Procedural Plate Tectonics Simulation Update

[u/HabitableZone_]

Hi everyone! Here’s another update on my procedural plate tectonics simulation.

The top is the previous version, and the bottom is the new one, both running along the same timeline.

In the new version, island arcs can now mature and accrete into continental crust, a few cleanup rules help reduce tiny isolated crustal fragments, and there’s now a basic craton mechanic as well.

Which version looks better to you?

[u/blue_sidd]

The second looks better graphically since far more geographic relief is implied. The longer I watched the more uncanny it got though and think part of that is the lack cratons persisting accretion and dissolution.not quite sure how you handle that but it felt odd that some major major mountain ranges that persist for millions of in-sim years just fade away…

[u/HabitableZone_ → u/blue_sidd]

Thanks, that’s a really good point. The craton feature is still pretty basic right now, and I also have an erosion system that gradually wears mountain ranges down over time. Since the simulation is meant to cover roughly 4 billion years, I tried tuning the erosion rate around that timescale, so it may be a little too fast.

[u/Commercial_Lab9046]

Mesmerising! I like the second one (purely aesthetically, I am not a geologist)

[u/HabitableZone_ → u/Commercial_Lab9046]

Thank you, glad you liked it!

[u/redblobgames]

Looks great! What kind of grid system are you using on your planet?