Low-hanging fruit (graphical enhancements)

[vger]

Yep, I know there are good mods out there for this. But perhaps that's exactly the point. Of all the things that should be stock with the game, it should be this.

Adding new functionality is more difficult because new modded parts or physics could affect gameplay in a big way. But graphics enhancements should always be there. And they should be stock because every update brings a risk of the mods no longer working, and the devs of those mods could stop updating them at any time.

One of the biggest selling points of flight sims has always been the imagery. And while KSP's universe is a marvel to look at, there's still the potential to make it far more stunning. Even the "distant object" mod, which makes far away bodies look like planets do in our own night sky, is such a simple concept but does so much to enhance the visuals. Some of the other mods, such as the Interstellar one (for high-detail planet textures, clouds etc) or the quirky atmospheric scatterer, bring the game close to photo-realistic. But getting them to work can be a chore, and as I said before, support for them could end at any time. These are the kinds of things that should ALWAYS be available.

Edited October 6, 2015 by vger

[r4pt0r]

I would love Proots Renaissance Compilation to be stock. If you are worried about performance issues than play at lower settings, just like any other game.

[Alshain]

Some of Renaissance and Interstellar look good, but the Kerbin in both does not. It's an Earth analog(ue?) and it needs to look like Earth clouds (picture credit NASA), not "I think that was a cloud, maybe". The only mod I've seen that comes close is AVP: Edge of Oblivion. Now if you want thin clouds on Laythe for some diversity, be my guest... it would match the thin land mass ROFL.

Scatterer looks awful to me, at least from Space which is where we should be concerned since it is a space travel game. It's too pale and fuzzy, it takes "pale blue dot" to another level, hardly even blue anymore... teal? cyan? No, Kerbin needs to be blue and lighter around the edges due to atmosphere, again like Earth... see picture! The horizon looks good in some of the images I've seen but in others it's like a thick fog over the whole planet (the header image on KerbalStuff looks terrible). I'm not sure if that is just from an older version but this one looks great. However, the planet from space sucks so if that can't be fixed, I don't want it (I feel like that could be fixed if done right in stock and everyone can be happy, but I don't know for certain).

For other graphical effects and GUI graphics as well, I would like Distant Object Enhancement, PlanetShine, Cool Rockets, Engine Lighting, Real Plume, and PortraitStats to all be stock.

Edited October 5, 2015 by Alshain

[Red Iron Crown]

Some of Renaissance and Interstellar look good, but the Kerbin in both does not. It's an Earth analog(ue?) and it needs to look like Earth clouds (picture credit NASA), not "I think that was a cloud, maybe". The only mod I've seen that comes close is AVP: Edge of Oblivion. Now if you want thin clouds on Laythe for some diversity, be my guest... it would match the thin land mass ROFL.

Scatterer looks awful to me, at least from Space which is where we should be concerned since it is a space travel game. It's too pale and fuzzy, it takes "pale blue dot" to another level, hardly even blue anymore... teal? cyan? No, Kerbin needs to be blue and lighter around the edges due to atmosphere, again like Earth... see picture! The horizon looks good in some of the images I've seen but in others it's like a thick fog over the whole planet (the header image on KerbalStuff looks terrible). I'm not sure if that is just from an older version but this one looks great. However, the planet from space sucks so if that can't be fixed, I don't want it (I feel like that could be fixed if done right in stock and everyone can be happy, but I don't know for certain).

This is mostly an issue of configuration rather than something inherent in Scatterer and EVE themselves. Check out pingopete's jaw-dropping config for RVE using EVE-WIP and Scatterer in RSS:

For other graphical effects and GUI graphics as well, I would like Distant Object Enhancement, PlanetShine, Cool Rockets, Engine Lighting, Real Plume, and PortraitStats to all be stock.

Yes to all of this. I hope when Squad decides to get serious about making the game prettier they buy/borrow/steal all of these.

[DuoDex]

I still need to get my hands on RVE for stock. It looks waaaay to good.

[Whirligig Girl]

This is mostly an issue of configuration rather than something inherent in Scatterer and EVE themselves. Check out pingopete's jaw-dropping config for RVE using EVE-WIP and Scatterer in RSS:

http://i.imgur.com/nwqVW5e.png

Yes to all of this. I hope when Squad decides to get serious about making the game prettier they buy/borrow/steal all of these.

