u/EC36339

I've tried to play with default controls, and it was awful. My biggest issue was how slow the ship turns, while rolling is super fast, which makes it almost impossible to keep it stable, while at the same time, making a U-turn takes forever.

I've seen this particularly in the glitchy training mission with the combat drone that always flies out of range.

I'm obviously doing something not right, and it could be a combination of things. Is there a good guide somewhere for setting up the controls? The flight tutorial wasn't exactly helpful in explaining the controls, either.

My graphics programming is rusty and stuck in ancient history all the way back to the 90s.

I've done some web searches but a lot of what I found is either libraries, stock artwork, or guides that are non-technical or too high level.

Please update me and give me directions. No need to go in depth. Name dropping techniques, links to interesting blogs, tutorials, guides that are somewhat up to date, etc. is all I'm looking for, and I'll do my research myself.

I use Vulkan, GLSL and C++. No pre-made engine. My goal is to add better immersion and effects to a hobby project that is already coming along nicely on the gameplay and engine tracks, but it needs a visual makeover. It is a space action game, so geometry is sparse, and there is a lot of room (and need) for VFX, such as impact feedback, thruster plumes, explosions, flares, tracers, anything that generates a sense of motion and acceleration, etc. I'm doing only visuals for now, procedural, no static artwork, and if possible without third party dependencies (except on the engine, authoring and workflow level).

A sidetrack: How much will I have to rewrite all my shaders if I add HDR and deferred shading (is this still a thing?) later instead of now? And what else in that area should probably be in place early? I expect lighting to be relatively simple (the game shall be fast-paced, so players probably won't notice if a missile doesn't cast a perfect soft shadow on a ship hull before they both explode).

Any tips for good shader authoring tools in 2026? I've considered building shader hot reloading directly into my engine as an option, but at the moment I'm trying to stop myself doing more engine work.