Official development blog

Tag Archives: Cellular Automata

Generating and Populating Caves

Before this point, the vast majority of Cogmind maps have fallen under the room-and-corridor style generation. The wide range of adjustable parameters, when combined with a variety of themed content (and prefabs!), give that one style plenty of potential to create a unique feel and gameplay for different areas of the world. That said, roguelikes […]

Posted in Design, Dev Series: Procedural Maps | Also tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Map Composition

Much of the “living dungeon” concept described previously applies to the main complex, and some branches. Roguelikes of significant scope tend to use a combination of map generation techniques, necessary to fill the game world with unique maps appropriate for their respective areas. Different map types are also likely to require different algorithms to populate […]

Posted in Design | Also tagged , , , , , , | 6 Responses

Dungeon Metrics

Rarely will an algorithm produce a perfect procedurally generated map, and even if it does, some degree of post-processing will still be necessary to analyze the layout. When we look at a map produced by a generator, we can determine pretty quickly whether or not the layout is sufficient for our purposes; we can also […]

Posted in Design, Dev Series: Procedural Maps | Also tagged , , , , | 11 Responses

Mapgen: Cellular Automata

Unlike the 7DRL, which only spanned a 10-level “main dungeon,” Cogmind will cover a much greater area. Naturally a larger world needs a greater diversity of regions to explore. Taking place underground, many of the outlying areas tend to be caves, and for that cellular automata are usually the best choice for generation. I say […]

Posted in Design, Dev Series: Procedural Maps | Also tagged , , | 6 Responses

Procedural Map Generation

Procedurally generated maps are a core feature of roguelikes. For a genre that is almost synonymous with “randomness” (within reason), randomized maps are the easiest way to broadly manifest that key element since maps affect many aspects of gameplay from exploration strategy and tactical positioning to item and enemy locations. Notice how walkthroughs for strategy […]

Posted in Design, Dev Series: Procedural Maps | Also tagged , , , , | 4 Responses