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Float Away

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By Davide Auletta 1 min read

Working on my thesis gave me the chance to deepen my knowledge on a topic that I find very interesting: the creation of content procedurally generated through algorithms. At the same time this allowed me to develop the demo of a RTS video game: Float Away. The goal of the game is to extract resources from a floating island and then move on to the next one; in the meanwhile enemy invasions require the player to defend the base by building defences and recruiting new units.

– Role: jack of all trades
– Team: me +
Enzo Di Stefano - Music
– Engine: Unity
– Duration: 3 months
– Platforms: PC

Release in 2/3 months

faGif

Features and stuff that I learned

  • Base Building
  • Toggle Grid System
  • RTS Army Controls
  • Units Formation
  • Modular Wave Generator
  • Finite State Machine
  • Pathfinding
  • Camera & Scene Management
  • Settings
  • Basic save & load system
  • Animated UI using code
  • Vfx: Shaders, Particles and Post Effects
  • Dynamic Music

Procedural Level Generation

The WFC algorithm’s origins and evolution are discussed in my thesis as well as how I implemented it to generate maps in a deterministic way. I utilized the Tessera tool which allowed me to use the (open-source) DeBroglie and Sylves C# libraries simultaneously, translating the typical WFC features into Unity.

  • Debroglie allowed me to define modules with proximity and frequency constraints, both local and global, as well as to perform backtracking in case of failed generation.
  • Sylves facilitates the creation, customization, and management of grids and graphs of any shape and size.

The generation can go on virtually for ever, provided that we subdivide it into chunks and we carefully design the modules and the constraint that we will be used.

modules generator

Plans for the future

Add a new rogue-like game mode and progression: after you have gathered all the resources on the current island you can go to the next one, spend your points to unlock and upgrade units, structures and abilities. The map should be graph-shaped and randomly generated (just like in Slay the Spire or Bad North).

graphMap

Projects
wfc rts 3D unity
This post is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by the author.