Procedurally generated game terrain.

So I have been in IT for most of my adult life and have seen many new things before the average person when it comes to technology, but my son sent me a link to a picture today about some new MMO and I had to stop for a minute.




I have of course heard of all the programmer stories about how this was completely possible but never saw it... because even though it was technically possible it is also insanely difficult. This is for some new game called Citadel of Sorcery, has anyone ever seen any other game ever do this and is it even possible?

did a quick search and found this on their website

PlanetForge©

We made a world generator, called PlanetForge©, which creates full living planets. It does this by using a continent generation tool that assigns biomes based on a whole bunch of parameters, like sunlight based on slope and latitude, temperatures based on geography and weather patterns, as well as gravity, wind, glacier and water erosion systems. Next, we had to create a system to uniquely grow every tree, bush, flower and plant, from scratch, and let them continue to grow over time. Each of these grows based on soil typing, as well as other geographic considerations. What is really intriguing about this world generator is that since it uses many systems to generate a realistic planet, in the end no human has seen this new planet, and it is so big it will take many years to explore. This means that years after release of the game, there will still be unexplored portions of this planet, unseen by anyone, developer or player.

I don't know what to say.. other than wow. If they can actually generate an entire planet with all those biomes.. just wow. Anyone know anything else about this?!

Well I will say I for one am very excited for this game, it has been in development since 2005. It is independently owned by MMO Magic Inc. You can get all the info you need about the game including production videos at www.citadelofsorcery.com

reply to post by Cassey222


Yes, procedural generation is the focus of certain developers; is definitely a very complex form of programming, but one that if it evolves enough could be integrated into future gaming engines to up the immersion. However, procedural =/= better immersion. That particular screenshot is not very flattering, artistically or realistically. It could be a good step towards something though.

If you want a good example of a procedural engine, check out "Infinity: The Quest for Earth". It's an on-going project started by a single programmer; with procedurally generated galaxies, stars, planets and moons, asteroid belts, nebula etc. The content is completely seamless with no load times; you can traverse across space, fly down to the surface of all different types of planets, including gas giants. The graphics are actually quite good for being started years back, but I don't know exactly whether or not the engine will be finished. It's been a little while since seeing any big updates.

reply to post by Raelsatu


wow, thats really neat too^^ I dont think it is as ambitious as the other though.. the trees are models and the terrain has painted textures but the ground looks fantastic with all the variations. If this guy used COSs plants and stuff that would be amazing!

...procedurally generated content is nice, but have you checked out other screenshots?

The rest of the game looks like it comes from 1995. Seriously.

It's a nice idea, but it still needs work.

Well I am more of a techy type. My son want's to play it but I doubt I would.. I just to understand how they are doing all they say they are in regards to the terrain.

Originally posted by Awen24
...procedurally generated content is nice, but have you checked out other screenshots?

The rest of the game looks like it comes from 1995. Seriously.

It's a nice idea, but it still needs work.

To be fair they are saying that is pre-Alpha art.. also placeholder art.. guess they loaded up on programmers over artists.