It boils down to the ability to produce a good (better) fractal noise that looks fine in the distance, and refines well enough when you get close to it. On your screens those color points in distance would become a large splotches of colors up close, and that would not look good. Instead, the goal is to find such a fractal based refinement algorithm that produces the same average color as the distant point, where the colorization starts to appear, but the average actually consisting of an interesting fractal detail of its own.
That's partially done already, as with the biomes we are trying to fractalize colors in such way that the consistency is preserved, but it obviously has large reserves. On the other hand, since we want to use a more detailed color dataset, we'll be probably solving this problem at a finer scale later.
Thank u Cameni.
When you talk about fractal noise, its about texture or geometry? Because make terrain look bumpy in the distance, instead plain (like plastic effect), must be very expensive with geometry. But if you can make some distant texture with bump channel (normal map texture), making the effect like terrain is not plain, would be cheaper (i think).
I do in 3dmax for proyects (bump texture, for understanding), but surely here in the engine is diferent.
Firstly terrains already has a texture, a mapping, normal map.. But are designed for very short distance. So i dont know if you can make another diferent texture (way bigger) for not short distance and add this bump effect. And then mix (one appear when you are close, and the other when you are not close).
Also we will be flying around, so can be tricky to avoid bad flickering, or to make look good from long distance and mid distance (would be a matter of test).
Because short distance would not be a problem. There you will see all the refined grass and rocks. In the moment you are going near the terrain, details will appear and this distance texture would be hide.
So would be more a effect trick for make terrain bump in distance appart from geometry or imaginery.
Because with a better imaginery would be also "plain", more color complex and more real but still plain i guess.
Well, aclaration, terrain in outerra is not plain. Coveral if you put 1080 detail, you can see bumpy rocks, etc. But i mean the space between details where we just see texture/color. And where would be very expensive add more detail.
Maybe this idea cant apply in the engine.. I dont know. But if you find some method via texture for make similar effect like i did adding "noise", (like i do with bump textures in max), would be nice i think.
