Massive Opensource Procedurally Generated World

[H@VOK]

I wanna build it in OpenGL (Of course) but I have no idea which programing language to learn for it. My plan is to have a procedurally generated world around the size of say texas, maybe expanding it later on and then using it to make a huge open-world game. It would be like skyrim in terms of detail, Fuel in terms of size, Red Dead Redemption in terms of scale (the distance between towns with large wastelands in between).


The setting is a future sci-fi dystopian wasteland, so not really that original, but then again I'm not trying to make an AAA game here, just a bigass sandbox. It will have physics like Next Car Game and will have fps and Racing mechanics in it. Along with Vehicular combat.



Also, I want to procedurally generate most/all of the content as well. (All the cars, characters, guns, trees, etc).


The "engine" will be custom built and made as efficient as possible, while also pushing the limits of pc graphics by being able to make enough textures to choke a Titan Black and enough geometry to make an i7 cry. However it should also not force these graphics and have different settings, ie I will procedurally generate graphics for entry level machines as well as $3000 gaming rigs (or more like the LPC).


It's a big idea, but it's definately possible, especially with experts like you guys helping me out. For all of my 3d modelling needs (I'll need to go through the world and polish it a bit) I'll join the Blender Forums, as you can just about ask for them to do your work and you'll have 200 different answers.


Oh, the world won't be dynamically generated each time, I'm not trying for minecraft here. It's also not voxel based.


~cheers
H@VOK

[LsD]

So mister I'm not going to even write an introduction is going to code the next Secondlife/Minecraft?

lol

[proxx]

So let me get this straight , you have little programming experience and you want to create a mind blowing game of a massive scale.
Do you have the slightest clue how long it will take you to even get the basics up?
Dont get me wrong , I am not saying one should not have ambition but this is massive, I hope you realize that.

[Architect]

This is obviously a troll thread. If not, then you're inconceivably autistic if you think you can even begin to do this.

[kenjoe41]

This is a big idea and personally i am impressed about it.
I solemnly swear to help you through this in that i have personally come up with afew ideas to get this project up and running in no time, live to see it to fruitation.

First off, the quickest way is to go buy a very comfortable blanket with a soft bed, snore all you ideas in dream land. Trust me, it works sometime.

Secondly, just write a very informative proposal to EA about your idea. If they buy your idea, big bucks will be coming your way and your idea will come to fruitation. Might land your name in the credits too, duuuh.

[H@VOK]

It has been a while hasn't it? I already introduced myself... a few months ago. Also, I do realize just how massive this project is, which is why I intend to work on it in my spare time over a period of years. Hell, I don't really even intend to finish it, it's just something to work on.

One more thing, it should only take a few months to learn how to make a prototype landscape generator. This game is all about algorithms my friends, see limit theory for an example on algorithmically crwating a dynamic universe.

[H@VOK]

Instead of just hating on you like some of the other members on this forum I will just point you to some resources

Good luck and fuck the haters.

I appreciate the help. And also, I would like to belive that these guys thought that I wanted to make a game like this within a few years and were laughing at my percieved naiveté.

However I admit that they could have used a bit more tactful insults. This idiotic blithering above is typical school yard nonsense that you overhear from the playgroud as you pass by on your way to pick up your younger sibling. No doubt they will reply with a last ditch effort to nurse their wounds by delivering some sort of garden variety "you think you're better than us" or sone other mindless dribble.

And now that I have made known my preemptive strike at their response, they will undoubtedly not respond, as it would serve the same purpose.

Anyway you try to play this game bitches, I'm better at it than you.

[Architect]

Instead of just hating on you like some of the other members on this forum I will just point you to some resources.

Code: [Select]

http://www.opengl-tutorial.org/
For some OpenGL specific tutorials

Code: [Select]

http://c.learncodethehardway.org/book/
For learning C

Good luck and fuck the haters.

So us giving him constructive criticism is being "haters"? I don't hate the guy, but I think he's aiming too high, and that it would take him a lifetime. Which he should be spending with his family, not coding something he will never finish.

[Matriplex]

Wtf kid... Well you may fail, but I will help you out. Don't come back asking for team members.

I'd learn C++ for game development, because that's what all the big companies and shit are doing. If you hate it, go for Java. Chances are, if you hate one and don't have the patience to learn it you probably aren't going to be able to learn the other or get anywhere near game development. I'll give you props for wanting to learn OpenGL instead of going with some fucking engine like most people do. This way, you know exactly what's happening, and it's a lot more fun IMO.

