This addon replaces the default Milky Way with new high-quality 8192x8192 textures. It's composed of multiple images of spiral galaxies and some additional editing. The goal is to represent the uniqueness of our galaxy with some creative liberties while having realism in mind.
The galaxy texture is composed of real-life imagery of galaxies like NGC 6744, UGC 12158, and Nick Risinger's concept art.
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This addon doesn't change the texture responsible for the procedural generation of stars and nebulae in the Milky Way, so all of your saved locations within the galaxy should still exist.
Installation:
Download the file from NexusMods and place it in your addons folder, remember to delete the cache folder, otherwise, it won't work correctly!
For the Steam version of Space Engine, you can find the addon on the Steam Workshop
Big thanks to Andy-roo77's Reddit post, which served as an inspiration for this addon:
https://www.reddit.com/r/spaceengine/comments/lamv7a/an_alternate_design_for_the_milkyway_in_space/