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The subject of this article is from the Worlds Part I update.
The information from this article is up-to-date as of 3 September, 2024.
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Procedural Generation is a mathematical design tool.

Summary[ | ]

No Man's Sky is a game built on procedural generation; that is, each planet, creature, ship, multi-tool and other items are created procedurally using algorithms in the game itself, rendering diversity through each item created. The following is taken from Wikipedia[1].

What is Procedural Generation?[ | ]

The term procedural refers to the process that computes a particular function. Fractals are geometric patterns which can often be generated procedurally. Commonplace procedural content includes textures and meshes. Sound is often also procedurally generated, and has applications in both speech synthesis as well as music. It has been used to create compositions in various genres of electronic music by artists such as Brian Eno who popularized the term "generative music".

Previous use[ | ]

While software developers have applied procedural generation techniques for years, few products have employed this approach extensively. Procedurally generated elements have appeared in earlier video games: The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall takes place in a mostly procedurally generated world, giving a world roughly two thirds the actual size of the British Isles. Soldier of Fortune from Raven Software uses simple routines to detail enemy models, while its sequel featured a randomly-generated level mode. Avalanche Studios employed procedural generation to create a large and varied group of detailed tropical islands for Just Cause. No Man's Sky, a game developed by games studio Hello Games, is all based upon procedurally generated elements.

Uses of Procedural Generation[ | ]

Almost all objects in the No Man's Sky universe are procedurally generated. The few that are not procedurally generated are the names of the first five galaxies, expedition rewards and more. These are some, but not by a long shot all, of the procedurally generated objects in the game:

The player's starting starship as of Beyond, Radiant Pillar BC1, is actually procedurally generated. It is always the same due to it being generated immediately on the start of a world, and the IGS (In-Game Seed) is always the same. The IGS differs from the LSS (Local System Seed) in that the LSS is essentially the system's RNG algorithm, whereas the IGS is run by the game itself.

Additional information[ | ]

References[ | ]

  1. Procedural generation. Wikipedia. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
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