[WIP][1.9.x-1.12.x] Scatterer-atmospheric scattering (0.0838 - 14/08/2022) Scattering improvements, in-game atmo generation and multi-sun support

[gkorgood]

hey @blackrack, this is a project I started a few weeks ago, and when you asked for carriers the other day I decided to finish it!

It's based on an internet legend of a russian ekranoplan/aircraft carrier, which was really a bunch of images of an f14 that someone split in half, scaled up, and stuck a flight deck in the middle before stitching the tomcat back together. Mine doesn't have a runway to land F-14's on, but I was able to land an F-35B on it!

[Deutherius]

1 hour ago, Space Cowbuoy said:

Thanks for the suggestions @Deutherius really appreciate the help! Yeah, I'd noticed toggling post processing got rid of it too but like you say why do that lol?  At least it leaves the ocean shaders if I'm really desperate ha! 

As for using dx11 I don't have a problem doing that I haven't tested it yet myself [so far in testing on using dx9] and I'll give it a go. Only thing is have you noticed any bugs or glitches arising from using dx11? Some people on here have been saying it's more unstable with scatterer than 9. Peace bro x

No problem man, happy to help. I haven't tested dx11 extensively, just a quick "lets try this and see if it gets rid of the artefacts". I haven't noticed any other artefacts or glitches forming, but my game was kinda laggy (fps was said to be stable at 25, but it definitely felt a lot more like 5. MET font color was rapidly flashing between green and yellow, so maybe it was just at the edge? Didn't check logs for error spam though).

EDIT: Just checked it now... No log spam, very minor artefacts (black dots/lines) forming on any curves along the horizon. Bumping AA from 2x to 8x helped a bit, but I assume that's only because there are less edges to draw the artefacts on.

One thing that really bugs me with the alt+f11 debug menu: All is fine when fiddling with the atmo settings, but the window resizes to slightly higher vertical size than the resolution I'm running with (1280x720 windowed) the moment I click on Ocean settings. Clicking anywhere on the scatterer window then causes the whole debug menu to shift up and down, aligning with either the top or bottom border, making it really frustrating to try and click on anything. Is there a way to resize the debug menu window manually?

Edited December 6, 2015 by Deutherius

[visivante]

1 hour ago, blackrack said:

It's a scatterer issue I believe, fix is to go into the files CompiledSkyScaled.shader , CompiledSkyExtinction.shader , CompiledAtmosphericScatter.shader CompiledAtmosphericScatter24bitdepth.shader and replace "IGNOREPROJECTOR"="true" with "IgnoreProjector"="True"

Unity keeps messing up these tags after each shader recompile. Please report back if this fixes it.

I tried what you suggested and replaced both instances of the argument in each of the files you mentioned but the problem still persists, unfortunately.

[Speadge]

2 hours ago, blackrack said:

Yes, they will sink way below sea level and rise way higher. That is the reason I've been reluctant to put windy or rough seas as the default setting and put the tamest one as default, because otherwise you'd be floating between them all the time, this is what I'm trying to address now.

i WANT that!  Replaying Kerbals of the Kerribic with Jack Kerman!!!

Sorry, CAPTN Jack Kerman

Edit: SPACE-CAPTN!

Edited December 6, 2015 by Speadge

[sDaZe]

Loving the Duna atmosphere Blackrack 

[blackrack]

2 hours ago, gkorgood said:

hey @blackrack, this is a project I started a few weeks ago, and when you asked for carriers the other day I decided to finish it!

It's based on an internet legend of a russian ekranoplan/aircraft carrier, which was really a bunch of images of an f14 that someone split in half, scaled up, and stuck a flight deck in the middle before stitching the tomcat back together. Mine doesn't have a runway to land F-14's on, but I was able to land an F-35B on it!

Actuallly, this maybe cool if you made the "runway" part longer and made it into a functional gliding carrier. But we don't have ground effect modeled in FAR or stock aerodynamics so I guess ekranoplans are only for looking cool. Thanks for this. Btw is that an f-35?

