I want to make a random map generator in python 3, but I have no idea how to do it. Could someone recommend me a good starting point?

What I want to make is a flat 2D overworld-map with roads, rivers, settlements, farmlands, forests, and plains.

I don't want to model specific buildings. This is just for a game I'm making where I'd like the player to be able to travel from point to point.

I DID google a bunch of similar terms, but either came up with non-programming examples, or examples for 3D.

Thank you, but I should've been more specific. I really need a guide, not just bits and pieces about generating random maps. Once I've got a good foundation I feel like I can start exploring different ways to do the same thing. Otherwise, I'll be out of my depth. I'm still a very new programmer.

Have you considered other languages besides just python? C# has a lot of good examples of tile maps. My preference is for list over array though for easier saving/storage.

On 3/10/2018 at 10:38 PM, RidiculousName said:

Could someone recommend me a good starting point?

Start with a premade engine: Pygame, Renpy or Panda3D is what I recommend. Or you should start by learning how to use OpenGL with python.

17 hours ago, LorenzoGatti said:

Maybe you need a guide about your project rather than about random map generation in general

I could definitely use a guide about making a general game project. I'll try to follow your bullet-points. I'm trying to make everything as simple as possible while still providing a framework I can build off of.

3 hours ago, Shawn Naef said:

Have you considered other languages besides just python? C# has a lot of good examples of tile maps. My preference is for list over array though for easier saving/storage.

I only know Python and C++. I'd consider doing the project in C++, but I don't want to learn a new language, as I'm pretty busy ATM. I originally chose Python because it's easier to develop with, and I'm more familiar with it.

1 hour ago, Scouting Ninja said:

Start with a premade engine: Pygame, Renpy or Panda3D is what I recommend. Or you should start by learning how to use OpenGL with python.

Assuming I couldn't find a guide, I planned to use either Pygame or Kivy for graphics. I'm worried though, since Pygame is a bit too in-depth for what I need, and Kivy is hard to find good information for. I'll look into the other engines you mentioned. I don't really know anything about them.

I guess I am confused about what an engine is. I thought both Pygame and Kivy were just graphical libraries.

On 3/10/2018 at 9:38 PM, RidiculousName said:

What I want to make is a flat 2D overworld-map with roads, rivers, settlements, farmlands, forests, and plains.

The very first thing that you need is the ability to have a map (any map) in your game. You can generate a nice map in some way, but if you cannot store it in the game, you can't display it.

So, first work on displaying a map in your game. If you use tiles, just use a random value for each tile. It will look horrible, but it should display the map.

Next, you likely want to save a generated map and load it back to play further, so loading a map from file could be a next step. If you make a map-file outside the program and load it, you then already have a map, so you can work on the game itself if you want (rather than working on making new maps).

If you add saving a map from the game, and you add a way to change tiles in the game as well, you have a map editor!

To start working on generating a map, a simple approach is to start with all land, and add random rivers in them, add settlements, add roads, and so on. You may want to scale down the number of features here, making the problem smaller so it's easier to make progress.