The World

The World in DeckWorld is based on a hexagonal wrap-around-grid, which means that it is virtually endless, since stepping out of the grid means entering the other side of it again. I've been basing the grid and all calculations on the magnificently well-written webpage on hexagonal grids on RedBlobGames. Anyone interested in hexagonal grids and how to implement them should follow this guide (link).

The settings will allow different sizes for the world, but the thought is to have some structures generated in the world as it is created. Most of this is only thoughts.

### Version 1.0 world generation

In the first version, each world is a wrap-around-world based on a hexagon of hexagons. In the center of the world, there is a universe pillar with 1 000 000 energy.

There is also a tidal wave which flows with an even pace over the world. Because of the wrap-around-world settings, it will actually keep moving infinitely and thus periodically visit the same hex. If a player seeks to harvest the energy of the wave, he needs to find a way to move with the wave while harvesting it.

### Energies of the world

Since DeckWorld is an exploration game, there must be things to explore in the world. The idea is that the player will himself/herself create a material world in the existing space, but even before that, there should be something interesting to explore. One of those things is the universe pillar in the middle of the world. Since it is a wrap-around world, it may not be obvious to the player that there is only one such pillar. Moving through the universe seemingly endlessly will take you past the same pillar over and over, and you will pass it first on the right side, then on the left side, and then straight through it. The universe pillar is a condensed beam of 1 000 000 energy upholding the universe. In fact, one idea I have is that if this pillar is weakened, the universe will collapse on itself, shrinking in radius and thus eliminating the universe perimeter. This will look something like an earthquake, swallowing entire lands. Depending on the player's location, the shape of the earthquake will look different, although with an out-zoomed and pillar-centered view would show that the "earthquake" was hex-shaped along the edge of the world. The gap created would then collapse on itself, and those coordinates would be completely eliminated. The world shrinks.

Apart from the universe pillar, there is also an energy tidal wave. It is a wave that stretches over the diameter of the world and moving perpendicular to its shape, 1 hex forward every turn. Again, because of the wrap-around-world, this energy wave will return to its original position with even intervals, thus looking like a tidal wave. The player will hopefully not understand that this is the same wave returning time and time again, but if he does, it will be a great hint that reveals the wrap-around nature of the world.

So, why care about energy? Well, some cards will let you absorb or harvest energy from your area, and it will turn into power. So it will be natural to search for areas with higher energy levels, or at least original levels once you've depleted one area. Other cards will let you create your own energy fields. Apart from energy waves and pillars, the player will learn to create energy rifts, energy spikes, energy floods, energy pulses, and more. These have the opportunity to stretch over wide areas in the world, and if you learn to control them, they will let you affect those areas. For example, teleporting through an energy rift to come to the other side, or creating an energy vortex to pull adjacent energies into your own area. But there's more.

There are different types of energy. The usual energy is called Pure Energy. There is not really anything special about it. But other energy fields may consist of toxic energy, dark energy, light energy, barrier energy, life energy etc. and these different types have different effects. The toxic energy will negatively affect units in the area, while the life energy will enforce them. Barrier energy is interesting, as it prevents units from moving into the energy field, unless they use more power than the energy field can withstand. Small 1-4-hex barrier fields will be generated from the start of the game, which will make movement interesting. If you can find a way to create a barrier field and get it to move, you've created the jedi Force Push. Dark energy can generally not be detected, but its effects may. Like matter and anti-matter, dark energy can gravitate other energies into its own field, and once strong enough, transform into an energy pulse of pure energy, a BIG-BANG.

Apart from this, different energies can be absorbed and stored so that they can be used for various effects.

Hopefully, this invisible world of energies will be enough to keep the world interesting before the material world emerges.