Celestia Forums

Kudos to Chris for a very nice - free - planetarium software!

I just wanted to inform the group that StarStrider v2.0 has finally been released - a somewhat similar, yet also much different 3D planetarium software. Read more here: http://www.starstrider.com/

The two programs both have their particular strengths and weaknesses. E.g. Celestia has nice space craft models, add-ons and extra-solar planets. While StarStrider has things like optional anaglyph stereo rendering, relativistic motion effects, et c. It is also perhaps a bit more aimed at photo-realism and scientific accuracy.
But the real astronomy-buff should of course have both!

I trust no one will be angry with me because of this (shameless?) plug for my own software in this forum!

/ Markus / FMJ-Software

http://www.fmjsoft.com/ + http://www.starstrider.com/

Hmmm...for $60.00 It really didnt impress me...Looks more like an arcade game than realistic...but thats my opinion...

The stars look fake though the lens flares look cool...and well the stars up close look better in Celestia..due to the fact you can see more texturing than what was done there...

Given time, Celestia will dominate that software...easy

Rassilon,

Did you see the comparison with a real photo-graph?
(http://www.starstrider.com/photocomp.html)
We've done more such comparisons, not only for stars, but also for planet et c, in order to get it too look as close as possible to the best available real photographs.
NB, you can select among several star rendering modes - from 'tradtional planetarium' to simulations of how 'your own eyes' see the sky, to the one that simualtes a larger telescope + camera with the typical 'cross' that these kinds of optics generates for bright objects (compare e.g. with the stars in the famous photographs made by David Malin). These latter may feel kind of 'fake' as they certainly do not look like the stars do when you look at them with your own eyes. Or as you are used to seeing them when you, ahem, ahem, look at them in Star Trek and other sci-fi movies... But it all depends on what you're trying to simulate, and as mentioned you can choose among several different modes.

Regading viewing stars 'up close', the only star that we know how it looks like up close is our own sun - there's no knowing for sure what others look like (altough we can of course theorize). The 'texturing' (sun-spots? ...) that Celestia renders is of course a 'cool effect' but does not indicate any kind of scientific truth or knowledge. But let's now take this discussion too seriously

Best regards,

/ Markus

Yeah I noticed that after using it for a while...No landing on planets?

If you were to include the ability to land on planets...surface features like mountains using texture color mapping...modding features where someone could add thier own planets...even cities on those planets...I would consider paying 60 for it...

I can see you put alot of work into it and all...but without all those features...well including the ability to travel ouside the galaxy...allowing selection/travel to option like in Celestia (other than clicking on an object...Having a menu of stars and planets would be nice....I personally think few will buy it at that price...I think its only worth maybe $24.95 right now...Like Celestia...If Chris would put a price on it I could see paying that much for it...or yours...

But who knows...

A menu of stars and planets: Why isn't this your lucky day! It's already there and is called the 'Object finder' in StarStrider the menu (under the 'Navigation' section). Or try the short-cut key: F5

Selection/travel to options: There's lot's of stuff for selecting and navigating! Also for orbiting et c. Try the above mentioned menu again! There are also lots and lots of controls for 'free flight' with your virtual space-craft - and you can use the keyboard, mouse, joystick, or any other controller supported by DirectX. It's even completely user configurable! NB, this is all in the manual, but if this is too boring to read, then try the introductory tutorial called 'Controls and options'.

Landing on planets: If we could do that then I guess we could save NASA all the expensive of sending out space probes all over the solar system . Seriously though, apart Earth itself, the only one of all the planets and the major satellites for which there is an elevation map that is even close to being accurate and detailed enough to do a 'low flyover' is Mars. (It was made from data collected by the MOLA instrument on the MGS spacecraft). And doing this properly would not only be enough work to warrant making it a program of its own, it would probably also require that the program be distributed on a DVD to fit in all the data.

