Background vs Sectors - Nebulas and Dust

In the video, someone suggested changing the background based on the sector that you jump into.

While this isn't realistic due to stellar distances, it did get me thinking about ways to create more atmosphere to the game that might have a similar effect.

You added volumetric clouds to Verdure which can be flown through. The effect is fantastic, both with sunrise/sunset and with flying through them. I quite enjoyed experiencing both, so big thumbs up.

Now imagine taking those same type of clouds and spreading them across parts of a sector where there were asteroids, with varying levels of density. You jump into a sector expecting asteroids, and you're surrounded by mist/dust. As you fly through the area, asteroids are harder to find or appear much closer than expected due to the clouds. Space Engineers would have to slow down rather than rocketing through the area due to the danger of collisions.

Now imagine taking that a step further. Some pockets might be dense enough to allow a collector to gather resources from them. Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon, etc. Gasses that could be mined and used in various processes. This would also give Space Engineers an excuse to explore such sectors beyond creating or finding hidden bases.

Another effect of the volumetric clouds and nebulas might be an impact on sensor and antennae distances. Ore and antennae distances might be cut by one quarter, one third, one half, etc. depending on the density of the nebulas/clouds.

Also small planetoids similar to Ceres, Pluto or Charon could be located in the nebulas, with just enough clearance in the nebula for their gravity fields to start. A Space Engineer flying recklessly through the nebula could suddenly find themselves in trouble if they clear the nebula and are suddenly fighting a gravity well. :-D

Now, imagine viewing that nebula at a distance. From Verdure or Kemik, when you're just flying from asteroid to asteroid, that nebula could appear stationary against the background. Only when you have been flying for a while would a pilot notice the shift in position.

However, jumping from sector to sector (for example from Verdure to Kemik) would cause the nebula's position to shift against the background, providing that change in view that people were suggesting.

Another thought with nebulas and dust is that they could obscure or restrict jump travel between sectors. For example, you jump from Verdure to Kemik and then a new world is added to the map because it is no longer blocked by the nebula or dust.

Yet another thought is that there could be a hidden world in a pocket of the nebula, dust and asteroids in a sector dominated by it. This could be a newly forming world that has additional dangers beyond the normal ones, such as:

• frequent meteor storms or impacts
• large areas of molten surface
• earthquakes
• more violent storms such as electrical storms

All could contribute to more frequent ship and base damage.