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About the Tools:
How to use the different tools, ie. star field, nebula, planets, etc...
These are listed in order as they appear on the design
menu and on the toolbar starting with the "Select" tool.
Select
Allows you to choose part of the image. This is
especially handy if you made a mistake and need to remove it from the image. Just
select a box around the mistake and then click on the clear tool. The box will now
be blank (whatever the background color is selected). Then immediately choose and
click on the starfield tool. This will add a star field into the selected area and
will usually blend with the original image.
Star Field
This tool operates similar to the flood fill tool in
a standard paint program. You can fill the current selection with the ‘star
field’ texture by selecting this tool and then left clicking anywhere in the image.
| Density |
Controls the number of stars generated.
Larger values result in more stars. |
| Brightness |
Controls color distribution of stars.
Larger values result in brighter stars. |
| Large Stars |
Controls the percentage of ‘large
stars’ that are generated. Larger values result in more large stars and fewer small
(1 pixel) stars. |
| Color |
All stars generated will have the same
hue and saturation as the color chosen. The luminance will vary according to the
brightness setting. |
Summary: Use this first and place
your background image of stars before you place your other space objects. If you
don't the stars have a tendency to appear as if they are on top of the other objects,
which, of course, in real life is not the case.
Globular Cluster
This tool fills an elliptical region with a
‘star field’ texture. The default settings create an effect similar to a
globular cluster.
Nebula
This tool fills an elliptical region with a
‘nebula’ texture. The most realistic nebula can be created by repeated
applications of this tool using different intensities and colors.
| Drop Off |
Controls rate of falloff of nebula to
empty space. Larger values result in a faster falloff. |
| Intensity |
Controls coverage of nebula texture.
Larger values result in more coverage. |
| Color Frequency |
Controls repetition of inner and outer
color from the center of the region. Larger values result in more repetitions. Larger
values can be used to simulate the appearance of novas or explosions. |
| Inner Color, Outer Color |
Controls the colors used in rendering
the nebula. The inner color is used nearest the center of the nebula. This color is mixed
with the outer color as a function of the distance from the nebula center. |
Star
This tool fills an elliptical region with a
‘star’ texture.
| Drop Off |
Controls rate of falloff of stars
corona to empty space. Larger values result in a faster falloff. |
| Radius |
The radius of the star core. This value
is normalized from 0 to 1. |
| Core Color, Corona Color |
Controls the colors used in rendering
the star. |
Interstellar Gas
This tool fills an elliptical region with an
‘interstellar gas’ texture.
| Intensity |
Controls the ‘brightness’ of
the gas. |
| Add Turbulence |
If checked, turbulence will be added to
the gas. This gives the gas a ‘billowing’ look. |
| Frequency |
Controls the frequency of the
turbulence. Higher frequencies result in more ‘billows’ at a smaller size than
lower frequencies. |
| Color |
Controls the color of the gas. |
Vortex
This tool fills an elliptical region with a
‘vortex’ texture.
| Drop Off |
Controls rate of falloff of the vortex
to empty space. Larger values result in a faster falloff. |
| Intensity |
Controls coverage of vortex texture.
Larger values result in more coverage. |
| Color Frequency |
Controls repetition of inner and outer
color from the center of the region. Larger values result in more repetitions. |
| Inner Color, Outer Color |
Controls the colors used in rendering
the vortex. The inner color is used nearest the center of the vortex. This color is mixed
with the outer color as a function of the distance from the vortex center. |
| Inner Radius |
The radius of the vortex center. This
value is normalized from 0 to 1. |
| Swirl Frequency |
Controls the number of swirls around
the vortex. Larger values result in more swirls. |
Galaxy
| Type |
common galaxy types |
| Core Color |
Controls the colors used in
rendering the core of the galaxy. |
| Stars Color |
Controls the colors used in
rendering the arms of the galaxy |
| Density |
Controls the number of
stars generated in the arms and core of the galaxy. Larger values result in more stars. |
Gas Cloud:
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|
Texture |
A bitmap or JPEG image that
is mapped to the galaxy. Several are provided to choose from or you can specify your
own images. Place images in the Galaxy directory which is located in the Universe
directory you specified when installing Universe. |
|
Browse |
Allows you to choose
different images to be used as the gas cloud's texture. |
|
Color |
The color chosen
Black is 0; White is 1; Red adds a red tint like you're looking through a red
filter. |
|
Scale Factor |
The scale that the gas
cloud image is applied. If it is set to zero, no gas cloud image is textured onto
the galaxy. If it is set to 10 (the highest setting), it may extend to far and
appear as if it has been chopped off. 6.0 is probably a good setting for most
images. |
| Default Properties |
This returns all of the
settings on this control to its original settings. Otherwise, the most recent
settings are saved and will appear the next time the control is used. |
Lens Flare
This tool fills an elliptical region with a
‘lens flare’ texture.
| Drop Off |
Controls rate of falloff of the lens
flare to empty space. Larger values result in a faster falloff. |
| Intensity |
Controls coverage of vortex texture.
