Planet rotation axis

[Telkir]

Sorry if this has already been discussed elsewhere in the forum - I did try searching but didn't turn anything up.

Is there any chance that planets in AIW2 might be changed to rotate on a wider variety of axes? Currently they only ever rotate with their poles directly aligned to the camera vector.

I understand in the original AI War planets were only 2D images so you had no real alternative to this. In AIW2 though, if my eyes are right, planets are proper textured 3D spheres, so you have more options to randomise the rotation axis for each system.

This is only a minor detail but thought I'd post it to get it off my chest, as I somehow keep noticing it and my overly picky brain finds it a little jarring

[x4000]

It's an interesting idea, although I would say that most planets are oriented such that their poles are pretty much inline with the solar system's plane of the ecliptic, aren't they?  There's some variation off that, but I didn't think a huge amount.

In this game you can already move the camera around and look at the planets from many different angles, but I suppose that basically just rotating their starting position so that their poles are a different orientation related to "up" out of the 2D battlefield would be possible.

This is a great one to throw in mantis for the polish phase.  It wouldn't take long to do, but I'm trying to crank through stuff right now.  I also do want to be accurate if possible to the science of these, although I may already be out of bounds on that.

And yes these are fully 3D.

[Draco18s]

It's an interesting idea, although I would say that most planets are oriented such that their poles are pretty much inline with the solar system's plane of the ecliptic, aren't they?  There's some variation off that, but I didn't think a huge amount.

Most, yes, because of the physics on why gas clouds end up creating disks in the first place. But there are always weirdos, like Uranus, because they're either captured or were hit by something. Then there's Venus which basically say, "Hek you, I'mma go backwards." (and or be upside down).

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/images/activities/planet_tilts.jpg

[x4000]

Ah yes, not sure how I forgot that about uranus in particular, and I have a vague recollection of venus being that way.  Wow there's so much stuff in space it gets hard to remember it all.  The faint rings on uranus are the wrong way around as well, too, IIRC.

[Draco18s]

Ah yes, not sure how I forgot that about uranus in particular, and I have a vague recollection of venus being that way.  Wow there's so much stuff in space it gets hard to remember it all.  The faint rings on uranus are the wrong way around as well, too, IIRC.

You think space is weird, then you haven't seen space at all.
Asteroids made of gold, planets made of diamond, planets where it rains molten glass, nebulas of alcohol, solar systems with SIX parent stars, planets made of ice that are literally on fire...