Tutorial: Map Generator - Complete Landscapes: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:15, 22 January 2011

This is the last part of the tutorial, in which complete landscapes will be discussed. After having completed this tutorial you should be fully equipped to generate dynamic maps yourself. Creating a complete landscape requires much more effort than writing a few lines of map generator code. The two examples in this part show a strategy on how to tackle the problems involved when creating maps suitable for an actual scenario.

Iron Peak

Imagine we want to create a scenario where the player is required to extract all ore from the earth - also known as ore mine. As ore mine usually is a simple goal the landscape should provide the challenge, therefore we'd like to create a mountain peak. For some added difficulty we may add blizzards in script, therefore we imagine the peak at such an altitude that snow and ice appear naturally. We extend the map size from our standard 1000x1000 pixels to 1000x2000 pixels such that it is two times higher and we really have a peak. So the first design decision we make is that both the top and bottom of the map are open and that the peak should cover about 2/3 of the bottom and should end somewhere just below the top. To allow some methods of settlement to the player the shape of the peak should not be just a straight-lined triangle, but rather shaped more roughly. The outside of the peak should mainly consist of rock granite and ice, maybe with some minor entrances - read tunnel material - to the inside. The inside should contain all kinds of materials, amongst them at least ore, coal, sulphur, ice and rock. The best strategy is to concern ourselves with the basic shape of the peak itself first and then constructing the out and insides. As a first try use the mandel algorithm.

Volcano

Exercise: Be Creative!

Now it's your turn to be creative, as your knowledge about the map generator is complete. [TODO: Create new page where the reader can upload his creations, and invite him to do so]

Summary

Congratulations! Now you know everything about the map generator. So please enrich the community with many dynamically landscaped scenarios.

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 ==Iron Peak==
-Imagine we want to create a scenario where the player is required to extract all ore from the earth - also known as ore mine. As ore mine usually is a simple goal the landscape should provide the challenge, therefore we'd like to create a mountain peak. For some added difficulty we may add blizzards in script, therefore we imagine the peak at such an altitude that snow and ice appear naturally. So the first design decision we make is that both the top and bottom of the map are open and that the peak should cover about 2/3 of the bottom and should end somewhere just below the top.
+Imagine we want to create a scenario where the player is required to extract all ore from the earth - also known as ore mine. As ore mine usually is a simple goal the landscape should provide the challenge, therefore we'd like to create a mountain peak. For some added difficulty we may add blizzards in script, therefore we imagine the peak at such an altitude that snow and ice appear naturally. We extend the map size from our standard 1000x1000 pixels to 1000x2000 pixels such that it is two times higher and we really have a peak. So the first design decision we make is that both the top and bottom of the map are open and that the peak should cover about 2/3 of the bottom and should end somewhere just below the top. To allow some methods of settlement to the player the shape of the peak should not be just a straight-lined triangle, but rather shaped more roughly. The outside of the peak should mainly consist of rock granite and ice, maybe with some minor entrances - read tunnel material - to the inside. The inside should contain all kinds of materials, amongst them at least ore, coal, sulphur, ice and rock.
+The best strategy is to concern ourselves with the basic shape of the peak itself first and then constructing the out and insides. As a first try use the mandel algorithm.
 ==Volcano==