Procedural Generation Lauri Kongas What is procedural generation? - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Procedural Generation Lauri Kongas What is procedural generation? - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Jan 22, 2023 33 likes •866 views

Procedural Generation Lauri Kongas What is procedural generation? Procedural Generation It is the algorithmic creation of data Procedural Generation It is the algorithmic creation of data Almost anything can be created procedurally

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Procedural Generation

Lauri Kongas

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What is procedural generation?

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Procedural Generation

It is the algorithmic creation of data

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Procedural Generation

It is the algorithmic creation of data Almost anything can be created procedurally

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Procedural generation vs manual creation

Depends on the objectives

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Procedural generation vs manual creation

Depends on the objectives When used in the right circumstances it can save

  • Memory
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Procedural generation vs manual creation

Depends on the objectives When used in the right circumstances it can save

  • Memory
  • Disk space
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Procedural generation vs manual creation

Depends on the objectives When used in the right circumstances it can save

  • Memory
  • Disk space
  • Design and development cost
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Apparent randomness is a key ingredient in procedural generation

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Noise

What is noise?

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Noise

What is noise? Pseudorandom vs truly random

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The issue with white noise

Nature is smooth

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The issue with white noise

Nature is smooth Two points close to each other on the surface of an object will usually look similar. Points on the surface far from each other may look different.

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The issue with white noise

Nature is smooth Two points close to each other on the surface of an object will usually look similar. Points on the surface far from each other may look different. What we want is gradual local changes, but large global changes

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The issue with white noise

Nature is smooth Two points close to each other on the surface of an object will usually look similar. Points on the surface far from each other may look different. What we want is gradual local changes, but large global changes That’s not how random number generators usually work

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The issue with white noise

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This is better

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Value Noise

A simple type of noise which can be useful for a variety of applications, e.g. creating textures

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Value noise 2D example

1. Generate random values in one dimension

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Value noise 2D example

  • 2. Generate random values in the other dimension as well
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Value noise 2D example

  • 3. Define a grid to use for interpolation
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Value noise 2D example

  • 4. Zoom in and interpolate (smoothstep function can give nice results)
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Value noise 2D example

  • 5. Stack multiple layers on top of each other with varying zoom levels and weights
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Use case study: Generating the Milky Way galaxy in Elite Dangerous

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History of Elite

4 Elite games have been released over the years

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History of Elite

4 Elite games have been released over the years Pretty old for a video game franchise - first game released in 1984

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History of Elite

4 Elite games have been released over the years Pretty old for a video game franchise - first game released in 1984 The games are set in space, the player will engage in combat, exploration, trading, etc

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History of Elite

4 Elite games have been released over the years Pretty old for a video game franchise - first game released in 1984 The games are set in space, the player will engage in combat, exploration, trading, etc Both the older and the newer games feature a significant amount of procedural generation, especially in terms of game world generation

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Elite (1984)

Wireframe graphics with hidden line removal

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Elite (1984)

Wireframe graphics with hidden line removal 8 procedurally generated galaxies (developers wanted to go for 248 galaxies, but publisher refused)

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Elite (1984)

Wireframe graphics with hidden line removal 8 procedurally generated galaxies (developers wanted to go for 248 galaxies, but publisher refused) 256 star systems per galaxy

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Elite (1984)

Wireframe graphics with hidden line removal 8 procedurally generated galaxies (developers wanted to go for 248 galaxies, but publisher refused) 256 star systems per galaxy One planet and space station per system

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Elite (1984)

Wireframe graphics with hidden line removal 8 procedurally generated galaxies (developers wanted to go for 248 galaxies, but publisher refused) 256 star systems per galaxy One planet and space station per system Some issues with procedural star system and planet generation

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Frontier: Elite II (1993)

Procedurally generated and varied star systems Newtonian physics

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Frontier: Elite II (1993)

Procedurally generated and varied star systems Newtonian physics Seamless landing on planets

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Frontier: First Encounters (1995)

Procedural texturing (snow, plants, planet surfaces, etc.)

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Frontier: First Encounters (1995)

Procedural texturing (snow, plants, planet surfaces, etc.) Gouraud shading

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Elite: Dangerous (2014)

Released 30 years after the original

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Elite: Dangerous (2014)

Set in the 34th century when humanity has colonized other star systems in the galaxy

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Setting of Elite: Dangerous

The entire 1:1 scale Milky Way galaxy

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Setting of Elite: Dangerous

The entire 1:1 scale Milky Way galaxy 400 billion star systems spread across different structures in the galaxy

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Setting of Elite: Dangerous

The entire 1:1 scale Milky Way galaxy 400 billion star systems spread across different structures in the galaxy Nebulae, dust, all kinds of other objects

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Mass distribution in the galaxy

Astronomers have constructed a top-down view of the galaxy’s luminosity

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Mass distribution in the galaxy

Astronomers have constructed a top-down view of the galaxy’s luminosity Mass distribution is based on luminosity distribution

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Mass distribution in the galaxy

Astronomers have constructed a top-down (2D) view of the galaxy’s luminosity Mass distribution is derived from luminosity distribution That distribution is given a third dimension

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Sectors

Galaxy is divided into sectors (cubes) based on octrees (8 children per parent)

