Initial World Composition

* See also Player_Created_Asset_Collaboration_System
* See also Rapture_City_Layout & Defining_Rapture
* See also Asset_Creation_Process
* See also Player Created Assets Things for the Game Players Can Create
* See also Canon and MMORPG_Lore
* See also Cluster_naming
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City Design Resolution :
* While the design of the city gets fleshed out in the pre-stages of the' "Help us create this game" phase, the Collaboration Community would be adding ideas and proposals to fill in the City/World map ( and including things like where do all those blocked doors really go that we saw in all the BS1/BS2 buildings which would be reused. ) The Company developers would request/take/filter inputs from Players for generating the Overall Layout of the City ( for the 'Seed Maps' use with the Auto-Generation Mechanisms ).
* Suggestions and corrections done by the Players would save alot of money $$$$ ( as per the whole Collaboration Scheme ).  There is ALOT of specific details needed for this project. The City plan would be developed and shown to designated Players to make further suggestions ( with any reasoning/justifications given ). Details would be refined and assessed for 'doability'.
* There would probably be alot of debates about what components of the city should be contained/connect and where.  Content requests would be posted for filler material to get the initial areas ready ( there are plenty of Assets that can be salvaged from the BS1/BS2/MP/DLC content and converted, and others modified to be variations ).
* All the different interrelated 'game world systems' need to be clarified/finalized ( and no matter how good the pre-planning, additional elements will have to be added ). Example : How the electrical power system works, and the props/structure modules needed, and how they all fit into the MMORPG's modular 'building block' system -- Those interrelate with the damage/repair actions and tools and fabrication aspects of the game.
* Company employees would have final say, but a plan would eventually be decided. At some point decisions will have to be made and differences of opinions resolved so that the City Layout can take shape. The pieces would be organized, prioritized and divided up. Then the Players could get to work to create/define the specific Assets for the layout of the city and all the components that would make it up ... The Company developers would do the parts they-only can do ( game engine modifications ) and incorporate the pieces into the 'World' so that proper testing can be carried out.
* For areas of the city that would be auto-generated, sufficient details ( parameter data ) would be created to guide later piecemeal generation. ( As mentioned before -- That 'Seed' detail, when well done, would guarantee that the auto-generated things will 'fit in' to the overall plan ).
* Exposing such details would not really be 'giving away the whole game', as much of the details are still quite nebulous, and subject to later Auto-Generation ( filling in high details ). So Players could find out there are "some buildings over there on the map" which does not 'give much away' to anyone who has already looked out the Windows in the Solo game. 
* The Game World would also take shape with direct effect of Player interaction - which can beforehand only be guessed at.
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Building the Seed Map For the BioShock Rapture MMORPG :
Work that would be done by the developers to set the basic shape of Rapture and supply guideline data for the Auto-Generation system to follow as well as to guide the areas being directly composed.
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City Layout Constraints :
* Rapture Canon and MMORPG Lore.
* Description of City from Games and Book ( ex- City is about 3 miles by 3 miles, sized for ~20000 people ).
* Known locations from the BS1/BS2 games ( How they generally connect/proximity ). Known Plazas and Squares ...
* Limitations on how much of the city is to pre-exist ( in full detail for the initial game start ) and how much needs to be 'seeded' with sufficient specific details to be cohesive/coordinated and what other details can be left to the auto-generation system.
* Views out of windows that show general position of 'Landmarks' ( mostly tall buildings ). The landmarks would be  represented with general shape, but interiors we've never seen can be fudged.
* Use Map of Metro and (the partial) Atlantic Express ( which shows some general ocean floor contours, position of ridges, etc ... ) to guide some feature placements.
* Add/adjust logical details to better explain the City's existence :
** Location given as ( 63 degrees 2 mins N, 29 degrees 55 mins W ) place Rapture in an area where the ocean floor depth  is 1,000-2,000 meters ( far too deep ).
