What does Reticulating Splines actually mean?
Posted by sugar_man@reddit | programming | View on Reddit | 149 comments
Posted by sugar_man@reddit | programming | View on Reddit | 149 comments
Dinaroozie@reddit
Fifteen year old thread with comments within the last few months, and no answer, god damn it internet. Well, for future searchers of the phrase, here you go.
A spline is a mathematically defined curve. If you've ever used an art tool that allows you to draw with vector shapes (the kind that have two points that mark the ends and then two 'handles' that define the direction of the curve at those ends), you've come across splines. Those ones are Bézier splines, but there are other types with different maths behind them that serve different purposes. Google the phrase 'flat spline' if you want to see the nifty mechanical device that the word comes from, but nowadays (and especially in a programming context) it's about the mathematically defined curve.
The term 'reticulate' seems to have a broader meaning, but it means something along the lines of 'to divide something into smaller connected parts'.
Because modern graphics hardware deals mostly with straight lines and triangles, you can't draw a curve like a spline 'directly' - you render it by evaluating the position at lots of points along the spline, and then drawing short straight line segments to connect those dots (kind of like how a game can approximate a sphere with lots of triangles). So reticulating a spline would be the process of evaluating the points along a spline, so you've broken it up into short line segments to render it.
That's what it would mean if it meant anything, but actually it was a joke phrase from old Maxis games that became a meme, and now you'll see it pop up in modern software as a reference to Sim City.
sugar_man@reddit (OP)
I asked the original question. That answer was fantastic. I now finally know what Reticulating Spines actually means! Thank you so much.
rcgl2@reddit
Thank you OP and responder. The thread may be 17 years old but the phrase has been in my head for 30 years.
dnuohxof-1@reddit
This should go in the History of Reddit, a 15yo Reddit post finally answered, decades after Maxis closed its doors and even made that joke.
spinstartshere@reddit
And this is why archiving old posts is bad for the world.
Lampe2020@reddit
Luckily that doesn't always happen anymore. I think it's subreddit-based, where the admins of each can decide after how long or if at all the posts there will get automatically archived.
Cutiepie9771@reddit
Couldn't agree more!
Jackimatic@reddit
I just saw the term used in the new Netflix movie Atlas. Minute 3:44. Whoever worked on that opening scene must have also been a Sims fan...
Wall_of_Shadows@reddit
That's why I'm here. Saw it last night, and even though it was only on screen for half a second, I immediately heard the sexy audio. Decided to finally look up what, if anything, it actually means.
Creative-Ad7554@reddit
I was just watching Thunderbird being compiled and right between the configuration and compilation this phrase appeared. Nostalgia came over me
tresslessone@reddit
Greetings from 2025. Thank you kind sir.
throwaway-trump@reddit
That’s gotta be record
Tubamajuba@reddit
You may have to wait almost 15 years, but you'll eventually get an answer to your question on Reddit.
InnovAnon-Inc@reddit
After waiting so long, I end up answering my own questions on SO :P
Brueguard@reddit
To correct this answer further, modern graphics software is completely capable of drawing things besides lines and rectangles, so if you were to reticulate a spline, it would likely be into smaller splines, not line segments.
This is a thing that graphics software actually does! For example, a typeface designed with cubic Bézier splines converted to TrueType will have to have its splines reticulated into quadratic splines. Or if a Spiro tool (which uses Euler splines) was used to draft the typeface in the first place, the designer likely had to reticulate the Euler splines into cubic Bézier splines. This is because while some kinds of splines (like Euler splines) are useful for generating smooth curves, they might not "play nice" with other kinds of software, so they are generally approximated as cubic Bézier splines (which are for sure the most universally supported) before publishing. This approximation usually involves breaking the initial spline down into smaller segments that can be approximated with less error.
Amazing-Bluebird-930@reddit
5 years later still and I'm learning
sharkattackmiami@reddit
It's always good to learn. Now we can use spline appropriately
DrRadChad@reddit
FINALLY
tzanislav40@reddit
Better late than never, but Damn
EstanislaoStan@reddit
Vibed up a visualizer, if that helps: https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/90016f30-2262-4934-b68f-f565762c06c3
Aisakellakolinkylmas@reddit
Lol, I first encountered the term in sc2k, where it was saying it during loading the map — audio quality was fairly poor, and even worse with rather cheap hardware that we had back then (relevant for hearing the pronouncing).
