RuneScape:Wiki Post/Editorials/Graphical Improvements...?

Recently, the trolls of RuneScape were given graphical updates to look and animation, as did their homes. Lots of races currently use the newest graphics made by Jagex. The older players, however, can very well remember how it used to be.



Let's go back to, say, 2007, when High Detail (and lots of other things, like Summoning, Sumona, and Soul Wars, but let’s forget that) was not yet released. Trolls, humans, and gnomes all used the same animations. These animations could barely be called animations, as they consisted of simply moving the body back and forth every game tick. Not the mention the poor textures. Anyway, when the Summoning familiars were released, they used upgraded animations, although they still had no texture due to the lack of the "HD element". This was released in July 2008 and from then on, Jagex actually started frequently improving the looks of basically everything.

For example, animation pack were released in which weapons and their animations were updated. Races received revamps, such as ogres in March 2009, dragons in July 2010 and the long-awaited updates to gnomes in February 2011. New versions of RuneTek were released. Tweening, particles and with Elemental Workshop IV bloom lighting were instated and are now used in basically every updated. We’re in the middle of the Era of Improved Graphics. Few things still have the old, blocky look, such as vampires and vampyres.

Even with current graphics, a few categories can be seen.
 * 1) Let’s take the Legend’s Quest as an example. This is an old quest and when RSHD was released, everything was simply textured. The Kharazi dungeon featuring in the quest is very simple and has the most used dungeon decoration of the game: stalagmites and probably some corpses too. Now, these are barely or even not used in new dungeons, such as the Forinthry Dungeon. Instead, interesting rocks and boulders can be found lying around everywhere. Also, did anyone notice that the Galarpos Mountains, specifically the part above Arposandra that features in Prisoner of Glouphrie look identical in graphics to the new Trollheim? Hm.
 * 2) On the next level of graphical awesomeness lie things like While Guthix Sleeps. The new locations from that quest are more detailed and interesting to explore and when released were exceptional. By now, they are something like the minimum for new places. Which brings us to the newest kind of graphics...
 * 1) Places like Daemonheim, or the lower parts of the Elemental Workshop feature today’s best graphics. With an incredible eye for detail, like the strange faces everywhere on Daemonheim’s walls or the particle lava with bloom lighting coming from the torches in Lumbridge Swamp, the currently used graphics really mark the highlight of RuneScape’s look.

So, in a nutshell, there are always things out there to be updated. Perhaps over five years the now in my opinion great looking gnomes, or trolls, or those dragons are updated again and the great graphics and graphical effects that we love today will be like DeviousMUD in our eyes. But perhaps not. We’ll see how graphics will evolve further but for now, let's enjoy what we’ve got!


 * By: Fswe1.

What is your opinion on graphical updates? I’m happy that they are done frequently. Personally, I don’t really care about how things look in RuneScape. I think it’s a waste of time, more important things can be made instead of new looks.