tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post3427103802020400460..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: Random Map Generator - ElevationsAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-2987097701917214362010-10-07T09:34:08.334-06:002010-10-07T09:34:08.334-06:00Good points and things I will likely include (espe...Good points and things I will likely include (especially the minimum elevation change). I'm pleased with my results so far - they will provide greater verisimilitude for my mountains (once the players actually reach them) than I would have been able to do without them.<br /><br />I think I need to stop generating elevations now and go back and draw in the actual terrain or at least start color-coding the hexes so I can see what I have better. This will help me wrap my brain around the terrain better.<br /><br />Generation of river paths has been very satisfactory and has created the "leaf veins" look that actual watersheds have.<br /><br />After I finish working this up as a proper map, I want to start over again using 4d6 instead of 6d6 to compare generated terrain. 4d6 should work well for hills (as opposed to mountains) or at least that is my expectation. I should also go back and roll 2d6 for the plains areas the PCs have adventured in already to generate realistic rivers.<br /><br />Now if only I could take time off from the DayJob and still get paid while doing all this...PatrickWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02083947433803227063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-62327422405397716282010-10-04T17:44:03.247-06:002010-10-04T17:44:03.247-06:00A few recommendations.
You could set a minimum el...A few recommendations.<br /><br />You could set a minimum elevation change at 2 ft. per point or more, if you don't want wide floodplains. But I would point out that floodplains do tend to be very wide. For example, at one point 1,200 miles from the sea, the river Ob has an elevation of only 100 feet above sea level.<br /><br />Alternately, parts of the coast of Turkey are so severe that the land drops from an elevation of 2-3 thousand feet to sea level, to 300 feet below sea level in a distance of less than 1 mile. Arica, Chile, is 12 miles by road from the sea and higher than 12,000 ft. above sea level ... and the sea drops to below 24,000 feet deep ten miles off the coast in the Peruvian Trench.<br /><br />So feel free to play around with the numbers however you see fit. Different standards that you set will produce different topographical environments.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-6282886426614017052010-10-04T08:50:42.131-06:002010-10-04T08:50:42.131-06:00Using this method, I get some odd results at the w...Using this method, I get some odd results at the water line that will need some work to justify (I think).<br /><br />Once the eleveation gets down below 18, the elevation changes are in 1-foot increments, so getting to zero stretches out. Similarly, once you go below zero, it takes a while to get depths of any significance. BUT, it is possible to suddenly drop well below zero from heights over 100 ft if you roll very high while following a river.<br /><br />Using 3 mile hexes, I have an area 12-15 miles across where the lowest elevationpoint varies from 0 to -10 feet. I think the solution here is a large river delta/swamp. <br /><br />I also have some hexes with elevations above 75 feet (with a river even) adjacent to ones with -32 feet. This happened following the process of determining which hex a river flows to (using an absolute value of the dice to determine a lower elevation) and then having an adjacent hex naturally roll an significantly (one might say freakishly) lower elevation. In this case, would you stick with the originally determined river direction or switch to the newer, lower path?PatrickWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02083947433803227063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-60337107150457937612010-09-24T09:23:09.884-06:002010-09-24T09:23:09.884-06:00I have no familiarity with Dwarf Fortress.I have no familiarity with Dwarf Fortress.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-8215496130908145702010-09-24T06:34:51.014-06:002010-09-24T06:34:51.014-06:00By the way, do you know Dwarf Fortress? What do yo...By the way, do you know Dwarf Fortress? What do you think of its random map generator?Kasparhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04865107617119042759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-13487240374898236262010-09-23T11:04:59.775-06:002010-09-23T11:04:59.775-06:00I haven't, actually. But a system for doing so...I haven't, actually. But a system for doing so springs to mind. By choosing a number between 6 to 21 as the baseline for the hex, and assigning an elevation variance per point of die, other elevations in the hex could then be determined. Starting at the subdivided hex whereat the river in the hex exits (which would be the lowest point), calculate the remaining hex from there.<br /><br />Note that with the subdivision, more branches of rivers would be evident (and creeks would occur where none were evident before). The cubic flow calculation for rivers would also have to reflect the smaller scale (remember, geometrically).<br /><br />Other effects could be worked out similarly.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-48969440095857901122010-09-22T15:44:41.233-06:002010-09-22T15:44:41.233-06:00This is really nice.
Did you create a process for...This is really nice.<br /><br />Did you create a process for subdividing?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10980124416410737524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-9976183206802190532010-09-22T08:17:09.872-06:002010-09-22T08:17:09.872-06:00Neat system. This could turn out to be very usefu...Neat system. This could turn out to be very useful for my games. Thanks for sharing, as always.KenHRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11613789646908929989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-51065061442513635832010-09-21T13:09:12.621-06:002010-09-21T13:09:12.621-06:00This will be most helpful. I have a mountain rang...This will be most helpful. I have a mountain range my players will eventually run across and this will make the mountains much more interesting.PatrickWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02083947433803227063noreply@blogger.com