Back then web was fairly inaccessible for many, especially in various rural regions — including us, teenagers at the time, with rather low experience with English and even less so with Latin or sciencey terminology. Availability of dictionaries at hand was another issue, yet alone to have enough knowledge for looking up rather specific math terminology.
Yet we got curious enough attempting to figure out what this phrase was about — somehow it developed from just an odd earworm into interesting enough puzzle.
In the end, somehow, can't recall how exactly anymore, we managed to come to conclusion of: ~"(maastiku) kumeruste kantimine" — squaring the curvature (of the terrain), more properly meaning: turning the map into rectangular tiles.
We didn't have much clue about how close we had came with getting the proper gist of it really, nor whether how "serious" the term was even (but we did suspect that it might be something in the lines of humorous cod latin or having fun with something sciencey sounding).
Kawusch@reddit
Thanks, I ended up here through a Twitch/Linux streamer (T2/Linux )and their intro music ➡️reticulatingsplin dot es
elbor23@reddit
What type of math is it? 2000 me would never understand this. 2025 doesn't either
(Im sure you did a great job at explaining- this js on me lol)9
ypetremann@reddit
Quick tutorial to reticulating spline:
preparation:
you place four points A B C D, you draw the segments AB, BC and CD
drawing a point:
define a value x between 0 and 1, for example 0.5
place E an homothety of B relative to A by x
place F an homothety of C relative to B by x
place G an homothety of D relative to C by x
place H an homothety of F relative to E by x
place I an homothety of G relative to F by x
place J an homothety of I relative to H by x
repeat the step do draw a point with x at thoses values:
- 0, 1 (those give really special points)
- 0.25, 0.75 (this will add intermediate points)
- 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9 (with those you will get a good number of intermediate points)
connect the final points based on the x value from 0 to 1
Youpi, you've reticulated and drawn by hand a bezier spline
creaturefeature16@reddit
More info on this in case someone is interested...
https://sims.fandom.com/wiki/Reticulating_splines
Cutiepie9771@reddit
Surprising just how many non-maxis sources have quoted this, including major companies like google
getimoliver@reddit
15 years to actually get an answer? Classic Reddit.
UglyInThMorning@reddit
I like how I had that phrase pop into my head tonight and googled it, to find a question that was asked when I was in college and answered a month ago. Wtf
DueCartographer5031@reddit
This was asked when I was in middle school, now I'm almost 30. Pretty strange feeling
XelaKys@reddit
👏👏👏 still valid--the internet is timeless\~
juxtapods@reddit
my husband joked about it tonight (I've been playing TS3 a lot lately due to some improvements via mods that made it a lot easier to do, and we both played Sim City at some point), so I finally said ENOUGH and decided to look it up
Wooden_Career_11@reddit
Probably something in the game that embedded the time-delayed compulsion to remember that phrase. It brought me here right on schedule it seems.
Capt_Falx_Carius@reddit
Thank you from 2025
HPPH_@reddit
To get nerdier, it is totally possible to draw spheres, arcs, curves and splines without triangles, by using fragment shaders and/or compute shaders, and it's possible to draw them to the screen without rendering them onto a triangle (or quad for the old people at the back) by using compute shaders to draw to an image2D and then blitting that to the FBO (Frame Buffer Object).
But generally speaking, you're right enough.
RevolutionaryHalf280@reddit
I've used this phrase for decades without knowing that exact definition. It was a huge relief to know that my use was relatable in the vast majority of cases and I wasn't making as ass of myself all these decades.
annaoze94@reddit
I think you're the only person who has ever known what reticulating splines means. I can't tell if it's funnier if you know what it means or if you don't know what it means like most of the world.
tzanislav40@reddit
OK, but did SimCIty ever actually have step that required any reticulating of splines? They were 2D games for most of the series.
