All generators have their own algorithm for generating the surface, so results are always interesting and unique.
Materials are highly customizable, that allowing you to create millions of planets, completely different from each other.
Also, they all have the animation options, that allows the planets to look more alive and dynamic.
Some generators contains really cool FX, like ThunderStorms or/and animated emissive glows.
And, of course, dynamic clouds with atmosphere settings.
Planet Former not requires ‘textures’ as such, but instead uses a set of fractal masks as samples.
This allows materials to use only a little video memory to do its job.
The planets are usable only from a distance or is it possible “to land” on them… I mean, keep zooming in on a planet and changing point of view would I see the terrain features and would it be possible to place objects on it and such?
I’d like to know because although for my first game project it might be useful anyway but if I have to then create the landing zones from scratch or add objects to the planets models you generated would be quite different.
But sadly has polar region stretching (well hidden by smart texture use, but it is there).
So I am back to square 1, I know doing planets well is not easy task at all.
I assume you used the standard sphere in the material preview. Sir, please, try to use “teapot” with the Geoid mesh selected, and preview materials with it. With Geoid mesh polar areas must be fine.
When using the standard sphere, indeed there may be distortions, but in Planets Former indicated that the materials is desirable to use only with the geoid-mesh.
No i did not used standard sphere in preview. I will take look at meshes you supplied.
I hoped for something like sphere uvs implemented in material. So mesh uvs do not matter.
And i bought your item precisely for that, to see how it can be done.
This looks really nice and I am interested, but your video always shows the planet’s from the same rather far distance. How close can the camera get and have the planets still holdup? I don’t want to land on them, but I do need to be able to view them closer, at the very least close enough that the planet pretty much fills the screen without any part of it being cut off.
Also how would your materials be mobile friendly?
EDIT: Sorry I had watched the video but missed the high res screenshots. Just looked at those and they are much tighter, and closer to what I need to do so excellent!
Still curious about the mobile aspect though, and what the shader count is on these. Also, maybe i’m just not seeing it, but there doesn’t seem to be much if any atmosphere shading going on?
Sir, I just tested the Planet Former with mobile mode and place 10 planets near each other, so they are all on the screen. 119-120 fps.
Initially Planet Former was created for PC and Consoles, but it’s working in mobile mode, still animated and fast enough)
Mobile mode in editor or mobile mode means on actual mobile device?
I looked on those materials and they are either on edge of mobile or a bit too complicated for that.
For sure will not run on low or below middle specs for mobile. Probably will be fine on new iphones, and android tablets. So for games in early development this should be fine when they are released in year or two for mobile.
But with small changes /simplifications this can be used for mobiles. However i did not looked at texture samples used par material, if that is below mobile limits.
I looked again (this time using meshes you supplied) at that polar stretching, and it is there, however not very noticeable.
I used Mobile mode in editor, I have not tested it on a specific mobile device, so yeah, results maybe different.
Materials may looks complicated in node-based material editor, but generally it’s fast, I tried to use cheap constructions in Planet Former.
I’ll be happy to know the results, if someone has the opportunity to test Planet Former on the mobile device, I currently do not have such a possibility.
Thanks.
That looks really great! The customizable things are insane, great job!