Alternate Surface problem

Have a question about using Celestia? Check here first for FAQs and helpful advice.
Forum rules
Please help to make this forum more useful by checking the FAQs before posting! Keep it clean, keep it civil, keep it truthful, stay on topic, be responsible, share your knowledge.
Avatar
Topic author
romanvida
Posts: 21
Joined: 06.12.2007
With us: 16 years 10 months

Alternate Surface problem

Post #1by romanvida » 30.06.2010, 12:14

Hi, :)
what am I to do with Celestia to make it display alternate surface of my extrasolar planet Kvarta near Alfa Centauri A? :? The planet itself with it`s own surface displayes all right, but the right click of mouse on it gives not an item "Alternative surfaces" in the menu window... This is a structure and the content of files of my addon that I placed into the folder "extras" of Celestia:

folder "Babula" - file "Babula.ssc"
______________folder "textures" - folder "medres" - file "Babula.ctx"
_____________________________________________folder "Babula" - file "Babula.jpg"

"Babula.ssc":
AltSurface "Babula" "ALF Cen A/Kvarta"
{
Texture "Babula.jpg"
}

"Babula.ctx":
VirtualTexture
{
ImageDirectory "Babula"
TileType "jpg"
}
Thanks!

Avatar
Hungry4info
Posts: 1133
Joined: 11.09.2005
With us: 19 years 1 month
Location: Indiana, United States

Re: Alternate Surface problem

Post #2by Hungry4info » 30.06.2010, 12:52

You toggle alt surfaces with the Keypad [+] (plus) key (by default).
Current Setup:
Windows 7 64 bit. Celestia 1.6.0.
AMD Athlon Processor, 1.6 Ghz, 3 Gb RAM
ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics

Avatar
Chuft-Captain
Posts: 1779
Joined: 18.12.2005
With us: 18 years 10 months

Re: Alternate Surface problem

Post #3by Chuft-Captain » 30.06.2010, 14:32

It looks as though you are getting confused between Alternate Surfaces and Virtual Textures.

Although an Alternate Surface may be a virtual texture made up of multiple levels of detail: http://www.lns.cornell.edu/~seb/celestia/brief_vt.html, it does not look as though that is what you intended here, as you make no mention of "levels" folders, etc..

It looks as though your alternate surface is represented by a single jpg image "Babula.jpg" rather than a VT.
If so, there is no need to deal with .ctx files, and you can just have a simple AltSurface declaration as below. You also need to move the file Babula.jpg into the medres folder.
You only need a CTX if your texture is a VT, so you can get rid of the CTX file.
You don't need the folder "Babula" either.

eg.

Code: Select all

AltSurface "Babula" "ALF Cen A/Kvarta"
{
Texture "Babula.jpg"
}


So, in summary:
    1. Keep Babula.ssc
    2. Move Babula.jpg into the medres folder.
    3. Delete the empty folder Babula
    4. Delete Babula.ctx
You're good to go.
"Is a planetary surface the right place for an expanding technological civilization?"
-- Gerard K. O'Neill (1969)

CATALOG SYNTAX HIGHLIGHTING TOOLS LAGRANGE POINTS

Avatar
Topic author
romanvida
Posts: 21
Joined: 06.12.2007
With us: 16 years 10 months

Re: Alternate Surface problem

Post #4by romanvida » 30.06.2010, 18:15

Thank you very much for your patience, but the item Alternate surface in the menu (right click to planet) does not appear yet! If I try this addon for Sol/Earth it works (only change "ALF Cen A/Kvarta" for "Sol/Earth"). :?

Avatar
Chuft-Captain
Posts: 1779
Joined: 18.12.2005
With us: 18 years 10 months

Re: Alternate Surface problem

Post #5by Chuft-Captain » 30.06.2010, 20:24

What is the name of the .SSC file which defines the actual Planet Kvarta itself?

If it is named Kvarta.ssc and is in the same folder as Babula.ssc, then it's possible (nay, likely) that the AltSurface is being loaded BEFORE the planet, so it will be ignored as the planet it references has not yet been defined.

Celestia tends to load files and folders in approximate alphabetical order, so your choice is either to place the Altsurface statement in the Planet's SSC (after the planet specification), or devise a naming convention for your SSC's which ensures that the Planet is loaded first.
eg.
    ALF-Cen-Planets.ssc
    ALF-Cen-Surfaces.ssc
might work.

Prob. the reason it works for Earth is that the standard data and standard extras that ship with Celestia are always loaded first, before your own extras.

CC
Last edited by Chuft-Captain on 30.06.2010, 20:36, edited 5 times in total.
"Is a planetary surface the right place for an expanding technological civilization?"
-- Gerard K. O'Neill (1969)

CATALOG SYNTAX HIGHLIGHTING TOOLS LAGRANGE POINTS

Avatar
selden
Developer
Posts: 10192
Joined: 04.09.2002
With us: 22 years 2 months
Location: NY, USA

Re: Alternate Surface problem

Post #6by selden » 30.06.2010, 20:27

"It works fine for me!"

I used a single SSC file to ensure that things are loaded in the correct order.

Code: Select all

"Kvarta" "Alf Cen A" {
    Radius 6000
    Texture "Kvarta.jpg"
    EllipticalOrbit { SemiMajorAxis 1 Period 1 }
}
AltSurface "Babula" "ALF Cen A/Kvarta" { Texture "babula.jpg"}
AltSurface "Babula" "Sol/Earth" { Texture "babula.jpg"}


I put babula.jpg in kvarta/textures/medres/
That's the same directory which contains Kvarta.jpg
I can see the babula alternate surface on both Kvarta and Earth.
(Of course, I'm using my own image files.)
Selden

Avatar
Chuft-Captain
Posts: 1779
Joined: 18.12.2005
With us: 18 years 10 months

Re: Alternate Surface problem

Post #7by Chuft-Captain » 30.06.2010, 20:38

Everything always works for you Selden. :wink:
"Is a planetary surface the right place for an expanding technological civilization?"
-- Gerard K. O'Neill (1969)

CATALOG SYNTAX HIGHLIGHTING TOOLS LAGRANGE POINTS

Avatar
selden
Developer
Posts: 10192
Joined: 04.09.2002
With us: 22 years 2 months
Location: NY, USA

Re: Alternate Surface problem

Post #8by selden » 30.06.2010, 20:41

But not always with the first try. Or even the tenth. You don't think I'd show them, do you? ;)
Selden

Avatar
Chuft-Captain
Posts: 1779
Joined: 18.12.2005
With us: 18 years 10 months

Re: Alternate Surface problem

Post #9by Chuft-Captain » 30.06.2010, 21:00

selden wrote:But not always with the first try. Or even the tenth. You don't think I'd show them, do you? ;)
Aha! That might explain why you're not the first responder on this thread as usual. 8)

EDIT: At this point Selden you should claim timezone differences.... :wink:
"Is a planetary surface the right place for an expanding technological civilization?"
-- Gerard K. O'Neill (1969)

CATALOG SYNTAX HIGHLIGHTING TOOLS LAGRANGE POINTS

Avatar
Topic author
romanvida
Posts: 21
Joined: 06.12.2007
With us: 16 years 10 months

Re: Alternate Surface problem

Post #10by romanvida » 03.07.2010, 20:31

Thank you all for your effort and willingness. Selden, your help is allways usefull and it works now too! Thank you! :wink: My planet Kvarta looks like this now, and its development is in progress:


Return to “Help Central”