Impossumbear@reddit
SimCity 4 was actually rendered in 3D and would have featured reticulated splines to draw the road network in 3D using procedural mesh generation. It's entirely possible, even likely, that this is actually what the game was doing while this message was being displayed. The road network would have been stored as splines to preserve memory, and the roads were rendered from the reticulated splines when the game loaded.
Outrageous_Reach_695@reddit
However, I distinctly remember the phrase from playing SimCity 2000 at the library.
(Yes, I know this comment is months old, but hey, the OP is older still.)
ahappypoop@reddit
From the wiki in the comment above, it had no meaning and SimCity 2000 doesn't reticulate splines when generating terrain, they just thought it sounded cool.
wmil@reddit
I don't recall any in SimCity 2000.
My guess would be that a game designer asked if they could do curved roads and a dev replied with something like "we can't reticulate all those splines on current hardware" and everyone thought it was funny.
Professional-Air8155@reddit
how curious
InquisitiveTortoise@reddit
NERRRRRRRRRRRD!
But in all seriousness, thank you.
walterjohnhunt@reddit
You deserve all the reddit gold and silver
AStirlingMacDonald@reddit
After twenty-four years of wondering, my weary soul can finally rest
_TLDR_Swinton@reddit
Inches to go before you sleep.
BulkyPalpitation5345@reddit
Squirls will reticulate during the fall
throwitaway6_6@reddit
Thanks!
jimbomorrison@reddit
Legend.
juxtapods@reddit
Thank you! We had a feeling the words have to mean something at least on their own and can't just be completely made up. They're just obscure enough that the broad populace would just chalk it up to a Sims inside joke.
kladze@reddit
Thanks - was a actually just looking into this and its meaning.. gotta love the internet with this post :D
juxtapods@reddit
comments like that one are the reason I joined Reddit... to be able to thank people who answer obscure questions.
Grigoran@reddit
Gods be praised!
thisisnotthought@reddit
The amount of people showing up in this thread is cracking me up.
watdo123123@reddit
lol it just popped up in my head and i googled it and came here
DansburyJ@reddit
Same here. I've googled it before, pretty sure the only answer I got then was "it's from sim city".
watdo123123@reddit
i remember it from the sims 2 as well
thisisnotthought@reddit
Reticulating Thread
DansburyJ@reddit
Omg. Thank you for your service.
NattySocks@reddit
When this question was posted I lived with my parents and when it was answered I was married with a mortgage.
PhisheadS1@reddit
i think finding the answer was the actualy reason chat gpt was created
ywjsol@reddit
It's a specific type of curve, consisting of multiple polynomial curves joined together.
It's mostly used to describe things with a network-like structure, particularly in biology and materials science. In particular, reticulate evolution is the overarching term for forms of evolution that can't be described by a tree structure, including hybridization, symbiosis, and horizontal gene transfer.
The obvious interpretation is a higher-dimensional spline (e.g. a surface in a 3D space), in which the knots (the points at which the segments of the spline join together) have some kind of network structure. But as you say, nobody actually uses these words together.
krystan@reddit
Honestly I thought this was a joke from Lightwave on the Amiga, but sim city would have been out around the same time, perhaps the Lightwave devs incorporated it from sim city (seems possible)
creaturefeature16@reddit
youdarealmvp.gif
Embarrassed-Weird173@reddit
This question is almost old enough to be marryable legally without stipulations.
Corrupt_Conundrum27@reddit
I think it's tradition at this point for some random person to come here every few months.
Gaming_is_cool_lol19@reddit
Aye!
wotsit_sandwich@reddit
Hi
Gaming_is_cool_lol19@reddit
👋
badluser@reddit
Hello
Gaming_is_cool_lol19@reddit
Hey!
Pro-editor-1105@reddit
AYE
Gaming_is_cool_lol19@reddit
HELLO!
vinciblechunk@reddit
Boa tarde
televiscera@reddit
Yo.
Jwosty@reddit
And my axe!
Pro-editor-1105@reddit
Yo yo yo
No_Support_9479@reddit
yes sir
Dry-Newspaper-9149@reddit
My kid asked me what this meant I said Google it. It's a joke. Then they showed me this. It's still getting laughs in 2026. Lol
No_Support_9479@reddit
I repeat we cant let this thread die i repeat
No_Support_9479@reddit
its almost 18
Corssoff@reddit
Don't let the flame die out!