** Make the City Site as an old undersea Volcano would explain a much less severe depth (200 meters), the Geothermal activity, the Dropoff Abyss ( an old collapsed magma chamber or an edge down to the normal depth ) and a chunk sticking up near the surface ( Mt Ryan ) that could block the path of Icebergs from destroying the city at such a lesser depth.
** There would be substantial outlying areas of the City that to make it 'self-sufficient'. We didn't see these in the games so the details are pretty much open.
* These constraints are preferences and can be subject to more than a little adjusting/creativity if required.
* Not every inch of that 3 X 3 mile area is covered with buildings. Ex- the irregularity of the seabed - many places too soft for foundations - ( like Central Park in Manhattan ). The City plan SHOULD have irregularities to keep it from looking like a D & D map created on graph paper.
* The Rapture location would likely have included alot of raised exposed rock to match many of the BS1/BS2 views ( don't want to sit building on sediment and you don't want to have to clear too much sediment out of the way to place foundations  on bedrock ).
* Lots of tall high-rise buildings, and more shorter ones and sprawling building complexes. Underground facilities ( like outlying support sites ) have alot of leeway.
* Pre-define structural specifications for building wall thicknesses ( Concrete and Ryanium ), Window shapes and sizes, Utility hookups/mains, door frames, ceiling heights, Transportation profiles ( ie - the shape of a Trolley path/Tram tubes, pressure seal doors ), Viaducts and Tunnels -- Many details which define how adjacent things can be placed.
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Determine Seafloor Contours (general shape) :
* Starting point the Metro Maps for the ridges ( that BS1 Rapture map is VERY general and can be fudged quite alot - The central portion looks like a somewhat lower flat region where many of the tall buildings should be ).
* Many game building interior locations are on ridge sides ( with those rocks in foreground in window views and looking straight out at buildings you are 1/3-1/2 way up their sides - with really tall building still towering well above ). Tallest buildings in the MMORPG will be cut down to not have unneeded height ( and cost ).
* Add the general locations of the major features ( Mt Ryan to the North-ish ) the dropoff of the Abyss ( near Persephone ) the Geothermal fields to SouthWest ( near Hephaestus) .
* Foundations can be quite massive to flatten and raise basement (base) levels to a common 'street' level for city buildings, but 'Street' levels can actually be connected at any level of a building to lessen Foundation size.
* Some areas like around Arcadia have very large boulders/rocks the building are built upon/amongst.
* An example contour map ---  Maps#MapRapture
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Determine the First Points of Reference :
* The Welcome Center is specifically positioned on the Metro Map ( which has alot of the BS1 game known locations around  it ).
* Proximity of other known buildings/features clustered in that vicinity. The Lighthouse position is very close, and it should be located on Mt Ryan as it is built on ( probably piled ) large rocks that break the surface.
* The other locations from the game maps for other 'known' locations (shown on Metro Map - Fort Frolic, Olympus Heights, etc ... ) The BS1 Metro Bathysphere map shows many of the other positions.
* Many of the outside window views were recycled ( like same view out north facing windows as south facing ), so they dont have to be too precisely used as positioning clues. Many of the window views also have pretty Sea Life and rocks piled outside even when you are inside a tall building ( like the AE Depot ), so likewise cannot be adhered to.
* Specify locations of all known Plazas and start planning others to fill out bulk of the City. Different city areas have themes - industrial, manufacturing, commercial, residential, etc ... The extents and 'organic' layout of the city would be created around these.
* Many logical locations would be added to fill in needed components of the city which were never seen or mentioned.  ( Example - "Port of Rapture" would be a logical interface to the Surface needed during the City's construction and it would be logical for 'Submarine Yards" to exist to maintain the City's submarine fleet. Major transportation links would likewise tie into these extrapolated locations. )
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City Grid Pattern (the 'Street' System Structure) :
* General 'city-like' rectangular street pattern, but still can be irregular ( Compass point orientation preferred )
* Street Level ( the flat plane that most of the Streets in Rapture are on ) would be a height matchup of positions of Landmark building ( not too high off average seabed level - the 'Street' in may places is 1/3 way up many buildings )
* Secondary 'Street' routes can still exist ( to handle many building sites built on ridges following a flat path ).
