Celestia Forums

Lots of people have said lots of things about lens flares recently, but to my knowledge there hasn't been a poll to get a vaguely accurate idea as to the consensus of the community about this. It seems to me that people who have been using Celestia a while don't want them, but people who just discovered it do. Am I right ?

Being a contraversial idea, I am assuming for the poll that they'd be optional.

yay Id love to have them, but optional

Poor Chris, he must have a headache...

If they implement it, simply make an option to turn them on or off.

I agree with redfish. a good feature, but need a switch off/on

Ok how about this perspective;
Whats a lense flare supposed to be in reality?

Isn't it due to imperfect optics?

If I were on a space cruise-liner I would be wanting
a refund if the viewing deck had lens flare!!!
8-|

Redfish wrote:If they implement it, simply make an option to turn them on or off.

steve.wray wrote:Ok how about this perspective;
Whats a lense flare supposed to be in reality?

Isn't it due to imperfect optics?

If I were on a space cruise-liner I would be wanting
a refund if the viewing deck had lens flare!!!
8-|

lol you may be on to something there

steve.wray wrote:Whats a lense flare supposed to be in reality?
Isn't it due to imperfect optics?

True, but i got some news for you. Your eyes aren't perfect. Sure, they have high quality optics but not perfect, under some circunstances you'll still be able to "see" lens flares.

Well, I wear glasses so I see bright halos with streaky lines around every bright light source (maybe I should clean them more often...). Never seen a lens flare though. What kind of circumstances ?

A simple case that comes to my mind:

-When a very bright light source (say the sun) is in your field of vision and you're looking with your eyes almost closed, the eyelashes will scatter some light and produce an effect quite similar to regular lens flares.

Same could happen if you wear dirty glasses or some (quite common) eye illness in which you have groups of cells floating in the vitreous humor or aqueous humor.

I am interested in better simulating the appearance of extreme brightness in Celestia. But I'm most interested in doing this through the addition of glare effects, which are easily visible with the naked eye. Go out and look at the Sun (briefly!) shining through a tree . . . Even though it's behind the tree, it's so bright that light appears to 'leak' and overlap the tree branches. If well-done glare effects were added to Celestia, I don't anybody would be asking for lens flares.

--Chris

That's nice to know, Chris - if there's one thing Celestia lacks, it's realistic lighting. On the other hand that's yet another feature that would have to be optional- wouldn't be much of a view close to a star.