Odyssey - will gas giants get an upgrade ?
- Thread starter Iron Body
- Start date
My guess is that they won't, but this would be the perfect opportunity to overhaul the appearance of all of them. So, fingers crossed!
My question is whether the landables will look different in space, compared to their current appearance. Is it just the up-close visuals that are changing, or does that extend all the way out to space as well? I'm very curious.
My question is whether the landables will look different in space, compared to their current appearance. Is it just the up-close visuals that are changing, or does that extend all the way out to space as well? I'm very curious.
They are? I would assume only the newly-landables will get an upgrade. I don't see the point in "partially-upgrading" Gas Giants, Earth-likes, or any other non-landable.
Logically, yes. The reason why non-landables are non-landable is their rendering algorithms do not scale all the way down to the resolution needed to land on them. They can therefore use "quick and dirty" algorithms. Landables need that full spectrum of rendering distances, from barely-visible-deep-space to landed-on-the-surface, and to transition between them as seamlessly as possible.
The current batch of Horizons-landable planets all look different, compared to how they looked (and still look) in the base game. I see no reason why this would be different for Odyssey-landables. Getting the new rendering algorithms to match how the planets looked using the old rendering algorithms from a certain distance, would be way too much work.
Wasn't there a video comparing the new identified landables with their current in game look, I am sure there was one from orbit that would be able to be compared to our current visuals.
From what I have seen and heard all current landables will be getting an upgrade in looks and surface textures and treatment with the introduction of the new landables. Upgrading the look of non-landables isn't really a big job because they are all basically wrapped images, but I think one of the issues with that is sameness. Because they are images and not procedurally generated there are only so many, they aren't going to make millions of different images of gas giant, but that doesn't matter at the moment because they are all a bit blurry and sameness is irrelevant, but if they introduced detailed imagery it would only be so long before you suddenly started running into identical looking gas giants, right down to the little storms, and that would be.....unsatisfying shall I suggest.
Until they start procedurally generating surfaces for non-landable solid bodies, and cloud formations with all that entails for gas giants we are probably stuck with distant and slightly blurry generic images for those. They do of course have a small selection of detailed surface images for ELW, mars and the earth for instance, that have been applied to specific bodies, but outside of that and other specific instances it's very doubtful whether visuals for non-landables will change.
Non-landables are already procedurally generated - every single gas giant is as unique as a fingerprint, different to all the others. Just have a look at the GGG gallery, for evidence. And every single Earth-like currently has procedurally-generated terrain and a shoreline map that's different to all other ELWs..
There are some static-picture overlays - most notably, the cloud formations on ELWs and planets with similar atmospheric thickness to ELWs; there's ony a few of those, so you do tend to see the exact same weather patterns on multiple planets.
But the procedurally-generated parts are a procedurally generated static image - it doesn't have dynamic layers (like clouds that move across the surface) or dynamic features (like storm cells rotating or volcanoes erupting). So the little smiley-face storm pattern on the surface of a particular gas giant will always be there, and there will always be a hurricane over Greece - at least, until those worlds get their upgrade.
There are some static-picture overlays - most notably, the cloud formations on ELWs and planets with similar atmospheric thickness to ELWs; there's ony a few of those, so you do tend to see the exact same weather patterns on multiple planets.
But the procedurally-generated parts are a procedurally generated static image - it doesn't have dynamic layers (like clouds that move across the surface) or dynamic features (like storm cells rotating or volcanoes erupting). So the little smiley-face storm pattern on the surface of a particular gas giant will always be there, and there will always be a hurricane over Greece - at least, until those worlds get their upgrade.
Sorry, I wasn't clear. I was referring to the currently landable bodies, not the newly landable ones. I'm wondering if their distant appearances will be altered or whether it's just the up-close rendering that is changing. I think it's a safe bet that the newly landable ones will look very different than they do now.
And i thought you're asking for more green and pink
I agree that identical looking giants would be .... unsatisfying. But at least they could make Jupiter look like Jupiter, and Pluto look like Pluto.. etc.
I wouldn't mind FD making a special effort for the solar system. That way it really would be worth visiting.