No_Support_9479@reddit
Indeed
No_Support_9479@reddit
A is for Apple
deleted_by_reddit@reddit
http://www.google.com/search?q=Reticulating+splines
if it is answered multiple times on the first page of google results, it shouldn't be on proggit.
mrgreengenes42@reddit
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve googled something only to find a Reddit post with someone commenting “just google it!”
hellomot1234@reddit
I love how 16 years ago when Reddit was still a tiny corner of the internet people will actually refer to their subs as "x-it" like "proggit" here. Especially love that we're seeing the new and old reddit style all in one thread.
cloud-fixer@reddit
But the top google result brings me here!
Mogling@reddit
How did I end up here 1 day later on a 13 year old post?
_TLDR_Swinton@reddit
Where is your beautiful house?
solely-i-remain@reddit
Yeah, me too. Guess we all wanted to know!
PPCGoesZot@reddit
*blunders in*
Being_on_Fire@reddit
So weird. I got here that way too.
toodlenoodle@reddit
Same!
Horseradish929@reddit
I just ran a report at work and it said reticulating splines in the loading box!
Lizardizzle@reddit
I can't believe this post isn't closed, but at least we can all still reticulate some splines.
marcusjman@reddit
What is in the air that wants us to suddenly Google that?? Are we being drawn together for a higher purpose?
TheTitan99@reddit
Sometimes you just want to know how to reticulate splines!
FlesHBoXGames@reddit
Adding to the chain of random reticulating splines and google sending me here.
Faux-Dilemme@reddit
Indeed, it seems greater forces are at work. Perhaps we are the splines being reticulated ?
Joeythearm@reddit
HOW DID I GET HERE
joe_kap@reddit
I heard the term again after listening to GG lets play; 12 years after first hearing the term. I finally decided to look it up.
Friendly-Enby@reddit
same! my first time seeing it was Sims 3 and my gf didn't get it when they mentioned it on choo choo charles lmao
Joeythearm@reddit
I used splines to create terrains in Unreal5.
usskang@reddit
I also saw it when my work report was loading today and reminded me of the sims. Then the Google search and now here!
itsthebean1@reddit
I just heard "reticulated python" on some nature doc, immediately thought "reticulating splines" and had to search it, and now here I am 13 years, 9 months and 23 days after OP.
deleted_by_reddit@reddit
I am also here
NO_LAH_WHERE_GOT@reddit
I am also here for this delightful little decades-long internet rabbithole. Hello, fellow travellers from the future. May your splines always reticulate perfectly.
Real2ManyGoats@reddit
And how are your splines? Reticulated I trust.
Thanks Google for not knowing how a question works =)
EchoedJolts@reddit
My splines could use a biiit more reticulating, I'll check back in a month or so
LittleBigDonDon@reddit
14.0 years later. Oh, to be a point along OP’s spline…
MegaMinerDL@reddit
I came here from Minecraft splash text
_80hd_@reddit
THIS IS SPLINAL TAP
Turdplay@reddit
R̵̡͛ ̴̮̀E̸̝̅͛ ̸̛̭̈́Ť̶̛̲͉ ̵̝̗̇͛I̷̻͓̓́C̷̪͉̎̊ ̷̯̍͝Ǘ̵͇̌ ̸̞̈́Ḽ̵̜͛͒ ̴̥͊Ȃ̷̮̐ ̶̼͊̀T̴̪͗͘ ̶͖̇Ḭ̷̳̄ ̶̲͚̏̕Ń̵͇̈́ ̶̤̭͆̔G̸̹͖͘͠ ̸̹̿ ̵̡̎̍ͅS̸̳̞̉͝ ̴̲̃P̸̬͚̔ ̴͙̋L̸̹͑̚ ̸͙̕Ȋ̸̳̮͠ ̴̛͕̠̈́Ñ̸̮̈ ̷̗̽E̷̗̝͝ ̶̮̞̈́́S̵̗̏
twothumbsupguy@reddit
Hi everybody!
