World Processing Cycle

Each section is listed in order.

Some unknowns...

• run energy recovery processing details: where does it live in player processing
• longqueue processing details: where to execute accelerated scripts/discard scripts
• how they cancel logout e.g. a trigger called "logout" that runs when the player requests to logout
• how they cancel movement e.g. a trigger called "movecheck" that runs pre-movement

World processing

• world queue
• NPC spawn scripts
• NPC hunt

Client input

• read packets
  • may resume suspended script (pausebutton, countdialog)
• calculate pathfinding request (if not using clientside pathfinding)

note: pathfinding calculates once at the end to save processing time! do not do it for every move packet
note: if using clientside pathfinding, the server still has to validate the input (like every other packet should)

NPC processing

• if not busy:
  • resume suspended script
  • stat regen
  • timer
  • queue
  • movement
  • modes

note: npc stat regen is done at the engine level here, not like player stat regen
note: null mode will set to default mode (config) this tick, which will run starting next tick

Controller processing

• timer
• queue

note: controllers do not exist in these early years. Included for completeness.

Player processing

• resume suspended script if it was delayed
• primary queue: normal, strong (late 2004+), soft (osrs?)
  • if strong is in the queue at all, close interface
  • running strong closes interface
  • do not run script if busy (delayed || modal)
• weak queue
• timers
• soft timers
• engine queue
  • levelup trigger, queued after gaining a level
  • area trigger, not in 2004
• loc/obj interactions
• movement (the pathfinding request)
• player/npc interactions
• close interface if attempting to logout

note: closing interfaces clears weak queue
note: player stat regen is a soft timer
note: player run energy recovery is at the engine level (not controlled in runescript)
note: weak queues were introduced september 2004, and strong came separately after that
note: while movecheck is just a theory, we are able to override freezes with other effects which proves there can only be 1 registered trigger

Player logout

• remove player if they have nothing in their queue

Zone processing

• Loc/obj despawn/respawn
• Compute shared event buffers

Client output

• map update (load new zones)
• player info
• npc info
• zone updates
• inv changes
• stat changes
• flush packets