Partial 3D Vision fix linked. Plus: Is it possible to edit star background?

[andysonofbob]

Hi

I have used the Helix mod and created a partial fix for KSP, found here. The fix removes the problematic (in 3D) shadows. Everything else seems to look awesome in 3D!

The only real 3D problem is the starfield background; this is rendered too close! This is most noticable in the Tracking Station where you can see the star-box is too small. As you zoom out, the planet etc. seems to go behind the stars! Very disorientating. Would it be possible to edit the star background? Ideally, the box would be much larger so it would be set behind the furthest an object could be zoomed out, doing that would solve the issue completely, making KSP awesome in 3D. (Though this might make the textures appear a little low rez.)

As an alternative, would it be possible for to allow people to edit the texture of the skybox's net i.e. use a graphics editor to remove the stars, leaving a black (featureless) space? I know 3D vision users would be happy with this solution/sacrifice.

Many thanks

Andy

Edited April 20, 2013 by andysonofbob

[andysonofbob]

Oh no! I destroyed my original post when editing it! How did I do that?

Anyway. I have made a partial fix to KSP for 3D Vision users. It removes the problematic shadows which were broken in 3D. The fix can be found here.

The only remaining problem is the starbox. The cube for this is not big enough for 3D. When using the Tracking station the planets quickly 'escape' (seem to rendered behind) the skybox. This is quite unpleasant to view in 3D. Would it be possible then to increase the size of the skybox?

If not, would it be possible to allow gamers to edit the texture of the skybox themselves? That way they could paint it black which would solve the problem.

Thanks!

Andy

[KasperVld]

Moved to addon development as I don't see why this is in support.

[comham]

The starbox is being updated to a more elegant model in a future update, where instead of being a typical cube texture rendered at a distance, the game actually puts some stars in the very far distance, which you can see like you can see certain planets at a distance now, and the rest of the sky is true black. So that will probably fix it.

[andysonofbob]

The starbox is being updated to a more elegant model in a future update, where instead of being a typical cube texture rendered at a distance, the game actually puts some stars in the very far distance, which you can see like you can see certain planets at a distance now, and the rest of the sky is true black. So that will probably fix it.

Mate,

That is awesome news!

The starbox is the only real issue with this game now! Can't wait for the update.

Any idea of an ETA?

[jheriko]

Hi

Ideally, the box would be much larger so it would be set behind the furthest an object could be zoomed out, doing that would solve the issue completely, making KSP awesome in 3D. (Though this might make the textures appear a little low rez.)

Actually this is an awful hack and won't fix the problem in its entirity. Skybox rendering is usually fine in any kind of 3D/stereographic setting because the camera used for the skybox is fixed permanently in the centre (or alternatively, the skybox is centered on the camera). If this is done correctly then scaling the box has zero visual impact.

What are you actually using for 3D? A 'correct' stereographic render should use two slightly different camera positions pointing slightly inwards to simulate the separation and focus of eyes. An optimal one will probably not render the skybox, UI or other 'fixed relative to the camera' elements twice either... if it is some depth buffer reconstruction thing then the better solution would be to not write out to the depth buffer with the skybox and to clear it - doing a single depth clear is often faster than doing none on modern hardware, including mobile devices, since each pixel starts from a known state enabling various optimisation strategies that are ruled out with 'buffer feedback'.

I'm curious about replacing the skybox - the current one, whilst a relatively beautiful approximation of the milky way, is rather dull considering we are in an alien space with artistic freedom. Think Homeworld.

[andysonofbob]

Hello mate.

I am using nVidia 3D Vision. It generates the two cameras by using the z-buffer within DirectX. The z-buffer (IIRC) calculates where things should be relative to each other, what object occludes another, how big each should appear etc. 3D Vision converts the z-buffer information to camera vergence. As you can imagine not every game is 100% perfect but gaming in 3D is awesome! You pretty much remove the screen face of your monitor.

Unfortunately for KSP the devs have drawn the skybox too close to the camera which mean the mission control building, and consequently the in space starfield, looks odd. [Edit] Kerbal HQ is really the centre of the universe!!! When you view a game in stereoscopic 3D you can see how the devs create a game. Pushing out the skybox might degrade the quality of the stars because the cube of the skybox (it really is a cube, you can see this when viewed in S3D) would need to expand to encompass the whole Kerbal star system and beyond!

At the momemt it is too small and in S3D the planets cut though the 'box' which is really uncomfortable to view. The editing solution I mentioned would work because it replaces the box with black space so you wouldn't be able to if an object was clipping the box. I would rather black space than uncomfortable space anyday. I would roleplay NASA videos of the starless moonscape!

Edited May 26, 2013 by andysonofbob

[Whirligig Girl]

I've had this problem with Spore, but slightly different. In Spore, the stars are a GUI element, so they are all at the front.

[andysonofbob]

Regarding the skybox. It is clearly not just me.

I have made a fix for shadows http://helixmod.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/kerbal-space-station.html

@GregroxMun

Stars at the front with the UI? Why would they do that?