Larger values result in more coverage. |
| Streaks |
The number of streaks and intensity of
the streaks can be set. Checking Add secondary streaks adds smaller streaks in
between the primary streaks. |
| Flare Components |
Controls the colors used in rendering
the lens flare. |
| Ring On |
Check to turn the outer ring on. |
Venus
This tool fills an circular region with a
‘Venus’ type planet.
| Cloud, Surface Color |
Controls the colors used to render
Venus. |
| Fractal Dimension |
Controls the frequency of the texture.
Smaller values give more transitions in the texture. |
| Coriolis Effect |
Simulates effect of planet rotation on
atmosphere. |
Moon
This tool fills an circular region with a
‘moon’ type planet.
| Maria, Highlands Color |
Controls the colors used to render the
moon. |
| Fractal Dimension |
Controls the frequency of the texture.
Smaller values give more transitions in the texture. |
| Amount of Maria |
Controls amount of maria in the moon. |
| Bump Map |
Simulates surface height by linear or
periodic perturbation of the surface normal. |
Earth
This tool fills an circular region with a
‘earth’ type planet.
| Sea Level |
Controls the colors used to render the
planet. |
| Ice Caps |
Controls the latitude where the ice
caps start. 0 is the equator and 1 is the pole. |
| Landscape Fractal Dimension |
Controls the frequency of the landmass
texture. Smaller values give more transitions in the texture. |
| Landscape Climate |
Change landmass between warmer and
cooler climates. Larger values are cooler (more green, more ice). |
| Clouds Fractal Dimension |
Controls the frequency of the cloud
texture. Smaller values give more transitions in the texture. |
| Clouds Coverage |
Controls the amount of coverage of the
clouds. Larger values give more cloud coverage. |
Using the Planet tools:
Lighting
Each planet effect uses the lighting dialog to
control the orientation and intensity of the light illuminating the planet. The Polar
View slider positions sets the x-z location of the light. You are looking down on the
planet form the north pole, so the light is moving in a circle around the equator of the
planet. The y slider sets the height of the light with respect to the planet. The 0
setting is the equator of the planet. You are positioning the light on a cylinder
surrounding the planet as the following diagram illustrates.
The intensity of the light is controlled with the intensity
slider.
How do I change the landmass distribution on the
earth?
For any of the effects you can generate a new
sequence of random numbers by clicking the preview window in the effect dialog. This is
most useful with the planet effects. Click until you have the look you want. The effect
will not match the preview exactly since the effect is using the same sequence over a
larger area.
More Tools - As listed from the
Edit Menu
Cut/Copy/Paste/ - These will cut,
copy, or paste the most recently selected item.
Paste File - allows you to paste
files into your Universe image.
Tip: Universe has the
ability to Paste bitmaps from the clipboard as well as a bitmap file. When pasting using
the "Paste File..." selection under the Edit menu, you can hold down the
SHIFT key and a ‘transparent paste’ will be performed. This
allows you to create a library of space effects and use them in later
images. The transparent color is set in the Transparent Paste dialog under Edit/Options.
You can also specify a tolerance around the transparent color. Frequently, what appears to
be a solid color such as black to the naked eye is actually a small value such as RGB(5,
5, 5). With the tolerance setting these colors will be treated as transparent as well. For
example, if you set your transparent color to black - RGB(0, 0, 0) and your tolerance to
RGB(5, 5, 5), then all colors less than RGB(5, 5, 5) will be treated as transparent.
Undo - You can only
"Undo" your last addition. So, if you aren't sure about the additional
object placed, you might want to "Undo" it and remove it from your image.
Otherwise, you can't remove it unless you erase that selected area (see Tips).
Clear - This clears the image
area, leaving the background color displayed. The background color can be chosen in
the "Options..." selection which is defined below and is also located in the
Edit menu.
Options
Transparent Paste -Universe
has the ability to Paste bitmaps from the clipboard as well as a bitmap file. When pasting
using the "Paste File..." selection under the Edit menu, you can hold down
the SHIFT key and a ‘transparent paste’ will be performed. This
allows you to create a library of space effects and use them in later
images. The transparent color is set in the Transparent Paste dialog under Edit/Options.
You can also specify a tolerance around the transparent color. Frequently, what appears to
be a solid color such as black to the naked eye is actually a small value such as RGB(5,
5, 5). With the tolerance setting these colors will be treated as transparent as well. For
example, if you set your transparent color to black - RGB(0, 0, 0) and your tolerance to
RGB(5, 5, 5), then all colors less than RGB(5, 5, 5) will be treated as transparent.
Preview - In the preview window
for each space object (star, etc.), the changes made in the settings area will be
displayed immediately after each change is made when the "Automatic" method is
chosen. This is the default method. For slower computers or for many changes,
you may want to choose the manual method. If manual method is chose, you must click
the cursor in the preview window to see the selected changes appear. You can also
choose "Automatic" method and decrease the frequency of window updates by the
number of seconds displayed in the "Delay after Changes: " box.
Background - this is the color
that will be used as the background to your image. The default setting is black but
can be changed in the Options window. The most recently selected color will become
the default setting until a different one is chosen.
The View Menu - You can choose to
display the status bar and the toolbar by clicking on desired selection. A
"check" will appear if the desired bar is displayed.
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