 

2 hours ago, visivante said:

I tried what you suggested and replaced both instances of the argument in each of the files you mentioned but the problem still persists, unfortunately.

Alright, thanks for testing. Must be something else then.

 

2 hours ago, Space Cowbuoy said:

Hi back at you man  Did the test. Removing EVE didn't help with the green jaggies, but running in dx11 did remove them. However the post processing layer, the ocean layer and the edges of landmasses especially [interplay between sea and sky shaders?] have begun to flicker like crazy in dx11. There was some flickering before when moving the camera, but moving the camera or zooming now causes serious flickering especially at high altitude. Everything else, as far as I can tell, is working great.

BTW: I was also having the weird halo over Kerbin [which I thought best not to complain about ha] and those new files you provided cleared that up quick smart, good stuff!! x

EDIT: Oh my stars, flickering aside, it looks so convincing; can't compliment you enough.

EDIT 2: Did anyone disclose the settings for the ocean shader as seen in the OP screenshots? It reminds me of the sea in Empire TW and I want it!!  

I'll try to fiddle with the ocean settings again to try and find those settings. But... keep in mind that screenshot is cherrypicked, it might've just worked really well at one angle or something, but i'll try to find it again.

 

Edited: So I gave it a try and I believe the settings are:

-oceanUpwellingColor: 0.000 0.000 0.000 (yes, black)

-AMP: 2

-wind speed: 15 

-Omega 0.84 (default)

Try it and let me know.

 

Also, I'm thinking of making the foam strength adjustable by altitude, since settings like these look totally foamy from a higher altitude.

 

Edited again: I'm really missing a lot of posts lately

34 minutes ago, DaZeInBok said:

Loving the Duna atmosphere Blackrack 

I personally feel it's the one that has the most full of problems and artifacts but I'm glad you are enjoying it.

 

2 hours ago, Deutherius said:

No problem man, happy to help. I haven't tested dx11 extensively, just a quick "lets try this and see if it gets rid of the artefacts". I haven't noticed any other artefacts or glitches forming, but my game was kinda laggy (fps was said to be stable at 25, but it definitely felt a lot more like 5. MET font color was rapidly flashing between green and yellow, so maybe it was just at the edge? Didn't check logs for error spam though).

EDIT: Just checked it now... No log spam, very minor artefacts (black dots/lines) forming on any curves along the horizon. Bumping AA from 2x to 8x helped a bit, but I assume that's only because there are less edges to draw the artefacts on.

One thing that really bugs me with the alt+f11 debug menu: All is fine when fiddling with the atmo settings, but the window resizes to slightly higher vertical size than the resolution I'm running with (1280x720 windowed) the moment I click on Ocean settings. Clicking anywhere on the scatterer window then causes the whole debug menu to shift up and down, aligning with either the top or bottom border, making it really frustrating to try and click on anything. Is there a way to resize the debug menu window manually?

Sorry about that, I'll make it resizable directly in the UI or through a config file.

Edited December 7, 2015 by blackrack

[gkorgood]

50 minutes ago, blackrack said:

Actuallly, this maybe cool if you made the "runway" part longer and made it into a functional gliding carrier. But we don't have ground effect modeled in FAR or stock aerodynamics so I guess ekranoplans are only for looking cool. Thanks for this. Btw is that an f-35?

 

2 hours ago, gkorgood said:

snip

Mine doesn't have a runway to land F-14's on, but I was able to land an F-35B on it!

yes...

[DuoDex]

So.

Now that setting hasOcean = false in PlanetsList.cfg has no effect, I would like to inquire how one would go about turning off the oceans, as I have unfortunately given up on using the ocean shaders for now (they can work and look really good when they do, but I can't be bothered to mess with both my graphics card control panel and KSP's control panel every time I load up a flight).

 

Thanks.

[blackrack]

3 minutes ago, DuoDex said:

So.

Now that setting hasOcean = false in PlanetsList.cfg has no effect, I would like to inquire how one would go about turning off the oceans, as I have unfortunately given up on using the ocean shaders for now (they can work and look really good when they do, but I can't be bothered to mess with both my graphics card control panel and KSP's control panel every time I load up a flight).

