing times of the last five Stars will also be listed on a board in the Observatory, along with the names of the players that found them.
Fallen Stars come in nine different sizes, and a Star can be any size when it lands. Each has a different Mining Level requirement calculated at the size x10.
Mining any Star will reward players with Stardust, an untradeable currency that can be used to purchase a variety of untradeable rewards. Each size can be mined for a different amount, and once depleted it will shrink to a smaller size. Every time some Stardust is mined, Mining XP is awarded.
Star Sizes
| Size | Mining Requirement | Dust Available | XP per Dust | XP per Dust in the original RuneScape |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 90 | 15 | 168 | 210 |
| 8 | 80 | 40 | 116 | 145 |
| 7 | 70 | 40 | 91 | 114 |
| 6 | 60 | 80 | 57 | 71 |
| 5 | 50 | 175 | 38 | 47 |
| 4 | 40 | 250 | 26 | 32 |
| 3 | 30 | 430 | 23 | 29 |
| 2 | 20 | 700 | 20 | 25 |
| 1 | 10 | 1200 | 11 | 14 |
Poll Question #1
Should we add the Shooting Stars skilling activity, as described in the dev blog?
Rewards
In addition to all the lovely Mining XP, players can also use their Stardust to buy rewards! Dusuri, a Dwarf found in Falador just outside the Mining Guild will happily take your Stardust in exchange for items. He appears on both P2P and F2P worlds.
In RuneScape's original release, the reward system was very different. Players could only have up to 200 Stardust at once and could only trade it once per day. Our players aren't so keen on mechanics that make tasks feel like a daily chore, so the limit on Stardust has been removed and the old rewards have been replaced with a Reward Shop.
Items you can buy from the Shop are untradeable and include:
Celestial Ring
This ring will give a hidden Mining boost of +4 when worn. This stacks with other invisible boosts. It will also be chargeable with Stardust. Each Stardust will add one charge up to a max of 10,000 charges. When charged, the ring will have a 1/10 chance of giving an extra ore when mining, and this extra ore will reward the normal XP amount when mined. Extra ore can emerge at any rock where the Mining Skillcape has a chance of giving it. Every time ore is mined from a suitable rock, a charge will be lost from the ring.
Poll Question #2
If Shooting Stars is added, should we add the Celestial Ring as a reward which offers a hidden Mining boost?
Poll Question #3
If the Celestial Ring is added as a reward, should it be possible to charge the ring with Stardust, offering a 1/10 chance at obtaining extra ore when mining? Each Stardust will add one charge up to a max of 10,000 charges. Every time ore is mined from a suitable rock, a charge will be lost from the ring.
Poll Question #4
If the Celestial Ring is added as a reward, should it be possible to combine it with an Elven Signet, granting players the effects of both? This will require 70 Crafting and Smithing, 100 Crystal Shards and 1000 Stardust. An NPC will combine the rings for players without the requirement for an extra 50 Crystal Shards. This process is will not be reversible and the combined ring would be untradeable.
Star Fragment
These can be used on any piece of the Prospector Outfit to recolour it gold.
Poll Question #5
If Shooting Stars is added, should we add the Star Fragment as a reward which will allow you to recolour your Prospector Outfit?
Bag Full of Gems
These will work the same as any other Bag Full of Gems.
Poll Question #6
If Shooting Stars is added, should we add the Bag Full of Gems as a reward? These will work as any other Bag Full of Gems.
Soft Clay Pack
These will work the same as any other Soft Clay Pack.
Poll Question #7
If Shooting Stars is added, should we add the Soft Clay Pack as a reward? This will work like any other Soft Clay Pack.
Essence Pack
These are new items that will give 100 Pure Essence when opened..
Poll Question #8
If Shooting Stars is added, should we add the Essence Pack as a reward? These packs will give 100 Pure Essence when opened.
That's Shooting Stars! We'd love to get your feedback. Based on what you tell us we'll be in a position to poll and release this content fairly soon. So please do share your feedback with us via our official forums, on the 2007Scape Reddit, or the community-led OSRS Discord in the #gameupdate channel.
Mods Acorn, Arcane, Archie, Argo, Ash, Ayiza, Banjo, Boko, Bonsai, Brow, Bruno, Curse, Daizong, Deagle, Dibber, Ditto, Dylan, Ed, Elena, Errol, Fed, Flippy, Gayns, Gecko, Gee, Grub, Halo, Husky, Jndr, John C, Kandosii, Katies, Kieren, Kirby, Lenny, Light, Lottie, Mack, Maylea, MikeD, Morty, Nasty, Nin, Oasis, Roq, Ry, Sarnie, Squid, Steve W, Sween, Tide, Vegard, West, Wolfy & Zuko
The Old School Team