I've got a demo[1] where people can play with (my interpretation of) various calculation engines, adjust variables, etc. But seeing this comment made me realise I've never heard of Verlet integration[2] before - not surprising given that I got an F in Maths (and got thrown out of Physics before I could take the exam). So ... how efficient and accurate is Verlet compared to Euler/Runge-Kutte/etc? And what other methods are out there for this sort of calculation?
[1] - https://scrawl-v8.rikweb.org.uk/demo/particles-008.html
Verlet integration became the go-to method for particle effects and soft surfaces back when people wrote their own game engines, mostly thanks to the paper documenting its implementation for the first Hitman game [1]. In fact, I'd say it got cargo-culted by game devs for that purpose and that purpose only, despite it being a general method and competing with others.
[1]: https://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/academic/class/15462-s13/www/l...