"Biomes: A Model For How They Potentially Work In Pokémon Go"

#PokemonGO: Biomes have remained a slippery topic since Pokemon Go’s launch.Below, I will attempt to deconstruct what we have observed over the past months and layout a theoretical model for how biomes are distributed in Pokémon Go.Please keep in mind that I cannot see the Pokémon Go server where most of this stuff goes on. Therefore, it is possible that this is not entirely accurate. With that being said, I have attempted to take a strong evidence and research based approach and will make efforts to state when I am drifting firmly into the realm of speculation.This graphic may help visual learners:http://ift.tt/2l32C2D always, I’m not perfect. I welcome questions, feedback and discussion.✌TLDR:Biomes can seemingly be broken down into 3 categories when it comes to distribution.One is based on level 14 S2 cells, another is based on mapped areas, the third is based on distribution around points and along lines.DefinitionsBiome: Colloquially, a biome is a set of Pokémon that belong together in a certain environment or area. In Pokemon Go, biomes are typically a property of a spawn point.Electric Biome: When I refer to the electric biome, I am referring specifically to the biome in which Voltorb and Electrode are especially common, in some cases making up 75% or more of all spawns.S2: Put very simply, S2 is a means of dividing up a sphere (in this case the Earth) into increasingly smaller areas. Level 0 represents the Earth as 6 separate cells, level 1 divides those 6 cells into 4 smaller ones each for 24 cells, level 2 divides those 24 cells into 4 cells each for 96 cells, level 3 divides those 96 cells in 4 for 384 cells. This process continues until the cells are less than a cm across at level 30.Spawn Point: A spawn point is a point on the Pokémon Go map where a Pokémon appears. These are turned off and on every now and then, but generally stay in the same place.On Biomes as Both a Property of a Spawn Point and a Function of an AreaIt is reasonably well proven that each spawn point has its own biome as a property, a water based spawn point will consistently spawn Pokémon from that biome, a spawn point with the common biome property will consistently spawn Pokémon from that biome.But with this in mind, it is clear that biomes are drawn from a greater area. Although it can happen, it is rare for spawn points of a particular biome to occur alone, we do not see a completely random splattering of spawn points of every biome across the map.As such, this document will refer to biomes in two contexts – both as the property of a spawn point, but also as the function of a greater area. When ever possible, I will attempt to clarify which I am referring to.S2 Cells and Pokemon GoNiantic uses various levels of S2 in Pokémon Go to achieve different aims.The centres of level 10 cells are used to control caught location for captured Pokémon. (The size of a few towns)Level 14 cells are used to control the distribution of certain biomes, such as the electric biome. (A block or two)Level 20 cells are used to control the distribution of spawn points. (A few metres)Three Identified Means of Pokémon Biome DistributionThis document aims to set out a model for three potential methods of biome distribution as seen in Pokémon Go.The means of identified distribution are as follows:Large Cell Based Distribution (LCBD)Mapped Area Based Distribution (MABD)Line and Point Small Cell Based DistributionThis does not include nests, which could to an extent be considered a fourth kind of biome with unique properties (a grab bag of a single Pokémon, migration)Large Cell Based DistributionMacro BiomesMost easily observed in the Electric Biome, Large Cell Based Distribution (LCBD) uses level 14 S2 cells to define what is sometimes referred to as an area’s common biome. Spawn points that draw from LCBD are often the most numerous in many locations.Examples of LCBD appear to include biomes that are typically referred to by the community as:Electric BiomesDesert BiomesMt Moon BiomesGrassland BiomesDrowzee/Scary/Ice BiomesThis is by no means an exhaustive list. It is likely that there are many variants of LCBD biomes. One might note that these are often the biomes that trainers complain about the most.Possibly the most interesting characteristic of LCBD based biomes is how they are determined and spread.When we look at the electric biome, it is clear there are common features (including car parking lots and piers) that occur on almost any map service that you can find, whether you look at Google Maps or Open Street map which a appear to be factors contributing to the presence of this biome.But, when we look at the distributions of other potential LCBD biomes, things become a little more complicated.An example in Sydney is the comparative ranges Tangela and Clefairy populations which appear to run in a negative correlation to one another in different cells – that’s not to say that you won’t find a Clefairy in a Tangela biome cell in Sydney, but Clefairy are significantly more common in other locations where Tangela is much less so and visa versa. Although the cause could potentially be factors as simple as the amount of mapped wood and forest areas, I also found a correlation between Sydney’s elevation and the distribution of cells with common Tangela.If elevation does play a role in biome distribution (or even if it doesnt), there is potentially a broad range of information that could be used in the creation of LCBD biomes, notwithstanding:Distribution of mapped featuresElevationAverage rainfallAverage temperatureDistribution of rock and soil typesPopulation densityDistinctions of climate types such as Arid, Humid and ColdPure speculation says that there