I've diddone some research regarding how I canto simulate a game world, and it seems that I need to decide whether I want to write a continuous or a discrete simulation.
From my understanding, in a
continuous simulation
continuous simulation, I simulate each entity based on the time passed from the last calculation so for. For example, if I have a moving entity which has the speed of N unit / sec units per second then if 1 secand one second has passed since the last calculation (I assume that I calculate new states of the system in a loop), the entity will move N units. In a
discrete simulation
on the other hand discrete simulation, I calculate "turns" for example, and my entity will have a speed measured in units/turn per turn.
From what I understand, discrete simulation is not as granular as a continuous simulation, but is easier to calculate. I'm not sure that I gethave this right. I'm in the planning stage of a Dwarf Fortress-like roguelike game and I'm not sure which method will be fine for my purposes. So my question is:
- What are the practical (in terms of game mechanics and playability) differences between continuous and discrete simulations?
- What are the pros / cons of them?
- Do I have holes in my understanding of the concepts?
What are the practical differences between continuous and discrete simulations, in terms of game mechanics and playability? In relation, what are the benefits and disadvantages of each simulation, and do I have any holes in my understanding of the concepts?
