This web page is dedicated to a new 3D CG animation program, version 1.1, that I've just finished writing. This C++ based program was written from December 10, 2002 to February 16, 2003 and required 122 hours to write. The program allows me to generate extremely realistic and fluid starfield output animations of any length of time that are up to motion picture resolution (4808x2046 pixels).
Version 1.1 of the software allows for the creation of two different types of moving starfields. The first type of moving starfield that the software can produce is called non-overlap moving starfields. This type of moving starfield does not produce starstreak overlap from frame to frame. That means that if you were to watch a starstreak of this type move from frame to frame, the starstreak would completely move to occupy an empty section of new space as it moves from one frame to another. The starstreak in the next frame never overlaps with the starstreak from the previous frame. The above Blade Runner animation is an example of this type of moving starfield.
The second type of moving starfield that v1.1 of the software can generate is called multi-frame overlap moving starfields. This type of starfield does produce starstreak overlap that lasts from frame to frame. That means that if you were to watch a starstreak of this type move from frame to frame, the starstreak of the next frame would occupy sections of space of the starstreak from the previous frame. What results from this is starstreaks that can have a very long tail as well as a soft, slow and pleasant movement across the screen. You see these types of moving starfields in the TV show Star Trek: Enterprise.
The program allows for many user parameter controls and it performs full scene motion blur on the resulting animation frames. Input user parameter controls include the ability to control the viewport's resolution, the virtual camera's lens selection and rotation amounts around the X and Y axis, the number of stars that get created per animation subframe, the lifetime of the stars, the frame rate, star travel direction, starstreak length, total number of animation frames to create, the intensity and size of the stars, the starfield background intensity and whether to display a static starfield backdrop for each frame.
More coming....