public final int getNumPlayersInRect(final Rectangle rect) {
        int ret = 0;

        charactersLock.readLock().lock();
        try {
            final Iterator<MapleCharacter> ltr = characters.iterator();
            MapleCharacter a;
            while (ltr.hasNext()) {
                if (rect.contains(ltr.next().getTruePosition())) {
                    ret++;
                }
            }
        } finally {
            charactersLock.readLock().unlock();
        }
        return ret;
    }