The Birth of a Universe: The Creation of the Genesis Engine
Those of you who have seen our previous Medium article might have noticed the picture of the beautiful planet that accompanied it. Although we have some very talented artists in our team, some of whom will be introduced to you soon, this planet in particular was not created by any of them. At least not directly. Instead, this planet was created by the amazing technology we have been working on for many months. Today we are very proud to finally be able to tell you a little more about the Genesis Engine.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could own an entire planet? This is the one question that lies at the foundation of PlanetQuest. During the early development, we sat down with the entire team and had a conversation about how far we could push player ownership and NFTs. After which, we came up with a seemingly impossible assignment: to create a system that could procedurally generate entire planets. Planets that not only look beautiful and realistic, but also actually follow the laws of nature. Moreover, these planets were not supposed to be a simple picture on a screen. They should be generated in full 3D, so that we can admire them from every angle and see the effects of nearby stars and other light sources. Finally, everything about the planets should make them real and alive, they were not supposed to be static. After a lot of hard work, the Genesis Engine was born.
The Genesis Engine can generate beautiful planets directly in your browser. Each planet we generate is completely unique and all of its intricate details are interlinked. The temperature on the planet dictates whether or not the planet will have polar caps. The amount of water correlates to the number of clouds that slowly move over the planet as well as the size of possible forests and other types of vegetation. The Genesis Engine plays with all the little details that can differ between planets and uses that to create planets in full 3D that are completely distinct from one another, yet completely follow natural laws.
Our developers have spent many hours searching for the perfect texture to give to our planets. They have experimented with relief, shadows, the interplay between the nebula behind the planet and the color of the atmosphere and every other little detail you can think of. Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg of the capabilities of the Genesis Engine. Nevertheless, we are very excited to give you a sneak peek at our beautiful desert planets. Although every planet is completely unique, we have developed four distinct classes of planets based on their rarity.
As the names suggest, there will be more common planets that exist within our universe. These different planet types become increasingly rare, more difficult to acquire and more valuable. The Genesis Engine allows us to render these beautiful planets directly in your browser. And later, when PlanetQuest gameplay goes live, you will be able to travel down to the surface and explorer these unique planets first hand.
The best part about all of this? The Genesis Engine is still a work in progress. Our developers are still looking for ways to improve the realism of our planets, their aesthetic and even add some extra features. Perhaps soon, you’ll be able to see lightning striking and rain pouring down on a planet, or maybe even the outburst of a volcano. We’ll of course be updating you as we improve on our technology and perhaps soon, you’ll be able to see the Genesis Engine work its magic in video format.
The critical reader might have noticed that so far we have only mentioned desert planets. To answer the question that probably popped into the minds of many of you, yes, we will be having other planet types. The desert planet is only the beginning of what the Genesis Engine has to offer. In the upcoming months, we’ll be revealing more and more of our different planet types. Follow us on our social media channels to be updated with more exclusive pictures, footage and information.
The Genesis Engine has sparked the birth of the PlanetQuest universe. Consequently, this is the first thing we’ll be giving our users access to. If you haven’t done so already, we highly encourage you to join our Discord server. Here you’ll be able to stay updated on the latest developments as well as be among the first to discover our universe. Be a part of the story of PlanetQuest as humanity sets foot on unknown planets, discovers ancient artifacts and so much more. Bring honor to your faction by letting your voice be heard and voting on universe-changing decisions. The adventure begins now: https://planetquest.io/
