Can anyone figure out how to make a photon torpedo?

[fsgregs]

Hi everyone:

I have been working with Reiko and fungun to create some new StarTrek scripts choreographed to music and sound effects. Two of those scripts would involve scenes recreated from different StarTrek movies. In both cases, we need to simulate a good photon torpedo. I would like to place it in motion via ssc and xyz files.

Here is an image of what a photon torpedo looks like:

photon torpedo.jpg

As you can see, it looks like a glowing blob of sparkly light. In a way, a star with flare texture would probably work ok, but I don't think Celestia will accept a star only 3 meters wide, nor will the program move a star in space with an ssc or xyz file. Obviously, however, Celestia has the ability to draw glowing objects, so a mesh that can mimic a star with flare texture would be fine. There is also the issue of sparkle. Sprites move in Celestia. Could this torpedo model somehow incorporate sprites streaming from it as it moves?

This is a short Youtube clip of a photon torpedo moving through space, fired from a ship. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r62c6QRxF1k

Would anyone be willing to design the torpedo for us?

As always, thanks in advance

Frank

[Hungry4info]

I don't suppose you could render an itty bitty star, could you?

[fungun]

Yea, I have tried dif approaches and nothing looks fuzzy or transparent enof.
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[chris]

Frank,

You could use a point sprite model, but this will only work in the OpenGL 2.0 render path. Let me know if you still want an example.

--Chris

[fsgregs]

Chris, I would love to see a point sprite model. Using it in OpenGL 2.0 is not a problem. Would you be willing to whip something up for us? THAT would be great!!!!!

The torpedo is supposed to be about 3 meters in diameter during flight. We intend to launch it from several different spacecraft models via ssc files and xyz files. Unfortunately, I have not yet learned the new ssc commands nor the new celx commands inside scripts that can control its movement but ... as it moves ... the effect that would be wonderful would be a kind of "sparkle". In fact, if I recall, the torpedo also rotated a bit as it moved ... to give the impression that it was a fluid ball of plasma (see the 2nd example of a torpedo firing in the video clip above).

Any help you could give us would be MOST appreciated

Thanks in advance

Frank

[Reiko]

How about making a model with spikes and then have it spin really really fast? Would that work?

[eburacum45]

A short string of semi-transparent spiky objects all rotating rapidly at different angles would look pretty good, in my opinion.