Visually Improved Erosion Algorithm for the Procedural Generation of Tile-based Terrain

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel graph-based erosion algorithm for procedural terrain generation that produces more realistic and varied terrains, with enhanced control parameters and a new evaluation metric.

Contribution

The paper presents a new erosion algorithm with innovative constraints, rainfall simulation, and gorge carving, improving realism, flexibility, and speed in terrain generation.

Findings

More realistic terrain features achieved

Enhanced control over erosion parameters

A new comprehensive evaluation metric introduced

Abstract

Procedural terrain generation is the process of generating a digital representation of terrain using a computer program or procedure, with little to no human guidance. This paper proposes a procedural terrain generation algorithm based on a graph representation of fluvial erosion that offers several novel improvements over existing algorithms. Namely, the use of a height constraint map with two types of locally defined constraint strengths; the ability to specify a realistic erosion strength via level of rainfall; and the ability to carve realistic gorges. These novelties allow it to generate more varied and realistic terrain by integrating additional parameters and simulation processes, while being faster and offering more flexibility and ease of use to terrain designers due to the nature and intuitiveness of these new parameters and processes. This paper additionally reviews some common metrics used to evaluate terrain generators, and suggests a completely new one that contributes to a more holistic evaluation.