The Module Poll, Part Two, The Top Five Face Off!

[salt1219]

Tynan posted on kickstarter (in the comments section) that although biomes are the most popular module right now, he would not be adding them first.

Creator Tynan Sylvester about 4 hours ago
@Trock - So dynamic biome changes really are integral to the concept of biomes, I think. I suppose I could make a simpler biome system that locks the world to be arctic or desert or whatever, but that seems a terrible waste. Making it dynamic allows things like seasons (snowy winter, green summer), and disasters like you're talking about (global nuclear winter). So it turns out that biomes are actually a really, really complicated system. For that reason they won't be the first module I tackle, even though they're the most requested.

[Noxmutagen]

Performance wise... if Tyran broke up the map image into sections and only redrew the sections that change would help with performance.  The added bonus is that you could make the maps much larger because you can have it not try to render images that are out of view.

Yes, this is the best way of doing it. And it's pretty much tested.

[miah999]

I wonder how hard it would be for Tynan to implement such a system?

[nomadseifer]

If you're referring to a system that divides the map up into smaller sections, he does that already. I think he said they are 17x17 blocks.  Maybe. 

[MitchelQ]

Why did you put up a second round for the poll, now people who just found out about the game can't vote for their favourite mod if it's not in the top 5 of only 100 people while there are more than 6000 backers... I also don't see why you need a "final" if you just keep all the options you will also have a winner right??

I vote faction relations.. eventhough not in the poll...

[miah999]

This poll was at the request of those that voted in the first, it's just for curiosity, it has no bearing on what Tynan will do. He's already said Archaeology will be his first module.

[DeltaV]

Moddability is extremely important, even if it's not so important in the short-term. There are games made ten years ago or more that are still being added onto by the modding community.

But in the short-term, yeah, biomes are the most important right away IMO.

[Tynan]

If you're referring to a system that divides the map up into smaller sections, he does that already. I think he said they are 17x17 blocks.  Maybe.

Yes, the map is divided up into 17x17 sections. To save draw calls, non-moving meshes with matching materials are combined when the section is rebuilt, which happens any time any of these meshes change. So, for example, those 50 splashes of blood there are probably just a handful of draw calls (one for each material used). In the future this will be made more efficient by actually combining textures onto a big sprite sheet so we can draw every building, dirt chunk, food bit, and blood spatter in that 17x17 section in a single draw call. But that's to be done.

And obviously sections outside your view area aren't drawn.

Biomes will come later not because I don't want to do it, but because doing it now would be out of order. It's really a lot of content and features put together, and I want to get those foundational systems working well before I try to start playing with them on a mass scale like this. It would be easy to make a map with a snowy-looking ground, but making it snow dynamically, meltable snow, snow that cools a room it is in, and so on, requires a ton of new stuff which doesn't exist. That's why biomes won't come very soon, even though everyone wants them (including me). The game has to be more mature first.

[GC13]

Oh, so temperature modeling is something you do think you want to add? Air conditioning may very well be in our future?

Maybe a "Tynan's To-Do List" thread would be handy once the game is in players' hands. You could use it to let us know what to expect in the next few updates, and maybe help garner a few applicable ideas to slide in that synergize well with them.

[Christian]

Voted biomes

I feel that different areas, and the potential for different wildlife, weather, factions, events, etc. that comes with each, will definitely add the most variety and depth to the game

[Whyukill]

I personally think adding modability at an early stage is better than trying to implement it later. If you add this at an early stage it's usually far less work and might also allow the ability to mod it at an advanced level later. Giving the community the possibility to create content at early stages could also allow for great ideas to be implemented into the game later on.
Of course, I understand that he would do this after the crucial parts of the game are already working (like the relationships between the colonists, midgame scenarios and so on) and should actually be ready before modability. But this game would greatly benefit from this and therefore not be forgotten.