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

[Zoron]

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.

well there are gray/black clouds during storms if that help ;D

 

[ranger19]

Yeah the first thing I thought about when clicking on this thread was oblivion. What a great night sky that game has. I don't know if you mean realistic in terms of looking like our real night sky or realistic as in having a belivable sky.. but regardless, Oblivion's is incredible.

 

[Zoron]

Seems many like Oblivion, awesome game <3

 

[beoweasel]

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.

Funny enough. I remember plenty of times in Fallout 3, where I was running around at night, and just stopping to look up at the sky. I found it fascinating, actually.

 

[Erana]

I love a good video game sky. I look up at it all the time.
Saying a realistic sky is unnessary is like saying that the beauty of the sky is unnessary. I'm the only one, it seems, who actually looks up, period. I mean, I was looking at the stars earlier, and I didn't even realise that I was walking backwards.

 

[Dechef]

I look up to the videogame sky all the time.
However, I find the unrealistic ones are the most beautiful - green comets falling from the sky in Outland (WoW) for example. Or [a href="http://www.wowinsider.com/media/2007/04/aa0429.jpg"]this[/a]... purple... thingy...
Awesome.

 

[Starnerf]

When I first got Morrowind spent a decent amount of time admiring the colors of the night sky. And the water, too.

Spoiler: Morrowind afternoon

Spoiler: Morrowind night

 

[Donbett1974]

Bethesda can sure make sky purty.

 

[TMAN10112]

I think that a realistic sky would be a great addition to a game. especialy an RPG like fallout 3. I think a game with a realistic sky that you could use to navigate with actual constellations and stars(such as polaris or the soulth star is you in the southern hemisphere) would be awsome(as long as it is a good game to start with).

 

[Cubilone]

Thank you for the replies everyone. I'm very happy that more people are sharing the sentiment that a beautiful and well made sky can only add to a game.

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.

I did not know that. Now I want to replay Wind Waker just for seeing the sky!

Bethesda is pretty strange it seems. Oblivion and Morrowind indeed had very pretty and elaborate skies. I also remember happily stargazing in these games. Since they're both set in an imaginary world, there is no need for "realism"; the artists can throw in anything that strikes their fancy and that goes well with the lore, from planets to nebulae and what not. However, in Fallout 3, they can't seem to make up their minds. During daytime, the sky is obscured by these strange dust clouds. At night though, as I mention in the OP, the dull and totally uninteresting stars as well as the buggy moon are quite visible. What happened to the people that took good care of the sky for our viewing pleasure in their older games? Plus, Fallout 3 is supposedly set on Earth. Such a thing as trying to stick to the real night sky wouldn't be an idea too farfetched, on the contrary.

I would also love a game (not an RPG necessarily) that would incorporate a feature that would need players to navigate using the sky. But it seems we're a long way away from that when some of the best RPGs around can't even make it look right!

 

[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.

I did not know that. Now I want to replay Wind Waker just for seeing the sky!

The interesting thing there is that I'm not actually sure if the sky is realistic; it's stylized like the rest of the game, but the stars and stuff might still be in the right places. To me, I guess, overall the attention to detail means a lot more to me than realism, though of course for some games they're almost the same thing.

 

[Auron555]

If it could be used as a plot device, then yes, a solid knowledge of astronomy would make a difference. If not, then just copy/paste a star map onto the sky.
It's nice to see dots in the air, but only in a "Pretty stars..." kind of way, not "Let's track them over the course of a month."

 

[tustin2121]

The 3D Legend of Zelda games all have interesting skies. I think in Ocarina of Time, you could actually see the moon in the daytime and dusk and dawn are sights to see in Twilight Princess (and I suppose, Ocarina, simply to watch the sun and moon set and rise).

It's nice to see dots in the air, but only in a "Pretty stars..." kind of way, not "Let's track them over the course of a month."

Aw, what about SimSky, or maybe Astronomy Lab Manager 3 (similar to Lemonade Stand games), or even Tony Hawk's Extreme Stargazing!

 

[darthzack79]

Absolutely! I am entranced by the night sky so if the weather's shitty outside and I can look at a pretty sky in a game instead...it makes my week.

 

[Frank_Sinatra_]

Nope not really. The only night sky is the one from Cyrodiil and the Shivering Isles... Beautiful.

 

[Fightgarr]

I'm all for small details. I like looking around a game and seeing the little touches. Something like that would be really nice I think. I'm all for it. Aesthetics is an important part of game and part of that is details. Of course in this case its only really important if your game is set on Earth, otherwise just do your thang.

 

[runtheplacered]

It's funny I happened across this thread, because I was just outside looking up at the night sky and wondered to myself, "What makes this sky so inspiring?" The fact that it's really nice outside right now, helps, I think.

I'm just not sure how you would capture that feeling with just graphics, though. It's an all encompassing feeling to look up at the sky, that is more then just a visual curiosity. So while I'd gladly enjoy a 'realistic' interpretation of the sky, I wouldn't be expecting it to grab me quite like it should, perhaps.

 

[SinisterDeath]

The first Bethsoft game I ever played, was Morrowind, and the one thing that always impressed me was there skies. And Oblivions sky wasn't nearly as good as morrowind, and Fallout 3's sky was highly disapointing.

The screens here will hopefully show you exactly what I'm talking about, however the resolutions are fairly low, and not nearly as good in-game.

This is a fallout 3 sky that was modded.

 

[Acaroid]

I think a Pirate/sailing game where you need to use the stars to navigate would be awesome... that is just me