0021682: Cryptic map generation errors when planet count too low

ID	Project	Category		Date Submitted	Last Update

0021682	AI War 2	GUI		Sep 26, 2019 2:54 pm	Sep 30, 2019 4:20 pm

Reporter	Asteroid	Assigned To	Chris_McElligottPark
Status	resolved	Resolution	fixed
Product Version	0.891 Vast Tracts of... Ship Graphics
Fixed in Version	0.893 Usability and Tutorial Prep

Summary	0021682: Cryptic map generation errors when planet count too low
Description	Map generation fails when there are not enough planets, which makes sense. However the errors are cryptic for users, and for a decent user experience the GUI should not even let you attempt a generation which is has any chance to fail (except perhaps in advanced options). Either block it outright or retry N times until you find a combination that works (like Dwarf Fortress does). Example error: Failed to find planet to seed tag 'ARS' / SpecialEntityType 'None' Inspired by: https://steamcommunity.com/app/573410/discussions/1/1628538707058520077/
Tags	No tags attached.

BadgerBadger Sep 26, 2019 3:19 pm manager ~0053279	Chris, coming up with a good solution to this is a Must Have for 1.0. Lets make sure it's not forgotten.

Chris_McElligottPark Sep 30, 2019 4:20 pm administrator ~0053331	Thanks! * The entire mapgen code logic for what ships block which other ships has been redone. Previously it was very hard-and-fast in terms of "you can go here or not," which wasn't super helpful on crowded maps or on very small maps. Now it instead looks at things which are completely blocking early -- namely an entire faction taking over a planet, which is rare -- and then it gets more flexible with everything else. After it seeds those early things, it then makes a strong attempt to keep the number of big good things spread apart, but no longer tries to separate them from big bag things. We also have small good and small bad things that we try to keep spread apart in their own category, but that we don't care about overlapping beyond that. This actually will add more texture in ALL games, not just crowded or small-map ones. Essentially you're more likely to see some planets that are "extra good" with lots of cool stuff, or "a real mixed bag" with awesome stuff and super scary stuff, whereas before thosee were always kept rigidly separate. ** This also fixes the issue of a lot of small maps being unable to generate because they didn't have enough room to seed everything.

Date Modified	Username	Field	Change
Sep 26, 2019 2:54 pm	Asteroid	New Issue
Sep 26, 2019 3:17 pm	BadgerBadger	Relationship added	related to 0021600
Sep 26, 2019 3:19 pm	BadgerBadger	Assigned To	=> Chris_McElligottPark
Sep 26, 2019 3:19 pm	BadgerBadger	Status	new => assigned
Sep 26, 2019 3:19 pm	BadgerBadger	Note Added: 0053279
Sep 30, 2019 4:20 pm	Chris_McElligottPark	Status	assigned => resolved
Sep 30, 2019 4:20 pm	Chris_McElligottPark	Resolution	open => fixed
Sep 30, 2019 4:20 pm	Chris_McElligottPark	Fixed in Version	=> 0.893 Usability and Tutorial Prep
Sep 30, 2019 4:20 pm	Chris_McElligottPark	Note Added: 0053331