Star style

[redapple]

Hey

Im running 1.5.1 and i have a question: is there any way to get star style like in 1.3.2 for example? I mean, i cant get any other style than little white pixels, "Points" and pressing "More, Fewer Stars Visible" causes only increasing and decreasing Labels amount:

1.5.1
http://pics1.frozenbear.com/i/picfu1/2009/01/05/12/1/f/3/1f30477df7f0e18e91205e52ae79914b0_main.jpg
http://pics1.frozenbear.com/i/picfu1/2009/01/05/12/9/2/0/9204dba233f3ce607817e4334de9fd870_main.jpg
1.3.2
http://pics1.frozenbear.com/i/picfu1/2009/01/05/12/0/1/6/0164a6522887fe5c5c2c0b39eaf5f3140_main.jpg
http://pics1.frozenbear.com/i/picfu1/2009/01/05/12/4/6/a/46ac53333c43e2955fcf63c5120fff660_main.jpg

As you can see, im running Vista x86 with SP1, under Core 2 Duo, ATI Radeon X1600 PCI-E with latest drivers and updates.

And other question, by the way - when can we expect 1.6.0?

[selden]

You can type Ctrl-S (hold down the Ctrl key and type an s) to step through the three different Star Styles: scaled discs, fuzzy points and points. They're also available in the Render menu.

[redapple]

Eh.. i was trying to say that i dont have other two - theres just "Points". My english is THAT bad?

Anyway, pressing Ctrl+S still gives me only "Points" style.

[Reiko]

Not sure why you can't change the star style, definitely have something wrong there. You can try updating to the 1.6.0. pre by getting it here. http://cartrite.cedhost.com/index.html
Just download the Celestia SVN and follow the instructions.
To get rid of so many star labels the only way I know how is to simple turn the labels off. You won't see any labels at all but at least your screen won't be flooded with them if you increase the magnitude.

[t00fri]

Eh.. i was trying to say that i dont have other two - theres just "Points". My english is THAT bad?

Anyway, pressing Ctrl+S still gives me only "Points" style.

CTRL+S works fine for all of us in all OS. So why not detailing a bit about your system, OS etc...? The bug is definitely on your side. Did you install a fresh binary Celestia, did you compile the sources yourself, etc??


Fridger

[redapple]

Well, still doesnt work for me - theres just "Points" and a lot of labels (but they dont bother me).

[t00fri]

Well, still doesnt work for me - theres just "Points" and a lot of labels (but they dont bother me).

Then switch the labels off, if you prefer. What's your screen resolution?

Fridger

[redapple]

Fresh Celestia downloaded from site, serveral times; you can find my OS/hardware info in first post - Windows Vista x86 PL with SP1 and latest updates; Core 2 Duo E6300, ATI Radeon X1600 PCI-E with latest drivers; MB Gigabyte GA8I945 GZME-RH; 1280x1024 res.

As far as i remember problem start to occur after 1.4.x release, when i had my old PC - Windows XP SP3 PL, Celeron 700, NVidia GForce 2 MX200.

[selden]

Fresh Celestia downloaded from site, serveral times;

Which Celestia from which site? There are multiple versions available from multiple locations.

you can find my OS/hardware info in first post - Windows Vista x86 PL with SP1 and latest updates; Core 2 Duo E6300, ATI Radeon X1600 PCI-E with latest drivers; MB Gigabyte GA8I945 GZME-RH; 1280x1024 res.

Exactly what driver versions did you download from what site? Too often people say "latest updates" but it turns out that they got old ones from the wrong place.

Also, did you remember to reboot twice: once after deinstalling the old drivers and again after installing the new ones? Not rebooting both times usually leaves the old low-level drivers installed, which too often are not quite compatible with the new high-level drivers.

As far as i remember problem start to occur after 1.4.x release, when i had my old PC - Windows XP SP3 PL, Celeron 700, NVidia GForce 2 MX200.

In what directory did you install Celestia?

Strange problems are often seen when it is installed in the default C:\Program Files folder under Vista. Please uninstall Celestia, create your own folder for 3rd party programs (e.g. C:\UserPrograms [note: no space!] ) and install it there.

[BobHegwood]

In what directory did you install Celestia?

Strange problems are often seen when it is installed in the default C:\Program Files folder under Vista. Please uninstall Celestia, create your own folder for 3rd party programs (e.g. C:\UserPrograms [note: no space!] ) and install it there.

Selden,

You should install Celestia under Vista in the 32-bit default program files directory.
This is "Program Files (x 86)" on my 64-bit Vista machine. I have had no problems
with my installation using this directory, and again, this is the default directory for
32-bit programs.

Just FYI...

Thanks, Bob

[chris]

There have been all sorts of problems with point sprites on ATI graphics cards, and these could be causing the problem with star styles other than point stars. In version 1.5.1 for Mac we had to disable point sprite support for all ATI graphics cards in order to make stars work properly. It's possible that we may have to do the same thing on the PC. If anyone running Windows with an ATI graphics card is reading this, please report on whether or not all star styles are working.

--Chris

[Reiko]

I'm using an old ATI x800xl with two year old driver and I get three different star style options.
points
fuzzy points
scaled discs

[redapple]

god, thank you so much chris - everything is cleared now.

also my faith in mankind is restored, because some people here are so bloody rude, and some should read precisely what other people write.

i understand thats now a reported but?

Reiko, maybe its about different chip architecture - you have R420 and mine is R520 series

[chris]

i understand thats now a reported but?

Yes, consider it reported. We still need to gather more information about what systems this problem happens on.

Reiko, maybe its about different chip architecture - you have R420 and mine is R520 series

[/quote]

It's probably due to the fact that Reiko is using an older ATI driver. Old versions (on the PC at least) had no trouble with point sprites, which is the feature used when to draw stars in the 'fuzzy points' and 'discs' modes.

--Chris