Relto islands (with the "many islands" Relto page)
Relto islands (with the "many islands" Relto page)
When you look out over the edge of Relto, you see an endless abyss of mist. Rocky islands rise above the vapor, but only their tops are clear; their lower reaches fade into invisibility.
How is this accomplished? Of course, there's a fog layer at the top. But that isn't the whole story.
The Plasma engine does have a mechanism for making distant objects fade away. (Not into true invisibility, but into a dim background color. See Minkata for a demonstration.) But that's not what's going on here.
The lower parts of the Relto islands are simply transparent; really transparent, like glass. The sides fade smoothly from opaque (at the top) to invisible (at the bottom). This image was taken as I leaped into the abyss:
From this angle, the sky and the farther islands show right through.
The trick works because there's nothing below eye level (as long as you don't jump!) If you added fish swimming in the mist, you'd have to be careful that they never passed behind an island. They'd show through, ruining the effect.