Fillestar

Fillestar is a term used in computer graphics and game development to describe a class of procedural techniques for generating star-filled textures or environments. The aim is to create scalable, believable star fields that adapt to camera movement and scene scale, rather than relying on static, pre-rendered textures. The term is not tied to a single standard and appears in various tutorials, engines, and demos as a general concept for populating space with stars.

Etymology and scope: The name combines fill, indicating space occupation, with star, referring to point-like light sources. In practice, fillestar methods blend random sampling with constraints to control density, star size distribution, color, and brightness. They are often used to produce both 2D backgrounds and 3D volumetric fields, with potential support for parallax and animation to simulate motion.

Techniques and parameters: Typical components include a density field, a distribution model for star radii, brightness and color ranges, and a tiling or streaming approach for large scenes. Common tools include Poisson disk sampling to reduce overlap, layered noise for natural variation, and depth cues for parallax. Real-time implementations emphasize performance through level-of-detail, tiling, and caching, as well as integration with rendering pipelines.

Applications: Fillestar concepts are used in video games, simulations, planetariums, and film pre-visualization to generate dynamic, scalable star fields that respond to viewer perspective and scene changes.

See also: star field, procedural generation, Poisson disk sampling, noise functions, parallax.