I am interested in ways to use computer programs to procedurally generate worlds. The worlds would be random, but their generation would follow well defined rules. While I know that programming questions regarding this would be off-topic here (there are plenty of other stack exchange sites for that), would questions regarding the design of the "world generation rules" be on topic? For example, questions of this type would look like "What are methods for simulating when one species splits into two?" or "What properties of a region affect the rate and demographic of immigration?" when they are looking almost mathematical ways to define those processes.
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2$\begingroup$ Would questions regarding the creation of procedural content generation (PCG) programs be on topic? If not what SE.group would they best fit in? To make it clear, I'm not talking about specific language questions, but rather algorithmic questions like differences between a diamond-square versus uplift algorith. $\endgroup$– thurizasSep 17, 2014 at 19:03
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$\begingroup$ @thurizas, I know I would like to be able to field those question here and it is parallel to this question but I feel like it will be a stretch for this site. $\endgroup$– Godric SeerSep 17, 2014 at 19:35
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$\begingroup$ @githubphagocyte sorry, just got that as well. Came back from class and missed a couple notifications apparently. $\endgroup$– Godric SeerSep 17, 2014 at 19:55
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$\begingroup$ @GodricSeer no problem :) $\endgroup$– trichoplax is on Codidact nowSep 17, 2014 at 19:56
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$\begingroup$ I'd love to see them on topic, I think it would give a much more technical/methodical aspect to the site which can only be beneficial! $\endgroup$– LiathSep 18, 2014 at 15:00
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2 Answers
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We accept questions about physics, history, and linguistics. I see no reason to prevent questions about mathematically modelling things like this. It's of use to people who are worldbuilding, so therefore it belongs here.
answered Sep 16, 2014 at 21:46
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thurizas raises an interesting sub-question in the question comments. Should we welcome algorithm questions like diamond-square versus uplift? I think that algorithms for generating worlds should be on topic (whether step by step guides to the order in which to build up a world, or abstract algorithms for generating terrain). However, the type of question asked is still important. If the question is just "How does the diamond-square algorithm work" then I would consider it off topic. An on topic question would be something like "How similar to natural rock formations are the terrain models produced by the diamond-square algorithm?"
answered Sep 17, 2014 at 21:37
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1$\begingroup$ As long as the question is only about the usage and the effects of the algorithm, it's on topic. The moment it starts about the how and why, we have stackoverflow.com and mathoverflow.net. On top of that: Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science. You really don't want questions that should be posted there, posted here instead. $\endgroup$– MastOct 5, 2014 at 13:12