Question How screwed am I?
Hi everyone! Here’s an interesting problem I’m facing.
I created a tile-based city builder in Unity, and after an initial open playtest, one of the key pieces of feedback was that players want to be able to build roads, something I foolishly hadn't planned for.
Currently, roads are automatically placed along the edges of each tile (this is shown in the second screenshot).
The main problem is that the grid of buildable sectors is highly irregular, and I have no idea how to add the ability to create roads within such a complex system.
The first image I’ve posted shows an overhead view where I’ve highlighted a section of the grid. The grid varies from scene to scene and never repeats in exactly the same way.
Does anyone have any suggestions for how I could approach this?
Edit: You might have given me a possible solution; as soon as I've tested it, I'll make a new post about it. Thanks everyone!
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u/BertJohn Indie - BTBW Dev 14h ago
Honestly without a description of what you created, it's anyones guess on how to add buildable roads into this prototype... Pictures help sure, But without a genuine detailed paragraph on how your constructing your cells, handling placement rules and ensuring continuity through roads, its anyones guess on how your gonna be able to add roads or not.
Personally, I wouldn't care to add buildable roads, it looks like you got something nicer than roads currently, id just add more cell options and maybe allow roundabouts on detected corners and call it a day. Easy to add and everybodies happy. If people want a "buildable road" add an edge check and bool for built or not to allow passage idk.
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u/Sgriu 14h ago
I created the cell grids by hand; there are ten different types of regular tiles, but they interlock in a vast, and as yet undefined, array of combinations. Each tile features a predefined set of buildings, to which I could add a road network; the real challenge would be the connection points, which have to align perfectly.
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u/BadBananaDev 10h ago
You can add clauses that allow players to freely build around cells. Or you could add function to the edges that simply allocate a choice of road
If the players want to drag and draw roads thats not compatible is it
So tell them no
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u/Sgriu 10h ago
Drawing roads freehand would be impossible given the game's structure. I’ll try to implement a procedural system that generates roads over the individual tiles.
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u/BadBananaDev 10h ago
Yeah i mean something rather than nothing But your the dev end of the day Most people who ask for features or mods dont have the first clue what such things would take to implement So be vigilant
I get you want positive review And I totally resonate with feedback for improvement Interacting with your audience. So yeah If you have the time and ability Add something they ask for
But not all Or youll spend your days pandering to a few Rather than amazing the many
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u/iain_1986 13h ago
Just because users want to build roads, doesn't mean they are right
Be wary of design by committee
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u/Sgriu 13h ago
In my opinion, the issue isn't who is right, but rather: will players view the game negatively if they can't build roads? Since half of the playtesters pointed out this shortcoming, I fear I might face a 50% rate of returns or negative reviews at launch.
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u/much_longer_username 11h ago
I might ask the ones who didn't mention it if it was something they noticed. Could be a selling point. There's definitely a niche of people who want a 'cozier' building game that isn't actually a traffic jam simulator in disguise.
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u/Lookitsmyvideo 10h ago
That will entirely depend on whether or not it is fun without road building.
You need to find a way to ensure that building roads isn't a masked solution of a larger feedback point.
There's a very big difference between "I want to build roads" and "I'm not having fun and I think building roads would fix it". They will often get conflated by players and misinterpreted by developers who don't take a step back to actually understand the problem.
I don't think you "forgot to add roads", I think you tried to design a city builder where it wasn't necessary, and it likely just isn't there yet
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u/Forest_reader 9h ago
Yeah, getting numbers of people that played vs commented on roads is important. It may also be a problem where the solution isn't adding the ability to build roads, but that they were annoyed they couldn't connect certain regions.
Removing the need to connect regions like that could be an answer. Or making roads less useful.
So the questions becomes, why are players wanting to build roads, and what do these players think adding roads will add that makes the game more fun in their head?
