Development:System Backgrounds

General

This page summarizes concepts and approaches to creating space backgrounds compatible with Vega Strike.

References

External References

Software, Tools, Tutorials

• Panoramic Image Conversion with HDR Shop

Space Backgrounds

FIXME - need more info on requirements, naming, spatial arrangement, and integration

Development Tools

HDR Shop

[Source: PhpWiki from September 28, 2003 10:49 | Author: Spiner]

Once you have your image done load it into HDRShop and choose Image/Panorama/Panoramic transformations.

Under your source image(left side of menu) there will be a format option(should say mirrorball) choose mirrorball closeup. now on the right side (destination image, keep new image) under format choose Cubic Enviorment vertical cross.

You should now have a cross with only half the image in it.(saves anything but will call it "image 1")

Ok now to the second part.

Go to your original image and press "V", that will turn the image 180. Now go to the panorama transformations again. Choose Mirrorball closeup under source image, and cubical map under destinated image. Now before you transform the image go to "3D Rotation" and choose arbitrary rotation. and choose settings. Under X axis change it to 180. leave Y and Z 0.

Ok now we have the rest of the cross. save it.(this will be called image 2)

Now go to image/calculate; under image a choose your first image(Image A) and for image b choose the second image (image b); leave c and d alone.

This will calculate the image and put it together to have one seamless image.

Note that this also makes your image double so try to change image b before you transform it.

[2003 | Author: hurleybird]

And another way i found out how to make cube maps is this...

If you have a texture which can be tiled then you can use longitude/latitude to cubic enviroment (note, you want to add stars AFTER this is done, not before) then you can get some really nice efffects.

POV-Ray

POV-Ray (Persistence of Vision Raytracer) is a high-quality, totally free tool for creating stunning three-dimensional graphics. It is available in official versions for Windows, Mac OS/Mac OS X and i86 Linux. The source code is available for those wanting to do their own ports. With its unique scripting approach and through a large base of available texture, pigment, and material functions there are almost unlimited possibilities to creating any kind of graphics.

Maps can be exported by using a spherical camera setting: ...