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The keen eyes may have noticed something odd in that Map View screenshot... you are right! We have made from scratch our Skybox, in an effort kickstarted by [b][url=https://simplerockets.com/u/Brixxter]@Brixxter[/url][/b] with a Blender project set up to render cubemaps.
From that point I got a bit carried and overhauled the whole project, leading to what now is not just a new, better looking and more realistic skybox for the game, but also a setting to bump up its resolution to 2x and 4x on PC, for all the low FoV enjoyers.
We have decided to share this project with everyone so you can make your own skyboxes, as far as I know it's the most advanced skybox generator available for free, you need some knowledge of blender to use it (both shaders and geometry nodes) but it is surprisingly easy to get into it. The skybox in the game has a secret that has been removed from the blender project, can you find it?
[url=https://jundroo.blob.core.windows.net/simplerockets/Content/Mods/Space%20Skybox%20Generator.zip]Download the project here[/url]
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As the Droods cleared their telescope lenses to capture the skybox in such high resolutions they noticed a strange object near Sergeaa. Upon further inspection it seems to be a Proto-Earth which they have decided to call Oord.
Strangely it has water in its equator, the best theory so far is that its strange orbit, causing it to have a permanent partial eclipse by Sergeaa, has lowered its temperatures enough to sustain liquid water, probably brought by recent comet impacts.
Huge thanks to [b][url=https://simplerockets.com/u/HyperPatch]@HyperPatch[/url][/b] for letting us use his [b][url=https://simplerockets.com/CelestialBodies/View/eKQds0]Young Earth Exoplanet[/url][/b] as a template, when I saw it I fell in love with it and knew it was the perfect fit for the style of Oord.
There is also a new outer body in the system with a really dark and interesting story, including the first song added to the game in half a decade! Can you unveil the mysteries behind Cladh? No gifs for this one, you will have to visit it for yourself to see it.
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As per usual there's more to this update, you can find all the changes in the [b][url=https://simplerockets.com/Releases/View/288248]Release Notes[/url][/b], like the new Vizzy blocks for the Texture Widget in the MFDs or fixes to some memory leaks that have been affecting RAM usage for years.