 

Thanks.

hasOcean = false has no effect?

[DuoDex]

1 minute ago, blackrack said:

hasOcean = false has no effect?

Yup. At least in OpenGL/Linux/nvidia. Uh, just a moment. I may have been very stupid.

Edited December 7, 2015 by DuoDex

[blackrack]

1 minute ago, DuoDex said:

Yup. At least in OpenGL/Linux/nvidia. Uh, just a moment. I may have been very stupid.

Yeah I think you were

[DuoDex]

2 minutes ago, blackrack said:

Yeah I think you were

Protip for DuoDex : Make sure you don't have conflicting configuration files when asking why a setting isn't working.

[sDaZe]

Also i decided to make a backgroundish type of photo. Tell me what ya think

I dont know how to create a album sorry!

Edited December 7, 2015 by DaZeInBok

[Space Cowbuoy]

4 hours ago, Deutherius said:

EDIT: Just checked it now... No log spam, very minor artefacts (black dots/lines) forming on any curves along the horizon. Bumping AA from 2x to 8x helped a bit, but I assume that's only because there are less edges to draw the artefacts on.

Do you experience a lot of flickering when you pan or zoom the camera dude?

2 hours ago, blackrack said:

Edited: So I gave it a try and I believe the settings are:

-oceanUpwellingColor: 0.000 0.000 0.000 (yes, black)

-AMP: 2

-wind speed: 15 

-Omega 0.84 (default)

Try it and let me know.

 

Also, I'm thinking of making the foam strength adjustable by altitude, since settings like these look totally foamy from a higher altitude.

Thanks for letting me mess around with those settings! They look lovely to fly over but break all over when you get too close lol  Being able to tone down the foam is a great idea! x

[Courn Wallace]

I'm hoping this isn't a stupid question. I've gone back and tried to see if anyone else had this issue... No luck.

The sunflare does not change. It stays the same whether I'm in the atmosphere or in orbit. This wouldn't be an issue if I didn't already love the Better Atmospheres sunflare. Does anyone have a possible explanation? 

[Deutherius]

5 hours ago, Space Cowbuoy said:

Do you experience a lot of flickering when you pan or zoom the camera dude?

Some flickering on moving the camera, but not really that noticeable, especially with all the liquid beauty down below.

[Manwith Noname]

The ocean shaders are amazing.

 

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=570680761

 

As others have mentioned, I get flicker on the horizon when moving the camera around. It's like the atmosphere doesn't update position at the same speed as the rest of the scene, which under normal flying conditions isn't a problem. It's mostly noticeable when quickly moving the camera up and down. Also, I don't know how it can be solved but the atmosphere ignores anti aliasing. I normally run just in game AA at 8x. I tried messing with nVidia Inspector and applied 2x2 supersampling, then 4x MSAA with 4x SGSSAA and the aliasing where the atmo meets the ground persists. I didn't try FXAA, which might help but that also applies to the GUI and I don't really want that going all fuzzy.

 

In some ways I find the aliasing minor because the most notable thing for me when running this with EVE was sub 30fps at times. I haven't seen that in a while.

 

I hate sounding negative about this because the fact I posted the pic on Steam and someone implied it was photoshop'd says everything about how amazing it really is. So to end on a positive, the atmo height....oh my kraken, I nearly asked if extending it was possible a few weeks back. Mountains poking out of the atmosphere really and I mean really got on my nerves. It's truly wonderful.

[Dooz]

Ocean shaders are beautiful. However i noticed decals look messed up when underwater. and when the camera is placed in the water some weird stuff happens. 

[Columbia]

@blackrack, do you have any word on the black ocean and scatterer disappearing suddenly at times?
 

Thanks!

Edit: I now realize the Scatterer disappearing thing is listed under the known issues.

Edited December 7, 2015 by Columbia

[Temeter]

Mod is dope.

