Space is Gorgeous – PA Should be Too

I discovered it's possible to export skyboxes from Space Engine.
What do we actually need for a skybox? I created one without knowing what format and size we need.

6 pictures
Picture format : targa
Picture size : 1024x1024

DL link : https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B92dcU3TH0GMWEZ5aWtFUE8zWTA/edit?usp=sharing

Edited the dl link and pic size. Still exploring the papa format.

Here is some posts that will help you.
https://forums.uberent.com/threads/unofficial-papa-file-format.46767/page-2#post-863646

Things like this would be so awesome.

If you ever have the opportunity, try and get way out into the country on a clear sky. You can see the milky way. It's like a blue field across the sky. So amazing.

I thought about the impact of different skyboxes on the ability for players to read the game. I am wondering if it will be fine if the skybox is filled by a large number of stars like in the center of the milly way, it may be harder to keep track of orbital units in orbit around a planet.

Brightly colored strategic icons are very easy to follow.

I hope so. We will be able to test it when DeathbyDenim will release his utility to change skyboxes more easily.

I think that it would be a pretty amazing addition to add procedurally generated skyboxes, with "biomes" of their own, and an editing option in the system editor. Biomes would include things like :

-Nebula
-Galactic core
-Galactic arm
-Galactic Edge
-Nearby a stellar phenomena

The skybox editor could adjust the star around which the system orbits as well perhaps having things like:

-Black hole:
-Neutron star/Pulsar
-Normal star
-Red/Blue giant star
-Young star
-Binary Pair of two of the above, in an appropriate combination

A procedural skybox/Star generation system with "biomes" would probably be really useful for the aesthetic of galactic war games. For example, if you are fighting in the galactic core, why would the stars in the skybox be sparse? Also, you'd be more likely to encounter older star systems in the galactic core than at the fringes of space, young stars in a nebula, etc. etc.

I think the skyboxes should adhere to the general style of PA and in my opinion EVE-style backgrounds don't gel with it at all because they are too heterogenous in form and color. This here on the other hand, very delicious!

I agree that the PA backgrounds need to be more inline with the PA style.

Was just using those as examples/inspiration.

http://joshparnell.com/blog/tag/procedural-nebulae/

This guy (Josh Parnell) is making a space sim called Limit Theory.. pretty much everything about the game is procedural, including the nebulae. Not really PA style visually either but fascinating stuff in any case.

edit:

I like reading about procedural systems being used in videogames but the only worthwhile and big-picture implementation I've seen so far is Dwarf Fortress.

I think some uses of procedural generation (eg game worlds) need two things to be worthwhile; being finite (pre-generated assets as opposed to being done on the fly) and repetition of the generated assets. That might sound paradoxical, but imo when something is procedural and infinite nothing feels real, it's like gas. I need to know there's a reasonable end to something before I can enjoy exploring it. And repetition is important because you develop a bond with whatever was generated, like the area around your spawn in minecraft or terraria, you start thinking of it like a real place.

Some galaxy star shader code run within the chrome browser:

shadertoy.com/view/4dfGDM

That's pretty awesome.

Clickable link for the lazy: https://www.shadertoy.com/view/4dfGDM

Wow. That is quite awesome!

@DeathByDenim has been working on a .papa texture editor and @superouman used it to make a mod for this!
https://forums.uberent.com/threads/rel-custom-skybox.56562/

Looks awesome!

I for one like the way the game looks and would not appreciate an overhaul towards deviantish garish space vistas.

You're not looking at the bigger picture here. http://i.imgur.com/i9Cn2ou.jpg

With RTS in my 0pinion gameplay is more important for me.

wow, such system, much space