VsWiki - User contributions [en]

HowTo:Radiosity baking in Blender

2015-06-18T00:35:59Z

Gonzo: Fix links.

==Prelude==
I tried making it easy for non-blenderheads to use this guide too but a bit of know how of blender is good (look at [http://www.blender.org/documentation/] if you need something to get you started). The method described here was developed and tested with Blender 2.37. Help the community by improving upon this if you find anything incorrect or missing.

==Our goal==

There is no such thing as the ambient lighting most 3D applications and games use, period. An exposed part of the model will receive more ambient light than parts hidden deep beneath pipes and plates. Since we can't simulate this in real-time (at the moment, at least) putting this information in the texture is the way to go. How, you ask? One method is guessing and painting by hand, a very time consuming method which is also likely to render less than stunning results.

Compare the following two pictures:

http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/users/tiny_paintings/radiotut/radio1.jpg

Even though two slightly different meshes were used it should illustrate the difference, clearly the lighting on the latter picture looks more natural.

http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/users/tiny_paintings/radiotut/radio2.jpg

Our weapon of choice for achieving the desired result is, as the title of the article ever so subtly suggests, radiosity [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiosity_%28computer_graphics%29]. Using radiosity no manual labour will be required as the computer will calculate the ambient intensities for us. In the end, this should slightly alleviate the texturing process and make for promising results.

==A step by step guide==
As I mentioned above our goal is to calculate some kind of ambient light dependent on the geometry, which we'll use radiosity for. If you don't know what radiosity is, please look it up before proceeding.
All right! Just follow these steps:

# Load your UV-mapped object into Blender and put it on layer 1. Make sure it is UV-mapped! Also get rid of any lamps lingering in the scene.
## Select your model and in edit mode (press {{kbd|TAB}} do switch between edit and object modes) remove all duplicate vertices. You do this by selecting all vertices ({{kbd|A}}) and pressing {{kbd|W}}->'''Remove Doubles'''.
## Add an icosphere with its center roughly in the middle of your model ({{kbd|SPACE}}->'''Add'''->'''Mesh'''->'''Icosphere'''). This will be our ambient light source. Higher subdivision yields better results (you need a higher value for a mesh with many polygons, play around!) but longer calculation times, 4 should be sufficient.
## Scale up ({{kbd|S}}) the icosphere to encompass your entire model.
## In edit mode select all the faces ({{kbd|A}}) and flip the normals ({{kbd|W}},{{kbd|9}}). In edit mode, enable normal drawing (done in the editing context, {{kbd|F9}}) and make sure they're really pointing inward the sphere. (Note that you ''must'' be in edit mode to see or enable the drawing of normals.)
## Go to the material buttons ({{kbd|F5}}) and add a new material to the sphere. Choose the desired light color (white, normally) and give the material some emission, you have to experiment with the emit value but <code>0.02</code> should be a good starting point.
# You're now ready to start calculating the radiosity. But before you start you might want to subdivide your mesh a few times, to get better results. Do it, say, twice ({{kbd|W}},{{kbd|1}} and repeat).
## Go to the shading context ({{kbd|F5}}) and then the radiosity buttons. Select both the meshes and click the '''Collect meshes'''-button. Switch from '''Solid''' to '''Gourad'''.
## {{info}} '''IMPORTANT''': Set <code>MaxEl</code> (''not ElMax!'') to <code>1</code>. This will ensure that Blender doesn't alter the mesh in any way. http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/users/tiny_paintings/radiotut/radio_panel.jpg 
## Hit [Go] and lean back. Press {{kbd|ESC}} when you're happy with what you see or wait until it finishes. It shouldn't be all black, if it is something went wrong.
## This is optional but if the resulting mesh looks a little spotty or have artifacts you might want to perform '''Face filter''' or '''Element filter''', or both.
## Save the radiosity information in a new mesh by pressing '''Add new meshes'''. Move it to layer 2 ({{kbd|M}},{{kbd|2}}).
## Click '''Free Radio Data'''.
# Now it's time for a little cleaning up before we can bake the radiosity information to a texture. Remove the icosphere from the newly created mesh with the radiosity information. If you're not comfortable with blender, here's how you do it:
## Go to layer 2 ({{kbd|2}}). Select the mesh and enter edit mode ({{kbd|TAB}}). Remove double vertices with {{kbd|W}}->'''Remove Doubles'''. Hover the sphere with the mouse cursor and press {{kbd|L}} to select it then delete it using {{kbd|X}}->'''Vertices'''.
## Now, since using the radio tool erases all UV-information from the baked mesh we'll somehow need to transfer the vertex color information from the baked mesh to our original mesh. After trying various methods for doing this, none of which worked, I hacked together a small little script (see [[#Script]]) in python to do it. Load it, change the mesh names at the top of the file, run it and voila! For the blender impaired here's what you do:
## Press {{kbd|Shift}}+{{kbd|F11}} to bring up the text editor, load the script from the menu or paste it and then press {{kbd|Alt}}+{{kbd|P}} to run it. Your original, UV-mapped, mesh should now have all the shading information stored safely in the color of each vertex. You should be able to verify this if you set your viewport shading mode to '''Shaded''' (make sure ''VCol Light'' is enabled for your material).
# The final step is to bake the vertex color information to texture using your favorite texture baking script. Enable '''VCol Paint''' and '''Shadeless'''. Run '''Texture baker''' (found under '''Scripts'''->'''UV''' and included with Blender). If it doesn't work the first time make sure your mesh is indeed on layer 1 and try again.

That's it!

==You can do even more==

Using the same technique you can do even more nifty stuff, such as baking glowmaps:

http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/users/tiny_paintings/radiotut/radio3.jpg

==Common troubles==

'''Problem:''' After calculating the radiosity and clicking '''Add new meshes''' the resulting mesh is split into several parts. 
'''Solution:''' I don't know why this happens but fixing it is easy. Select all of the parts and join them ({{kbd|Alt}}+{{kbd|J}}) then remove doubles in edit mode ({{kbd|W}},{{kbd|5}}). Someone on cgtalk suggested it might be caused by bad normals but I haven't been able to verify or reject this theory.

'''Problem:''' Man, it doesn't look pretty! It's spotty and ugly looking. Face and Element Filter doesn't do much good, either. 
'''Solution:''' The face ratio between your model and the light source isn't good. Either subdivide the sphere more or do fewer subdivisions on the model.

'''Problem:''' The '''Texture Baker''' doesn't render anything or the wrong things. What's up? 
'''Solution:''' The version of the Texture Baker currently bundled with blender (Blender 2.37a -> 0.2.6) is out of date and you can get the newest version of the script from the "Texture baker" homepage in the [[#Links]] <code>0.2.8 2005/7/20</code>. See also the bug report [http://projects.blender.org/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=2824&group_id=9&atid=125 here].

'''Problem:''' With MaxEl set to 1, simple models such as cubes don't look good at all. 
'''Solution:''' Enter edit mode, select all vertices, press W key, and choose '''subdivide'''. The resulting radiosity calculation will run for longer and provide a more realistic solution.

==Script==
Just save this link as <code>vccopy.py</code>
[http://wiki.vega-strike.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=HowTo:Radiosity_baking_in_Blender/vccopy.py&action=raw vccopy.py]

(If it works better for you you can try using this link: [http://wiki.vega-strike.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=HowTo:Radiosity_baking_in_Blender/vccopy.py&action=raw&ctype=text/css vccopy.py])

[[HowTo:Radiosity_baking_in_Blender/vccopy.py]] - The clutter you see on this page is intended. See the source by editing the page.

==Links==
* [[WikiPedia:Radiosity]]
* [http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro/Baking Wikibook:Blender 3D: Noob to Pro: Baking Radiosity] (currently WIP)
* [http://www.blender3d.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4599 "Baking radio data into textures is here..."] thread in the [http://www.blender3d.org/forum/index.php blender3d.org forum] -> ("Bake Radio" script by ideasman)
** See also the [http://members.iinet.net.au/~cpbarton/ideasman/ homepage] ideasman.
* [http://jmsoler.free.fr/didacticiel/blender/tutor/cpl_mesh3d2uv2d.htm Copie les coordonnées UV d'un mesh à la place de ses coordonnées 3D] (french) - The "Texture Baker" homepage and a tutorial similar to this one.
* [http://download.blender.org/documentation/htmlI/ Blender documentation - User guide]
* [http://download.blender.org/documentation/htmlII/ Blender documentation - Reference]
* [http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?p=48148#48148 Original tutorial] in the forum (by [[User:Tiny paintings|tiny paintings]])

[[Category:HowTos|Radiosity baking in Blender]]
[[Category:Development|Radiosity baking in Blender]]
[[Category:Artwork|Radiosity baking in Blender]]
[[Category:Modeling|Radiosity baking in Blender]]
[[Category:Blender|Radiosity baking in Blender]]

HowTo:Edit BFXM files

2015-06-11T04:20:05Z

Gonzo: /* See also */ Fixed link!

{{NAV_Manual |
| previous=[[HowTo:Make Animated Textures|Using animated textures on a model]]
| up=[[HowTos]]
| next=[[HowTo:Edit XMESH files|Editing XMESH files]]
}}
----
'''NOTE:''' It is generally recommended that you use mesher to convert from BFXM to XMESH and back again for the purposes of editing. However, here is the specification for BFXM files.

=Format for version 0.2=

All data stored in little endian order except for strings.

'''Visual layout:'''

<SuperHeader
:<Record header
::<Mesh header,attributes,geometry>
::<Mesh header, attributes,geometry>
::...
::<Mesh header, attributes,geometry>
:>
:<Record header
::<Mesh header,attributes,geometry>
::<Mesh header, attributes,geometry>
::...
::<Mesh header, attributes,geometry>
:>
:...
:<Record header
::<Mesh header,attributes,geometry>
::<Mesh header, attributes,geometry>
::...
::<Mesh header, attributes,geometry>
:>
>

'''Per record visual layout:'''

<Record header
:<Top Mesh header,attributes,geometry>
:<First LOD Mesh header, attributes,geometry>
:...
:<Last LOD Mesh header, attributes,geometry>
:<First Anim Mesh header, attributes,geometry>
:...
:<Last Anim Mesh header, attributes,geometry>
>

==SuperHeader==
Type String:'BFXM'

Version number*100:Integer

File length in bytes: Integer

Superheader Length in bytes: Integer

Number of fields per vertex:integer (8)

Number of fields per polygon structure: integer (1)

Number of fields per referenced vertex: integer (3)

Number of fields per referenced animation: integer (1)

Number of records: integer

Number of fields per animation definition: integer (1)

'''End SuperHeader'''

==Record Header==
''for each record:''

:Size of record header in bytes: integer

:Size of record in bytes: integer

:number of meshes:integer

'''End Record Header'''

==For each mesh:==

===Header===
Size of Header in bytes: integer

Size of mesh in bytes: integer

Scale: float

Reverse: integer

Forcetexture: integer

Sharevert: integer

Polygonoffset:float

Blendmode:<bsrc:integer,bdest:integer>

Material<Power:float,Ambient.RGBA:4 floats,Diffuse.RGBA:4 floats,Emissive.RGBA:4 floats,Specular.RGBA:4

floats,Cullface:integer,lighting:integer,reflect:integer,usenormals:integer>

'''End Header'''
===Arbitrary length attributes===
Size of Arbitrary length attributes in bytes: integer

Detail Texture:

:Name Length: integer

:Name: char string

:Word alignment padding: string of bytes (all 0)

Number of Detail Planes: integer

:''for each plane:''

:<x:float,y:float,z:float>

Number of Textures: integer

:''for each texture:''

:type: integer

:index: integer

:namelength: integer

:Name: char string

:Word alignment padding: string of bytes (all 0)

Number of Logos: Integer

:''for each logo:''

:size:float

:offset: float

:rotation: float

:type: integer

:numrefs:integer

:''for each ref:''

::refnum: integer

::weight: float

Number of LODs: integer (Must be 0 for LOD or animation meshes)

:''for each LOD:''

:Size: float

:Mesh offset number: integer

Number of animations: integer (Must be 0 for animation mesh)

''for each animation:''

:length of name: integer

:name: string

:Word alignment padding: string of bytes (all 0)

:FPS: float

:number of frames:integer

:''for each frame:''

::Mesh offset number: integer

'''End Arbitrary length attributes'''

===Geometry===
Number of vertices: integer

:''for each vertex:''

:<x:float,y:float,z:float,i:float,j:float,k:float,s:float,t:float>

Number of Lines: integer

:''for each line:''

:<flatshade:integer,2 <index:integer,s:float,t:float>>

Number of Triangles: integer

:''for each triangle:''

:<flatshade:integer,3 <index:integer,s:float,t:float>>

Number of Quads: integer

:''for each Quad:''

:<flatshade:integer,4 <index:integer,s:float,t:float>>

Number of Linestrips:

:''for each Linestrip:''

:Number of elements in current Linestrip: Integer

:Flatshade: integer (always 0 actually... could optimize out)

::''for each element:''

::<index:integer,s:float,t:float>

Number of Tristrips:

:''for each Tristrip:''

:Number of elements in current Tristrip: Integer

:Flatshade: integer (always 0 actually... could optimize out)

::''for each element:''

::<index:integer,s:float,t:float>

Number of Trifans:

:''for each Trifan:''

:Number of elements in current Trifan: Integer

:Flatshade: integer (always 0 actually... could optimize out)

::''for each element:''

::<index:integer,s:float,t:float>

Number of Quadstrips:

:''for each:''

:Number of elements in current Quadstrip: Integer

:Flatshade: integer (always 0 actually... could optimize out)

::''for each element:''

::<index:integer,s:float,t:float>

'''End Geometry'''

=See also=
*[https://sourceforge.net/p/vegastrike/code/HEAD/tree/branches/ogre_branch/vegastrike/objconv/mesher/BFXM%20specification.txt BFXM Specification in SVN]
*[[HowTo:Edit XMESH files|XMESH Specification]]

----
{{NAV_Manual |
| previous=[[HowTo:Make Animated Textures|Using animated textures on a model]]
| up=[[HowTos]]
| next=[[HowTo:Edit XMESH files|Editing XMESH files]]
}}

Development:Scripts & Tools

2015-06-02T00:03:06Z

Gonzo: /* Introduction */ Fix link

{{parent_link|
|parent=[[Development]]
}}
----

= Introduction =
These handy scripts and tools are here to make your life easier.
Please note that the official standard for support tools is:
* C++, or
* Python using [http://wiki.python.org/moin/TkInter Tkinter]

{| style="width: 100%; text-align: center; background-color:#9090FF" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1"
|-style="background-color:#606060;"
! Tool !! Author !! License !! Platforms !! Engine version !! Features !! User Manual
|-valign="top" style="background-color:#909090;"


|-style="background-color:#9090FF;"
| Mesher
| klauss
| GPL || Posix, Win || -
| CLI converter obj <-> bfxm <-> xmesh
| [[HowTo:Add_Ships|Mesher HowTo]]
|-


|-style="background-color:#9090FF;"
| [http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=11885 UnitConverter OBJ->BFXM]
| [[User:pyramid|pyramid]]
| GPL || all with Python 2.5 || -
| * convert obj to bfxm *add and compress textures * edit unit info
| [[Development:Tools:UnitConverter|UnitConverter User Manual]]
|-


| CampaignEditor
| Daniel Aleksandrow
| GPL || all with Java SE 6 || -
| create and edit campaigns
| -

|}

= Internal tools =
Tools developed for Vega Strike
* Mesher utility: Converts from/to Wavefront .obj+.mtl, xmesh(es), and BFXM file formats.
* ucsv.py: (Python) Conversion script for turning .xunit files into rows in units.csv format
* 3ds2xml: (Perl) script for converting .3ds files into .xmesh format. Doesn't appear to do axis translation properly, known to be somewhat flaky.
*[WIP] [[Development:Script:obj2obj converter|obj2obj converter]] (Perl, commandline) - Converts obj files to cockpit files. or extracts tag-data from the models. (''At least that's what is planned, Testing under Win32/Linux. [[User:pontiac|Pontiac]]'')
* Configuration Parser (file: objconv/configparser.py in vegastrike CVS, Python) - Goes through the source tree and produces a config file (pygrep.config at present) containing every variable *used* in game, every possible command to bind to keys, and every colour definition that can be specified. Still under development.
*[WIP] OBJ to Vega Strike cockpit converter ([http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/users/pontiac/scripts/obj2vs_cockpit_obj/ obj2vs_cockpit_obj], Perl)

= External tools =
Plugins and scripts for external programs
*[http://members.chello.at/stefbuer/vegastrike.html XMESH import/export plugin for Wings3D]
*[http://www.talisiorder.ca/template.php?T=Vegastrike%20Addons&P=vegastrike/vegastrike.html XMESH converter for lightwave]
*[WIP] [http://www.geocities.com/cubofjudahslion/VS/xmesh.zip XMESH import script for Blender]

* [http://registry.gimp.org/node/70 DDS plugin for the GIMP]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IrfanView Irfanview] (freeware for Windows) supports the DDS image file format.
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kde KDE]'s image libraries (version >= 3.3.0) support reading the DDS file format, so e.g. gwenview, kview and konqueror can view texture files.
* See [[Development:Orbital_Planet_Surfaces]] for info on NVidia's DDS compressor software.