* Use known Plazas and Squares as reference points of grid intersections (hubs). Their shape details are already largely known ( with added adjacent parts filled in extending all those blocks/non-opening doors ).
* Add additional Plazas and Squares where various Landmark buildings are ( since they have to connect into the 'Street' system and other things like Metro/Atlantic Express )
* Locate the balance of all other Plaza/Square and their clusters of adjacent tall buildings ( determine general shapes/footprints of those buildings ). Their dimensions and floor plans would be defined and what connections they have to other structures ( including the major 'street' paths between them ).
* Fill in more buildings of appropriate mid-range size added in appropriate visual locations ( clues from the window views )
* There can be many shorter buildings that weren't generally visible.
* Various 'scenic' ridges and other locations would contain smaller 'sprawl' building complexes.
* All these building's general sizes and shapes ( and internal layout ) would be predetermined and the required 'modular' floor templates that match those definitions would need to be created ( to be used for 'pre-built assets and for the auto-generator to use later ).
* Street paths/flavors would all be filled in to connect and connect the plazas/squares and to fit the contours ( and define any new 'building blocks' required to make it fit together - shape and adjacent connections ). Secondary paths would link/connect all the building concentrations.
* If all else fails the seafloor contours can be 'fudged' to make things place properly without adjusting too many other things.
* City Utilities largely follow the Street grid. Some main conduits run as independent structures spreading out from their primary sources ( ie - Hephaestus for power/heat/fresh water, Lighthouse for air system, Mt Ryan for garbage )
* Plan locations of industrial and manufacturing sites and other support communities OUTSIDE the City. I would put the total additional (original) population at another 20000 people out there to support the city economy.
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Main Transportation Paths:
* The Metro and Atlantic Express maps show stylized routes independent of the Street patterns, so can be fudged a bit to  match up with the map data being created. The Atlantic Express we've seen is also a partial map ( actually only shows 1/8 of the whole system and it is a edge portion South of Arcadia ). So what's not shown can be fitted as needed as line extensions to the three line shown in-game ( figure the Atlantic Express largely goes to all old Primary high traffic destinations ).
* Place (in detail) the existing Metro/AE paths to connect the plazas/squares ( we saw in BS1/BS2 and extrapolated others )
The AE is built on independent aqueduct-like support structures.
* Plan out the paths to cover ALL the rest of the Plazas/Squares :
** Atlantic Express goes to the main hubs ( various Plazas/Squares and other major complexes which would have the appropriate stations as part of their makeup - the stations are substantial buildings of themselves ).
** The Atlantic Express routes are largely flat and run sufficiently below Street level to not collide with Street structures and goes around buildings. Built at basement level - They were fundamental transport in the "oldest part of rapture" and used a great deal in city construction.
** The Metro Bathysphere lines have ALOT more connections than the game maps we've seen
** The MetroWays are more flexible and can go up and down as well as around corners.
** Austen Bathysphere Company was just one of the interconnecting systems and we now have alot more plazas/squares  that need to be connected.
** The Street Trolleys go between most important points and go thru (continuous paths) the Plaza/Square structures.
** Not all 'Streets' have a Trolley line running thru them and there are numerous secondary Streets lined with shops and residences branching off the main Street network. It is preferable for long Streets to not be too far off the Seabed because the higher the 'Street' structure is the more massive (expensive) the Foundation pillars need to be to support them.
* Place all the other Metro and Atlantic Express stations/facilities ( switching stations, rail yards, repair facilities).
** Locate all the maintenance facilities for transit systems - we saw one (BS2) - the 'Atlantic Express Depot' that is big enough for the full AE system.
