Wow <img src="' http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//icon_eek.gi f"' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> Canyons! Anyone up for a pod race? <img src="' http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//icon_cool.gi f"' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='8-)' />

Cool.

When I merge them I think I'll make some changes to how starsystems are generated (as discussed previously but simpler). Basically, it is not good to be adding new SBody PLANET_TYPE_xxx values because the universe changes each time you do this. Instead I can generate values for how much ice a planet has, and how volcanic it is and so on.

Then in GeoSphereStyle.cpp you take these values and decide "this is an ice planet. i will use the cool icy terrain type for it".

This way new terrain styles can be added without altering universe generation.

Wow that icy planet is gorgeous! I want to go right down the middle of that crack if you know what I mean 😉 😉

Woah, those last 2 pictures really make me look forward to the next release. Very good job! I'm going to explore new worlds now, I'm glad it's weekend 😎 .

Very impressive new planet stuff there. Do you think it would be easy to add a detail texture that's visible on low altitudes? That should be a nice increase in planet detail without any additional polygons.

I did some exploration in alpha 8.11 yesterday. I'm sorry to report that on my old ATI non-shader machine the Moon is still red and Saturn still has no rings, but Io looks good. Epsilon Eridani looks awesome, even on low detail levels. 😀

That sounds good. So far I have only added one new planet type, the others have simply been modified. That new planet type is just a cratered rock type that only uses grey colours, IE the moon. And the terrains are just modifications too.

So other than the inclusion of the white moon terrain, they shouldn't affect universe generation.

Anyway, The terrain changes are made and tweaked to madness (canyons, rivers, crevices, cliffs, and a few other interesting features) I just need my internet to play ball and allow me to connect so I can commit my changes.

Its an interesting idea, but the detail of planetary textures/colours already increases as you zoom in. It increases along with the terrain itself, and providing you have a detailed or sensitive enough colour setting you can add detail that is not really there.

Any detailed textures would have to be procedural as well, as adding a single texture would remove the unpredictability and natural appearance of Pioneer's landscape.

White moon should be next time, providing Tom merges that change. And if that change is acceptable I will do the same for Saturn.

Wait till you see IO next time 😉

Hopefully BT will get their asses in gear and fix my line....

white moons would be good

Hi guys, here we go then, I hope you like these ;):

[attachment=523:pioneer-msvc-9 2011-02-07 04-24-33-89.jpg]

[attachment=524:pioneer-msvc-9 2011-02-07 02-34-01-36.jpg]

[attachment=525:pioneer-msvc-9 2011-02-06 20-29-48-15.jpg]

So we now have canyons and rivers which also take erosion from liquids into consideration, although thats all simulated with the fractals, there is no real erosion, it just looks that way 🙂

Oh and also Dead/desert worlds now have real deserts with real dunes and tiny features that only appear very close up. I was going to elaborate on that and add tiny rocks to some worlds, but that needs some more testing.

More dead world pics under a red/orange sun:

[attachment=527:pioneer-msvc-9 2011-02-06 05-34-35-62.jpg]

[attachment=526:pioneer-msvc-9 2011-02-06 05-59-59-55.jpg]

[attachment=528:pioneer-msvc-9 2011-02-06 05-39-21-40.jpg]

Cheers 🙂

A couple more pics of volcanic worlds for the hell of it 😉 :

[attachment=529:pioneer-msvc-9 2011-02-06 03-04-35-07.jpg]

[attachment=530:pioneer-msvc-9 2011-02-06 04-14-40-42.jpg]

[attachment=531:pioneer-msvc-9 2011-02-06 04-09-42-12.jpg]

Awesome! I'm always looking forward to this "new terrain pictures thread" and again I'm amazed at how much better the planets are getting each time you tweak them. Those canyons are amazing and rivers... wow! Best planet terrain so far.

Something I've been hoping to see ever since the first time I explored a planet in Pioneer. I'll keep a close eye on this thread as usual. 😎

Thanks, here's a copy for you guys to try out if you like:

http://pioneerspacesim.net/sites/defaul ... n-addon.7z

Just place that over a copy of 8.+

It has a new planet type used for grey moons which messes up galaxy generation again, so saves are probably not compatible.

😯 WOW..Just absolutely wow That volcanic landscape looks desolatingly beautiful..

I'll try this immediately when I get home from work. This weekend, I'll be doing some new planet explorations again 😀 .

i didn't came far testing it, somehow i have no cities...

haha really, I might have uploaded the wrong version... one where I broke city rendering while trying to fix that disappearing asteroid bug. Hmm sorry about that, ok I have re-uploaded the correct version.

Redownload it and it should work ok now: http://pioneerspacesim.net/sites/defaul ... n-addon.7z

Cheers.

To quote Neil Armstrong, "Magnificent desolation". Super work s2odan <img src="' http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//icon_cool.gi f"' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='8-)' />

Try turning off shaders and HDR. The newest exe has some ambient lighting added to planets by Tom that won't look quite right with HDR on anyway.

Did the missile bug happen on both the first version and the second one or just one?

Thanks Geraldine, just a shame I forgot about that stupid change that broke city rendering.

The new planet terrains are awesome and i tried the new exe and it worked perfectly... it is just my impression or even earth surface has been hugely improved ? 🙂

I also love the ambient light (even if i have to deactivate shaders and hdr XD )

You shouldn't have to turn off shaders at all, its just that I noticed that Gudadantza's log was pointing to some shader error.

So just to make a point both HDR and Shaders should still work, but HDR will look a little wrong... so turn it off if things look too bright.

Actually mine look brighter with HDR off. I just assumed that someone will fix it 🙂

With shaders off you can see the terrain far more in the distance, because there is no more fog if you are in the atmosphere (like on earth)...

ati graphics cards have always been a bit picky

I have to report two bugs in Feb 13 version of the addon: 1. the movement direction pointer became invisible. 2. planet selection in the star map 2d system overview works the old way (i.e. no info on cursor hover, no direct selection of stellar bodies). Feb 11 version is allright.

In general, i just love the idea of s2odan's improvement addons. With how more varied planet surfaces become, the exploration interest is boosted sky-high. That is not to say, waiting inbetween releases gets washed-out.