what technics and math involved in making randomly generated worlds in video games? like space engine for example?
In: Mathematics
Games that have procedural generation vary a lot with their approaches, but a great lot of them depend on RNG (random number generators) or other similar algorithms to generate objects.
These games typically have a programmed set of rules or “procedures” on what can be generated where and to what extent. From there, algorithms do the rest of the work filling in the gaps with the rules they are given. Games such as Minecraft or Terraria, for example, have pre-made structures with rules about where these structures can only spawn, and thus are generated where they typically are.
Pseudo-random generators are one subtype of RNG and they generate unique sequences using various operations and equations. Since these involve a set of operations and equations, you can get the exact same sequence if you give them the same value or number. This is one way of looking at “seeds” found in most of these games: as a sort of “starting number” or “template” to generate a specific “world” or sequence.
Space Engine, if I recall correctly, actually generates the universe with the same exact seed. This is why when you give details about a celestial body you find in-game, other people will see the exact same stuff.
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