How does the diamond-square algorithm work?

The diamond-square algorithm is a method for generating heightmaps for computer graphics. The diamond-square algorithm starts with a two-dimensional grid then randomly generates terrain height from four seed values arranged in a grid of points so that the entire plane is covered in squares.

How are plasma fractals created?

Plasma fractal is a visual implementation of the diamond-square algorithm. The algorithm recursively divides canvas into smaller squares, then it locates point in the middle (midpoint) and shifts it randomly within the square. This operation is continued as long as square is bigger then a pixel.

What is midpoint displacement?

The main idea of the algorithm is as follows: Begin with a straight line segment, compute its midpoint and displace it by a bounded random value. This displacement can be done either by: Displacing the midpoint in the direction perpendicular to the line segment. Displacing only the y coordinate value of the midpoint.

Is a diamond shape?

Diamonds are unique shapes because they have many different geometric attributes. A diamond is a quadrilateral, a 2-dimensional flat figure that has four closed, straight sides. But a diamond is also categorized as rhombus, because it has four equal sides and its opposite angles are equal.

How does procedural world generation work?

In computing, procedural generation is a method of creating data algorithmically as opposed to manually, typically through a combination of human-generated assets and algorithms coupled with computer-generated randomness and processing power. In computer graphics, it is commonly used to create textures and 3D models.

What does procedural oatmeal mean?

Much of the discussion has focused on what Kate Compton has called the problem of “procedural oatmeal” – i.e. it is very easy to pour 10,000 bowls of plain oatmeal, with each oat being in a different position and each bowl essentially unique, but it is very hard to make these differences *matter* to an audience, and be …

Can a diamond be a square?

There is no such thing as a square diamond. There are square-squares, round squares, octagonal squares, rectangular squares – it’s enough to make you question your whole understanding of the word ‘square’. And what’s more, none of these square diamond styles is called ‘Square Cut Diamonds’.

Is a rotated square a diamond?

We’ll begin by looking at a 10” x 10” square. Rotating the square 45° would change its shape to that of a diamond. The diamond’s points would now extend wider than the square’s sides did, therefore changing the overall dimensions as well as the shape.

What is the diamond step in the square root algorithm?

Description. The diamond-square algorithm begins with a 2D square array of width and height 2 n + 1. The four corner points of the array must first be set to initial values. The diamond and square steps are then performed alternately until all array values have been set. The diamond step: For each square in the array,…

Why is the diamond-square algorithm flawed?

The diamond-square algorithm was analyzed by Gavin S. P. Miller in SIGGRAPH 1986 who described it as flawed because the algorithm produces noticeable vertical and horizontal “creases” due to the most significant perturbation taking place in a rectangular grid. The grid artifacts were addressed in a generalized algorithm introduced by J.P. Lewis.

What is Diamond-Square and why is it popular?

It’s popularity, and how I came to learning it, comes from it’s use for heightmap generation/procedural terrain generation. To get started, Diamond-Square requires the array to be 2^n + 1 in width and height.

How do you do Diamond Square in Python?

To get started, Diamond-Square requires the array to be 2^n + 1 in width and height. For example, the width and height I’m using is 17×17, 2⁴ + 1. The idea of Diamond-Square is to fill in an array with calculated values based on already calculated values.