= See also =
* [[OOG_Tools|Out-Of-Game Player Tools]]
* [http://forums.vega-strike.org//viewtopic.php?t=2902 List of VS object conversion scripts and tools] forums thread

[[Category:Development]]

HowTo:Make Splash Screens

2015-06-01T04:28:16Z

Gonzo: /* Create your picture. */ typo

==Where can the splash screens be found?==

In Linux :
/usr/share/games/vegastrike/animations/

In Windows :
C:\Program Files\Vega Strike\animations

In that directory, 2 subfolders can be found : load_screen.ani and load_splash.ani.

A random picture from load_splash.ani is shown during Vega Strike loading. 
Three random pictures from load_screen.ani are shown during new or saved games loading.

==Files format==

Vega Strike splash screens are named "*.image".

These are DirectDrawSurface (or '''DDS''') files. Most softwares can't directly read this format.

Fortunately, The Gimp has an extension to read and create DDS pictures : '''gimp-dds'''. 

In ''Ubuntu'', this plugin can be found in official repositories. You can install it with package managers, like synaptic or the software center.

''Other linux distros'' : {{FIXME}}

A DDS plugin for ''MAC OSX'' may exist (http://gimp.lisanet.de/Website/Photo_editing.html). But I couldn't find it.

In ''Windows'', install files can be downloaded here :
http://code.google.com/p/gimp-dds/#Downloads

==How are they used in Vega Strike?==

A file named "load_screen.ani" is located in the folder with the same name. Ditto for "load_splash.ani". 
You can open these animation files with a text editor. 
They provide several configuration parameters, ans a list of pictures to be used.

Theses files are referenced in vegastrike.config, in the "splash" section: 
<code><var name="loading_sprite" value="load_screen.ani" /> (ligne 458)</code>

and in the "graphics" section : 
<code><var name="splash-screen" value="load_splash.ani"/> (ligne 527)</code>

==Animation files structure :==

* The first line is not used any more, but can't be omitted (ex :" .3 .3").
* 2nd line (ex :21 30.0 startRandom,video) :
**The first parameter shows the number of pictures to display during loading.
**The second parameter shows display time for each picture. {{FIXME}} (in seconds???)
**The third parameter "startRandom" : if present, the first picture to display is randomly selected.
**The fourth parameter "video" : ???
* The following lines list images to display. (first parameter of the second line should be adjusted to this list size, in order to view all pictures at one time oor another).

See : [[HowTo:Make Animated Textures]] for more informations on "*.ani" files.

==Making your splash screens==
===Create your picture.===
* Picture Size - 1024 x 1024 pixels (or larger, but always power of 2) 
To avoid picture stretching, take a picture at screen dimensions, then shrink it to square dimensions.
* Format - DDS 
In The gimp, save the resized image in DDS format. 
Options : choose BC1/DXT1 compression and check "Generate mipmaps".
* Location : 
Copy/paste it in the right folder (example : /usr/share/games/vegastrike/animations/load_screen.ani/). 
Attention : in Linux, you must act as super user to copy pictures in these folders, or to modify the animation files.

===Modify the animation file===
Open "load_screen.ani" or "load_splash.ani" (according to the folder where are your pictures). 
Add the new picture's name in the list. 
Add "1" to the first parameter of the second line. 
Save your modifications.

===Launch Vega Strike===
and load a new or saved game, to admire your work in the game. 
(attention : images being randomly selected, you may have to load Vega Strike several times in order to see your new picture).

==Create your splash screens folder==

* Create a subfolder in the "animation" folder, named "load_xxx.ani" (where xxx represents any string chosen by you).
* Create inside a text file with the same name : "load_xxx.ani"
* Paste your own pictures in the subfolder, and adjust the *.ani" file, as seen above.
* In vegastrike.config, replace the default "*.ani" file name (please see above) by yours.
** Search for the <code><graphics></code> section;
** Find the line <code><var name="splash_screen" value="</code>
** Replace the existing folder name by yours.

See your ..\animations\ subdirectory for examples.

== See Also ==

[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=838 Forum Link]

[[Category:HowTos|Make Splash Screens]]
[[Category:Development|Make Splash Screens]]
[[Category:Artwork|Make Splash Screens]]

Development:Orbital Planet Surfaces

2015-05-31T06:58:16Z

Gonzo: /* External References */ Fix link

=General=

This page summarizes concepts and approaches to creating planet surfaces as seen from orbit.
Topics of atmospheric entry and close-to-surface planetary topology and atmospheric effects or planetary flight should be covered in a separate document.

Two main topics are covered in this document:
* Development of textured surfaces
* Development of procedural surfaces

=Textured Surfaces=

==Texture Requirements==

===Generic Image Requirements===

Please read this [[Development:Graphics_Requirements]] page before continuing to the specific requirements.

===Specific Image Requirements===
===Summary of Texture Requirements===
Textures ready for submission should fulfill:
* Codec: dds DXT1 with mipmaps for diffuse textures; dds DXT3 with mipmaps for citylight textures
* Extension: .texture
* Ratio (horizontal:vertical): 2:1
* Size: following the POT rule (power-of-two)
* Resolution: min 2048x1024
* Tilable (seamless): horizontally and vertically
* Quality: RQ or CQ

===Image Resolution, Formats, and Quality===
The planet surface graphics format currently recommended for the game is '''dds''' format with dxt1 compression, with filenames ending in '''.texture'''. (Before May 2008, DDS textures were stored in files named .png, because of references to filenames in other places.)

The '''image ratio''' horizontal:vertical must be 2:1 (assuming pixel ratio of the map is 1:1), since the texture is wrapped around the planet sphere horizontally around 360 degrees and vertically around 180 degrees.
Necessarily, in order for the surface not to appear distorted, your '''pixel ratio''' of the generated texture must be 1.0, i.e. a circle must show as a circle when viewing the texture in an image viewer, on a monitor with square pixels.

The vertical and horizontal sizes should be a '''power of two''' (POT).
Really, NPOT (non-power-of-two) textures are possible, but really, really, really troublesome. Don't use them. Just use POT. Love the POT. The POT is the mother, the POT is the father. Trust the POT.

That leaves few options:
*1024x512
*2048x1024
*4096x2048
*8192x4096

Keeping original high resolution image (e.g. 8192x4096 or 4096x2048) versions in stock helps maintaining quality and scalability as game development progresses or typical screen resolutions rise in the future with better hardware available to the players.

Most of the surface textures included in data have a horizontal resolution of 1024 or below. Committed textures are classified as:
* DQ - Development Quality: textures with horizontal resolution of 1024 or below and low degree of realism
* RQ - Release Quality: textures with horizontal resolution of 2048 or above and medium degree of realism
* CQ - Cinematographic Quality: textures with horizontal resolution of 2048 or above and high degree of realism

===Image Properties===
Naturally, the images should be '''seamless (tilable)''' so that seams are not visible on the rotating planet, neither on the stitch nor at the poles.

3d rendering software with unwrap functions is recommended, since it is extremely inefficient and troublesome to create seamless textures in 2d programs.

===Planet textures required===
[source: klauss]
*Diffuse color map (the actual planet texture)
*Night map (with city lights); needs to have alpha channel for the transparent areas. Compression type must be DXT3.
*Specular map as usual.
*Cloudmap... not so usual. The cloudmap contains color in the color data - but base, unlit color. Until now, I couldn't find a case where the color portion of the texture wasn't uniform, so I might drop color "texture" for a uniform color "parameter" - but in any case, the texture contains the cloud's basic color in the color portion (fully white for earthish textures), and "thickness" in the alpha channel. What I did to create the current cloudmaps: transfer the color (grayscale) channel to the alpha channel, adjust its "dynamic distribution", kind-of gamma correction, to avoid saturation of the alpha channel as much as possible (it looks bad), and filled the color channel with white. Thickness means that - the thickness of clouds. It indirectly translates to their height. All clouds are based on the same level (they usually are in reality, minus some exceptions), and grow upwards as much as the alpha channel tells it to.
*Normalmap as usual (though normalmaps are presently not required, they aren't any different from unit normalmaps: RGB with normal data, Alpha with height data).

==Development Tools, Tutorials==

===GIMP===
[[Links:Graphic_Applications#GIMP|GIMP - the GNU Image Manipulation Program]] is quite versatile; to work with texture files, you'll need DDS plugin (if it's not installed already).

A good starting point for e.g. gas giant texture maps is the 'Solid Noise' filter.

There is a way to make planetary twisters like Uranus or so, using the Gimp. First you must create the gas texture, and then apply the distort filter into Filters>Distortions>Deformation. Then set the deformation type to "counterclockwise swirl", and the make one or two swirls. This will generate swirls at the surface.

On the other hand, if you like a hurricane zone, for example [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Red_Spot Jupiter's Great Red Spot], you can do it very simply: first select a ecliptic small zone, which will be the future hurricane. Then apply the filter Filters>Distortions>Lens Crystal, and apply a bit crystal lens distortion. Then, deselect that selected zone, and apply Filters>Distortions>Deformation, and set the deformation to "move", and move the left and right sides of the elliptical form a bit, just to make the effect of undercloud.

===POV-Ray===
[Links:3D_Applications#POV-Ray|POV-Ray (Persistence of Vision Raytracer)] with its unique scripting approach and through a large base of available texture, pigment, and material functions provides almost unlimited possibilities to creating surface maps.

Maps can be exported by using a spherical camera setting:
''camera {spherical angle 360}''

===Blender===
[Links:3D_Applications#Blender|Blender 3D]

Scripts for blender can be created using Python. No application of blender for creation of planet surfaces is known to us currently. Submissions are appreciated.

===Tutorials===
Some great tutorials can be found at [http://www.solarvoyager.com/tutorials.asp Solar Voyager]. They are geared toward 3dsmax and Photoshop, but are general enough in scope that they could be easily adapted to GIMP and POV-Ray.

==Including and Testing==

===Systems Substitution Testing===

In the .systems file of the systems where you saved the game (data/sectors/SectorName/), search for the planet that you want to test your texture on and replace the current texture in the 'file' statement with your texture, e.g.

*Take: <Planet name="Wiley" file="planets/rock.texture" ...>
*Replace with: <Planet name="Wiley" file="planets/rocky_wiley.texture" ...>

Note: You can search in data dir using the command ''grep -R "rock_water.texture" sectors''

Should your planet texture not be listed in the sector definition files, you can edit the system config file "sectors/testsystems/planets.system" to change your texture on one of the existing planets and then run Vega Strike with the planet test mission:

''./vegastrike test/planets.mission''

===Editing Systems===

In some cases it is required to tweak the universe in order to add new textures.
A very good HowTo explains the road to be taken here.
* [[HowTo:Edit_Systems]] with
** [[HowTo:Edit_Systems:Milkyway]]
** [[HowTo:Edit_Systems:System_Files]]

==Selection and Vetting Process==

===Some Thoughts===
While many textures are still with the DQ (development quality) status, it is important to quickly raise the quality of all textures to release status and beyond. In this stage, following the selection (or vetting) process might not be of the highest importance.
However when replacing visually appealing textures or raising the overall quality to CQ (cinematographic) it is of advantage to share your decisions with the whole community. This is exactly the purpose of the selection and vetting process.

Enthusiasm, the strong motivation to contribute his own work, see it published in a release, and be part of the community, often brings the danger along of falling into the pitfall and want to contribute and replace too many textures at the same time.
The more advanced in quality and visual appeal the textures become the more important it becomes to create a very distinct and personal look to the particular texture or even planet, since the ultimate goal is to have an individual surface for each planet.

Ultimately, nobody really knows how extra-solar planets look like but here are some references that might inspire you to create an individual, unique, and personal texture:
* The planet name might give you some hints
* The planet type says something about possible surface type
* Analyze the essence of the existing texture in color, structure, area division
* Inspire yourself by other works of art (paintings, computer generated art, astronomical sites, science-fiction movies)

And of course, push your tools to their limits.

Once you have chosen a replacement candidate and have one or more proposals...

===The Process===
If you are not sure that your texture meets the basic requirements, then please open a forum topic posting your textures.
Here's a summary of requirements:
* Format: dds (with .texture extension)
* Ratio (horizontal:vertical): 2:1
* Size: following the POT rule (power-of-two)
* Resolution: min 2048x1024
* Tilable (seamless): horizontally and vertically
* Quality: RQ or CQ

If a texture that you have created meets the above described requirements, then:
* Open a poll for a reasonable period of time (e.g. 2 weeks) and describe:
** which texture(s) you'd like to replace
** show which are the candidates
** describe briefly the method of creation
** If you'd like to replace more than one texture, describe how you would assign the favorites of the poll to the individual textures

* After a set period of time
** announce the winners
** and call the poll closed

* Then
** Submit the textures to svn (in case you have commit rights attributed), or
** through the forum ask a developer with write access to submit them (e.g. the maintainer of this page, [[User:pyramid|pyramid]]).

==Submission Process==

===Requirements===
If you have svn commit access, then you will need nVidia's free texture tool nvcompress to transform your original textures to optimized dds textures.
Get the tool here: [http://developer.nvidia.com/object/texture_tools.html NVIDIA Texture Tools]

The following applies to NVIDIA texture tools version 0.9.4. More recent versions have not yet been tested.

Due to a bug in handling 1 pixel mipmaps in the original version, you will be further required to patch the tools with safemode's patch. This can be obtained here: [http://signal-lost.homeip.net/files/nvidia-texture.patch save nvidia-texture.patch file]

Patch the texture tools, compile, and install them.

===Texture Optimization===
Transform your original texture using nvcompress using the DXT1 format.

