Planets and graphical stuff

[WaffulMann]

So currently we have a variety of problems with planets:

• Planets changing color: This is something most explorers find annoying. Planets change color when you get close so you don't know which planets are what, and you'll waste a lot of time going through them
• Finding systems and galaxies: As of now, you go in a straight line and you pop into a new system. The star, just, boom, appears in front of your eyes. Maybe we can space star systems apart more and allow for more precise travel if we can see other stars from our own system or in the void. Galaxies can also be a graphical object in the background and if you go close the game will actually start generating a galaxy at that location.
• Planets loading: Maybe we can use height maps to actually show what's on planets, whether it's populated or just an uninhabited planet. This can be useful in many situations, like finding things. Another good thing about heightmaps is that it can just be purely graphical, so you can actually see planets from tens or hundreds of sectors away.

So to clear it all up, the colors need to not change regardless of distance, and heightmaps can be very very useful in... well, everything.

 

[Zedrackis]

• I agree the planets changing colour is an annoying bug.
  
• I agree that having every 16^3 group of sectors be a star system is bad, makes the area feel to crowded. However in context of the technically limits of the game, a real galaxy contains billions of stars that are light years apart. Only one galaxy is really needed.
• I disagree with your third point. Its basically asking for a long range planet survey scanner. Checking out the planet yourself is half the fun.

 

[Ithirahad]

• I agree the planets changing colour is an annoying bug.
  
• I agree that having every 16^3 group of sectors be a star system is bad, makes the area feel to crowded. However in context of the technically limits of the game, a real galaxy contains billions of stars that are light years apart. Only one galaxy is really needed.
• I disagree with your third point. Its basically asking for a long range planet survey scanner. Checking out the planet yourself is half the fun.

Planet's changing color doesn't seem to be a bug, but yeah, it is annoying... They should keep the "colorful," less transparent colors rather than the boring blue, light blue, blue-white, green, and red. And yeah, there needs to be a lot of void space between planetary systems, and stars need to be visible from other systems. The only question is where light will come from when you're between systems and there's no nearby star to light up your ship... (Because light blocks are incredibly wimpy and barely even light up 5 blocks around them)

...There also need to be less planets per system. Like, a LOT less. Anywhere between one and five terrestrial planets, 0-2 (occasionally 3 or 4, I guess) gas giants, and 0-2 spatial anomalies...