i've never been this excited over a program before...

Eraserhead wrote:You two guys must be our top2 in nerds in this clan, good to have you with us.

^This Altough nerd is a compliment in these computer based days so dont you evend are to feel bad about it.

Sgt Pepper wrote:

Eraserhead wrote:You two guys must be our top2 in nerds in this clan, good to have you with us.

^This Altough nerd is a compliment in these computer based days so dont you evend are to feel bad about it.

Nerds=main industrials
main industrials=powerful people
powerful people=badasses
Nerds=badasses
I don't think I used the proper terms, and I don't even know wtf I was typing, I just know that nerds are badasses and basicly own the industries now a days....
Also, can we stop getting off topic? I don't know too much about this computer stuff but it sounds interesting...

ok, well phase one is down. i kind of have a "pre-alpha" of this random map generator figured out.

and this is what it produces:


i set up a very basic algorithm to generate somewhat coherent maps. 4 blocks are placed at random at the start of the process. after that, the program picks a random space, checks if there are any blocks adjacent to it. only if there is just one will another block be placed, the process then repeats 500 times. this makes continuous walls instead of just random blocks. the height of each block is determined by how many blocks are adjacent to it.




and yes, that is excell, no i have not completely figured out the .vmf format yet.

for now, the program exports a .csv file which can be read by excel

Code:

0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,2,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,4,0,0,2,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,2,0,2,2,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,2,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,2,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,1,0,1,2,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,2,0,0,0,2,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,2,0,0,0,2,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,1,0,0,2,0,0,0,0,0,0,1
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,2,0,3,0,0,1,0,0,3,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,2,0,2,3,0,0,2,0,1
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,2,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,2,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,2
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,2,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0

next steps:

• make the concentration of blocks be determined by the user.(done)
  
• somehow generate pseudo-symmetry(done)
  
• get the program to export .vmf files (done)
  
• improve* path creation algorithms
  
• generate 2nd level of map / ramps
  
• make dead-end eliminating algorithm
  
• buildings
  
• terrain
  
• entities
  

* by "improve" i mean "create"

sweet, i figured out the .vmf format, check it out:

Cool! This reminds me of the custom map generator from SOF II. It was ment to be the best part of the game, having maps that change everytime you play one. Problem was that most of the maps where random and/or unplayeble because of the outlay. In fact I only remember having a decent map in it once

got a bit further today.

i decided i want to make the program create two passes. the first pass generates an array of values that determine how likely an item or geographical feature is to spawn, and the second pass places them.

this is what i mean:



this is the winding wall creation algorithm my initial program used, just scaled up a bit. it doesn't do much on it's own except creates semi-random walls.

this new process takes each point where a wall exists, mirrors it over the diagonal, and places a circular gradient around it:




this "weight map", along with many others i will create further down the line, will determine how likely a block is to spawn in that area. other things will affect this as well. when i get spawns working, they will affect the placement weight map by creating an area in front of them in which no blocks can spawn. adding capture points will increase the possibility for blocks spawning in the blocks between it, other blocks, and spawn rooms.

I will also have weight maps for the height of each block, possible spawn points for health and ammo, terrain, and other things yet to be determined.




edit: these ones took my computer roughly 5 minutes to generate

i'm working on adding a bit more user input as well, i'm thinking images to sort of give the map a general layout.

the result? a program that turns 24-bit .bmp files into microsoft excel files!



you can't see much, but that's the latest version of excel with conditional formatting on a HUGE number of cells. i just start zooming out...


edit, i tried doing the PULP banner, but it's too big and crashed excel.

i'm definitely moving this over to java. object oriented programming allows for so much more, i've just gotta learn it. a neat little side effect of this is i now have a program that can generate huge mazes, like this one:




yes, you can make it all the way through.