Real Stars Skybox Lite
LaunchedApr 20188.1y
UpdatedAug 20196.8yAbandoned?
Geoff Dallimore
4.3/5 · 3 recent reviews · rating falling
See store for pricing3d
Price history
Tracked store price
No tracked price history is available for this asset yet.
No tracked price history is available for this asset yet.
Signals
Momentum (24h)+839 views
Recent Sentiment
4.3/5 · 3 recent reviews · rating falling
Package size6.09 MB
AI Reviews Analysis
Editor's Cut
Pros
This asset is widely praised for its high-quality, realistic visuals, offering a beautiful and effective solution for space-themed environments. It is highly regarded for being user-friendly, lightweight, and versatile, with features like skybox rotation and multiple variations that cater to both hobbyists and professional educational or game projects. The inclusion of constellation labels and the ability to tune settings provide added value, making it a reliable, no-frills tool that consistently delivers professional-looking results for free.
While the visual quality is excellent for a free asset, the inclusion of massive files makes it a liability for professional teams using Git, necessitating immediate cleanup of the repository structure before integration.
Cons
The primary drawback is the inclusion of large individual files exceeding 100MB, which creates significant friction for version control systems like Git and can bloat repository sizes unnecessarily. Additionally, some users have noted that the high-contrast nature of the stars can cause excessive or undesirable reflections when used in scenes featuring water or reflective surfaces, requiring manual adjustment.
Render pipelines
None flagged
Description
Three skyboxes of the stars in the real night sky. (Third skybox was added with July 2019 update).
UPDATE JULY 2019:
Thanks to the positive feedback and interest, there is now a paid version of this asset: Real Stars Skybox Plus. The Plus version features even higher resolution 4096x4096 versions of the same three skyboxes.
The main bonus in the premium version is a scripted skybox camera which provides a true-to-life orientation of the stars based on latitude, longitude, date and time of day. Want to know what the stars will look like in Tokyo at 10pm on your birthday? Now you can find out! On a long ocean voyage? The position of the stars will change accurately as you sail, allowing you to navigate by them.
NEWS MAY 2020:
I have created a new star model in Blender. The skybox output is almost identical so I'm not updating anything here yet. But if I do come up with any major modifications, I'll add them for free as a thanks for the continued support.
Using Blender allowed me to create some 8k HDRI panoramic images with lots of EVs for more artistic control. These panormas are now available for sale on BlenderMarket. I'm also selling the Blender model itself so you can even create your own panoramas and skyboxes if you want complete control.
Package description:
Three skyboxes of the stars in the real night sky. One has some of the stars named, another also names and outlines the constellations, and the third has no labels, just stars. Check out this 360 degree VR YouTube video for an idea of what it could look like in practice.
The skyboxes are generated using real astronomical data for the 5000 brightest stars in the sky. The size, brightness and colour of each star is based on its real magnitude and spectroscopic data.
The skyboxes are 6-sided cubes with each side at 2048x2048 resolution. Easy to set up and use for games or educational purposes.
Please leave feedback and thoughts for enhancements and desired features!
UPDATE JULY 2019:
Thanks to the positive feedback and interest, there is now a paid version of this asset: Real Stars Skybox Plus. The Plus version features even higher resolution 4096x4096 versions of the same three skyboxes.
The main bonus in the premium version is a scripted skybox camera which provides a true-to-life orientation of the stars based on latitude, longitude, date and time of day. Want to know what the stars will look like in Tokyo at 10pm on your birthday? Now you can find out! On a long ocean voyage? The position of the stars will change accurately as you sail, allowing you to navigate by them.
NEWS MAY 2020:
I have created a new star model in Blender. The skybox output is almost identical so I'm not updating anything here yet. But if I do come up with any major modifications, I'll add them for free as a thanks for the continued support.
Using Blender allowed me to create some 8k HDRI panoramic images with lots of EVs for more artistic control. These panormas are now available for sale on BlenderMarket. I'm also selling the Blender model itself so you can even create your own panoramas and skyboxes if you want complete control.
Package description:
Three skyboxes of the stars in the real night sky. One has some of the stars named, another also names and outlines the constellations, and the third has no labels, just stars. Check out this 360 degree VR YouTube video for an idea of what it could look like in practice.
The skyboxes are generated using real astronomical data for the 5000 brightest stars in the sky. The size, brightness and colour of each star is based on its real magnitude and spectroscopic data.
The skyboxes are 6-sided cubes with each side at 2048x2048 resolution. Easy to set up and use for games or educational purposes.
Please leave feedback and thoughts for enhancements and desired features!