Someone in the forum asked for an animated 2d planet technique in Construct, which might be of interest to others as well, so I am posting it here as an example.
Here is the live version:
http://estructor.altervista.org/animated_2d_planet_concept/
The trick is very simple: mask out the cloud and planet textures with a circle using the blend effects. Please check the capx file how I achieved it. It's pretty much one big fake.
I created all the effect maps in Photoline.
The planet resides on its own layer which I rotate and zoom out - but you could also use the pin behaviour to control the planet's position, for example.
You also need the Lite Tween behaviour installed for this example to work (although I could have applied the bullet behaviour as well).
behavior-litetween_t70700
Capx:
http://estructor.altervista.org/animated_2d_planet_concept/planet.capx
The current version does not seamlessly repeat either the clouds or the planet texture, so after a while the illusion is shattered <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_wink.gif" alt=";-)" title="Wink"> It should take relatively small effort to have those repeat. This effect is imperfect: it would be nice if we had access to a filter that would bulge the planet as a sphere.
If others here know additional tricks and techniques to improve upon my simple version, feel free to add your own approach to this thread. Maybe we can create the "perfect planet" in Construct <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_biggrin.gif" alt=":D" title="Very Happy">
To create and render your own custom planet maps, check out the following links:
Planet creator that outputs all the maps you need:
http://www.blitzbasic.com/Community/pos ... opic=97336
Good solar system planet maps:
http://planetpixelemporium.com/planets.html