Tree Structural Upgrades Landed

Macro patch model now drives forest shape

Tree distribution now starts with seeded macro patches instead of relying on purely local randomness. This produces clearer forest identities and more coherent empty spaces between stands.

Distance to patch center now contributes directly to falloff so density gradients look intentional rather than noisy.

• Generated macro seeds define primary forest islands per map.
• Distance based falloff shapes core, edge, and fringe density behavior.
• Patch profiles remain deterministic under fixed seeds.

Per patch quotas prevent starvation

One failure mode in dense maps was large patches consuming most placement budget. Per patch quota handling now protects smaller islands from being erased by global caps.

This preserves biome variety and keeps secondary forest features visible in gameplay routes.

• Candidate caps now preserve representation for small patches.
• Placement caps maintain target density without collapsing minor islands.
• Patch level accounting provides clearer debug signals when limits hit.

Resulting gameplay impact

Forest structure now reads closer to strategic terrain features instead of random clutter. Players can more reliably interpret cover, movement friction, and sightline breaks.

The structural model is now a stable base for later biome specific aesthetic tuning.

• Better separation between dense forest cores and transition edges.
• Cleaner tactical readability for approach routes and flanks.
• Fewer barren map sectors caused by cap imbalance.

Key metrics snapshot

Structural upgrades are validated with patch-level metrics so global density improvements do not hide local starvation failures.

The key signal is whether small islands survive cap pressure while preserving overall distribution quality.

• Macro patch seed distribution per map generation.
• Per-patch quota fill ratio and starvation incidence.
• Small-patch survival rate after candidate and placement caps.
• Core-to-edge density gradient continuity in patch falloff zones.

Next Steps