Some quick previews... [Large graphics inside]

[ElChristou]

[Alien Sun]

So, a big chunk of the rock hit the planet?
And a acreation disk? You are making me impaitent.

Seeing the previews I downloaded the Version 2 Billows Maiden, great stuff. The previews of the next version make even better.

[fsgregs]

Runar:

OK ... droooolllllll!!!!!!

WHEN do you think you might be ready to release this new, spectacular work?

Frank

[rthorvald]

WHEN do you think you might be ready to release this

Late this fall, i think. Certainly before christmas. There??s a lot to do yet...

- rthorvald

[rthorvald]

Fauna aside, the artifacts are also in for an upgrade. This is the Orion
starship, at arrival.



- rthorvald

[buggs_moran]

Good friggin' bugblatter beasts!!! Okay, what's the tiny stuff near the nose of the ship, more goodies?

[bh]

Blimey Runar....out of this world!

[Dollan]

I'm *really* hoping that I get my new system up and running soon, now! I know the release of this project isn't slated for a while, but seeing these previews really makes my mouth water for the ones that have already been released.

The new system will be a Pentium 4 2.8ghz, 700-some mb of ram. The only hold up at the moment is finding a PCI video card that will be worth the effort (I don't know why, but this motherboard was made without any AGP slots....)

...John...

[Malenfant]

I though Orion ships were supposed to be really long (to keep the habitation modules away from the nasty radiation at the back)? Or is this some alternative design? Looks nice either way

[Fightspit]

Again one screenshot, my eyes will EXPLODE

[Dollan]

I though Orion ships were supposed to be really long (to keep the habitation modules away from the nasty radiation at the back)? Or is this some alternative design? Looks nice either way

I think that this is the ship after it has arrived at its destination and dropped off the spent tanks and drive modules -- which in itself is an alternative design; wasn't the thing supposed to speed on through its target system and simply drop off some probes along the way? Or am I thinking of Daedalus?

...John...

[selden]

Daedalus was the unmanned probe designed by the British Interplanetary Society to drop off smaller probes during a high-speed flyby.

(I'd expect there to be more shock absorbers between the pusher plate and the body of the Orion shown above.)

[t00fri]

Runar,

of course the atmosphere and the art aspects of your
image are just great! But still I wonder why there is no
anti-alias switched on e.g. here:




Cheers,
Fridger

[rthorvald]

I though Orion ships were supposed to be really long
(to keep the habitation modules away from the nasty radiation at the
back)? Or is this some alternative design? Looks nice either way

Why should it be long to avoid that? The bombs will detonate several
kilometers behind the ship, so the relatively small size of the rocket won??t
matter much. It??s the thickness and material of the pusher plate that??s
important. It??s somewwhere around a hundred meters thick...

Here??s the design i based it on: Dyson??s so-called super-orion... It is as
big as a city, weighs 8 million tons, and holds thousands of people (the
image to the right on the page):
http://www.astronautix.com/lvfam/orion.htm
... This is the *slow* version, top speed about 0.1c. Using it to go to Alpha
Centauri would take almost 2000 years... So, it is a generation ship.

There exist several alternative designs, and something like this will most
surely never be built: there are much faster (and smaller) Orion concepts,
most notably the "ablative" design that will need much less shielding and a
very thin pusher plate. But that was too tiny for my taste... When setting
out to colonize a star system, you need a full, working society from day one,
or you won??t be able to maintain the technological level for long...

I think that this is the ship after it has arrived at its
destination and dropped off the spent tanks and drive modules - which in
itself is an alternative design

No, the ship brakes down and goes into orbit. No reason to throw anything
away, since it can be as big as one wants: there are no restrictions. Carry
as much fuel (bombs) as neccecary to do whatever you want to. (On a
side note, Von Braun suggested that the pusher plate be constructed of
uranium so one could use it, too, as fuel after arriving in the star system).

This one brakes down by swinging by a gas giant (Aegir) first, then a
terrestrial planet (Himinglaeva) a few years later. The last leg by turning
around and detonating a million bombs ahead of it...
Here??s the trajectory:

And here it is braking "under power", with only days to go until arrival at Hroenn:


... Note that the ship goes in backwards: the planet will simply pass by
the ship while it is braking: motion here is from right to left for both the
planet and the ship.

- rthorvald

[rthorvald]

of course the atmosphere and the art aspects of your
image are just great! But still I wonder why there is no
anti-alias switched on

Thanks!
As for the question, i don??t know: maybe a limitation the graphics card? (nvidia geforce fx 5200).
Or maybe the Celestia version (Dirkpitts unofficial 1.4.2 build) I have little
knowledge on this subject... All i know is that i have everything turned on that can
possibly be turned on...

- rthorvald

[fsgregs]

Runar:

I am utterly amazed. What a stunning add-on

I sure hope you are planning a long and detailed script for this add-on that will take us to all the great places in the Ran system, and tell us what we are seeing as we go. Given the level of detail you have here, a 30 minute script is probably not long enough.

With your approval, I would love to take students on a special imaginative journey through the entire Ran system, as a new, stand-alone educational activity. I could easily imagine a 2 hour trip, describing some of your worlds, their lifeforms, the spacecraft and technology of the far future, etc.

As such, I would be honored to work with you over the coming months to put such a script together, if you feel you could use some assistance. It is a time-consuming task to develop these things.

Regards

Frank

[rthorvald]

As such, I would be honored to work with you over the coming months to put such a script together, if you feel you could use some assistance. It is a time-consuming task to develop these things

Frank, i have some plans. I??ll PM you about it.

- rthorvald

[rthorvald]

Those of you that downloaded V2 might recognize this place, a thousand
years after Orion:

(The models are new, and much lighter).

- rthorvald

[Fightspit]

Again one screenshot, my eyes will EXPLODE

....

[rthorvald]

I am also putting some effort into developing the background
story for the scenario more. Now one can watch not only
nightlights spreading over time, but also places on the surface
developing and changing. Here??s an island community about five
hundred years up:


- rthorvald