Andrew had originally planned to just update the graphics. This is no small task,as it involves remodelling every single image,and creating a new system to run it on. But the big man is not someone who does things in half-measures...
For this reason, he is taking this opportunity to actually rewrite the underlying game engine. This way, Jagex can introduce new features that we've been itching to bring to Runescape for ages. Some of these things were suggestions from players, that just weren't possible under the current game engine.
Things like bank-to-bank trading, multi-player combat (e.g. multiple people against one dragon), and rare weapons with special moves. Excited? You should be!
Last December we decided that if we're going to spend this much time and effort doing 3-D graphics, we might as well have a game engine that can do justice to it. This does of course mean that you have to hold out a bit longer than we originally suggested, but we believe that it will be WELL worth the wait.
Runescape will of course be the same game that you know and love- just with more features and things to do. Watch this space for some sneak previews!