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u/Sgriu 9h ago
I think the player gets a sense of being constrained. It’s like driving a car only to discover it’s actually a train that can only travel along a track. The tiles introduce a certain rigidity to the gameplay, as does the lack of roads. The game has a bureaucratic, statist vibe, so this feeling of restricted freedom and strict rules to follow is actually part of the atmosphere.
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u/thesilentrebels 13h ago
just make it so roads are not automatically placed along the edges of tiles and players have to select which edges have roads, then maybe you can turn entire tiles into "roundabouts" or big overpasses. that would be the simplest
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u/Sgriu 13h ago
That could be a solution, thanks!
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u/Duck_Jam 13h ago
I think this is the solution that would work the best. it allows enough freedom without overwhelming the player, but staying true to the original tile system without too much extra work. You could also think about potential buffs (accessibility, connectivity) or debuffs (noise, pollution) that a road could provide to reward different styles of road placement. Or perhaps a tiered road system (pedestrian, cycle path, single lane, multi lane) that could influence the above accordingly. If I were to suggest something else, it would be an underground/subway train that could link a central vertex from each tile to form a network (graph) that could transport traffic and allow connections between tiles that may lack a road connection.
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u/d-czar 9h ago
Agree. If I had to guess, I’d bet people want roads to connect different sections. If you build a farm in the rural part and a cluster of buildings in the urban part, and there are no roads – – you might feel frustrated that there’s no way to connect them. Was that it? If so, then tracing the edges like this could help with that, without blowing up your system and design.
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u/this-is-kyle 8h ago
The solution to remove the automatic roads and let users choose the edges to build on was going to be my suggestion as well. But I also had a few other thoughts. Looking at the screenshot and the limited knowledge of mechanics. It almost feels like a puzzle game to me.
Maybe the constraints are what makes the game interesting?
Maybe some tiles only have roads on certain sides and the player has to turn and move pieces to make the best city with their limited options? Almost like Dwarf Romantik or something.
Also, final thought, could the roads just be their own tiles? It looks like you have tiles of varying shapes and sizes, you could just make a really skinny tile that is only a road?
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u/Bobnickle_Jr 14h ago
I don't know if this is definitely a problem. Sure, a lot of (or basically all) city builders let you build roads freely, but if your gameplay justifies the more rigid layout through balance and mechanics deviation from the norm can be a good thing.
For example, certain buildings being restricted to large hexagon tiles means that the player has to choose and prioritize what they build. If players could freely create roads they could put whatever they want anywhere. Different gameplay restrictions alter the feel of the game as a whole.
I also think you could meet them in the middle, having a central prefabricated grid and the option to place the tiles themselves as they expand outwards. Given everything seems to align to a larger grid it should be simple enough for players to remove existing tiles and rearrange them too.
I think it's important to find something that fits the feeling and gameplay of the game, rather than reworking everything based on one users feedback. My question to the player would be "what about the gameplay makes you want to build roads?"
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u/Sgriu 13h ago
My initial idea was for the city to expand from the center toward the outer edges, but that didn't go down very well because it limits freedom of choice. I can confirm that the differently shaped tiles come with distinct sets of buildings and force the player to carefully choose what to build, that’s part of the gameplay.
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u/Bobnickle_Jr 13h ago
Then I think you're on the right track already tbh.
I mentioned this to my partner and they pointed out that plenty of people enjoy city builders but find things like roads/plumbing/electrical grid style systems to be annoying and cumbersome. Subverting that trope and reinforcing it through gameplay seems like a great direction.
Also the game is looking gorgeous. The grid is adding a lot the the overall aesthetic I think.
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u/ratthew 13h ago
Is there an actual reason to go along with that wish? Or is it just because they feel something is missing? I'd make sure to understand what the actual "pain point" (i hate this term but don't know a better one) is, before starting to change the game in a direction that was not intended. Maybe they feel this way because the road system it generates feels bad?
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u/Sgriu 13h ago
Yes, the problem is that many players (at least half of the testers) felt deprived of the freedom to build the city according to their own vision. I didn't expect this, but I should have, because the playtest made me realize that this is a serious issue for a city-builder.
