Dominions 3 Random Game Generator

[J Henry Waugh]

http://hockeystory.com/dom3draw/index.php

Just a silly little script I composed to generate random Dominons 3 map/game settings.

The map settings are for the random map generator in the Game Tools menu.

Most of the values generated are on a "gaussian" curve � meaning, randomly they'll hover about the default. For instance, the "default" value for seapart is 30 so a 20 sided die is rolled 20 times and the number of times the value is less than or equal to 6 is tallied, then multiplied by 5, giving the setting. Similarly, for research speed, a three sided is rolled three times, and a the tally for the value one determines the setting (i.e., 0 for easy, 1 for standard, 2 for difficult, 3 for very difficult).

Some values are totally random � like the provinces per nation, which is a random mark between 10-20, and the choice of the three ages.

Makes for some interesting arrangements, given that most values will hover around default, but some will float a bit above/below. Granted, some combinations produced are implausible and unplayable (for instance, drawing 2 water nations on map that has no water provinces), but I've used it for quite a number of 1v1 skirmishes and it's taught me a bit about the game and the different nation strengths and weaknesses.

[Gandalf Parker]

Interesting. I never did get the hang of PHP.
You should have it generate the command line so they can cut-n-paste it to run the game.

And maybe add random AIs which might be randomly allied against you.

[J Henry Waugh]

I have a command line version, though it's PHP5 (though PHP4 is on Mac OS X by default). Would probably rewrite in Ruby if I could ever figure out how to fire off my Dominions 3 from command line (I get some strange error, and I believe I need to cd into a proper directory, I think I had the same fiddling chore with Dom2).

And the command line options seem to have more granularity on map options (i.e., "ruggedness", v. all the settings not seen on the Game Tools Random Map AI).

I typically run Dom3 in windowed mode to easily create map and game (titled with random place name I generate)�

And when I get a moment will enable web user to choose # of players instead of it being random (a weighted random too)�

[Gandalf Parker]

If you are going to get into choices, then you might want to look at this.
Feel free to copy it.
http://www.dom3minions.com/lab/MakeGame.htm

Thats as far as I got. I have a bad habit of only doing something up to the proof point. Its only interesting to me if I am wondering whether or not its possible. Then I lose interest and never finish it

[J Henry Waugh]

Gandalf Parker said:

Thats as far as I got. I have a bad habit of only doing something up to the proof point. Its only interesting to me if I am wondering whether or not its possible. Then I lose interest and never finish it

Yes, I have that habit too�

I'll probably just add a few options - starting nation total (sometimes you X players or you just want to do 1v1 skirmish or maybe try something funny). Perhaps a Nation/Age select too�

�really just wrote it to inject variety and get cool playing maps (or at least variations) - and I had one for Dom2 as well as a random map creator that I could never load to the web -- it relied on Perl/ImageMagick (and C to do actually generate the terrain) because the shared host I was on at the time did not support ImageMagick or at least the version I had tested with on my local machine. But it did hex maps (though I created a cool combo fractal/map gen algorithm modified a tad from various other engine code I scryed upon�) and I used em for SP games.

I was pretty pleased with the Dom3 random map generator but noticed it trended to the same sort of maps unless you fiddled with the Game Tools yourself� �I like the maps it makes though I wish it could do both impassable mountains and mountain provinces (or is that a game engine limitation?).

[paradoxharbinger]

it's not a game engine limitation as far as i know, it has to do with how the neighbors are set up. impassable mountains just happen to be on a border and the link between the two provinces is not made.

[Gandalf Parker]

What kindof maps? I like to generate maps with LOTS of chokepoints. Like this..
Tri-Mega map
I have considered writing a program to work around the mountains thing. You could generate a map with regular mountains. And then find/delete appropriate neighbors in the .map file. But the .map commands include a terrain setting for mountain and border mountain. Im not sure if the game itself treats that terrain setting different or not. They use the same icon but if you assign both to a province then when the player checks it he sees two mountain icons. I dont know if that gives double-mountain bonuses or not.

ImageMagick huh? Any good with it? The documentation sucks and its so jargon-heavy with graphic/paint/programming jargon that it seems like you have to be an expert in more than one thing to use it.

Ive used it to generate webpages. Like for the daily random maps I generate for Dom2. Dom2Minions.com daily random maps
I keep meaning to redo that for Dom3 and include new map generators, and new map versions such as ParadoxHarbinger's which can generate wraparound maps
Max One PHMAP
and Ballbarians SemiRandomizer
SemiRand
and other oddities such as my chaotizier or for Tower Maps
tower (hard to see in some browsers)

Unfortunately thats another of those "do it again because I did it before" projects that I cant seem to get motivated on. Just not enough challenge to it.