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Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.development (More info?)
This post really has two questions in it:
* How can I generate realistic cities? (modern or slight future)
* Does anyone have experience of / information on very large maps in
roguelikes?
(These two ideas might actually come together in a game idea I am
fiddling with.)
Within cities (covering the whole map), I have had the idea of taking
the area, splitting it recursively into random rectangles down to some
size, (implemented) then filling the resulting rectangles with grids of
streets (not yet implemented).
For large maps, I am considering a simplified version of the system
described here:
http://www.drizzle.com/~scottb/gdc/continuous-world.htm
If I use their multiple-coordinate-systems system, then I will be able
to have maps which are non-euclidean (due to ancient magical /
technological history, or maybe the inside of a visiting TARDIS) or
infinite (or whole-planet, e.g. Coruscant), though a pair of 16-bit ints
for each co-ordinate would not be too much of a space-strain for me if I
were using Euclidean co-ordiantes (as opposed to the pair of 32- or
64-bit ints that Dungeon Siege would have needed). I could split the
map into chunks and only keep nearby or important chunks in memory at
one time. Some things could be re-generated each time using a seeded
RNG, as buildings will be (fairly) indestructible. The advantage of
only performing calculations for only a fraction of the map is increased
speed, and not having everything in the game either charge at you from
half-way across the city or run away before you every see it so you can
never catch it.
One problem plot-wise with cities is that you can explore in any
direction in a city, rather than starting at the top and working down as
in a dungeon, so it becomes hard to come up with a way of getting the
player to encounter easy enemies first, and harder ones later.
Obviously traditional rogue-player behaviour (slaughter) would cause
some alarm, and cause progressively stronger weapons/troops to be sent
in (only fun if you're Godzilla or similar), which might be able to
provide the required effect.
Some random mobile things you could encounter, from various possible
roguelikes set in modern cities (playing as e.g.: street-trader, pimp,
spy, rampaging monster, policeman ("cop" for you Americans), etc.):
* child, youth, (young/old) woman, (young/old) man
* car, van, SUV, motorbike, lorry,
* fireman, fire truck, policeman, police car, medic/doctor, ambulance
* marine, sniper, tank, humvee, B52
* helicopter, news reporter, camera crew
* scientist, banker, shopkeeper, office worker, street performer,
street-cleaner (the person or the vehicle), driver, builder
* punk, mod, rocker
* whore, pimp, drug-dealer
* spy (once identified)
* cat, dog, rat, alligator (sewers), (various zoo animals)
Some of these were mentioned also in the cyberpunk posts, but cyberpunk
is too far in the future for what I'm thinking of.
From:
--
Simon Richard Clarkstone: s.r.cl?rkst?n?@durham.ac.uk/s?m?n.cl?rkst?n?@
hotmail.com ### "I have a spelling chequer / it came with my PC /
it plainly marks for my revue / Mistake's I cannot sea" ...
by: John Brophy (at: http://www.cfwf.ca/farmj/fjjun96/)
This post really has two questions in it:
* How can I generate realistic cities? (modern or slight future)
* Does anyone have experience of / information on very large maps in
roguelikes?
(These two ideas might actually come together in a game idea I am
fiddling with.)
Within cities (covering the whole map), I have had the idea of taking
the area, splitting it recursively into random rectangles down to some
size, (implemented) then filling the resulting rectangles with grids of
streets (not yet implemented).
For large maps, I am considering a simplified version of the system
described here:
http://www.drizzle.com/~scottb/gdc/continuous-world.htm
If I use their multiple-coordinate-systems system, then I will be able
to have maps which are non-euclidean (due to ancient magical /
technological history, or maybe the inside of a visiting TARDIS) or
infinite (or whole-planet, e.g. Coruscant), though a pair of 16-bit ints
for each co-ordinate would not be too much of a space-strain for me if I
were using Euclidean co-ordiantes (as opposed to the pair of 32- or
64-bit ints that Dungeon Siege would have needed). I could split the
map into chunks and only keep nearby or important chunks in memory at
one time. Some things could be re-generated each time using a seeded
RNG, as buildings will be (fairly) indestructible. The advantage of
only performing calculations for only a fraction of the map is increased
speed, and not having everything in the game either charge at you from
half-way across the city or run away before you every see it so you can
never catch it.
One problem plot-wise with cities is that you can explore in any
direction in a city, rather than starting at the top and working down as
in a dungeon, so it becomes hard to come up with a way of getting the
player to encounter easy enemies first, and harder ones later.
Obviously traditional rogue-player behaviour (slaughter) would cause
some alarm, and cause progressively stronger weapons/troops to be sent
in (only fun if you're Godzilla or similar), which might be able to
provide the required effect.
Some random mobile things you could encounter, from various possible
roguelikes set in modern cities (playing as e.g.: street-trader, pimp,
spy, rampaging monster, policeman ("cop" for you Americans), etc.):
* child, youth, (young/old) woman, (young/old) man
* car, van, SUV, motorbike, lorry,
* fireman, fire truck, policeman, police car, medic/doctor, ambulance
* marine, sniper, tank, humvee, B52
* helicopter, news reporter, camera crew
* scientist, banker, shopkeeper, office worker, street performer,
street-cleaner (the person or the vehicle), driver, builder
* punk, mod, rocker
* whore, pimp, drug-dealer
* spy (once identified)
* cat, dog, rat, alligator (sewers), (various zoo animals)
Some of these were mentioned also in the cyberpunk posts, but cyberpunk
is too far in the future for what I'm thinking of.
From:
--
Simon Richard Clarkstone: s.r.cl?rkst?n?@durham.ac.uk/s?m?n.cl?rkst?n?@
hotmail.com ### "I have a spelling chequer / it came with my PC /
it plainly marks for my revue / Mistake's I cannot sea" ...
by: John Brophy (at: http://www.cfwf.ca/farmj/fjjun96/)