Future biomes - Just farther away?

[CaptainPOCK]

So I was already pretty curious how they would introduce the crystal biome. Assumed they would cut the pie from 3 slices into 4 slices and would keep on doing that with all the future updates. But in a way I'm glad they didn't.

But I also think adding biomes which just spawn further away from the core is not that optimal either, since it would just mean you eventually have to traverse for thousands of blocks into one direction, only to get into the spawn area of new biome X.

Weird take, but don't you think it's a better idea going onwards from now to "dig downwards" - so deeper into the ground - to find new biomes in a lower level? Or are we done with new biomes/areas for now?

In no way is this to be considered being criticism, just a thought on how future biome updates might be handled.

[Patches]

I've been thinking this myself and came to the same conclusion! A Don't Starve Together type "caves" system with a map under...or even OVER the current map would be awesome and eliminate the concern some of us have for our already massively explored worlds! :D

They could add more story and have our characters find a way back to the surface....only to find it crawling with similar or new creatures like it is below ground. Unknown monsters have taken over the planet above ground and going home to the core now seems like the safe option. Those of us with hundreds of hours in the game already probably feel quite comfortable and at home in the bases we've built, so the core keeping us safe and whatnot would be a lovely turn of events for the future of the "story". ^_^

[Quyzbuk]

That's not a simple change. If you want to wait eons for something like that then sure, but what's the point when you have unlimited space and portals to speed up travel?

[Patches]

Originally posted by Quyzbuk:

That's not a simple change. If you want to wait eons for something like that then sure, but what's the point when you have unlimited space and portals to speed up travel?

It would just require adding a secondary map layered under the main one, that the player can travel to via portals or some other method.... it doesn't seem much more complicated than adding new parts of existing maps.

If the devs do this and also figure out how to have the game register separate maps that are loaded, it would solve future issues that may arise from incredibly large worlds loading up millions of assets at once (considering the current optimisation problems the game suffers with and the complaints that a lot of players have in that area, I see this only getting worse with future content being added if it can't be split somehow).

[arkkumanu]

That is an interesting topic. I think I would prefer the layered structure to the infinitely expanding one...although maybe it doesn't really matter after gaining access to teleports.

How about a multi-core system, with intersecting outer rings? Once you travel far enough in the Sunken Sea, you discover a ring of rock and clay, inside of which there is a dirt biome and another core. Or the new rings could be entirely new biomes, which you'd have to unlock one at a time, and instead of a core, there would be some other mysterious entity inside. So many possibilities...

[CaptainPOCK]

Originally posted by arkkumanu:

That is an interesting topic. I think I would prefer the layered structure to the infinitely expanding one...although maybe it doesn't really matter after gaining access to teleports.

How about a multi-core system, with intersecting outer rings? Once you travel far enough in the Sunken Sea, you discover a ring of rock and clay, inside of which there is a dirt biome and another core. Or the new rings could be entirely new biomes, which you'd have to unlock one at a time, and instead of a core, there would be some other mysterious entity inside. So many possibilities...

Now that's an idea I can get behind. I can see the appeal here, having multiple respawn points, maybe the ability to teleport between the cores without the need for portals. That way you can infinitely expand without having to create 99 portals into one direction.

Layered world maps would be load friendlier, at least for single player. And each layer could serve as it's own standalone stage, similar to hard mode in Terraria (Like going into the sub-cavern layer, you'd find a frozen-like biome first which is significantly harder than the dirt biome, but is also your starting point).

So many opportunities indeed. Going up and down instead of one direction, maybe multiple cores, parallel worlds and so on...

[Quyzbuk]

Originally posted by Patches:

Originally posted by Quyzbuk:

That's not a simple change. If you want to wait eons for something like that then sure, but what's the point when you have unlimited space and portals to speed up travel?

If the devs do this and also figure out how to have the game register...

Right there, just stop, you already just confirmed what I just said that it's NOT a simple change. If you have to "figure it out" it's not as simple as you think. And indeed, this is NOT a simple change.

[Patches]

Originally posted by Quyzbuk:

Originally posted by Patches:

If the devs do this and also figure out how to have the game register...

Right there, just stop, you already just confirmed what I just said that it's NOT a simple change. If you have to "figure it out" it's not as simple as you think. And indeed, this is NOT a simple change.

XD Nothing about game development is easy or simple, dear. I meant in terms of coding...it's not an incredibly complicated piece of code to add into the existing game IF the devs know how. XD

Making ANY change in game development isn't simple when you look at the millions/billions of lines of code that goes into a game...but in terms of professional and experienced game devs and their abilities... it wouldn't be hard for them to implement XD

But if you can make a game...there's a very good chance you know how to add a few (or few hundred) lines of code to have that game load sections of it differently depending on user input, or can "figure it out" with a short amount of research. XD

Coding 101: Just "figure it out" as you work through whatever code is in front of you.