[Starsector Mods][0.95.1a-RC6] HexShields – Shield Reskin v1.2.0

Requires the

CMUtils mod as a dependency!

man is back with more procrastinations (sort of)

Feature list

• smoothly reskins shields with cool hexagons
• two shading modes available (settings.json to change)
• can be added/removed from saves whenever
• uses whitelist csv to replace shields based on hullstyle (won’t affect modded hullstyle ships unless mod adds whitelist csv entry to its config, or user adds manually)
• efficient renderer, virtually no performance impact on most systems (requires hardware supporting gl 3.3,  might even boost performance like FER mod, needs testing)
• seamless 360 shields (unlike vanilla, shields are ruined forever)

note 1: jitter level can be adjusted (and disabled) by going to data/shaders/shield.frag and setting the jitter multiplier value to the desired amount
note 2: some scripts that force shields to be a certain colour on frame may run after this plugin, making a double shield appear (e.g. paragon fortress system, caliph)

Looks like it can be added or removed mid-game. Perhaps OP update?

Am i dreaming ? this is amazing!
Edit: is there a fast way to whitelist all custom faction shields without having to add them to the whitelist file ?

yeah you can replace it with this csv courtesy dhunt (contains a bunch, might need to double check) https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/908508642976878702/935804133913530388/hex_whitelist.csv

– added shield fadeout

Many thanks! This bugged me a little

Edit:
Tested the mod a fair bit more and while it mostly looks nice, it clearly can’t handle any kinds of brighter backgrounds with that very visible black border around the shields.

Feature list

• smoothly reskins shields with cool hexagons
• two shading modes available (settings.json to change)
• uses whitelist csv to replace shields based on hullstyle (won’t affect modded hullstyle ships unless mod adds whitelist csv entry to its config, or user adds manually)
• efficient renderer, virtually no performance impact on most systems (requires hardware supporting gl 3.3,  might even boost performance like FER mod, needs testing)
• seamless 360 shields (unlike vanilla, shields are ruined forever)

note 1: jitter level can be adjusted (and disabled) by going to data/shaders/shield.frag and setting the jitter multiplier value to the desired amount

Few notes on these statements:
On default settings the edges of extended shields on this Falcon are very sharp (in a bad way) working against smoothness.
Jitter is intentional? I see constant flicker on the hexagons, aka the grid is changing position every few frames and its very uneasing. Changed some multiplier in shield.frag and hexagons are gone completely so technically it indeed eliminated jitter  . What I’m saying is jitter should be more clear/fool-proof to change.
Option for blacklist behaviour would be appreciated.

Feature list

• smoothly reskins shields with cool hexagons
• two shading modes available (settings.json to change)
• uses whitelist csv to replace shields based on hullstyle (won’t affect modded hullstyle ships unless mod adds whitelist csv entry to its config, or user adds manually)
• efficient renderer, virtually no performance impact on most systems (requires hardware supporting gl 3.3,  might even boost performance like FER mod, needs testing)
• seamless 360 shields (unlike vanilla, shields are ruined forever)

note 1: jitter level can be adjusted (and disabled) by going to data/shaders/shield.frag and setting the jitter multiplier value to the desired amount

Few notes on these statements:
On default settings the edges of extended shields on this Falcon are very sharp (in a bad way) working against smoothness.
Jitter is intentional? I see constant flicker on the hexagons, aka the grid is changing position every few frames and its very uneasing. Changed some multiplier in shield.frag and hexagons are gone completely so technically it indeed eliminated jitter  . What I’m saying is jitter should be more clear/fool-proof to change.
Option for blacklist behaviour would be appreciated.

Ah yeah the 360 seam led to a dumb hack that doesn’t work at near-360 deg shields, will fix when i update. I’ll also make the jitter easier to change for people that aren’t familiar with GLSL code.. .

Have also fixed dark edge, although it does look cool as it is. Will make it a config option.