Hard Light Productions Forums

General FreeSpace => FreeSpace Discussion => Topic started by: Lucika on March 17, 2010, 06:51:35 pm

Title: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: Lucika on March 17, 2010, 06:51:35 pm
I've seen that the Wiki shows some nebulae that were established as canon for a given system.
Question: if I put Mission 1 in a given system and then make an insystem jump so Mission 2 starts in the same system but in a different spot, are we supposed to see the exact same nebula?
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: General Battuta on March 17, 2010, 07:24:56 pm
Realistically, yes.
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: Droid803 on March 17, 2010, 07:57:55 pm
Unless you're in the nebula, and FS2 has show that that does change.
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: Vretsu on March 18, 2010, 10:45:28 pm
The nebula in Fs2 change between missions set in the same system. Typically, :V: nebulas set a mood or draw the player's eye. My memory is a bit sketchy on this, but I believe that all of the nebula pointed to the Colossus in "Their Finest Hour," sort of like a frame.

Reuse the same nebula, anyways. Backgrounds are a chore (in my opinion).

Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: Kopachris on March 18, 2010, 11:11:09 pm
Yes, when doing an intrasystem jump between missions, use the same nebulae.  Star and planet images can change, however.  (Here are some template files (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=68432.0))

Fixed link fail -- Mongoose
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: NGTM-1R on March 19, 2010, 12:13:58 am
The canon missions actually show the nebula change. The backgrounds for different missions in Capella are different, for example.

On a personal standpoint I only produced one background per system (usually swiped from a main campaign mission in the same one where possible for the continuity nod), but messed about with planets and star posistioning as I liked. This is admittedly because I sucked at backgrounds.
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: Klaustrophobia on March 19, 2010, 01:13:19 am
Realistically, yes.

if we are talking realistically, most systems should appear as Sol does, i.e. no nebulas
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: headdie on March 19, 2010, 08:53:19 am
Realistically, yes.

if we are talking realistically, most systems should appear as Sol does, i.e. no nebulas

on a side point wouldnt the band of the milky way be best applied as a nebual effect
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: General Battuta on March 19, 2010, 09:37:20 am
Realistically, yes.

if we are talking realistically, most systems should appear as Sol does, i.e. no nebulas

on a side point wouldnt the band of the milky way be best applied as a nebual effect

The Sol skybox from BP has it, if you're interested in accuracy. Also has all the real Sol constellations.
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: Kopachris on March 19, 2010, 04:35:34 pm
Realistically, yes.

if we are talking realistically, most systems should appear as Sol does, i.e. no nebulas

on a side point wouldnt the band of the milky way be best applied as a nebual effect

The Sol skybox from BP has it, if you're interested in accuracy. Also has all the real Sol constellations.
And so wouldn't be appropriate for any system but Sol.
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: Lucika on March 19, 2010, 04:49:21 pm
The canon missions actually show the nebula change. The backgrounds for different missions in Capella are different, for example.

Soit is not a problem if Syrk features changed nebulae, right?
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: Klaustrophobia on March 19, 2010, 05:58:03 pm
tbh, very few people would notice.  i sure wouldn't.  unless your backgrounds are extremely unique.
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: Nemesis6 on March 19, 2010, 09:22:42 pm
Nebulae aside, with the latest mediaVPS, I keep spotting Jupiter, just with its color changed to magenta. Very, very confusing!  :shaking:
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: ssmit132 on March 20, 2010, 08:12:47 pm
If I recall correctly the purple Jupiter has been there since retail.
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: CP5670 on March 20, 2010, 10:02:37 pm
Yes, that was there in retail. Callisto and Europa also appear among the original planet images.

It makes sense to have the same nebula for missions in the same system (you can rotate/orient it differently each time), but the FS2 campaign missions were never consistent about it. It didn't matter as much back then since you couldn't obviously distinguish one mission's background from another.
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: haloboy100 on March 21, 2010, 11:22:17 pm
I always wondered even back in the retail days why there were so many nebulas to begin with. Realistically you wouldn't see that anywhere in deep space, correct?
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: Shivan Hunter on March 22, 2010, 02:59:31 am
Please don't get your realism in my FreeSpace. They're there because they look cool.

