Is this really what Sol is supposed to look like?

[HappySpaceInvr]

I finally managed to get my Sol pass... and of course one of the first things I checked out was Earth. Well... at least I think it was Earth. The label said "Earth", but there's very little on the surface that I recognise.

I managed to find Australia (in full sunlight, despite the fact that it was around 12:30 UTC). You can see Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea towards the end of this video. Check out the detail on Papua New Guinea!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfrdPRK9n78

Very disappointed.

 

[SH4RK-B1TE]

Well it is the year 3303!

 

[Myrm]

When I fly past the Earth on the way to, say, Abraham Lincoln, I don’t really recognise any landmasses, but I put that down to distant graphic rendering, as if I fly to it I start to recognise landmasses. Though, I also noticed that all I seem to ever see in daylight is the Middle East and Australia areas, no matter what time of day or night it is in real life.

Perhaps in the year 3303 it turns out that all this Climate Change nonsense we continually hear about today was true after all.

 

[tanner1ie]

While you can read more about it on the Wiki, but in brief, according to the lore of the game, some time after Mars had been terraformed into an Earth like world, the Earth started to experience severe climate and radiation changes and various wars were fought there, the results of which caused Earth's/Sol's new ruling body, the Federal Council/Congress to relocate to Mars, which has been Sol's capital ever since... .

Off topic, Sol is pretty underwhelming, with aside from interesting station names and tourist beacons, little special about it - hopefully that changes in the future, particularly since you need a permit to get there .

http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Sol

 

[Cmdr Nemo]

While you can read more about it on the Wiki, but in brief, according to the lore of the game, some time after Mars had been terraformed into an Earth like world, the Earth started to experience severe climate and radiation changes and various wars were fought there, the results of which caused Earth's/Sol's new ruling body, the Federal Council/Congress to relocate to Mars, which has been Sol's capital ever since... .

Off topic, Sol is pretty underwhelming, with aside from interesting station names and tourist beacons, little special about it - hopefully that changes in the future, particularly since you need a permit to get there .

http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Sol

I can understand the importance of SOL back when humans first left the planet Earth. But after a thuosnds years of expansion beyond SOL perameters called a solar system. Other than the Federation being based there. except for history buffs, there's no real reason to go there. Though I've unlocked it, and even been there to see for myself what if anything has changed in the 1286 years since 2017. One still can't even land on Mars, casusing me to wonder, how to they manage to ride heard on the rest of their area's when they can't even leave or arrive at their own planet. Mar's now has an atmospher which means, space ships can't land there and I'm not aware of any transportation device that allows one to beam down nor up to a ship in orbit. Thus Mars could just as well be unihabited also. Who really knows if anyone is actually there or not?

 

[Airwave]

My visit to Sol was amazing after all the changes to Earth over 1,300 years its still my place of birth and home. I was able to fly up to and around it along with every thing else in our system! Without that little blue ball we would not be here. I remember seeing Saturn rings on a telescope in my back yard for the first time. Just a plane white dot with a line across it. I could only think OMG it's Satrun and I CAN see it. I was 30ish at the time but so excited. I have seen all the pictures in books and on TV but the wonder of look at the real tiny ball up in the sky was beyond words in experience. Your perspective is everything or the pyramids are just a pile of rocks on the sand in a very hot place.

 

[stormyuk]

It's a very poor low resolution texture. It's been discussed a lot in the past. I think it's something to do with being hand crafted and an old texture. Other earth like worlds are procedurally generated so look a lot nicer. Hopefully one day FDev will give the birth place of humanity a make over. I agree it's dreadful and a real disappointment.

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/368651-Earth-texture-extremely-low-res

 

[Zieman]

Earth on the OP's video looks horrible. Has to be a bug.
If not, they should use at least the texture from system map:

 

[Rade Konn]

Looks like the weather channel is extremely busy down on earth.

