Once I get good enough, I don't see why not. I need to figure this stuff out first though, Wes.
I know planets that don't match earth's caustics are going to be a bitch to do (case and point experiment -- the atmosphere looks off and needs some serious post-render feathering).
In the end, I want to get into procedural city generation and represent some famous locations :3
Here's some early attempts.
See how the atmosphere looks all wrong, especially with its caustic (lighting) decay being so harsh and small rather than the larger one? Its a factor of using the color. I'm going to have to go through NASA references to work out what really happens with planets with different atmospheres.
Sorry that I'm using the same angle a lot because I can only cover a very small part of the planets with clouds at the moment and without them, it isn't realistic at all. The planet is actually a complete sphere with generated geometry for the landscape but without either an atmosphere or hard deformities from a lack of an atmosphere, planets look horrifically artificial.
Here's something made by someone who's what I'd call an expert in the package I'm working with.
It was also used for backgrounds on the movie
Sucker Punch and so were the landscapes and atmospheric sequences in
Sentou Yousei Yukikaze Watch from
about 3:40 in. The scene is pretty iconic. The canyon scene later in the first episode inspired me to start learning the package.
I've only been experimenting for a few hours so I have a loooong way to go.
Edit:
Huuh... Just found a
Yukikaze mod for Hawx. It might be a while before I get used to the package