Please consider fixing the planet height maps
As you know the planets consist of 6 height map tiles. For most planets these tiles have an incorrect edge alignment which causes glitches in the terrain that are visible across the whole edge.
I found out that adjacent edge pixels of two tiles must have the same value as if the tiles must overlap by one pixel to get seamless planets. Otherwise you get sudden jumps in the terrain. With that in mind I wrote a simple code that reconstructs the edge points of the tiles so they align up properly. My algorithm could be improved but fixes over 99% of the visible alignment issues.
I uploaded the fixed files as a mod on Steam. It also contains a fix for the misaligned lakes on EarthLike/Alien which I kindly ask you to also reconsider (https://support.keenswh.com/spaceengineers/pc/topic/26835-misaligned-lakes-on-earthlike-and-alien).
The mod already gained over 2400 subscribers and the feedback is very positive. However due to the way the game loads the planet data files my mod cannot be mixed with mods that change the material map files. If those mods are loaded, my modified height map files won't load.
Please consider to fixing the planet data files officially so that my mod is not necessary anymore.
Here is a link to my mod that contains a more detailed description, comparison screenshots and two videos that showcase the issue. It also links to the code I wrote to fix the planet files.
https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=2961563719
When I reported the lake misalignment issue the argument for not fixing it was that the change might affect existing player constructions. I don't really see this as an issue. The number of affected people will probably be very low to zero and it's nothing that couldn't be fixed with a quick copy/paste. I would say the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
I like this feedback 
The ticket reached the required 50 votes within 3 months. I hope you will change the status to "Under Consideration" as stated in the feedback submission guide.
Meanwhile the mod got 6250 subs and a 5 star rating on Steam.
It would be really nice if you fixed the height maps and maybe the lakes. The way the game loads the pngs makes it impossible to mix height map mods with material map mods since all those files are always loaded from the same directory. At least that's what I could infer from the Sandbox.Engine.Voxels.Planet.MyPlanetTextureMapProvider class. It would be awesome if that interface would be more flexible and allowed taking files from different mod folders and maybe even allowed a mod to provide the data for a single material map channel like ore instead of requiring all 3 color channels.
I plan to visit the 10th anniversary event in Prague. Might see you there.
The ticket reached the required 50 votes within 3 months. I hope you will change the status to "Under Consideration" as stated in the feedback submission guide.
Meanwhile the mod got 6250 subs and a 5 star rating on Steam.
It would be really nice if you fixed the height maps and maybe the lakes. The way the game loads the pngs makes it impossible to mix height map mods with material map mods since all those files are always loaded from the same directory. At least that's what I could infer from the Sandbox.Engine.Voxels.Planet.MyPlanetTextureMapProvider class. It would be awesome if that interface would be more flexible and allowed taking files from different mod folders and maybe even allowed a mod to provide the data for a single material map channel like ore instead of requiring all 3 color channels.
I plan to visit the 10th anniversary event in Prague. Might see you there.
Michael,
Thank you for fixing the planets. I sincerely hope Keen takes your suggestion.
Michael,
Thank you for fixing the planets. I sincerely hope Keen takes your suggestion.
I hear the next update will feature new resources. Might be a good opportunity to touch the planet data files and make my mod obsolete.
Last month I have released a second version of my mod that also gets rid of the horizontal lines that are caused by the latitude based climate zones. This time I got the first 6200 subs within a month, so there really is a demand for a fix of the planet files.
I hear the next update will feature new resources. Might be a good opportunity to touch the planet data files and make my mod obsolete.
Last month I have released a second version of my mod that also gets rid of the horizontal lines that are caused by the latitude based climate zones. This time I got the first 6200 subs within a month, so there really is a demand for a fix of the planet files.
The Seams are one of my biggest gripes with SE, if they fix it in the [Prototech] Update then I would be described as “Very Happy”.
The Seams are one of my biggest gripes with SE, if they fix it in the [Prototech] Update then I would be described as “Very Happy”.
I thought space Engineers was a passion project! The devs have lost passion? Why not make a polish run, and fix some of the issues still present. Plus, polish some of the settings, tooltips, and UI.
Only THEN would I consider buying the extra FOURTEEN DLC's......
I thought space Engineers was a passion project! The devs have lost passion? Why not make a polish run, and fix some of the issues still present. Plus, polish some of the settings, tooltips, and UI.
Only THEN would I consider buying the extra FOURTEEN DLC's......
Found another error in the up.png of Triton. There is a sharp edge at pixel position 722,702 that should be fixed.
GPS:TritonBug:-273425.71:-2398872.57:377215.76:#FF75C9F1:
Meanwhile my Seams Fixed 2.0 mod has 14.500 subs. I kindly ask again to consider fixing the height map issues and misplaced lakes to make my mod obsolete.
Found another error in the up.png of Triton. There is a sharp edge at pixel position 722,702 that should be fixed.
GPS:TritonBug:-273425.71:-2398872.57:377215.76:#FF75C9F1:
Meanwhile my Seams Fixed 2.0 mod has 14.500 subs. I kindly ask again to consider fixing the height map issues and misplaced lakes to make my mod obsolete.
Honestly just dropping in to say I’m another player who really hopes Keen takes a serious look at this. After trying your Seams Fix 2.0 mod, it’s super obvious how much the broken heightmap edges stand out in the vanilla planets. The transitions feel so much smoother with your fixes that going back almost feels like a bug.
At this point you’ve basically done the work for them — the heightmaps, the lake alignments, even the Triton up.png issue you mentioned. If Keen is already doing a resource pass for Prototech, it really seems like the perfect time to fold this in officially so we don’t have to rely on mod load-order magic.
For anyone who hasn’t actually seen the comparison, the screenshots and videos in the mod page make the problem really clear:
https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=2961563719geometry dash lite
Huge thanks again for keeping this updated. The sub numbers alone should show Keen how much players want seamless planets. Fingers crossed they pick it up.
Honestly just dropping in to say I’m another player who really hopes Keen takes a serious look at this. After trying your Seams Fix 2.0 mod, it’s super obvious how much the broken heightmap edges stand out in the vanilla planets. The transitions feel so much smoother with your fixes that going back almost feels like a bug.
At this point you’ve basically done the work for them — the heightmaps, the lake alignments, even the Triton up.png issue you mentioned. If Keen is already doing a resource pass for Prototech, it really seems like the perfect time to fold this in officially so we don’t have to rely on mod load-order magic.
For anyone who hasn’t actually seen the comparison, the screenshots and videos in the mod page make the problem really clear:
https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=2961563719geometry dash lite
Huge thanks again for keeping this updated. The sub numbers alone should show Keen how much players want seamless planets. Fingers crossed they pick it up.
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