Planet Spawning System

[HappyCat]

From what I've read...apparently theres software in the game that spawns infinate planets and stars - which can be explored and named. Wouldn't this really clog up the amount of space the game takes on the computer, lag and etc? I know its a real nitpick, but still, wont it be a massive game that older - windows pc's wont be able to handle?

And what information has been given so far on this planet spawning thingy?

[knightofhyrule730]

no information besides, itll happen.

im going to assume that these planets are going to be instanced events though. keeps server strain to a minimum.

however, i believe craig has said that if they are instances, you can allow your friends to go visit them. or maybe that was a suggestion from the forums. i dont remember.

[SovWell]

I cant wait to discover planet Bob. Rulled by Cow lifeforms.

[Manta2015]

There is no Cow Level.

Moo.


-Manta-

[CrazyVulcan]

its not imposable its like how spore did it only MMO style and bigger, much, much bigger

[Rosebud]

Most of us know the basic MMO missions. I figure there will be a mission generator that will mix and match things from that list.
You may go to a planet to collect dilithium and encounter some hostile humanoids. I may go to the same planet to collect some soil samples and be attacked by some mugato. A third player could go to that planet to deliver supplies to a Federation/Klingon outpost, and a fourth could have to go there to repel a Klingon attack, either in space or on the surface. Oversimplified (perhaps), but the planet is probably nothing until someone approches it/sets foot on the surface. At that time the instance is generated and off you go.

[HappyCat]

In which case...
Planet Bob ftw! I pledge alliegence to the Cult of Moo!

[JoJimGregory]

They haven't said how they're doing it, but I hope it's some sort of random planet generator that selects among a broad choice of attributes like ...

Planet Size
Color Palette
Atmosphere viewed from orbit (using Palette)
Sky viewed from ground (using Palette)
Illuminating bodies (central star type to tint Palette... Red Giant, Yellow, White Dwarf, Blue Dwarf, and Brown Dwarf for twilight world)
Orbiting Bodies (asteroids, moons, eclipsing body a la "Pitch Black", or None)
Populace & Development Level (or None)
Infrastructure to match Development Level (or None)
Quests (or None)
Resources (or None)
Topography (jungle, desert, oceanic (dead ocean if no moon for tidal), savanna, desolate, etc)
Flora (or None)
Fauna (or None)

... or something along those lines so that each one runs a good chance of never repeating.

EDIT: And hope for all that's space worthy, that the view from planet surfaces include realistic day/night cycles.

[Vorador]

Most of the planet attributes will be stored server side probably. So they can add servers and create new systems in them. What is stored in our computer is just the textures that will be constructed based upon what the server sends.

[Eagler]

Additionally, one of the major points of procedurally generated content is that you can refer to an entire texture just by one line of code. This allows you to make things like a 96KB FPS with modern graphics. http://www.theprodukkt.com/kkrieger So no, there won't be any extra space taken up server or client side.

[CaptainCow]

There is no Cow Level.

Moo.



Oh how wrong you are sir.....

signed: Captain Cow

[DarkBarron]

I hope if they have lots of planets people can’t just warp name it x1 warp to next name it x2 warp to next name it x3 etc. If a player wants to discover and name a planet I think they should have to conduct several surveys of varying types or negotiate with the local populations if warp capable. That should take at least a Hour game time. May be skills can reduce this for dedicated explorers other wise all the planets will be named in the first couple of days unless you are willing to really travel out the way.

[JoJimGregory]

I hope if they have lots of planets people can’t just warp name it x1 warp to next name it x2 warp to next name it x3 etc. If a player wants to discover and name a planet I think they should have to conduct several surveys of varying types or negotiate with the local populations if warp capable. That should take at least a Hour game time. May be skills can reduce this for dedicated explorers other wise all the planets will be named in the first couple of days unless you are willing to really travel out the way.

The planets won't exist until you discover them. It will likely involve flying off in some random direction (exploring) with sensors on and you might find a planet or you might not. Once you do, the AI will create the planet you just discovered, and only you know it's location. You can share that location with your friends/guild(fleet) or others and then they can visit it, too.

I don't know if they've said we will be able to name discovered planets ourselves, although I really hope not. The last thing we need is a bunch of planets with really stupid names, and you know we will get that if they allow it. It's more likely the AI will name the planet for us based upon the Sector name, the System name, the Planet Class, followed by a sequence number.

[Silverspar]

its not imposable its like how spore did it only MMO style and bigger, much, much bigger

I doubt the instancing will be that big.

[DarkBarron]

Well that sounds alot better. Like you say I would not want to see planets called "Buy Fed credits at Smugfarminggits.com" lol

[HappyCat]

My main question is: Wouldn't this really cause massive lag if hundreds of different planets - and the possible instances assosiated with them?

[JoJimGregory]

My main question is: Wouldn't this really cause massive lag if hundreds of different planets - and the possible instances assosiated with them?

It shouldn't, since until you visit the planet coordinates (and each time you visit), the instance is essentially non-existent. Until then, it's just coordinates stored in a matrix. At least, I think that's how it works.

[dieuwe10]

The planet probably won't exist unless anyone is looking at it. They'll just store the information and the planet will be recreated when you warp into the system. Something like that, I don't know much about that kind if thing.

[cmhDK]

I don't think it'll steal alot of space on your computer, I think it'll be something like a cache wich will be updated all the time
so if you visit a planet, it would be stored there, once you leave it it would be deleted from your harddrive and replaced with a the next planet you visit, what will grow in size however is the server database