mapgen_rivers/README.md

mapgen_rivers

Procedural map generator for Minetest 5.x. Focused on river networks, and features valley erosion and lakes.

Contains two distinct programs: Python scripts for pre-processing, and Lua scripts to generate the map on Minetest.

Installation

This mod should be placed in the /mods directory like any other Minetest mod.

The Python part relies on external libraries that you need to install:

• numpy and scipy, widely used libraries for numerical calculations
• noise, doing Perlin/Simplex noises
• optionally, matplotlib (for map preview)

They are commonly found on pip or conda Python distributions.

Usage

By default, the mod contains a demo 400x400 map (so you can start the game directly), but it is recommended that you run the pre-processing script to generate a new map before world creation, if you can.

Pre-processing

Run the script terrain_rivers.py via command line. You can optionally append the map size (by default 400). Example for a 1000x1000 map:

./terrain_rivers.py 1000

For a default 400x400 map, it should take between 1 and 2 minutes. It will generate 5 files directly in the mod folder, containing the map data.

If you have matplotlib installed, the script view_map.py can be used to get a map preview. Example:

./view_map.py data/

Map generation

Just create a Minetest world with singlenode mapgen, enable this mod and start the world. The data files are immediately copied in the world folder so you can re-generate them afterwards, it won't affect the old worlds.