[CF-Devel] Suggestion.

[Tim Rightnour]

On 15-Nov-01 Adam Ashenfelter wrote:
>
     
      1.  Infinitely huge and detailed maps can be mathematically generated, with 
     
     >
     
      none to very little drive space used to store the map.
     
     
I actually like the idea of generating the outdoors by altitude, and letting
the client or server side do all the work.  This would have some decided
advantages especially when you tag in the weather code I've been thinking
about.

Say for example, the maps of the world were just vast expanses of numbers.. not
generated on the fly, but perhaps generated by a program.  You let altitude
determine everything.  You start by having simple effects, like low altitude is
ocean, high altitude is mountains, etc etc.

Then, you throw in my weather engine, and this is where my idea gets kinda
wonky, so stay with me here.  The engine (which is nearly ported over)
automatically determines weather based on a number of factors, altitude being
one of them.  Now, you add the ability for the engine to save average rainfall
and temperature on the map, and suddenly, the map will self-evolve.  High
temperature, low rainfall, the area will slowly become a desert.  High
rainfall, tropical temperature, jungle.  Basically each square on the map would
have attributes:

avg rainfall
avg temperature (high/low/avg)
temperature modifier (off the base)
humidity modifier (proximity to ocean and large bodies of water)
altitude

Each "tile" would have a preference zone.  Forests require a temperature of
about 60-70, rainfall of 50inches a year.

Theoreticly, we just have the cities, and a small program that designs a random
worldmap.  We distribute those, and each server will have a unique layout. 
Each one evolving differently.

Ok.. it's pie in the sky.. but it's a nifty idea.

---
Tim Rightnour <
     
     root at garbled.net
     
     >
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