Celestia Forums

As I told sometimes, I'm particularly interested in the use of Celestia for Astronomy School teaching, and to do this I'm writing or I've written many different start.cel files, each of them making obviously different things.
They are:

1- The Solar System
2- Eclipses and Transits
3- The Orrery
4- The Conquest of Space
5- The Universe
6- Hi-Fi Planets
7- Inner Solar System
8- The Giants
9- Strange Worlds
10- Science-Fiction Universe
11- Fantasy Worlds

Well, on my PC I have one Celestia Directory for each of them, so eleven Celestias, each of them with only the needed textures, the related Start.cel and Solarsys.ssc, and everything is needed to perform the given actions .
In the hundreds of messages that are available in the Forum, I haven't found if there is the possibility to gather things in the following way, e.g.:

start-1.cel with solarsys-1.ssc and textures-1 subdirectory
start-2.cel with solarsys-2.ssc and textures-2 subdirectory
start-3.cel with solarsys-3.sscand textures-3 subdirectory

and so on, but taking everything in the same Celestia directory, where everything is contained, as needed from ALL the start-XX.cel files.
Could it be possible?
Moreover this could be very useful when upgrading to new prereleses with the new .exe file only, because now I have to do it eleven times, a long work (plus one for etst purposes) .
I have to consider too the amount of add-ons that is growing up daily, and makes even more difficult to distribute them in the various directories .
Thank you for your patience .

By

Andrea

I don't understand why do you need different solarsys.ssc for each of the scripts, or different textures, unless you try to show the early solar system (or the future one). You could have all of it with the same textures and add-ons in the same folder... You can even play with the alternate textures option (I don't know, however, if you can alternate from script).

There is a way to start celestia with a different directory/script than the default; just give it in the command line:

celestia --dir <StartDirectory> -u <script.cel> (in Windows)

(I found it reading the source code. Cannot test until going home, I'm using a Linux machine now)

You can create a direct link with the complete command included, for each of the lessons.

As for the matter of past and future, you can cheat a little, replicating the Solar System in another nearby star... ;-) until my feature request of dynamical alteration of ssc/stc structures at run time becomes available (but don't wait awake for it...).

Javier.

PS: Oh oh, what's happening with shatters.net? It's pretty slow lately...

In the Preliminiary User's FAQ thread, Selden wrote the following:

- - - - - - - - - - - - -
When invoked from a command line, Celestia can be passed the name of a .CEL or .CELX script to run at startup:


When the command line includes the qualifier "-once", the command line will be passed to the running copy of Celestia instead of starting a new copy of the program.



A limitation in the current version of Celestia (to 1.3.1. pre6) is that your default directory must be the Celestia root directory and the scripts must be there, too. Otherwise Celestia will not be able to find the surface texture files for its objects.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -

I have not personally tried this in Windows XP, since DOS no longer exists as a runable program (ie. using a PIF file). I'm not sure how to make a runable icon on an XP desktop (yet). One may need to use the Start/Run options of Windows -- I'm just not sure. If someone knows how to do this, please post a message in the Celestia Scripting forum.

Also, due to Selden's the last paragraph, I'm not sure if you could use multiple directories with this either.

Just thought I'd pass it along in case you can figure out how to make it work <smile>. If/when you do, please post how you got it to work so I can add it to the Scripting Guide I'm working on. Thank you!

-Don

PS. There is a new Celestia Scripting forum available for all Scripting-related topics. And, it would be GREAT if you could post some of your scripts there too, for others to enjoy <smile>!

jamarsa wrote:I don't understand why do you need different solarsys.ssc for each of the scripts, or different textures, unless you try to show the early solar system (or the future one)

