Any interest in a RMG?
 

So I went and programmed a basic RMG for Dom3 (you can see I posted about it in Map Editing Question), and now I have to make a choice:
1) Improve it so that it will be usable (right now it only makes an ugly image, but with some work it would be able to make provinces, draw borders and output a .map file)
2) Abandon it. It was fun programming what I already did, but now it's time to entertain myself with other stuff (like playing dom3 http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif). I might pick it up again in the future for some more fun, but that's unlikely and in the distant future.

So to make my decision, I'm asking you guys what to do.
Here's what I'll have if I finish it:
* You can control the frequency of different terrain features.
* You can export maps to it's own map format. (Which is basically a gigantic table that lists the terrain flags for each pixel)
* You can define colors for each terrain type.
* You can define textures for each terrain type.
* You can define images for each terrain type, and their frequency/density. (For example, have 5 different images for trees and have the program throw them around in forests at different frequencies.)
* You can allow it to place random provinces on the map (though they'll probably be somewhat gridlike)
* You can place your own provinces and let it draw the borders and connect the provinces (or let it randomize and then connect 'em). Though I'm not good enough to make it guess connections based on drawn borders, so you'd have to make do with it making it's own borders.
* You can ask me to add features http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif
It will probably be segmented into different programs, so it will be easy to only use certain features.
1) Generator - which will generate a terrain map and show you what it basically looks like (and will be able to export an image), this will probably be a pretty fast (though not amazingly fast) program, so you could regenerate the map several times until you find a shape you like.
2) Imager - which will turn that map into a more interesting map (add tree and mountain images, etc.)
I don't really plan on adding all sorts of filters to it (like anti aliasing or blurring to make it look better and less pixelated) as those could much more easily be applied with Photoshop/GIMP. Unless people really want them.
3) Random Province Placer - which will be a supremely basic program that places provinces in a somewhat gridlike fashion.
4) Border Drawer and .map maker - which will take the map from the generator, the image from imager (after having provinces added to it via the random province placer or by hand), and will draw borders and make a .map file. (or optionally, not do one of the two.)

So would you be interested in such a thing? Would you really use it?
I'm looking for honest answers, so "nah, the built-in RMG is good enough for me" is just fine, "I will use it if you add feature X" is good too. And don't be shy in posting negative answers, I won't mind, it would just save me some effort http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

(Thanks for any answers, and sorry for that long and somewhat presumptuous wall of text)

Re: Any interest in a RMG?
 

Nah. I prefer hand-drawn maps when I can get them (RMGs tend to produce somewhat ugly and homogeneous maps in my opinion) but the built-in RMG does pretty okay when I want a fresh map.

-Max

Re: Any interest in a RMG?
 

I think there is already a RMG out.

Re: Any interest in a RMG?
 

There are a few out already.

But one thing that would make ANY map generator worth looking at is if it can create wrappable maps. If you could work in a tiling routine to match the edges then everything else would just be gravy.

Re: Any interest in a RMG?
 

Creating wrappable maps would definitely be a plus, but first and foremost, only continue to work on it as long as it is enjoyable. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: Any interest in a RMG?
 

It would actually be quite simple to make wrappable maps, since the algorithm in use lends itself well to that. It would take a bit of thought since I made some mistakes last time I tried it, but not much work.

I'm sure most programmers will agree that a lot of things are enjoyable to program, and yet have a lot of parts that aren't enjoyable. One commonly cited example is GUI work, which isn't a lot of fun, but is important if you want people to use what you made.
And of course, working with the "as long as it is enjoyable" system would mean the whole thing takes >x10 more time http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif (if at all completed)

EDIT: thanks for the replies btw.

Re: Any interest in a RMG?
 

If you can do wrappable maps I think it would be very useful.

Re: Any interest in a RMG?
 

Wrappable maps are in.
Since this was a longstanding bug with my code, I wanted to fix it regardless of whether it was going to be used for a RMG. (which turned out to be the result of a value being 1 more than it should have been http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif )
Attached is an example of a wrapping map. (I tiled it so it would be obvious that it does indeed wrap properly)

So how does this change things for people?
(Note, the algorithm can only generate square maps. This is not a problem if you want a none-wrappable map, since you can just cut out some of the square and you get a rectangle. But for wrappable maps, you will lose wrapping in one direction or another [or both, if you want to]
So basically, that means that the restriction is:
1) If want a map that wraps around both edges, it has to be square.
2) If want a map that wraps around one edge, it can be a rectangle, but will only wrap around the rectangle's shorter side)

Re: Any interest in a RMG?
 

Interesting. The fact that a rectangle will only wrap one way is actually a plus. In some of the serious map conversations it was brought up that the wrapping isnt realistic to a globe. The most realistic "wrap" would be that west-west wrapped, all of the northern would connect to each other (polar) and all ofthe southern connect to each other. Your rectangle arrangement makes that really easy.

It also reminds me that I found a really cool utility that would make a spinning globe GIF out of a map. I was going to use it on the leading webpage for the next monstrous Dom3 game I setup.

Something else that comes up...
I take it that you plan the same limits? 1500 provinces? Smaller maps people can provide to the community but the really monstrous ones are usually generated. One thing that can be a problem is the "grouping" of terrains. People tend to want grouping to be water vs land (large continents and large bodies of water) but small grouping of all other terrains. In other words they want each nation to to have easy access to each of those terrains. Small chance of landing in mountains surrounded by mountains, or landing in waste surrounded by waste, etc. Is there a controllable variable for the "shotgun" effect of each terrain seperately?

Re: Any interest in a RMG?
 

I just noticed something in rereading your initial post. Keeping the segments of the program separate. Thats wonderful! Does this mean that it can be used to try to make logical provinces on a found image? Thats going to allow for some very interesting maps from people as lazy as I am. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif