More Smoke

There had been complaints that the shield sphere doesn't look too spherical, and while I had to concede the critics were right, I found it hard to change that. My newest attempt is at least a step into the right direction, and I like the result pretty much:

I did not stop with the appearance of the shield sphere though - recently acquired new insights into OpenGL rendering have allowed me to make sure that it does not conceal smoke and thruster effects from the ship contained inside.

The very same insights have allowed me to tweak smoke appearance a little more, and I think it is getting better and better ... but see for yourself: