Generating a heightMap without an Image

Question

I want to make a world generator so that every time I load it, it generates a new heightmap. To do this I'm using a 2D integer array. The dimensions are the x, z, and the height (y).

Is there some simple generation algorithm that will randomize the terrain?

Answer 1

This is probably the most well-known page describing implementation of Perlin noise - it has all you need, you just need to put a bit of effort into understanding it.

If you are in Java and want ready-to-use solution, you could also use the noise generator implemented in Java3D. There are also many more Perlin noise implementations floating around the web.

I personally prefer the diamond-square algorithm to the Perlin noise. It tends to generate less axially biased noise (that terrain features are suspiciously parallel to either of the main axes, creating visually distracting elements).