We want to take this opportunity to thank all our players for their votes, which have helped get Jagex games studio shortlisted as one of the top UK developers in the Golden Joystick Awards. It’s really touching to see Jagex recognised in this way by our players and the wider gaming community, and we are delighted that so many of you have voted for us. Given our other awards, it looks like we are going to need a larger trophy cabinet soon! :)

If you don’t know anything about the awards and still want to show your support for Jagex, you can do so by visiting the Golden Joystick website at www.goldenjoystick.com and clicking on the UK Developer of the Year listing on the “Vote Now” page. We recommend that you un-tick the preference boxes if you don’t want to be contacted by the organisers or any third parties, as nobody likes spam.

So once again our sincere thanks for all your support, and, naturally, all credit goes to our fabulous players. :)

Take care, and have fun!

Mod MMG and Andrew

Vote for Jagex here!

The summer’s almost here and so are the FunOrb Olympics! Do you think you’re an all-rounder when it comes to FunOrb games? Are you prepared to pit your strengths against FunOrb’s best athletes? Do you and your friends think you are gold medal standard at Arcanists or Armies of Gielinor? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, then the FunOrb Olympics are the place for you.

We’ll have single-player events for you to compete in, such as Bouncedown, Orb Defence and Zombie Dawn, and separate three- to six-player team competitions in Arcanists and Armies of Gielinor. We’ll have the greatest FunOrb players competing for those elusive gold medals, so make sure you’re there.

The FunOrb Olympics will be starting towards the end of July – more info coming soon! In the meantime, check out the FunOrb Olympics threads in the Jagex Events & Competitions forum.

Extra time is over and the whistle’s been blown on the Kickabout League beta. It’s now time for us to have a bit of a post-match discussion to see where we can improve our game.

A big thanks to everyone who participated in the beta, and who provided feedback – it’s been a big success and we’ve received some very useful comments. This will allow us to give the game some additional polish, and iron out some bugs, before the full launch of the game in the (hopefully) near future.

Mod Korpz
Head of FunOrb

In a first for FunOrb, we have decided to release a beta version of one of our games. The game we’ve chosen, Kickabout League, has been in development for a year, and has been a major endeavour for us. The beta version is available to FunOrb members. To play Kickabout League please choose one of the following servers: our European server or our U.S.A. server. For stress-testing purposes, we recommend starting on the U.S.A. server.

The key information on the Beta is:

* Any member can take part in the Beta simply by playing the game.
* If you have any feedback on the beta version, a Kickabout League feedback thread has been set up in the Members Only Forums (quick find code 44-45-21-30010).
* The servers will be shut down no later than Friday, and may go up and down without warning as we fix issues during that time.
* The Beta will be shut down on Friday 12th June at around 15.00 UK time (GMT+01.00). The game will not be available to play after that time.
* All game data from the Beta will be reset before the game is fully launched.
* Achievements, ratings, orb points, orb coins and orb downloads relating to Kickabout League have all been disabled.
* The full version of the game will launch a few weeks after the Beta has closed, depending on how much development work is required.

We’ve decided to launch the game in a closed beta in order to stress-test the servers, and to get some usage data before we put the game live. Kickabout League is a real first for us, providing real-time, browser-based gameplay on the Java platform. The real-time nature of the game means that it is dependent on an adequate internet connection, and lag may cause some unusual behaviour in the game. This is likely to be intentional on our part, though, as the server adjusts the client’s game state to compensate for lag.

This may mean you notice things like the ball or players teleporting around a little, and we would like to know how this affects your enjoyment of the game. The more feedback we’re able to receive on any potential issues, the better the final game will be, so please be sure to post your comments in the Members Only Forums, where we have a special sticky called ‘Kickabout Beta - Feedback’ (quick find code 44-45-21-30010).

As always, and above all else…

Have fun ;-)

Mod Korpz

We’ve updated our Orb Downloads today by adding a number of new wallpapers. These feature our current titles, including Arcanists and Zombie Dawn, as well as some of our future games, such as Pirate Empires and Dungeon Assault II. So have your Orb Coins at the ready and click here to log in and start downloading.

