Creative province names... SemiRandom needs you!

[Ballbarian]

Some great names there guys, and some of them are really funny.

I especially like the idea of sneaking in a forummer name here and there like "Norfleet Bluff". (That one has to be used!)

As much as I appreciate the effort, random batches of names are not very useful to me right now. My fault, as I was not very clear.

Version 2.02 of RanDom (the one available for download right now), generates province names by combining words from pairs of lists designated by the province designer. So if the designer is making a wasteland province with some undead defenders, he/she can use the line:
@RANDOM landname WASTE

Sample name data files for my examples follow...
WASTE_DATA1.txt
Barren
Tired
Blistered
Murdering

WASTE_DATA2.txt
Land
Waste
Desert
Sand

When the province is placed by the SemiRandom program, it selects randomly between two simple methods:

Method #1 grabs a random word from WASTE_DATA1.txt and a random word from WASTE_DATA2.txt and then combines them.
Barren Desert
Blistered Sand
Murdering Waste
etc...

Method #2 builds a random word and combines it with a random selection from WASTE_DATA2 and then combines them.
Kaogirs Waste
Eamingo Desert
Ograc Sand
etc...

Sometimes it will pre pend "The" at the beginning of the name.
The Barren Desert
The Ograc Sand
etc...

The new method is more of a hack than an entirely new method. It will pick a random word from DATA1 (like method #1), but the DATA2 file is left empty. So when the program grabs a big handful of nothing from DATA2, you can end up with a name consisting of a single word, or a multi word name.

Sample data files:
UNOWASTE_DATA1.txt
Rottenheim
Pusmound
Skatterskull
Sygol
Land of Tired Maggots
Filthenheim
Wikd Wasteland
Red Devil Canyon

UNOWASTE_DATA2.txt
-empty-


When submitting names, it would be very helpful if the lists were sorted with headings as to which category they should be in.

Following is a template. Just put the name(s) under the appropriate heading. It might make life easier to copy and paste it into your favorite text editor and feel free to chop off any parts/categories that you don't use to conserve screen space.

Code:

---

****************HOT*****************

PLAIN-----------------------------



FARM------------------------------



FOREST----------------------------



MOUNTAIN--------------------------



WASTE-----------------------------



SWAMP-----------------------------



COAST-----------------------------



OCEAN-----------------------------



LAKE------------------------------



CAVE------------------------------



VOLCANO---------------------------



PENINSULA-------------------------



VALLEY----------------------------



ISLAND----------------------------



LOST------------------------------



****************COLD****************

PLAIN-----------------------------



FARM------------------------------



FOREST----------------------------



MOUNTAIN--------------------------



WASTE-----------------------------



SWAMP-----------------------------



COAST-----------------------------



OCEAN-----------------------------



LAKE------------------------------



CAVE------------------------------



VOLCANO---------------------------



PENINSULA-------------------------



VALLEY----------------------------



ISLAND----------------------------



LOST------------------------------



***************NEUTRAL**************

PLAIN-----------------------------



FARM------------------------------



FOREST----------------------------



MOUNTAIN--------------------------



WASTE-----------------------------



SWAMP-----------------------------



COAST-----------------------------



OCEAN-----------------------------



LAKE------------------------------



CAVE------------------------------



VOLCANO---------------------------



PENINSULA-------------------------



VALLEY----------------------------



ISLAND----------------------------



LOST------------------------------

---

[img]/threads/images/Graemlins/Teddy.gif[/img] Thank you again for your help! [img]/threads/images/Graemlins/Teddy.gif[/img]

[Ballbarian]

Thanks Sombre!
That is exactly what I am looking for.

btw, the template is just a suggestion, not a requirement.
A post like Sombre's is perfectly fine.

[HoneyBadger]

Is there any way to do it so that it would sometimes combine from 3 separate lists?

Like this:

Red (blue, yellow) Devil's (knight's, oyster's) Canyon (bluff, hollow, terrace) etc.

?

[Ballbarian]

Not currently, but that is a good idea.
If the triple lists were constructed carefully it could certainly generate some interesting names.

Right now the best I can suggest within the current framework is something like:
HBMOUNT_DATA1.txt
Red Devil's
Blue Devil's
Yellow Devil's
Red Knight's
Blue Knight's
Yellow Knight's
Red Oyster's
Blue Oyster's
Yellow Oyster's

HBMOUNT_DATA2.txt
Canyon
Bluff
Hollow
Terrace

Not as elegant as I would like, but with limited coding time, it works.

[HoneyBadger]

I always like to look towards the future you are doing an awesome job, by the way.

[Gandalf Parker]

The cutsey names could always be part of a very small province file. Maybe
MOUNTAIN
@1 landname
"Norfleets Bluff"
#feature "Brigand Lair"

Maybe I should come up with one for Gandalf's Grove

[Sombre]

****************HOT*****************

PLAIN-----------------------------
Shimmering Karoo
Sunburn Flats
Solar Savana
Locust Plains
Drywind Steppe

FARM------------------------------
Flowerwall
Lushbelt
Verdant Holdings
Hotstead
Redneck Land
Toilsweat

FOREST----------------------------
Buzzing Jungle
Scorchwoods
Flametrees
Catachan
Hot Botanica

WASTE-----------------------------
Saltfire Waste
Bonewinds
Steaming Sands
Smoking Death
Lacklife Sands
Cactus Graveyard

[Wikd Thots]

Gandalf Parker said:
The cutsey names could always be part of a very small province file. Maybe
MOUNTAIN
@1 landname
"Norfleets Bluff"
#feature "Brigand Lair"

Maybe I should come up with one for Gandalf's Grove

Sure. And we could have

FOREST
@1 landname
"Gandalf's Grove"
#killfeature
#poptype 81

Doesnt' that make it a province in name only?
No magic sites and no indepts?