[MMOSlut]

They've said since day one, they don't want to keep that map. And they also said they definitely don't want any more generated towns.

[Insu Dra]

Plz do it right, I love the idea but don't make it sterile noise ... (Semi-)Procedural, give artists poi's (points of interest) to work with and let math blend those in.

Best example of this would be Fuel:
http://www.edge-online.com/features/making-fuel/
http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=5134

Just some inspiration, fully randomized terrain I was working on in unity 3D just to see how far I could push the engine (ugh mono gc :p)
http://www.twitch.tv/insudra/c/3509294 (detail view 10 sec in)

I have to vote yes, procedural is the future after all ..

[Sir Walrus]

Snapster posted:

They always planned on making a new map, the current map was just to see how big they could possibly make a map. The devs said they dont want to have towns/cities in the map, they want players to make their own towns/cities. Procedural generated maps will make each server more unique than other servers ontop of player owned towns/cities.

Yeah but alot of loot is in the towns and how we gonna get that?

[Beo]

fuhrerboy posted:

this
they should add a lot of diffrent maps, but not random ones. I seriously don't like the idea.

They can always add some map making ability, so the tons of paper would finally find some good use. Or just a map in the corner that reveals itself while you explore, with visible friend locations.

[bananaface]

Beo posted:

They can always add some map making ability, so the tons of paper would finally find some good use. Or just a map in the corner that reveals itself while you explore, with visible friend locations.

Paper has an amazing use right now, I stuff them in weapons crates for trolling purposes.

[/creativename]

Warm posted:

I'd rather have progressive maps. New experience every time.

Still, an option would be nice.

[nick347b]

Menenyay posted:

Wait how long as there been a massive city at the center of the map?

There isn't.

Owen153 posted:

The 'play area' was set to the lower left section of the map, but it has always been this size. The areas outside the designated player zone has no resources (except trees...) and no roads, buildings, or loot. You can build there, if you're willing to walk a lot. I'm not sure where the OP got this copy, but the extra roads and buildings are not part of the existing game map.... unless there's been a major change overnight!!

I found it through google posted in another forum thread, I don't know if that OP made it or not. Either way, it's an edited version of a map that another player made himself and released in a different forum thread. Again, I don't know who shooped in the roads, towns and snow, but it looks pretty cool.

SirZiggy posted:

People always talk about compasses, am I the only person who uses the sun as a compass? Back when I was learning the map/trying to find my way to friends I found the sun works realistically in that it rises in the east and sets in the west.

It actually rises in the south and sets in the north, lol. No idea why it turned out like that.

[Sievers808]

nick347b posted:

It actually rises in the south and sets in the north, lol. No idea why it turned out like that.

I like to think that the island just rotated... so it still rises/sets in east/west. Just had to find a rotated map online until I got comfortable with it again.

God damn it really threw me for a loop at first, though lol.

[Boseknows]

@OP, I prefer the procedural map generation. The unpredictability and exploration aspect it adds to the game is a significant boon.

With regard to rad towns, I would not be surprised if they are significantly re-vamped for the next big release. Perhaps they will no longer be the "loot farms" we are used to. I doubt they will be eliminated entirely, but they may have a different role.

With regard to navigation, I agree that a compass would not be a worthwhile addition to the game, provided the paths of the sun and moon remain consistent. Instead, I think it would be most productive to add a coordinate system, not unlike the one in Minecraft (which also uses procedural maps). However, it might be interesting to include some obstacles to obtaining one's coordinates. For instance, perhaps it would require a GPS device that can be found as common loot.

[hippowombat]

Something like this would be really cool for in game map making and would go great with procedural maps. This dude is a genius.

[OneJibmoNatio]

Procedural maps are good stuffs. They'd make a nice starter point if there were an option to either let the game automatically place landmarks and resource spawns, or to start with a clean slate (just terrain/trees, etc) and have an in-game map editor. Server admin sets the game to generate procedural map and turns on map editing mode. Placing roads, static buildings, resource spawns, etc. Other admins could be given permissions to edit as well. Community built map, like they do in the minecraft mod westeroscraft.

[Irres]

Silly question, but how does procedural maps work?? I get what they are, but how does it work in Rust? Every time a join a server it will be a different map? Or will it generate based on outward exploration, but be consistent upon each visit?

I ask because I have trouble finding my f#@ing shack right now in a static map. :)

[Kris101]

If it's done right it would be fantastic. Every server would require a player to re-learn the map, it'd add a while new level to the playing field.

[Sievers808]

Irres posted:

Silly question, but how does procedural maps work?? I get what they are, but how does it work in Rust? Every time a join a server it will be a different map? Or will it generate based on outward exploration, but be consistent upon each visit?

I ask because I have trouble finding my f#@ing shack right now in a static map. :)

Minecraft generates as you travel but I think that's really just because the maps are practically infinite in size.
I'd assume the maps would be generated entirely and then downloaded and used by people who log into the server. The maps aren't that big or intricate so I can't imagine generation taking very long.

