Procedurally generated content and freelancer

Honestly? Waste of time using Freelancer. Rather use an existing engine like that other guy here and try to implement it there.

Hell, it’s your idea, go for it!

Actually procedurally generated content is nothing new. The problem is to make it look interesting and not sterile (e.g. oblivion has that problem). If someone wants to try it out no one will criticize that, but he shouldn’t be disappointed when he notices the amount of work he needs to invest, especially if freelancer is the basis.

Sigh.

Masternerdguy, when are you going to stop trying to turn FL’s mechanics into something resembling an MMO?

What’s with the hostility?

I think the idea is at least interesting and worth a try!

masternerdguy wrote:
…It looks sick, lets just leave it at that.

You know that is what is irritating about the younger generation - a spelling mistake by someone suddenly becomes a slang and “in” word.

It should be “slick”.

“Sick” means “awful”, “disgusting” and so on.

Tut tut.

Need another hand, feeling snappy all of a sudden!

Yeah I’ve noticed that alot lately myself, just like they have been trying to rename guts and gore as Greeble.

Huh? Greeble’s the name for a technique involving making lots of tiny cubes on a surface to create depth. It’s used to make cities and hull plating… “Lots of greeble” has nothing to do with gore

If somebody’s using that for that case, they’re a minority. See the Wikipedia page on the matter.

@ST: You do realize “slick” is a US West coast slang word? It’s no better or worse than “sick”.

You know that is what is irritating about the older generation - they have short memories.

masternerdguy wrote:

-> Generate error-free system files.
-> Prevent planets/stars/stations from being inside each other.
-> Position these systems so that they sprawl away from the center of the map, but uniformly distributed.
-> Link these to adjacent systems on the map to create logical layouts.
-> Use the quadrant of the map to choose what kind of NPCs to put there (this would be mod/server specific).

any takers?
If no one wants to do it, i’ll give it a shot.

If you want to do this in Freelancer, that almost a dream and cannot be come true, because you need to think lot of problem like Player side update and multi-server update.

I think it can be done in other game you can control more than just modding it. That’s why i suggested LS use database (and Urghhhh by LS).

In my idea, server will can generat system, station and cloud etc you wanted. When player activate the procedure, server will generat a full system and send system data to player, player client will read the data, load the system.

For exp, If server generat a small system, it will send:

 <system name="system1" background="SYSTEM1_NEBULA"><area name="planet1" type="pop" pos="100000000, 20000000000, 300000000" size="90000000" shape="sphere">
		 <object name="planet1" type="planet" appear="icepure" pos="0, 0, 0" relative="" core="rock" mass="600000000000000000000" spin="33, 5, 1"><object name="station1" type="archetype" model="Large_Space_Station" base="BASE1" pos="10000000, -10000000, 10000000"><area name="sunpop" type="pop" pos="0, 0, 0" size="9000000000" shape="sphere">
		<area name="sunzone" pos="0, 0, 0" size="7000000000">
			 <object name="sun1" type="sun" appear="blue" pos="0, 0, 0" mass="6000000000000000000000000"><object name="light1" type="pointlight" pos="0, 0, 0" range="100000000000000000000000000"><area name="nebula1" type="nebula" pos="100000000, 10000000000, 100000000" size="9000000000" shape="sphere" nebula="NEBULA_1">
		<area name="sunzone" pos="0, 0, 0" size="7000000000">
			 <object name="station2" type="archetype" model="Large_Space_Station" base="BASE2" pos="500, 300, 150">To player, and player's client will parse it just like a web browser to build system environment.

When system has been created, server will save it to database, insert item to systems, objects, areas, stations and etc tables and cache it in memory.

If any real estate(station, and even planet etc) in this system has been destroyed, server will delete it from database and cache, then send renew message to player client:

<action></action>

So, in conclusion, if server will can running like a web server and client like browser, the procedurally generated content will fully possible in a game.</object></object></object></object></object></system>

FriendlyFire wrote:

@ST: You do realize “slick” is a US West coast slang word? It’s no better or worse than “sick”.

But “sick” is the opposite of what is meant. It does not convey “slick” or "cool"or “excellent” - just puke.

Besides, we invented “slick” and those others, and we think language development has gone far enough, new slang is just uncool, usually revolting (as opposed to ours which was revolutionary), and mostly idiotic.

Timmy51m wrote:
You know that is what is irritating about the older generation - they have short memories.

Speaking from personal experience Timmy? rofl

Half and half in favour / dislike…

The problem with FL mods is that, generally, systems modders make tend to be incredibly boring. Creating dozens, or even hundreds, of systems will not make the game more enjoyable - and therefore such a method would be relatively pointless.

Not unless you start adding NEW factions, ships, weapons, and more to the mix - including details, information, backgrounds and more. The fun in discovering and exploring systems is the new things that you uncover whilst doing so… Generic wrecks aren’t interesting, nor are generic asteroid fields, bases, encounters etc. Each of the sectors in Sirius has new stuff. New weapons, different (or special) loot from ships, new factions or the home worlds of factions you occasionally met in Sirius, coupled with their ships/bases etc.

If I am going to explore 50 new systems to only find the same old factions, weapons, generic wrecks with the same equipment found elsewhere - and then add just generic names without any story type information - then I’ll be bored senseless.

The basic concept would be cool if it is implemented, but I think to be wholly embraced and utilised, it would need to address aspects of procedurally generating things that goes way beyond creating fields, planets, jumpgates, npc zones etc. Those parts should be relatively simple surely
The difficulty will be adding things of interest, the reason to explore.

StarTrader wrote:

masternerdguy wrote:
…It looks sick, lets just leave it at that.

You know that is what is irritating about the younger generation - a spelling mistake by someone suddenly becomes a slang and “in” word.

It should be “slick”.

“Sick” means “awful”, “disgusting” and so on.

Tut tut.

Need another hand, feeling snappy all of a sudden!

Are you assuming that’s where the origins of the term “sick” comes from (in the context of meaning cool) or do you, with 100% certainty, know?

I for one like the idea of it, and if it can’t be accomplished now, working at it will get the job done.

@ST

Slang is awesome, it makes what would otherwise be a very dull and boring language into something that is colourful and fun =] Im guessing you oldies just dont understand =P Get with the times man =P

No, what I am saying is, our slang was the best, and the last, we won’t accept any new slang from anyone more than 10 years younger than us!

And that’s that!

Especially when they come out with “sick” and it’s supposed to mean “super”.

“Sick” is puke and that is all it will ever be. :roll:

Year ST, that is best, and make my translation software crazy. Humm… Fortunately i can google it.

This might help ST

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOIM1_xOSro

Heheh… yep I had a good laugh or two with Ali G. Like when he asked a Drug Squad officer if he could get him some good crack?

And when he asked a judge when would it be OK to kill someone? “Never” said the judge. “How about if he called my mum a slag?” asks Ali?