** At least one Trolley maintenance 'barn' should be near City Center so the Trolley_System can be running in New Rapture, and others are spread out evenly across the city.
* AE and Tram lines heading out to connect to sites outside the city should be defined.
* Specify details for the modular Assets ( like AE track pylons and station entrances ) needed to build up the actual connecting structures.
* Plan which of these transportation paths are damaged/destroyed.
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Looser Details Applied :
* The game would have a Seabed Surface map for the larger area around the City Map ( maybe for 100 mile radius ) - general Depths and Ecology seed data.
** Large area for the 'undersea volcano' before the depths fall off to the 1000+ meter depths ( areas prohibitive for human activities ).
* Industrial/other sites outside main city areas are spread out ( don't interfere/interact with each other much )
** Many are miles from the 'City'
** Transportation links to them ( ie - Tram tunnels, Atlantic Express freight line ) can be generalized.
** Large parts of industrial complexes would be located in tunnels/caverns when possible to save on costs ( anything done IN the water is more complex and expensive ).
** Probably will be located on the Leeward side of the volcanoes height to be protected from icebergs.
* Many generic smaller building and structures :
** Can be filled-in in detail later ( usually their external appearance is seen first thru windows from a distance ).
** They can often be placed adjacent to existing buildings and connected by multiple viaducts ( Like some of the places we visited in BS1/BS2). Since they do have to link to existing buildings, those buildings would need the modular connections already specified in their structure and floor layouts ( more closed/locked doorways ... ).
* Various clutter on the Seabed with leftovers from construction and misc other stuff/junk.
* Tall building interiors :
** Have to use standard floor layout/profiles/templates that WOULD be predefined to fit in the building's external  definitions ( the 'Seen from a distance' external details would mostly be pre-defined before game startup ) .
** We have little detail for the interiors ( from the solo games ) so they can be auto-generated along logical patterns - with lots of potential variations in detail/content.
** Shops at Street level commercial above that and Residence levels above that.
** The state of destruction/ruin/wreckage would be predefined so the auto-generator will have parameters for what it will build up.
* Mt Ryan just has to be a large mass of rock that goes up near the ocean surface ( to within 100 feet ). Its solid rock would be perfect for industrial sites, and the proximity to surface would allow Seaweed Farms placed there ( light penetration falls off fast with water depth ). The contours are not critical, and can be 'fudged' to make the fitting of things easier.
* Additional Metroways (Bathysphere lines) can be added ( including the stations ) -- Branching off the already defined ones ( they are supposed to be like cabs or buses so have to go alot of places to be convenient ). Some companies had private lines as did some rich elites with connections to their penthouses ( ex- Ryan's connection between his "Mansion" and Ryan’s Office )
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New Rapture vs The 'Ruined' Rest ( start setting up the current 'state of repair' theses planned areas are all in ) :
* Deciding on what constitutes 'New Rapture' ( the already rebuilt areas ) and state of the rest.
* For the initial game release 'start -up', the company would have to have set the data designating the states of various parts of the city ( included in the 'seed' 'parameter' information/data for areas not yet fully resolved - left for later auto-generation ).
* "New Rapture" is repaired/interlinked habitable locations ( with alot of adjacent sections still abandoned/state of  disrepair ).
* More than a few of Raptures buildings are Flooded -- some with severe irreparable damage
* Street Level routes blocked ( wreckage, non-functioning doors, flooding ).
* Various tunnels/paths blocked/choked with debris and rubbish and some half flooded.
* Malfunctioning Pressure Seals ( safety locked until repaired ).
* Cavern/Tunnel collapses
* Building sections gutted by fires and lots of water damage.
* Utilities of various sorts no longer working/connected ( the Heating gone means freezing/ice blockage )
* Viaducts broken/flooded/sealed off ( themselves or what they connect to ).
* Metro links many broken, cable systems damaged, no available Bathyspheres, most working lines the automatic system is inoperable.