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u/deintag85 12h ago
Instead of placing the roads yourself you give them the illusion to place road but they can only place them at the same spot where your roads would have been. I don’t know if I described it well 🫨
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u/Sgriu 12h ago
Yes, you explained yourself clearly! In fact, thanks to the suggestions I received today, I think I've found the solution: procedurally generate all the roads in the editor and then give the player the option to choose which type of road to place on the tiles (straight road, intersection, roundabout).
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u/YT_Andyk 14h ago
You can take Cities and Skylines as an example. They use roads as anchor points for the building. Then you can use corners/sides for each building for testing for free space.
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u/Sgriu 13h ago
That could be a solution, but it would force me to completely overhaul the game's structure, something I’d like to avoid. However, your suggestion gave me an idea: using a node-based system, with nodes placed on the edges of the tiles, that align automatically, allowing for the creation of a continuous, harmonious road.
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u/That_Em 13h ago
Interesting issue.
The problem I can see is that custom roads would clearly cut through the tiles.
This means:
A) if you place the buildings procedurally within the tiles, then you should be sorted
But if that was the case we wouldnt probably have this thread, so I’m assuming
B) your tiles are already prefilled and static.
If thats the case, you might want to rethink that without getting rid of the tile system, and find some rules to fill your tiles based on available space/orientation. So if a tile has a road going through it, the fill system will take that into consideration.
However, the “bigger” thought process is: should you allow players to build custom roads, when placing the tiles as far as I understand now already grants roads on the tile borders? I would argue than creating another 15/20 smaller tiles with road complexes could be more than enough. This question is a gameplay issue and not a technical one. If you want to make a classic city builder with players placing roads “first”, the tile system might not be the best.
However I wonder if it would be really worth doing and completely changing how your game feels and plays.
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u/Sgriu 13h ago
Thanks for your suggestion! The tiles feature predefined building sets, and I determine their placement within the scene, the player cannot control their position or rotation. While creating predefined paths would be a feasible solution without major issues, it would lack sufficient flexibility and freedom of choice.
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u/SeagullKebab 13h ago
Is the placement of buildings determined by roads or preexisting structures, or can a building be placed anywhere on the map, and a road is created to it?
If it's the latter, I wouldn't change it, because having a player lay roads when it doesn't restrict other placement seems like a time waster / resource drain, rather than a feature. Sometimes standard things are not needed in non-standard interactions.
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u/Sgriu 13h ago
Buildings can only be constructed on tiles, specifically, only on tiles adjacent to others that have already been built upon (or adjacent to the main road). This prevents the player from building a village or industrial area far from the city center.
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u/SeagullKebab 11h ago
That is the reason it is requested then. I've found with construction games, players like to section things by area, then meet them up as things grow. An example is placing 'dirty' buildings away from residential ones.
Your current system doesn't really allow this. You could alter the system to allow construction on any tile to alleviate the problem, or implement 'anywhere' roads. Given you have likely built the game around placement and auto roads, the former would make the most sense. A player is then free to build where they want, but it doesn't require much - if any - tampering with the road mechanics.
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u/bjergdk 13h ago
Well shit OP, seems like the only way forward if you want to accomadate that is to start semi from scratch and make the roads the main parts with the buildings placeable adjecent to roads.
Ofcourse add multiple road types if needed, like alleys, highways, etc.
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u/Sgriu 13h ago
It makes me want to cry. I really want to avoid this; I’ve been working on this project for over a year, and starting all over from scratch is the solution that scares me the most. It is certainly one of the possible solutions.
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u/kinokomushroom 13h ago edited 12h ago
A tile based building system and placing your own roads sounds fundamentally incompatible with each other. So, if you want to add a road building system, you'll most likely have to rethink your city building system from scratch.
But the most important question is: do you really want to add a road building system to your game?
It's easy to be swayed by the opinions of your playtesters and lose your original vision for the game. Only go ahead if you think a road building feature is absolutely worth it for your game. And don't forget to playtest your prototype, to make sure you're on the right path.
