Is there a way to improve the texture of a planet\'s surface?

[NobleJms]

Flying into a planet's atmosphere and descending is very cool in this game, but I'm always a bit bothered by the low resolution of the texture of a planet's surface. Is there a way to improve it by modding the game? Since it appears no one has done something like that I assume it's not possible?

[warsign]

If ultra planet settings couldn't satisfy you, I suggest you to check out customizing kit.

I have plants about this mod, would be great for single player but I wouldn't suggest this mode for MP...

Evochron Mercenary has been balanced for playing MP smoothly...



[Edited on 11-12-2010 by warsign]

[Marvin]

Originally posted by warsign

I have plants about this mod, would be great for single player but I wouldn't suggest this mode for MP...

Your plants should work as well in MP, warsign. In fact, I'll be testing a slightly modded version of the "smaller" plants on Sunday while on MM's server. The only files that really conflict with MP are the ones that change the universe (and, offhand, I can think of only one file in that category) ... I've even accidently played on the server with a mod to the Quest.

[NobleJms]

Hey Warsign, your new plant mod looks awesome. Can't wait to try it out.

I would really like to mod the surface texture of a planet, however I'm not really sure where to start.... In the modding tool kit I downloaded, I saw there's a moontexture file, however didn't see any planet surface file in there. Is it even possible to mod the surface texture of a planet?

I'd greatly appreciate for some advices! Thanks.

[Vice]

There is currently no way to import custom textures for planets. They are actually assembled from individual sections and put together on the meshes that make up the planets. Different planets can appear differently as well, so some may appear more plain and less detailed than others. And even though it may appear 'low res' in places, it still consumes an enourmous amount of resources to render at even that detail level (since the game also has to combine rendering the full 3D cockpit, clouds, water, ships, stations, nebulae, stars, etc, etc, along with managing all AI, inventory, crew, physics, and control systems).

I may have still overshot the mark a bit for some systems considering how many players are using pretty limited systems for the game, but the lower detail settings can help bring it down to levels that work better with such systems. I also have an additional level of detail on standby for the game (it would add about another 100-150 MB of file size to the download if it's ever added), but left it out due to similar resource limitations, even on higher spec machines. We'll see how things go though, planet detail is certainly one aspect that can be easily expanded on in the future.

[Marvin]

Uh, oh. I think I'll put buying that new computer on hold for awhile.

[warsign]

Originally posted by Marvin

Your plants should work as well in MP, warsign. In fact, I'll be testing a slightly modded version of the "smaller" plants on Sunday while on MM's server.

Yes, should work as well in MP normally. Game's engine adjusts distance very well and farther plants disappear, so cool. But still after release testing it in Mp would be good...

If any impact on the game in MP, I can adjust/optimize them easily...

[Edited on 11-13-2010 by warsign]

[Marvin]

I just finished posting screenies from the test. They're in your "mods" thread. Somewhere around page one-billion.

[warsign]

Originally posted by Marvin
I just finished posting screenies from the test. They're in your "mods" thread. Somewhere around page one-billion.

[Marvin]

So, did I convince you to design a clump of trees? It would look more like a jungle.

[warsign]

Originally posted by Marvin
So, did I convince you to design a clump of trees? It would look more like a jungle.

Yup but looks like repeats itself... I use more types together, difficult to notice its repeat...

[Marvin]

Indeed. I just wanted to see if it would work. More variety will certainly give it a more generic feel.

[EN4CER]

There is currently no way to import custom textures for planets. They are actually assembled from individual sections and put together on the meshes that make up the planets. Different planets can appear differently as well, so some may appear more plain and less detailed than others. And even though it may appear 'low res' in places, it still consumes an enourmous amount of resources to render at even that detail level (since the game also has to combine rendering the full 3D cockpit, clouds, water, ships, stations, nebulae, stars, etc, etc, along with managing all AI, inventory, crew, physics, and control systems).

I may have still overshot the mark a bit for some systems considering how many players are using pretty limited systems for the game, but the lower detail settings can help bring it down to levels that work better with such systems. I also have an additional level of detail on standby for the game (it would add about another 100-150 MB of file size to the download if it's ever added), but left it out due to similar resource limitations, even on higher spec machines. We'll see how things go though, planet detail is certainly one aspect that can be easily expanded on in the future.

I would be more than happy to test this out on my rig as well as a secondary rig that's much less beeft.

Primary:
Intel i7 3.2+ Overclocked
12gb 1600mhz DDR3 RAM
Nvidia 560Ti

Secondary (and much more in line with the mainstream)
Intel Core2Duo 2.4ghz
2GB DDR2 RAM (can't remember the frequency)
Nvidia Geforce 8 series (can't remember the exact version. NOT high end)

[Marvin]

Check out the announcement for EM's expansion. Planets are to be completely revamped. Texture and size.