As a general rule I would say each region should be at least 200x200 blocks, though there could be exceptions like rivers, valleys, lakes, etc.
I think things that should get names (maybe generated by world builder?) are:
rivers that contain more than x (like 1000 maybe) blocks of water. rivers could be defined and generated by world builder so they can be differentiated.
lakes with more than x (again around 1000ish) blocks of water.
mountain ranges
all biomes
A good way to do this would be name each continuous biome as generated by world builder. I like how cubeworld did it, where each biome had a name, and towns/rivers/mountains/dungeons/etc in that biome had an area around them with a different name.
However a big difference between Cube World and Boundless is that Cube Worldās world gen is (likely) a fixed function algorithm, whereas Boundlessā is programmable by a nodel structure. Meaning that itās nontrivial as the generation is total unknown until defined and executed.
200x200 blocks would translate into ~400 named biome regions.
This is probably a bit high.
We want to strike a balance between naming some discoverable and collectionable regions per world, helping to seed the environment and allowing players space to sculpt and name their own environment.
I am going to air my idea of a sub biome only spawning once again, ( i have no idea if that is really possible). Those seems like stuff that would be worthy naming.
Yeah 400~ named biomes seems a bit high, but I said at least 200x200 blocks. There would of course be large biomes that are much bigger than that, but I would think the smallest area that should get a pre generated name is 200x200.
Iām not feeling super strongly about naming regions compared to other parts of the games, but it would make sense to me if the only names were player generated. After all, different geographical regions in the world today didnāt name themselvesā¦people named them. The Great Clexian Ocean lying at the foot of The Fantastic Clexian Mountains probably didnāt start out being named such until some humble, modest traveler stumbled across them
Edit: forgot my disclaimer for those who read into things too muchā¦
Disclaimer: the last sentence of the original post was written with the intent of being both a joke and making the point of the sentence before it.
More that when making the world you can mark a sub biome to only generate one instance, this making so that unique areas can exist within in the world.
This could for example be a a mountain biome with a higher heightmap than any other mountains effectively creating a landmark that would obviously standout from the rest of the biomes that will often repeat a few times.
The problem really is I have no idea how you could make that generate effectively.
Unless the regions that were to be named tied into the lore of the game and were identified somehow by a discoverable glyph (there are still over 1000 unique glyphs unaccounted for ;)) ā¦
I thought the same until i realized that would be that. Also it would allow complete narcissism to shine through (you were joking. some wouldnt be)
Personally i believe, if possible, it would be interesting to mix predetermined and random. Forexample have a prefix or suffix with a random name
Valley of ____
___ Mountain
Forest of ___
To give atleast a sense of which is which. so instead of people going āwhat was zyx again?ā to āwhich of the forests were the forest of zyx again?ā to narrow it down atleast a bit.
Potentially set up a randomizer with a variety of phonemes and then put them together to create the names. Of varying lengths from 2 to 5.
A really interesting example of this used is a small one man f2p mmo called āProject Gorgonā which uses āwords of powerā. The words are randomly generated and upon using one it will never be able to be used again. It can be read about here
EDIT: If you want to make sure that you dont get potentially offensive names you could upload a limitation on the game not being able to generate any word in the english, french and german dictionary. It might limit it too much but its worth considering.
Well thatās why James is asking about editorial powers hehehe. Also I donāt think thereās anything wrong with narcissism in naming regions. Happens in the real world all the time haha. If you donāt want to live in The Incredible Clexian Caves, thatās fine .
Procedurally generating different region names is fine too. And I think James has already hinted that guild/player locations are a thing. So Iām satisfied. Just wanted to have some fun
We not need unique name for every one biome. I mean, region is more than one biome. For example, huge region Ithilien can include: Ithilien Forest, Ithilien Valley, Ithilien River, Ithilien Meadows, Ithilien Plains, Ithilien Foothills, Ithilien Highlands, Ithilien Mountains, Ithilien Peaks, Ithilien Plateau, Ithilien Ravine, and more: Great Ithilien Swamp, South Ithilien Sands, Upper Ithilien Dale, Scary Ithilien Canyon.
Think a region found for every 1000 - 2000 blocks (at least) would be good. if a world is (only) 4kx4k it would have about 8-16 regions ā¦ but if you take Okkelinorās method ā¦
ā¦ we could also have only 2-4 named main areas which each would have sub-regions ā¦ on this way it would feel more like countries then only āregionsā
2-4 named area per world is very little and not enought. But look on Middle Earth: this world has many areas, big and small, and they can be divided to more smaller areas with mutual names.
I think, areas hierarchy is the only one way to naming =)
I would favor generated names so long as they could serve to orient a lost player with out a map or compass. Example, a generated name could be something like āNorthern Wastesā for a desert/tundra to the geographical north, or āSouthern Lowlandsā for a swamp to the geographic south. To personalize the names, the suffix āof ___ā could be added to denote whomever first fully mapped the region as a sort of exploration achivement. Such as āNorthern Wastes of Havok40kā
Agreed. I just think that cosidering playable races are alien, Dale, Valley, Forest, ectā¦ Seems a bit too mideval earth. Hoping for something a bit more immersive.
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