Better Maps
Summary
This is the page for a collaborative effort to create the best maps that this or any comparable game has ever seen. Why yes, we are a little ambitious. Nothing wrong with that.
Goal Statement
The maps will be generated procedurally and exist as height- and splatmaps. What that means is that we will have (greyscale) images depicting the height of terrain at any given point as well as images depicting ground cover, vegetation, rivers, roads, etc.
In a perfect world, parts or all of those maps come from vector sources.
Using those maps, we can both import them into realtime engines like Unity 3D as well as photorealistic renderers such as Terragen 2. These two tools are the primary targets, because Tom own's Pro licenses for both and there are free versions available.
Draft Workflow
To generate the initial map, L3DT with its Design Map feature appears to be the best starting point. It allows us to "draw" the basic layout of a map. Then again, for new maps for BM:WI we are not as restricted and could play with GeoControl2, which can generate river systems.
One way or the other, the output should be a greyscale heightmap.
We then need overlay maps that indicate ground cover (i.e. terrain types). Some basics we can generate automatically in L3DT/GeoControl/Terragen/whatever, like coastline beaches, mountain-top ice or mountain-side rocks. However, deciding which part of the island is grassland and which is forests, etc. may be something that we can do better by simply drawing it. Then again, if someone can come up with a good shader in TG2 that creates realistic land-type distribution, so much the better.
Cities, etc.
A major problem with TG2 is that it is a landscape generator. We need some models to represent cities, towns, etc. Anyone who comes up with a solution for that is my hero. Right now, the best thing I can come up with is to create 3D models. this page contains some inspirations from the boardgame Mighty Empires. These models have the right scale for our map purposes.
Polygon-Map Concept
This is from an old attempt to create better maps. It may be useful here.
- http://www.raymondhill.net/voronoi/rhill-voronoi.php - I want this :-)
- ideas on /Polygon Maps and, based on that, a /Hierarchy
