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Particles are used to simulate fuzzy phenomena, which are very hard to reproduce with three-dimensional rendering. Hundreds and thousands of particles can be generated, using relatively little processing power, to create effects that would have been too costly and demanding using existing polygon techniques.

History[]

Particles were first mentioned in a Developer's Blog in August 2009.[1] Mod Chris E stated that particle effects would be introduced into the game, along with sky boxes, bloom lighting effects, and water reflections.

Particle effects made their first appearance with the 2009 Christmas event. The first glimpse of particles was the snow coming out of the wardrobes through which players entered to get to the Land of Snow. Upon entering the Land of Snow, snowflakes would fall from the sky if the particle effects option was on. Flakes that were far away appeared smaller than the ones in the foreground, giving a three dimensional perspective of the scenery.

Mod Woody stated in the forums that magic spells, hair, smoke, and fog will all benefit from particle effects.[2] He has also mentioned that particles might be used in upcoming quests and places, such as Zanaris and the Fairy Tale III quest, the final quest in the Fairy Tale quest series.[2]

There are all sorts of things we would like to enhance with particles, and we will be adding particle effects to certain areas and animations soon. This Christmas update is just a glimpse of what we have planned, as we didn't want to hold it back any longer. In the future, you could be seeing particles used for all sorts, from fountains and chimneys to fires and magic effects. We'll also be giving other snowy areas a similar treatment in the near future.
 
— Mod Woody[3]

Many of the mentioned elements has been subsequently updated.

Appearances in-game[]

From that point on, newly released content often featured particle effects.

Items with particles[]

Overrides with particles[]

Trivia[]

  • Contrary to popular belief, the Dramatic Point emote does not use particles. It actually uses polygons as snowflakes.
  • Particles cannot be seen through the Ghostly robes.

References[]

  1. ^ Mod Chris E. "RuneTek 5." 26 August 2009. Developers' Blogs.
  2. ^ a b Mod Woody. "Blog: Snow Particles." 18-Dec-2009. RuneScape Forums.
  3. ^ Mod Woody. "Particles." 18-Dec-2009. Developers' Blogs.
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