''nvcompress -bc1 textureoriginal1.png texture_dds.texture''

Verify the optimized texture either by opening it with the GIMP and making sure that 12 mipmap layers (for 2048x1024 resolution) are contained in the file, or by checking it with

''nvddsinfo texture_dds.texture''

Lightmap textures require the alpha channel to be included in the compressed texture. Use the DXT3 format to compress:

''nvcompress -bc2 lightmap_master.png lightmap_texture_dds.texture''

===Committing to SVN===

If you have write access to svn then submit the textures after going through the community selection process.
Otherwise, please call through a forum topic a developer with write access to submit them.

As of May 2008, svn has two directories for texture data:
* /masters/textures that holds the original textures and also source files that were used to create the textures
* /data/textures that holds the optimized dds/DXT1 textures

==Development Needs and Tasks==

Proposed development roadmap:
*Phase 1 [91%]: Replace existing textures with at least 2048x1024 textures (release quality). Exceptionally sol textures should have minimum resolution of 1024x512 since hi resolution maps for solar system bodies are hard to find for all objects.
*Phase 2 [ 0%]: Expand the set of textures to include more variety in milky_way.xml
*Phase 3 [ 0%]: Develop cinematographic quality surface (planet, lights) and atmosphere (cloud/weather) maps

List of tasks for textured planet surfaces: [[Development:2D_Images#Orbital_Planet_Surfaces]]

=Procedural Surfaces=

At the time of writing (February 2008) no known implementation of procedural orbital planet surfaces exists in Vega Strike.

However, an attempt has been started and you can find some more information in the following thread:
* [http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=10520 seamless planetary descent with automatic mesh generation]

=References=
References apply both to textured and procedural approaches if not stated otherwise.

==Software, Tools==
For a comprehensive list of tools, please see:
*[[Links:Graphic_Applications|Links:Graphic Applications]]
*[[Links:3D_Applications|Links:3D Applications]]

==Wiki References==

Planets and Systems
*Listing and description of planet types: [[Manual:Planet_types]]
*Editing Systems using milky_way or system files: [[HowTo:Edit_Systems]]

Development Roadmap
*Improved planet textures (Higher quality/Fractal Enhanced?): [[Development:Roadmap#Aspects_for_consideration]]
*List of tasks for textured planet surfaces: [[Development:2D_Images#Orbital_Planet_Surfaces]]

==Forum References==

Texture Requirements
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=9160 4.4 release work]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=9401 Artwork/data overhauls]

Development Tools
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=7055 Tools for creating planet textures]

Examples, Including, Testing
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=7116 Orbital planet surfaces: gas giants]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=3664 Orbital planet surfaces]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=5957 Some New Planets]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=4008 stand clear. planets coming through]

Submission Process

Development Needs and Tasks
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?p=36698 Shady Planet...]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=6200 YASP (Yet Another Shady Planet) ;-)]

Improvement and Development Proposals
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=3543 Auto-Enhancing Textures]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=1970 Fractal Generation System]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=2371 More pretty stuff: atmospheres and planet surfaces]

Planetary Flight Topics
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=4597 The official "Seamless Planetary Flight" thread]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=9645 Theoretical planetside mode]

==External References==

===Gas Giant Surfaces===

*[http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/J/Jupiter.html#Atmosphere Jupiter Atmosphere]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter_(planet)#Atmosphere Jupiter (planet)]
*[http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970920.html The Clouds of Jupiter]
*[http://fas.org/irp/imint/docs/rst/Sect19/Sect19_15.html Planetary Remote Sensing - Jupiter]
*[http://opensourceschools.org/article.php?story=20030428204319316 Atmospheres of the Gas Giants]
*[http://www.solstation.com/stars/jupiter.htm Solstation Jupiter]
*[http://vims.artov.rm.cnr.it/data/res-jup.html The Cassini Instruments - Jupiter]

===Image References===
*[http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z305/owallgren/Vega%20Strike/PIA00144_ip.jpg Io and Europa over Jupiter]
*[http://www.celestiamotherlode.net/catalog/images/screenshots/jupiter/4kjupiter__johnvanvliet.jpg Celestia Jupiter Map]
*[http://www.celestiamotherlode.net/catalog/images/screenshots/neptune/neptune__tcorbin.jpg Celestia Neptune Map]
*[http://www.mmedia.is/bjj/data/jupiter_css/jupiter_css.jpg Bjorn Jonsson's Planetary Maps]

===Tutorial References===
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150423145531/http://gallery.artofgregmartin.com/tuts_arts/making_a_planet.html "Make a planet" tutorial by Greg Martin]
* [http://alyn.deviantart.com/art/Advanced-planet-creation-11885274 "Advanced planet creation" by alyn]

'''Author: [[User:pyramid|pyramid]]'''

[[Category:Development]]

Development:Orbital Planet Surfaces

2015-05-27T19:34:34Z

Gonzo: /* Image References */ Picture link broken, picture substituted

=General=

This page summarizes concepts and approaches to creating planet surfaces as seen from orbit.
Topics of atmospheric entry and close-to-surface planetary topology and atmospheric effects or planetary flight should be covered in a separate document.

Two main topics are covered in this document:
* Development of textured surfaces
* Development of procedural surfaces

=Textured Surfaces=

==Texture Requirements==

===Generic Image Requirements===

Please read this [[Development:Graphics_Requirements]] page before continuing to the specific requirements.

===Specific Image Requirements===
===Summary of Texture Requirements===
Textures ready for submission should fulfill:
* Codec: dds DXT1 with mipmaps for diffuse textures; dds DXT3 with mipmaps for citylight textures
* Extension: .texture
* Ratio (horizontal:vertical): 2:1
* Size: following the POT rule (power-of-two)
* Resolution: min 2048x1024
* Tilable (seamless): horizontally and vertically
* Quality: RQ or CQ

===Image Resolution, Formats, and Quality===
The planet surface graphics format currently recommended for the game is '''dds''' format with dxt1 compression, with filenames ending in '''.texture'''. (Before May 2008, DDS textures were stored in files named .png, because of references to filenames in other places.)

The '''image ratio''' horizontal:vertical must be 2:1 (assuming pixel ratio of the map is 1:1), since the texture is wrapped around the planet sphere horizontally around 360 degrees and vertically around 180 degrees.
Necessarily, in order for the surface not to appear distorted, your '''pixel ratio''' of the generated texture must be 1.0, i.e. a circle must show as a circle when viewing the texture in an image viewer, on a monitor with square pixels.

The vertical and horizontal sizes should be a '''power of two''' (POT).
Really, NPOT (non-power-of-two) textures are possible, but really, really, really troublesome. Don't use them. Just use POT. Love the POT. The POT is the mother, the POT is the father. Trust the POT.

That leaves few options:
*1024x512
*2048x1024
*4096x2048
*8192x4096

Keeping original high resolution image (e.g. 8192x4096 or 4096x2048) versions in stock helps maintaining quality and scalability as game development progresses or typical screen resolutions rise in the future with better hardware available to the players.

Most of the surface textures included in data have a horizontal resolution of 1024 or below. Committed textures are classified as:
* DQ - Development Quality: textures with horizontal resolution of 1024 or below and low degree of realism
* RQ - Release Quality: textures with horizontal resolution of 2048 or above and medium degree of realism
* CQ - Cinematographic Quality: textures with horizontal resolution of 2048 or above and high degree of realism

===Image Properties===
Naturally, the images should be '''seamless (tilable)''' so that seams are not visible on the rotating planet, neither on the stitch nor at the poles.

3d rendering software with unwrap functions is recommended, since it is extremely inefficient and troublesome to create seamless textures in 2d programs.

===Planet textures required===
[source: klauss]
*Diffuse color map (the actual planet texture)
*Night map (with city lights); needs to have alpha channel for the transparent areas. Compression type must be DXT3.
*Specular map as usual.
*Cloudmap... not so usual. The cloudmap contains color in the color data - but base, unlit color. Until now, I couldn't find a case where the color portion of the texture wasn't uniform, so I might drop color "texture" for a uniform color "parameter" - but in any case, the texture contains the cloud's basic color in the color portion (fully white for earthish textures), and "thickness" in the alpha channel. What I did to create the current cloudmaps: transfer the color (grayscale) channel to the alpha channel, adjust its "dynamic distribution", kind-of gamma correction, to avoid saturation of the alpha channel as much as possible (it looks bad), and filled the color channel with white. Thickness means that - the thickness of clouds. It indirectly translates to their height. All clouds are based on the same level (they usually are in reality, minus some exceptions), and grow upwards as much as the alpha channel tells it to.
*Normalmap as usual (though normalmaps are presently not required, they aren't any different from unit normalmaps: RGB with normal data, Alpha with height data).

==Development Tools, Tutorials==

===GIMP===
[[Links:Graphic_Applications#GIMP|GIMP - the GNU Image Manipulation Program]] is quite versatile; to work with texture files, you'll need DDS plugin (if it's not installed already).

A good starting point for e.g. gas giant texture maps is the 'Solid Noise' filter.

There is a way to make planetary twisters like Uranus or so, using the Gimp. First you must create the gas texture, and then apply the distort filter into Filters>Distortions>Deformation. Then set the deformation type to "counterclockwise swirl", and the make one or two swirls. This will generate swirls at the surface.

On the other hand, if you like a hurricane zone, for example [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Red_Spot Jupiter's Great Red Spot], you can do it very simply: first select a ecliptic small zone, which will be the future hurricane. Then apply the filter Filters>Distortions>Lens Crystal, and apply a bit crystal lens distortion. Then, deselect that selected zone, and apply Filters>Distortions>Deformation, and set the deformation to "move", and move the left and right sides of the elliptical form a bit, just to make the effect of undercloud.

===POV-Ray===
[Links:3D_Applications#POV-Ray|POV-Ray (Persistence of Vision Raytracer)] with its unique scripting approach and through a large base of available texture, pigment, and material functions provides almost unlimited possibilities to creating surface maps.

Maps can be exported by using a spherical camera setting:
''camera {spherical angle 360}''

===Blender===
[Links:3D_Applications#Blender|Blender 3D]

Scripts for blender can be created using Python. No application of blender for creation of planet surfaces is known to us currently. Submissions are appreciated.

===Tutorials===
Some great tutorials can be found at [http://www.solarvoyager.com/tutorials.asp Solar Voyager]. They are geared toward 3dsmax and Photoshop, but are general enough in scope that they could be easily adapted to GIMP and POV-Ray.

==Including and Testing==

===Systems Substitution Testing===

In the .systems file of the systems where you saved the game (data/sectors/SectorName/), search for the planet that you want to test your texture on and replace the current texture in the 'file' statement with your texture, e.g.

*Take: <Planet name="Wiley" file="planets/rock.texture" ...>
*Replace with: <Planet name="Wiley" file="planets/rocky_wiley.texture" ...>

Note: You can search in data dir using the command ''grep -R "rock_water.texture" sectors''

Should your planet texture not be listed in the sector definition files, you can edit the system config file "sectors/testsystems/planets.system" to change your texture on one of the existing planets and then run Vega Strike with the planet test mission:

''./vegastrike test/planets.mission''

===Editing Systems===

In some cases it is required to tweak the universe in order to add new textures.
A very good HowTo explains the road to be taken here.
* [[HowTo:Edit_Systems]] with
** [[HowTo:Edit_Systems:Milkyway]]
** [[HowTo:Edit_Systems:System_Files]]

==Selection and Vetting Process==

===Some Thoughts===
While many textures are still with the DQ (development quality) status, it is important to quickly raise the quality of all textures to release status and beyond. In this stage, following the selection (or vetting) process might not be of the highest importance.
However when replacing visually appealing textures or raising the overall quality to CQ (cinematographic) it is of advantage to share your decisions with the whole community. This is exactly the purpose of the selection and vetting process.

Enthusiasm, the strong motivation to contribute his own work, see it published in a release, and be part of the community, often brings the danger along of falling into the pitfall and want to contribute and replace too many textures at the same time.
The more advanced in quality and visual appeal the textures become the more important it becomes to create a very distinct and personal look to the particular texture or even planet, since the ultimate goal is to have an individual surface for each planet.

Ultimately, nobody really knows how extra-solar planets look like but here are some references that might inspire you to create an individual, unique, and personal texture:
* The planet name might give you some hints
* The planet type says something about possible surface type
* Analyze the essence of the existing texture in color, structure, area division
* Inspire yourself by other works of art (paintings, computer generated art, astronomical sites, science-fiction movies)

And of course, push your tools to their limits.

Once you have chosen a replacement candidate and have one or more proposals...

===The Process===
If you are not sure that your texture meets the basic requirements, then please open a forum topic posting your textures.
Here's a summary of requirements:
* Format: dds (with .texture extension)
* Ratio (horizontal:vertical): 2:1
* Size: following the POT rule (power-of-two)
* Resolution: min 2048x1024
* Tilable (seamless): horizontally and vertically
* Quality: RQ or CQ

If a texture that you have created meets the above described requirements, then:
* Open a poll for a reasonable period of time (e.g. 2 weeks) and describe:
** which texture(s) you'd like to replace
** show which are the candidates
** describe briefly the method of creation
** If you'd like to replace more than one texture, describe how you would assign the favorites of the poll to the individual textures

* After a set period of time
** announce the winners
** and call the poll closed

* Then
** Submit the textures to svn (in case you have commit rights attributed), or
** through the forum ask a developer with write access to submit them (e.g. the maintainer of this page, [[User:pyramid|pyramid]]).

==Submission Process==

===Requirements===
If you have svn commit access, then you will need nVidia's free texture tool nvcompress to transform your original textures to optimized dds textures.
Get the tool here: [http://developer.nvidia.com/object/texture_tools.html NVIDIA Texture Tools]

The following applies to NVIDIA texture tools version 0.9.4. More recent versions have not yet been tested.

Due to a bug in handling 1 pixel mipmaps in the original version, you will be further required to patch the tools with safemode's patch. This can be obtained here: [http://signal-lost.homeip.net/files/nvidia-texture.patch save nvidia-texture.patch file]

Patch the texture tools, compile, and install them.

===Texture Optimization===
Transform your original texture using nvcompress using the DXT1 format.

''nvcompress -bc1 textureoriginal1.png texture_dds.texture''

Verify the optimized texture either by opening it with the GIMP and making sure that 12 mipmap layers (for 2048x1024 resolution) are contained in the file, or by checking it with

''nvddsinfo texture_dds.texture''

Lightmap textures require the alpha channel to be included in the compressed texture. Use the DXT3 format to compress:

''nvcompress -bc2 lightmap_master.png lightmap_texture_dds.texture''

===Committing to SVN===

If you have write access to svn then submit the textures after going through the community selection process.
Otherwise, please call through a forum topic a developer with write access to submit them.

As of May 2008, svn has two directories for texture data:
* /masters/textures that holds the original textures and also source files that were used to create the textures
* /data/textures that holds the optimized dds/DXT1 textures

==Development Needs and Tasks==

Proposed development roadmap:
*Phase 1 [91%]: Replace existing textures with at least 2048x1024 textures (release quality). Exceptionally sol textures should have minimum resolution of 1024x512 since hi resolution maps for solar system bodies are hard to find for all objects.
*Phase 2 [ 0%]: Expand the set of textures to include more variety in milky_way.xml
*Phase 3 [ 0%]: Develop cinematographic quality surface (planet, lights) and atmosphere (cloud/weather) maps

List of tasks for textured planet surfaces: [[Development:2D_Images#Orbital_Planet_Surfaces]]

=Procedural Surfaces=

At the time of writing (February 2008) no known implementation of procedural orbital planet surfaces exists in Vega Strike.

However, an attempt has been started and you can find some more information in the following thread:
* [http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=10520 seamless planetary descent with automatic mesh generation]

=References=
References apply both to textured and procedural approaches if not stated otherwise.

==Software, Tools==
For a comprehensive list of tools, please see:
*[[Links:Graphic_Applications|Links:Graphic Applications]]
*[[Links:3D_Applications|Links:3D Applications]]

==Wiki References==

Planets and Systems
*Listing and description of planet types: [[Manual:Planet_types]]
*Editing Systems using milky_way or system files: [[HowTo:Edit_Systems]]

Development Roadmap
*Improved planet textures (Higher quality/Fractal Enhanced?): [[Development:Roadmap#Aspects_for_consideration]]
*List of tasks for textured planet surfaces: [[Development:2D_Images#Orbital_Planet_Surfaces]]

==Forum References==

Texture Requirements
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=9160 4.4 release work]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=9401 Artwork/data overhauls]

Development Tools
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=7055 Tools for creating planet textures]

Examples, Including, Testing
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=7116 Orbital planet surfaces: gas giants]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=3664 Orbital planet surfaces]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=5957 Some New Planets]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=4008 stand clear. planets coming through]

Submission Process

Development Needs and Tasks
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?p=36698 Shady Planet...]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=6200 YASP (Yet Another Shady Planet) ;-)]

Improvement and Development Proposals
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=3543 Auto-Enhancing Textures]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=1970 Fractal Generation System]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=2371 More pretty stuff: atmospheres and planet surfaces]

Planetary Flight Topics
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=4597 The official "Seamless Planetary Flight" thread]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=9645 Theoretical planetside mode]

==External References==

===Gas Giant Surfaces===

*[http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/J/Jupiter.html#Atmosphere Jupiter Atmosphere]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter_(planet)#Atmosphere Jupiter (planet)]
*[http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970920.html The Clouds of Jupiter]
*[http://www.sbg.ac.at/geo/idrisi/remote_sensing_tutorial/rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/sect19/sect19_15.html Planetary Remote Sensing - Jupiter]
*[http://opensourceschools.org/article.php?story=20030428204319316 Atmospheres of the Gas Giants]
*[http://www.solstation.com/stars/jupiter.htm Solstation Jupiter]
*[http://vims.artov.rm.cnr.it/data/res-jup.html The Cassini Instruments - Jupiter]

===Image References===
*[http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z305/owallgren/Vega%20Strike/PIA00144_ip.jpg Io and Europa over Jupiter]
*[http://www.celestiamotherlode.net/catalog/images/screenshots/jupiter/4kjupiter__johnvanvliet.jpg Celestia Jupiter Map]
*[http://www.celestiamotherlode.net/catalog/images/screenshots/neptune/neptune__tcorbin.jpg Celestia Neptune Map]
*[http://www.mmedia.is/bjj/data/jupiter_css/jupiter_css.jpg Bjorn Jonsson's Planetary Maps]

===Tutorial References===
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150423145531/http://gallery.artofgregmartin.com/tuts_arts/making_a_planet.html "Make a planet" tutorial by Greg Martin]
* [http://alyn.deviantart.com/art/Advanced-planet-creation-11885274 "Advanced planet creation" by alyn]

'''Author: [[User:pyramid|pyramid]]'''

[[Category:Development]]

Development:Orbital Planet Surfaces

2015-05-27T18:00:19Z

Gonzo: /* Tutorial References */ Fix broken link with archived page

=General=

This page summarizes concepts and approaches to creating planet surfaces as seen from orbit.
Topics of atmospheric entry and close-to-surface planetary topology and atmospheric effects or planetary flight should be covered in a separate document.

Two main topics are covered in this document:
* Development of textured surfaces
* Development of procedural surfaces

=Textured Surfaces=

==Texture Requirements==

===Generic Image Requirements===

Please read this [[Development:Graphics_Requirements]] page before continuing to the specific requirements.

===Specific Image Requirements===
===Summary of Texture Requirements===
Textures ready for submission should fulfill:
* Codec: dds DXT1 with mipmaps for diffuse textures; dds DXT3 with mipmaps for citylight textures
* Extension: .texture
* Ratio (horizontal:vertical): 2:1
* Size: following the POT rule (power-of-two)
* Resolution: min 2048x1024
* Tilable (seamless): horizontally and vertically
* Quality: RQ or CQ

===Image Resolution, Formats, and Quality===
The planet surface graphics format currently recommended for the game is '''dds''' format with dxt1 compression, with filenames ending in '''.texture'''. (Before May 2008, DDS textures were stored in files named .png, because of references to filenames in other places.)

The '''image ratio''' horizontal:vertical must be 2:1 (assuming pixel ratio of the map is 1:1), since the texture is wrapped around the planet sphere horizontally around 360 degrees and vertically around 180 degrees.
Necessarily, in order for the surface not to appear distorted, your '''pixel ratio''' of the generated texture must be 1.0, i.e. a circle must show as a circle when viewing the texture in an image viewer, on a monitor with square pixels.

The vertical and horizontal sizes should be a '''power of two''' (POT).
Really, NPOT (non-power-of-two) textures are possible, but really, really, really troublesome. Don't use them. Just use POT. Love the POT. The POT is the mother, the POT is the father. Trust the POT.

That leaves few options:
*1024x512
*2048x1024
*4096x2048
*8192x4096

Keeping original high resolution image (e.g. 8192x4096 or 4096x2048) versions in stock helps maintaining quality and scalability as game development progresses or typical screen resolutions rise in the future with better hardware available to the players.

Most of the surface textures included in data have a horizontal resolution of 1024 or below. Committed textures are classified as:
* DQ - Development Quality: textures with horizontal resolution of 1024 or below and low degree of realism
* RQ - Release Quality: textures with horizontal resolution of 2048 or above and medium degree of realism
* CQ - Cinematographic Quality: textures with horizontal resolution of 2048 or above and high degree of realism

===Image Properties===
Naturally, the images should be '''seamless (tilable)''' so that seams are not visible on the rotating planet, neither on the stitch nor at the poles.

3d rendering software with unwrap functions is recommended, since it is extremely inefficient and troublesome to create seamless textures in 2d programs.

===Planet textures required===
[source: klauss]
*Diffuse color map (the actual planet texture)
*Night map (with city lights); needs to have alpha channel for the transparent areas. Compression type must be DXT3.
*Specular map as usual.
*Cloudmap... not so usual. The cloudmap contains color in the color data - but base, unlit color. Until now, I couldn't find a case where the color portion of the texture wasn't uniform, so I might drop color "texture" for a uniform color "parameter" - but in any case, the texture contains the cloud's basic color in the color portion (fully white for earthish textures), and "thickness" in the alpha channel. What I did to create the current cloudmaps: transfer the color (grayscale) channel to the alpha channel, adjust its "dynamic distribution", kind-of gamma correction, to avoid saturation of the alpha channel as much as possible (it looks bad), and filled the color channel with white. Thickness means that - the thickness of clouds. It indirectly translates to their height. All clouds are based on the same level (they usually are in reality, minus some exceptions), and grow upwards as much as the alpha channel tells it to.
*Normalmap as usual (though normalmaps are presently not required, they aren't any different from unit normalmaps: RGB with normal data, Alpha with height data).

==Development Tools, Tutorials==

===GIMP===
[[Links:Graphic_Applications#GIMP|GIMP - the GNU Image Manipulation Program]] is quite versatile; to work with texture files, you'll need DDS plugin (if it's not installed already).

A good starting point for e.g. gas giant texture maps is the 'Solid Noise' filter.

There is a way to make planetary twisters like Uranus or so, using the Gimp. First you must create the gas texture, and then apply the distort filter into Filters>Distortions>Deformation. Then set the deformation type to "counterclockwise swirl", and the make one or two swirls. This will generate swirls at the surface.

On the other hand, if you like a hurricane zone, for example [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Red_Spot Jupiter's Great Red Spot], you can do it very simply: first select a ecliptic small zone, which will be the future hurricane. Then apply the filter Filters>Distortions>Lens Crystal, and apply a bit crystal lens distortion. Then, deselect that selected zone, and apply Filters>Distortions>Deformation, and set the deformation to "move", and move the left and right sides of the elliptical form a bit, just to make the effect of undercloud.

===POV-Ray===
[Links:3D_Applications#POV-Ray|POV-Ray (Persistence of Vision Raytracer)] with its unique scripting approach and through a large base of available texture, pigment, and material functions provides almost unlimited possibilities to creating surface maps.

Maps can be exported by using a spherical camera setting:
''camera {spherical angle 360}''

===Blender===
[Links:3D_Applications#Blender|Blender 3D]

Scripts for blender can be created using Python. No application of blender for creation of planet surfaces is known to us currently. Submissions are appreciated.

===Tutorials===
Some great tutorials can be found at [http://www.solarvoyager.com/tutorials.asp Solar Voyager]. They are geared toward 3dsmax and Photoshop, but are general enough in scope that they could be easily adapted to GIMP and POV-Ray.

==Including and Testing==

===Systems Substitution Testing===

In the .systems file of the systems where you saved the game (data/sectors/SectorName/), search for the planet that you want to test your texture on and replace the current texture in the 'file' statement with your texture, e.g.

*Take: <Planet name="Wiley" file="planets/rock.texture" ...>
*Replace with: <Planet name="Wiley" file="planets/rocky_wiley.texture" ...>

Note: You can search in data dir using the command ''grep -R "rock_water.texture" sectors''

Should your planet texture not be listed in the sector definition files, you can edit the system config file "sectors/testsystems/planets.system" to change your texture on one of the existing planets and then run Vega Strike with the planet test mission:

''./vegastrike test/planets.mission''

===Editing Systems===

In some cases it is required to tweak the universe in order to add new textures.
A very good HowTo explains the road to be taken here.
* [[HowTo:Edit_Systems]] with
** [[HowTo:Edit_Systems:Milkyway]]
** [[HowTo:Edit_Systems:System_Files]]

==Selection and Vetting Process==

===Some Thoughts===
While many textures are still with the DQ (development quality) status, it is important to quickly raise the quality of all textures to release status and beyond. In this stage, following the selection (or vetting) process might not be of the highest importance.
However when replacing visually appealing textures or raising the overall quality to CQ (cinematographic) it is of advantage to share your decisions with the whole community. This is exactly the purpose of the selection and vetting process.

Enthusiasm, the strong motivation to contribute his own work, see it published in a release, and be part of the community, often brings the danger along of falling into the pitfall and want to contribute and replace too many textures at the same time.
The more advanced in quality and visual appeal the textures become the more important it becomes to create a very distinct and personal look to the particular texture or even planet, since the ultimate goal is to have an individual surface for each planet.

Ultimately, nobody really knows how extra-solar planets look like but here are some references that might inspire you to create an individual, unique, and personal texture:
* The planet name might give you some hints
* The planet type says something about possible surface type
* Analyze the essence of the existing texture in color, structure, area division
* Inspire yourself by other works of art (paintings, computer generated art, astronomical sites, science-fiction movies)

And of course, push your tools to their limits.

Once you have chosen a replacement candidate and have one or more proposals...

===The Process===
If you are not sure that your texture meets the basic requirements, then please open a forum topic posting your textures.
Here's a summary of requirements:
* Format: dds (with .texture extension)
* Ratio (horizontal:vertical): 2:1
* Size: following the POT rule (power-of-two)
* Resolution: min 2048x1024
* Tilable (seamless): horizontally and vertically
* Quality: RQ or CQ

If a texture that you have created meets the above described requirements, then:
* Open a poll for a reasonable period of time (e.g. 2 weeks) and describe:
** which texture(s) you'd like to replace
** show which are the candidates
** describe briefly the method of creation
** If you'd like to replace more than one texture, describe how you would assign the favorites of the poll to the individual textures

* After a set period of time
** announce the winners
** and call the poll closed

* Then
** Submit the textures to svn (in case you have commit rights attributed), or
** through the forum ask a developer with write access to submit them (e.g. the maintainer of this page, [[User:pyramid|pyramid]]).

==Submission Process==

===Requirements===
If you have svn commit access, then you will need nVidia's free texture tool nvcompress to transform your original textures to optimized dds textures.
Get the tool here: [http://developer.nvidia.com/object/texture_tools.html NVIDIA Texture Tools]

The following applies to NVIDIA texture tools version 0.9.4. More recent versions have not yet been tested.

Due to a bug in handling 1 pixel mipmaps in the original version, you will be further required to patch the tools with safemode's patch. This can be obtained here: [http://signal-lost.homeip.net/files/nvidia-texture.patch save nvidia-texture.patch file]

Patch the texture tools, compile, and install them.

===Texture Optimization===
Transform your original texture using nvcompress using the DXT1 format.

''nvcompress -bc1 textureoriginal1.png texture_dds.texture''

Verify the optimized texture either by opening it with the GIMP and making sure that 12 mipmap layers (for 2048x1024 resolution) are contained in the file, or by checking it with

''nvddsinfo texture_dds.texture''

Lightmap textures require the alpha channel to be included in the compressed texture. Use the DXT3 format to compress:

''nvcompress -bc2 lightmap_master.png lightmap_texture_dds.texture''

===Committing to SVN===

If you have write access to svn then submit the textures after going through the community selection process.
Otherwise, please call through a forum topic a developer with write access to submit them.

As of May 2008, svn has two directories for texture data:
* /masters/textures that holds the original textures and also source files that were used to create the textures
* /data/textures that holds the optimized dds/DXT1 textures

==Development Needs and Tasks==

Proposed development roadmap:
*Phase 1 [91%]: Replace existing textures with at least 2048x1024 textures (release quality). Exceptionally sol textures should have minimum resolution of 1024x512 since hi resolution maps for solar system bodies are hard to find for all objects.
*Phase 2 [ 0%]: Expand the set of textures to include more variety in milky_way.xml
*Phase 3 [ 0%]: Develop cinematographic quality surface (planet, lights) and atmosphere (cloud/weather) maps

List of tasks for textured planet surfaces: [[Development:2D_Images#Orbital_Planet_Surfaces]]

=Procedural Surfaces=

At the time of writing (February 2008) no known implementation of procedural orbital planet surfaces exists in Vega Strike.

However, an attempt has been started and you can find some more information in the following thread:
* [http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=10520 seamless planetary descent with automatic mesh generation]

=References=
References apply both to textured and procedural approaches if not stated otherwise.

