Aaron VFX

Great feedback in this thread. Thanks for the detailed post Astro648! *image links broken. would love to see instances to go along with the descriptions

Hi All, Good call out. This is on the list. Attaching the particles to the local space of the engine is not the intended final result. We will improve engine exhaust effects in the future. What may seem like a straightforward solution gets really tricky under the hood.

Great discussion everyone! Although I'm not an expert on rocket exhaust, I wanted to share that the overall shape and composition of the plumes, from atmospheric pressure to vacuum, was partially based on research from the book "Rocket Propulsion Elements" by George P. Sutton. We held several meetings to discuss key information and to hear what Nate wanted to achieve in KSP2. From this, we devised a plan to create exhaust plumes that would respond to atmospheric pressure (and a host of other variables) in a way that aligns with science while also being performant in the overall context of the game. While we have very clear work in front of us, it would be great to circle back around to plumes in the future and see what we can adjust to make them even belter.

Scoot over Nate, I brought parts to build s'mores

I learned a lesson from my first visual effects boss in the game industry that I carry with me to this day. When I started, I came in with a video editor background. I didn't know how video games were built. My boss would ask me, we need to make a healing effect for this carbunclo, what should it look like? I would go on to describe what I thought would look cool, giving no care about if it was even possible. He would then twist his brain to figure out how to make it happen with the tech and tools we had. Since then, I make a point of getting input from other disciplines on what they would like to see, how they would do something or what could be better from their perspective. Others are not bound by the thoughts of limitations, tools, or technology that an expert in a subject may be. When I get others perspectives, I twist my brain to figure out how to make it happen with the tech and tools that are available. Thanks bossman Gordon. Trip down memory lane aside, I fully embrace the discussion of ideas from different perspectives.

Since announcement, we have stated that KSP2 will support mods and that the dev team will continue to support the game post release. We want to carry on the tradition of KSP1 and support the player base as much as we can. You guys are as much KSP as we are. I'll note your suggestions on plume modability. As always, no guarantees on what is exposed but it's a valid suggestion. Out of curiosity, what are the key elements you all would like control of? I'm thinking color, texture, a way to import your own mesh blends, etc. I don't have much experience setting up content for mod support, so knowing what is helpful will let me wrap my head around better ways to approach the possibilities.

Thank you for the time, effort and information put into this top quality post! We've made some good progress so far with implementing shock diamonds, afterburners and distortion (not yet heat blur). I hope you and others will be happy with the updated stock effects. That being said, I love hearing and seeing what details people point out in posts like yours. If we have the time, I'll add some color depth and variation to the exhaust at the nozzle. Not sure what we can do with tweaks to visibility based on lighting conditions but I'll take note and look into it when I can. I like how you broke down heat blur into different elements. I've never liked sharp distortion in games. It can be too much and takes away from the overall composition. Adding some blur and a bit of darkness is a brilliant observation to better blend this effect with the surrounding elements. Separate topic but, you posted about the SR-71. I am in awe every time I see it. There is one at the Museum of Flight here in the Seattle area. The level of engineering and problem solving put into the creation of that machine is an inspiration.

Particle effects for moving objects in this game are surprisingly difficult to set up correctly. Here are a few examples: The particle spawn tick rate in Unity isn't fast enough to keep up with the speed of movement in game. This is why we get the disconnected spottiness of particles on exhaust trails. Floating point origin shenanigans cause havoc with the particle system when it shifts. Ribbon type effects don't work by default as our objects don't move through game space in a way that Unity expects. As a team, we are dedicated to solving the issues and I'm confident that we will. However, they are not as easy as they may seem on the surface. Just trying to give you all some insight into the dev process and some of the challenges. Keep the thoughts and ideas rolling.

Quality post. Thanks for the info/images!

Options, yes. Toggles, yes. This is the way. So... I have this system. Don't tell anyone yet. This system detects how far the camera is away from an in world action and can trigger a camera based action based on information of the in world action. The possibilities are exciting. I should probably stop typing now.

Give yourself a little credit Pthigrivi, everyone on the web is an expert. Nice launch sequence reference. If we can get close to reproducing the way these look in game, I think it would be job well done.

For you Ahres, I'll ask for a cameo in the next vid.

Yea, I was just playing around with my comment. No motion blur. Only moderate camera shake where appropriate. While we're on visual flourishes that can opinionate people, what about bloom, heat refraction and lens flairs? What does the community think about these in general?

Thanks! More camera shake incoming. Got to give the people what they want.

Hey all, this is Aaron the visual effects artist on the team. I’d like to chime in on the exhaust comments/questions in this thread. Your friend is technically correct. We simplified for production reasons. I’ll continue to work on the shock diamonds. The motion and coloring need to be adjusted during throttle and atmospheric pressure transitions. Also, we have plans for adding overpressure to the exhaust in the future. We do have plans for start up / shut down effects for engines. Implementation is TBD. The speed of the low throttle exhaust has been sped up. Thanks for pointing that out! Currently the exhaust plumes just overlap. I haven’t thought of them interacting in the way you described. I’ll take note and chat with the team. I love to hear all the feedback and input regarding the effects. If anyone has additional technical feedback or knowledge to drop, please do. I truly want to be as authentic as possible while also balancing development limitations (tech, time, etc). Since Jon posted his dev diary, we’ve added some heat refraction while in atmosphere, a bit of lens flare at full throttle and the ability for exhaust to bend during rotation. All of this is WIP of course.