[Mod] Tectonic Map Generator 0.3.2 [mg_tectonic]
Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 03:25
A naturalistic mapgen, based around mimicking the landscape of a tectonic plate boundary.
This mapgen aims to create a world which is scientifically informed, but within the minimalist bounds of default Minetest.
It generates a landmass bounded by oceans, with a mountains running North-South down the middle. The land, and its hills and valleys rise from softer terrain on the coasts to towering mountains in the centre. A rainshadow leaves the East dry, and the West wet. Hot weather prevails in the North, cold in the South.
Rocks, sediments, and soils are arranged in strata. Ores occur in concentrated deposits. Deep fissures run along the fault lines, go down deep enough and they fill with magma.
Image: this is a rough cross section of the map. Whichever line is on top is the one that gets placed at that height, if it is higher than underlying layers (i.e. hard rock excludes soft in the middle, soft overlays hard at the edge).
License
Code is licensed under GNU LGPLv2+.
Mod dependencies
default
flowers
farming
beds?
View code on Github:
https://github.com/DokimiCU/mg_tectonic
DOWNLOAD
FAQ:
1) What map generator do I choose?
Short answer: singlenode.
Long answer: This is an Lua singlenode mapgen. As long as you've activated the mod it should work. But choose singlenode to be safe.
2) Why am I starting in the sky?
Short answer: because the spawn code sucks. Wait.
Long answer: It needs to start higher than the highest mountain. It will take a few seconds to a few minutes. It will only do this once. You will respawn at that location until it is overwritten by using a bed.
3) Why is the whole map mountain/desert/ice/grassland/...?
Short answer: it is not.
Long answer: The whole point of this map is that geography matters. Be prepared to go on epic voyages of discovery. Be prepared for very different experiences depending on where you start (Survival mode can range from very easy to Ahhhh-I'm-in-death-valley-how-do-I-escape!).
4) Will [Biome mod XXXX] work with this map? e.g Ethereal, Aotearoa, Australia...
Short answer: No.
Long answer: Anything that requires registered biomes to function will not work. You'll get the content in creative mode at best. This is because this map has a radically different underlying design.
Standard Mintest maps aim to get as much cool stuff in a small area. To do this they have registered Biomes that get applied in a patchwork across the map according to Temperature & Humidity noise.
Mg_tectonic aims to create a natural looking landscape. It's big challenge is to squeeze as much small scale variation as possible out of huge landscape features. To do that it varies all factors (plants, soils, rocks) independently to create infinite continuously changing "biomes". These factors are controlled by Temperature & Humidity & Disturbance & position in the world etc etc....
5) Why is it so slow?
a) It's in Lua. b) it's a complicated map c) I'm an amateur :-)
(edit August 2023: it might be better now than it was, thanks to Skamiz)
6) Future development? Is this map stable?
Short answer: I don't know.
Long answer: Being an amateur I'm at my limits with this. I can't do much beyond aesthetic improvements, and most of that is now finished. To that extent, it is more stable than it was. If I find anything game-breakingly bad I might fix it, if it annoys me personally. Improvements to the core code will require a non-amateur to take this project on.
7) Will this ever become one of the core mapgens?
Short answer: ask the developers.
Long answer: See 4). This is the biggest barrier to that being feasible. Either mg_tectonic would have to be redesigned (and likely broken in the process), or the core Minetest would need to be open to supporting maps of this kind. Either way I think mg_tectonic has shown that Minetest has an open niche for a highly realistic map.
This mapgen aims to create a world which is scientifically informed, but within the minimalist bounds of default Minetest.
It generates a landmass bounded by oceans, with a mountains running North-South down the middle. The land, and its hills and valleys rise from softer terrain on the coasts to towering mountains in the centre. A rainshadow leaves the East dry, and the West wet. Hot weather prevails in the North, cold in the South.
Rocks, sediments, and soils are arranged in strata. Ores occur in concentrated deposits. Deep fissures run along the fault lines, go down deep enough and they fill with magma.
Image: this is a rough cross section of the map. Whichever line is on top is the one that gets placed at that height, if it is higher than underlying layers (i.e. hard rock excludes soft in the middle, soft overlays hard at the edge).
License
Code is licensed under GNU LGPLv2+.
Mod dependencies
default
flowers
farming
beds?
View code on Github:
https://github.com/DokimiCU/mg_tectonic
DOWNLOAD
FAQ:
1) What map generator do I choose?
Short answer: singlenode.
Long answer: This is an Lua singlenode mapgen. As long as you've activated the mod it should work. But choose singlenode to be safe.
2) Why am I starting in the sky?
Short answer: because the spawn code sucks. Wait.
Long answer: It needs to start higher than the highest mountain. It will take a few seconds to a few minutes. It will only do this once. You will respawn at that location until it is overwritten by using a bed.
3) Why is the whole map mountain/desert/ice/grassland/...?
Short answer: it is not.
Long answer: The whole point of this map is that geography matters. Be prepared to go on epic voyages of discovery. Be prepared for very different experiences depending on where you start (Survival mode can range from very easy to Ahhhh-I'm-in-death-valley-how-do-I-escape!).
4) Will [Biome mod XXXX] work with this map? e.g Ethereal, Aotearoa, Australia...
Short answer: No.
Long answer: Anything that requires registered biomes to function will not work. You'll get the content in creative mode at best. This is because this map has a radically different underlying design.
Standard Mintest maps aim to get as much cool stuff in a small area. To do this they have registered Biomes that get applied in a patchwork across the map according to Temperature & Humidity noise.
Mg_tectonic aims to create a natural looking landscape. It's big challenge is to squeeze as much small scale variation as possible out of huge landscape features. To do that it varies all factors (plants, soils, rocks) independently to create infinite continuously changing "biomes". These factors are controlled by Temperature & Humidity & Disturbance & position in the world etc etc....
5) Why is it so slow?
a) It's in Lua. b) it's a complicated map c) I'm an amateur :-)
(edit August 2023: it might be better now than it was, thanks to Skamiz)
6) Future development? Is this map stable?
Short answer: I don't know.
Long answer: Being an amateur I'm at my limits with this. I can't do much beyond aesthetic improvements, and most of that is now finished. To that extent, it is more stable than it was. If I find anything game-breakingly bad I might fix it, if it annoys me personally. Improvements to the core code will require a non-amateur to take this project on.
7) Will this ever become one of the core mapgens?
Short answer: ask the developers.
Long answer: See 4). This is the biggest barrier to that being feasible. Either mg_tectonic would have to be redesigned (and likely broken in the process), or the core Minetest would need to be open to supporting maps of this kind. Either way I think mg_tectonic has shown that Minetest has an open niche for a highly realistic map.