I was convinced for several minutes that this was photoshopped until I couldn't find a picture of Earth that was exactly like that and I looked close enough to see minor pixelation on the landmasses.

[adsii1970]

I was convinced for several minutes that this was photoshopped until I couldn't find a picture of Earth that was exactly like that and I looked close enough to see minor pixelation on the landmasses.

Same here... even downloaded the image in Photoshop to look for layers in the picture... Didn't find any either. If my machine could handle it... man, wow, I would love to have that kind of beauty...

[Red Iron Crown]

Not to gush, but pingopete is a bit of a wizard at configuring this stuff.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

^^ That last one is simply amazing.

[adsii1970]

Not to gush, but pingopete is a bit of a wizard at configuring this stuff.

^^ That last one is simply amazing.

Wow, going to have to upgrade my computer. I WOULD LOVE to have GFX like that.

[HafCoJoe]

You guys can check out the mod WindowShine in my config if you like reflective windows for stock parts. I'm pretty pleased with how that one turned out

[Alshain]

This is mostly an issue of configuration rather than something inherent in Scatterer and EVE themselves. Check out pingopete's jaw-dropping config for RVE using EVE-WIP and Scatterer in RSS:

No, that still doesn't look right. Sorry, it's not blue. I mean, it depends. It actually looks right for where that picture is taken because lower orbit of the planet does look lighter in color due to the proximity to the atmosphere's effects. It's at higher orbits where it really shows how bad scatterer makes the planet look. That effect should fade away as you further from it and the planet should look darker blue like the picture I posted, but in scattered, it doesn't. Quite frankly, I'd rather go without it than have it look so bad in space where I see it the most.

Compare this picture to the NASA picture I liked above of Earth. By comparison, the land masses look faded out for some reason, and the color is much to light. Atmospheric scattering doesn't cause the land to faded and barely visible from space. I just can't say it any better, it looks awful.

Edited October 5, 2015 by Alshain

[Red Iron Crown]

Tough crowd. There are tinting options in Scatterer now, you could probably tune it to your liking.

[Alshain]

You guys can check out the mod WindowShine in my config if you like reflective windows for stock parts. I'm pretty pleased with how that one turned out

I like it, I would prefer however to see some combination of WindowShine and RasterPropMonitor's transparent windows. A transparent window will reflect light if the the light source shining on it is greater than the light source behind it. If the windows in KSP looked like the RPM transparent windows, showing the IVA view from the outside, and then reflected bright lights... that would be perfect. The cockpit/IVA view should have a toggle-able backlight as well.

- - - Updated - - -

Tough crowd. There are tinting options in Scatterer now, you could probably tune it to your liking.

Too much trouble. I'm just not that interested. My concern here is not making the mod work but, because it is the Suggestion forum, that Squad might do something like those Scatterer images and ruin the beauty of the game doing it. I'm voicing my dissent so maybe they wont or they will do it, but better.

[Rath]

I suggest having 1.2 be nothing but optimisation, remodels and preattyness.

[vger]

Too much trouble. I'm just not that interested. My concern here is not making the mod work but, because it is the Suggestion forum, that Squad might do something like those Scatterer images and ruin the beauty of the game doing it. I'm voicing my dissent so maybe they wont or they will do it, but better.

That's typically not how graphics options work, especially in a game when version 1.0 DIDN'T have those features. You just click a check box to disable anything you don't like. Scattering is a pretty high-end feature that will give some rigs a nervous breakdown, so there's no way you'd be forced to use it. But chances are, with a full dev team working on it, any bugs with some stuff not looking quite right, stand a good chance of being eliminated.

Edited October 6, 2015 by vger

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

[...]

For other graphical effects and GUI graphics as well, I would like Distant Object Enhancement, PlanetShine, Cool Rockets, Engine Lighting, Real Plume, and PortraitStats to all be stock.

I respectfully disagree with Engine Lighting. It looks great with one engine, but with clusters, the rocket gets complexly washed out, even though it's above the rocket.

[Azimech]

Reply to above post.

The "easy" fix would be for the .dll to count the number and type of engines burning & power output, and compare/adjust it with ambient light levels and camera focus (isn't that the essence of HDR?)

[vger]

The "easy" fix would be for the .dll to count the number and type of engines burning & power output, and compare/adjust it with ambient light levels and camera focus (isn't that the essence of HDR?)

