Not entirely a realistic image but I wanted to make a custom Mars that looked close to that.
Thanks to the ingame editor and variable tweaking in the config I was about to do this
96 version
Now paste this into your solarsys.sc or any other catelog file.
Quote (HarbingerDawn)
To use this mod, go into your SolarSys.sc file in the data/catalogs/planets folder, find the entry for Mars, and comment it out by placing /* before it begins and */ after it ends
Feel free to edit this how you like and post your edits. Also this may crash on launch, if it does you will need to edit out the clouds. I use a very buggy way of doing those "nice" clouds from space by using the Earth clouds as a bump.
New 0.97 Version
SpaceEngine 0.97\catalogs\planets\SolarSys.sc
Find the entry for Mars, and comment it out by placing /* before it begins and */ after it ends
Hoho, terraformed Mars! I actually used to make planetary artwork back in the day, and I made up a render (here) of a 'terra-Mars' like that by using an elevation map and some editing in GIMP. I just thought it was funny how I and that artist you linked used almost exactly the same viewing angle. (Of course his render is a lot better and higher-res than mine.) Makes sense to show the same side of Mars though, as Valles Marineris, Noctis Labyrinthus, and Hellas Basin are just inherently awesome surface features.
But anyways, it's really great you achieved this effect in Space Engine, especially since it allows us to look at it from any angle and even explore at near surface level. Great job and thanks for sharing with us!
I've tried messing with Venus, but the results are not good since the bump map is very low resolution, and since the procedural generation in this case is tied to the bump map then the entire planet is extremely low res, and only looks good from space.
All forum users, please read this! My SE mods and addons Phenom II X6 1090T 3.2 GHz, 16 GB DDR3 RAM, GTX 970 3584 MB VRAM
DoctorOfSpace, the end of your script is missing a curly bracket and the Orbit tag is also missing
I didn't realize that. I think I posted just the lines I edited and figured someone could copy the required lines themselves. If you'd like I can add the whole thing.
Quote (Watsisname)
PS, someone should try this with Venus, too.
Already did
Quote (HarbingerDawn)
I've tried messing with Venus, but the results are not good since the bump map is very low resolution, and since the procedural generation in this case is tied to the bump map then the entire planet is extremely low res, and only looks good from space.
Quite so it only looks good from space.
But I don't spend the majority of my time in space engine in the Sol system
I actually made two of them in different alternative Solar Systems: Here's one where it's Jupiter's moon and here's one where it's simply been terraformed. The relief on Venus is pretty odd, though, and makes for some strange-looking coastal areas in some places.
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