Feature request: moving nightlight layer

[selden]

It'd be very useful if the "nightlight" layer could be made to move in the same way (but at its own speed) that clouds currently move. This would make possible moving lights (simulating lightning) under transllucent clouds.

[Frosita]

yep that would start to bring it to life. Then all we need is some people walking around in clubs and hotels and stuff on the surface. I discussed that with my brother tonight and he said it would be near impossible. Dare to prove him wrong.

[Don. Edwards]

I thought the same thing. To make it work and look more random, you would need 2 textures. One with the light effects in various locations and a masking layer with transparencies that would pass over the light map and alow the light to come through. Of course the masking layer would have to take it keys for the tranparncies from your cloud layer. That way you had lightning in storms and not in some clear areas. This would also work for giving stars that boiling look as well. And think what you could do for Jupiter's clouds. This would give use a sense of animation as well.

[Don. Edwards]

Ok,
I put this together in a hurry but its a great proof of concept. Take a look at this little .avi I captured. It gives you what my ideas for making lightning are. Now if Chris colud give us a few more nightside layers we could get this to work. Have a look. http://63.224.48.65/~impulse/lightning-concept1.avi
This was all captured in Celestia. No funny bussiness. Feedback welcome of course.

[Mad Boris]

Looks nice D.E !
If this was captured from Celestia, on a planet, would you mind zooming out a bit so we can see the whole thing, and up the ambient lighting a bit ? A bit hard to see the effect of it otherwise.....just fluctuating white patches.

[Don. Edwards]

Even if I pulled away I am afraid thats all you would see. I order to get the effect I had to use a black texture with transparent holes for the light to get through. This is what gives it a moving effect. What I was trying to show was that if another light texture colud be added say to the cloud layers and a mask aplied also to the cloud layers and then we might be able to get something like this to work. I don't know if its even in Celestia's ablility to have hidden textures that only apear at certain levels and also at night. If Chris could implement something like this then the aurora effect I have been working on could also be pluged into this layer so it would float in and above the clouds.

[chris]

So . . .

- Multiple cloud layers
- For each layer, you can set whether the lighting is normal, reversed (night lights), or emissive (always lit)
- Bump mapped cloud textures
- Cloud layers should cast shadows onto the planet surface

Would that take care of everything?

--Chris

[selden]

I'm not sure if it's implied in what you've already written:

[list overflow]
cloud layers should be able to cast shadows on one another

that includes when lit by other cloud layers

[/list overflow ]

[Don. Edwards]

Yah I think that might some it up for now. If you can really pull this off, I and half of everyone else here would be happy campers. But of course no presure. Take your time. We have lots to play with right now but more is always fun.

[Rassilon]

So . . .

- Multiple cloud layers
- For each layer, you can set whether the lighting is normal, reversed (night lights), or emissive (always lit)
- Bump mapped cloud textures
- Cloud layers should cast shadows onto the planet surface

Would that take care of everything?

--Chris

Your job is never done grasshopper

[selden]

oooh! ooooooh! I just thought of another!

*hand waving frantically in the air*

[list addendum]

Turn a specified cloud layer on and off from a script command.

[/list addendum]

Imagine floating around in the middle of a thunderstorm on Jupiter...


p.s. Of course, if generalized, this would provide another way to run long animations without having to write long SSC files with zillions of Beginning & Ending declarations.