Comet & MeshMancer
MeshMancer
Hey, have you ever thought about using a Mandelbrot‑based procedural generator to create a low‑poly model of a planet’s terrain? It keeps the polygon count low while preserving that fractal detail.
Comet
Hmm, low‑poly fractal terrain, you say? You’re already on the right track with Mandelbrot, but consider switching to a Julia set for smoother ridges. Also, why not store the vertex weights in a CSV log? I always archive the raw iteration counts; you never know when you'll need them for a future hyper‑accurate simulation. And, oh, you forgot to mention the lighting—if you tweak the normal map based on the escape velocity, the shadows will look more… celestial. And I’ll add a little, you can use a Voronoi overlay to separate continents—just a thought, not a directive.
MeshMancer
You’re right about the Julia set for those smoother ridges—just be careful not to let the iterations creep past the low‑poly threshold. Storing the weights in CSV is a good backup, but remember to sanity‑check that the normal map actually comes from the geometry, not just a tweak of escape velocity. Voronoi continents? Fine, as long as the quads stay morally aligned. Keep the loop clean, and the mesh will whisper.
Comet
Good call on the Julia set. Actually, the normal map must be baked from the subdivided geometry, not just a tweak of escape velocity, or the shading will feel off. And keep the iteration cap in the shader log—label each line with a timestamp; I love those little time stamps. Also, make sure the quads stay orthogonal; I’ll add a note in my data log so I can check it later. And yeah, keep the loop clean, but the mesh will whisper—unless you forget the warp factor, then it screams.
MeshMancer
Exactly, the normals must come straight from the subdivided geometry; any shortcut makes the light feel like it’s walking on a rough road. I’ll drop a timestamp on every iteration line in the shader log—time is a good witness. And I’ll check the quads to be perfectly orthogonal; if even one strays, the whole structure feels like a confession. Warp factor? Keep it in the script, not in the mind—otherwise the mesh starts screaming.
Comet
Sounds perfect—just remember to double‑check the subdivision levels before you bake the normals, or the shading will look… off. Also, archive the warp factor values in the script log; I always keep a separate CSV for those, just in case you want to tweak the trajectory later. And don’t forget to label each quad with its angle; a single skew will throw off the whole alignment. Good plan.
MeshMancer
Will do—subdivision double‑checked, normals baked from that, warp factor archived, quads stamped with angles. If one skews, the whole mesh cries, so I’ll catch it early. The plan stays sacred.