Hello everyone and welcome to the 1st update of season 6!

Hundreds of cups of coffee have been drunk, countless meetings, discussions and working sessions have passed and we have finally managed to reach our update goals: we've developed an entire new animation system for our entities, we've re-written a big part of our core code, updated base/recommended Minecraft (java edition) version to 1.17.1, improved API, server and resourcepack load times, fixed outstanding bugs and much much more! So let's get started!

Entirely new animations system & graphical changes

We're starting off with something that you see every time you log onto the network: animations. Animations are one of the biggest part of the network and is something that makes everything around you feel more alive & ambient. One of the biggest issues we've encountered was that everything looked and acted the same: goblin moves and attacks the same way as some of the end-game bosses do. Now that's something we'd want to change, right?

With the new animations system, we are able to make unique animations for every mob. That includes animations like monster dying, running, using special attack and much more. These animations are not yet introduced to all mobs, but we are slowly adding them starting with the new wilderness bosses (mentioned below) and new cosmetic pets.

Here's an example of the new in-house animation system:

With the new system, some minor graphical changes were introduced as well:

Fixed the textures of various mobs around the game:
- Camel
- Hill giant
- Rooster
- Chicken (both normal and puffy)
- Spiders (red, normal)
- Imp
- Rockcrab
Introduced a new design to the Giant mole

Added boss pets (they can be obtained by talking to Rondhir in Lumbridge).
In the nearest upcoming update, we will be switching the default pack to the Vanilla pack. Therefore, a lot of technical changes were made in the background.
Reduced the resourcepack size, download time and improved compression rate.

These changes took a lot of time to develop and perfect, but hopefully should make the gameplay a lot more immersive.

Development improvements & version upgrade

Upgrading various components and system parts is a hard, long and usually boring task, but that's something that makes gameplay and development a lot better for us and you.

This update brings a big development change, that might not be too visible at first or bring many features, but the changes made to the code have allowed the build and assets team to get access to more resources/blocks, development team more possible features and game design team access to more creative approaches to various projects.

The GamesLabs network Minecraft base version has been upgraded to 1.17.1 and therefore is now the official recommended Minecraft (java edition) version to play the network on. As always, both previous and future versions of Minecraft work, but 1.17.1 is the most recommended one.

With the core changes we've also re-written some older parts of the code so overall game stability should be better and in some scenarios players might feel less lag.

This change also speeds up the API services and allows player made websites / tools to work smoother and get more data to use, fixes resourcepack issues.

Some other small development changes include:

We've removed promo accounts from the leaderboards.
We've fixed mob AI so they avoid water correctly.
We're now able to use 3D animations for entities and players.
We're now able to use 1.17.1 blocks, particles and other objects for game development.
We're now able to determine and fix issues slightly faster.
We're now using machinery to pre-test features and ensure xp rates. This feature has been used to extensively test Hunter skill and other features of this update.
We're now able to have custom animated entities as pets.

Hunter

Updating the systems might be exciting for the players, but it does not bring too much new exciting content for them to grind on, so after a lot of team work we've proud to announce a new skill to the world of Minescape - Hunter!

Hunter is a non-combat skill featuring 25 new creatures! Every creature can be caught using specific set of tools in their natural habitats rewarding the players with new unique weapons, tools, skiller armor sets and much much more!

Added 25 hunter creatures (hunter level requirement):
- Crimson Swift (Level 1)
- Golden Warbler (Level 5)
- Copper Longtail (Level 9)
- Cerulean Twitch (Level 11)
- Ruby Harvest (Level 15)
- Tropical Wingtail (Level 19)
- Wild Kebbit (Level 23)
- Sapphire Glacialis (Level 25)
- Ferret (Level 27)
- White Rabbit (Level 27)
- Green Salamander (Level 29)
- Spined Larupia (Level 31)
- Barb Tailed Kebbit (Level 33)
- Snowy Knight (Level 35)
- Prickly Kebbit (Level 37)
- Horned Graahk (Level 41)
- Black Warlock (Level 45)
- Orange Salamander (Level 47)
- Saber Toothed Kebbit (Level 51)
- Chinchopa (Level 53)
- Saber Toothed Kyatt (Level 55)
- Red Salamander (Level 59)
- Carnivorous Chinchompa (Level 63)
- Black Salamander (Level 67)
- Black Chinchompa (Level 73)
Added 7 different types of traps:
- Bird snare
- Butterfly jar/net
- Deadfall trap
- Box trap
- Rabbit snare
- Net trap
- Pitfall trap
Multiple traps can be placed at once depending on players hunter level:
- Level 1 - one trap
- Level 20 - two traps
- Level 40 - three traps
- Level 60 - four traps
- Level 80 - five traps
Rebuilt & upgraded various regions of the map and added hunter entity spawning to them.
Added 3 tiers of hunter potions.
Added 2 new amulets: Strung kebbit claw and Strung rabbit foot.
Added new tool - Barb tailed harpoon (Boosts fishing rate for harpoon type of fish)
Added new weapons and ammo: Green, red and black salamander and Swamp, Magmatius and Noiled tars.
Added new skiller armors (hunter armors)

Wilderness bosses

Wilderness is no longer safe for solo adventurers - we have added 3 new wilderness bosses to multi-combat areas for more group boss fighting adventures!

