Astronomy in games: does a realistic sky make a difference?

[Cubilone]

I'd like to link you to something I wrote a while back concerning the night sky and its use in games. I believe (hope?) that a lot of the Escapist's members should have an opinion that is more than "call the care police, astronomy geek!" on the particular subject. I'm sorry if this post looks like an advertisement for my site. It's just that I cannot copy the text as it is on my site and make it look pretty.

The link:

http://cubimension.net/?p=97

 

[Starnerf]

Not really. Although it might be easier for the developers to just get a real star map rather than making one up on their own.

 

[Bowstring]

No, no it doesn't.

I'm pretty sure the 'sky' is an afterthought in most games, since 99.9% of the time you won't be looking at it. I've never really paid attention, or lost interest so much that I've just drifted off and decided to look up.

 

[mooncalf]

In a game representing our own earth it would be preferable to have things appear and behave more or less as they should (no physics explosions sending models imitating stretch armstrong and bouncing all over...)
So in that sense I agree.

 

[Rodger]

If a game developer spent the time and effort to make a realistic sky then it better be the best game ever and glitch free. Either that or the game is called "Xtreme Skywatching". Otherwise I could probably think of much better things they could have done with their time.

 

[ZomgSharkz]

I think having a realistic sky would be really cool, but it isn't necessary. If the game was taking place on Earth, then I wouldn't really care because our sky is fairly boring. But if the world had a sky full of nebulae and colors and other stuff, it would be awesome if it was beautifully rendered.

 

[Zoron]

I don't really care if the sky looks like ours in real life, but a well done sky with stars and a good-looking moon does give a pretty epic feeling sometimes

 

[Vim-Hogar]

I really liked how the night sky in Wind Waker had some real constellations in it. Sailing around at night was pretty neat already, between the music and the various things you could see or hear near different islands, but seeing Orion over the horizon just made it feel right.

 

[Ganado_Headshot]

How often do you actually look up in a game just to admire the sky. I mean come on, if a super mutant is running at me im looking at his head as it explodes into a million pieces.

 

[Albino Ninja]

If its in an RPG, then I would love to see a dynamic sky with a star map.

 

[Zoron]

How often do you actually look up in a game just to admire the sky. I mean come on, if a super mutant is running at me im looking at his head as it explodes into a million pieces.

well i don't really like Fallout 3 so i haven't really checked out the sky there, but if you run around in Cyrodill (Oblivion) the night sky is pretty unavoidable because of all the mountains and hills. it is pretty epic

 

[Ursus Astrorum]

In an RPG or an MMO, realistic skies are a nice touch. So many RP moments in WoW have started by making a comment about the sky, it's not even funny.

 

[Ganado_Headshot]

How often do you actually look up in a game just to admire the sky. I mean come on, if a super mutant is running at me im looking at his head as it explodes into a million pieces.

well i don't really like Fallout 3 so i haven't really checked out the sky there, but if you run around in Cyrodill (Oblivion) the night sky is pretty unavoidable because of all the mountains and hills. it is pretty epic

Ahh see I have to agree with you there. Oblivion does have a nice sky. Especially when you're near an Oblivion Gate, or in The Shivering Isles.

Spoiler

good job for guessing the game was Fallout

 

[Nutcase]

Would be interesting to have a carefully crafted sky and have that play an actual role in the game - whether realistically, as a navigation aid, or fantastically, as a source of astronomical prediction or a factor in whether a spell works. Either way, you'd be reading the sky throughout the game and it would play a part in what happens underneath it.

The sky could be a realistic Earth sky or another, detailed and logically constructed one, just with different celestial bodies and perhaps physics.

 

[Avida]

I for one think WAY more of a game that has a good sky "the mark of quality is in what you dont normally see" - i mean just take a look at halo [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWTbZ3Rbm54] and think if it would have the same impart with burnout-style-perfect-blue all the time

 

[Trivun]

Personally I'm not too bothered about the night sky looking good, since I'm usually focusing more on 'kill the alien' or 'steal the Bust of Llythassa!' (guess) to care about the appearance of the sky. However, I agree it would make a game more realistic, which is a good thing of course. In Halo, for instance, which is set not on Earth (mainly) but at least in our own universe, there is a pretty decent sky whether it be night or day. Obviously I'm usually more focused on getting headshots against Brutes (which may I say I excel at), but it's still nice to have realistic environments and the appearance of the sky is no exception.

 

[Hippobatman]

I actually had to stop to watch the sky in Morrowind. I spent an entire day (ingame) just standing around, watching how the sky changed from day to night. Freaking awesome.

What I'm sayning is that a natural looking sky is a great asset to a game.

EDIT: @ Trivun: Bust of Llythassa, yay Oblivion

 

[Zoron]

How often do you actually look up in a game just to admire the sky. I mean come on, if a super mutant is running at me im looking at his head as it explodes into a million pieces.

well i don't really like Fallout 3 so i haven't really checked out the sky there, but if you run around in Cyrodill (Oblivion) the night sky is pretty unavoidable because of all the mountains and hills. it is pretty epic

Ahh see I have to agree with you there. Oblivion does have a nice sky. Especially when you're near an Oblivion Gate, or in The Shivering Isles.

Spoiler

good job for guessing the game was Fallout

Shivering Isles had an awesome sky, multicolor ftw! and the multiple moons/suns were awesome

 

[dooner11]

I love oblivion but there is really only one type of cloud in the sky, which really bothers me. Its only like thin layers of little tiny clouds. I would have been alot more satisfied with a larger variety, cause other than the clouds the skies are beautiful.