NXT

NXT is Jagex's internal code name for an upcoming downloadable client based on the C++ programming language. It was first teased at RuneFest 2014 as the evolution of the scrapped HTML5 client, though work on NXT has been under way for around 2 and a half years. NXT aims to deliver better performance over the existing Java based client, better graphics than the previously planned HTML5 client, and more platform and operating system support. One of the core design goals of the new client is the ability to load a larger map area and preload maps in the background.

An expected launch date for NXT will be announced at the start of 2016. NXT's launch will be preceded by a beta taking place in the live game. There will also be weekly Developer Blogs in early 2016 to show the progress of NXT's development. The final phase of NXT's development will involve working on optimisation, bug fixes and compatibility fixes. Jagex are planning to fix more systematic bugs (that occur in multiple places across the world) and bugs that cause game play issues before NXT is released; more minor, graphical bugs may not all be resolved before the new client is released. One issue that is still being resolved is the increased draw distance allowing players to see things that they should not be able to see, i.e. when differently located in-game areas are next to each other. To address this Jagex are adding individual restrictions for loading these areas and creating a system to replace the things that shouldn't be seen with things that should e.g. adding sea around an island.

After the release of NXT Jagex wish to phase out the use of the Java based client, to free up resources to make further improvements to NXT, rather than continuing to maintain 2 clients. The timescale for phasing out the Java client will be based on beta data.

Players using NXT will be playing with users of the old Java client, and will keep their progress. A new installer needs to be downloaded and ran to use NXT, as it cannot be ran directly from the current downloadable client.

Graphical improvements

 * Increased draw distance and ability to see players and NPCs from further away than before. The player will be able to see a bit less than the "size of Lumbridge Castle around you in a square" when playing on maximum settings.
 * Fully dynamic lighting and shadows. Shadows will be cast in real time, rather than being spot shadows, and will fall onto the player's character and other scenery rather than being cast onto walls and floors.
 * Improved water with normal mapping of waves; real-time reflection of objects and shadows, including the character's shadow, in the water; and refraction (seeing objects through water when objects are underwater).
 * Fog augmented with physically correct atmospheric scattering. This will stop there being harsh cut-offs in fog, with a fade to "haze" in the distance.
 * Use of MSAA anti-aliasing rather than the previously used FXAA anti-aliasing.
 * NXT will be going back to using Java sky domes, rather than the current cubic environment maps from HTML5, so that the Art Team do not have to maintain 2 sets of sky boxes.
 * Will support normal mapping.

Environment

 * Ability to zoom in and out on the minimap. The minimap will be rendered from above rather than being built out of metadata.
 * The world map will look the same but will have faster loading times.
 * Audio aspects will still be distributed in the same way but they will be streamed dynamically, eliminating some of the lag between audio being downloaded and it being played.
 * A full screen client option will be supported for all operating systems. There will be a borderless full screen window mode.

Technical

 * Better performance and visuals than Java-based client on all machines. More capable PCs will have exponentially better performance.
 * No difference between DirectX and OpenGL graphics modes. DirectX will be indirectly supported as a fallback for OpenGL.
 * More efficient processor core management. Multiple cores will be made use of in loading and creating new rendering assets as well as helping with increased draw distance.
 * Will support dedicated and mobile graphics cards, automatically using the dedicated graphics card when possible.
 * NXT will have support for 32 and 64 bit Windows, with its installer automatically detecting which version is needed. Initially there will only be support for a 64 bit version for Linux.
 * Will be possible to run multiple clients at the same time, but this will affect performance especially on older, single core PCs.
 * There will be less loading times and can be expected to not have any loading times when walking/running between areas.
 * Players can enable Vsync to lock the FPS to the monitor's refresh rate, however this can be turned off to provide an uncapped FPS.

Beta
There will be upcoming beta weekends to test out NXT, only available to Gold Premier Club members, and players who have had continuous membership since 31 January 2012.

The recommended system specifications are as follows:


 * CPU - Dual Core, AMD Phenom II, Intel i3/i5 CPU, 2.4+ GHz
 * RAM - 4GB+
 * GPU - GeForce 400x series, Intel HD 4x series, AMD Radeon 7xxx series
 * Disk drive - Very fast HDD, ideally Hybrid HDD or SSD

There is no limitation or non-disclosure agreements associated with the beta.

Limitations

 * No browser version will be available on release. This is due to lack of support, e.g. lack of support for threads, and performance problems when using browsers.
 * NXT will not be supported on tablets and mobiles.
 * Uses more storage space because more data is stored uncompressed. It will use at most 10Gb of space, compared to 4Gb with the Java client. NXT will have more offline processing of assets.
 * It will not be possible to see players on other levels. Though it is possible for this ability to be enabled, Jagex have decided not to do so.
 * There will be no changes to textures, e.g. snow, on launch.
 * Support for modding will not be added to NXT.
 * Server side tick rate will not be changed.
 * Dynamic weather will not be added as this would interfere with the themes of different areas e.g. area lighting.