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Thoughts about approach to map design..

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Thoughts about approach to map design..

Postby MiToVo » Mon Feb 16, 2015 5:10 pm

Hello everyone,

So, I was just reading through the documentation here, and some of the info I read made me curious about ways that I could, or even should approach creating my map, which I posted another thread about.

I've really been enjoying working on my map so far (wish I could be right now in fact lol), so I've been thinking a lot about my approach to designing it, and perhaps, ways to improve the results, etc.

A question in my mind now deals with painting in things manually, versus using the algorithmic approach... or finding a balance of each. For example, applying effects and filters (erosion, plateaus, cliffs/terraces, etc), on a local and 'global' basis.

To give one example... Mountains.

In the documentation, it's noted that mountains can be created either with the 'mountain' seed, which will do all the work for you (providing some control over elevation, etc). However, you don't really have control over the shape of the resulting mountain. By painting the mountain in, painting the roughness over it, and then (presumably) letting the erosion algorithms and such do their magic, you have more control over the final result. I'm really intrigued by this idea as, even though I'm very happy with the overall results I'm getting, there are spots I'd like to have a bit more control over. So, I may actually go back and re-create many of the mountains I have by hand.

I'm wondering if others here have chosen one approach over the other, and why? And, further, what situations have they found using one approach (seeded versus manual creation) to be preferable to the other?

Knowing more of how the program works, its flexibility, and some of the options available, I wouldn't even really be opposed to starting from scratch, flattening my map completely down to its base again (10m everywhere) and building up again from there, painting in more of the specific features by hand, and then applying some "general" effects (erosion, etc) to the whole map, just to give it a more natural kind of randomness overall. It's an awful lot of fun working with L3DT and seeing the results, so it wouldn't be a chore at all to recreate things.

Anyway... just kinda had that running through my brain, and wanted to put it out there for possible discussion...

Thanks!
MiToVo
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Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2015 5:32 pm

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