Hard Light Productions Forums

Modding, Mission Design, and Coding => The Modding Workshop => Topic started by: Black Wolf on November 21, 2002, 10:16:41 am

Title: Galaxies
Post by: Black Wolf on November 21, 2002, 10:16:41 am
I've been making galaxy backgrounds over the last few, well, months actually, but only on and off, so I haven't exactly been doing very many. I'm working towards a background pack, but I want a little feedback first. The three above galaxies have been made (by hand - ie. not simply with a single plugin) with 3 similar yet distinctly different methods. I'd like a little feedback as to which everybody likes the best, so I can make more in it's vein. Number 1 has been shown before, but the other two are brand new. So, tell me what you think...
Title: More Galaxy BGs
Post by: Fineus on November 21, 2002, 10:38:15 am
That poll scared me for a second there! ;)

I love the first and second ones in particular, but the second one is just that bit more interesting.
Title: More Galaxy BGs
Post by: Knight Templar on November 21, 2002, 10:42:44 am
I'm a fan of spiral glaxies myself so I'd have to pick the last one :nod:
Title: More Galaxy BGs
Post by: Sesquipedalian on November 21, 2002, 01:33:29 pm
Number 3 definitely has the most authentic feel to it.  Number 2 looks cool with the perpendicular stream of light coming from the poles, but that's really a more stellar thing than a galactic one.
Title: More Galaxy BGs
Post by: Alikchi on November 21, 2002, 01:52:45 pm
Number 1.. number 3 is ugly, and number 2 is too..mmh..I would pick it but the light seems to big and the spirals? whatever you call them? are too..even. Looks faker than the top one.
Title: More Galaxy BGs
Post by: Anaz on November 21, 2002, 04:30:43 pm
sweeet....I didn't know you could do that with a poll!!!


I like #3 the best. #2 looks like it could be made into a cool warp ani...and I think #1 just looks odd...
Title: More Galaxy BGs
Post by: karajorma on November 21, 2002, 05:20:32 pm
Nice work BW but I hope you`re setting the mission somewhere new cause I don`t think there is anywhere in this galaxy where you can see a spiral galaxy look like that :)

Would make a great background for a mission set through a knossos or in shivan space though (assuming shivan space is in another galaxy).
Title: More Galaxy BGs
Post by: StratComm on November 21, 2002, 05:26:36 pm
I like the first one, because it looks like it could be a gallaxy or a newly formed star, either way.  Also, the second one is too defined on its perimeter to be a galaxy (or almost any stellar/galactic phenomenon for that matter) and the third has too much noise around the spirals to make a good FS background.  I want to see a Milky Way, because I have thought of the possibility of having a campaign take you into one of the Magellinic clouds.  From there our home galaxy would not only be visible as a galaxy, but would also be very large (and thus need to be very elaborate).  I can't really think of another reason to use galaxies on a starfield though...

I still like these things as backgrounds though, just because they look cool :D
Title: I refuse to vote on this...
Post by: diamondgeezer on November 21, 2002, 06:39:38 pm
They're all gorgeous. Make lost more. Use all of them.
Title: More Galaxy BGs
Post by: Black Wolf on November 21, 2002, 07:23:53 pm
Heh - results seem about even :nod:, but I'm glad number three's in the lead - that one was the easiest to make :D.

Quote
Originally Posted by Analazon sweeet....I didn't know you could do that with a poll!!!


Neither did I until I posted this one :D. As it was I had to fiddle around in a forum with Moderator access to make sure that it would work.

Oh, and these backgrounds aren't for any specific missions - while one or two may pop up in Act 2 or 3 of TI (most of which does take place out of GTVA space), I'm primarily heading towards a background pack, so they'll be available to everybody, for whatever missions anybody wants. Problem is, I'm running out ofIdeas for the Pack - I have planets, regular nebulas, galaxies, a few one off nebulae and possibly a few suns, but I don't know exactly how to implement those :(. Anyway, I'll keep thinking I guess...
Title: More Galaxy BGs
Post by: karajorma on November 22, 2002, 05:07:05 am
What might be nice would be a dark nebula like the Horsehead Nebula (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990519.html)

A pulsar might also be nice but it would suffer from the fact that you couldn`t make it rotate.

Anaccreting white dwarf  (http://astron.berkeley.edu/~bmendez/ay10/2000/cycle/accretion.html) would be nice too.
Title: More Galaxy BGs
Post by: Black_Dragon on November 23, 2002, 01:18:23 pm
Nice,  ;)  I like the second and the third.
Title: More Galaxy BGs
Post by: ZylonBane on November 23, 2002, 03:49:53 pm
Someone explain this to me-- Why bother making fake-looking CG galaxies for use as backdrops, when there are already thousands of picture of REAL galaxies available on the net?

(http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/images/d4/m109b.jpg)
(http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/images/d3/02676b.jpg)
(http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/images/d6/m33_oarb.jpg)

Yumm... (http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/)
Title: More Galaxy BGs
Post by: aldo_14 on November 23, 2002, 03:54:21 pm
Quote
Originally posted by ZylonBane
Someone explain this to me-- Why bother making fake-looking CG galaxies for use as backdrops, when there are already thousands of picture of REAL galaxies available on the net?

http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/images/d4/m109b.jpg
http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/images/d3/02676b.jpg
http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/images/d6/m33_oarb.jpg

Yumm... (http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/)



Because you have to clean out all the artifacts and various crap from real pictures to make them work properly ingame?
Title: More Galaxy BGs
Post by: Sesquipedalian on November 23, 2002, 06:06:01 pm
Quote
Originally posted by aldo_14



Because you have to clean out all the artifacts and various crap from real pictures to make them work properly ingame?
Pff.   Easy task.  ;)
Title: More Galaxy BGs
Post by: CP5670 on November 24, 2002, 09:42:04 pm
I do that all the time; zooming the image in 100x and editing the individual pixels is the way to go! ;7
Title: More Galaxy BGs
Post by: Sesquipedalian on November 24, 2002, 10:20:12 pm
Individual pixels?  What are you using, MSPaint? :D
Title: More Galaxy BGs
Post by: CP5670 on November 24, 2002, 10:52:26 pm
nah, PSP, but it's the best way to do these types of things perfectly. :D (I do it all the time when making slight modifications to only small parts of existing images, such as cleaning up the photos so that they can be used as ingame backgrounds)
Title: More Galaxy BGs
Post by: Sesquipedalian on November 24, 2002, 11:03:36 pm
I see.  *Lovingly returns to Corel PhotoPaint which can to the job perfectly in large swaths*
Title: More Galaxy BGs
Post by: ZylonBane on November 25, 2002, 11:00:57 am
For organic images (like galaxies), Clone Brush is good enough for removing dots, specs, whatever.

Then just cut the galaxy out with a high feather width, adjust the brightness/contrast and voila, you're done.