caves/caverns

[r4pt0r]

i would like to see caves/caverns on some planets/moons, heres why:

>caves could be separate biomes for more SCIENCE (if you can code biomes under biomes)

>more use for rovers and lights(and the rtg), or enter via EVA and finally use your EVA lights

>makes for a unique destination (duna for example is either desert or ice caps. pretty barren)

>a little more challenge depending on how squad designed them(perhaps a munar cave system accessible only via a collapsed hole in the ceiling of a cavern, so you need to drop in)

>certain planets could have caverns with below surface lakes(liquids or lava?)

>role-play value as caves would provide defense from solar radiation for your bases

>potential mission targets(obtain sample from cave on _____)

Thoughts and feedback?

>i see now this is under "already suggested" as "Better/More interesting planetary surfaces", but would still like a discussion.

[boomerdog2000]

As you pointed out this has been suggested before, and I believe the issue came to be that the software they use for creating the terrain doesn't do caves very well. Personally I would love to see them, but if they can't be done well with the current system I'm content to live without them.

[vger]

Someone did it in the KerbTown mod.

There's no reason this can't be done in the stock game though, but you couldn't do it through terrain generation. It would have to be modeled. Or it might be possible to use a procedural method to model a cave system that properly conforms to the terrain, if you want a planet that has so many tunnels that a cross-section would resemble an ant farm...

Edited March 31, 2014 by vger

[Frank_G]

Yes, unitys terrain engine does not support geometry other than planes with heightmaps. A cave would need a complete separate mountain model wich contains the cave. Not very likely to see that though I would really like it.

[r4pt0r]

but that mountain could be modeled over a deeep crater then?

[vger]

You can cut one of the polygons out of a terrain mesh though, yes?

That way the only thing you need to cover up so that it doesn't look like a mess, is one triangle-shaped hole (or are they squares, can't remember now). The rest of the cave would be "beneath" the terrain.

[marauder78]

[mod edit: Merged new thread here.]

NASA recently discovered caves on the moon. While it would be a bit hard to create, i think it would be fun to remodel MUN to include caves as well that your kerbals can explore. Maybe in the future if/when moon-base goals are an option for the Kerbals then those caves can provide with additional goals and contracts.

http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/lunar-pits-could-shelter-astronauts-reveal-details-of-how-man-in-the-moon-formed/

Edited August 4, 2014 by technicalfool
Merge notice.

[makinyashikino]

Tylo has a Cave...

[r4pt0r]

merged with my 4 month old thread, impressive. does the merge count as a necro? haha

yes the tylo cave is sort of a cave, but its really a big cave prop submerged into the planet surface. we would need the planet surface to be a deeper pit to access the cave in a more interesting manner.

[Apature rocket science]

I relaly like this idea and I think you suggestions are well thourght out but I see this more so being added as a addon not as part of the stock game

[Justin Kerbice]

Don't forget guys camera really sucks when moving under objects (try island runway hangar or KSC bridges), so until there is a fix for this, cave will not be a good thing (the demo on the video above might be quite a cheat, ie without a "roof" over the cave).