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This post will make a number of assumptions and suggest some pretty outlandish things. And that's ok.
Even if there is a 0.1% chance of something in this post helping to improve planets then it's more than worth it. Parts of it simply may not be possible in Starmade, so please do share if that is the case.
This is not intended to be a finalised implentation or idea, if it's complete shit please do say so!
Thank you for your time.
Side note:
Basis of this idea/concept
This concept will use the base of how wormholes entities and sectors currently work in-game to try and produce viable large planets that are more than rocks to be strip minned.
Current planets are limited in scope, performance and use.
Heavy inspiration will be taken from other threads and build off some of the amazing work they have done.
In particular I would like to thank Crimson-Artist for his amazing work and visuals in this thread which have helped inspire me.
Gas Giant Concept-With pictures
Pic: Replace a Wormhole Texture Volia!
Unless drastic changes are found, I do not see how large planets could be acheived in their current state.
Thus this concept will involve taking a different approach (with limitations) to improve it. While no one likes limitations, they are still needed to make the game playable. If any of them can be lifted, by all means would I support it. I do not see how large scale voxel planets can be implimented without destroying game performance via current designs (Plate, Dodecahedron). Seperating both the visual and playable aspects of planets is however a contriversial topic.
Suggested Implementation:
I have run with the concept of using wormholes as they are both large entities in the Starmade Universe, Have their own "Gravity" and essientialy force a "Warp" when the player gets too close.
Their visuals (if tonned down a bit) are strikingly similar to atmospheric couds/gases.
With a bit of editting you can sorta see how they tonned down version of wormholes could be used as the base of large planets. (Additional point, maybe docahedrons could be kept in-game as planetoids?)
Step 1: The Outer Visuals
-Copy-paste wormholes :P
-Reduce Gravity pull.
-Re-do visual to resembal a planet such as above.
If the SM team is lacking in artists, using programs such as Imphenzia - Space Fabricator could help a ton to produce planets looking like this with relativly little effort. I have used this program and others to great effect on other development projects. The quality and resolution is also phenominal (8000x8000 + if you desire). (Just as a starting point, I don't see this being a challenge for the dev team)
On a side note, this could also be used to create other visual assests (maybe given a function in future updates?) such as Gas giants and moons.
Step 2: Space to Ground Transition
While contraversial, I would suggest the "Planet" (Leave in the current ones as planetoids for those who want them?) you encouter when flying your spaceship around is just that, like a wormhole just a visual asset. Trying to make giant voxel planets float about and get collided with ships in space just doesn't seem to be a viable possability at this point.
The "Ground" would be in a seperate, customised sector detached from normal space.
To enter, an entity would have to get within (x) distance from the planet (like with wormholes), and if it meets the conditions will intiate a unique "Jump" animation (Think flying down through an atmosphere).
This does not involves loading screens, and thus the universe is still "seemless"
E.g Entering a heavy atmosphere of a gaseous planet.
(E.g a unique "warp" effect lasting (x) seconds to smooth over the transition)
This was made from the "inside a star" effect.
Step 3: Touchdown!
A visual guide to what my brain imagined:
-Entery and exit points related.
How could the sector work:?
How I imagined it:
-Detatched from the regular universe just like test sectors.
-Hitting the boundry on one edge would take you to the opposite side.
-Some sort of "magma"/bedrock like the current planets have to seal off the base.
-Entity is treated like a station, various hexagon "biomes" can spawn on it, creating a "hex map"
-Biomes could essientialy be the planet plates that are already used atm.
-No collision physics calculated, entities that collide could just be repulsed.
-"Fog" generated (x) distance from player, only nearby plates are loaded to reduce load. Changeable in config.
-Leaving the planet is the opposite, get high enough in the atmosphere, experiance the visual animation, arrive in orbit of the planet in the relevant section.
-Think of it sort of like a sealed off box from the rest of the universe.
-Speed could be reduced.
-Entities beyound (x) mass or (xyz) dimensions could be prohibited from being constructed or flown on the surface for performance reasons (could change in config).
A completly Un-realistic add-on:
Just an alternate idea for planet visuals: (Would probably destroy the entire server XD)
Each Hexagon could be linked to a spherical "mesh", where a rendered image of the biome could be displayed. Have enough biomes and they could display the planets surface in space without loading the blocks. These images could only update every (x) when a player is nearby the plate for example.
Side note: Orbital Bombardment
I have no idea how bombardment could work, at least how I imagined it would be the larger ships could blockade around the planet to prevent anything from leaving (No Warp Jump when near a planet due to gravatational interferance maybe?), while the atmospheric capable craft desended to fight it out above the planets surface.
_______________________________________________________________________________
I probably spent faaar too long on this and it's unlikely to ammount to anything. But at least I can say I tried XD There are probably hundreds of problems with this :/
Thanks for reading!
This post will make a number of assumptions and suggest some pretty outlandish things. And that's ok.