==Software, Tools==
For a comprehensive list of tools, please see:
*[[Links:Graphic_Applications|Links:Graphic Applications]]
*[[Links:3D_Applications|Links:3D Applications]]

==Wiki References==

Planets and Systems
*Listing and description of planet types: [[Manual:Planet_types]]
*Editing Systems using milky_way or system files: [[HowTo:Edit_Systems]]

Development Roadmap
*Improved planet textures (Higher quality/Fractal Enhanced?): [[Development:Roadmap#Aspects_for_consideration]]
*List of tasks for textured planet surfaces: [[Development:2D_Images#Orbital_Planet_Surfaces]]

==Forum References==

Texture Requirements
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=9160 4.4 release work]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=9401 Artwork/data overhauls]

Development Tools
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=7055 Tools for creating planet textures]

Examples, Including, Testing
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=7116 Orbital planet surfaces: gas giants]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=3664 Orbital planet surfaces]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=5957 Some New Planets]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=4008 stand clear. planets coming through]

Submission Process

Development Needs and Tasks
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?p=36698 Shady Planet...]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=6200 YASP (Yet Another Shady Planet) ;-)]

Improvement and Development Proposals
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=3543 Auto-Enhancing Textures]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=1970 Fractal Generation System]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=2371 More pretty stuff: atmospheres and planet surfaces]

Planetary Flight Topics
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=4597 The official "Seamless Planetary Flight" thread]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=9645 Theoretical planetside mode]

==External References==

===Gas Giant Surfaces===

*[http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/J/Jupiter.html#Atmosphere Jupiter Atmosphere]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter_(planet)#Atmosphere Jupiter (planet)]
*[http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970920.html The Clouds of Jupiter]
*[http://www.sbg.ac.at/geo/idrisi/remote_sensing_tutorial/rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/sect19/sect19_15.html Planetary Remote Sensing - Jupiter]
*[http://opensourceschools.org/article.php?story=20030428204319316 Atmospheres of the Gas Giants]
*[http://www.solstation.com/stars/jupiter.htm Solstation Jupiter]
*[http://vims.artov.rm.cnr.it/data/res-jup.html The Cassini Instruments - Jupiter]

===Image References===
*[http://www.cosmiclight.com/imagegalleries/images/space/jupiter-io.jpg Io over Jupiter]
*[http://www.celestiamotherlode.net/catalog/images/screenshots/jupiter/4kjupiter__johnvanvliet.jpg Celestia Jupiter Map]
*[http://www.celestiamotherlode.net/catalog/images/screenshots/neptune/neptune__tcorbin.jpg Celestia Neptune Map]
*[http://www.mmedia.is/bjj/data/jupiter_css/jupiter_css.jpg Bjorn Jonsson's Planetary Maps]

===Tutorial References===
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150423145531/http://gallery.artofgregmartin.com/tuts_arts/making_a_planet.html "Make a planet" tutorial by Greg Martin]
* [http://alyn.deviantart.com/art/Advanced-planet-creation-11885274 "Advanced planet creation" by alyn]

'''Author: [[User:pyramid|pyramid]]'''

[[Category:Development]]

Development:Orbital Planet Surfaces

2015-05-26T17:25:53Z

Gonzo: /* Development Tools, Tutorials */ Uranius -> Uranus

=General=

This page summarizes concepts and approaches to creating planet surfaces as seen from orbit.
Topics of atmospheric entry and close-to-surface planetary topology and atmospheric effects or planetary flight should be covered in a separate document.

Two main topics are covered in this document:
* Development of textured surfaces
* Development of procedural surfaces

=Textured Surfaces=

==Texture Requirements==

===Generic Image Requirements===

Please read this [[Development:Graphics_Requirements]] page before continuing to the specific requirements.

===Specific Image Requirements===
===Summary of Texture Requirements===
Textures ready for submission should fulfill:
* Codec: dds DXT1 with mipmaps for diffuse textures; dds DXT3 with mipmaps for citylight textures
* Extension: .texture
* Ratio (horizontal:vertical): 2:1
* Size: following the POT rule (power-of-two)
* Resolution: min 2048x1024
* Tilable (seamless): horizontally and vertically
* Quality: RQ or CQ

===Image Resolution, Formats, and Quality===
The planet surface graphics format currently recommended for the game is '''dds''' format with dxt1 compression, with filenames ending in '''.texture'''. (Before May 2008, DDS textures were stored in files named .png, because of references to filenames in other places.)

The '''image ratio''' horizontal:vertical must be 2:1 (assuming pixel ratio of the map is 1:1), since the texture is wrapped around the planet sphere horizontally around 360 degrees and vertically around 180 degrees.
Necessarily, in order for the surface not to appear distorted, your '''pixel ratio''' of the generated texture must be 1.0, i.e. a circle must show as a circle when viewing the texture in an image viewer, on a monitor with square pixels.

The vertical and horizontal sizes should be a '''power of two''' (POT).
Really, NPOT (non-power-of-two) textures are possible, but really, really, really troublesome. Don't use them. Just use POT. Love the POT. The POT is the mother, the POT is the father. Trust the POT.

That leaves few options:
*1024x512
*2048x1024
*4096x2048
*8192x4096

Keeping original high resolution image (e.g. 8192x4096 or 4096x2048) versions in stock helps maintaining quality and scalability as game development progresses or typical screen resolutions rise in the future with better hardware available to the players.

Most of the surface textures included in data have a horizontal resolution of 1024 or below. Committed textures are classified as:
* DQ - Development Quality: textures with horizontal resolution of 1024 or below and low degree of realism
* RQ - Release Quality: textures with horizontal resolution of 2048 or above and medium degree of realism
* CQ - Cinematographic Quality: textures with horizontal resolution of 2048 or above and high degree of realism

===Image Properties===
Naturally, the images should be '''seamless (tilable)''' so that seams are not visible on the rotating planet, neither on the stitch nor at the poles.

3d rendering software with unwrap functions is recommended, since it is extremely inefficient and troublesome to create seamless textures in 2d programs.

===Planet textures required===
[source: klauss]
*Diffuse color map (the actual planet texture)
*Night map (with city lights); needs to have alpha channel for the transparent areas. Compression type must be DXT3.
*Specular map as usual.
*Cloudmap... not so usual. The cloudmap contains color in the color data - but base, unlit color. Until now, I couldn't find a case where the color portion of the texture wasn't uniform, so I might drop color "texture" for a uniform color "parameter" - but in any case, the texture contains the cloud's basic color in the color portion (fully white for earthish textures), and "thickness" in the alpha channel. What I did to create the current cloudmaps: transfer the color (grayscale) channel to the alpha channel, adjust its "dynamic distribution", kind-of gamma correction, to avoid saturation of the alpha channel as much as possible (it looks bad), and filled the color channel with white. Thickness means that - the thickness of clouds. It indirectly translates to their height. All clouds are based on the same level (they usually are in reality, minus some exceptions), and grow upwards as much as the alpha channel tells it to.
*Normalmap as usual (though normalmaps are presently not required, they aren't any different from unit normalmaps: RGB with normal data, Alpha with height data).

==Development Tools, Tutorials==

===GIMP===
[[Links:Graphic_Applications#GIMP|GIMP - the GNU Image Manipulation Program]] is quite versatile; to work with texture files, you'll need DDS plugin (if it's not installed already).

A good starting point for e.g. gas giant texture maps is the 'Solid Noise' filter.

There is a way to make planetary twisters like Uranus or so, using the Gimp. First you must create the gas texture, and then apply the distort filter into Filters>Distortions>Deformation. Then set the deformation type to "counterclockwise swirl", and the make one or two swirls. This will generate swirls at the surface.

On the other hand, if you like a hurricane zone, for example [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Red_Spot Jupiter's Great Red Spot], you can do it very simply: first select a ecliptic small zone, which will be the future hurricane. Then apply the filter Filters>Distortions>Lens Crystal, and apply a bit crystal lens distortion. Then, deselect that selected zone, and apply Filters>Distortions>Deformation, and set the deformation to "move", and move the left and right sides of the elliptical form a bit, just to make the effect of undercloud.

===POV-Ray===
[Links:3D_Applications#POV-Ray|POV-Ray (Persistence of Vision Raytracer)] with its unique scripting approach and through a large base of available texture, pigment, and material functions provides almost unlimited possibilities to creating surface maps.

Maps can be exported by using a spherical camera setting:
''camera {spherical angle 360}''

===Blender===
[Links:3D_Applications#Blender|Blender 3D]

Scripts for blender can be created using Python. No application of blender for creation of planet surfaces is known to us currently. Submissions are appreciated.

===Tutorials===
Some great tutorials can be found at [http://www.solarvoyager.com/tutorials.asp Solar Voyager]. They are geared toward 3dsmax and Photoshop, but are general enough in scope that they could be easily adapted to GIMP and POV-Ray.

==Including and Testing==

===Systems Substitution Testing===

In the .systems file of the systems where you saved the game (data/sectors/SectorName/), search for the planet that you want to test your texture on and replace the current texture in the 'file' statement with your texture, e.g.

*Take: <Planet name="Wiley" file="planets/rock.texture" ...>
*Replace with: <Planet name="Wiley" file="planets/rocky_wiley.texture" ...>

Note: You can search in data dir using the command ''grep -R "rock_water.texture" sectors''

Should your planet texture not be listed in the sector definition files, you can edit the system config file "sectors/testsystems/planets.system" to change your texture on one of the existing planets and then run Vega Strike with the planet test mission:

''./vegastrike test/planets.mission''

===Editing Systems===

In some cases it is required to tweak the universe in order to add new textures.
A very good HowTo explains the road to be taken here.
* [[HowTo:Edit_Systems]] with
** [[HowTo:Edit_Systems:Milkyway]]
** [[HowTo:Edit_Systems:System_Files]]

==Selection and Vetting Process==

===Some Thoughts===
While many textures are still with the DQ (development quality) status, it is important to quickly raise the quality of all textures to release status and beyond. In this stage, following the selection (or vetting) process might not be of the highest importance.
However when replacing visually appealing textures or raising the overall quality to CQ (cinematographic) it is of advantage to share your decisions with the whole community. This is exactly the purpose of the selection and vetting process.

Enthusiasm, the strong motivation to contribute his own work, see it published in a release, and be part of the community, often brings the danger along of falling into the pitfall and want to contribute and replace too many textures at the same time.
The more advanced in quality and visual appeal the textures become the more important it becomes to create a very distinct and personal look to the particular texture or even planet, since the ultimate goal is to have an individual surface for each planet.

Ultimately, nobody really knows how extra-solar planets look like but here are some references that might inspire you to create an individual, unique, and personal texture:
* The planet name might give you some hints
* The planet type says something about possible surface type
* Analyze the essence of the existing texture in color, structure, area division
* Inspire yourself by other works of art (paintings, computer generated art, astronomical sites, science-fiction movies)

And of course, push your tools to their limits.

Once you have chosen a replacement candidate and have one or more proposals...

===The Process===
If you are not sure that your texture meets the basic requirements, then please open a forum topic posting your textures.
Here's a summary of requirements:
* Format: dds (with .texture extension)
* Ratio (horizontal:vertical): 2:1
* Size: following the POT rule (power-of-two)
* Resolution: min 2048x1024
* Tilable (seamless): horizontally and vertically
* Quality: RQ or CQ

If a texture that you have created meets the above described requirements, then:
* Open a poll for a reasonable period of time (e.g. 2 weeks) and describe:
** which texture(s) you'd like to replace
** show which are the candidates
** describe briefly the method of creation
** If you'd like to replace more than one texture, describe how you would assign the favorites of the poll to the individual textures

* After a set period of time
** announce the winners
** and call the poll closed

* Then
** Submit the textures to svn (in case you have commit rights attributed), or
** through the forum ask a developer with write access to submit them (e.g. the maintainer of this page, [[User:pyramid|pyramid]]).

==Submission Process==

===Requirements===
If you have svn commit access, then you will need nVidia's free texture tool nvcompress to transform your original textures to optimized dds textures.
Get the tool here: [http://developer.nvidia.com/object/texture_tools.html NVIDIA Texture Tools]

The following applies to NVIDIA texture tools version 0.9.4. More recent versions have not yet been tested.

Due to a bug in handling 1 pixel mipmaps in the original version, you will be further required to patch the tools with safemode's patch. This can be obtained here: [http://signal-lost.homeip.net/files/nvidia-texture.patch save nvidia-texture.patch file]

Patch the texture tools, compile, and install them.

===Texture Optimization===
Transform your original texture using nvcompress using the DXT1 format.

''nvcompress -bc1 textureoriginal1.png texture_dds.texture''

Verify the optimized texture either by opening it with the GIMP and making sure that 12 mipmap layers (for 2048x1024 resolution) are contained in the file, or by checking it with

''nvddsinfo texture_dds.texture''

Lightmap textures require the alpha channel to be included in the compressed texture. Use the DXT3 format to compress:

''nvcompress -bc2 lightmap_master.png lightmap_texture_dds.texture''

===Committing to SVN===

If you have write access to svn then submit the textures after going through the community selection process.
Otherwise, please call through a forum topic a developer with write access to submit them.

As of May 2008, svn has two directories for texture data:
* /masters/textures that holds the original textures and also source files that were used to create the textures
* /data/textures that holds the optimized dds/DXT1 textures

==Development Needs and Tasks==

Proposed development roadmap:
*Phase 1 [91%]: Replace existing textures with at least 2048x1024 textures (release quality). Exceptionally sol textures should have minimum resolution of 1024x512 since hi resolution maps for solar system bodies are hard to find for all objects.
*Phase 2 [ 0%]: Expand the set of textures to include more variety in milky_way.xml
*Phase 3 [ 0%]: Develop cinematographic quality surface (planet, lights) and atmosphere (cloud/weather) maps

List of tasks for textured planet surfaces: [[Development:2D_Images#Orbital_Planet_Surfaces]]

=Procedural Surfaces=

At the time of writing (February 2008) no known implementation of procedural orbital planet surfaces exists in Vega Strike.

However, an attempt has been started and you can find some more information in the following thread:
* [http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=10520 seamless planetary descent with automatic mesh generation]

=References=
References apply both to textured and procedural approaches if not stated otherwise.

==Software, Tools==
For a comprehensive list of tools, please see:
*[[Links:Graphic_Applications|Links:Graphic Applications]]
*[[Links:3D_Applications|Links:3D Applications]]

==Wiki References==

Planets and Systems
*Listing and description of planet types: [[Manual:Planet_types]]
*Editing Systems using milky_way or system files: [[HowTo:Edit_Systems]]

Development Roadmap
*Improved planet textures (Higher quality/Fractal Enhanced?): [[Development:Roadmap#Aspects_for_consideration]]
*List of tasks for textured planet surfaces: [[Development:2D_Images#Orbital_Planet_Surfaces]]

==Forum References==

Texture Requirements
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=9160 4.4 release work]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=9401 Artwork/data overhauls]

Development Tools
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=7055 Tools for creating planet textures]

Examples, Including, Testing
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=7116 Orbital planet surfaces: gas giants]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=3664 Orbital planet surfaces]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=5957 Some New Planets]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=4008 stand clear. planets coming through]

Submission Process

Development Needs and Tasks
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?p=36698 Shady Planet...]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=6200 YASP (Yet Another Shady Planet) ;-)]

Improvement and Development Proposals
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=3543 Auto-Enhancing Textures]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=1970 Fractal Generation System]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=2371 More pretty stuff: atmospheres and planet surfaces]

Planetary Flight Topics
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=4597 The official "Seamless Planetary Flight" thread]
*[http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=9645 Theoretical planetside mode]

==External References==

===Gas Giant Surfaces===

*[http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/J/Jupiter.html#Atmosphere Jupiter Atmosphere]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter_(planet)#Atmosphere Jupiter (planet)]
*[http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970920.html The Clouds of Jupiter]
*[http://www.sbg.ac.at/geo/idrisi/remote_sensing_tutorial/rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/sect19/sect19_15.html Planetary Remote Sensing - Jupiter]
*[http://opensourceschools.org/article.php?story=20030428204319316 Atmospheres of the Gas Giants]
*[http://www.solstation.com/stars/jupiter.htm Solstation Jupiter]
*[http://vims.artov.rm.cnr.it/data/res-jup.html The Cassini Instruments - Jupiter]

===Image References===
*[http://www.cosmiclight.com/imagegalleries/images/space/jupiter-io.jpg Io over Jupiter]
*[http://www.celestiamotherlode.net/catalog/images/screenshots/jupiter/4kjupiter__johnvanvliet.jpg Celestia Jupiter Map]
*[http://www.celestiamotherlode.net/catalog/images/screenshots/neptune/neptune__tcorbin.jpg Celestia Neptune Map]
*[http://www.mmedia.is/bjj/data/jupiter_css/jupiter_css.jpg Bjorn Jonsson's Planetary Maps]

