Re:No Man’s Sky – Procedural Content
by lfowles on Monday October 17, 2016 @06:46PM
(#12730514)
Progression rate mainly. Simple Minecraft example (imagine it had more game bolted on, because I can't think of many proc-gen worlds off the top of my head)... Diamond is only available below X depth and at Y rarity. The depth is a hard limit, because it would screw with the intended progression of player crafting if a diamond vein had spawned a block or two under the surface. (Although this example is slightly flawed because you need to craft better equipment to mine diamond, blah blah blah)
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I recently dusted off Minecraft for the first time in a few years and was surprised, in retrospect, at how little effort the game makes at any semblance of balance or progression. One world might start you right next to a village with a chest full of diamonds, while another might start you in a vast desert - with no trees, meaning no wood, tools, or torches, meaning a long walk (and probably many deaths) before progression per-se can begin.
MC is best considered as a sandbox simulation rather than a game. (Not that that's a criticism of course - it's just something I'd forgotten after a few years of not playing.)
Re:No Man’s Sky – Procedural Content
by zimpenfish on Tuesday October 18, 2016 @06:55AM
(#12733355)
My favourite start was on MCPE - island of about 9 blocks, no trees, no other land in sight. Took 15+ minutes of swimming to find land.
This reminds me: as fun as the sandbox nature of the game is... I enjoy the crafted adventure maps more. Or the challenge maps where you are just on a floating island and need to figure out the correct progression without wasting resources.
I had a moment like this when I first played Factorio (an excellent game, by the way) and it started me out on a tiny island. It was a much bigger challenge there, considering that Factorio doesn't have swimming or boats!
I've always been a little disappointed that water is a hard barrier in factorio. Off-shore processing rigs or bridges would be a godsend.
A recent (few months ago?) update added a landfill item, which is made from stone and can be used to convert water to land. I think I'm playing the beta channel, so I'm not sure if it's in the default version of the game or not.
Re:No Man’s Sky – Procedural Content
by stcredzero on Monday October 17, 2016 @06:59PM
(#12730605)
you need to craft better equipment to mine diamond, blah blah blah
More example of balance.
Hah, yes! Except it's more directly influenced (creating the recipes and what pickaxes can mine which ores) than the indirect influence on the procgen world by defining ore distributions.