When I turn off JS, it shows a loader instead of the terrain. Is this really CSS-Only? I mean it's still a high achievement even with JS, but was expecting it would also work without JS. This one, for example, truly works without JS https://benjaminaster.com/css-minecraft/ .
arbll 33 days ago [-]
I'm assuming it's the render engine that is in pure CSS. You could display a static map in CSS but things like the tools to modify the terrain definitely need JS.
psygn89 33 days ago [-]
You might not need it using the new :has() and different inputs as modifiers. Though that's a lot of :has() and probably would kill performance.
thih9 33 days ago [-]
I wanted to check if your assumption is correct but I couldn’t find the source code.
Why do you think the renderer is pure css and not e.g. mostly css?
embedding-shape 33 days ago [-]
The top right button has a "Download code" which gives you a .zip file. That .zip file doesn't have any JS in it, and renders the terrain just like in the online editor, except you can turn off JS and it still works.
Looks like it’s a “(css-only terrain) generator” - a generator that lets the user create and download a css only terrain.
As opposed to a “css-only (terrain generator)” - a terrain creation studio built with css only.
nightpool 33 days ago [-]
GP linked an example of a similar project that allowed you to modify the terrain without any JS at all
decimaldesign 33 days ago [-]
I think what's intended is that the completed and downloaded solution doesn't require any javascript.
Build something then hit the Download Code button - that packaged HTML solution doesn't require any javascript to render locally.
senfiaj 33 days ago [-]
Yeah, it worked, it seems to be a static rendered html with no interactivity though.
forthwall 33 days ago [-]
Wow this really feels like roller coaster tycoon!!! (I can see lots of people refer to this to their favorite sim game though)
Great work!
yreg 33 days ago [-]
I really miss these building games that used an isometric grid. RC Tycoon, Zoo Tycoon, Sim City, TTD, …
Yes, it's less realistic, but it is so pleasant to work with. Everything you build aligns perfectly and if you want, you can neatly fill the entire map.
In comparison, (even with many mods) my Cities Skylines or Planet Coaster creations never look quite right. Building the roads and paths is always awkward and frustrating.
(I've commented this before.)
qingcharles 32 days ago [-]
As someone who wrote one of those 2D-ish isometric games in the 90s, it was hell. All the problems with trying to render the tiles properly and figure out what tile the user was clicking on when some tiles are semi-transparent etc. The artists need medals though for creating amazing levels with tiny palettes of pieces to work from.
We made it especially hard on ourselves by having 3D characters interact with the 2D tiles:
Both Rollercoaster Tycoon and Transport Tycoon Deluxe (which lives on in openTTD) are by the same author, and use the same engine :-)
lawlessone 33 days ago [-]
Chris Sawyer, he made them with a tiny magnet that he used to write the games directly to a hard drive.
brendoelfrendo 32 days ago [-]
I once heard he tickled a butterfly in Brazil to cause a cloud in the UK that diverted a cosmic ray onto his hard drive in the exact right spot to flip the required bit.
hulium 33 days ago [-]
The biome button graphics are taken from the OpenTTD main menu.
33 days ago [-]
33 days ago [-]
Igrom 33 days ago [-]
For me, "Briefing" from Ace Combat 2 played back in my head straight away.
You guys have sent me down memory lane. Hopefully, I don't forget when I have free time to search, but hopefully I can find this to play in an emulator somewhere. This was the very first game I ever bought even though I didn't have an Amiga but had one that was very accessible.
edit: couldn't wait. did the search. it's very much available to play online. hello rabbit hole...
johnh-hn 33 days ago [-]
Just in case you never came across it, I think the second game is much better than the first one. Enjoy the nostalgia trip!
linsomniac 33 days ago [-]
Do tell, I've been wanting to play Populous again for a few years...
dylan604 33 days ago [-]
dosbox top result in search
bodge5000 33 days ago [-]
I've used a few terrain generators before but I think this one might be my favourite. Obviously the fact its a "CSS only" demo project restricts things a bit, but its got enough going for it regardless.
It actually comes at a really good time for me, I'm currently trying to make the transition from 2d game dev to 3d and things like this are really helpful.
jheriko 32 days ago [-]
[dead]
ModernMech 33 days ago [-]
This thing is killing my CPU, what's the actual bottleneck here for CSS? Is it the number of elements visible and rendered at once? Is it the calculation engine backing CSS is super slow? Or just that most of the work is being done on the CPU it seems (on my machine, rotating around the map, my integrated GPU goes to 20% but CPU stays around 40-50%).
kachapopopow 32 days ago [-]
it's effectively a cpu 'renderer' with gpu painter
paulbjensen 33 days ago [-]
Really cool, especially when I realised you could rotate the terrain and do some zooming as well.
em3rgent0rdr 33 days ago [-]
Impressive, but there is a noticeable lag after modifying the terrain or moving the camera. Is there a way to know if the browser is using the GPU or CPU for rendering, and is there are way to see the milliseconds per frame?
bob1029 33 days ago [-]
It looks like a layout/style/composition issue with the browser engine.