* Atlantic Express - many line structures damaged and 'rolling stock' damaged/destroyed ( main maintenance facility may NOT be accessible/controlled yet ).
* Various locations trashed, choked with garbage and haphazard products of Splicer habitation.
* Industrial/manufacturing/storage sites shut down and in state of decay, filled with toxics.
* Old transit routes that are operable don't always go anyplace currently inhabited/civilized.
* Many transportation paths are deactivated and their access locked because they go to 'wild' areas ( Constables have secured the access to prevent Splicers using them ).
* Splicer Faction control areas.
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'One-Of' Projects At Game Start ( Setup Initially in The World Data ) :
* Some of the preexisting BS1/BS2 areas should not be immediately ( or easily ) accessible to Players and should require some 'civic effort' to open it to access. That would be something like a Viaduct repair, or getting a Metro line to operate through Player efforts -- something not too hard or take too long, but an actual achievement changing the Game World ( demonstrating this isn't yet another 'Everything resets after the Boat goes by' Disneyland ride MMORPG )
* Some of the more distant 'known' areas are still in pretty bad shape ( and thus available for city rebuilding projects and for adjacent areas to be developed by Players ).
* New Rapture Big City projects are underway - repairing an important Atlantic Express line segment to reach another chunk of New Rapture to improve the transportation convenience ( has higher capacity than the Metro ).
* Activity with ~ 2000 existing NPCs doing work ( and jobs available to Player ) fixing up adjacent buildings to City  Center ( everything there is to be a 'show city' to remind people what Rapture looked like and could all again ).
* NPCs will be customers for players commercial ventures. Most consumer goods are not much above subsistance and teher is alot of potential to expand into more advanced/fancy goods and services.
* The (starting) Residential situation in New Rapture should be getting fairly cramped waiting for a new wave of Entrepreneurs ( the game's Players ) to start developing new and better accommodations. Ditto for shops and other consumer service  activities.
* The 'Clinic' is in operation bringing in more new 'Citizens' - both NPCs and Players.
* Quests/Missions utilizing preexisting locations and institutions.
* Adjacent 'ruined areas' immediately accessible to players.
* Being fully detailed, the pre-existing terrain can be used for 'real world' testing of game mechanics and how the many modular components integrate and interoperate ( NPC behavior and Mission mechanisms being amongst the more complicated ).
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Minerva's Den Location ( Example Of Fitting In An 'Existing' City Location ) :
* Minerva's Den would be a likely starting point for Tenenbaum's return, and a place to start organizing resources for what would become the new city. This DLC contains full detailed parts of the complex and it likely would be a 'game start' area.
* See Atlantic Express map in BS2 ( spot North of Fontaine Futuristics on the other AE line ) is a likely spot. That probably would be Minerva's Den, as there is a locked station at the building's entry and because it is the nearest point to Fontaine Futuristics.
* Is still isolated from the rest of Rapture - so is relatively secure and under control of 'New Rapture' ( It has important resources and would not be abandoned ).
* The new security Apparatus there ( seen in the DLC ) would be very useful for securing whatever new City Center location was chosen.
* An unusual device 'the Fish Whisperer' had been developed and used to lure fish to an automated capture unit which had helped feed the staff in Minervas Den for all those years ( the staff weren't fishermen ).
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How to keep a game running continually ( where the Players eat/grab the resources/territory that won't ever respawn ?? ) :
* Rapture IS a large place and expansion won't be too fast ( expansions have to be built and aren't just 'bought' ).
** Players have to dig their way thru many ruined areas ( can't just traipse thru where they want )
** Closed off areas even near the City Center can be opened later ( once Inspectors clear as 'safe' )
** Generic buildings can be 'zoned' for development that were blocked previously ( New Rapture City Council sets priorities )
** The Foundation Tunnels can be endless. Ditto for tunnels and caverns under the city ( Why would you build  fancy/EXPENSIVE windows/structures for a warehouse ?? ).