===Tutorial References===
* [http://gallery.artofgregmartin.com/tuts_arts/making_a_planet.html "Make a planet" tutorial by Greg Martin]
* [http://alyn.deviantart.com/art/Advanced-planet-creation-11885274 "Advanced planet creation" by alyn]

'''Author: [[User:pyramid|pyramid]]'''

[[Category:Development]]

Links:Resources

2015-05-16T12:02:16Z

Gonzo: /* Miscelanneous */ Mandelburber -> Mandelbulber

{{NAV_Database |
| previous=[[Links:Converters]]
| up=[[Links]]
| next=[[Links:Tutorials]]
}}
----

==Models and concept ideas==
* [http://objects.povworld.org/links6.html 3D Model Sites@povworld] - Various models and blueprints links.
* [http://www.3dtotal.com/ 3d total] - "...offering a variety of training products, an inspirational gallery, a free texture library and hundreds of free tutorials on a variety of subjects". Take a look at "[http://www.3dtotal.com/index_gallery.php?cat=sci-fi sci fi]" section of gallery.
* [http://www.ultradrive.com/b5_3d_index.htm Evelio's Babylon 5 3D Model Index] - '''Babylon5''' models
* [http://mods.firstones.com/buda5/ Buda5] - '''Babylon5''' models
* [http://www.lightningcoyote.com/oldsite/seb_hyde.htm Sebastian Hyde's Portfolio Page] - '''Star-Trek''' 3d-Models + textures + scenes + UI-art and more (Copyright Hasbro Interactive)
* [http://scifi3d.theforce.net/ Sci-Fi 3D: The Ultimate 3D Sci-Fi Resource] - Models '''Babylon5''', '''Star-Trek''', '''Star-Wars''' and more
* [http://www.trekmeshes.ch/ Star Trek Mesh Collection]
* [http://www.lwg3d.com/v3/index.htm Lightwave Group v3] - various lightwave models
* [http://www.battletech-movie.com/ Battle Tech Movie] '''Battletech''' low poly models
* [http://www.scifi-meshes.com/ SciFi Meshes]
* [http://thefree3dmodels.com/ The Free 3d Models]
* [http://www.turbosquid.com/ TurboSquid] - a big stock model shop, "3D Models, Plugins, Textures, and more", including free. Just check the licenses. And formats.
* [http://www.3dk.org/ 3DK.org (3DKingdom)] - "Free 3ds max tutorials, 3D Models, Art Gallery, Textures, Materials and Forums".
* [http://www.3dcafe.com/ 3D Cafe] - "Buy 3D Models, Sell 3D Models, Free 3D Models Download". Link and custom license are on the front page. Requires to submit 3 free models for access to free models database.
* [http://www.akebulan.com/Free_Models.html Akebulan.com] - "Free Low Poly Models (512k or less)".
* [http://modelsbank.3dm3.com/ Models Bank] - "Free 3D models".
* [http://www.stx3dx.com/ Free 3D Models & Petr Sinta Portfolio] - "offering FREE CG resources...".
* [http://www.noctua-graphics.de/ NOCTUA Graphics] - Resources (models, textures, materials (C4D, SLA), tutorials), including free.
* [http://www.blendswap.com/ Blendswap.com] - Blender-specific, obviously. A lot of models, many CC-zero licensed.
* [http://www.the3darchive.com/ The 3D Archive] - "3D Model and Object Collection".
* See also: [http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/60-excellent-free-3d-model-websites/ Kay's list "60 Excellent Free 3D Model Websites"]

==Reference images==
''Maybe some of this images make good textures as well.''
* [http://www.ussmiranda.com/ StarTrek Miranda] - Big list of '''Star-Trek''' ships under "Database"->"Starship Database"
* [http://www.starshipmodeler.com/ Starship Modeler]
* [http://zappa.brainiac.com/spaceship/index.html Tom's Spaceship Miniature/Game Lists]
* [http://www.startreksite.com/diagrams/ Sector 001 databank] - '''Star-Trek'''
* [http://www.starwars.com/databank/starship/ Star-Wars Startship gallery] - '''Star-Wars'''
* [http://mitglied.lycos.de/BenMaxwell/ships_and_stations_index.html Ships And Stations] - '''Star-Trek'''
* http://www.merzo.net/ - Starship Dimensions '''General'''
* [http://www.st-minutiae.com/misc/comparison.jpg Star Trek Ship Comparison pic]
* http://www.shiporama.org/ - A page to find reference pictures of studio models from '''Star-Trek'''.
* [http://www.meriweather.com/flightdeck.html Flight Deck Simulations] - Cockpits
* [http://www.babtech-onthe.net/ BabTech on the net] - '''Babylon5''' cockpits and more
* [http://hyperspace.isnnews.net/ Hyperspace] - '''Babylon5''' - "''A Guide To The Ships Of Babylon5 And Crusade''"

==Blueprints==
* [http://www.onnovanbraam.com/index.php?m=blueprints www.onnovanbraam.com - blueprints] - '''Star-Wars''', '''Star-Trek'''
* http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Rampart/5407/ - '''Star-Trek'''
* [http://www.sloan3d.com/shipbps/ www.sloan3d.com - ships] - '''Star-Wars''', '''Star-Trek''' , '''Babylon5'''

==Textures==
* [http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/ NASA Image Gallery]
* [http://nix.larc.nasa.gov/home;jsessionid=33abb62h7pq6l NIX (NASA Image eXchange)]
** [http://stipo.larc.nasa.gov/browse/hubble.html Hubble Images]
* [http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/~pbourke/texture/ Texture Library] at ''astronomy.swin.edu.au''
* [http://jonathanclark.com/golgotha/ Golgotha] LINK DEAD - All stuff from the Golgotha game [http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?p=8713#8713 has been released for free]. Textures, music, models, code, ...
* http://gallery.artofgregmartin.com/index.html
* [http://www.instant-art.com/catalog-safetysigns/warning/ Warning Signs] - pretty cool huh?
* [http://lilen.fcaglp.unlp.edu.ar/ Massive Stars Research Group] - More star pics.
* [http://developer.nvidia.com/object/IO_TTVol_01.html Nvidia hi res texture pack].
* [http://www.elysiun.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=45031 Some links to texture-resources] in the [http://www.elysiun.com elysiun.com] forum.
* [http://cgtextures.com/ CGTextures] - "strives to be the worlds best texture site". Free, but download is limited (see ''About'')..
* [http://www.texturex.com/ TextureX]
* [http://www.texturemate.com/ Texture Mate] - "Welcome to my Repository of Free Textures, Brushes, Patterns and Design Articles." (they be CC licensed)
* [http://www.plaintextures.com/ Plaintextures] - "free high resolution textures for professionals".

==Stock photos==
* [http://www.morguefile.com Morguefile] Not quite as big and huge as DeviantArt, but a lot less restrictive
* [http://www.sxc.hu Stock Exchange] - Even better than DeviantArt

==Fonts==
* [http://1001freefonts.com/ 1001 free fonts] - as the name suggests, lots of free fonts
* [http://myfonts.com/ MyFonts] - Shop with many commercial and many free fonts. Specific license may vary. Note [http://new.myfonts.com/search/designer%3ALarabie+lowest_price%3A%5B*+TO+0%5D/fonts/ several hundreds of free fonts by Ray Larabie]
* [http://www.theleagueofmoveabletype.com/ The League of Moveable Type] - Fonts released under the Open Font License.
* [http://unifont.org/ unifont.org] - Information about free Unicode fonts for FLOSS developers, with guides and everything.
* [http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/Fonts/ Freedesktop.org fonts] - a lot of links to free fonts.

==Miscelanneous==
* [http://www.brusheezy.com/ Brusheezy] - Brushes.
* [http://deviantart.com/ deviantArt] - lots of free resources of various types. Don't forget to check the specific conditions (it may or may not be copyrighted), but there's a lot of resources, and even more potential reference images.
** Category [http://browse.deviantart.com/resources/ Resources] - 3D models, fonts, brushes, tutorials...
*** Category [http://stockart.deviantart.com/ Stock Images] - A massive collection of stock photography that is free for non-commercial use, meaning it's perfect for Vega Strike. Make sure you only snag stuff in the stock photos section.
** Category [http://browse.deviantart.com/digitalart/fractals/ Fractal Art], with subcategories.
** Groups [http://epicstarships.deviantart.com/ Epic Starships], [http://the-final-frontier.deviantart.com/gallery/ The Final Frontier], [http://inner-space.deviantart.com/ Inner Space], [http://space-club.deviantart.com/ Space Club], [http://star-dock.deviantart.com/ Star Dock] - space-themed art, sky backgrounds, spaceships, relevant resources (e.g. planet and hull plate textures) and tutorials, etc.
** Groups [http://the3dartistclub.deviantart.com/ The 3D Artist Club], [http://3d-artists.deviantart.com/ 3D-Artists], [http://3dmodeling.deviantart.com/ 3D Modeling Club], [http://alphamoonbase.deviantart.com/ AlphaMoonbase],[http://evolutiondsg.deviantart.com/ Evolution Dsg (SP)], [http://fantasyandsci-fic.deviantart.com/ FantasyAndSci-Fic], [http://game-art.deviantart.com/ Game Development Art], [http://sci-fi-archives.deviantart.com/ Sci-Fi Archives], [http://sci-fifans.deviantart.com/ Sci-Fi Fans], [http://sci-fi-me.deviantart.com/ Sci-Fi-Me], [http://scifistock.deviantart.com/ Sci-Fi Stock], [http://sci-fitech.deviantart.com/ Sci-Fi Tech], [http://transportationdesign.deviantart.com/ Transportation Design] - lots of less closely related art and concepts, as well as tutorials, etc.
** Groups [http://best-textures.deviantart.com/ best textures], [http://justtextures.deviantart.com/ Just Textures], [http://k-and-q-of-textures.deviantart.com/ Kings and Queens of textures], [http://seamlesstextures.deviantart.com/ Seamless Textures], [http://texture-central.deviantart.com/ Texture Central], [http://texturedinsanity.deviantart.com/ Textured Insanity], [http://texturize.deviantart.com/ Texturize], [http://totally-textures.deviantart.com/ Totally Textures] - textures.
** Groups [http://awesome-fonts.deviantart.com/gallery/ Awesome Fonts], [http://temple-of-typefaces.deviantart.com/ Temple of Typefaces], [http://type-design.deviantart.com/ Type Design], [http://typographylove.deviantart.com/ Typography Love] - fonts.
** Groups [http://best-resources.deviantart.com/ Best Resources], [http://darkstockers.deviantart.com/gallery/ DarkStockers], [http://distantfantasies.deviantart.com/ Distant Fantasies], [http://the-inspirations.deviantart.com/ The Inspirations] , [http://one-stop-stock.deviantart.com/ one-stop stock]- from artworks to tutorials to stock photo to fonts.
** Groups [http://allthingsfractal.deviantart.com/gallery/ AllThingsFractal], [http://fabulousfractals.deviantart.com/gallery/ FabulousFractals], [http://fractaldreams.deviantart.com/gallery/ FractalDreams], [http://fractalemporium.deviantart.com/gallery/ FractalEmporium], [http://fractal-forms.deviantart.com/gallery/ Fractal-Forms], [http://fracman.deviantart.com/gallery/ Fractal Manipulations], [http://mandelbulbs.deviantart.com/gallery/ Mandelbulbs], [http://mandelbulb3d.deviantart.com/gallery/ mandelbulb3d], [http://mandelbulbers.deviantart.com/gallery/ Mandelbulbers], [http://the-fractal-sphere.deviantart.com/gallery/ The-Fractal-Sphere], [http://xtremefractals.deviantart.com/gallery/ XtremeFractals] - fractals and fractal-like art. Some make good reference images for living, pseudo-living or overcomplicated stuff (as just one example - "[http://grahamsym.deviantart.com/art/Mandelbulb-Invasion-Force-331596080 Mandelbulb Invasion Force]"). Some include tips for making your own (e.g.: [http://batjorge.deviantart.com/art/Parameter-Pack-For-Mandelbulb-3d-383962663 Parameter Pack For Mandelbulb 3d]).
** [http://cb-stock.deviantart.com/gallery/ CB-Stock], [http://stock-unrestricted.deviantart.com/ Stock Unrestricted] - stock photo, renders, textures, models.
** [http://everythingisinstock.deviantart.com/ Everything Is In Stock], [http://the-stock-directory.deviantart.com/ The Stock Directory], [http://stock-supplies.deviantart.com/ Stock Supplies] - stock photo, textures, brushes, tutorials.
** [http://dmaland.deviantart.com/gallery/ D.Maland] - models, tutorials, renders.
** [http://enchantedgal-stock.deviantart.com/gallery/ Enchantedgal-Stock] - textures and photo.
** [http://iljackson.deviantart.com/gallery/ I. L. Jackson] - lots of spaceship renders, including rather "gritty" ones.
** [http://hafunui.deviantart.com/gallery/ Hafunui] - some resources and tutorials.
** [http://nobiax.deviantart.com/gallery/24853853 Nobiax] - a lot of free textures and models.
** [http://savitch.deviantart.com/gallery/ savitch] - models, stock images.
** [http://sed.deviantart.com/gallery/ sed] - lots of art looking abstract and/or high-tech-y due to abundance of shiny metal and glass materials (see e.g. "Tesla Room").
** [http://smashmethod.deviantart.com/gallery/ smashmethod] - some resources and tutorials.
** [http://thedugan.deviantart.com/gallery/30369920 J.Dugan] - sample ships from a pro designer, most for "Starmada: Fleet Ops". Worth taking a look at how different styles hold together within the game's recognizable style.

* [http://www.behance.net/ Behance]. Everything from advertisement concepts to photo of performance art to game design to weird fonts to samples of Mandelbulber output. Need a fresh idea or prototype? Choose a theme and dig in.
** Fields of interest: [https://www.behance.net/search?field=33&content=projects&sort=appreciations Engineering], [https://www.behance.net/search?field=49&content=projects&sort=appreciations Industrial Design], [https://www.behance.net/search?field=132&content=projects&sort=appreciations UI/UX].
** Tags of interest: [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=1022933 container], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=1276177 drone], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=975467 engine], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=17219829 Engineering], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=973869 futuristic], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=1010871 Gun], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=972461 guns], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=3057141 heavy machinery], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=2082145 hitech], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=1632519 HUD], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=980027 industrial], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=1099273 machinery], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=977965 Military], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=972587 Mining], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=977297 modular], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=971899 robot], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=978669 robots], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=982617 rocket], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=1088979 satellite], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=1087393 Scifi], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=978907 sci-fi], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=981665 science fiction], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=973309 Space], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=1016489 spaceship], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=1139275 spaceships], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=971605 ui design], [https://www.behance.net/search?content=projects&user_tags=1128021 Weapon],

----
{{NAV_Database |
| previous=[[Links:Converters]]
| up=[[Links]]
| next=[[Links:Tutorials]]
}}

[[Category:Links]]

De:Links:ModdingApplications

2014-10-11T15:46:12Z

Gonzo: /* Programme */

{{Languages|De|Links:ModdingApplications}}
{{De:Wiki_Nav_Index}}
{{NAV_Manual |
| previous=[[De:Links|Links]]
| up=[[De:Links|Links]]
| next=
}}
----
=Modding Tools=

Bitte beachtet das viele der *nix-tools auch unter MacOS mit [http://finkproject.org/ Fink] oder unter Windows mit [http://www.cygwin.com/ Cygwin] lauffähig sind.

