# Island generation
Today I took my first step in the vast domain of procedural generation. I tried to create a simple looking island.

![Selection_410.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXyXho24Ksvhw2g8nt1Ynxgbe1By7ud6JmiQSqMkSipKA/Selection_410.png)

# Generation of a heightmap
## Drawing a circle
An island as seen in the image above is simply some perlin noise where the highest values are concentrated in the middle. 
![Selection_405.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTL3fEiNTVk4HviQpK13rzBdDtjGJijUXYM23Rjy7asxc/Selection_405.png)
I started by creating a circle. You can used the distance between two points formula to have points getting darker as they get further from the center. This is how I did it.

## Adding noise
If you want to know how to create noise you should search the terms "Perlin noise" or "Simplex noise"
![Selection_406.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmebYZpmBNMhxPqfELwcbksUQW4dNeP52FELwjhFSaddmV/Selection_406.png)

The noise blends with the circle making the map darker on the ends but lighter in the center.

## Smoothing
The noise is too hard in the picture above to have good results, we need to smooth our image. I smoothed my image by setting every pixel to the average of their neighbors. This smoothing function was iterated 300 times in my final Island image.

![Selection_407.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYxkLDLCyLQvCTwjD81q1iBm6pFWZnisn5m9abpnhDBBm/Selection_407.png)

# Adding colors 
I used a shader to color the island, but you can use what you want.

## Water
![Selection_408.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZKth4aPJLUkFjuERHU3ezkHRFuQ1emcUp2mxUnKxaNQn/Selection_408.png)

## Final result 
![Selection_410.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXyXho24Ksvhw2g8nt1Ynxgbe1By7ud6JmiQSqMkSipKA/Selection_410.png)

# Smoothing in realtime (300 iterations)
![smoothing.gif](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZQ2gUeqqao6nL9wLTV1xXi8BA3t61c9o7yRFyweoraUp/smoothing.gif)

# Raising Sea level
![flooding.gif](https://steemitimages.com/DQmY1pZ4nVCNjDa8BSevhRAV4Ww8Q49qJM6soedqESDKeAR/flooding.gif)

# Conclusion
It was quite fun to create an island. I will try to read about procedural generation to showcase more impressive generations. If you like my content make sure you follow me :)