This is certainly interesting news - the new Orb Downloads include downloads of future game related media. Let us know what you think on our forums.

We’re pleased to announce that our Estonian and Lithuanian players can now pay for membership of FunOrb or RuneScape by SMS. This means that you can purchase or renew membership using your mobile telephone. We know this is something that many Estonian and Lithuanian players have been waiting for, so we’re happy to be able to offer this service. If you’re an Estonian or Lithuanian free player and want to know more about the benefits of membership, click here.

The following networks in Estonia support PayBySMS:

* Elisa
* EMT
* Tele2

The following networks in Lithuania support PayBySMS:

* Bite
* Omnitel
* Tele2

We’re continuing to look into ways of making alternative payment methods available in other countries, and as soon as we’re able to offer these services, we’ll let you know.

You can discuss the second FunOrb Central diary on our forums.

Hello again!

In this Developer Diary, I’d like to talk about some of the work that underlies the development of FunOrb Central, and the first problems we’ve encountered.

It’s a bit more technical than previous diaries and, to be honest, I’m not sure what level of detail to go into, so I’m looking for your feedback so I can fine-tune future entries.

To read the diary, click here.

Mod Artifice
FunOrb Developer

We have a small update today - a new level pack for Brick-a-Brac. The update comprises of 30 single-player levels, available to FunOrb members in the form of the Brick Extension level pack, and 15 multiplayer levels, which are available to everyone.

The levels have been designed by some of the more fiendish minds in the studio, so expect some of them to present a real challenge. We’ve also added a new skin and a new music track to the game, so get your brick-bashing heads on, try it out and see if you can break your way to the end.

Mod Korpz
Head of FunOrb

In other news…

We’ve fixed a bug in Torquing to do with the Order of the Golden Torque Achievement This should now be correctly awarded and should have been given to the very small number of players that have actually managed it.

Hello, folks!

I’m jumping aboard the Dev Diary bandwagon this week to tell you about the construction of FunOrb Central, a major service update we’re working on.

Alas, no screenshots just yet, but, as this diary goes on, you’ll be able to catch a glimpse of the gory technical side of FunOrb instead.

To read the diary, click here.

Mod Artifice
FunOrb Developer

Good day, my fellow orbsters!

I am very pleased to announce the launch of the Armies of Gielinor equipment expansion pack, adding items to your online battles.

This expansion adds many items for you to spend your hard-earned runes on, as well as some prestige coats of arms for the skilled and proud (I guarantee you will want the coat of arms that comes with the highest prestige level).

With your runes, you can kit out your units with new armour, better weapons and wizard hats. Save up, though, and you’ll be able to cast powerful fire spells; duplicate and enhance your units; teleport units around the map; change the map itself; and even summon more than one King Black Dragon.

Don’t think that, just because you can afford new equipment, you’ll always be winning. Equipment is used up when you employ it in battle, and you’ll need to keep an eye on your stocks!

If you’re stalwart fans of the original, you can still set up Rated and Unrated games with a ‘no equipment’ option, for the traditional gameplay you already know and love.

There are also a few minor alterations to existing gameplay:

* Monks and priests now heal 3hp instead of two.
* The King Black Dragon can now attack twice per turn, making it even more deadly.
* The falcon is now a level 2 creature, instead of level 1.
* Spiritual barriers are now permanent rather than depleting as the units within them are damaged.

There are also a few extra features:

* Team chat - you asked for it, and you’ve got it! There’s now a button next to the in-game chat tab to switch between team and public chat.
* The prestige system, which works a little differently to the one in Arcanists, will not take away your units when you buy into it, but will cost runes - lots of runes.
* Members’ options have been collected together into a single section of the main menu (Army Setup).

Mod Shade will be taking over from me now to develop the single-player campaign. He was the mastermind behind the recent Zombie Dawn UK expansion, so expect some devious level designs. I’m starting work on a whole new FunOrb Game, so look out for some Dev Diaries soon…

I hope this update pleases the long-term fans and brings new flavour to the game. Have fun!

Mod NirdGerl
FunOrb Developer