Instead of going for some ridiculously massive project make some simple games first. No, not 3D. No, not a Minecraft remake (that shit is hard too. I hated making my voxel engine). Just some simple 2D game. Maybe in a year or so you will be nearing the point where you can start a project like you described, if you work hard.

Making games isn't easy. It's fucking difficult, so don't take it lightly.

[N3mesis]

So if you know its a huge project and you just want something to work at for a lonnng time, just a few things for consideration:


#1) the programming world changes very quickly. The more time you take to release something, the more out of date it will be. So if you start programming now, and end up releasing a product in 10 years, all the programming you did for the first half will be completely irrelevant. take Duke Nukem Forever for example. This game sucked basically because it took so long to develop. read up on it and youll see what I mean. If you don't care about any release though, then:


#2) your really talking about multiple projects here. there are large companies that literally only do engines. and most game development companies do not create their own engines, they use their partner's because it would be insane for them to try. Even with the massive amount of people they may have. Maybe you don't understand exactly what an engine is though, so I may look into that a little more.


#3) your gonna have a hard time convincing anyone to join you on this little adventure. As you can see most people are just gonna laugh and call you a noob.


Basically, this is a really really REALLY big project that is indeed very close to impossible for one person, even a very experienced game developer. I would just lower the ambitions a little bit, start out with your basic ideas first, then expand upon it as you go. Make one small project first so you get an idea of what your doing. I recommend a 2D physics based game using box2d in c++. after this, you will have a better idea of what you are getting into and know where you want to go with it. Maybe if you do a really really good job with a very basic game, others will decide to help and your game could slowly evolve into what you originally wanted it to be. With the help of the entire open source community.

[H@VOK]

So if you know its a huge project and you just want something to work at for a lonnng time, just a few things for consideration:


#1) the programming world changes very quickly. The more time you take to release something, the more out of date it will be. So if you start programming now, and end up releasing a product in 10 years, all the programming you did for the first half will be completely irrelevant. take Duke Nukem Forever for example. This game sucked basically because it took so long to develop. read up on it and youll see what I mean. If you don't care about any release though, then:


#2) your really talking about multiple projects here. there are large companies that literally only do engines. and most game development companies do not create their own engines, they use their partner's because it would be insane for them to try. Even with the massive amount of people they may have. Maybe you don't understand exactly what an engine is though, so I may look into that a little more.


#3) your gonna have a hard time convincing anyone to join you on this little adventure. As you can see most people are just gonna laugh and call you a noob.


Basically, this is a really really REALLY big project that is indeed very close to impossible for one person, even a very experienced game developer. I would just lower the ambitions a little bit, start out with your basic ideas first, then expand upon it as you go. Make one small project first so you get an idea of what your doing. I recommend a 2D physics based game using box2d in c++. after this, you will have a better idea of what you are getting into and know where you want to go with it. Maybe if you do a really really good job with a very basic game, others will decide to help and your game could slowly evolve into what you originally wanted it to be. With the help of the entire open source community.

This is a perfect example of constructive criticism.


Anyway, you are right in all areas, but I do think that some misunderstanding is still in effect here.


1. I do not intend to make the game world all at once. I'll start small. Like, real small. I was thinking somewhere around the size of Solitude in the square kilometer range.


2. I don't intend to make a game "engine" as is the proper definition, ergo I do not intend to create a tool, I was simply talking about the framework needed to run and display the graphical images without actually making a separate program for it.


3. I also intend on making everything using procedural generation, which means I can do a 300 man team's worth of work (at least as far as 3d modeling goes). Even the textures will be created algorithmically.


4. And finally, I don't even know if I WILL release this project. I may quite on it before a few weeks are over, I just want to try.


If you need proof of the fact that you can in fact make a huge game procedurally, then please look at Limit Theory which was made by two guys, of which one did the coding and the other made the music. He did not create any of the textures or 3d models, it was all done procedurally and within the space of a year and a half. I recognize that I am no Josh Parnell, but I should be able to do something similar, albeit within a larger timescale.


And lastly, are you telling me that the "Master Coders" here can't do this? I recall reading a forum post telling me about how I will be next to people that were always the smartest kids in their class including the teacher, and that many quit school because it wasn't worth their time. If that is indeed what you or anyone else here tells me, then when I do start this undertaking, and when I present it to you on a silver plater, I will count myself as being once again, the smartest person in the class. Once again, the smartest person I know. I will gladly return to that isolationist box that I so desperately tried to escape by searching for people that were at least at my level. And if you are telling me that even the best among you cannot even begin to perceive how to complete this task within TEN YEARS, then I suppose that there is not a place for me here. There is never a place for men among apes still bashing things with a rock.


