Create an Archipelago generation for Geoguessr

Post week 1 : I’ve definitely laid the ground work for what the Regions/Items/Locations/Options/etc. should be.

I’ve already started my branch of the main project, so that I can start creating the various files to manage them. Options are already done (they’re the easiest since they don’t really interact with anything else), and I’m currently trying to structure the rest of my data in a way that makes sense.

A few people over on the AP Discord suggested that I change my approach to start by creating a manual (what I intended to be step #4) to “see if it’s fun”, and then go from the manual to a fully fledged logic, but I’ve discarded that idea since it feels like it’d hinder my learning process. We’ll see in ~3 weeks how I feel in hindsight.

EDIT : And to clarify, I do think that if my end goal was to create a Geoguessr APWorld, starting from the manual would probably make more sense. However, my end goal is to understand Archipelago’s structure, which makes that approach unproductive imo (since I’d be trying to jam my Manual into AP’s structure, rather than creating a structure that fits AP, and molding it into a Manual).

Clarified my assumptions about the 4 basic concepts (Items, Locations, Regions, Rules), and this is the summary after that discussion.

Items

What the player will receive, that helps them progress toward their goal. Can be :

• Progression : Potentially unlocks new content. Anything that is included in an access rule is Progression, anything that isn’t isn’t progression.
• Useful : Empowers the player but doesn’t unlock anything that a better player couldn’t do without it.
• Normal/Filler : Intended to be useful, but doesn’t change how the game is played.
• Trap : Hinders the player, ideally in a fun way.

In my case, Items could be the different Geoguessr maps (different countries), the various movement upgrades (allow the player to zoom, pan, and move), and time upgrades.

Locations

Tasks that the player must complete to progress the world. These are more or less the steps to beat the game. Since Archipelago doesn’t include any “filler balancing”, every game must generate the same number of locations that they do items (since every location grants an item).

In my case, locations would be scores.

Regions

Regions are mostly a group of locations+items. The Region structure allows you to spread access_rules to the things contained in it (makes generation faster) and, by putting access_rules on entrances, allows you to handle complex access rules (different requirements based on different paths traveled). The only requirement, in term of regions, is having a “Menu” region that’s the start point of the game.

In my case, regions could be the various maps that get unlocked.

Rules

This is the logic of the APWorld, and dictates what AP can put where, and when the goal is reached. It sets the access rules for all the different locations and regions/entrances.

Luckily, my rules should be pretty straight forward, with simply movement+time => minimum score matching.