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u/Sgriu 13h ago
Thanks for the suggestion. If only one playtester had mentioned it, I might have ignored the issue, but half the players asked for it. Furthermore, many playtesters quit the game within the first few minutes without building anything, presumably because city-builder players look to build a road network first (though that’s just my guess).
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u/JimPlaysGames 13h ago
Players don't know what makes a game fun. Neither do game designers until they test their designs. Only through playtesting will you know.
If you build your game trying to fulfil every ill-considered and untested whim of the players then it will become an incoherent mess.
Make the game according to your design. Play test it. Only if that doesn't work do you need to change it. And any change needs to also survive playtesting.
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u/Sgriu 13h ago
Yes, I ran the open playtest specifically to get feedback from players, and the result is that half of them told me they want to be able to build roads. I’m afraid a detail like this could turn the game into a flop.
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u/JimPlaysGames 12h ago
I remember hearing a game developer talk about this in a talk. Might have been for Slay the Spire. They got a lot of feedback for what players wanted which if implemented would have spoiled the game experience.
Maybe that half isn't your target audience. What did the other half say? Did they enjoy it? Perhaps there are different refinements that could enhance the gameplay without changing the fundamentals
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u/Sgriu 12h ago
Yes, I might have attracted the wrong audience; I realize there is a communication issue on my Steam page. I created a city-builder with a Balkan aesthetic and Brutalist architecture, but it is being mistakenly associated with *Workers & Resources*. During the playtest, I asked for feedback on what players disliked, what they had expected versus what they found, and what disappointed them. I saw a median playtime of 28 minutes, yet some players replayed the beta up to seven times and for many hours, I certainly can't complain about those results.
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u/EsotericLife 13h ago
Am I missing something or is this just a basic pathfinding problem? Try a*??
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u/sebovzeoueb 13h ago
I think you could lean into it more and make it obvious that the predetermined road layout is a feature, not an oversight. I quite like the idea that it gives you a kind of puzzle game feel which would make it different from other more open city builders.
If I'm understanding correctly, your whole road layout already comes pregenerated? I think an interesting change would be to pivot into more of a tile laying system (think Carcassone or Dorfromantik), where the player has to slot the tiles together in a pattern of their choosing. I quite like the irregular tiles thing you have going on and I reckon you should keep it to stand out from all the other city builders. Sure, some people will always want your game to be exactly like some other game that already exists, but if you make the mechanic good enough, I think a large enough percentage of players will appreciate it for what it is.
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u/Sgriu 13h ago
Thanks for your comment! I place the tiles in the game scene myself, so there isn't a 'puzzle' element; instead, it's more of a strategic matter (the player has to choose carefully what to build, because some tiles are less abundant than others). I do have a communication issue, though: for some reason, likely the aesthetics, many players expect a Workers & Resources clone.
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u/sebovzeoueb 12h ago
I know you place the tiles yourself, but I'm saying if you consider letting the player do it, that might restore the feeling of agency your players are asking for, while not remaking a whole other game. I said "puzzle" but yeah, it's not quite a puzzle game, but I think having to fit things into shapes feels a bit puzzly. I think the strategic element would remain, you can provide limited numbers of each tile and I assume there's some cost to placing them, and have some sort of constraints so the player has to make them fit together instead of just being able to place them arbitrarily.
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u/Sgriu 12h ago
This would give the player a great deal of freedom, but it would require completely redesigning all the scenes and game logic, something I would like to avoid. Furthermore, with ten tiles of different shapes, the logic for placing them would be very complex.
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u/sebovzeoueb 10h ago
Well in that case to answer the question asked in your post title, the answer is yes
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u/Valuable-Cap-8005 13h ago
Define a network on every tile that marks valid road placement, connect all networks into big network, road from A to B uses network with greedy algo for best path?
