Game square

Runescape runs on squares. Not the cereal bars, but an area of land. Every time the player moves, he/she walks a number of squares, depending on how far away she/he clicked. The player, when he/she moves, must move at least 1 square. The player cannot be in the middle of 2 squares, even if the game lags, the player will move to the nearest square.

Every piece of scenery, whether it be a house or a tree, takes up a number of squares. Squares are vital for spacing the world out. Without squares, co-ordinates would be next to impossible, and inserting trees/scenery would be very hard. With squares, it is easy for Jagex to space everything out and leave room for players to move about.

However, there are some drawbacks with using squares, most notably the inability of 360° movement. This means that the player can only move up and down, left and right, and diagonal. It is easier put using a simple compass diagram:

In-game use of squares
There are several aspects of the game which use squares:


 * Weapons:
 * Halberds- They allow a distance of 1 square between the player and his/her enemy.
 * Ranged- There is a maximum range of ranged weapons. They differ from weapon to weapon, but the concept is the same. A throwing knife may have a range of 6 squares, for exampe.
 * Magic - All combat spells have a maximum range of 8 or so.


 * Scenery- ALL scenery uses squares for its dimensions.


 * Treasure Trails:
 * Co-ordinate clues need squares to work. Without squares, the player could be wandering around the area digging for hours.