could be nothing to stop biomes being pulled from more than one table to create a LCBD biome. Higher Elevation might dictate Clefairy, Geodude and Rare Dragonite Spawns, Low average rainfall might encourage Geodude (yes again), Sandshrew and Mankey, higher population density might encourage Meowth, Rattata and Growlithe. This could explain why people have similar biomes with minor differences.From a game design perspective, LCBD could provide a basic biome at any point on the globe for spawn points in most cases (aside from in the event of missing data) even when an area has very few other features to draw data from.Clustering and Common AttributesIf each every few blocks should have their own biome, why don’t they?There are two things to consider here: Firstly, if biomes are based on real world data, it’s rare to walk from a desert to a rainforest in one block of a city, and secondly the electric biome has been shown to cluster across multiple cells, it is possible that other biomes have similar properties.If almost everywhere has a biome then why does the Incense trick work?I’d suggest that when spawn points are generated, part of the process is that they are assigned a biome during the process and the LCBD data is then put aside until the next cycle. When incense calls a spawn, it might look at what spawn points are within a certain distance and pull the spawns from those spawn point’s biomes.Other Traveler’s WorkIf we look at Pokemon Spawn Point Biomes & where to look for rare pokemon by Glarblar, we can see the distinct cells of three different biomes appearing, these cells were labelled . If we render the cells in S2, they are a close match for the areas that Glarblar marked out.Mapped Area Based DistributionMicro Biomes AMapped Area Based Distribution (MABD) is a little simpler to describe when compared to LCBD. In a similar fashion to nests (which in their own right could be considered to use MABD) they are typically held within a mapped object container. Examples of MABD appear to include biomes that are typically referred to by the community as:Forest BiomesPark BiomesBeach BiomesIndustrial BiomesWe are able to see several examples of this with the recent event where locations such as Macquarie University in Sydney have become an absolute hot spot for Porygon, but primarily within the specific bounds of the university and neighbouring commercial area.Mapped forests and parks are often another example of MABD, a park or forest can sometimes have significantly different Pokémon within its bounds when compared to the surroundings.PrioritisationMABD appears to have priority over LCPD, but LCPD can still occur on occasion within area containers.Biome NoiseIn some cases, a biome will generate noise around its bounds. That is to say that there will be a dispersal of spawns of a particular biome spread outside of its container as well as inside. This seems to vary depending on the biome – Water, Wood and Forest biomes appear to be more likely to do this, whereas park and golf course biomes seem more content to stay within their boundaries.Bump-On-To Effect/ Muffin Top EffectThere have been a number of cases that I have documented in which areas will splash out of their biome container area and into another container. In this case, spawn points in the new container take on the properties of the old container’s biome. Residential areas appear to be particularly prone to being on the receiving end of this.Not Every AreaIt seems that not every area will gain a biome, many areas will simply not be expressed. As an example, a park might simply spawn its common biome as opposed to a park biome.I would propose that there is possibly an element of RNG, a deeper set of criteria or a hard cap on the number of MABD biomes within a certain rangeOther’s WorkHomu posted a really great analysis of spawns on the Pokemon Go Dev sub reddit, here. In this he analysed a data set provided by Sowok and differentiated the spawns into different biomes.If I was to be bold, I would suggest that the biomes he identified may be better reassigned:“Urban_area” represents the Large Cell Based Distribution macro biome for the area.“Residential” represents the Commercial Biome AND the University Biome, it doesn’t really appear in Residential areas – possibly the result of the Bump-On-To Effect.“Park” is a variant of Car Park biome.Line and Point Small Cell Based DistributionMicro Biomes BWhen mapping a stream or road, generally the commonly accepted way to do so is to represent it as a line as opposed to an area. Further, certain features on a map such as fountains and churches will often be marked as a single point as opposed to an area so that mappers do not have to spend time drawing every detail of every object they survey.It is clear that Pokemon Go uses lines to generate at the very least some water biomes, so the question comes up, how do they do it?I had begun to gather data on this before the 2017 Valentines event started. And my findings are interesting in that they show that most water associated spawns along creeks can be confined within level 18 S2 cells that the line of the creek intersects. There are odd cases where a spawn will occur further out, but it is possible that there is also a blurring/noise effect applied to the lines as well.This would allow the Pokemon Go server a fair amount of room to dish out water biomes to spawns along rivers and creeks (and also block spawns along railway lines?) without taking too much away from the “go to water to find water Pokémon” experience.It also appears that this form of biome distribution takes priority over both LCBD and MABD meaning that a stream can cut through a park and generate water spawns the whole way. via /r/TheSilphRoad http://ift.tt/2lDOdau