What is a "Big World Map" building basics?

Unity Engine
1

I want to make a big world map like 1000 * 1000 units. And fill it with details, NPCs etc. How do people do that playable (not laggy) in Unity? I’m mostly curious for mobile platforms. I want to make it as a solid map, no scene transitions.

2

1km by 1km is not that big, even for mobile. Just do it.

3

To be honest with you those kinds of maps usually have a lot of people working on them over a long period of time.

As for the exact way of going about it there isn’t really any method or list of steps to follow, if you were to make an open world map just start with what you can and go from there.

Maybe create a simple terrain add some structures and then evolve it from there.

All I can say for sure is that it takes a lot of time and effort to create a big map with things to do and interesting things to look at it. If you’re an indie I wouldn’t advise attempting something like this on your own it’s extremely strenuous and will take you years to get even a decent open world.

Big open worlds are usually made by teams of 40+ people working insane hours every week over the course of years, not exactly the most ideal thing to attempt for a one-man army.

4

I am working on a parametric object creation tool that will empower small creation teams to do AAA with a click of a button. There are already existing similar solutions as well, but my approach is real-time and run-time for minimal data storage need, as all you need are parametric instructions and it will create the world for you. Demonstration of an early WIP prototype here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufHaUIBBTSc

1 Like
5

Nice work @nyanpath , I think parametric/procedural creation is definitely essential for big world spaces, especially if the parameters are driven by real world data.

1 Like
6

It is, because it saves space and allows for more variation faster than manual and linear creation based on a prefabs-flow will do in comparison. There are no prefabs involved in this, only variations on sets of triangles, rectangles, and ngons. However, in time this can also be done by SDFs, making it even more flexible and easier to use and integrate.