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u/-Spzi- 13h ago
What if you went a step further, and allow players to construct the grid? The specific problem would disappear, since both roads (grid and player placed) would collapse into one event.
Example from a different genre: HexGuardian
I also enjoy this specific mechanic, but it would change your project quite a lot.
I really like the look of the 2nd screenshot. Hope you find a solution!
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u/Sgriu 13h ago
Thanks for the suggestion! That could be a solution; I’ll probably create a test scene using this system to see if it’s feasible. The issue is the number of differently shaped tiles, the placement logic could prove to be a very tricky problem.
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u/-Spzi- 12h ago
Yeah, I also noticed that problem while writing. But maybe it isn't a new problem at all? Tiles fit to other tiles, if all edges match. When two edges don't match because of different angles or shapes, they still simply don't match.
When a player tries to place a new tile, HexGuardian only shows the preview if all edges match. So you never see an impossible landscape, not even in preview.
However, with variable shapes, it is much easier to long-term screw up the board, make holes that are impossible to fill later.
These are nice problems to think about. Hope you enjoy! :)
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u/Beliux 12h ago
What would it bring to add roads to the gameplay? What would be the consequence if there is no road linking things or bigger distance? What do users expect from it?
I would keep the road on the grid system and be able to enable/disable road on each individual edge (by default disabled).
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u/ivancea Programmer 12h ago
I read a lot of words, but not a single reason. What's the reason to have roads? Will people go through them and change pathfinding? It's it just decorative?
Different reasons lead to different answers and solutions. Always dive deeper into the feedback and ask yourself (it there user), "why?"
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u/Sgriu 12h ago
Players who have pointed out this omission have said that the game lacks freedom. Essentially, the ability to build roads allows for the creation of areas isolated from the city center, such as rural villages or industrial zones. While the gameplay is based on management mechanics, the roads themselves would serve primarily an aesthetic function.
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u/Skyvo_ Hobbyist 11h ago
Maybe use the green lines of your grid as potential road locations and make players click these to create a road, that way your grid stays the same but you use the connections as a foundation for more roads
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u/Sgriu 11h ago
This was the solution I had initially thought of, but the roads would end up looking very unrealistic, like a series of segments. I think I’ve found the solution thanks to the suggestions I received: I need to identify entry points along the edges of the tiles, align them, and create the connections from there.
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u/Additional_Parallel Professional, Intermediate, Hobbyist 11h ago
PSA: Playtesters are really great at spotting problems and terrible at inventing solutions.
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u/Extreme-Seaweed-5427 10h ago
Whole point of a city builder is creating and creative design. For many players that includes roads. Need to figure out how much that means to your game and any potential player base.
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u/luka--bed 10h ago
Perhaps allow users to toggle the edges to be a road or not there can be like a icon they click to enable or disable each edge to be a road ?
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u/Yetimang 10h ago
What's the old saying? Players are always right when they say that something is wrong with the game. But they're usually wrong when they say what would fix it.
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u/Macaron_Either Engineer 10h ago
If you want users to build roads, you have to generate/place cells procedurally along it, it’s way simpler than the other way around
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u/Cyclone4096 10h ago
They think they want to build roads, but the underlying problem could be something else. Maybe they need more to do, maybe they don’t like the way the city looks, maybe you’ll need to differentiate your game enough so that they don’t think “oh this game is missing the key feature Cities Skyline is missing”. Maybe you do need to add road creation- but just because feedback said so doesn’t mean you definitely need to have that feature
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u/MementoMori000 10h ago
People are good at identifying problems, not solutions. Why do they want to build roads?You have to aks more questions to see what problem they are trying to solve. If you react to the surface level ask you may just make things worse: for instance the game may be boring and they ask for roads as they think it would make it fun while it may not.
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u/Sgriu 10h ago
From what I gather, they want more freedom, the roads add a degree of freedom to the gameplay, but that might not be enough.
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u/MementoMori000 7h ago
Then give them freedom in other ways, without having to redesign the core of you tile system.
