Saturns Moons

I don't know if you fellows have been following the Cassini mission, but they have been taking some great pictures of Saturns smaller moons. These are almost more like asteroids. Some of them are small enough to fit inside the Flux clipping distance of 200km.

saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/im...ils.cfm?imageID=1501

If anyone builds some new asteroids, please let me know!

I'm building new asteroid objects and textures for Asylum. Would be happy to send a few over your way. Should be ready sometime in the next month or two.

I was also going to make improved textures for all the stock asteroids. I found this website that has a whole set of real asteroid models for lightwave. They range from 10 to maybe 100 kilometers in diameter. Some are very high polycount, but it shouldn't be too much trouble to convert them and texture them. I will try, and if I can I will share whatever I produce with you Shane. I was also thinking that it might be nice to replace most of the stock models, at least to give asteroid fields a fresh look.

Here is a link to the site:

www.space-graphics.com/asteroid_geographos.htm

Fantastic site! You can find a link to this site from their. Look at some of these shapes. Dog Bones. Or wierd overhang cliff kinds of shapes. Really interesting. Nothing like the rounded ball that I expected.

astronomy.swin.edu.au/~pbourke/terrain/asteroid2/index.html

Hey Shane, thanks for the offer. They will be really useful.

Maybe we can collect up ideas for inspiration here. I had a site with strange clear glass/metal meteors. Now, where was it...

Hehheh, I had that other site marked as well, but didn't mention it because no lightwave models. I suppose they could be converted though..

There are also lots of accurate textures for asteroids around saturn and jupiter that are freely available. Using one of them would be ideal.

GrandpaTrout, that Cassini mission site you linked to is very very useful. I have found a whole number of crater, cracks and other surface feature images that I can use to build very nice bumpmaps, whether for moons, or asteroid/moons.

I am having less success getting the models I found into the game however...either they are too big, too many triangles, or else I just don't know how to get objects textured and in game...need to get this technique nailed down to avoid hours of frustrating failed attempts...

I have been using the station enviroments code to try to place things...However, would it be feasible to place asteroids with the geog tools?

And Shane, if you want help with those Asteroids, I can make nice textures for them in a snap.