If FS were realistic, fighters would rarely ever be fighting within visual range since targeting would be so advanced, you wouldn't hear anything except the sounds that originate from or make contact with your fighter, explosions wouldn't be so drawn out since there's no oxygen to make a fireball, the so-called "photon" beam cannons wouldn't be nearly as visible as they are (example: laser pointer), capital ships (with their immense engines) would in fact likely be faster than most fighters, weapon damage would be ridiculously different (or weapons would shred enemy ships in no time flat - FS weapon outputs are crazy), and Alpha 1 would be able to talk.

Also, Klaustrophobia already made the same point about nebulae.

FreeSpace is far from realistic. Rule of Cool ftw.
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: Kopachris on March 22, 2010, 07:13:53 am
Please don't get your realism in my FreeSpace. They're there because they look cool.

If FS were realistic, fighters would rarely ever be fighting within visual range since targeting would be so advanced, you wouldn't hear anything except the sounds that originate from or make contact with your fighter, explosions wouldn't be so drawn out since there's no oxygen to make a fireball, the so-called "photon" beam cannons wouldn't be nearly as visible as they are (example: laser pointer), capital ships (with their immense engines) would in fact likely be faster than most fighters, weapon damage would be ridiculously different (or weapons would shred enemy ships in no time flat - FS weapon outputs are crazy), and Alpha 1 would be able to talk.

Also, Klaustrophobia already made the same point about nebulae.

FreeSpace is far from realistic. Rule of Cool ftw.
Alpha 1 can talk.  Haven't you played AoA or ASW?  Just make the message come from #Alpha 1 instead of the ship Alpha 1.  Works the same way with anything not in the playing area, like Command.  The rest are valid points, though.
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: Shivan Hunter on March 22, 2010, 12:31:05 pm
I'm talking about canon, here. If a mod can have Alpha 1 talking, then a mod can change almost everything else. I'd actually be interested in a mod that introduces some realism to FS- but that's a discussion for another topic.
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: Kopachris on March 22, 2010, 11:14:53 pm
I'm talking about canon, here. If a mod can have Alpha 1 talking, then a mod can change almost everything else. I'd actually be interested in a mod that introduces some realism to FS- but that's a discussion for another topic.
I thought we were talking about physics and their effect on gameplay, but whatever. ;) A mod that introduces some realism would be nice, but would require an almost total rewrite of the physics engine.  Perhaps someday.
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: NGTM-1R on March 23, 2010, 01:01:49 am
I'm talking about canon, here. If a mod can have Alpha 1 talking, then a mod can change almost everything else. I'd actually be interested in a mod that introduces some realism to FS- but that's a discussion for another topic.

To be technical, this isn't a mod at all. The ability has always existed in FRED since at least FS1.
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: Shivan Hunter on March 23, 2010, 03:09:41 am
(http://i.cr3ation.co.uk/dl/s1/jpg/facepalm.jpg)

The fact remains that Alpha 1's voice is never heard in the main FS campaigns, and this is an unrealistic situation that is necessary for the sake of gameplay. Campaigns like BP that involve developing Alpha 1's character are different, narratively, than the main FS campaign- just like a mod can use newtonian dampening and have different gameplay. My point is about what happens, not what can happen.

Anyway, the discussion has been derailed enough IMO. My input on the original question:

It depends on how realistic you want to be. FS originally used different nebulae for the same system, so you'd be doing the same. Realistically, they'd be the same- but even more realistically, they wouldn't be visible at all. It's ultimately up to creative license and Rule of Cool.
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: Snail on March 23, 2010, 02:38:26 pm
Oh, god, you facepalmed NGTM-1R.
Title: Re: Canon nebulae for a system
Post by: Mars on March 31, 2010, 06:26:57 pm
Alpha 1 is the narrator of the final cuscene in Descent: Freespace