Even if there is a 0.1% chance of something in this post helping to improve planets then it's more than worth it. Parts of it simply may not be possible in Starmade, so please do share if that is the case.
This is not intended to be a finalised implentation or idea, if it's complete shit please do say so!
Thank you for your time.
Side note:
Basis of this idea/concept
This concept will use the base of how wormholes entities and sectors currently work in-game to try and produce viable large planets that are more than rocks to be strip minned.
Current planets are limited in scope, performance and use.
Heavy inspiration will be taken from other threads and build off some of the amazing work they have done.
In particular I would like to thank Crimson-Artist for his amazing work and visuals in this thread which have helped inspire me.
Gas Giant Concept-With pictures
Crimson-Artist's gas giant concept art.
If it is ok with the creator, I would love to beable to reference some of your work here as inspiration and to share it with other players.
If it is ok with the creator, I would love to beable to reference some of your work here as inspiration and to share it with other players.
Pic: Replace a Wormhole Texture Volia!
Unless drastic changes are found, I do not see how large planets could be acheived in their current state.
Thus this concept will involve taking a different approach (with limitations) to improve it. While no one likes limitations, they are still needed to make the game playable. If any of them can be lifted, by all means would I support it. I do not see how large scale voxel planets can be implimented without destroying game performance via current designs (Plate, Dodecahedron). Seperating both the visual and playable aspects of planets is however a contriversial topic.
Suggested Implementation:
I have run with the concept of using wormholes as they are both large entities in the Starmade Universe, Have their own "Gravity" and essientialy force a "Warp" when the player gets too close.
Their visuals (if tonned down a bit) are strikingly similar to atmospheric couds/gases.
With a bit of editting you can sorta see how they tonned down version of wormholes could be used as the base of large planets. (Additional point, maybe docahedrons could be kept in-game as planetoids?)
Step 1: The Outer Visuals
-Copy-paste wormholes :P
-Reduce Gravity pull.
-Re-do visual to resembal a planet such as above.
If the SM team is lacking in artists, using programs such as Imphenzia - Space Fabricator could help a ton to produce planets looking like this with relativly little effort. I have used this program and others to great effect on other development projects. The quality and resolution is also phenominal (8000x8000 + if you desire). (Just as a starting point, I don't see this being a challenge for the dev team)
On a side note, this could also be used to create other visual assests (maybe given a function in future updates?) such as Gas giants and moons.
Step 2: Space to Ground Transition
While contraversial, I would suggest the "Planet" (Leave in the current ones as planetoids for those who want them?) you encouter when flying your spaceship around is just that, like a wormhole just a visual asset. Trying to make giant voxel planets float about and get collided with ships in space just doesn't seem to be a viable possability at this point.
The "Ground" would be in a seperate, customised sector detached from normal space.
To enter, an entity would have to get within (x) distance from the planet (like with wormholes), and if it meets the conditions will intiate a unique "Jump" animation (Think flying down through an atmosphere).
This does not involves loading screens, and thus the universe is still "seemless"
E.g Entering a heavy atmosphere of a gaseous planet.
(E.g a unique "warp" effect lasting (x) seconds to smooth over the transition)
This was made from the "inside a star" effect.
Step 3: Touchdown!
A visual guide to what my brain imagined:
-Entery and exit points related.
How could the sector work:?
How I imagined it:
-Detatched from the regular universe just like test sectors.
-Hitting the boundry on one edge would take you to the opposite side.
-Some sort of "magma"/bedrock like the current planets have to seal off the base.
-Entity is treated like a station, various hexagon "biomes" can spawn on it, creating a "hex map"
-Biomes could essientialy be the planet plates that are already used atm.
-No collision physics calculated, entities that collide could just be repulsed.
-"Fog" generated (x) distance from player, only nearby plates are loaded to reduce load. Changeable in config.
-Leaving the planet is the opposite, get high enough in the atmosphere, experiance the visual animation, arrive in orbit of the planet in the relevant section.
-Think of it sort of like a sealed off box from the rest of the universe.
-Speed could be reduced.
-Entities beyound (x) mass or (xyz) dimensions could be prohibited from being constructed or flown on the surface for performance reasons (could change in config).
A completly Un-realistic add-on:
Just an alternate idea for planet visuals: (Would probably destroy the entire server XD)
Each Hexagon could be linked to a spherical "mesh", where a rendered image of the biome could be displayed. Have enough biomes and they could display the planets surface in space without loading the blocks. These images could only update every (x) when a player is nearby the plate for example.
Side note: Orbital Bombardment
I have no idea how bombardment could work, at least how I imagined it would be the larger ships could blockade around the planet to prevent anything from leaving (No Warp Jump when near a planet due to gravatational interferance maybe?), while the atmospheric capable craft desended to fight it out above the planets surface.
_______________________________________________________________________________
I probably spent faaar too long on this and it's unlikely to ammount to anything. But at least I can say I tried XD There are probably hundreds of problems with this :/
Thanks for reading!
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