 

[Cmdr Nemo]

My visit to Sol was amazing after all the changes to Earth over 1,300 years its still my place of birth and home. I was able to fly up to and around it along with every thing else in our system! Without that little blue ball we would not be here. I remember seeing Saturn rings on a telescope in my back yard for the first time. Just a plane white dot with a line across it. I could only think OMG it's Satrun and I CAN see it. I was 30ish at the time but so excited. I have seen all the pictures in books and on TV but the wonder of look at the real tiny ball up in the sky was beyond words in experience. Your perspective is everything or the pyramids are just a pile of rocks on the sand in a very hot place.

There is a school of thought that supposes that Human's came from Mars prior to it becoming uninhabitable. And after setting up colonies and such there was a catoclismic event that basically wiped all but a few pockets of humans. Basicall throwing them back into the stone age. Simular to events you might see in a syfy movie, where as one has to deal with staying alive and doesn't have the time or resources to record on going events let alone a place to put such records and maintain them. I mean, one has to choose carrying things they need to survive, and books, get rather heavy after awhile. Thus one would rely on memories which have a tendency to fade and or be embelished, hence the supposed stories of old being wriiten as fact in such books like the bible and well as others.

Though humans may have originated on Earth, and one can debate it using a variety of what if's. There are no players since ED conception ever actually born there. I not sure as to when the exodus took place, but no one is from Earth today. There fore fathers fore fathers fore fathers may have been, but not themselves.

My name is Nemo LXXI which means I am the legacy of Nemo's going back 71 generations. The first of which was in the mid to late 1800's.

 

[tanner1ie]

...One still can't even land on Mars, casusing me to wonder, how to they manage to ride heard on the rest of their area's when they can't even leave or arrive at their own planet. Mar's now has an atmospher which means, space ships can't land there and I'm not aware of any transportation device that allows one to beam down nor up to a ship in orbit. Thus Mars could just as well be unihabited also. Who really knows if anyone is actually there or not?

Our ships can't land on anything but a rocky Moon-like planet YET* because of hardware/development limitations, but surely in a "Real World" setting of flying around our Galaxy and possibly wider Universe, people or other creatures flying such ships would be able to land on Earth-like planets and plenty other types with ease.

Of course in real life, we've had vehicles capable of sending people to and bringing them back from Space since the 1960's, surely in a space-faring civilisation like the one seen in Elite, having ships fly through atmospheres is as easy and as common as cars driving on roads in our current reality and whether the NPCs in Elite having transporter technology or not, they're surely landing regularly on all types of planets even if we currently can't... .

(*If we ever get updates to the game which let us land on Earth-like planets, fly through gas giants, land on various other planet types etc.
Only time will tell... .)

 

[Old Duck]

Off topic, Sol is pretty underwhelming, with aside from interesting station names and tourist beacons, little special about it - hopefully that changes in the future, particularly since you need a permit to get there .

It's a very poor low resolution texture. It's been discussed a lot in the past. I think it's something to do with being hand crafted and an old texture. Other earth like worlds are procedurally generated so look a lot nicer. Hopefully one day FDev will give the birth place of humanity a make over. I agree it's dreadful and a real disappointment.

My Sol permit was the first thing I ever pursued that I would call a "grind", and man was I disappointed when I finally got there. Earth does not look like the earth, the moon doesn't look like the moon, and Saturn is just WACK. I understand that the current coastline may be underwater due to rising oceans, so if Florida is missing, that's one thing, but the continents should not change in any other way in just 1000 years...

I keep wanting to show this game to friends, and I'm sure they'll want to see Earth, and I'll have to say, "Umm, no, you really don't.." Considering how long it takes Frontier to fix the simplest of bugs (still waiting for a half-dozen of fixes for 2.4), I expect Sol to look like crap for years to come

 

[TheSynopticVision]

I really hope this is one of those things that will get fixed when we finally will get Quality Mode back...

 

[stormyuk]

...a half-dozen of fixes for 2.4), I expect Sol to look like crap for years to come

I think Earth has been bad for a long time. I don't think FDev have ever gone back to relook at the Earth texture. Maybe with beyond they will take another look. We can hope.

I really hope this is one of those things that will get fixed when we finally will get Quality Mode back...

Yeh I wanted to take pictures of Earth but never bothered due to the poor textures.

