TG Particles 2

SAMPLES

Two MLBs are included for TG StarField, one containing some example starfields, and the other containing examples of other uses for the shader.

Note that the results, from the starfield examples in particular, will depend on the size of the object they are painted on (eg a sky sphere), whether you use Scanline or Raycast rendering, the level of anti-aliasing you use, and the size of your output image. See the Tips section for details of adjusting the shader to account for these, to get the type of starfield you want!

Also note that some materials use UV space. You may need to adjust your object’s UV space, or change the shader settings to use Object Co-ordinates, to get the results you require.

TG StarField MLB

This MLB contains some simple starfield effects to get you started. They all use settings similar to the defaults, but vary the Squares and Brightness parameters to show up under different rendering conditions. They were all tested on a sky sphere that was 30 metres in size (but slightly squashed in the z axis).

1. Scanline
This should render under any resolution (tested in 800x600 and 320x240), and still give a visible starfield. Render this with Raycast, though, and most of the stars will disappear!

2. Raycast 800x600
This was tested with Raycast at 800x600. Render to a smaller screen resolution, though, and you’ll still find that the stars disappear.

3. Raycast 320x240
Further modifications to the Squares and Brightness parameters produces a starfield that will render under Raycast to a small sized image.

4. Galaxies? 800x600
The Squares processing is turned off, and the Overall Noise Frequency dramatically reduced, so that the stars become larger and rather blurry, almost like that of galaxies viewed through a telescope. This effect should work in Scanline and Raycast (although the “galaxies” will appear less bright and distinct under Raycast - a quick adjustment to the Brightness should compensate).

5. Galaxies? 320x240
The Overall Noise Scale is further reduced so that the effect works when rendered to a smaller image.

TG StarField (Other) MLB

This MLB contains other, non-starfield effects, to give you some ideas on other uses for the shader. The materials are listed below :

1. Scaly Skin
Using Classic noise in the Stars gives a scaly type appearance to the result. A Threshold of 0 is used so that the results of the Star Noise are not affected by the Threshold. The Distribution Noise is used to darken some areas so that the scaly look is not uniform.

2. Leathery
The idea here was a “fake leather” look as seen on furniture. The Star and Distribution Noise are used to give a blotchy appearance to the colours.

3. Sandy
The “stars” in this case are used to give a grainy appearance to the result, while the Distribution Noise is used to give some variation in this effect.

4. Sand Paper?
Similar to Sandy, but the Threshold parameter is used to increase the graininess of the result, and the Distribution Noise scale is increased so that the variations in the grain are more frequent and less broad.

5. Office Carpet
One of those nasty carpets that you could burn yourself on if you scraped your skin on it! The two noise functions are used to give a mix of variation in the colour, with the graininess from the stars processing being used to give the look of the material.

TG StarField Intro

TG StarField Parameters

TG StarField Tips

TG StarField FAQ

TG StarField Samples

TG Pack Index