New SSG guide for multiple system generation.

I know it's kinda early to be expecting such a thing. It did just come out. But if one of you creator gurus could come up with a new guide for the SSG that includes information on multiple system scenarios, please post a link here.

If it's not possible to write such a guide, I am perfectly willing to be a patient noob creator and wait until it *is* possible.

Thank you in advance for any reply.

Edit: Could some moderator please move this to Scenarios. I think it is more appropriate there. Thank you.

 

There isn't one yet because the system is only a demo atm.

The game will create up to 6 solar systems using your solar system config at the moment. There's no way to customize it further yet.

 

Thank you both!! And I'm glad one will be in the works when the full implementation going into effect.

 

Would honestly like an updated guide to better understanding biome generation and why it does what it does....

 

This could definitely be useful.

A short version of it: Biomes can be placed one of three ways:

Stamps.
Selection criteria.
Fixed.

Biomes can be set up to randomly place stamps on the map and force the biome type in those terrain stamps to be set to the biome. For example, craters on the moons. This placement of biome terrain stamps has nothing to do with the settings under selection criteria.

Selection criteria are things like height, temperature, humidity, and latitude/longitude ranges. So you could make a biome appear between heights 50 and 100, when the temperature is above 25, as an example.

Fixed biomes can be placed at specific locations, for example the starter biome on the temperate starter planet.

 

You've given me more info on this than I have spending a year slamming my head against a wall trying to get custom biomes working. I know selection is essential to getting biomes to spawn, but I wasn't aware of how stamp forces biome ignores all your selection settings... Good to know. Some other things you didn't mention:

1. You cannot place water biomes without at minimum shallow water and water, whether water is deep enough for water is irrelevant, it needs to exist if you want any water
2. You *must* have a pole biome, bad things happen if you exclude it, you also shouldn't have the poles any smaller than their default, because of performance issues
3. Altering things like heightmax and base terrain can result in permanently FUBAR'ing a playfield, and generally should be avoided. If you screw something up like that, changing seed might help, might not.

 

Not sure about the described problem. Could be my language barrier.
(Lava planets don't have a 'shallow water' biome. Water biomes are tied to the SeaLevel (water/lava plane) by their selection parameters)

- TerrainHeightmax is the altitude the stamps can go in the playfield.

- The stamp placer seems to be trying to 'fit' stamps between zero altitude and TerrainHgtMax.
Every stamp has a possible 'height'.
Is the squeeze is too tight, then stamp placement might fail.
And if other stamps rely on the space being taken by a different biome's stamp first (e.g. first one large stamp is placed, then others try to fill in the gaps), then this might alter the look of the planet drastically if those stamps are missing.
Also, the temperature gradient is probably influenced by TerrainHeightMax.
(Might need an adjustment of temperature selection parameters of some biomes.)

- Base terrain is added 'between' the TerrainLevel and zero altitude. As above, it won't influence stamp placement too much- Especially not rift stamps, that cut 'down'.

TerrainHgtMax might be a bit buggy- - Some time ago it messed with the water level in map view. (Oceans in map view were shown as too shallow than they were.)
Haven't used it since then.

- 'StampForcesBiome: True' ignores only standard biome-by-selection.
If the biome has an 'IgnoreForced: True' parameter, then it will overwrite a stamp's 'forced' biome... but only if it is higher up/more at the start of the playfield_dynamic.
(That is the reason the water biomes are listed right after the pole biome, and the mountains later. -> No 'mountain' biome under water surface.)

 

That should totally be a thing though. I wish we could use stamps underwater (optional).