How to build a world

[andrewducker]

The first overall goal of the world generator is to create enough information to produce a basic biome display. A lot of initial attempts at a world generator will start with things like "I need to lay down some forests, and some mountains, and some rivers, and some deserts..." and then when you end up with a jungle next to a desert, or a desert next to a swamp in an unlikely way, it's difficult to fix.

So the idea is to go down to basic elements. The biomes are not the basics, they arise, at least in DF, from several factors: temperature, rainfall, elevation, drainage. First, it uses midpoint displacement to make an elevation map.

It also makes a temperature map (biased by elevation and latitude) and a rainfall map (which it later biases with orographic precipitation, rain shadows, that sort of thing). The drainage map is just another fractal, with values from 0 to 100. So we can now query a square and get rainfall, temp, elevation and drainage data.

This is where the biome comes from. There's an additional vegetation field so it can alter the amount (from logging for example), and there's also a "savagery" and a "good/evil" field. So for instance, if rainfall is >=66/100 and drainage is less than 50, then you have a swamp.

I'd never realised that Dwarf Fortress was so complex. And then I read this interview. Sadly, I'm too shallow and time-poor to give it the kind of time and attention it deserves.

So instead I have From Dust pre-ordered, which is less intrinsically complex, but a damn sight prettier:

Comments

[steer.livejournal.com]

Dwarf fortress is seriously insane. I find it really confusing. I do like games which are properly "difficult" to understand the system but it really is quite crazily involved.

[spacelem.livejournal.com]

It certainly has a steep learning curve. Unfortunately I didn't get very far into it myself because of that.

[philmophlegm.livejournal.com]

Same here.

[anton-p-nym.livejournal.com]

I have From Dust for the Xbox, and it is an awesomely pretty and fun game.

-- Steve is now stuck on a level with multiple volcanos; lava management is not his forte.

[andrewducker]

To be honest, I was tempted to go XBox for the big screen, but it looked like the kind of game that was best played with a mouse.

[anton-p-nym.livejournal.com]

It plays quite well with the Xbox controllers; the only quibble I have is with the slowwed scroll speed to allow greater precision, but even that is manageable with a "go fast" button.

-- Steve was hoping it'd support Kinect. Mwahahah, god-like power and grand gestures!

[chuma.livejournal.com]

What is your XBL username btw? I'm pretty sure I don't have you added, just incase your game collection include left4dead or other such multiplayer things.

[andrewducker]

AndrewDucker - add me!

I keep meaning to go looking for you.

Not that I've been near the console recently. Not had the energy/enthusiasm.

[eatsoylentgreen.livejournal.com]

I love dwarf fortress! But you're right, you have to be taught how to play it, I recommend Youtube.

[eatsoylentgreen.livejournal.com]

[the world generation] also makes a temperature map (biased by elevation and latitude) and a rainfall map (which it later biases with orographic precipitation, rain shadows, that sort of thing).

holy shit

[chuma.livejournal.com]

I've not heard good things about From Dust to be honest. They are also not giving out free copies to reviewers which is always a bad sign. Pretty it is, but frustrating gameplay and not a patch on Populous seems to be the concensus. Isn't to say you definitely wont like it, but be forewarned.

[andrewducker]

I've heard a variety of different things. It's definitely not as free-form as Populous, but for £11 I'm happy to at least give it a go. Even if it's bad I won't feel too bad for that kind of cash.

[anton-p-nym.livejournal.com]

I don't think the game has much replay value and flexibility (certainly not as much as some other God-games, given that it's more of a puzzle game in play style) but at the price I don't feel ripped off.

-- Steve certainly can't complain it's too short, given that he hasn't finished it yet.

[alextfish.livejournal.com]

Dwarf Fortress is an absolutely astonishingly deep game.

From Dust I've not heard about, but certainly looks pretty.

[blackmanxy.livejournal.com]

From Dust is fun--and very pretty--but it's really more a puzzle game than a god game. My one complaint so far is that it would be nice to be able to just sit and muck around with world-building for a while, but every level seems to have some kind of feature that essentially acts as a timer limiting how long you can play before it becomes impossible to win.

[octopoid-horror.livejournal.com]

Dwarf Fortress is very complex, but in a way limited by it being a one-man show.