In the various .cel files, I need to use different textures of the same subject, e.g. the Earth.
If I'm showing "The Orrery", I need a very Lowres one, while in "The Solat System" I need a Medres one, and in "The Hi-Fi Planets" I need the 16k Hires texture (and the same for bumps, clouds, night textures, etc. at various resolution, as needed)
So, how can I use only one solarsys.ssc? I think it's impossible, at least actually. The proposed solution should have different solarsys.ssc files linked to different start.cel files, with 2k, 4k and 16k definition, respectively as in the above example.
[/quote]You could have all of it with the same textures and add-ons in the same folder... You can even play with the alternate textures option (I don't know, however, if you can alternate from script)[/quote]
I know alternating textures with typing, but how is it possible with the .cel file? And anyhow, how can I give the different planetary data for the same planet with different textures? I don't think this can be a solution.
[/quote]There is a way to start celestia with a different directory/script than the default; just give it in the command line:
celestia --dir <StartDirectory> -u <script.cel> (in Windows)
(I found it reading the source code. Cannot test until going home, I'm using a Linux machine now). You can create a direct link with the complete command included, for each of the lessons.[/quote]
I use a connection between the start.cel files and the icons I created on my desktop (look at my page). It works.
[/quote]As for the matter of past and future, you can cheat a little, replicating the Solar System in another nearby star... until my feature request of dynamical alteration of ssc/stc structures at run time becomes available (but don't wait awake for it...).
Javier. [/quote]
I have done this with "The Fantasy Worlds" and "The Universe", where I use many objects found in many extrasolar solar systems like Rassilon's ones or others, nebulae, a galaxy, pulsar, open clusters, the black hole and so on, as for the Earth one million years ago, the flattened Earth and Mars with Schiaparelli channels, all of them in orbit around G stars similar to the Sun.
So my problem is limited to the Solar System objects and their textures.

But now that I'm thinking on this, may be I can create extrasolarsys.ssc files, with the same data taken for the Solar System, and changing the resolution of the textures to be used (e.g., an exsolsys Hi-Fi.ssc, with Hires earth, Moon and Mars rotating aroung the star HIP XXXXX, similar to the Sun).
It's a little complicated to be done, and I would prefer a simpler way, but if there is nothing else...
Thank you Javier. Could be a solution!

By

Andrea

But now that I'm thinking on this, may be I can create extrasolarsys.ssc files, with the same data taken for the Solar System, and changing the resolution of the textures to be used (e.g., an exsolsys Hi-Fi.ssc, with Hires earth, Moon and Mars rotating aroung the star HIP XXXXX, similar to the Sun).
It's a little complicated to be done, and I would prefer a simpler way, but if there is nothing else...
Thank you Javier. Could be a solution!
By
Andrea[/quote]
Sorry, this GUEST was me, unopportunely unlogged. Excuse me

Andrea

Andrea wrote:I use a connection between the start.cel files and the icons I created on my desktop (look at my page). It works.

Great idea!

Nice web page too.

don wrote:

Andrea wrote:I use a connection between the start.cel files and the icons I created on my desktop (look at my page). It works.

Great idea!
Nice web page too.

Thank you Don, you are very kind .
Anyhow in the next days I'll have some free time, so I'll try if it works as I hope .
I have checked the Celestia list of stars, and I have found that the following ones have the same Sun Class (G2V):
RIGEL Kentaurus A
ZET1 Ret
HD10307
i Boo
NU2 Lup,

while BET Hyi is G2IV, so can be used the same .
I'll inform on the results.
By soon

Andrea

ANDREA wrote:I'll inform on the results.

Thank you Andrea.

I have not played with other star systems or creating my own because I want to keep my Celestia install "clean" (the way it comes in the download) for beta testing and documenting. But, it sure sounds exciting and I can't wait to "play" also.

-Don

don wrote:Thank you Andrea.

I have not played with other star systems or creating my own because I want to keep my Celestia install "clean" (the way it comes in the download) for beta testing and documenting. But, it sure sounds exciting and I can't wait to "play" also.

don, you can do as andrea: install celestia again in another directory, and add/modify whatever you want, without "tweaking" the test copy. A lot of people does the same way here (me included).

