Test render of a spinner:
http://isometricland.com/gearhead/ghpanotour_spinner_test.php
The final version will of course be larger and better quality.
Nice work there, SharkD! Very neat!
At the very least, I hope to see a screengrab of your rendered spinner as a GH2 load screen. But it would be awesome to use it as a backdrop for a simulated "air battle" inside a spinner. Of course, any battle inside a spinner risks damaging the spinner as is thus immediately squashed by the local authorities. But perhaps there could be an exception? Maybe a battle inside an
abandoned and damaged spinner as some enemy lures the player's party there to spring a trap?
A few observations:
* I'm sure you've already noticed, but in the middle of the Spinner as you look straight down - seemingly where two 'maps' join - the joint is irregular and distorted as if viewing from a warped carnival mirror.
* I really like the simulated sky created with the increased opacity with distance. However, I believe it is flawed. The 'white beam' is the center of the spinner, but this means the bluest and most opaque part of the sky is closest to the observer. Logically, the blueness and opacity comes from the density of the atmosphere, which should increase with distance. So the most blue and opaque part should appear at the furthest point from observer. (But I still think that no part of the sky should be completely opaque.)
You're reasoning seems to be that the opacity separates the day side from night. However, while I see how this is useful, I do not comprehend how that could be made possible. Further, I doubt a Spinner of this size could have a day and night side. From the scale of buildings, I'd say the entire surface might represent a mid-sized city on modern Earth, circia 2000'ish. It would look more realistic to just have the entire thing in a day or night cycle and increase opacity with distance.
* Does that "white beam" in the center function as the sole means of illumination? So it has a central fusion 'pillar' as an artificial sun? This makes sense, but most Spinners I've seen make at least some use of solar illumination and heat. If it's not beamed in through enormous side windows, then it's usually beamed in from one end via mirrors and/or fiber optics.
It's too bad our spinner maps aren't cylindrical... (i.e. keep walking "east" and it scrolls past again and again)
That would be a cool feature!
Mr. Hewitt, would this be possible?