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Sectors

Galaxy is divided into sectors (cubes) based on octrees (8 children per parent) 8 layers of these cubes - linear dimensions from 10ly to 1280ly

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Sectors

Galaxy is divided into sectors (cubes) based on octrees (8 children per parent) 8 layers of these cubes - linear dimensions from 10ly to 1280ly Child sectors inherit information from parent sectors

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Sectors

Galaxy is divided into sectors (cubes) based on octrees (8 children per parent) 8 layers of these cubes - linear dimensions from 10ly to 1280ly Child sectors inherit information from parent sectors Bigger sectors are used to generate more rare systems (e.g primary neutron star)

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Sectors

Galaxy is divided into sectors (cubes) based on octrees (8 children per parent) 8 layers of these cubes - linear dimensions from 10ly to 1280ly Child sectors inherit information from parent sectors Bigger sectors are used to generate more rare systems (e.g primary neutron star) Smaller are used to generate more common systems (e.g. primary red dwarf)

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Sectors

Galaxy is divided into sectors (cubes) based on octrees (8 children per parent) 8 layers of these cubes - linear dimensions from 10ly to 1280ly Child sectors inherit information from parent sectors Bigger sectors are used to generate more rare systems (e.g primary neutron star) Smaller are used to generate more common systems (e.g. primary red dwarf) Generation happens until sector has run out of allocated mass or number space

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Sectors

Galaxy is divided into sectors (cubes) based on octrees (8 children per parent) 8 layers of these cubes - linear dimensions from 10ly to 1280ly Child sectors inherit information from parent sectors Bigger sectors are used to generate more rare systems (e.g primary neutron star) Smaller are used to generate more common systems (e.g. primary red dwarf) Generation happens until sector has run out of allocated mass or number space Sectors have attributes like mass, metallicity, type and age

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Generating the primary star of a system

Lots of different attributes - e.g. metallicity, magnitude, position in the sector, radius, initial and final mass, existence of a planetary nebula, surface temperature, classification

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Star color

Black body radiation

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Evolution of a star

Different stages of a star’s life are simulated - proto-star, main sequence, giant, death (stellar remnants) Star evolution depends on the initial mass of the star

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Star system generation

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Creating the rest of the star system

Generate the main bodies (stars) by simulating collapse of gas

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Creating the rest of the star system

Generate the main bodies (stars) by simulating collapse of gas Generate a protoplanetary disk from the remaining mass (elemental distribution)

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Creating the rest of the star system

Generate the main bodies (stars) by simulating collapse of gas Generate a protoplanetary disk from the remaining mass (elemental distribution) Simulate clumping in stable orbits around the star

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Creating the rest of the star system

Generate the main bodies (stars) by simulating collapse of gas Generate a protoplanetary disk from the remaining mass (elemental distribution) Simulate clumping in stable orbits around the star Step through time

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Stepping through time

A lot of physics simulation going on:

  • Gravitational clumping
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Stepping through time

A lot of physics simulation going on:

  • Gravitational clumping
  • Gravitational heating
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Stepping through time

A lot of physics simulation going on:

  • Gravitational clumping
  • Gravitational heating
  • Moon / ring formation around clumps of mass
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Stepping through time

A lot of physics simulation going on:

  • Gravitational clumping
  • Gravitational heating
  • Moon / ring formation around clumps of mass
  • Mass erosion from radiation pressure
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Stepping through time

A lot of physics simulation going on:

  • Gravitational clumping
  • Gravitational heating
  • Moon / ring formation around clumps of mass
  • Mass erosion from radiation pressure
  • Special events
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Stepping through time

Identifying the resulting clumps of mass:

  • Gas giant vs brown dwarf vs star
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Stepping through time

Identifying the resulting clumps of mass:

  • Gas giant vs brown dwarf vs star
  • Chemical composition - icy, rocky, metallic planets
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Stepping through time

Identifying the resulting clumps of mass:

  • Gas giant vs brown dwarf vs star
  • Chemical composition - icy, rocky, metallic planets
  • Tidal heating, tidal locking
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Stepping through time

Identifying the resulting clumps of mass:

  • Gas giant vs brown dwarf vs star
  • Chemical composition - icy, rocky, metallic planets
  • Tidal heating, tidal locking
  • Tectonics, volcanism, atmosphere
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Unique ID of an astronomical object

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Nebulae

Based on 3D volume textures for density

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Nebulae

Based on 3D volume textures for density 1D RGB texture to define density to light absorption relationship

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Nebulae

Based on 3D volume textures for density 1D RGB texture to define density to light absorption relationship Step through while subtracting colors

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Planet surfaces

Non-landable planets - perfect spheres with normal-mapped surfaces

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Planet surfaces

Landable planets - start out as cubes, subdivision is used to enhance resolution the closer the player gets, terrain is based on layered noise

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Planet surfaces

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Combining procedurally generated with real

The galaxy in Elite: Dangerous also contains thousands of real stars, nebulae and

  • ther objects from stellar catalogs
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Galaxy map

When moving around in the in-game galaxy map, star system information is generated and displayed on the fly around the focused area

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Galaxy map

When moving around in the in-game galaxy map, star system information is generated and displayed on the fly around the focused area The radius of generation in the galaxy map is dependent on the star density of the focused area

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Thank you!