Question by jessee03 · Mar 24, 2012 at 09:03 PM · arrays

Endless random array

I've never really messed with arrays too much before and was wondering what would be the best way in going about generating random endless tile maps. This will be a 2d game and will randomly generate floor and wall tiles, all the wall tiles must not block off the player from going through to the north, south east or west parts or get too crowded so the player can continue to move in any direction and have a new set of tiles be generated. Also it needs to have some way to remember everything in the array to be able too go back through any part of the game. Everything in the array should be saved and loaded as well.

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Befall · Mar 24, 2012 at 09:46 PM 0

I don't have an exact specific answer, but there are definitely a lot of ways to go about it. Having recently made my first procedurally-generated seed-based game, I have my head wrapped around it a bit.

So, I think you may want to end up using semi-random generation, where it generates tiles in a certain area around the player based on a single seed. That way, when you return, this algorithm, using the constant seed, will generate the same exact configuration of tiles.

This means you don't need to physically save the tiles, as they generate the same way every time.

jessee03 · Mar 24, 2012 at 10:07 PM 0

Oh I wanted everything to genertate randomly. Like make it so the player is able to walk to each area still without being blocked off. So the hard part about wrapping my $$anonymous$$d around the concept is creating tile maps that branch off of each other. So lets say you have a tileset that's 8x8. Then you want it so when you start traveling to a new area it's already been randomly generated. I also want to make it so the player is never cut off from an area or boxed in anywhere so they can constantly walk. Almost like a random endless maze generator.

Befall · Mar 24, 2012 at 10:11 PM 0

There's no "simple" way to do that, really. It's just surfing around the web to find algorithms and code that could aid you in your quest. Essentially, though, it sounds like every time you generate a new set of tiles, you'll need to do basic pathfinding to make sure the player has room to move and path to follow.

And, for example, you're at 0,0. You venture to 100,100 and return to 0,0. Do you want the tiles at 0,0 to be EXACTLY the same, or different? If you want to be able to come back to the same rooms after they've "despawned", you'll need to use some sort of seed system. Otherwise, it sounds like the player will just be moving through endless, ever-changing roomsets?

jessee03 · Mar 24, 2012 at 11:02 PM 0

Oh I get what your saying. yes once it's been randomly generated that tileset would remain the same. So if you have already adventured to a tile set it will remain the same. I don't like refrencing other games but imagine how $$anonymous$$ecraft works how everything is random but if you come back to a spot it will be the same unless you or someone else altered it.

Befall · Mar 24, 2012 at 11:05 PM 0

Nah, I followed the same idea with my generation game. The only thing you'll need to do, if you wish to have changes possible on tiles is a specific list of tiles that have been adjusted, and something unique about them (I usually use position). Then, when you load up a new "chunk" of tiles, you check to see if any of them are in the "adjusted" list, and can change them accordingly.