I've been flitting back and forth between different planet types today and also trying out various different approaches to generating the layers of detail we need. Each planet needs to be built (literally) from the ground up, applying layers of ever-increasing detail as we go. This is ultimately a much more flexible approach to planet generation, and it allows us to add/remove layers as needed.
Also, because we're already generating masks for each layer that means we can add "special overlays" for added flavour. For example, we could take the cloud mask and overlay an additional emissive texture for bioluminescent organisms living in the clouds. Or, do the same for the oceans and have a subtle blue glow around coastlines. I'm quite excited to see how far we can go with that to create some really unique worlds.
Here's an example of the new cloud function and an arid desert world :)