Surface features: I'm not sure what you mean by "texture color mapping" - mapping a colored textures is already the first and most basic step in our rendering (as it is in Celestia). We then add many additional rendering steps (I'm particularly proud of the 6-step rendering of the Earth). Did you perhaps mean 'bump mapping'? Don't get me started on why I believe bump mapping of something like e.g. Luna is totally inappropriate and unscientific...

Best regards,

/ Markus / http://www.starstrider.com/

Where is the linux port? 60$?

The Celestia forum is not the place for a discussion of StarStrider's features. This thread seems in danger of degenerating into some hopeless Celestia vs StarStrider discussion.

--Chris

On texture color...it is used by openGL to render high and low points when landscaping...thats what I ment by that...Not sure of the proper termination is all

Anyways Im sure your program is fine for most people...Good luck to you...

Chris,

I certainly agree that any discussion of StarStrider features should be directed to the proper forum, i.e.: http://www.starstrider.com/forum/. I just could not resist replying to Rassilon to clear up a missunderstanding or two.

/ Markus

Well, I must say that although I wouldn't BUY the program, it DOES have some hard to find textures, such as Epimetheus, Thebe and Pandora...
Look like the real deal from Voyager images...
Just go to the Starstrider link and in their "Download" section click on the Large Texture File

The problem is, fmj, that we're pretty much an OpenSource community, where many people try to help each other. Celestia is also a Project done in free time and for no commericial goal whatsoever. Texture makers are spending much time here and posting their additions to textures and making it possible to include them in this project - where you are coming now and trying to tell people to look at your own undoubtedly nice space simulator, that you're offering for 60 dollars.
Frankly, many things look copied from celestia or similar, even if it might not be so, you have to understand the strong feelings involved here.

The original message was posted back in May . . .

Also, Alexis is one of the co-authors of StarStrider, but also an active contributor on this forum, so don't be too hard on StarStrider It does do some things that Celestia does not, like render relativistic effects.

--Chris

Thilo wrote:The problem is, fmj, that we're pretty much an OpenSource community, where many people try to help each other. Celestia is also a Project done in free time and for no commericial goal whatsoever. Texture makers are spending much time here and posting their additions to textures and making it possible to include them in this project - where you are coming now and trying to tell people to look at your own undoubtedly nice space simulator, that you're offering for 60 dollars.
Frankly, many things look copied from celestia or similar, even if it might not be so, you have to understand the strong feelings involved here.

I suppose that was my original feelings....but hell I suppose if I wanted too I could sell some of my texture work if Chris ever decided to commercialise Celestia...but I personally wouldnt feel right about that....but then hell shareware doesnt feed our kids does it?

I think its a good job and all but part of me still doesnt like capitalism I suppose due to bad experience...sorry fmj...Alexis...Your program is nice

If there is no Linus port, I can't use it.

Unless there is a Solaris or Irix port

Tough the program itself is fine enough, the prize of $60 is a little high, dont you think?
Sure the program is all good, and I liked it, but I wont pay $60 bucks for it just yet; maybe in future version with more features and such, we will see...


And also I belive that given time, Celestia will dominate this genre of programs easily.
Of course I could be wrong, and I dont want to start a discussion about that here.


Anyway; StarStrider 2 is a very nice effort, and I can see you have put a great amount of work in it, but I belive the prize is a little too high for the current state of the program.
Other then that; its all pretty good.


Stargazer.

Hi FMJ,

of course it's nice to see some other ppl putting effort into a similar application. Especially when some of them also support Celestia. And of course you try to differenciate your app from Celestia in such a situation.

But since Celestia is such advanced, portable, free and a community effort in a lot of respects Starstrider will probably have a hard stand against it.

Secondly a year ago you simply deleted my post from the starstrider forum regarding a comparism of booth apps and don't have probs to start one here?

I try to be fair, but still I don't know where to put this, I'm sorry.

CU, Axel

just had a look at starstrider and was not impressed not after seeing what celestia can do and with a price tag of us$60 no thanks