Celestia Forums

I have just downloaded Rodolfo Emilio`s Hydra & Nix for Pluto . When I look for them in Celestia , Hydra is there but where Nix should be is just a blank space . The info in the top left hand corner is there and if I zoom in and out it shows the distance etc.. ,but there is no image .
What could be the problem?

Look at the SSC for it, should be a separate SSC file that you
added. See what texture and/or model is used to represent the
thing. It is probably pointing to a texture and/or model that you
don't have, or it's got an error in the file itself.

On my system, I simply added the following to "solarsys.ssc" in the
Celestia\data folder. This is NOT recommended though, because you
can really screw Celestia up if you don't do it correctly.

Come to think of it, the above won't work at ALL unless you have
Pluto defined as a planet in that ssc file. Mine is still defined that way,
but if I recall correctly, Pluto is NOT defined that way in "solarsys.ssc"
so FORGET what I just posted above. and <smirk>

Goonster wrote:Hydra is there but where Nix should be is just a blank space .

I assume that you are looking to the dark side of Nix.
Hydra nd Nix use the same texture (bianca.jpg), so when you see Hydra you should see Nix also.

Adirondack

Nope . Whichever angle I look at Nix from there is always just a solid black space where the image should be . I`ve even looked at the orbits of Pluto,Charon ,Hydra & Nix from all angles . All the info is there -just not the image of Nix .
Was Hydra & Nix already included in the program ? The only thing I can think of is that I have somehow messed with the original image( if it was there to start ). I did not look for either Hydra or Nix before I downloaded the add-on so I don`t know if it was .

Goonster wrote: Nope . Whichever angle I look at Nix from there is always just a solid black space where the image should be . I`ve even looked at the orbits of Pluto,Charon ,Hydra & Nix from all angles . All the info is there -just not the image of Nix .

The SSC file - whatever one you're using - either points to a texture
or model you don't have, it has a spelling or syntax error, or it's
screwed up some other way. The moons Hydra and Nix should both
be displayed using the same texture I would think, but you never
know.

Can you display the SSC code here? That way we can give you an
intelligent answer.

Never mind... I know exactly what it is... That particular SSC file
points to the Pandora.cmod file for use with Nix. If you don't have
the Pandora.cmod file in your Celestia\models folder, then you ain't
gonna see anything. More garbage from the ML I see. I'm slowly
getting rid of this crap, so be patient. In the meantime, find and
download a "pandora.cmod" or simply change that damned SSC to
use exactly the SAME texture that you're using for Hydra.

Do you know how to do this?

BobHegwood wrote:Never mind... I know exactly what it is... That particular SSC file
points to the Pandora.cmod file for use with Nix. If you don't have
the Pandora.cmod file in your Celestia\models folder, then you ain't
gonna see anything. More garbage from the ML I see. I'm slowly
getting rid of this crap, so be patient. In the meantime, find and
download a "pandora.cmod" or simply change that damned SSC to
use exactly the SAME texture that you're using for Hydra.

Do you know how to do this?

pandora.cmod is part of the basic installation (1.3.2 -> 1.5.0pre4) !
So the SSC is okay.

Adirondack

Oh well...

As Ulrich said, you should already have the pandora.cmod file, so we'll
need to SEE the code for more explanations.

Now you know why I'm called Brain-Dead

I'll shut up now...

BobHegwood wrote:

Goonster wrote: Nope . Whichever angle I look at Nix from there is always just a solid black space where the image should be . I`ve even looked at the orbits of Pluto,Charon ,Hydra & Nix from all angles . All the info is there -just not the image of Nix .

The SSC file - whatever one you're using - either points to a texture
or model you don't have, it has a spelling or syntax error, or it's
screwed up some other way. The moons Hydra and Nix should both
be displayed using the same texture I would think, but you never
know.

Can you display the SSC code here? That way we can give you an
intelligent answer.

