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Developer builds GTA-style open world game using real Earth map data

Simon Ellis 0 comments 2 min read

Developer Charlie Chapman is building a GTA- style open world game that renders the entire Earth using real map data and a custom C++ engine.

Developer builds GTA-style open world game using real Earth map data
GAMES

Developer Charlie Chapman is working on a video game which makes the entire planet into one giant open world game. This is important because its an attempt to mix Grand Theft Auto's crazy character heavy world style with Apple Maps version 1's incredibly accurate real world geography. If you're interested in how digital worlds are incorporating real world location data, you're going to want to keep an eye on this.

Developer Charlie Chapman combines Grand Theft Auto style with real world geography

Chapman's project is trying to be a bit of both genres. He's developing a custom engine to try and render the whole planet. The idea is to stream the real map data directly into the world instead of some kind of fictional pre-baked map.

Technically, this is being done with a custom engine built from scratch in c++. It uses the metal graphics API for the rendering. They stream OpenMapTiles and other public domain mapping sources for the map tiles to build the world geometry as it's streamed in.

This project is currently in development. As Chapman said he's "making" the game, this isn't a complete product that's available to the public yet. There's no pricing or release date information for this game right now.

Source: DEXERTO

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