Why is space so unrealistically black and empty of stars in the bubble?

Psy

P
I've been hanging around Colonia and the core for a while and thinking of heading back to the bubble so i can fly high rollers around in my Beluga again.

But I always dread going back as I know space is so black and generic and bland in the bubble.

Why is this? I see way more stars on a clear night here on Earth, surely there must be a lot more stars visible in space in our region of the galaxy?

This photo from NASA seems to show a lot more stars visible in Sol than in-game: https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/stargazing-from-the-international-space-station

I would give anything to be able to mod this in so space actually looked cool (and realistic) in the bubble and not just a depressing black veil of nothingness.

Anyone know why such an awesome game has decided to make space look so unrealistically miserable in the bubble?
 

YinYin

YinYin
If you don't have your gamma setting at max, go put it there.

Elite generally is balanced way too dark for me, which makes you miss out tons of stars.
 
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Psy

P
trollson said:
The image you reference has been "enhanced to improve contrast" (source) - its not what the naked eye would see. Most astronomical photos you'll see in the media will have been heavily manipulated compared to a "naked eye" view.
Click to expand...

That is true, but if I fire up Space Engine I see a whole different (and much more awe inspiring) canvas of stars even from Earth.

GreyAreaUK said:
The further away from the system's star you fly, the darker (and more star-y) the sky gets. If you're close to a star, you won't see much.
Click to expand...

True there is the light pollution in space, I haven't been in the bubble for so long I can't be sure but if my memory is right even away from stars it was too dark.

Hopefully the gamma solution above fixes my problem :)
 

hs0003

Banned
hs0003
The devs artificially increased the amount of space dust compared to reality. Apparently in an earlier build there was WAAAAAY too much light from various stars, so much so that it distracted the player.
 

varonica

varonica
Psy said:
Why is this? I see way more stars on a clear night here on Earth, surely there must be a lot more stars visible in space in our region of the galaxy?
Click to expand...

9,096 is the number of stars visible to the naked eye from the earth, and since you can only see half the sky from any one location around 5,000 before they get too dim to discern individual stars. I haven't counted the number of stars I can see in ED, but it's certainly not a massive number in either case.
 

Darkfyre99

Darkfyre99
YinYin said:
If you don't have your gamma setting at max, go put it there.

Elite generally is balanced way too dark for me, which makes you miss out tons of stars.
Click to expand...

One bit of warning, though. Pushing your gamma to the max pretty much destroys what little darkness there is on the dark sides of planets.

I keep mine one notch below the middle. It gives me what I consider a realistic star field once you get away from a system's primary, while doing a fairly good job keeping the dark side dark.
 

Aashenfox

Aashenfox
Cos cockpit lighting and canopy filters. Seriously.

Just don't ask me why the external camera also sees such a drab starscape.

Anyone who's been to a really remote place and looked up, knows there's a lot more detail to the starscape even through an atmosphere than Elite's sky shows.

Having said that, the current situation makes things more visible, uses less processor and graphics resources and saves power (black pixels are almost turned off), thereby helping the environment.

It's a valid question, but I'd prefer it as it is now, instead of the alternative.
 
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Psy

P
hs0003 said:
The devs artificially increased the amount of space dust compared to reality. Apparently in an earlier build there was WAAAAAY too much light from various stars, so much so that it distracted the player.
Click to expand...

Wow thanks for the info. Seems it is as I suspected.

I am really surprised they haven't made it an option for space fans like me to be able to "turn down" the space dust.

I want my space to be realistic and distracting and steal the show ;)

Aashenfox said:
Cos cockpit lighting and canopy filters. Seriously.

Just don't ask me why the external camera also sees such a drab starscape.

Anyone who's been to a really remote place and looked up, knows there's a lot more detail to the starscape even through an atmosphere than Elite's sky shows.

Having said that, the current situation makes things more visible, uses less processor and graphics resources and saves power (black pixels are almost turned off), thereby helping the environment.

It's a valid question, but I'd prefer it as it is now, instead of the alternative.
Click to expand...

Ahh interesting I'll try flying dark more often ha ha

And exactly, I've been to remote places like that and the sky I've seen with my own eyes, may as well be the galactic core in Elite compared to what Elite serves us in the bubble.

You also have valid reasons for wanting to experience the game this way, but I think there should be an option for players like me that don't mind burning out their computer and being distracted by a much more realistic and awe inspiring star field. It's a space game after all, I want my stars in my space game
 
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satrycus

satrycus
hs0003 said:
The devs artificially increased the amount of space dust compared to reality. Apparently in an earlier build there was WAAAAAY too much light from various stars, so much so that it distracted the player.
Click to expand...

That's not how it happened. When they originally modelled the galaxy sky box using the generally accepted amount of dust it *didn't* look like what is actually observed, so they gradually increased it until there was a better match. It wasn't because the player was distracted.

Sure there are gameplay considerations, but as any explorer knows the technical accuracy of Frontier's galaxy simulation outweighs the aesthetics (i.e. beige planets), so I'm more inclined to believe that what we're seeing in game is closer to reality:
EYECAMERACOMPARE.jpg
 

Old Duck

Old Duck
GreyAreaUK said:
The further away from the system's star you fly, the darker (and more star-y) the sky gets. If you're close to a star, you won't see much.
Click to expand...

I was about to post "It looks great on my rig!" but then I saw this, and Grey is absolutely right. Whether it's a progressive tinting on the windows / helmet or just your eyes adjusting, you can't see many stars with a bright light in the sky (just like IRL during a full moon). If you really want to see stars and everything else, fly to the dark side of a planet - there the sky really pops!
 
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