Interesting Vid Clip From Game Demo

[reddsun1]

Found this on google.video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1...et+render&hl=en

Very impressive--it appears this game engine is capable of rendering entire planets in real time.

All I want to know is: why ain't somebody working on coding the huge fleet of "space cucumbers" so's they can show up in orbit and start bombarding the planet surface? Where's the Valkyries, dammit?!

*edit* Now I just wish somebody'd find a way to get Jay-Lew's SDF-1 CG model into orbit near the space station!

Edited August 15, 2006 by reddsun1

[JB0]

I'll believe it when I see actual software.

There's simply no way to do what they showed with current technology(even on a high-end gaming PC).

Too high-detail to not have load times.

What you'd do is swap maps out as you approached a planet. Ditch the space map, load a low-detail planet map. As you get closer to the planet, you load a more detailed map of PART of the planet. And step through more detailed maps of smaller parts of the sphere until you reach whatever your minimum map is.

But you'll still have load times. If nothing else, there will be "hiccups" as you change maps.

Having other celestial bodies show up when you look out is easy. Since you aren't rendering them at any detail whatsoever, you can just designate a (relatively) small bitmap for any objects visible from your current map. Doesn't take a lot of space, and it's all you need untill you get close enough to start loading submaps.