ANDREA wrote:If I'm showing "The Orrery", I need a very Lowres one,

andrea: sorry, my mistake. I didn't notice what an "Orrery" was until I saw your page (the word was not part of my vocabulary ). Sure, the problem is really different if you change the Solar System structure (that's why I quoted the ancient Solar System as special).

By the way, the Orrery is an excellent and original idea; proof of the flexibility of Celestia.

ANDREA wrote:If I'm showing "The Orrery", I need a very Lowres one,

andrea: sorry, my mistake. I didn't notice what an "Orrery" was until I saw your page (the word was not part of my vocabulary ). Sure, the problem is really different if you change the Solar System structure (that's why I quoted the ancient Solar System as special).
By the way, the Orrery is an excellent and original idea; proof of the flexibility of Celestia.[/quote]

Thank you Javier, very kind.
By soon

Andrea

jamarsa wrote:don, you can do as andrea: install celestia again in another directory, and add/modify whatever you want, without "tweaking" the test copy. A lot of people does the same way here (me included).

Hi Javier,

Hmmmm, I wouldn't really *install* it though, right? I would just copy the existing Celestia directory / folder (and sub-directories) to a new directory / folder (like "Celestia2") and then run that Celestia.exe instead of the actual "installed" one, yes?

I can't imagine how confused Windows and the Registry would get if I truly went through a "normal" second install and used a different directory / folder name. It might lose it's mind <laughing>!

Just want to make sure I do the right thing <smile>.

Thank you Javier.

-Don

don wrote:Hmmmm, I wouldn't really *install* it though, right? I would just copy the existing Celestia directory / folder (and sub-directories) to a new directory / folder (like "Celestia2") and then run that Celestia.exe instead of the actual "installed" one, yes?
I can't imagine how confused Windows and the Registry would get if I truly went through a "normal" second install and used a different directory / folder name. It might lose it's mind <laughing>!

Both methods are valid AFAIK. If you reinstall, the entries in the Registry would be overwritten with the new values, making .cel associations and cel://URLs point to the new directory. By copying you keep them pointing to the first installation. I did a quick review of celestia registry entries, and I think there wouldn't be any duplicates. But your method is simpler...

By the way, the -c option you quote must have been dropped, as there is no sign of it in the source, and I tried it with no result. The registry entry uses the -u option instead (I think the -c option was blended into the -u one for use with both URLs and script files).

jamarsa wrote: But your method is simpler...

Thanks Javier, I'm all for simple and safe.

By the way, the -c option you quote must be outdated, as there is no sign of it in the source, and I tried it without result. The registry entry uses the -u option instead (I think the -c option was blended into the -u one for use with both URLs and script files).

Hmmmm, Selden posted that one not too long ago, on July 4th. I've not tried it myself though (yet). Looking at the Windows .cel File Association information in File Manager, it too shows a "-u" ...

... but the -u might be for a different purpose? Or would the "%1" be replaced with the script name?

It would be nice to find out exactly what command-line options are available, what they do, and how to use them.

-Don

Command-line options (M$ Windows version):


--verbose: enable debug messages (only if compiled with DEBUG switch on).

--fullscreen: start Celestia in fullscreen mode.

--dir <path> : change root celestia directory to <path>.

-u <url>|<filename> : start in the given <url> or if the parameter is a script file, execute <filename>.

--once : tell a running instance of celestia to open a given URL. If no running instance, just ignored.

Command-line options (glut/gtk version):

-v [0|1] : enable debug mode.

Command-line options (KDE version):

<url> : start in the given url/execute script file.
--help : command-line help
...
(other common X/Qt/KDE options)

Wow!

Thank you Javier!

Celestia Sol similar stars:
http://yastro.narod.ru/hab_stars.txt

That's a very odd reason for thread necromancy there...

AlexA wrote:8) Celestia Sol similar stars:
http://yastro.narod.ru/hab_stars.txt

Thank you AlexA, appreciated.
By

Andrea