But yea presumably every server could have a different map. Some seeds may become popular and there could be a way to hand-craft custom maps, too, who knows?

[Irres]

Yes but then you couldn't maintain structures between generations??? Could you? How would you horde resources? Or would each game be as long as your session?? Which honestly may not be a bad thing, now that I think about it.

Sorry I mean application session not user session. So in short until a server is restarted it would have the same map?

[Sievers808]

Irres posted:

Yes but then you couldn't maintain structures between generations??? Could you? How would you horde resources? Or would each game be as long as your session?? Which honestly may not be a bad thing, now that I think about it.

Oh well the server would generate a map when it's started and then it would use that map until the server was wiped or otherwise reset. Everyone would keep on using the same map...

[Irres]

sorry yeah just thought about that and edited :P

[Sievers808]

What are the "generations" that you're talking about? The map wouldn't regen every time you died or anything...

No one would ever be playing on the same map anymore!

Edited:

A restart wouldn't change the map. The server would have to be entirely wiped then it would generate a new map because it doesn't already have one.

Presumably you could get someone else's map files and put them into your server directory and it would load that map.

[Irres]

I guess that would be really cool, then the admin could choose how long a server/map ran rather than infinitely with older players always overpowering anyone that that joined more recently.

Kind of like, Games will start every Monday...if they chose to. Interesting indeed.

[Sievers808]

For all intents and purposes, while playing on 'X' server, the map will be the same.

Now when that server wipes or if you go to another server, the map will be different.

Edited:

Irres posted:

I guess that would be really cool, then the admin could choose how long a server/map ran rather than infinitely with older players always overpowering anyone that that joined more recently.

Kind of like, Games will start every Monday...if they chose to. Interesting indeed.

Server admins can already do this. It just doesn't generate a new map yet.

Edited:

Also, this is pretty much speculation on my part. Just kind of assuming how it would all work based on other multiplayer games that use procedural generation.

[Irres]

It still helps I was confused I think it's more clear now, thanks.

[xreaverx]

Sir Walrus posted:

Yeah but alot of loot is in the towns and how we gonna get that?

The way I would do it is with them removed I would make a really advanced crafting system. Experimentation and gathering would be required to make pretty much everything in the game. Using trees to make paper and other stuff to make ink that way you can make blueprints to teach other players. This of course would be some in depth crafting but even it obtaining all objects where not realistic it would still be more fun than random drop rates on loot.

[Promethieus]

Since when does procedural mean random?

[utilitron]

Promethieus posted:

Since when does procedural mean random?

You will be able to set the seed.

[kulan]

Procedural Code is a code generated once that another part of the program can refer to at will, in essence a file (in this case a map and map info) generated via a seed.

[Sievers808]

Promethieus posted:

Since when does procedural mean random?

Procedurally generated maps (generally) start with a seed and then follows a procedure to generate a map (or whatever is being generated).

It's not random, per se, but for our use it might as well be.

[LO]

Never will they find me in those generated maps)))

[vachon644]

Boseknows posted:

With regard to navigation, I agree that a compass would not be a worthwhile addition to the game, provided the paths of the sun and moon remain consistent. Instead, I think it would be most productive to add a coordinate system, not unlike the one in Minecraft (which also uses procedural maps). However, it might be interesting to include some obstacles to obtaining one's coordinates. For instance, perhaps it would require a GPS device that can be found as common loot.

GPS is a great idea if it allowed you to track the movements you made from the time you had the GPS. Maybe also setting 'homes' or points on the GPS.. maybe sharing them with friends/allies? I think it would still be necessary that we be able to craft some kind of simple tool that allowed you to get your position, maybe not as precisely as the GPS and without tracking functions.. maybe some kind of wooden astrolabe that told you your latitude in regards to the sun or something?

Edit : What about if you stole your ennemy's GPS? :O

[Sievers808]

GPS? Sounds like "easy-mode" to me. I don't think there should be maps either but those at least seem reasonable in the grand scheme of things.

I think GPS would just be wayyy overpowered in this game.

[cinderstar]

Show me a procedural map that is as good as the current map, and I will be ok with it. So was the current map computer generated with no human fixing?

I will be sad though if there are no more towns and buildings. I like the atmosphere. At least can we have randomly placed loot boxes we can discover?

It seems to me there are lots of problems to be solved if you have no roads or buildings. Solve those and it will be ok.

[utilitron]

cinderstar posted:

Show me a procedural map that is as good as the current map, and I will be ok with it.

http://files.facepunch.com/garry/17_LLM.mp4

[cinderstar]

I notice that map (which looks very nice) has no rocky areas. Was the current map generated without human editing? The current map is incredible in the rocky areas - how well made they are with all of the nooks and crannies, places to hide, to build, to climb. I would love to see that on procedural maps.

Does anyone know if the current map was edited by hand, or made with a very good algorithm.