Hey this is a BIG-UP Celestia thread, ... and why not.
Indeed, Yes, I've got to say a big thankyou to everyone involved with this marvelous program, and to anyone else in the CELESTIA community. Late last year the company I worked for, (for 14 years) went out of business, so with some of my redundancy money I decided to buy a cheap computer with a GF2 400 graphics card that had a pre-installed driver. I didn't want anything special, just something I could practice using 'Word' on, for Job applications, and also for using spreadsheets to keep records and statistics of various sports, and my video collection of every Simpsons episode!
I didn't even have a basic e-mail or internet connection, as I figured it wouldn't be necesssary. Eventually I decided to get a 'pay as you go' dial up connection, and use this sparingly for job related things only.
However it wasn't long before I thought about getting more use out of my computer, so I started surfing for free downloadable software.
I've always had an interest in the solar system, the voyager mission, skylab, and space flight in general since I was a kid, and remembering the brilliant 1999 series by the BBC called 'The Planets' which inspired me to purchase the accompanying book, I thought I'd look for a solar system simulator (which I thought would be unlikely) or some astronomy software.
In amongst the list on my search engine was this program called 'CELESTIA v1.2.5' at ~11MB, which I thought seemed rather large compared to the 2 to 3 MB of the other programs that were listed (none of which I can remember now!). Anyway I decided to download it, because the description of being able to fly through space and visit planets and stars in 3D was beyond my biggest expectations for a free program.....but I had a problem, I couldn't get it to work once I had installed it - just the start-up screen, and then CRASH!!!! So I gave up on it and installed one of the lesser 2D programs instead.
After a month or so, and a general tidy up of my computer, I thought about CELESTIA again, I REALLY WANTED a 3d space simulator, preferably for FREE! Luckily I found a version 1.2.4 to download. Thinking this would be different, I thought I'd give it a try, and to my suprise it worked (what I thought was perfectly!)...AND IT BLEW MY MIND!
There was a link to the homepage, which is where I found out about add-ons....I couldn't believe it, the program could get even BETTER, with 3d models and larger and more detailed planet textures, etc!!!!
I must admit that I wasn't interested in even looking at the forum at first, but in the search for more add-ons, they eventually led me to it. I must say what a pleasant and helpful place I've found it to be, not to mention a marvelous source of more add-ons!
At first, the most valuable knowledge I gained was in using the latest drivers for my graphics card. Immediately this improved my Celestia viewing performance and I was able to install and run version1.2.5.!...FANTASTIC, Celestia had just got even better...and it's never looked back since!
Since those early days, I've become a forum member, and like Jack, started a new hobby in 3D modeling. I've increased my interest in the
fantastic and extremely interesting subject of space and astronomy, that I've always had some time for, but never really followed too closely.
I've also improved my knowledge of the PC and Windows XP, (including upgrading my graphics card twice and connecting to broadband internet, who say's Celestia is FREE!
) ,and you never know, I might even get round to producing a website! Finally and most importantly, I've made some new friends....from outside of Yorkshire......
......CELESTIA is a true inspiration!
Here's to the future!
TERRIER
PS Oh yes, and the moral of this story is; don't buy a cheap PC with a pre-installed graphics card, you might not be as lucky as me!
1.6.0:AMDAth1.2GHz 1GbDDR266:Ge6200 256mbDDR250:WinXP-SP3:1280x1024x32FS:v196.21@AA4x:AF16x:IS=HQ:T.Buff=ON Earth16Kdds@15KkmArctic2000AD:FOV1:SPEC L5dds:NORM L5dxt5:CLOUD L5dds:
NIGHT L5dds:MOON L4dds:GALXY ON:MAG 15.2-SAP:TIME 1000x:RP=OGL2:10.3FPS
) and stayed a while in its neighbourhood while watching its moons circling around it, with the sun occasionally appearing and disappearing in the distance.