In Safari I'm seeing 91% CPU time on paint, 6% on layout, 2% on styles. It looks like it's taking somewhere between 100-200ms on my machine to chunk through a state change each time.
> Is there a way to know if the browser is using the GPU or CPU for rendering, and is there are way to see the milliseconds per frame?
For Safari, you would go to the Web Inspector and navigate to the Timelines tab. Chrome has a similar thing.
EGreg 33 days ago [-]
Can someone please reimplement something like Warcraft 2 on a mobile web device?
It would be a hit, I’m telling you. Even from 1995.
Some people are still playing it 30 years later, obsessively.
And myth ii by Bungie is a classic too
mock-possum 33 days ago [-]
The controls would take some serious reworking to make it work on mobile - I could see adding a ‘pause’ feature to give you time to scrub your fingers all over the screen to issue all your unit and build orders, performant pinch to zoom would nearly negate the need for a mini map, lots of reworked GUI for building stuff and managing workers
EGreg 33 days ago [-]
Anyone made a real-time-strategy engine for tiled games on mobile?
o11c 33 days ago [-]
Stratagus has an android port at least ...
EGreg 32 days ago [-]
Oh yes I remembered, wargus exists!
Also Microsoft claims this after buying Blizzard:
Through great teams and great technology, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard will empower players to enjoy the most-immersive franchises, like “Halo” and “Warcraft,” virtually anywhere they want.
Very cool! Do you think it’s possible to do lakes and waterfalls?
rofko 33 days ago [-]
Definitely! I'm planning for more landscape features for next versions. I think rivers will be a great addition, and waterfalls/rapids sound really interesting too. In the end it's a matter of adding a few classes and designing some sprites.
kataqatsi 33 days ago [-]
for those interested in more CSS-Only art, Lynn Fisher makes some neat stuff
Why do you think the renderer is pure css and not e.g. mostly css?
Edit: someone else wrote basically the same an hour ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45814791
As opposed to a “css-only (terrain generator)” - a terrain creation studio built with css only.
Build something then hit the Download Code button - that packaged HTML solution doesn't require any javascript to render locally.
Great work!
Yes, it's less realistic, but it is so pleasant to work with. Everything you build aligns perfectly and if you want, you can neatly fill the entire map.
In comparison, (even with many mods) my Cities Skylines or Planet Coaster creations never look quite right. Building the roads and paths is always awkward and frustrating.
(I've commented this before.)
We made it especially hard on ourselves by having 3D characters interact with the 2D tiles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UOYps_3eM0
I absolutely adore the look of isometric, though.
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Populous_(video_game)
https://youtu.be/5uPVGs7bq3s?t=8
So the JS is only being used, essentially, as a nice UI for configuring your terrain and the camera angle from which it's viewed.
This is still an incredible feat.
We need PEMDAS for English.
actual meaning -> ((CSS-Only Terrain) Generator)
incorrect interpretation -> (CSS-Only (Terrain Generator))
actual meaning -> CSS-Only Terrain + Generator +
incorrect interpretation -> CSS-Only + Terrain Generator +
Really we may need BNF here
https://kagi.com/proxy/sim-city-2000.png?c=zBh1SYcmKrHnLf7qc...
https://kagi.com/proxy/00001307.jpg?c=vxNARhwMwSpmnHAfYQrnRr...
https://www.openttd.org/screenshots
Looks really cool and runs great on my phone.
Seems like there's some kind of rendering bug in the corners sometimes causing the walls to intersect the grass
Very cool
For anyone who hasn't heard of it before: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Populous_(video_game)
edit: couldn't wait. did the search. it's very much available to play online. hello rabbit hole...
It actually comes at a really good time for me, I'm currently trying to make the transition from 2d game dev to 3d and things like this are really helpful.
In Safari I'm seeing 91% CPU time on paint, 6% on layout, 2% on styles. It looks like it's taking somewhere between 100-200ms on my machine to chunk through a state change each time.
> Is there a way to know if the browser is using the GPU or CPU for rendering, and is there are way to see the milliseconds per frame?
For Safari, you would go to the Web Inspector and navigate to the Timelines tab. Chrome has a similar thing.
It would be a hit, I’m telling you. Even from 1995.
Some people are still playing it 30 years later, obsessively.
And myth ii by Bungie is a classic too
Also Microsoft claims this after buying Blizzard:
Through great teams and great technology, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard will empower players to enjoy the most-immersive franchises, like “Halo” and “Warcraft,” virtually anywhere they want.
https://news.microsoft.com/source/2022/01/18/microsoft-to-ac...
https://a.singlediv.com/
https://i.imgur.com/qT6ozyh.png
Firefox 144.0.2, Windows
2. does it sometimes raise / lower by 2 units?
3. the "flatten" tool is missing.