 

[MAD DOG MacD]

I managed this picture when the last time I visited (months ago);

Totally bogus, for one thing, clear skies over the UK, really?! Ha ha.

Actually from what i've seen looks ok but the terrain is lacking any type of detail and coloration. I still have yet to see North America, each time I visit, Its UK, Central Asia, Asia, Oz. North America is always on the night side. Maybe this time I'll just wait for planet rotation. I will admit also, I'm a bit disappointed in the downgrading of graphics in the game. It's very very apparent on Space Stations as well.

Gary

 

[popuptoaster]

There is a school of thought that supposes that Human's came from Mars prior to it becoming uninhabitable. And after setting up colonies and such there was a catoclismic event that basically wiped all but a few pockets of humans. Basicall throwing them back into the stone age. Simular to events you might see in a syfy movie, where as one has to deal with staying alive and doesn't have the time or resources to record on going events let alone a place to put such records and maintain them. I mean, one has to choose carrying things they need to survive, and books, get rather heavy after awhile. Thus one would rely on memories which have a tendency to fade and or be embelished, hence the supposed stories of old being wriiten as fact in such books like the bible and well as others.

Though humans may have originated on Earth, and one can debate it using a variety of what if's. There are no players since ED conception ever actually born there. I not sure as to when the exodus took place, but no one is from Earth today. There fore fathers fore fathers fore fathers may have been, but not themselves.

My name is Nemo LXXI which means I am the legacy of Nemo's going back 71 generations. The first of which was in the mid to late 1800's.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAHHHHAAAAA!! and big lizards rule the earth etc etc

 

[Cmdr Nemo]

My Sol permit was the first thing I ever pursued that I would call a "grind", and man was I disappointed when I finally got there. Earth does not look like the earth, the moon doesn't look like the moon, and Saturn is just WACK. I understand that the current coastline may be underwater due to rising oceans, so if Florida is missing, that's one thing, but the continents should not change in any other way in just 1000 years...

I keep wanting to show this game to friends, and I'm sure they'll want to see Earth, and I'll have to say, "Umm, no, you really don't.." Considering how long it takes Frontier to fix the simplest of bugs (still waiting for a half-dozen of fixes for 2.4), I expect Sol to look like crap for years to come

the only thing that could casuse the terra to be transformed into water or water into terra in a thousands years or even less would be a shifting of the planet from it current 23.5 degree tilt in relation to the sun to something other. It has happened in the past and will again in the future. Basically if the tilt of the planet placed what we refer to as the North Pole with the South Pole. Though it wouldn't have to be that drastic before change to the shore lines would occur.

A global shift where as the planet changes its tilt in relation to the star is not nor should not but often is; Associated with a Polar Shift. Or in other terms, A shift in the magnetic poles would only interfer with out magnetic based compasses, which until recently with the interventions of GPS, ships and air craft depended on. Which would poise a big problem because, GPS can be reset. The data comes from stationary satitlites hovering over various areas above the planet. Thus simply reprogramming them would fix GPS coordinates.

 

[Nerix]

On the PS4 Pro it takes a while until textures are loading, but then it looks ok. But the texture loading thing is quite annoying, as it can take a while and also seems to depend on the altitude above the surface.

 

[stormyuk]

That doesn't look great Nerix. Especially when you are so far out. Compare that to other Earth likes. Vast difference. If you get closer it gets worse. Look how fuzzy the mountain peak definition is around Mexico and central America and South America. No that's not good.

 

[Old Duck]

On the PS4 Pro it takes a while until textures are loading, but then it looks ok. But the texture loading thing is quite annoying, as it can take a while and also seems to depend on the altitude above the surface.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DHJD_GEXsAEfPJy.jpg:orig

I've never seen that earth..... Mine looks like Australia is sitting at the equator, no matter when I visit, and if the Americas are on "my earth", they are in perpetual night, regardless of the time-of-day..

How odd.

Maybe I'll take a screenshot of "my earth", and perhaps I'll be lucky and Murphy will want to make me a liar and I'll see America for the first time ever today