[Old-Sckool]

I wish to build a randomly generated map engine, but I'm not sure how to go about it.

What I have in mind is something that builds a maze on a grid sorta, where point A (the starting point) will always have a path in each cardinal direction and point B. Point B will always have a minimum distance. A min distance of Two would mean..

  B       AND      B--       NOT      B-
  |                   |                 |
  |                   |                 A
  A                   A

On top of that, I want to incorperate a complexity counter. Since I want the engine to put customblocks(floors) on the board to represent the paths on the map and use that mini-map for reference when the engine draws it, this counter would both give a set number for chars placed and the set maximum distance a maze segment can be from point A. I would also like a counter that places a set number of dead ends if possible to stick goodies in with my draw engine

The big issue I have though is how to go about the randomness part.

[LogiCow]

Set "thisvalueisarandomvalue" between "min" to "max"

[Val]

LogiCow, on Jul 9 2007, 07:50 AM, said:

Set "thisvalueisarandomvalue" between "min" to "max"

Actually, that's wrong, Logicow. You have to write:

Set "thisvalueisarandomvalue" random "min" to "max"

[Lachesis]

Guy, on Jul 9 2007, 11:36 AM, said:

LogiCow, on Jul 9 2007, 07:50 AM, said:

Set "thisvalueisarandomvalue" between "min" to "max"

Actually, that's wrong, Logicow. You have to write:

Set "thisvalueisarandomvalue" random "min" to "max"

He meant it as a sentence, not actual code

[CJA]

I think Logicow has good enough grammar to have written it like this

Set "thisvalueisarandomvalue" between "min" AND "max"

if it were a sentence.

[LogiCow]

I ment it in actual code and made a mistake.

[Old-Sckool]

This isn't helping.
The what the problem is is that I don't know how to randomly build a maze that doesn't have straightforward paths.

[Risu2112]

Old-Sckool, on Jul 9 2007, 06:16 PM, said:

This isn't helping.
The what the problem is is that I don't know how to randomly build a maze that doesn't have straightforward paths.

Your question is pretty broad, and the description you're giving for the specific results you want is a little vague, provide a little more info on what results you want from said engine ^^

[Elig]

Here's the SECKRET to random maps, they're all based on random maze algorithms. Except the fractal ones. And, mazes are really, really simple. The definition of a maze is that there is only a single route between any two points on a some sort of map. And we dont even need to abide by that for random map generation. Anyway, the simplest algorithm to implement is hunt and kill. It works through a grid, you start out with a single square being "In," and you randomly choose a square adjascent to an In square, and make it In too. Remembering ofcourse to record which square we decided to connect to. This generates a nice maze, which you can use for pretty much any type of map you want. Beyond this, you probably DONT want your map to be a maze. After all, how fun is it to walk around inside a giagantic MAZE.

Anyway, just my thoughts. There are some more "organic" algorithms, but they're much more complex. Although I admit, a recursive backtracker for those who know is technically simpler than this implementation, but it also produces hideous results for video games. Hunt and Kill keeps things simple.

[Val]

Here's your solution: http://en.wikipedia....ation_algorithm

Referring to the "recursive division" one. It's the simplest and most efficient!

[Old-Sckool]

I've finished.

What I did was I wrote an engine that simply draws random paths. It randomly picks a direction, then checks if there's an open space ahead. If it happens to turn on itself, it makes a three way intersection, then rides on the maze until it finds an open space. It never makes a 4-way intersection. It continues until a local counter hits 0. When that happens, it checks to see if B is too close. As you can see, I didn't set it high enough. It will also have that complexity counter put in soon.

[Koji]

Huh. Interesting algorithm.

Granted the mazes it makes are evil, but nifty algorithm.