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Kruggan

WU Map/Terrain Generator Development

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i'd like to see the same thing as the epic map you guys released. you posted a preview of it. and with the feedback made changes to a more likeable map.


 


i hope you'll do the same, create 4-5 maps to show us , let us vote and then let us suggest changes we like to seee, then poll us on the changes. add to map, re-show the map one more time. for last week of feed back, then minor changes, poof a community helped map for this new Steam client wurm game, that most will like and enjoy helping others learn the game, in hopes to draft them to the real servers after we get them hooked, like evercrack did so many of us years ago. lol


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i'd like to see the same thing as the epic map you guys released. you posted a preview of it. and with the feedback made changes to a more likeable map.

 

i hope you'll do the same, create 4-5 maps to show us , let us vote and then let us suggest changes we like to seee, then poll us on the changes. add to map, re-show the map one more time. for last week of feed back, then minor changes, poof a community helped map for this new Steam client wurm game, that most will like and enjoy helping others learn the game, in hopes to draft them to the real servers after we get them hooked, like evercrack did so many of us years ago. lol

Very good idea IMO.

When it comes to map generator... I will start working on right right after releasing next DP version.

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Very good idea IMO.

When it comes to map generator... I will start working on right right after releasing next DP version.

 

Awesome - thanks to Warlander and all who are contributing.

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I can't develop, but I can donate. Be sure to add the paypal button when you make this :)  Super excited for custom maps.


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OK hvergi -sent


 


Big one i am working on, hope to be able to push it to WU, guess well see. Still lots of softening to do on some of the mountains, also need to decide where to put water and add grasslands, forest ect ect, Lots of shaders to make before its done, but hopefully i can push some version of it to WU and still retain a high level of detail. its 22500 m wide, so a decent sized map. Might eve go for a deep northern alpine setup in perma snow with pine and fir ringing the coasts.


 


QDiWYHF.png


Edited by sunsvortex

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Some things to note about the current version of wurms terrain engine, there are 3 layers rock, dirt, and water. Water is currently at a static height. Weather seems to be attached to the server as a whole kind of like a light switch. There isn't a problem using that as a height map for rock/dirt but wurm will need one of both. However it wouldn't be hard to make that rocks height-map and use a variable to add dirt above it with an avg based on how much of a dirt layer you want. Now that I have typed that out it sounds like a rather good idea. Can it export a height map without shadows?


 


 


Note this is all based on my understanding of the terrain system based on playing without the source hard to say for 100%.


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Yeah just kill shadows, no prob. At the same time it would be interesting to know what the new rendering stuff is capable of doing. Regardless,  if it needs 3 maps thats fine actually. NP at all duplicating maps and making a water level. Do you know what the underground layer is. is that another map or a tweak on the inverse of the rock ? I have seen several approaches on how others have done this, any idea how wurm does it?


 


The biggest things I think for me at least are going to be the textures and shaders. I can sit here and make all the beautiful terrain i want but it all comes down to how well can it be rendered. So that new rendering stuff.....would like to see some specifics on it.


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I think the underground sections is another set of height, however it isn't made by generators. it's ceiling is the rock layer.


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The problem with most terrain generators is just that ..they create the terrain ....the dirt.


 


Wurm has a rock terrain which is different from the dirt terrain, sometimes the rock layer is higher than the dirt creating rock surfaces.


 


from my quick observations, each server has a floor which is about 500 to 2000 units below sea level.


so, the map has a water table, so say for instance a 2048x2048 server, like pristine has a 1000 deep floor. then an average of 150 dirt units to rock.


a tile corner that is at the waters edge would have the double data string 850,1000 for the rock and dirt respectively. 


however 1500 units up the cliff face there's a mine with a tunnel, a normal 30 unit high tunnel.


unbeknown to the miner there's 40 units of rock till he reaches the ceiling of the rock, and above ground it's covered in sand/dirt at 150 units.


this creates a quad data string 2500,2530,2570,2720 and each corner of each tiles has one, obviously adjoining tiles share their corner data strings.


 


any map generator has to be able to create terrains on at least 4 data variables per tile corner.


also to save making maps that are all up and down and look more like those cardboard egg trays, you'll need a geometric softener, which means each tile can only increase or decrease the slopes around it by a certain percentage, plus a small random positive or negative value.


 


i love mathamatics :)


 


== Edit for typos ==


Edited by JDBooker

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3d mining? at some point it was promised i think (if i remember right, or maybe im wrong?)


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any map generator has to be able to create terrains on at least 4 data variables per tile corner.