OrderBetterNetwork@reddit
Nah, it's that a bunch of random SaaS tools have added "reticulating splines" verbiage to their processing status messages. I've seen it on at least 3 different products in the past week and was curious hahaha
Initial_Birthday52@reddit
What the hell, eleven mins ago? I randomly downloaded Sim City 2000 for my Mac the other day and it brought back memories of the phrase. I am writing some music and named it Reticulating Splines and now I'm here, what are the chances so many others are here now too.
Rialtacity@reddit
I have the same question, but 22 days later 🫠
SCARY-WIZARD@reddit
My same question is twenty-two days after yours! 🙀
hour_of_the_rat@reddit
1993 never stops.
thissexypoptart@reddit
Reddit unarchiving a bunch of previously archived posts is really a trip sometimes
EchoedJolts@reddit
I was typing in the search for "Reticulating Splines" having not thought about that term for probably a decade. Why was I here? Well, to post this 22 days after you, it seems.
Harey-89@reddit
I just saw it on Atlas OS as it works at reconfiguring windows. Figured now is a good time to solve what is a 30 year old mystery to me.
grenforce@reddit
14 years and still running hot. was tinkering with Revi OS
CivBEWasPrettyBad@reddit
https://www.google.com/search?q=recursion
FourthLife@reddit
What a piece of shit this guy was lmao, google is not the same today as it was then
Dust_dit@reddit
Google brought me here!
No_Support_9479@reddit
bump sorry
GoldLead4560@reddit
I got my kids playing Sim City 2000. They keep laughing over something about "Reticulating Splines"... I had no answers for them.
ahhllexx1990@reddit
Reticulating splines (including many derivative forms) is a phrase included in many Maxis games (or their non-Maxis successors), including SimCity (SimCity 2000 and later), SimCopter, The Sims, The Sims 2, The Sims 3, and The Sims 4. The phrase is most often shown in text while on a loading screen, though it was spoken aloud in its first appearance in SimCity 2000. The term has become a somewhat well known in-joke and reference to SimCity or Maxis games in general.
The words 'reticulate' and 'spline' both have dictionary definitions, which has led several people to determine a meaning for the phrase, such as "to make a network of curved elements." However, Will Wright stated in an interview that the term itself is meaningless, as SimCity 2000 does not reticulate splines when generating terrain; the phrase was included in the game because it "sounded cool." It has since been included in many Maxis games, mostly for humor, much like the references to llamas in multiple games.
Source: ://sims.fandom.com/wiki/Reticulating_splines
G1ngersnapp3d@reddit
Holy crap. I read something online about loading Sin City. Had no idea it would lead me here. This is fantastic. I love the internet.
Karglenoofus@reddit
Love how so many revived a dead thread from 16yrs ago.
We live in a simulation.
Gaming_is_cool_lol19@reddit
Thread is 16 years old and your comment is now 16 days ago. All is perfect.
Kampeerwijzer@reddit
Recently Sims Freeplay adopted 'Reticulating splines' on load screens. Every time I see it, I have to smile. I played Sim City 2000 a lot.
Wooden_Career_11@reddit
I see the implanted thought has brought us all here right on schedule :)
Professional-Air8155@reddit
tee hee
_TLDR_Swinton@reddit
We're as far from this being posted as this post was from Bill Clinton being elected.
ILuvYouTube1@reddit
This post is old enough for high school :p
International-Ad-70@reddit
Slack just said it while loading which brought me here. Now I want to play SC2k. I used to build cities on graph paper at school preparing for my moonlighting as a computer architect by night
deleted_by_reddit@reddit
[deleted]
lol-dongs@reddit
NSFW...
neoice@reddit
says the guy with the 'lol-dongs' handle.
lol-dongs@reddit
Maybe I was referring to myself, mkay?
datboi-reddit@reddit
This can be studied by Historians
Rennegadde_Foxxe@reddit
I never knew (but now I do), but she made me feel some kind of way (and still does). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEjXuuwI0oE
twothumbsupguy@reddit
I still don't know. Joman used it at the end of his drunk in 1999 song though.
ImSolidGold@reddit
Will Wright woudl say its meaningless.
frenchfriedtatters@reddit
Thanks google
thmoas@reddit
til about reticulating splines