u/Zachary_the_Cat

So, people have been using Rock 3 to generate world maps, and I can definitely see the appeal. I’ve seen examples of worlds that look really impressive, you can restart or regenerate a simulation as much as you want to get results you like.

Unfortunately, when I’ve tried to use it and run a simulation, all the continents just start accumulating until there’s barely any ocean left, and then plate movements just stop. What’s causing this? If it’s a settings issue, what settings should I use to get better results?

So, people have been using Rock 3 to generate world maps, and I can definitely see the appeal. I’ve seen examples of worlds that look really impressive, you can restart or regenerate a simulation as much as you want to get results you like.

Unfortunately, when I’ve tried to use it and run a simulation, all the continents just start accumulating until there’s barely any ocean left, and then plate movements just stop. What’s causing this? If it’s a settings issue, what settings should I use to get better results?

Most of my story ideas are based more on the external plot idea than the character arc, and that’s because I’m really into apocalyptic/disaster fiction, so a lot of my plot bunnies are more like ideas for apocalyptic events rather than character arcs or tropes.

“I’d like to write a story about a robot apocalypse; the kind with a superintelligent misanthropic AI that uses specially constructed robot armies to subjugate mankind!”

“I want to write a story about a robot uprising; but the kind where robots are sapient individuals who’ve had enough of man’s bullshit and want them out!”

“I want to write a story about an alien invasion; scaly little space goobers in cool armor and machines bulldozing through civilization!”

“I want to write a story about a virus outbreak, where patient zero is a villainous scientist who wants to turn all humans into nanotech creatures!”

“Cool. Who’s the hero?”

“Uhhhh…”

I don’t know if there’s a proper way (I know “proper” is a bad word but I mean more like a generally accepted or effective way) to spin a protagonist with a flaw/want/need complex out of it. I’m not asking for ideas specific to the above examples, but a kind of general strategy or approach to it.

So, I’m looking for zombie/infection books (or other media), but not big titles like *World War Z* or *The Stand* since I’ve already read them; I’m looking for the more obscure kinds of books you’d find on the Kindle Store, but one kind of subgenre I love to read is the kind where there’s not only a patient zero, but also a description of who they infect, and who *they* infect, to the point where the outbreak feels really natural and it isn’t like other zombie stories where there’s protagonist has their first zombie encounter and the city is immediately overrun. Books I’ve already read that are like this are *Blood Cruise* (which isn’t zombies but still fits the bill), *The Collapse*, *Dead of Night*, *Bureaucratic Pestilence*, and *The Lazarus Strain* series.