The game is set in the year 3300.
Earth is a burned out, nuked out, post-apocalyptic pile of dust and debris and probably looks like the sand planet Anahit in LP-98 next to the Excavation site.
I see no issues...
Planetary landings
- Thread starter NeilF
- Start date
The game is set in the year 3300.
Earth is a burned out, nuked out, post-apocalyptic pile of dust and debris and probably looks like the sand planet Anahit in LP-98 next to the Excavation site.
I see no issues...
One thing that tugs at a little cog in my brain is how the current flight model will cope with atmospheric flight.
I think the lack of yaw in ED's universe is just fine and enhances combat, making a great overall feel to the ships. Now picture yourself flying in a canyon of a procedurally generated rocky planet. Are you going to have to always fly sideways to allow the extra manoeuvrability that pitch allows?
Certainly having seen several PG videos of low flight over their terrain this is something that always concerns me when it comes to ED's implementation of planetary landings / flight.
I think the lack of yaw in ED's universe is just fine and enhances combat, making a great overall feel to the ships. Now picture yourself flying in a canyon of a procedurally generated rocky planet. Are you going to have to always fly sideways to allow the extra manoeuvrability that pitch allows?
Certainly having seen several PG videos of low flight over their terrain this is something that always concerns me when it comes to ED's implementation of planetary landings / flight.
Of course they can. They've been preparing for years.
Take all the dynamic crowd modelling work that's gone into the rollercoaster games.
Take the excellent animal IK work that started with Dogs Life and has matured in the Zoo games.
etc. etc.
The whole Cobra engine has been built up over the past 20 years with one always conscious purpose being a most excellent Elite game at some point.
Using yaw in atmospheric flight is risky thing to do and most fly by wire aircraft limit the amount available in software today, so yes, the general mode of flight will likely have to be bank and pitch.
What I will be interested in is how gravity is negated, as one model could be to have to use vertical thrust to counter that (lunar lander style) unless you have lifting body or other lift generating devices.
What I will be interested in is how gravity is negated, as one model could be to have to use vertical thrust to counter that (lunar lander style) unless you have lifting body or other lift generating devices.
Yeah, while planet surfaces is one thing, atmospheric flight will be another challenge for Mike Evans and co.
We don't know. But's it's gonna be serious fun finding out! *grins*
What we will see, at first will probably be walking around in the stations. Remember that the rings are huge and to fill that with interesting content alone will be a challenge.
They (FD) will most likely use that to fine tune the engine so that the planets will be just right from the start.
They (FD) will most likely use that to fine tune the engine so that the planets will be just right from the start.
(Post removed, I do not think I want to keep participating in a forum with such narrow-minded filtering and policing.)
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Ramireza
Banned
LOL. BTW, this poves that the censor-police here is WAAYYYYY to sensitive! (I know that this thre stars are a result of an mechanism). I mean if i insinuating that someone is an very dumb person in an cryptic way nothing happens, but if i just say "Vack" i get a warning.
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Agreed, I'd guess and say they'd be looking at new cities popping up around changed coastal landscapes (those countries who have the money to rebuild).
This pretty much sums up the change coming ...
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/rising-seas/if-ice-melted-map
FD, could play around with the above till their hearts content. Also, the reality is, there's going to be no end of societal unrest as these major coastal cities begin to get flooded out. A good chance that major wars will break out right there in fact as masses of people struggle for resources and relocation, (an easy story right there).
The reality of climate change is pretty grim really, a shame many feel its a non issue and have been duped into fence sitting. Lets hope FD doesn't get its Earth model predictions too right.
As for other planets, they can do anything they want. I've been browsing some youtube vids for real time procedurally generated fractal landscapes/planets. Check this out, amazing...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muFYAF0M46I
If the devs haven't seen this, check it out for inspiration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muFYAF0M46I
If the devs haven't seen this, check it out for inspiration
TL;DR
This is how I would do it:
1) Get a fairly high resolution height map of Earth - there are free ones available.
2) Zone off limits areas for special items.
3) Pick certain points as the seeds for cities (London, Tokyo, etc.)
3) Use procedural generation to build the cities.
Job done.
Why is everybody getting their knickers in a twist about it?
This is how I would do it:
1) Get a fairly high resolution height map of Earth - there are free ones available.
2) Zone off limits areas for special items.
3) Pick certain points as the seeds for cities (London, Tokyo, etc.)
3) Use procedural generation to build the cities.
Job done.
Why is everybody getting their knickers in a twist about it?
Exactly how I imagine it also. Zone off most of the planet as a 'no fly' zone. Cops come and shoot you down if you attempt to fly under a certain altitude. Build up the landing sites with a lot of nice landscaping and object detail.
You misunderstood what I mean by zoning.
Again with the multiple gigabytes if you want it to look good.
I've been browsing some youtube vids for real time procedurally generated fractal landscapes/planets. Check this out, amazing...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muFYAF0M46I
If the devs haven't seen this, check it out for inspiration
Yeah, amazing I got the feeling that FD are on top of it, and what we will see will knock our socks off
How much resolution do you think you need in the initial release?
In the initial release you don't need hi res as you won't be able to land. With the PLA you will get a higher res height map.
The could tie in to Outerra. You can go anywhere on earth in that
Given the time difference, the only thing on Earth that Frontier would need to get right is the topography. If FD are half as smart as they appear to be, then I would fully expect their engine to allow topography maps to be imported for a templte for procedural environments, so that's 50% of the job done already.
The landscape doesn't have to be exact either; the grand canyon could have flooded, for example, London could already be at the bottom of the sea.
There is definitely enough freedom there to not require a 1:1 representation.
Frankly, I still remember landing in London in Elite: Frontier, on an Antari STe, and the surrounding landscape only being green ground, and it still felt like I had actually landed in London.
The landscape doesn't have to be exact either; the grand canyon could have flooded, for example, London could already be at the bottom of the sea.
There is definitely enough freedom there to not require a 1:1 representation.
Frankly, I still remember landing in London in Elite: Frontier, on an Antari STe, and the surrounding landscape only being green ground, and it still felt like I had actually landed in London.