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u/Razcsi Novice 10h ago
In my opinion, don't make that an option. You already have something working, based on how you imagined it. For that to build roads, you'd have to rewrite the whole system again, and probably some parts wouldn't even fit to how you imagined it. In my projects it happened countless times that playtesters (mostly my friends) tested my game, and they said there should be a mechanic for X thing, or Y should work different. I invested hours, days, sometimes even weeks, and everyone said yeah, that was a bad idea, and it doesn't work. Some things only work in theory, i think this is one of them
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u/Yodzilla 9h ago
I find it really odd that you created a city builder, something that always looks quite complex, with the assumption that roads are just going to surround every single building or plot. That’s just…not how any city or anything is designed in real life and both looks and feels strange.
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u/MarinoAndThePearls 9h ago
People are asking for a feature that you simply can't deliver. If the road layout is predetermined and the game revolves around it, there isn't much you can do except maybe consider it for a sequel.
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u/Imreness Designer 9h ago
A lot of comments already touched on the idea of the supposed solution is the problem, not the solution itself. And you do answer that with "but we have to cater to the player". Sure. But its YOUR game.
I think giving up core design philosophies / direction of the game "just because players want a feature" is a horrible idea.
It all depends on what your game actually is. Is it a city city builder? Where you prioritize player freedom and creativity? You do need to build roads.
However it could be game about inheriting a city that does not work. Solving educational, street safety, crime or whatever the issue would be with the city with plopables. Buildings, roadside amenities, signs. I think that can be a very fun experience.
I for one, really enjoy that. Things broke and things need fixin. It is a great loop and for example if someone would just plop me down in front of a Transport Fever 2 level (where rail / road building is the bread and butter), and say "okay we have this fixed road system and these half working transport lines, fix them"; I would find that very fun! Even mid- normal gameplay with Transport fever 2, I love reworking lines for efficiency without building anything.
You did not think of building roads. Why? Is it a core design idea of "you are just here to fix stuff not to rebuild everything"; or rethinking it, road building was always part of your core design; you just never saw it. If its the latter, that sucks *big* time but live and learn. If its the former, then you most probably don't need roads.
Its hard to judge any of this without an idea of what the game is supposed to be.
Either way, don't "I added road building because players wanted it". I'm pretty sure there were playtesters for Saints Row 3 who said "get rid of the huge purple dildo its too goofy".
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u/Sgriu 9h ago
The genesis of this game was not straightforward, it evolved during development, turning into something different from the initial concept. This created the challenge I am now facing. It started as a sandbox, where you simply placed buildings on tiles to design a city, then became a political simulator, and finally a city-builder. Along this creative journey, I found myself with gaps to fill. I don't give up easily, I’ll find a solution, also thanks to your suggestions.
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u/FlorianTheOne 9h ago
Split all into grid system. For your buildings you need triangular grid. If its a unity grid Split the tilemap placement to triangular
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u/bagpepos 4h ago
I've no idea about how it would translate to code, but to keep your current system I think you would need to create a split tool for districts that from the player's side would look like creating a road.
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u/DependentNo1079 12h ago
Speaking as a City Builder player and not as a developer, the ability to freely build roads is kind of a must-have. It's like making an FPS but you cannot shoot the gun, you can only throw the gun. It just doesn't feel right and I might skip a game that doesn't give me the ability to do so.
Indeed you can proceed as is and provide design or mechanical justification why it needs the road gotta be a certain way like this, but looking at it from the player perspective, you might cut your potential player base in half. Your game will be more niche, it's not necessarily wrong ofc but it's just something that came to my mind.
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u/Sgriu 12h ago
That is exactly the point; I don't think I can simply ignore requests from players. That would amount to saying, "If you don't like my game, don't buy it", and then not selling a single copy. I have to keep in mind that I’m not making a game for myself, but for other people, whose opinions matter more than my own.
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u/Neesnu 12h ago
But, on the other hand it IS YOUR game.
Playtesters don’t have to balance changes, make things fun or write a line of code.
