Terrain Generation

Refine and improve the terrain generation algorithms. Improve:

  1. Map sizes: define different map size presets (TINY, SMALL, NORMAL, LARGE, XLARGE) to be selected from the main menu
  2. Flatness: maps are generally too bumpy with very little flat land for building placement - specifically, me must ensure that there are flat 3x3 spaces for the rocket at the very least, on all maps
  3. Heights and datum: too rigid
  4. Navigation: ensure that terrains are navigable - different thresholds per terrain resource shape
  5. Water: Make the water level configurable so that the has_water flag is more flexible
  6. Colours and biomes: these are currently fixed; they should be parameterised in the terrain resources files so colours and settings can vary more

Terrain goals:

  • Canyon map could have a river in the canyon
  • Crater map could have a lake at the bottom of the canyon
  • Plans map could have rivers running through it
  • Islands map has more land

Terrain manipulation:

  • OUT OF SCOPE for this milestone, but will be required in the future as some building sizes and shapes will make this necessary. In addition, we will need some form of terrain manipulation to bridge canyons, join islands, etc.

Dependencies:

# Ticket Milestone item Depends on
#158 Map size presets chosen from the main menu 1 —
#159 Make terrain steepness independent of map size 3, "range ignores map size" —
#160 Per-preset height curve for terracing and flatter land 3, "height distribution", and 2 #159
#161 Give the island preset a main landmass worth landing on goal: island has more land #159 (#164 helps)
#162 Guarantee a minimum reachable share of land per preset 4 #159, #160
#163 Guarantee a flat landing site for the colony rocket 2 #162
#164 Configurable water level, with water decided per tile 5 —
#165 River along the canyon floor goal #164, #162
#166 Lake in the crater bowl goal #164
#167 Rivers across the plains preset goal #164, #165
2026-12-31
0% Completed