Celestia Forums

Hello:

If we already have the pre-release 11 installed, do we need any other files from the final distribution other than celestia.exe?

Tim

This is always a good question.
And one Chris doesn't talk about much.

So best thing to do is Install the new Celestia to a new Folder
and copy across any file that is new that what you have.

I see your point; this is actually a different suggestion than has been made elsewhere, I think. In other posts, it was suggested to install the new version of Celestia, and then copy the various add-ons from the old version of Celestia to the new version. This is very time-consuming if one has a lot of add-ons. But your suggestion is to copy newer files from the new version over the old version. This would seem to be easier.

Tim

I tried the tips given in this thread to install Celestia 1.3.1
I had tried previously downloading Celestia 1.3.1, then copying all files from Celestia 1.3.1pre11 to Celestia 1.3.1. I was not happy with the result.
This time I downloaded Celestia 1.3.1 to its own folder in C: The download named this folder simply Celestia, which I accepted. Registry-wise, this download replaced my previous version with this new version which it chose to name Celestia 1.3.1. At this point I have two versions of Celestia on drive C bearing the same name, namely Celestia. I will refer to one version as Celestia 1.3.1, the other as Celestia 1.3.1pre11. Note that it is unwise to attempt to change names of these two versions (registry concerns).
I then copied all folders and files from Celestia 1.3.1 on to Celestia 1.3.1pre11. I did this by opening Celestia 1.3.1 and highlighting all files and folders; then simply drag & drop to Celestia 1.3.1pre11.
I then opened Celestia 1.3.1pre11 and created a shortcut to Celestia.exe (this is actually a shortcut to the Celestia 1.3.1 exe file).
I then created a restore point in WinXP for this exact configuration.
I then uninstalled Celestia 1.3.1 from my computer (keeping my fingers crossed). I then started Celestia 1.3.1 from the shortcut I had created. Everything works fine. My Blue Marble 32k texture is still there, as are my other addons.
As expected, Celestia now opens with the Jupiter moon Io. The cursor is the new Celestia 1.3.1 cursor.
The two questions I have are the following:
1. How do I get Celestia to open with Earth? I forgot how to do this.
2. What do I do about Control Panel\Add or Remove Programs? There is no longer an entry there for Celestia, since I "uninstalled" it. At present I can go back to my previous configuration by doing a System Restore. But then I am left with two versions of Celestia. At present I have only one version of Celestia, namely Celestia 1.3.1 with all of my addons, in a folder named Celestia 1.3.1pre11. Everything works as it should. I guess maybe one need not worry about this. When a future release of Celestia is released, it will create it's own entry in Add or Remove Programs. The fact is however that I have no way of uninstalling the present version of Celestia.
One final remark. Chris, or Selden for that matter, may not agree with this procedure, but it sure as heck beats having to install all of your addons to the downloaded Celestia 1.3.1.

Dollard,

The script Celestia\start.cel tells Celestia where to go when it starts up. Just change "Sol/Jupiter/Io" to "Sol/Earth". You also could remove the # symbols from in front of the other lines if you want to see where Chris lives

I'm not a registry hacker so I can't answer your second question. Sorry.

I keep all of my addons in the folder \extras\Addons\ and avoid making major modifications to any of the files that come with Celestia. That way I only have to drag one folder from one Celestia directory to the next.

Actually that's misleading. I really keep all of my addons in a completely different directory tree, away from Celestia. Each addon has its own folder within the "holding" directory. I drag individual folders back and forth from the Holding folder to Celestia's Addons folder, depending on which addon I want to see.

"Dragging a folder" is very quick. Windows (or MacOS X or Linux) does not copy all the files. Instead it "renames" the directory folder from within one directory into another. It just deletes one pointer and creates another one.

Hi Selden,
I had tried your method of upgrading Celestia. Actually you tried to help me in doing this when I first was introduced to Celestia. I guess I never really caught on to this method. For example, the 32k texture Blue Marble I had installed in Extras\Addons. But the instructions for installing Blue Marble must have included alterations to other files. When I copied my Addons folder to Extras of the downloaded Celestia 1.3.1, the texture just did not show up. The same applies to the installation of other addons. You lose the ReadMe files that come with these and then you are in trouble. Sorry about that. I guess I am too dense.
Dollard

Dollard,

Whenever someone recommends modifying any of the files that come with Celestia, that "raises a red flag" for me.

I ask myself "What could I do that would avoid this change?" There's always some way. It might not produce as "slick" a result as modifying Celestia's files, but I simply can't afford the time to untangle the differences every time I upgrade Celestia. I always upgrade as soon as Chris mentions a new prerelease is available. And sometimes sooner

For example: a new virtual surface texture does not require a change to solarsys.ssc. It can be added using its own Addon directory, containing an SSC file that contains an AltSurface directive. The currently selected AltSurface name is one of the things the Windows version of Celestia writes to the registry when it exits, so you'll see it again when you restart Celestia.

If I want to change a planet in ways that AltSurface can't handle, like the CloudMap, one trick is to create an Addon that has an SSC file that defines an entirely new planet that's identical to the old one but has a slightly larger radius. The new body gets drawn on top of the old one, completely hiding it.

Also, the resolution commands work fine for AltSurfaces. A new CloudMap image could be supplied in an Addon's hires directory. Typing an "R" will make it visible.

Does this help at all?

This is what I do, too.
Adding a new texture as an AltSurface in an extras directory is certainly the best option - it doesn't mess with the default textures, and any misalignment of the new texture is immediately visible as you toggle between the orginal and the new.
This can save a lot of hassle and confusion.

Grant

Selden,
After further experimentation, I agree with you that your method is the best.

I really keep all of my addons in a completely different directory tree, away from Celestia. Each addon has its own folder within the "holding" directory. I drag individual folders back and forth from the Holding folder to Celestia's Addons folder, depending on which addon I want to see.

I like the idea of keeping a different directory, separate from Celestia, with all the addons each in their own folder.
I was finally able to get the Blue Marble textures to work in Celestia 1.3.1 using this method.
You can expect to hear from me if I run into difficulties.
Thank you again.
Dollard