Dynamically Expanding Map and Dynamic Monsters

[Mickey Kudlo]

Dynamic Monsters:

Was thinking the farther from the start sector, the more starting XP/Level a monster is given.
For example, lets say the map is 2000x2000 and all Plains terrain which just has Gray Rats as monster.
For each sector away from the start sector, when a Gray Rat is spawned, it given sector distance X 5 skill to unarmed, life, etc.
Thus the farther you venture out, the more risk. Otherwise I would need to create different monsters for each range away from start.
I have seen other ways to deal with this creating dynamic monster names and stats.
Or just define certain monsters at certain sector distances. Gray Rat (0-1), Black Rat(2-3), Crimson Rat(4-5), etc
The code for any of these would be some what easy to do.


Dynamically Expanding Map:

This idea would basically give unlimited map size. Every time you enter a new sector, it creates it. So you can walk in a straight line forever.
But the monsters would get harder depending on how far away from start sector you are. I could always limit how far you go.
Also could only have the map loaded if a player or NPC is near to save memory and CPU.
The animals and plants could be processed once per v-day: load, process, save and unload.
Would give higher level players places to go plus give unlimited resources via mining and such.
This would be a lot of coding and changes but better to do it now when the game is young.
For some reason I thought I started coding it this way but it went another way so it might not be too much coding but still a month long.

Anyways, just seeing what players think.

[Greatest]

the mosnter idea seems ok I guess...I'm not a fighter so not sure what to say here.

the map idea is going to be crazy!  true you'll run out of resources eventually if you have limitted space, but thats sort of the point isn't it?  think of earth for example, you can explore and find stuff, and you can found new settlements, but if you keep going in 1 direction eventually you're just going to end up right back where you started.  I think thats 1 of the things about RPGWO that we like, the game won't/can't last forever.  which means every so often you get a fresh start...we don't need infinite resources, though it would be nice if there wasn't so much empty space when mining

[Mickey Kudlo]

I still need to add minerals and gems to mining but if you want... I can add "Pile of Dirt"

[Greatest]

umm no!  I meant higher rates for things...

but yea I guess when you add in other stuff it'll fill in the gaps, but I don't like "empty" mining and "dirt" mining...remember how your old servers had a default ore(usually granite)?  I think it would be neat with each terrain type having a different default ore, ie: more coal when you're mining under a swamp, more stone in a mountain...I forgot your other terrain types but hopefully you get what I mean

[Mongo]

I want to add my 2c here. Infinite content created randomly and/or dynamically sounds neat in concept and it's fun to code. However, the implementation takes away from the game somewhat.

Yes, the player can now go out infinitely. But it also means each sector is infinitely less significant. Who cares about limited resources if there are infinite of them? No land is special if it goes on forever.

Take Terraria vs Starbound. I don't know if you've played either, but one big difference is Terraria starts you in a set world and you stay there for the duration. You explore it, learn its layout, deal with the obstacles. In Starbound, there are "infinite" (not truly infinite, but enough that it may as well be infinite) planets you can visit with ease. It also means if there's one planet you don't like, it doesn't matter. No need to overcome an obstacle, just move on to one of the other places.

When everything is generated and infinite, it lowers the significance on it. I'm not saying "Don't do it".. just wanted to voice my concern. I didn't think about this until I had actually played a game that used it.

[Mickey Kudlo]

I pretty much have decided to NOT have infinite map size. But it should be at least 2000 X 2000 or 10 X 10 sectors for a standard world.

Right now, it randomly places a player in any Plains sector it finds at start or death. I just finished coding, but not updated, so the "home" sector is 2,2 or around 300,300. With a resurrect/life stone on PLOT land. So now everyone starts/resurrects there.

Also coded different monsters in a terrain depending how far away from the home sector it is. So the farther out you go, the harder the monsters get. Like Plains sectors have rats. Different rats would spawn the farther you go out: Gray, Black, Fire, etc.

The dynamic monster thing did not make much sense risk/reward wise plus with drops in a dynamic/sandbox type world. A Black Rat Hide will have a standard worth but it would be a mess if names, stats and drops all dynamic... at least I think. Usage would be a mess too. I can still give them extra XP/Level when they spawn in certain cases but then the drops or risk/reward ratio would get out of balance... assuming I balanced it out right in first place, heh.

Keep in mind, I am trying to code a system where admins do very little building, if any at all.

[Greatest]

this may be more than you were planning, but you could make higher level rats give better quality fur.  so a fur hat(weird light armor example) made from level 1 rat fur wouldn't be as durable as a fur hat made from level 10 rat fur...

or you could even make it a size thing.  small rats near start aren't as big so you need more fur to make the same amount?  but then how would you really code that...standard rat has tiny fur, level 10 rat has giant fur/or you just get more pieces of rat fur from bigger rats?  it gets weird, but there are ways to adress having higher level monsters/animals with same drops as low level.