FQM Star Brightness

[Fyron]

After some testing, it appears that the starglow texture brightness level does not have an effect on the central part of the star model. Overbrightness seems to come from the corona. I've made a series of screenshots to determine what a good level of brightness would be.

For reference, this is a stock star:
stock

Each of these is labeled with the pixel level brightness of the star glow:
200
180
160
140
120

Note that I did not try to capture all images with the solar flares on the same animation frame. I might have to increase the star glow effect size a little for the lower brightness levels, if I go with one of them.

The question is, what level do you prefer? What is too bright? Just right?

[Captain Kwok]

You should have probably used a red star for the comparison, but there doesn't seem to be all that much difference between 120 and 200. Have you tried any lower?

[Fyron]

Red stars do not seem like a candidate for being too bright to me. Its primarily white and yellow.

[Markavian]

All those screenshots look very bright, I think 200 looks not much different then 120, and I prefer the brighter 200.

I would also say that I think the model sizes are too big, I would prefer to see single-hex stars to spread out the distance between planets.

[Raapys]

Now that you mention it, single-hex stars might actually be a great implementation.

[Thy_Reaper]

How would single hex stars spread out the distance between planets?

Personally, I prefer the multi-hex stars. Stars aren't small things, so they shouldn't be as small as planets.

[Raapys]

I wasn't thinking specifically to spead out planet distances. I think the suns are really just nothing more than visual annoyances when they're as big as they are. I always preferred SE IV's style. The planet/star models in the game aren't as much trying to represent the real scale of the suns/planets as they are there just to inform the player that a planet/sun occupies this grid, thus 'realism' is not even a consideration.

[Fyron]

Stars will not be reduced in size. Doing so would do nothing to spread out planets more; that would require increasing the size of the hex grid to add more available rings.

[Baron Munchausen]

Oddly, I don't like the way any of the 'dimmed' versions look as screen shots. But the stars do seem to be too bright in the stock game. I guess the brightest of the dimmed versions, 200, would be best.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

140. Doesn't hurt my eyes. at all.