Better than adjusting the 'exposure' of the scene is to just have a hard limit on how much light can get cast on a rocket from its own light sources.

You can make it more complex than that by having it take into account the total number of engines in a stage, and other such things. So in a stage with 4 engines burning, instead of the light source for each engine having a range of 0 and 100%, divide the maximum brightness by the number of engines so each light source maxes out at 25%. That's probably overcompensating since a rocket can handle more than one light source at 100%, but you get the idea.

Edited October 6, 2015 by vger

[Alshain]

I respectfully disagree with Engine Lighting. It looks great with one engine, but with clusters, the rocket gets complexly washed out, even though it's above the rocket.

So, you are saying it looks something like this (look at ~19 seconds for an unfiltered view)

They are rocket engines, they produce a lot of light. Emissive levels can be tweaked anyway, if they make it stock, I would hope they would apply a little more color to the light source based on the engines being used. Also, Unity 5 by itself may fix some of that, it has a much better lighting system supposedly. There is an issue with it clipping the light through objects that I think will likely be fixed, that isn't the fault of the mod. Time will tell.

Edited October 6, 2015 by Alshain

[Azimech]

There is an issue with it clipping the light through objects that I think will likely be fixed, that isn't the fault of the mod. Time will tell.

I'm really hoping on this one. We could finally build electronic circuitry.

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

So, you are saying it looks something like this (look at ~19 seconds for an unfiltered view)

They are rocket engines, they produce a lot of light. Emissive levels can be tweaked anyway, if they make it stock, I would hope they would apply a little more color to the light source based on the engines being used. Also, Unity 5 by itself may fix some of that, it has a much better lighting system supposedly. There is an issue with it clipping the light through objects that I think will likely be fixed, that isn't the fault of the mod. Time will tell.

I see that as a very bright plume, that is lighting up the space shuttle. I think engine lighting looks like that when there's only one or two engines, and it looks great. But when it's like this:

(Note: not my image)

It seems washed out.

ETA:

I saw your edit about 00:19, and, while that much light may be realistic, it seems way to bright to be useable in KSP. Plus, I've always thought the way light is handled in KSP looks weird. I would prefer the rockets in KSP to look like the filtered video.

Edited October 6, 2015 by Mad Rocket Scientist

[vger]

I saw your edit about 00:19, and, while that much light may be realistic, it seems way to bright to be useable in KSP. Plus, I've always thought the way light is handled in KSP looks weird. I would prefer the rockets in KSP to look like the filtered video.

Are you talking about the actual light casting on the rocket, or the particle effects?

Cuz there's an issue with the particles too that can't really be solved with simple additive blending (which pretty much every single game that has anything in it that glows, uses).

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

Are you talking about the actual light casting on the rocket, or the particle effects?

Cuz there's an issue with the particles too that can't really be solved with simple additive blending (which pretty much every single game that has anything in it that glows, uses).

I think the plumes would look fine if they were brighter, but I don't think the rocket needs as much illumination as engine lighting gives it. Especially if you clip engines. I'm talking about the light casting on the rocket and/or ground when I say I think it looks weird.

[Red Iron Crown]

I think the plumes would look fine if they were brighter, but I don't think the rocket needs as much illumination as engine lighting gives it. Especially if you clip engines. I'm talking about the light casting on the rocket and/or ground when I say I think it looks weird.

Nearly every person who has attended a live rocket launch says two things: They could not believe how loud it was, and they could not believe how bright it was. Just look at how the surroundings are lit up in real life, then remember that photos don't capture the entire brightness compared to the human eye.

Clip you engines and you have no one to blame but yourself.

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

Nearly every person who has attended a live rocket launch says two things: They could not believe how loud it was, and they could not believe how bright it was. Just look at how the surroundings are lit up in real life, then remember that photos don't capture the entire brightness compared to the human eye.

Clip you engines and you have no one to blame but yourself.

Well, I've never seen a launch in person, so I guess I can't really say anything about realism in engine lighting. However, I feel that I would prefer a middle ground, where the rocket and area around it is lit up, but not washed out.

And now, it's time for the ace up my sleeve:

Plus, lots of brightly lit parts make the game lag terribly.

Thank you! Thank you! That was MRS' sleeve ace!