[blackrack]

5 hours ago, Manwith Noname said:

The ocean shaders are amazing.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=570680761

As others have mentioned, I get flicker on the horizon when moving the camera around. It's like the atmosphere doesn't update position at the same speed as the rest of the scene, which under normal flying conditions isn't a problem. It's mostly noticeable when quickly moving the camera up and down. Also, I don't know how it can be solved but the atmosphere ignores anti aliasing. I normally run just in game AA at 8x. I tried messing with nVidia Inspector and applied 2x2 supersampling, then 4x MSAA with 4x SGSSAA and the aliasing where the atmo meets the ground persists. I didn't try FXAA, which might help but that also applies to the GUI and I don't really want that going all fuzzy.

In some ways I find the aliasing minor because the most notable thing for me when running this with EVE was sub 30fps at times. I haven't seen that in a while.

I hate sounding negative about this because the fact I posted the pic on Steam and someone implied it was photoshop'd says everything about how amazing it really is. So to end on a positive, the atmo height....oh my kraken, I nearly asked if extending it was possible a few weeks back. Mountains poking out of the atmosphere really and I mean really got on my nerves. It's truly wonderful.

That flicker and aliasing is caused by the new depth buffer, and no amount of antialiasing can fix it. I'm looking into it.

For the atmo height, yeah, I was waiting to have a clean way to do it, last time I did it through the config tool and wasn't satisfied as it ended up full of artifacts.

 

4 hours ago, Columbia said:

@blackrack, do you have any word on the black ocean and scatterer disappearing suddenly at times?
 

Thanks!

Edit: I now realize the Scatterer disappearing thing is listed under the known issues.

For scatterer disapperaing just revert flight or change scenes. For the black ocean I don't have any idea what causes it yet.

[Darren9]

I think mine is bigger So big it can only be launched once and not leave the scene without disaster - it's going straight into the bin. I didn't have any F16's either so it's a Harrier and F22. It does look beautiful with scatterer though.

 

[Space Cowbuoy]

6 hours ago, Deutherius said:

Some flickering on moving the camera, but not really that noticeable, especially with all the liquid beauty down below.

Just wanted to see if I was the only one! Aside from that dx11 is smooth sailing  x

[million_lights]

22 hours ago, blackrack said:

How are you adjusting the heights? Through the config tool or through the new UI scale settings?

In any case I don't have any solution for these yet, all sorts of artifacts appear when you make the atmo about 3x higher than default or more, my current Duna config also look pretty awful and has plenty of problems like that. If you're doing this through the UI I'd suggest giving the config tool a try, not sure if you'd get any better results though.

 

Seems to work fine:  https://mega.nz/#!3cJ2jJjQ!rurSNC9jildjOmDOcOv5RGpwly6IJniMrIguJoDeF6Q

 

You just wait, I'm working on makin waves interact with ships.

I used The tool to try some things but the configs seem to work fine without any changes.

For the in flight view I didnt need to change anything, but I changed the ocean alpha value from 95% to 100% and adjusted the sunflare slightly to my liking. (ingame UI)

And I had to changed the atmoscale in mapview to one 10th of the original value (from 1000 to 100, I think). (again ingame UI)

 

Just to clarify, My version of the planets are shrunk down to 10% of the original size, so the atmo is a lot smaller.

-Mil

 

*EDIT: I'm running KSP in 1080p DX11 borderless mode.

And yes, When its night... it is pitch black on the ocean and nearly impossible to land even with the Ambient light adjustment mod

Edited December 7, 2015 by million_lights

[Temeter]

1 hour ago, Darren9 said:

I think mine is bigger So big it can only be launched once and not leave the scene without disaster - it's going straight into the bin. I didn't have any F16's either so it's a Harrier and F22. It does look beautiful with scatterer though.

Cool Ship!

Mine isn't super-sized (but broad!), 190m i think. That type is a bit bugged tho, always goes to ocean floor on loading in. I'm currently mostly figuring out how to build big carrier and make them performant. Tweakscale/Partwelder are awesome, but they can't completely solve fps issues and often results in superheavy ships (=limiting range). B9s superlarge platforms are amazing for carriers, but welder doesn't support firespitter mech switching.

 

 

Edited December 7, 2015 by Temeter