GSF Procedural Terrain Generator

Author Topic: GSF Procedural Terrain Generator  (Read 39817 times)


    A chunk-based terrain generator - the perfect tool for lazy builders!



    Credits:
    Thanks to all the beta-testers, especially Furling, catzoo, Zacks, and Evar678.

    Notes:
    • If you are having issues with getting the generator to work, try removing other client-sided generator add-ons.
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    • If you come across any issues while generating terrain, please refer to the manual, especially the section related to the issue. Also, it may be that the settings related to the issue may need to be slightly adjusted (the Z-Section values especially). If you come across strange patterns in the terrain, try changing the Smoothing Coefficient value.
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    • The add-on does not fully support dedicated servers yet, although I'll add support in the near future.
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    • Planting a brick and then using "Ctrl + Z" to undo it will delete the entire column of bricks if they are floating.
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    • Make sure you have the add-on enabled when loading saved landscapes that use print water or print boundary bricks, otherwise these bricks won't load.

    Features:
    • Uses custom made coherent and incoherent noise algorithms.
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      • The coherent noise algorithms only require one octave of smoothing to be applied to slopes, thus chunk generation should be very fast (enabling Biomes and Solid Ground will slow it down, however).
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      • Uses minimal calculations. For instance: Terrain, Caves and Clouds are both based on one noise calculation pass; enabling Caves and Clouds will cause no additional calculations to be performed, except for creating the bricks. Also, enabling all four Biomes at once will only require two of them to be calculated.
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      • Also uses a simplified Marching-Cubes algorithm for generating 4x Modular Terrain bricks.
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    • Has built in restrictions to allow only the server-host to use the GUIs and server commands.
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    • Allows for various terrain types to be generated, such as Cube-Scaping, Displacement-Scaping, Modular Terrain, Plains and Floating Islands.
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    • Offers various options, such as Caves, Clouds, Sinkholes, Boundaries, Plate-Capping, and more!
      • Also includes an option for disabling Solid Ground, which will help dramatically reduce the brick count (make sure you pay attention to the server brick count, as you can easily go over It with this add-on).
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    • Features six Biomes, four of which are fully customizable. The host has the option for setting Biome terrain colors/prints, dirt colors/prints (if Plate-Capping is enabled), water colors/prints and up to nine Detail-bricks specific to each Biome.
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      • Any bricks can be used for details, however the GUI filters out all brick categories except for Special and Rounds (otherwise navigating the datablock list for a certain brick would be quite difficult). The generator automatically sets the correct brick height for you. (It is recommended to only use bricks that don’t exceed the length and width of a 4x cube).
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      • The generator also filters out detail bricks – under the Underwater/BiomeF category – that would stick out above the water's surface.
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    • Gives the user control over countless settings, such as Seed value, Grid Start and End positions, sand level, water level, terrain height offset, terrain height multiplier, terrain height scale, Chunk Size, Chunk Tick, Terrain Scale, Biome Scale, Smoothing (with the option of disabling smoothing), etc.
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      • Also has an option for using custom height values for individual Chunks, allowing for greater influence over the landscape (mentioned on the last page of manual).
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      • The host also has the option for Previewing terrain (with biomes, if enabled) so they don’t have to generate terrain each time for experimentation. (It may be slightly off, mostly with Floating Islands, but I’ll try to fix this in a future update).
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    • Has both in-game and .PDF document help manuals included.
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    • Includes three server commands: /EndPTG quickly ends the routine, /ClearPTG clears only generated terrain bricks and /PausePTG pauses or resumes the routine.
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    • Generates terrain independent of the player, so you won't mess up the terrain generation routine while moving.
      • Also features custom, infinite terrain variation algorithms.

    Past Update (v2):
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    • Fixed boundaries interfering with detail bricks by generating boundaries first.
    • Fixed issues with bot hole bricks when used as details; they are now supported.
    • Changed some default settings in the Main Menu to avoid inital confusion/issues.
    • Fixed the server command /ClearPTG (thanks to Xalos) and added /PausePTG.
    • Added psuedo-random rotation to detail bricks.
    • Added infinite terrain variation, relative to where terrain is generated. This will be especially useful when infinite terrain generation is implemented.
    • Changed depth of terrain to 2 layers (when Solid Ground is disabled) to help reduce the brickcount. If you encounter holes in the landscape, just stretch it out using Terrain XY-Scale.
    • Fixed some issues with client/server-sided code.
    • Added an in-game, quick reference guide for the Main Menu (instead of the entire manual), which also includes an FAQ. The actual manual is still included in the add-on folder.
    • Added support for the "Food" brick category when selecting detail bricks.
    • Reintroduced the Custom Height Value option, which allows the user to manipulate chunk-specific height values across the landscape. The CHV menu is now slightly more user-friendly.
    • Fixed misc. issues, especially regarding Modular Terrain bricks when Solid Ground and Caves are enabled.
    • Added "Stop and Clear" option to the temporary main menu.

    Future Update:
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    • Fix preview height offset with floating islands.
    • Add infinite terrain generating along with a culling system.
    • Add an option for selecting other brick sizes (Modular Terrain will autoadapt to the brick size and height-scale).
    • Allow Super Admins to use the GUI as well.
    • Fix remaining client/server-sided code issues and add support for dedicated servers.
    • Add presets and saving option.
    • Fix issue with detail bricks interfering with terrain/modular terrain bricks (possibly by generating them in a separate pass).
    • Improve the Ground Gap-Filling option to use less bricks.
    • Fix miscellaneous issues.



    Shared Landscapes:
    Feel free to share landscapes you've generated. You can just post a screenshot of the terrain along with any values you changed from the default settings. If anyone wants to load one of the landscapes below, first make sure the settings in the Main Menu are set to default values and then change whatever is listed.
    [/list]
    « Last Edit: April 01, 2013, 04:23:56 PM by [GSF]Ghost »

    Praise thy gods for light hath shined down from the heights of heaven.



    Holy stuff, 'bout time.

    I just got the biggest erection.



    Enjoy. :) Also, if anyone helped test, make sure you delete the old versions of this add-on.
    « Last Edit: March 19, 2013, 07:50:07 PM by [GSF]Ghost »

    The keybind won't work for some reason.
    Nvm, it wasn't enabled when I thought it was.

    Woo
    Going to try this out now :D

    Suggestion- in the biome menu instead of a list, maybe make it so we can choose bricks from the brick menu? If possible/practical
    « Last Edit: March 19, 2013, 08:22:49 PM by Mysteroo »

    I was using it in singleplayer. When I activate it all the bricks generate in a big red mess. Is it just me? The terrain is fine but prints and colors aren't working.


    I found a bug:

    Bot holes don't work, they are acting like a normal brick.
    But at least spawn points work.
    I was using it in singleplayer. When I activate it all the bricks generate in a big red mess. Is it just me? The terrain is fine but prints and colors aren't working.
    You need to change the biomes first.

    I was using it in singleplayer. When I activate it all the bricks generate in a big red mess. Is it just me? The terrain is fine but prints and colors aren't working.
    You have to setup the colors in the Biomes menu, you can access it through the Biomes button in the Main Menu.

    I found a bug:

    Bot holes don't work, they are acting like a normal brick.
    But at least spawn points work.
    Strange, thanks for letting me know.
    « Last Edit: March 19, 2013, 08:10:57 PM by [GSF]Ghost »