I want to create a map with procedurally placed "patches"

Distribution Game Production
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Hi there, I’m brand spanking new to being an unreal dev. Turns out I’m obsessed with it and having fun building systems specifically. But I want to make a sort of extraction type game but pve focused, and as a part of that I want to create a map with procedural landmarks. And by “landmarks” I mean prefabs with spawns in it for loot and enemies.

So think of the recently released mistfall hunter I supposed. I want the base landmass to be static, and struggle around environmental compatibility(Which I’ll probably do by creating dome shaped recesses and build the prefabs around fitting into those). Is there any guides or tutorials on setting this up? Otherwise does anyone have any tips on this? The game will be very small, with 10 prefabs planned to spawn per round and maybe 30 total planning to be built.

I am aware as well I should expect at least a couple years to finish but I’d like to make 2 or 3 prefabs starting out after I get my base combat system finished. Any help would be appreciated!

2

How big is the overall map going to be? If it’s like a kilometer across ( or more) you could use world partition data layers to load in different versions of landmark areas at runtime. Data layers are neat because you can edit them right in the main editor window and add anything to them you can use on a regular level.

3

Hello EveryOne,
I think if you all turn to AI like Copilot Answer like what I got:

“” :brain: Core Idea (Your Goal in Unreal Terms)

You want:

  • A static landscape

  • ~30 handcrafted landmark prefabs (cabins, ruins, camps, etc.)

  • Each prefab contains spawn points for loot/enemies

  • Each round spawns ~10 random landmarks in compatible locations

  • Landmarks must fit into the terrain (your “dome recess” idea)

This is exactly what UE5’s PCG Framework is designed for — spawning actors, not just foliage — and it works beautifully for small-scale extraction-style maps. “”

Best Wishes