 

Not neccessarily. Rolf already stated that they use a commercial software to create the worlds and then use homemade tools to modify them. Toosl like WorldCreator can already create layered maps and it should possible to export heightmaps for these. You then need a custom parser to go through these heightmaps, overlay the grid and then fill in the corner values directly by simply reading them from the heightmap. This sounds reasonably possible to implement in some kind of homemade WU map converter tool.

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Hello everyone,

 

I would like to get involved in the making of maps, or at least making tools for creating maps.

 

As I go trough the thread, I got the smallest idea how the map object file is structured.

 

So mainly 3 correctly sized images would do the terrain generation,

1, Height map
2, Land map

3, (optionally tough) the objects map

 

But the third can be procedural later merging the images to surface.

 

There are several tools to make these kind of images. So all I would like to know now, what else the map object file structure must have for initializing a usable terrain for wurmians :)

 

Please feed me with information, I'm eager to help!

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I will think about making official map export/import library, but cannot guarantee anything. This should make development of map generators/editors much easier.

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I'm actually studying Game Programming at University and by myself, I would be interested in getting in on the terrain generation.  It would be useful, to say the least.


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3d mining? at some point it was promised i think (if i remember right, or maybe im wrong?)

 

Afaik it was never promised, iirc they said maybe its a doable feature but will have the huge cost of wiping out all mines in all servers or something like that.

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Here is a very interesting one I found while looking around that might interest a few people. Just sharing findings, not trying to undermine anyones attempts at creating thier own generator.


 


This would probably be a good place to start with terrain generators. Its old School, but The way its done made me think of wurm which is the only reason I downloaded it and took a look at it. The walkthrough is hilarious and really good. Its really worth it to go through that. It only takes about 3 minutes and walks you though all the things to get you going making maps. Its so old school in its appearance it makes me wonder if CC doesnt use it now. 


 


Its called LT3D. Pricing is free for standard edition and 34.95 US for Pro edition. Not bad at all really, and comes with a free full featured 90 day eval for Pro Edition. If your interested in learning about Terrain Gens, this is not a bad place to start. It makes each individual map separately and has them tabbed as ill show on down with some screenies. May be worthwhile, take a look and see what you think about it. Its also 32 bit so if your on an older machine.


 


Screenies



Heightmap


3Y1f2DD.png


 


Water Map


h3JBZZ5.png


 


Specular


wghZgPH.png


 


Normal Map


bPPyx2F.png


 


Texture Map


Nmss1cK.png


 


3D view inside completed map


KO8DGys.png


 



There are a few more maps it creates and you can edit along every step. Its worth the download and to spend a few minutes looking it over. Now I havent used this at all I just ran through the walkthrough to get a feel for it and see what it could do. The sceenies are from the walkthrough map.


 


The end result looks a lot like wurm graphics and with a  bit of tweaking would probably look a bit better.


Edited by sunsvortex
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+1 good ideas guys

 

Just keep it multi-platform if possible :P

API to easily connect with game data will be written in Java, writing mods can be done in Java and JVM-running languages only as well, so... I would assume that most of tools and mods will be multi-platform. :)

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Here's an idea...


 


Why not just ask Rolf and the Dev's to release copies of all these as maps - Storm, Desertion, Affliction, Serenity, Release, Pristine, Exodus ... all these servers are 2048x2048


Which is the same size of the 2 maps that we get with WU when it ships.


 


I'd also like a copy of the Golden Valley map to go with my WU at some point so i can go back to all the old places i use to build places when i first started Wurm :P


With GV being of a smaller size it should be very easy to copy and add as an add-on map for WU.


 


And b4 anyone says about deeds and stuff on these maps....i mean fresh maps....b4 players added any buildings. That's 8 clean maps that can be added one by one and should be VERY easy to add as they have already being made and they should also add alot to WU for players that already know these maps. ;)


Edited by Garit
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I agree with you Garit I think it would be cool to also have a copy of the other maps before they were settled as well.


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Warlander,


 


Just sneak into Rolf's office grab his "Standard operating procedures" for generating the world map including the name of the commercial software.  Scan a copy and paste here, Trust me, no one here will narc on you :) 


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Warlander,

 

Just sneak into Rolf's office grab his "Standard operating procedures" for generating the world map including the name of the commercial software.  Scan a copy and paste here, Trust me, no one here will narc on you :) 

1500 km... This would be a long journey. :D

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Just a small teaser from my terrain generator.


 


a7kHcXu.png


 


I don't plan on releasing it publicly - or at least not right away.


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