==Grafische Tools==

===Programme===

{| class="prettytable sortable"
|-
!width="20%" style="background: #ececec;"|
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Typ
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|*nix
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Mac OS
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Windows
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Kosten
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.apophysis.org/ Apophysis]/[http://apophysis-j.deviantart.com/ Apophysis-J]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Fraktal Editor
| style="background-color:#FFD" | Ja(WINE)/Java-Port
| style="background-color:#FFD" | Ja(WINE)/Java-Port
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.blender.org/ Blender]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | 3D-Modellierung & Animation
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.maxon.net/pages/index_d.html Cinema 4D]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | 3D Modellierung & Animation
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FDD" | kommerziell
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.cinepaint.org/ CinePaint]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | HDR Raster Bildbearbeitung
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://kornelix.squarespace.com/fotoxx fotoxx]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | HDR/Foto Editor
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.gimp.org/ GIMP]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Raster Bildbearbeitung
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://gnofract4d.sourceforge.net/ Gnofract4D]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Fraktal Editor
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.debevec.org/hdrshop/ HDRShop]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | HDR Editor
| style="background-color:#FFD" | Ja(WINE)
| style="background-color:#FFD" | Ja(WINE)
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FFD" | V1 kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://hugin.sourceforge.net// Hugin]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | HDR Editor
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.k-3d.org/ K-3D]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | 3D Modellierung & Animation
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.kpovmodeler.org/ KPovModeler]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | OneClick GUI4POV-Ray
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.autodesk.de Maya]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | 3D Modellierung & Animation
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FDD" | kommerziell
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.misfitcode.com/misfitmodel3d Misfit Model 3D]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | 3D Modellierung
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.moonlight3d.eu Moonlight3D]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | 3D Modellierung & Animation
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.pencil-animation.org/ Pencil]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | 2D Animation
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/family/ Photoshop]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Raster Bildbearbeitung
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FDD" | kommerziell
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.kanzelsberger.com/pixel Pixel]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Raster Bildbearbeitung
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FDD" | kommerziell
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/POV-Ray POV-Ray]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Ray-Tracer
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://sk1project.org/modules.php?name=Products&product=sk1 sK1]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Vektorillustrator
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://synfig.org Synfig]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Vektoranimation
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.texturemaker.com Texture Maker]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | OneClick Texturgenerator
| style="background-color:#FFD" | Ja(WINE)
| style="background-color:#FFD" | Ja(WINE)
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FDD" | kommerziell
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.wings3d.com/ Wings3D]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | 3D Modellierung
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.xaraxtreme.org/ Xara Xtreme]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Vektorillustrator
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FFD" | Linuxversion kostenlos
|}

===Konverter===

{| class="prettytable sortable"
|-
!width="20%" style="background: #ececec;"|
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Typ
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|*nix
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Mac OS
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Windows
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Kosten
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://ati.amd.com/developer/cubemapgen/index.html ATI CubeMapGen]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | CubeMap Generator
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://code.google.com/p/gimp-dds/ GIMP DDS-Plugin]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | DDS-Plugin
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.imagemagick.org ImageMagick]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Konverter/Editor
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://code.google.com/p/nvidia-texture-tools/ nVidia Texture Tools]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Ua DDS-Konverter
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|}

===Plugins & Skripte===

{| class="prettytable sortable"
|-
!width="20%" style="background: #ececec;"|
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Nutzen
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Kosten
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://shortgreenpigg.deviantart.com/art/3D-Bubbles-Script-66748571 Apophysis 3D Bubbles Skript]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Erstellt 3D kugeln, nützlich für die Erstellung von Nebel
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://photocomix-resources.deviantart.com/art/Plasma2-for-Gimp-windows-81246453 GIMP Plasma2-Skript]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Tiefere Einstellungen in das Plasma Skipt
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://registry.gimp.org/node/8172 GIMP Planet-Skript]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Erstellt Planeten
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.td-e.com/soft-de/starry-sky.php GIMP Starry sky-Skript]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Erstellt blinkende Sternenhimmel
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
|}

==Sound und Musik Tools==

===Programme===

{| class="prettytable sortable"
|-
!width="20%" style="background: #ececec;"|
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Typ
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|*nix
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Mac OS
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Windows
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Kosten
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://ardour.org/ Ardour]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Sound und Musik Editor
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Audacity]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Sound und Musik Editor
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://beast.gtk.org/ BEAST]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Komposition
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.buzztard.org buzztard]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Musik Studio
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://ggseq.sourceforge.net/ Gungirl Sequencer]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Audio Sequenzer
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.hydrogen-music.org/ Hydrogen]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Drumcomputer/-sequenzer
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://jackbeat.samalyse.org/ Jackbeat]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Audio Sequenzer
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://lmms.sourceforge.net/ LMMS]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Musik Studio
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.rosegardenmusic.com/ Rosegarden]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Musik Studio
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://traverso-daw.org/ Traverso DAW]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Sound und Musik Editor
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://qtractor.sourceforge.net/ Qtractor]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Audio Sequenzer
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
|}

===Konverter===

{| class="prettytable sortable"
|-
!width="20%" style="background: #ececec;"|
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Typ
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|*nix
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Mac OS
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Windows
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Kosten
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://ffmpeg.mplayerhq.hu/ FFmpeg]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Soundkonverter
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
|}

==Video Tools==

===Programme===

{| class="prettytable sortable"
|-
!width="20%" style="background: #ececec;"|
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Typ
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|*nix
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Mac OS
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Windows
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Kosten
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.heroinewarrior.com/cinelerra.php Cinelerra]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Video Editor
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://jahshaka.org/ Jahshaka]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Video Editor
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.kinodv.org Kino]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Video Editor
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://lives.sourceforge.net/ LiVES]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Video Editor
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#FDD" | Nein
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
|}

===Konverter===

{| class="prettytable sortable"
|-
!width="20%" style="background: #ececec;"|
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Typ
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|*nix
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Mac OS
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Windows
!width="16%" style="background: #ececec;"|Kosten
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"| [http://www.mplayerhq.hu MEncoder]
| style="background-color:#AAAAFF" | Videokonverter
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | Ja
| style="background-color:#DFD" | kostenlos
|-
|}

----
{{NAV_Manual |
| previous=[[De:Links|Links]]
| up=[[De:Links|Links]]
| next=
}}
[[Category:De:Links|Links]]

Links:Resources

2013-08-11T06:21:14Z

Gonzo: /* Fonts */ Link to "The League of Moveable Type" page.

{{NAV_Database |
| previous=[[Links:Converters]]
| up=[[Links]]
| next=[[Links:Tutorials]]
}}
----

==Models and concept ideas==
* [http://objects.povworld.org/links6.html 3D Model Sites@povworld] - Various models and blueprints links.
* [http://www.3dtotal.com/ 3d total] - Just go into the "gallery", and then "sci fi"
* [http://www.ultradrive.com/b5_3d_index.htm Evelio's Babylon 5 3D Model Index] - '''Babylon5''' models
* [http://mods.firstones.com/buda5/ Buda5] - '''Babylon5''' models
* [http://www.lightningcoyote.com/oldsite/seb_hyde.htm Sebastian Hyde's Portfolio Page] - '''Star-Trek''' 3d-Models + textures + scenes + UI-art and more (Copyright Hasbro Interactive)
* [http://scifi3d.theforce.net/ Sci-Fi 3D: The Ultimate 3D Sci-Fi Resource] - Models '''Babylon5''', '''Star-Trek''', '''Star-Wars''' and more
* [http://www.trekmeshes.ch/ Star Trek Mesh Collection]
* [http://www.lwg3d.com/v3/index.htm Lightwave Group v3] - various lightwave models
* [http://www.battletech-movie.com/ Battle Tech Movie] '''Battletech''' low poly models
* [http://www.scifi-meshes.com/ SciFi Meshes]
* [http://thefree3dmodels.com/ The Free 3d Models]
* [http://www.turbosquid.com/ TurboSquid] - a big stock model shop, "3D Models, Plugins, Textures, and more", including free. Just check the licenses. And formats.

* [http://www.akebulan.com/Free_Models.html Akebulan.com] - "Free Low Poly Models (512k or less)".
* [http://modelsbank.3dm3.com/ Models Bank] - "Free 3D models".
* [http://www.stx3dx.com/ Free 3D Models & Petr Sinta Portfolio] - "offering FREE CG resources...".
* [http://www.noctua-graphics.de/ NOCTUA Graphics] - Resources (models, textures, materials (C4D, SLA), tutorials), including free.
* [http://www.blendswap.com/ Blendswap.com] - Blender-specific, obviously. A lot of models, many CC-zero licensed.
* [http://www.the3darchive.com/ The 3D Archive] - "3D Model and Object Collection".
* See also: [http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/60-excellent-free-3d-model-websites/ Kay's list "60 Excellent Free 3D Model Websites"]

==Reference images==
''Maybe some of this images make good textures as well.''
* [http://www.ussmiranda.com/ StarTrek Miranda] - Big list of '''Star-Trek''' ships under "Database"->"Starship Database"
* [http://www.starshipmodeler.com/ Starship Modeler]
* [http://zappa.brainiac.com/spaceship/index.html Tom's Spaceship Miniature/Game Lists]
* [http://www.startreksite.com/diagrams/ Sector 001 databank] - '''Star-Trek'''
* [http://www.starwars.com/databank/starship/ Star-Wars Startship gallery] - '''Star-Wars'''
* [http://mitglied.lycos.de/BenMaxwell/ships_and_stations_index.html Ships And Stations] - '''Star-Trek'''
* http://www.merzo.net/ - Starship Dimensions '''General'''
* [http://www.st-minutiae.com/misc/comparison.jpg Star Trek Ship Comparison pic]
* http://www.shiporama.org/ - A page to find reference pictures of studio models from '''Star-Trek'''.
* [http://www.meriweather.com/flightdeck.html Flight Deck Simulations] - Cockpits
* [http://www.babtech-onthe.net/ BabTech on the net] - '''Babylon5''' cockpits and more
* [http://hyperspace.isnnews.net/ Hyperspace] - '''Babylon5''' - "''A Guide To The Ships Of Babylon5 And Crusade''"

==Blueprints==
* [http://www.onnovanbraam.com/index.php?m=blueprints www.onnovanbraam.com - blueprints] - '''Star-Wars''', '''Star-Trek'''
* http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Rampart/5407/ - '''Star-Trek'''
* [http://www.sloan3d.com/shipbps/ www.sloan3d.com - ships] - '''Star-Wars''', '''Star-Trek''' , '''Babylon5'''

==Textures==
* [http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/ NASA Image Gallery]
* [http://nix.larc.nasa.gov/home;jsessionid=33abb62h7pq6l NIX (NASA Image eXchange)]
** [http://stipo.larc.nasa.gov/browse/hubble.html Hubble Images]
* [http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/~pbourke/texture/ Texture Library] at ''astronomy.swin.edu.au''
* [http://jonathanclark.com/golgotha/ Golgotha] LINK DEAD - All stuff from the Golgotha game [http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?p=8713#8713 has been released for free]. Textures, music, models, code, ...
* http://gallery.artofgregmartin.com/index.html
* [http://www.instant-art.com/catalog-safetysigns/warning/ Warning Signs] - pretty cool huh?
* [http://lilen.fcaglp.unlp.edu.ar/ Massive Stars Research Group] - More star pics.
* [http://developer.nvidia.com/object/IO_TTVol_01.html Nvidia hi res texture pack].
* [http://www.elysiun.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=45031 Some links to texture-resources] in the [http://www.elysiun.com elysiun.com] forum.
* [http://cgtextures.com/ CGTextures] - "strives to be the worlds best texture site". Free, but download is limited (see ''About'')..
* [http://www.texturex.com/ TextureX]
* [http://www.texturemate.com/ Texture Mate] - "Welcome to my Repository of Free Textures, Brushes, Patterns and Design Articles." (they be CC licensed)
* [http://www.plaintextures.com/ Plaintextures] - "free high resolution textures for professionals".

==Stock photos==
* [http://www.morguefile.com Morguefile] Not quite as big and huge as DeviantArt, but a lot less restrictive
* [http://www.sxc.hu Stock Exchange] - Even better than DeviantArt

==Fonts==
* [http://1001freefonts.com/ 1001 free fonts] - as the name suggests, lots of free fonts
* [http://myfonts.com/ MyFonts] - Shop with many commercial and many free fonts. Specific license may vary. Note [http://new.myfonts.com/search/designer%3ALarabie+lowest_price%3A%5B*+TO+0%5D/fonts/ several hundreds of free fonts by Ray Larabie]
* [http://www.theleagueofmoveabletype.com/ The League of Moveable Type] - Fonts released under the Open Font License.

==Miscelanneous==
* [http://www.brusheezy.com/ Brusheezy] - Brushes.
* [http://deviantart.com/ deviantArt] - lots of free resources of various types. Don't forget to check the specific conditions (it may or may not be copyrighted), but there's a lot of resources, and even more potential reference images.
** Category [http://browse.deviantart.com/resources/ Resources] - 3D models, fonts, brushes, tutorials...
*** Category [http://stockart.deviantart.com/ Stock Images] - A massive collection of stock photography that is free for non-commercial use, meaning it's perfect for Vega Strike. Make sure you only snag stuff in the stock photos section.
** Category [http://browse.deviantart.com/digitalart/fractals/ Fractal Art], with subcategories.
** Groups [http://epicstarships.deviantart.com/ Epic Starships], [http://the-final-frontier.deviantart.com/gallery/ The Final Frontier], [http://inner-space.deviantart.com/ Inner Space], [http://space-club.deviantart.com/ Space Club], [http://star-dock.deviantart.com/ Star Dock] - space-themed art, sky backgrounds, spaceships, relevant resources (e.g. planet and hull plate textures) and tutorials, etc.
** Groups [http://the3dartistclub.deviantart.com/ The 3D Artist Club], [http://3d-artists.deviantart.com/ 3D-Artists], [http://3dmodeling.deviantart.com/ 3D Modeling Club], [http://alphamoonbase.deviantart.com/ AlphaMoonbase],[http://evolutiondsg.deviantart.com/ Evolution Dsg (SP)], [http://fantasyandsci-fic.deviantart.com/ FantasyAndSci-Fic], [http://game-art.deviantart.com/ Game Development Art], [http://sci-fi-archives.deviantart.com/ Sci-Fi Archives], [http://sci-fifans.deviantart.com/ Sci-Fi Fans], [http://sci-fi-me.deviantart.com/ Sci-Fi-Me], [http://scifistock.deviantart.com/ Sci-Fi Stock], [http://sci-fitech.deviantart.com/ Sci-Fi Tech], [http://transportationdesign.deviantart.com/ Transportation Design] - lots of less closely related art and concepts, as well as tutorials, etc.
** Groups [http://best-textures.deviantart.com/ best textures], [http://justtextures.deviantart.com/ Just Textures], [http://k-and-q-of-textures.deviantart.com/ Kings and Queens of textures], [http://seamlesstextures.deviantart.com/ Seamless Textures], [http://texture-central.deviantart.com/ Texture Central], [http://texturedinsanity.deviantart.com/ Textured Insanity], [http://texturize.deviantart.com/ Texturize], [http://totally-textures.deviantart.com/ Totally Textures] - textures.
** Groups [http://awesome-fonts.deviantart.com/gallery/ Awesome Fonts], [http://temple-of-typefaces.deviantart.com/ Temple of Typefaces], [http://type-design.deviantart.com/ Type Design], [http://typographylove.deviantart.com/ Typography Love] - fonts.
** Groups [http://best-resources.deviantart.com/ Best Resources], [http://darkstockers.deviantart.com/gallery/ DarkStockers], [http://distantfantasies.deviantart.com/ Distant Fantasies], [http://the-inspirations.deviantart.com/ The Inspirations] , [http://one-stop-stock.deviantart.com/ one-stop stock]- from artworks to tutorials to stock photo to fonts.
** Groups [http://allthingsfractal.deviantart.com/gallery/ AllThingsFractal], [http://fabulousfractals.deviantart.com/gallery/ FabulousFractals], [http://fractaldreams.deviantart.com/gallery/ FractalDreams], [http://fractalemporium.deviantart.com/gallery/ FractalEmporium], [http://fractal-forms.deviantart.com/gallery/ Fractal-Forms], [http://fracman.deviantart.com/gallery/ Fractal Manipulations], [http://mandelbulbs.deviantart.com/gallery/ Mandelbulbs], [http://mandelbulb3d.deviantart.com/gallery/ mandelbulb3d], [http://mandelbulbers.deviantart.com/gallery/ Mandelbulbers], [http://the-fractal-sphere.deviantart.com/gallery/ The-Fractal-Sphere], [http://xtremefractals.deviantart.com/gallery/ XtremeFractals] - fractals and fractal-like art. Some make good reference images for living, pseudo-living or overcomplicated stuff (as just one example - "[http://grahamsym.deviantart.com/art/Mandelbulb-Invasion-Force-331596080 Mandelbulb Invasion Force]"). Some include tips for making your own (e.g.: [http://batjorge.deviantart.com/art/Parameter-Pack-For-Mandelbulb-3d-383962663 Parameter Pack For Mandelbulb 3d]).
** [http://cb-stock.deviantart.com/gallery/ CB-Stock], [http://stock-unrestricted.deviantart.com/ Stock Unrestricted] - stock photo, renders, textures, models.
** [http://everythingisinstock.deviantart.com/ Everything Is In Stock], [http://the-stock-directory.deviantart.com/ The Stock Directory], [http://stock-supplies.deviantart.com/ Stock Supplies] - stock photo, textures, brushes, tutorials.
** [http://dmaland.deviantart.com/gallery/ D.Maland] - models, tutorials, renders.
** [http://enchantedgal-stock.deviantart.com/gallery/ Enchantedgal-Stock] - textures and photo.
** [http://iljackson.deviantart.com/gallery/ I. L. Jackson] - lots of spaceship renders, including rather "gritty" ones.
** [http://hafunui.deviantart.com/gallery/ Hafunui] - some resources and tutorials.
** [http://nobiax.deviantart.com/gallery/24853853 Nobiax] - a lot of free textures and models.
** [http://savitch.deviantart.com/gallery/ savitch] - models, stock images.
** [http://sed.deviantart.com/gallery/ sed] - lots of art looking abstract and/or high-tech-y due to abundance of shiny metal and glass materials (see e.g. "Tesla Room").
** [http://smashmethod.deviantart.com/gallery/ smashmethod] - some resources and tutorials.
** [http://thedugan.deviantart.com/gallery/30369920 J.Dugan] - sample ships from a pro designer, most for "Starmada: Fleet Ops". Worth taking a look at how different styles hold together within the game's recognizable style.