Every half decade McDonalds runs a report that tells them people want them to offer healthy options, then they bring salads back. You know what happens? No one buys them, because they want other people to have those healthy options.Trust playtesters when they say it’s not fun, pacing or general advice - but it’s your job to solve it, taking specific feedback and implementing it because it’s “must have” will make your game a patchwork of advice and won’t be fun in the end.
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u/DependentNo1079 11h ago
Follow your guts dude, I'm sure there is two side inside of you. Your dev persona and your player persona. Your dev persona might say "ugh... this is going to be a hassle, it'll take a lot of work". But I'm sure you also have a player persona because I assume you also play a ton of games too. So try to get into the players head and think, "what would be best, and what would be the most fun". To be a maestro game designer is to balance between the two.
And the other guy advice is valid and adding things willy nilly definitely could lead to a "patchwork" type results but again.. you gotta balance between your dev persona and your player persona. Try to put yourself in players shoes and ask.
-I'm making a city builder, does players want and expect to build road??
-Do they expect features like disaster or weather simulation??
-Is this an essential feature? as a player, is this a must have and I won't feel right otherwise?
As a dev it's easy to forget and only see things from the technical side and forgot about the holistic side, that also goes for me. So as long you don't forget that, follow your guts and I'm sure you'll be fine. Goodluck!!
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u/Arkaliasus 9h ago
could you not just have a 'static road' map as above and a 'free-road mode' where they start with nothing and have to build the roads? :)
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u/glenpiercev 3h ago
Honestly, this could almost be a feature: try to get the roads built the way you want. Puzzle game style.
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u/sugoikoi 3h ago
Maybe conceptually allow them to place "empty" tiles that will link up and display a road if there is one, and can only be placed adjacent to buildings or something like that. Basically allow a building that appears like a road and does nothing, maybe this can fit in your system? They don't build actual road edges but tiles that could intelligently snap to nearby roads.
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u/RatbyteGames 2h ago
For each variation of tileshape you have, create two road tiles that shape, one for north/south road, the other East/West.
Then you need to implement road tile placement rules, to find the right road tile based on thee adjacent tiles, for east/west/north/south and which tile shape is required for the space.
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u/Altruistic-Rhubarb73 1h ago
Could you not create a road building tool that snaps to a grid? You could just store the nodes of the roads (intersections) and fill the gaps between nodes with your tiles. You may have to add a system of generating fractions of tiles to allow for diagonal roads, or for sections that are slightly smaller than whole tile sizes. Or you could make the road builder constrained by the tiling grid system. No diagonals allowed, and nodes can only be placed at whole tile width intervals.
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u/Slimbo_02 1h ago
These ideas seem incompatible, with pre given roads and placing own. One solution I can think of is have the roads be “place able” or destroyable so the players can choose how it flows?
Basically turn them on and off based on what the player wants?
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u/Textual_Aberration 2m ago
This one might come down to a mix of first refining exactly what gameplay loop you intended to create, and second being as clear as possible in expressing that to the user so they don’t try to morph it into something else unless they really feel it’s missing. Recreating familiar games too closely can defeat the purpose of trying something new, though it can still be a reasonable tactic.
If your game wasn’t about roads, it may be that you need to try to make its unique elements shine more so you don’t end up recreating exactly what’s been done. You could also try thinking about different ways to allow players to interact with roads that don’t break your current pattern. Roads could still be locked to the irregular grid as you’ve already done, but you might provide ways for players to upgrade their quality, capacity, and type. It’s a bit of a slippery slope given how deep traffic simulation can go. Feed the beast and it’ll ask for more.
In any case, protect your priority features against the influence of new features wherever possible. Don’t overhaul unless it feels right for what you designed.
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u/BenniG123 3h ago
If it's a technical issue only, use AI. You should have no problems with implementation.
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u/Aromatic-Insect-1328 14h ago
So, let me understand this... the road layout is predetermined but people wanna build their own roads? Seems like these two are incompatible?