But if that isn't what you are telling me, and I assume it isn't because your pride wouldn't allow you to, then I suggest you guys stop doubting me. I know the time scale, I understand my newness. But it does not bother me, it does not discourage me, and most importantly It will not stop me.

[Darkvision]

This is a perfect example of constructive criticism.


Anyway, you are right in all areas, but I do think that some misunderstanding is still in effect here.


1. I do not intend to make the game world all at once. I'll start small. Like, real small. I was thinking somewhere around the size of Solitude in the square kilometer range.


2. I don't intend to make a game "engine" as is the proper definition, ergo I do not intend to create a tool, I was simply talking about the framework needed to run and display the graphical images without actually making a separate program for it.


3. I also intend on making everything using procedural generation, which means I can do a 300 man team's worth of work (at least as far as 3d modeling goes). Even the textures will be created algorithmically.


4. And finally, I don't even know if I WILL release this project. I may quite on it before a few weeks are over, I just want to try.


If you need proof of the fact that you can in fact make a huge game procedurally, then please look at Limit Theory which was made by two guys, of which one did the coding and the other made the music. He did not create any of the textures or 3d models, it was all done procedurally and within the space of a year and a half. I recognize that I am no Josh Parnell, but I should be able to do something similar, albeit within a larger timescale.


And lastly, are you telling me that the "Master Coders" here can't do this? I recall reading a forum post telling me about how I will be next to people that were always the smartest kids in their class including the teacher, and that many quit school because it wasn't worth their time. If that is indeed what you or anyone else here tells me, then when I do start this undertaking, and when I present it to you on a silver plater, I will count myself as being once again, the smartest person in the class. Once again, the smartest person I know. I will gladly return to that isolationist box that I so desperately tried to escape by searching for people that were at least at my level. And if you are telling me that even the best among you cannot even begin to perceive how to complete this task within TEN YEARS, then I suppose that there is not a place for me here. There is never a place for men among apes still bashing things with a rock.


But if that isn't what you are telling me, and I assume it isn't because your pride wouldn't allow you to, then I suggest you guys stop doubting me. I know the time scale, I understand my newness. But it does not bother me, it does not discourage me, and most importantly It will not stop me.

Then view the negative feedback as fuel. its useful too if just for that. Also i would point out that some VERY big games(in terms of amount of code and or growth of the game itself) have come out of small 1-5 man shops. I DO however think you are trying to run before learning to walk. even if you make a small say 1000 hour game first you will learn a LOT of stuff that can not be learned from any book except the one called experience, and that experience will save you that many man hours if not more in making your "dream" game. If its already going to take you 10 years to make it, whats a few months of heavy coding to prepare for it? Just as importantly it makes your code itself for the big project itself better and more streamlined.

Anyway to me you are busy trying to write the Odyssey without first ever even writing a short story. It is VERY unlikely to end well. Write the short story, see if you like it. Hell if you make the "short story" along a similar but smaller line as to your big idea, then you even get to iron out a good dev plan for the project.

[N3mesis]

Ahhh so we see the inspiration. This makes more sense now.


Im really not even sure what your trying to say in all that sarcasm but whatever. Take it down a notch, I really dont care whether you do it and make a billion dollars or if you fall on your face and give up. Just giving my input, as im guessing that is why you posted this here. And your motivation does not impress me.


Anyways, Its certainly a lot more feasible if you aren't doing EVERYTHING from scratch, which is what it sounded like. I still recommend starting with something else entirely, and seeing if your still even interested. And if you are, I would plan for a longg time before you start. Make use cases, make a ton of diagrams, and plan out how everything will fit together. This is normally a no brainer but if your a beginner you may not know. Developing a project of this scope may mean months of work before you even type a line of code.


Use the tools available to you. Don't do everything from scratch. Nobody does, otherwise we would never get anywhere as developers.

[Deque]

If you don't aim high, you never get anywhere.

Plus, I have a genius fellow student, who made a whole game engine in C++ within half a year. Just to get things in perspective. But of course, he has programming experience for years.

Even if you think he falls on his nose. Just let him. What you learn from projects like these is definitely worth it.

I would say learn something like C, C++ or D.
D is the most modern of the three and I personally would prefer that language for this task.