Random Generated Maps?

[Preacher]

I'm new, and I want to know if these maps are random seed generated or all of the same.

Thanks

[f03n1x]

It's one big map that isn't random, and partly closed off at the moment because the devs are adding more content to it.

[anywhatshisname]

Some things are random- minor landscape items, like trees in the swamp, plants, etc. The landscape itself, no. Though the water level has been known to vary a bit- I've had a base partially flooded, then the waters receded in the next update. The variance is not large, but enough to cover low shore areas.

Resource nodes, cities, and towns stay the same. Bandit camps, wildlife nests, and roving patrols do vary. Loot is random. Shops in the towns can vary from update to update- at some point I believe we'll be seeing a police station or similar in every major town with it's own bailiff/chief whom you can pay your fine to or deliver bounties to. Some things are fairly static.

For example, the liklihood that there will be at least one bar in major towns is high. Some places like Bad Teeth and Clownsteady are so small the variance is low. The Hub will have a bar, but sometimes the building is destroyed when you import (there will still be recruits in town, they just won't enter the destroyed bar).

Hope that answers your question.

[Tommygun]

Anywhatshisname pretty much covered it, but just wanted to point out that the map is one of the largest hand made maps made for a game.

[Preacher]

One more question: Is there a lot of replayability despite the same map?

[Tommygun]

That's hard to answer. Everyone has different ideas of what is entertaining.
I think I have over 550 hours in the game and I'm not tired of it.
All with the same character too, but some like to restart with different characters and build them up.
I think people who like to roleplay their own stories will get the most out of this type of game.

[Preacher]

Thank you everyone for the answers! I hope your Christmas was merry!

[Demonbox]

Originally posted by Blackout7491 #I'mWithIsrael:

One more question: Is there a lot of replayability despite the same map?

A bit late, but my personal answer is, yes there's enough replayability.

The map is really huge, and depending on the race, starting option and sex you chose the reactions of the various factions can be very different.

This means with certan characters you can go into a town and commerce/recruit/whatever from the get go, with some others you'll be looked at badly/pushed away, with others you will be attacked on sight.

You can also decide to play the game "as you want", being a thief, being a "freedom" fighter, a slaver, a farmer, etc.. or trying to be all of this alltogether.

[anywhatshisname]

As for replayability...

You can start out many ways. Start as an honest trader. Start as a sneaky thief. Start as a slave in the Rebirth Mines (actually an interesting one- you gain skill in laboring working the mines, lockpicking and sneak trying to get away, toughness and unarmed combat fighting the guards... and they will heal you up and feed you, a bit, to keep you alive).

Later on, you can start your own town. You can plunder old ruins for tech pieces. You can join certain factions (two so far). Exploring is nice, but once you've explored... a new start can turn it into a whole different experience. You can crank up the global damage multiplier to make combat more lethal. You can add to the next multiplier to make more npc nests (more bandits to chase you down and pound you flat, more bonedogs to chew your legs off, more gutters and fogmen to eat you alive...).

With mods you can have a squad of mechanical spiders, beak things, and garrus to back you up. You can create crazy dialogue and add characters to the potential recruit pool. Items and funcionality, too.

Later on, diplomacy will give you allied factions... but beware, those allies have enemies of their own, who will now target *you* as well. Bar thugs will bully you and hunt you down outside town. Police will interrogate you, bounty hunters will hunt you, corrupt officials may be bribed... or may plant evidence on you and throw you in prison if you can't pay their bribe. Empire nobles might sic their elite guards on you.

You can start a slave rebellion, or sell slaves yourself. You can peacefully farm (until the swamp raptors chew you up). Someday there may be town assaults wherein whoever is around your base takes an interest, and demands taxes in the form of cats or slaves from you. If oyu don't pony up, they'll probably try to knock down your gates, slaughter your people, and burn your buildings to the ground.

A thief may use the cover of darkness and rain to sneak through an enemy camp and assassinate the guards before a conventional assault. A wandering trader may pick up an escaped slave, and get embroiled in conflict as manhunters come to take them back. A tech hunter may succumb to blood loss and become captured by cannibals- better hope rescue comes soon.

Replayability is not *endless* but it is quite varied. The more you put into it- planning, tweaking, modding, and discovering, the more you get out of it. The lore items are a nice touch- those are books scattered around. Dialogue is slowly improving, making the setting more immersive and complete.

Stick around. The improvements so far have been good. That suggests to me the eventual product will be pretty good, too.

[Articulate Llama]

Going even further for restarting, you can use the CS to easily modify your own game start in. Pick all their gear, inventory, add animals and inventory to them, select andcreate your own characters.

Can get very fun making your own custom game starts and very in depth with the control you have over them..... though you can also imbalance the ♥♥♥♥ out of the early game which might not be a good idea.

[bspawn]

Originally posted by anywhatshisname:

Some things are random- minor landscape items, like trees in the swamp, plants, etc.

Those are in the same place every new game.

They are procedurally placed, not exactlly random. Key difference is that the landscape is hand-crafted, but the placement of vegetation and rocks is not done by hand (although it does take a bit of manual tweaking).

I'd love to have a 'random' (procedurally generated with the possibility to change the seed) landschape, and having to discover the land all over again every new game.
The problem is that although the principle of it is not complicated, it is very hard to make it look real nice without any manual intervention.

[anywhatshisname]

Originally posted by bspawn:

Those are in the same place every new game.

They are procedurally placed, not exactlly random. Key difference is that the landscape is hand-crafted, but the placement of vegetation and rocks is not done by hand (although it does take a bit of manual tweaking).

I'd love to have a 'random' (procedurally generated with the possibility to change the seed) landschape, and having to discover the land all over again every new game.
The problem is that although the principle of it is not complicated, it is very hard to make it look real nice without any manual intervention.

True, not completely random. But "procedural;y placed" means that an ore node can be exposed on one import, and covered by a massive swamp tree in another. Buildings can be in the open in one import, and blocked by rocks, or again, giant trees in the swamp. Or trees growing through the middle of them.

The degree of randomness is within the area of the zone, there will be certain landscape pieces. Those landscape will not be in the same place every time, though. That is what I meant, though I didn't put it as precisely.

[bspawn]

Originally posted by anywhatshisname:

But "procedural;y placed" means that an ore node can be exposed on one import, and covered by a massive swamp tree in another.

Foliage locations can be changed from one version of the game to the next - which is when one usually *imports*.

But in each game started in the same version, trees, rocks etc are in the same place.