* [http://www.behance.net/ Behance]. Everything from advertisement concepts to photo of performance art to game design to weird fonts to samples of Mandelburber output. Need a fresh idea or prototype? Choose a theme and dig in.

----
{{NAV_Database |
| previous=[[Links:Converters]]
| up=[[Links]]
| next=[[Links:Tutorials]]
}}

[[Category:Links]]

HowTo:Create Cockpit in Wings3d

2013-02-23T23:39:33Z

Gonzo: /* Procedure */ Added link

{{NAV_Manual |
| previous=[[HowTo:Edit HUDs|Edit HUDs]]
| up=[[HowTos]]
| next=[[HowTo:MOD|MOD support]]
}}
----
{{fixme}} CONTENT REQUIRED

= Requirements =

* Export file format: Wavefront obj
* Vega Strike mesh file format: bfxm
* Triangles sorted from back to front
* Scale: ???
* Orientation: ???
* Positioning: ????

=Procedure=

Take a look at the [http://vegastrike.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/vegastrike/trunk/data/cockpits/ cockpits folder]. In there you see a lot of folders named blah.cpt, then within those you see a file with the same name, which you can edit to change gauges...you can even specify a background image (check out the privateer remake mod on the front page for examples of how 2d cockpits could look).

xmesh is the old model format for vegastrike I think it is deprecated but still supported. What you really want to use is the .bfxm format.

Quoted hellcatv: "just get it into an obj file with the triangles sorted and we can take it from there; but you have to make sure the triangles are sorted from back to front it's a pain...but that's way it is.

I believe 3dsMax lets you sort triangles"

"the polygons must be sorted such that when viewed from the pilot's perspective, the polygons farthest away from his eyeball (in graphics people have 1 eyeball unless you have sterioscopic stuff going on) must be drawn before the polygons closer to his eyeball.

The reason is as follows: one of the major slow-down factors when drawing is reading from the video memory to see if something's behind something already drawn in teh video memory would require an extra checkc on that video memory. since cockpits fill a lot of space, this would cause great slowdown for laptops when the cockpit is drawn

so we don't do the check and hope the cockpit (viewed form 1 angle only) is already sorted for us...if polygons intersect then they must be split into the front and behind...

other than that, the cockpit is just a plain xmesh... modify the bomber_cockpit stuff so that you can just see your new mesh in action... cockpits can only have a single xmesh"

= References =
* [http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?t=3712 2D cockpits]
* [http://forums.vega-strike.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13303 3D cockpits]

----
{{NAV_Manual |
| previous=[[HowTo:Edit HUDs|Edit HUDs]]
| up=[[HowTos]]
| next=[[HowTo:MOD|MOD support]]
}}

[[Category:HowTos|Cockpit Creation]]

SandBox

2013-02-23T23:36:55Z

Gonzo: Undo revision 19063 by Gonzo (talk)

Welcome to the SandBox:

test
[[newpage | new page]]
Here you can practice your wiki skills!

= Templates! =
{{SandBox|And some explanation why}}

How is this configured anyway? {{SERVER}}

= Header #1 =
== Double header ==
=== Triple header ===
=== Triple header ===
== Double header ==
= Header #2 =
== Subsection ==
=== Subsubsection ===
==== Subsubsubsection ====
===== Subsubsubsubsection =====
====== Subsubsubsubsubsection ======
======= Subsubsubsubsubsubsection =======
======== Subsubsubsubsubsubsubsection ========

= Wiki content =
== Lists ==
* list 1
* list 2
* list 5
** (Three, sir, three)
Bulleted lists:
* * Bulleted lists
* # Numbered lists
Numbered lists:
# List item
# List item
## List temp
##* Bulleted list in a numbered list. Ooh tricky! I want one!

== Formatting ==
* ''Italic''
** ''Text to make italic''
* Underline
** Text to make underlined
* '''Bold'''
** '''Text to make bold'''

== Headers ==
* = Top Level Header =
* == Second-level Header ==
* === Third-level header ===
* etc. etc. etc.

== Templates ==
* Use <nowiki>{{XX ...}}</nowiki> to include a template named "Template:XX".
* Example: <nowiki>{{Key:Up}}</nowiki> would be {{Key:Up}}

== Thumbnails ==
Using thumbnails from gallery v2 is more difficult than using ones from gallery v1. See [[VsWiki:Manual_of_Style#Images]] for info on how to use gallery v2 thumbnails in the wiki.

http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/albums/wiki_manual/APPLE_GENERAL.png

== Linking to the forum ==
* Use <nowiki>[http://forums.vega-strike.org/ This is a link to the forums]</nowiki> Note the space between the end of the address and the link text.

[http://forums.vega-strike.org/ This is a link to the forums]. - [[User:Stevie D|Stevie D]] 03:06, 31 October 2006 (PST)

SandBox

2013-02-23T23:35:39Z

Gonzo: /* Linking to the forum */ ~~~~ Test

Welcome to the SandBox:

test
[[newpage | new page]]
Here you can practice your wiki skills!

= Templates! =
{{SandBox|And some explanation why}}

How is this configured anyway? {{SERVER}}

= Header #1 =
== Double header ==
=== Triple header ===
=== Triple header ===
== Double header ==
= Header #2 =
== Subsection ==
=== Subsubsection ===
==== Subsubsubsection ====
===== Subsubsubsubsection =====
====== Subsubsubsubsubsection ======
======= Subsubsubsubsubsubsection =======
======== Subsubsubsubsubsubsubsection ========

= Wiki content =
== Lists ==
* list 1
* list 2
* list 5
** (Three, sir, three)
Bulleted lists:
* * Bulleted lists
* # Numbered lists
Numbered lists:
# List item
# List item
## List temp
##* Bulleted list in a numbered list. Ooh tricky! I want one!

== Formatting ==
* ''Italic''
** ''Text to make italic''
* Underline
** Text to make underlined
* '''Bold'''
** '''Text to make bold'''

== Headers ==
* = Top Level Header =
* == Second-level Header ==
* === Third-level header ===
* etc. etc. etc.

== Templates ==
* Use <nowiki>{{XX ...}}</nowiki> to include a template named "Template:XX".
* Example: <nowiki>{{Key:Up}}</nowiki> would be {{Key:Up}}

== Thumbnails ==
Using thumbnails from gallery v2 is more difficult than using ones from gallery v1. See [[VsWiki:Manual_of_Style#Images]] for info on how to use gallery v2 thumbnails in the wiki.

http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/albums/wiki_manual/APPLE_GENERAL.png

== Linking to the forum ==
* Use <nowiki>[http://forums.vega-strike.org/ This is a ksdfa to the forums]</nowiki> Note the space between the end of the address and the link text.

[http://forums.vega-strike.org/ This is a link to the forums]. - [[User:Stevie D|Stevie D]] 03:06, 31 October 2006 (PST)

Vegastrike

2011-10-06T22:47:18Z

Gonzo: Removed spam

{{Languages|En|Vegastrike}}
{{Wiki_Nav_Index}}

{| cellspacing="3" class="mainpagetable" align="center" style="color:#493956; border-style:solid;border-width:1px;padding:5px;width:100%;"
|- valign="top"
|colspan="2"|
<center>'''Welcome to the Vega Strike Wiki'''</center>

Welcome to the '''Vega Strike''' [[wikipedia:Wiki|Wiki]], a user-edited manual and development guide for users and developers of the [http://www.opensource.org/ open source] '''Vega Strike''' game. Feel free to edit or add any pages you feel are necessary, but please read the [[VsWiki:Manual of Style|Manual of Style]] first, and please only add data to the [[Database]] that originates from an authoritative source.
|- valign="top"
|style="background:#ffdead;" width="50%"|<center>'''[[Manual|Player's Planet]]'''</center>
|style="background:#afa8ee;" width="50%"|<center>'''[[Development|Contributor's Station]]'''</center>
|-
|valign="top" style="border-style:solid;border-width:1px;padding:5px;"|<center>'''Everything you wanted to know about Vega Strike''' (playing/story/etc)</center>
{|class="mainpagetable" style="color:#493956;"
|http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=5842&g2_serialNumber=2&ext=.png
|
* [[Manual]] - The complete game manual.
* [[Manual:New users|Information for new users]]
* [[Story Elements]]
* [[FAQ]]s - Frequently asked questions
* [[OOG Tools|Out of Game Tools]] - map viewers, route finders, etc.
* [[Database]] - Info on the Vega Strike Universe
* [[MODs|Full list of Mods]] for the Vega Strike Engine
|}
|valign="top" style="border-style:solid;border-width:1px;padding:5px;"|<center>'''Feel free to help with the development of Vega Strike. The links below are a good starting point to do so.'''
</center>
'''''Want to contribute but don't know where to start'''''
* [[HowTo:Contribute|The Vega Strike Contributor's Guide]]
* [[Development]] & [[HowTos]] - Miscellaneous information for contributors
'''''For Artists and Modders'''''
* [[Development#Artistic_Contribution|Artists Guidelines]] - 3d models, space scapes, planet and station backgrounds, ...
* [[Development#Data_Modding|Modding Guidelines]] - config variables, missions, quests, modding tools, ...
* [[Artstyle_guides|Art Style Guides]] - VS universe style information for artists
'''''Engine References'''''
* [[DOCs]] - Engine documentation
'''''For Coders'''''
* [[Development#Code-related_Development|Coding Guidelines]] - dependencies, svn layout, code style, network protocol, ...
'''''Administrative'''''
* [[Vegastrike:Project|Project]] - Project information page
* [[Development:Roadmap|Roadmap]] - Vega Strike development plan
* [[Development#Status.2Ftask_list_pages|Status & Task List pages]]
* [[FAQ:Feature_Requests|Feature Requests]] - Ask, and you will have asked.
'''''Other'''''
* [[FAQ]]s - Frequently asked questions
* [[HowTos#Sourcecode HowTos|Sourcecode HowTos]] - Getting and installing the latest unstable version.
* [http://vegastrike.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/vegastrike/ Browse the SVN repository]

|}

{| cellspacing="3" class="mainpagetable" align="center" style="color:#493956;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;padding:5px;width:100%;"
|- valign="top"
|colspan="2"|<center>'''The Vega Strike Community'''
If you want to help out with the wiki, or get help that this wiki cannot provide, check out the links below.
</center>
|-
|style="background:#7dcf7d;" width="50%"|<center>'''Wiki Trading Post'''</center>
|style="background:#ae6e9f;" width="50%"|<center>'''Help Shipyard'''</center>
|-
|valign="top" style="border-style:solid;border-width:1px;padding:5px;"|
* [[VsWiki:Manual of Style|Manual of Style]] - Please read it before editing, and please make any testing of the wiki system in the [[SandBox|Sandbox]].
*[http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=13186 Village Pump] - Make any discussions you wish about better organizing the wiki, or adding major new additions to the wiki.
* [[VsWiki:Requested Articles|Article Requests]] - Needed/wanted pages
* [[Wikipedia:How to edit a page|How to edit a wiki page]]
* [[:Category:Pages_needing_attention|Pages that need attention]]
* [[Special:Listusers|User list]] | [[Special:Popularpages|Most popular pages]]

* More special pages are here [[Special:Specialpages]]
|valign="top" style="border-style:solid;border-width:1px;padding:5px;"|<center>Do you need help? Then try the forums, the main source for development or help! Or you can leave the site by any one of a number of other links...
</center>
* [http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/forums/ Vega Strike Forums]

* [[Links]]
* irc.freenode.net #vegastrike (Main chanel)
** irc://irc.freenode.net/#vegastrike
** irc://irc.freenode.net/vegastrike (link for mIRC user)
* irc.stealth.net #vegastrike (Backup chanel)
** irc://irc.stealth.net/#vegastrike
** irc://irc.stealth.net/vegastrike (link for mIRC user)

Recommended open-source multi-protocol clients (IRC, ICQ/AIM, Jabber, Y!M, ...):
* Linux: [http://kopete.kde.org/ Kopete]
* Windows: [http://ayttm.sourceforge.net/ Ayttm]
* Mac: [http://fire.sourceforge.net/ Fire]

|}

{| cellspacing="3" class="mainpagetable" align="center" style="color:#493956;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;padding:5px;width:100%;"
|valign="top" |<center>'''Creating a wiki account'''
If you want to create an account in the wiki, you need to '''go to the [http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/forums/ forum] and create an account there'''. This is because the logins are linked and creation is only possible there.
</center>
|}

----
Please see [http://meta.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaWiki_i18n documentation on customizing the interface]
and the [http://meta.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaWiki_User%27s_Guide User's Guide] for usage and configuration help.