Are planets randomly procedurally-generated?

[fadi2090]

So that means the planet which i visit won't be the same for another player? can someone explains please!

[ChuTheMan]

planets terrain and such will be the same for everyone (we will all use the same seeds)

but the points of interest in each planet will be random for each player.
so you might see a research base while i see a mining outpost.

[jadenedaj on x]

It will be interesting to see if NG+ will give a new terrain seed

[smr1957]

In this video they talk about how the planets might be generated in Starfield:
(this is NOT a Bethesda video, but still may be of some relevance):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PZ1C_eAxMo&t=1s

[Mitzelplick]

You are correct. Also means landing twice at the same spot generates a different map than the one you had the first time. So no going back to spots you know contained resources you need the first time. This kinda kills the exploration part of it for me. Oh, im still getting the game, but its lost alot of shine for me right now.

[HeyYou]

Originally posted by Mitzelplick:

You are correct. Also means landing twice at the same spot generates a different map than the one you had the first time. So no going back to spots you know contained resources you need the first time. This kinda kills the exploration part of it for me. Oh, im still getting the game, but its lost alot of shine for me right now.

Incorrect. The planet is generated as you approach the first time. It will be exactly the same each time for the duration of that playthru. Start new game, and it will be different.

[ChuTheMan]

Originally posted by Mitzelplick:

You are correct. Also means landing twice at the same spot generates a different map than the one you had the first time. So no going back to spots you know contained resources you need the first time. This kinda kills the exploration part of it for me. Oh, im still getting the game, but its lost alot of shine for me right now.

its not tho? they confirmed planets will be the same for everyone, only POI locations will be different.
they even show a side by side view from 2 playthroughs on the same planet, same terrain, just 2 different POIs.

[jadenedaj on x]

Originally posted by HeyYou:

Originally posted by Mitzelplick:

You are correct. Also means landing twice at the same spot generates a different map than the one you had the first time. So no going back to spots you know contained resources you need the first time. This kinda kills the exploration part of it for me. Oh, im still getting the game, but its lost alot of shine for me right now.

Incorrect. The planet is generated as you approach the first time. It will be exactly the same each time for the duration of that playthru. Start new game, and it will be different.

Save files are going to be massive if they keep track of data of 1000 planets

[Plinto]

Originally posted by ChuTheMan:

planets terrain and such will be the same for everyone (we will all use the same seeds)

but the points of interest in each planet will be random for each player.
so you might see a research base while i see a mining outpost.

i swear i heard the devs say at one point that no two players will have the same planet terrain layout (biomes yes but specific hills, mountains, forests etc. are random) but i might've misinterpreted what was said

[morph113]

Originally posted by Mitzelplick:

You are correct. Also means landing twice at the same spot generates a different map than the one you had the first time. So no going back to spots you know contained resources you need the first time. This kinda kills the exploration part of it for me. Oh, im still getting the game, but its lost alot of shine for me right now.

I don't think this has been confirmed anywhere. What has been said is that the terrain will be the same for everyone, but different players will see different points of interest which are randomly placed. However procedural generation uses seeds, don't ever forget that. So the game could simply generate a seed either when you start a new savegame or when you first land on a planet and then uses this seed for the rest of this savegame. Which means you will always get the same result when you land in the same spot again. But for other players it will be different. Also when you create a new savegame on a new playthrough, it will be different for you as well as it may create a new seed. That's most likely how it's going to work. It would make absolutely zero sense for the game to create a new map each time you land in the same spot.

[HeyYou]

Originally posted by Plinto:

Originally posted by ChuTheMan:

planets terrain and such will be the same for everyone (we will all use the same seeds)

but the points of interest in each planet will be random for each player.
so you might see a research base while i see a mining outpost.

i swear i heard the devs say at one point that no two players will have the same planet terrain layout (biomes yes but specific hills, mountains, forests etc. are random) but i might've misinterpreted what was said

Originally posted by (Jaden) AceAngel TTV:

Originally posted by HeyYou:

Incorrect. The planet is generated as you approach the first time. It will be exactly the same each time for the duration of that playthru. Start new game, and it will be different.

Save files are going to be massive if they keep track of data of 1000 planets

If planets are generated from a seed, then simply storing the seed, and which POI's were assigned (and where...) won't be that much data.

We also don't know if everyone is going to use the same seed..... Or if a random seed is generated on initial approach. I don't recall anyone saying terrain will be the same for everyone.....

We'll see when the game is finally in our hands. :D

[Storm]

Is that a point of interest?
Or are you happy the game is out soon?
*laughtrack*

[morph113]

Originally posted by (Jaden) AceAngel TTV:

Originally posted by HeyYou:

Incorrect. The planet is generated as you approach the first time. It will be exactly the same each time for the duration of that playthru. Start new game, and it will be different.

Save files are going to be massive if they keep track of data of 1000 planets

I don't think you understand how procedural generation works. One of the reasons it's so popular is because it takes up little to no space while still being able to have tons of random content. It's based on a mathematical algorithm. All you need is a different seed (like a number) to get a different result. It doesn't need to save the map, it just needs to have the seed so it can sort of rebuild the same map over and over again. This only takes up very little data.

[Alstack]

I agree with the interpretation "Seeded differently for each play-through" is my understanding. This is also most likely the main reason this will always be a single player game. IMO

[jadenedaj on x]

I'm not saying it will need to save the map data, I'm saying it will need to keep track of what we have looted, which npcs are dead etc

[HeyYou]

Originally posted by (Jaden) AceAngel TTV:

I'm not saying it will need to save the map data, I'm saying it will need to keep track of what we have looted, which npcs are dead etc

And the previous games did that just fine. Of course, areas respawn after some period of time.....