Community Input: Freelancer HD Starspheres

[Antonio]

As we continue to improve systems from a quality standpoint, with recent additions such as the restoration of patrol paths, NPC pop zones, fixing countless system-related bugs, infocard updates, and more, the next topic in line is starspheres. Due to unfortunately not having anyone talented and willing to create new starspheres at the moment, we are starved for content if we wish to make improvements in this area. Freelancer HD has re-done all vanilla systems' starspheres, mostly by adding HD textures to the existing ones. Whether this is actually better or not is up for debate, as starspheres fall under the realm of art, which is subjective by nature. Hence, we'd like to know the community’s opinion on the matter.

One important thing to note: Starspheres can be modified locally, meaning that if you do not like the live iteration of starspheres, you can swap them to your liking at any time. Quite a few people here already use different visual packs, some of which include Freelancer HD starspheres. This is very important, as it ensures that no one is forced to use whatever the dev team selects, which is the case with most other assets (e.g., balance, bases, infocards, etc.). The bottom line is this: starspheres are a customizable visual change, regardless of what we choose to implement.

The question to the community is: Would you like to see Freelancer HD starspheres added to Discovery? If so, which systems should be updated, and why do you think this would be an improvement?

One of the main advantages Freelancer HD starspheres have is, as the name suggests, their much higher resolution. This alone could justify their implementation for some, as the difference is very noticeable in certain systems, such as the Western Independent Worlds. A topic for debate regarding Freelancer HD starspheres is their more cartoonish look. Another topic for debate is their "too modern" look compared to other assets, most notably Discovery-only starspheres. This can be viewed as either positive or negative, depending on your perception of Freelancer's universe and whether you feel vanilla starspheres fit better than the HD ones overall. It isn't a black or white "all starspheres or nothing" scenario - only starspheres deemed as an upgrade can be implemented. There are no definitive right or wrong answers, which is exactly why we'd like to hear your thoughts.

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Below is a comparison of several systems from different regions of the game (click on the image for full size). You are, of course, welcome to test all Freelancer HD starspheres yourself, by installing the mod over your vanilla installation.

Upper Picture - Vanilla.
Lower Picture - Freelancer HD.

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Cortez:

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New York:

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New London:

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Dresden:

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Omicron Theta:

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Tau-29:

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Tohoku:

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Omega-41:

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SNAC Montage Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Thruster SNAC

[Madvillain]

I think I've accidently voted no whilst wanting to vote yes, due to my phone and me not always getting along.

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Baila Morena | Toilet Trouble | Elder Presidente[TBH] | The Titan Combat Manual | Confession
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[Broken Wings]

I Would also love some HD Planet Textures for sure.

[darkwind]

Yes, but i think there should be testing those HD textures will run with acceptable speed on low specs PCs
P.S. Freelancer HD edition for example asks for too much high PC requirements. I have around 2-4 times more powerful than my old one with which i played originally Freelancer Discovery, and yet HD edition is having quite low FPS for me at least despite having rather strong integrated graphics.

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Interstellar	Autogit	Ctrl-V	Encryptor	Discovery At Linux
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[Proselyte]

My option 3 write-ins: Cortez, Tau-29, New York (barely, that poor Walker Nebula).

I gave the HD pack a shot once. My opinion of it was that the backgrounds were noticeably higher fidelity, though many of them were way more busy and visually loud. Usually that goes hand in hand with artistic liberty being taken to make some parts way brighter, or add a new visual feature, or give some extra sense of depth to a cloud. Instead of the very slight differences in the Dresden image for example, the background now has very prominent brights and darks, peaks and valleys. Some of these can be a bit drastic, and I tend to prefer the more understated vanilla art, though the three I listed do a good job of not running away with the canvas in my estimation. Otherwise I'd be voting no.

That HD Omega-41 after all.... what even is going on with that?

[Lolipop12]

Great looking, but will it have some influence on FPS?

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Rhodeia --- Unit-9467F --- K'Halaesh

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[Broken Wings]

Yes, but i think there should be testing those HD textures will run with acceptable speed on low specs PCs
P.S. Freelancer HD edition for example asks for too much high PC requirements. I have around 2-4 times more powerful than my old one with which i played originally Freelancer Discovery, and yet HD edition is having quite low FPS for me at least despite having rather strong integrated graphics.

Or to make this an Optional thing at the installation of Freelancer Discovery.

[Kauket]

Some of these actually change the artistic depiction of areas. Ie the Omega region in the NY one is portrayed drastically differently, losing the more 'gassy' form to it

Something to bare in mind. The Omega-41 is not so good with the layering for another example. Too much detailing CAN be distracting. Sometimes you need a little blur or 'less quality'

Kusari ones are nice, conforming, but they do make it less brighter.

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[The_Godslayer]

At some point roughly 4ish years ago, someone had some custom starspheres for the omicrons that had a very high depth. The two I remember most were the one applied to Omicron Minor (At this point, it held the gate to Iota and you exited the cloud to get to the gate, so you'd see it), and the one to Omicron Delta, which was insanely beautiful and also highly distracting and information dense. Having the ability to experience those again would be nice, but I don't actually remember who made them.

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"Whatever happened to catchin' a good old-fashioned passionate ass-whoopin and gettin' your shoes, coat, and your hat tooken?"

[Lord Caedus]

Could we see examples of some of the more unique starspheres, such as the Manchester one for example?

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