Venenatis

Players with arachnophobia will not like this one - Venenatis is a new spider type boss that uses his ranged and melee attacks to stun players in place. The monster has a special attack that stuns players and even 1 hit kills them if they are not praying againt magic. This monster drop uncut dragonstones and a new unique ring - Treasonous ring.

Scorpia

Have you ever been annoyed by the scorpions in the dwarven mine? If yes - this is your time to take revenge and defeat Scorpia - a new melee type boss. But be careful as it has the ability to spawn guardians once on low health. This monster drops wrath runes, dragon scimitar and more!

Chaos Elemental

It's a bird, it's a plane... No - it's an aggressive cloud! Chaos elemental is a magical creature dealing magic and melee damage to those that encounter it. It has multiple special attacks such as using a random type of attack, swapping your hotbar or throwing you towards a random location. This monster drop dragon knifes and other useful mid/end game items.

Map changes

With each update, the Minescape map keeps expanding. This update is no different and brings the following changes to the world of Minescape:

New building - Sorcerer's tower. The tower is currently just a building and does not have functionality. It can be accessed by walking or using a portal inside the Magic Guild.
Yanille - A new city has been finally built by our construction workers! This city features a bar, general store, hunter equipment & tools stores, house portal, Magic guild, a beacon, spawn anchor, best-in-game spot for beetroot, agility shortcut and more!

More trees, please! - We've added lots of new spots for end-game trees around the map.
Lukewarm lake - Summer is coming and Minescape player are working hard to fight the heat. With this update, our explorers have found a lukewarm lake somewhere near Feldip hills. It seems that players are able swim in the lake and enjoy the sun!

QoL changes, small new features & bug fixes

It would not be an update if we did not include technical changes, bug fixed and quality of life changes! This update brings the following changes:

Chopped down trees can no longer be climbed or get stuck in.
Added hunter mob catch rate increase to the RNG booster.
Added a missing message to wilderness pvp for when a player is too low combat level to attack an opponent.
Fixed a bug with skills necklace causing it to crumble at 0 uses.
Fixed an issue that caused slayer point stacking.
Fixed an issue with slayer helmet not working on Mole boss.
Improved /items command! Searching should be more accurate and you can now search for multiple items at once using /items name;name2;name3.
Fixed an issue with Mole boss hitbox
Mining has received a slight re-work and a lot more balancing! From now on ores have a chance to be fully mined based on the ore tier instead of set 100% rate. Some ores still have 100% chance to be mined each time, but this change should help players with early/mid level mining grinds and coal/smithing grind.
We've added 3D models for fishing tools.
Added a new construction utility block: Checkpoint block! When players step on this block on an island they can use /icp command to get teleported back to it.
Fixed a spelling mistake in Lumbridge tree anomaly quest asking for 50 oak trees instead of 50 small oak trees.
We've added missing bonuses to 3rd age amulet, cloak, shield.
Added teleport option to the rune essence mine to Sedridor in the wizard's tower.
Removed quest specific items from possible jobs tasks pool.
Added a sub-command for /skills command. You can now use /skills <skillname> to open the wiki of a skill directly.
Added /lockall and /unlockall commands. These commands will lock / unlock your entire inventory (and equipment) at once.
Added a boss pet shop. You may now purchase boss pets using boss pet tokens in Lumbridge. Higher ranks require less tokens to obtain the pets.

Added missing trout and salmon fishing spots to the barbarian village.
Added RNG booster display to the scoreboard.
Added missing swordfish fishing spot to musa point.
You can now click to instantly walk through the al-kharid gate after completing the Price Ali rescue quest.
Fish obtained from the fishing minigame will now count for your active job task.
Added Ak-Haranu, a bolt rack seller to Phastmatys.
Added bonfires - If a player creates a fire and does not move, they will keep adding logs to the same fire for 10% less xp. Players can still continue training firemaking the active way for normal xp rate.
Added throwing knifes. They can be obtained from monsters or by smithing them. Dragon throwing knifes have a special attack: shift right clicking will throw an extra knife at the same time.
Fixed an issue with Dust devils not dropping fire runes correctly.
Added hunter entities, traps, regions.
Updated the prices of RNG booster and fixed an issue with clue scrolls giving boosted loot when opened with RNG booster on. From now on clue scroll rewards are pre-rolled meaning you have to complete the clue scroll with RNG booster on to get boosted rewards, instead of just opening pre-collected caskets.
Dropping items in the wilderness now drops it for everyone.
Fixed texture pack issues causing some players to crash.
Added hunter skill.
Updated the looks of skill-capes.
Added Yanille teleport spell.
Fixed lag issues in some unfinished areas of Minescape.
You can no longer high/low alch your equipped armor pieces.
Added Treasonous ring.
Added dragon scimitar drop.
Added shiny weapons. They have no special abilities or stats besides being super rare versions or the base item. Only melee weapons exist in shiny form.
We've updated the online map.

The end

GamesLabs Network is looking for Network builders! Network builders are responsible for building new minigames/maps for the GamesLabs network (outside Minescape). If you are interested in the position, join our Discord and message / ping RockTheFlag or Scipio3000 directly.

That's all for our first update of season 6. It took us a lot of energy and time to achieve things that we needed for this update, and so I thank all staff members for their creativity & input!

Thank you all and see you next update.

Season 6 update 1 - Let's go hunting