I have been holding off on this one for quite some time. The graphics, especially in space scenes, have always seemed to be devoid of…. soul. There were only two visible bodies: the star and the main planet. Not a star to be seen in the sky!

I have held off on adding a background for a few reasons. Firstly, it’s not totally unrealistic to have the background empty when viewing very bright objects in the foreground. Just like how there were no stars in the background in the moon landing images, there should not be visible stars in these scenes. However, it turns out that the blackness of space is very unwelcoming. The game feels friendlier when you can see some stars.

Now with 100% more dust!

Second, the game will ultimately support a whole universe of stars, galaxies, and nebulaes that the player will be able to visit. Once this feature is in place, the background will be the true sky around the player rather than a skybox. Any star in view would be a potential destination for the player. But, this feature is some ways off. So in the meantime, I have decided to breathe some life into the game with a static skybox.

Atmospheric scattering and color blending.

In the future, I hope to add an “eye exposure” that may help replicate your eye adjusting to the light level. This will help strike a balance with realism without making the universe seem boring. Stay tuned for developments with this feature.