Shortcomings and wishes
Posted: 09.12.2003, 12:22
While my previous posting (http://www.shatters.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=27330#27330) was full of praise, it wouldn't be me if I didn't also have a list of shortcomings of Celestia, as well as a wishlist.
Being a newbie here, I may have missed some obvious stuff. If so, I apologize, and ask you kindly to point me to relevant sources. If not: is there an official address for feature requests? Is it Paolo Angeli's site?
Shortcomings
1. One of the things most bothering me when using Celestia is that there is no 'find object' command. You have to exactly know the name of an object if you want to go there. Even spelling matters. It would be nice if Celestia would present you a list of objects matching the entered term to select from. But also see item 2.
2. Celestia has a 'star browser' and a 'solar system browser' but no 'deep space browser'. Thus I find it very hard to find back installed add-ons. I do not know all deep space objects by their official name (e.g. Rosetta is NCG 2237?) and it would be nice to browse deep space objects from within Celestia.
Even better: why not one object browser, with all stars, deep space objects, solar systems and other objects integrated? Of course it would have to be dynamic, in the sense that the solar system part would reflect your current position. But most important is that it would hold all standard objects + installed add-ons.
3. Using the star browser I find I cannot sort the stars by name. Clicking the column header does not result in an alphabetical order of the star names.
4. The add-on manual of Selden Ball is indispensable. Which is not a good sign. It has taken me quite some time to get a number of add-ons installed correctly, and I am no computer-illiterate. So, a way to easily add add-ons from within Celestia would greatly improve the user experience.
Wishlist
1. Celestia has all the needed data to serve as plantery software, meaning that it could offer to let you watch the sky as seen from Earth, for your particulat location, and with realistic positions and magnitudes of space objects, including constellations.
However, there is no mode to position yourself on a planet and then watch the sky (right?)
2. I sometimes manage to get exactly the view I want in Celestia. At that moment I'd like to save the current data, as startoff for a script. Even better, I would like to record script 'on the fly', while navigating. Is any such feature in the make?
3. Celestia objects have three dimensions: X,Y and Z. But you can also travel in time, so in fact objects would need a fourth dimension: time. This way you could store evolutionary data of an object, and visit as it was ages or million years ago, or as it will be in the future.
Imagine what possibilities this would open: star forming, planet formning, red giants evolving to neutron stars, creation of black holes,....
4. Random events and objects
To enhance the idea of travelling though space, it would be great to allow for random events and objects in Celestia, with adjustable parameters for density (in space) and amount (in time). I can imagine a few 'virtual objects' to be present in Celestia that manifest themselves every now and then in a random location. Simulated supernova outbursts, pulsars speeding up, gamma-ray outbursts, suns blowing up to gigantic portions. While travelling space your attention would then be attracted by some phenomenon where you can go to (if you are fast enough..)
I agree that this is avery 'game-like' wish, but it would make it even more exciting to start travelling in Celestia.
Paul
Being a newbie here, I may have missed some obvious stuff. If so, I apologize, and ask you kindly to point me to relevant sources. If not: is there an official address for feature requests? Is it Paolo Angeli's site?
Shortcomings
1. One of the things most bothering me when using Celestia is that there is no 'find object' command. You have to exactly know the name of an object if you want to go there. Even spelling matters. It would be nice if Celestia would present you a list of objects matching the entered term to select from. But also see item 2.
2. Celestia has a 'star browser' and a 'solar system browser' but no 'deep space browser'. Thus I find it very hard to find back installed add-ons. I do not know all deep space objects by their official name (e.g. Rosetta is NCG 2237?) and it would be nice to browse deep space objects from within Celestia.
Even better: why not one object browser, with all stars, deep space objects, solar systems and other objects integrated? Of course it would have to be dynamic, in the sense that the solar system part would reflect your current position. But most important is that it would hold all standard objects + installed add-ons.
3. Using the star browser I find I cannot sort the stars by name. Clicking the column header does not result in an alphabetical order of the star names.
4. The add-on manual of Selden Ball is indispensable. Which is not a good sign. It has taken me quite some time to get a number of add-ons installed correctly, and I am no computer-illiterate. So, a way to easily add add-ons from within Celestia would greatly improve the user experience.
Wishlist
1. Celestia has all the needed data to serve as plantery software, meaning that it could offer to let you watch the sky as seen from Earth, for your particulat location, and with realistic positions and magnitudes of space objects, including constellations.
However, there is no mode to position yourself on a planet and then watch the sky (right?)
2. I sometimes manage to get exactly the view I want in Celestia. At that moment I'd like to save the current data, as startoff for a script. Even better, I would like to record script 'on the fly', while navigating. Is any such feature in the make?
3. Celestia objects have three dimensions: X,Y and Z. But you can also travel in time, so in fact objects would need a fourth dimension: time. This way you could store evolutionary data of an object, and visit as it was ages or million years ago, or as it will be in the future.
Imagine what possibilities this would open: star forming, planet formning, red giants evolving to neutron stars, creation of black holes,....
4. Random events and objects
To enhance the idea of travelling though space, it would be great to allow for random events and objects in Celestia, with adjustable parameters for density (in space) and amount (in time). I can imagine a few 'virtual objects' to be present in Celestia that manifest themselves every now and then in a random location. Simulated supernova outbursts, pulsars speeding up, gamma-ray outbursts, suns blowing up to gigantic portions. While travelling space your attention would then be attracted by some phenomenon where you can go to (if you are fast enough..)
I agree that this is avery 'game-like' wish, but it would make it even more exciting to start travelling in Celestia.
Paul