** Alot of reserved unseen 'slop' areas at the edge of the defined city (small buildings) can be later auto-generated in detail as expansion ( city records were burned so noone has really seen the full map )
** Obstacles stand in the way of Players 'going anywhere they want' preventing immediate auto-generation ( realizing full details ) - takes time for accumulative player activity to beat their ways into many parts of the City.
* City expansion in small chunks -- alot of repairs needed to make 'civilized' ( and would be built generally adjacent to what's already built due to security/support/convenience/zoning issues ).
* There are plenty of resources/project space for the number of Players on each Server, but exploiting them isn't 'fast' ( New Rapture has little more than a Barter Economy ). Players wont just 'snap their fingers' and rebuild a building "good  as new".
* There can always be "Splicers hiding in the woodwork" even in the City Center to keep things jumping
* Outside the city is alot of space for Missions to the 'boonies'/ruins/support-communities/secret-sites/etc...
* There is no real limit to the number of Splicers ( and being harder to kill/capture/fight you wont be killing half the Splicer population by yourself like you did in BS1/BS2 ). Many get away and you can run into them again.
* Random 'crisis' that will cause setbacks. Events even in the City Center to keep things interesting.
* The Prestige system and Civic Achievements and Team/Company mechanisms give the Players lots to-do/develop.
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Very important detail -- Where is The New Rapture City Center ???? :
* This will determine what parts of the city are initially fully accessible and 'normal' when Players actually start playing the game ( including its surrounding 'Downtown', 'Border' and 'Edge' and adjacent 'The Wild' areas ).
* It would be nice to have an appreciable amount of certain familiar game locations from the Solo Games to be included -- Especially since they are existing 'known' BS1/BS2/DLC game Assets that would be represented 'verbatim'. They represent alot of starter terrain which can be utilized with less effort ($$$$).
Requirements :
* A location with substantial resources to sustain the city :
** Food - beyond utilities ( that seem to still work alot of places ). This would likely be one of the semi-automated fisheries that had continued to operate ( and were kept in repair by Maintenance Daddies ). This would also mean control of that location had to be fought over with other factions, who likewise would want to control such an important resource  ( and still want it back too ).
** Should not be too far from the source of most of the environmental life-support ( the Hephaestus complex ). Should be on the City Utility Mains directly -- so enemies cannot easily disable them.
** Submarine Dock ... Important to transport alot of materials from the old Minerva's Den base.
** Adjacent Streets ( with working Trolleys ) leading to additional buildings ( another plaza/square and some Street-side residential blocks ). Adjacent areas would be 'The Downtown' regardless of direction.
** Metro Access to adjacent areas, if possible also a working Atlantic Express station and connection -- if there is anywhere to actually link to ( eventually there will be ).
* The "City Center" would be a Plaza with a sufficient cluster of buildings attached ( including some high-rises ).
* Possibly near one of the old research establishments - Tenenbaum would need equipment/facilities to improve the "Cure" process.
* A Park (or two) would eventually be built to show that THIS is different than Splicer barbarism.
* Nice to have access to several of the 'known' BS1/BS2 sites ( many not 'repaired much ) so that Players can go look at  them.
Likely there will be Disjoint sections of New Repture, with some 'Border' territory being little more than a perimeter around a Metro station ( and the MetroWay crossing 1/4 of the City ).
By the time the Players are in the Active 'started' GameWorld, there is a 'City' population of 2000 NPCs ( and all the  Players ) crammed into a fairly small area ( before the Player led expansion starts to take-off ). !!!! 2 000 NPCs - when did you ever see a MMORPG with a 'Town'/'City' that EVER had any more inhabitants than a small village ?? - Ones with half the people already dead of the plague, and the remainders just standing around like mannequins ??? New Rapture would be a REAL city and give you a glimpse of what Rapture must've looked like back when it had 20000 (or 40000).
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