I wanted to display the code but i`m not sure how to . I know it is to do with copying and pasting . As I said , I am completely new to computers.I can copy and paste offline but have not worked out how to add it to the internet . Sorry to appear totally dim( I`ll call meself Nix ! )

Goonster,

Just post a reply to this message after you have copied your SSC
file code like you normally do. In the reply, simply paste your SSC
text like it was text. That IS after all what it is.

Really trying to help here, and I'm certain that we can get you an
answer if we can see the SSC code.

Take care, Brain-Dead

"Hydra" "Sol/Pluto" # (IAUC 8625)
{
Texture "bianca.jpg"
Mesh "asteroid.cms"
Radius 70 # ~140 km diameter for 15% albedo

InfoURL "http://www.boulder.swri.edu/plutonews/"

EllipticalOrbit
{
Period 38.2
SemiMajorAxis 64700
AscendingNode 273 # "probably in the same plane as Charon"
}

Albedo 0.15 # estimate, based on KBOs
}


"Nix" "Sol/Pluto" # (IAUC 8625)
{
Texture "bianca.jpg"
Mesh "pandora.cmod"
Radius 70 # ~140 km diameter for 15% albedo

InfoURL "http://www.boulder.swri.edu/plutonews/"

EllipticalOrbit
{
Period 25.2
SemiMajorAxis 49400
AscendingNode 273 # "probably in the same plane as Charon"
}

YESSS !! Thanks for the tip . I have been reading through books but none of them made it as clear as this . Thanks .
Now maybe you can give me an intelligent answer .

Goonster, what version are you using? Actually Nix and Hydra are part of the official release and display normally. Have you edited the files?
You should perhaps redownload and test a fresh install and compare the files to find the problem...

I am using version 1.4 from the Webuser Magazine freebie disc . I think if it was already there I must have messed with it like I thought . I have been thinking about downloading another one , but I just thought I would wait and see .
What I probably did wrong was drag and drop . I noticed in another post that apparently this does not work for Celestia , but by then it was too late . Thanks for all your help (and patience!) . Hopefully my next attempt will be a bit more successful .

Goonster,

I can see nothing wrong with the SSC file, so that leaves only one
other possibility. Either your "pandora.cmod" has a problem, or it
doesn't exist on your system.

Try this:

Simply change "pandora.cmod" to "asteroid.cms" and see if that
fixes the problem.

EDIT: Oops. Wait a minute... I don't see a closing } at the end of the SSC either. Did you just not copy it, or is it missing. If missing, that will screw things up too.

I have changed the text as you suggested but it has not made a difference. I did reload Celestia as well after the changes.

Did you see my edit to the previous message? I noticed that your
missing the ending } bracket on the SSC. Is it there? Or did you fail to
copy it?

If this is missing, it will also screw things up. If this isn't your problem,
then I have NO further ideas for you.

Sorry, Brain-Dead

I don`t think it is my problem after all . I have just uninstalled the previous one and replaced it with a brand new Celestia , untouched by me , and Nix is still missing !
Unfortunately this also means that I did something wrong when trying the add-on . Never mind .
Maybe this should go in the bugs list to be fixed . Thanks anyway for all your help.

Goonster,

The Addon works fine for me, after I restructured it.

This suggests to me that you didn't put bianca.jpg into a textures folder. It's really annoying when people provide incomplete Addons with no instructions -- they're unusable by people who are relatively unfamiliar with Celestia.

If you haven't already done so, try dragging bianca.jpg into Celestia\textures\hires
Do you see Nix then?

selden wrote:Goonster,

The Addon works fine for me, after I restructured it.

This suggests to me that you didn't put bianca.jpg into a textures folder. It's really annoying when people provide incomplete Addons with no instructions -- they're unusable by people who are relatively unfamiliar with Celestia.

If you haven't already done so, try dragging bianca.jpg into Celestia\textures\hires
Do you see Nix then?

I think we're beating a dead horse here, Selden. Also, the Nix model
Goonster's SSC file referenced was Pandora. Go figure...