DayOfWar Planetary render test
by Bill Vee · 10/23/2007 (6:55 pm) · 16 comments
If the google video is a little grainy then try this hi-res version on my other Blog.
What you see is a "moon" about 15 kilometers in diameter that gives you about 700 plus square kilometers or about 430 square miles of free roaming real estate to play around in.
Well maybe not a full size planet ,more like a real small moon, but scaling the terrain up is very easy.
This aspect of my game I have spent the most time and effort on. Still not 100% happy with it.
There is still an issue with the clip mapping that is causing "semming" artifacts.
I am happy enough I can move onto other parts of my game. Like the game assets.
What you see is a "moon" about 15 kilometers in diameter that gives you about 700 plus square kilometers or about 430 square miles of free roaming real estate to play around in.
Well maybe not a full size planet ,more like a real small moon, but scaling the terrain up is very easy.
This aspect of my game I have spent the most time and effort on. Still not 100% happy with it.
There is still an issue with the clip mapping that is causing "semming" artifacts.
I am happy enough I can move onto other parts of my game. Like the game assets.
About the author
#2
Jupiter in the background is a DTS.
10/23/2007 (8:15 pm)
The "planet" the player is standing on is a heavily modified Atlas terrain.Jupiter in the background is a DTS.
#4
10/24/2007 (1:18 am)
ahhh. looks awesome!!! 
#5
I noticed you got rid of the sliding problem too - well done!
10/24/2007 (4:29 am)
Kicking it up a notch again. Awesome! You might wanna start thinking about how to world build for planets. You don't want to be hand placing millions of objects. Perhaps use fractal generated forests, deserts, mountains, streets, houses, signs etc.I noticed you got rid of the sliding problem too - well done!
#6
10/24/2007 (5:29 am)
Now you need an atmosphere that surrounds the planet.
#7
10/24/2007 (5:33 am)
@Andy- Was looking at the replicator resources for that. At least for the trees ,rocks and grass.
#8
10/24/2007 (5:46 am)
@Wade- I tried a couple of different approaches on atmosphere but nothing that looked right to me. It's one of the reasons the setting is on a moon with no atmosphere. I will eventually get back around to it. Right now my game is space/moon/asteroid based combat so it's not a necessity for my game right now. 
#9
10/24/2007 (10:15 am)
Nice work! 
#10
10/24/2007 (11:55 am)
@Bill, some of your earlier tests with the yellowish moon looked like you were just mapping the Atlas terrain to a DTS sphere. Is that no longer the case? I'm just curious how you're doing projection from heightfields to spherical coordinates(assuming this latest one is just a terrain).
#11
10/24/2007 (1:30 pm)
@Ross- All of my test videos were of a modified Atlas terrain code. The reason the earlier videos look so different is this latest one takes advantage of the lightmaps on atlas terrains that GG just added to version 1.03. Without going into a lot of detail try the terrain program called Leveller and check out the options to wrap the heightfields to a sphere,disc or torus and you will get a pretty good idea what I am doing to the atlas terrains.
#12
10/24/2007 (2:27 pm)
@Bill, thanks for the reply. I've looked at Leveller before (specifically for those features) but I was never able to actually *find* the options. Mind pointing me at the particular menu/button/etc. that does it?
#13
When you edit the heightfield the sphere will reshape in real time. Mess around with it a little and you should get the idea how it maps out the heightfield.
10/24/2007 (3:09 pm)
@Ross- under View-Base Shape... then in Shape pull-down menu select sphere. click OK.When you edit the heightfield the sphere will reshape in real time. Mess around with it a little and you should get the idea how it maps out the heightfield.
#14
10/24/2007 (3:18 pm)
@Bill, thanks! I've read up on such projections for a while but not taken a look at putting it into Atlas yet. 
#16
03/10/2010 (8:10 am)
Check out "Vue 8 Infinit supports truly Infinit Spherical and Planetary Terrains that extend forever. You can move the camera as far as you like, the terrain continues; you will just uncover new parts of it!"
Torque 3D Owner Peter Simard
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