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Code Snippets / [GDK] - Cheap Atmosphere Effect

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JoeOh
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Posted: 22nd Jun 2011 12:21 Edited at: 22nd Jun 2011 12:21
Here is a little demo of what this simple technique can do if you want an atmosphere glare effect. The atmosphere glare is a simple round image of the glare (B_Atmosphere.png). I used the dbSetSphereMappingOn() function on a sphere slightly larger than the planet using the glare.

Granted, this is not a full-on atmospheric shader but it will do the trick if you don't get too close to the planet. The program allows you to zoom all the way in to see what I mean. Also, you can turn the effect on and off to see the difference. Don't forget you can pan around the planet to see the full impact on this "cheap" effect.

Maybe someone else has done this already but I haven't seen the post so far. Just puttin' in my 2 cents. Here's the GDK code below:



I hope whoever sees this finds this useful. Enjoy!

Home is where my souped-up computer is...

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JoeOh
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Posted: 22nd Jun 2011 12:24 Edited at: 22nd Jun 2011 12:25
Here's a screeny of this effect



Looks pretty no?

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JoeOh
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Posted: 26th Jun 2011 18:07
Has anyone actually tried this yet? I was hoping to get some feedback on this. I am actually working on to improve this shader-less effect as soon as I get some issues cleared up.

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Sasuke
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Posted: 6th Jul 2011 01:26
It's pretty neat, but I'm wondering if it can be improved (performance wise), for instance not using lights (or lights with large ranges). You could in fact use a shadow mask for the planet. Same setup as a planet image chucked onto a sphere which is pointed in the direction of the sun.
JoeOh
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Posted: 6th Jul 2011 22:22
increase the performance? The sphere I used is rather detailed (30,60 columns and rows) and I'm using more than one sphere that is stacked. I'm sure if you lowered the rows/columns you'd get a boost on lower end systems. Also, this can work for much shorter light ranges.

I will upload an updated version of this demo very shortly. It has much more to play with to get the full feel of what this can do.

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JoeOh
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Posted: 6th Jul 2011 22:45
This is a more flexible version of the original demo. This allows you to change the color of the atmosphere to ANY color you wish. It will also automatically increase/decrease the atmosphere glare and haze thickness.

For some reason dbSetSphereMappingOn() won't allow for gradual transparent fading with the dbSetAlphaMappingOn() function. So I have 10 small images that give the effect of changing the amount of atmosphere glare.

Also you can press 1, 2, 3 to change the planet's texture and cloud types.



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JoeOh
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Posted: 6th Jul 2011 23:11 Edited at: 6th Jul 2011 23:12
Here's another screenshot for this demo-



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noobnerd
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Posted: 13th Jul 2011 00:08
looks great, thumb up! Is that part of an awesome spacegame? ( both thumbs up if it is)
JoeOh
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Posted: 13th Jul 2011 01:30
@noobnerds: may-beh

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Red Eye
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Posted: 13th Jul 2011 10:30
Looks good. I tried the first version out. Ran well... simple trick, great result, but indeed may-beh not exactly the right way to go for. (performance wise)
Downloading the second version now...

JoeOh
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Posted: 14th Jul 2011 02:48
@Red Eye: is this supposed to run at 1000fps or something? The spheres used for the planet do use a 60/30 columns/row layout. The long distance lighting is to show for realistic distance. I'm sure there are ways to optimize.

I do get an frame-rate of 254fps when the planet is maxed out in my 1080p screen. how is everyone else doing when the planet size is maxed but not clipped on your chosen resolution.

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SH4773R
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Posted: 23rd Jul 2011 23:00
Looks awesome

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