The purposes of creating CCPSP are as follows:
1.) By Creating a Chat program based in the Celestia engine, and obtaining a server we can create a live extension to the Celestia Community in these forums.
-Celestia users can meet and greet, talk space/astronomy, observe Celestia objects interactively, and talk about new ways to continue and improve the main Celestia 3-D Planitarium project around which the community "orbits".
2.) By Creating a Chat Prgram based on the Celestia engine, a new tool arises to teach school/college kids/people about astronomy in the local universe. Not to mention us!
-Students can sit in a computer lab, and through the school's network, the teacher can actually conduct his/her class virtually in the program. This way the teachers can educate their students about astronomy in a more hands on, interactive way. The students will be glued to their seats visiting our solar system in real time.
3.) The Celestia Chat program can be used for many other things, and may play another vital role in helping some games along based on the Celestia engine (Mostly Harmless comes to mind). Whether you're strictly a scientist, or like a little space gaming now and then, the Celestia Chat Program is a good thing.
CCPSP FAQs:
Question 1.) Are you suggesting we turn the Celestia Project into a funky chat program?
No way! More then one person has expressed duress about the idea of a Chat Server based in the Celestia Universe because they believe that CCPSP will alter the central Celestia Stellartarium project (a.k.a. Celestia). That is a misconception. We aim to help the creation of a Chat program based on the Celestia engine. The educational basis of the original program on which this entire community revolves will never be changed; at least not by me. As I stated above, this *seperate* chat program project will serve to FURTHER the educational goals of Celestia. Creating such a program will help us to learn.
Question 2.) Who would run the server, and how would they pay for it?
I have no idea who would run the server; if anybody is willing to volunteer for this Celestia community service, then I'll edit this sentence.
How do you pay for an online server? With advertising; artfully placed within the program. You all know how in the opening sequence we travel to Mars (latest pre-releases) where we start exploring. My proposal is that we use an longer travel routine; using billboard "spaceships" models along the route. We'll start from farther out, and bounce from one billboard to another until we finally end up at Mars. Shouldn't take more then 30 seconds. Beyond the opening sequence, the program could give the user the ability to "shut off" the billboards.
Question 3.) How do we see each other in Celestia?
Two words: Ship skins! We've all seen those great models of Trek ships already done. Every user could download and use a ship skin for use in the program.
Question 4.) How do we find each other in Celestia?
Well, first if you're looking for a specific person, all you have to do is press enter, type in their user ID, and press enter again (to go-to). You'll go to them, in proximity.
Other then that, I propose a Menu of Events at one last billboard you come to when you arrive at Mars. From there people can list and view virtual classes to be held, chat topics at certain places, etc., and when their times are going to be according to Universal Time, and date.
Rather then typing the name of the location in for a particular event, and searching the system for an hour, you can either click on the event in the scrollable list on the billboard (highlighting the event, then click the go-to button at the bottom of the list), or type in the name of the event to go right to the exact spot with the enter go-to function.
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There will be some kind of "classroom" protocols to make it easier to lecture, but I need to sort out the details in another post.
I am not a programmer by any means, nor have I anybody who said they will commit themselves to this project. That's the purpose of this post, to call attention to something that would benefit the Celestia community in an extreme fashion. I'm hoping a few programmers here might be interested in trying their hands on an open source Celestia Chat Program. I have the vision, but not the means of creating it, unfortuanately.
If anybody has any questions about the ideology of the program, or how something might work, let me know.
Sincerely,
--Starman