This is a step by step explanation about HOW TO PRACTICALLY BUILD THE PLANETARY INCLUSION IN X3.What I propose is not entirelly a trick, it can be very nice and also show some kind of progressive transiction from space to land.
You would say, why he explains it here but doesn't do it himself? Well, the reason is I'm not playing X3 anymore, unistalled all, don't mess with files, etc. But, I'm quite sure this is a good solution, and I'm prepared to help in modelling, texturing etc. if someone is willing to import files into the game and all that stuff.
Step 1 - what we need
a) we have to leave empty sectors in the map (one for each landable planet we build)
b) 2 remodelled/retextured jumpgates, one with a shape of curved circle (flattened hemisphere), one the shape of a 4-edge surface. Both can be made transparent but, for easier use during galaxy editing, we can make them colored with sky neutral color (as transparent bright grey or such).
The 4-edges surface must be the exact size of a sector, i.e. 4192 km (if I remember well...). About the round gate I'll talk later.
As alternative we could use the gateless solution that is being developed by Cycrow (a script to command the jump)
c) a program such as Terragen (but ther's a plenty and I'll give some links below...) to create a nice 3D terrain. This must also be imported to the size of a sector, 4192x4192 km
d) A lot of new planetary textures at high res showing the land at very low altitude (no problem, I've all we need, tens of textures already adapted into dds, etc.)
d) some good remodelled stations in shape of small buildings to create cities on the surface (this can be hard work but we can probably adapt pre-existing models and actual stations). Some stations can be used to dock also on land surface.
e) The mini-nebulae from the X2 files inside the directory, simply retextured into white clouds (very easy).
f) a retextured skybox having the colors of the blue/red/green etc. skies (possibly with color gradient to simulate the horizon's color-shift...very easy), so either a sphere with only half textured as above or even a box, the important is to make the color shift start at the middle of it (final horizon) or anyway in corrispondance with the y-coordinates of the 3d terrain.
g) a LOOOOT of patience!
Step 2 - procedure
After all the above-said modelling has been done, we edit the sector with the new skybox and put the 3D-TERRAIN inside the sector on the x,z surface, at whatever y value (according to the texture of the skybox). We put the remodelled buildings to create cities over the said 3D-terrain. Then we put the 4-EDGES GATE at 20-30 km above the said terrain. We put then diffuse MININEBULAE (a lot) to cover the whole x,z region of space and between the y-coordinates of 8-20 km.
That's the planet surface, now the rest.
We need to model other 2-3 planet kinds, X3 alrady has 3 kinds for 3 different resolutions/distances of view. Here is a first small issue. I don't know if we can modify the LOD-RANGE or VISIBILITY or whatever is called ,so that the engine loads up the model according to the distance of the player (it should be feasible...).
So we have put the 3 different kinds of planet that loads up at different distances, we put also the other 2-3 more detailed models that load up when player is much nearer. The last model (very low orbit) must be of course not a sphere but just a curved surface (the shape of a contact lens...), with short view of land and very detailed (repeated) bumb-mapped textures of clouds.
At the same coordinates we finally put also the MINI-NEBULAE retextured as clouds. If they show up too early we can command the Lod-range also for them.
Some 20-30 km dist from the spheres/hemi-spheres we also put the REMODELLED GATE in shape of lens, it must be of course the same diameter of the last planet-model + 20-30 km. It can be totally transparent or, as said, modder friendly, so visible to be used in Galaxy Editor.
The 2 gates are connected (land sector - normal sector)
The 2 gates must be NON TARGETTABLE AND NON VISIBLE IN THE GALAXY MAP
The land sector must be invisible in the galaxy map
END
Step 3 - known issues
a) we dont' know if and at what extent the LOD RANGE/VISIBILITY can be commanded (maybe someone more expert such as Observe could speak on this...)
b) The city modelling can be time-demanding and result, at the end, as quite too repetitive.
c) we know that after the 4192 km border the player is automatically respawn on the other side of a sector. This can be not a problem, probably even help to make the planet's surface pratically infinite becouse you don't notice the respawn when flying on the surface if the borders of the 3D-Terrain are made flat and simple (so, no mountains that interrupt suddendly). I know I know, 4000 km is not enough for a planet surface, but is even not that bad. Eventually it is much worse to have such a limited space in space rather than on land...
d) a real issue, the AVIONICS and the GRAVITY on surface must be different. Well, not that the physics of X3 makes much sense also in space (the fake air friction is very bad for my taste...). But if physics don't change a bit inside the planet then the player can just feel to be in another sector, only terrain-retextured but quite similar to the rest of the game (except fot the up/down limits).
e) probably the atmosphere damage is hardcoded so we have to overcome it. The solution by Observe could be the way, i.e. to use models other than planets to create the planet sphere
Step 4 - usefull links to terrain generators and (just for fun) to planetary engines and other stuff on planets
* Planetary engine (procedural planets):
1) http://drtypo.free.fr/index.html
2) http://www.xwaytoonsoft.com/
* Obviuosly, Terragen:
http://www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/
* DEM - for scientific pourposes, but not only..
http://www.visualizationsoftware.com/3d ... loads.html
* Planetary textures:
http://libnoise.sourceforge.net/index.html
http://www.celestiamotherlode.net/
* Generator of textures:
http://www.ethos.no/.robert/files/demo.zip
* Pics, infos and numbers about planets
http://www.solarviews.com/eng/solarsys.htm
----------------------------------------------------------
Here the links to other planetary engines, terrain generators, etc.:
http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index. ... 809.0.html
(an interesting planetary engine addition to the indie game Freespace)
http://www.shedletsky.com/jjshed/perlin/
http://www.vworldpowered.com/
http://www.dreamlands.to/
http://www.earth3d.org/
http://www.bundysoft.com/L3DT/
http://dmytry.pandromeda.com/voxelworld/index.html
http://drtypo.free.fr/index.html (this is a procedural engine, it has already posted, one of the best and very light !!)
And finally this, the most important. Is a databaes of many many sources, you can find really everything from here:
http://www.vterrain.org/
And to play, the link to the downloadable ELITE 2 for PC:
http://www.tomatarium.pwp.blueyonder.co ... ntier.html
That's all for now, let's the discussion begin!
.
if the planet model is bigger then the atmosphere is accordingly tiner, and you have time to enjoy some lower orbit view before being transferred
) I must add that many other space games have such limitations, it means you can make big only the planet meshes/models. In Spaceforce, e.g., while you can make the planets even 10000000000000 times bigger (I didn't experiment further!) you can at most make asteroids 10x and stations only 1x
)
![[ external image ]](http://iifrit.yaki-syndicate.de//Sig.jpg){kind=link}