I need your help with graphics!
We have almost no graphic effects: atmosphere, sun blur, etc. The main hold up is my ignorance about graphics and lack of time to learn.
What we do have are data/code systems for implementing these effects. So, for example, if someone told me parameters (on a material or whatever) need to be set to give Titan a thick atmosphere, or to have icy Enceladus sparkle, or how to make the Sun's light blur or overexpose the camera, I could have it implemented quickly...
I, Voyager builds everything from csv text tables in ivoyager/data/solar_system/. In here you can find models.csv with keys that describe "model type", e.g., rocky, continental, thick atmosphere (e.g., Venus, Titan), desert, gas giant, ice giant, etc. Each star, planet and moon (and eventually asteroid, comet and spacecraft) is assigned a model_type.
Right now, models.csv defines only a few parameters (metallic, roughness, rim, etc.), and even these are just my ignorant default values. I would like to expand this table. This is where I need your help! What material settings do we need for different world types? How do I make an atmospheric effect? And so on...
There are two other tables, environments.csv and lights.csv, that are only placeholders now, but are intended to have parameters for the Environment and the Sun's OmniLight, respectively. This is where we would add parameters giving sun glare, camera overexposure, etc. However, I need some guidance on how to do this.
The aesthetic I want for I, Voyager is a sort of "hard realism" (what comes to mind are videos of Elon Musk's roadster in space). Of course, the reason I'm doing this via text data tables is so you (or possibly your future game modders) can change it to whatever style you need for your own project!
What we do have are data/code systems for implementing these effects. So, for example, if someone told me parameters (on a material or whatever) need to be set to give Titan a thick atmosphere, or to have icy Enceladus sparkle, or how to make the Sun's light blur or overexpose the camera, I could have it implemented quickly...
I, Voyager builds everything from csv text tables in ivoyager/data/solar_system/. In here you can find models.csv with keys that describe "model type", e.g., rocky, continental, thick atmosphere (e.g., Venus, Titan), desert, gas giant, ice giant, etc. Each star, planet and moon (and eventually asteroid, comet and spacecraft) is assigned a model_type.
Right now, models.csv defines only a few parameters (metallic, roughness, rim, etc.), and even these are just my ignorant default values. I would like to expand this table. This is where I need your help! What material settings do we need for different world types? How do I make an atmospheric effect? And so on...
There are two other tables, environments.csv and lights.csv, that are only placeholders now, but are intended to have parameters for the Environment and the Sun's OmniLight, respectively. This is where we would add parameters giving sun glare, camera overexposure, etc. However, I need some guidance on how to do this.
The aesthetic I want for I, Voyager is a sort of "hard realism" (what comes to mind are videos of Elon Musk's roadster in space). Of course, the reason I'm doing this via text data tables is so you (or possibly your future game modders) can change it to whatever style you need for your own project!
Comments
So yes, we could add Earth city lights. Maybe multiple cloud maps that change. Normal maps for bumpy worlds. And so on...
I'm working hard to get all the infrastructure in place so that it is easy to add this stuff.
All of our GeometryInstances (worlds and Saturn's rings) have default cast_shadow = 1.
All of our SpatialMaterials (world & ring textures) have default flags_do_not_receive_shadows = false.
I played around with Light.shadow_bias. According to the tutorial, I ought to be able to create "self-shadow" artifacts by setting that too low. But no, I can't even create shadow artifacts...
What am I missing?
Edit: I opened this as a Bug Report in our issue tracker.