Creating space stations

Celestial_Planets · Post #1by **Celestial_Planets** » 16.10.2006, 03:18

I need help on creating space stations on my extrasolar stars. How can I create a Super space station in Celestia? How can I create my meshes? How can I create a space station path from earth to the stars?

Starshipwright · Post #2by **Starshipwright** » 16.10.2006, 04:36

Ok, just take it a step at a time.

To start with you need to have a 3D model in .3ds format. This means creating one yourself or finding on that is available for free use. There are a number of sites that offer 3D meshes on the Internet.

The you have to create a .ssc file for it.

Once you have that you create an add-on that goes in your extras file. You need to make sure that you have the directory structure right.

This is a VERY short description of the process. This is NOT a tutorial on how to do it! To truly understand it you need to find all the documentation that you can about creating and adding objects to Celestia and read it.

Seldon's List of Resource for Celestia is the best place to start

http://www.lepp.cornell.edu/~seb/celestia/

The best way I know to learn is to download some of the fictional add-ons that feature stations and study them to see how they have done it.

PS. You will have better luck getting an answer to questions like this in the Add-Ons forum.

Celestial_Planets · Post #3by **Celestial_Planets** » 17.10.2006, 22:32

Thanks.

I still have a question. How am I going to find any space station meshes if I don't have any skills? How am I going to create a SETI super space station and translate it to Celestia?

Post #4by **selden** » 17.10.2006, 22:33

1) download it from the Motherlode
2) post a request on Scifi-Meshes.com

p.s. or as suggested, take it a step at a time:

Draw layout plans for the spacestation
on paper (and scan them in) or using a paint program

find a simple-to-use 3D modelling package
(that's going to be a challange

)

import the drawings
use them as a reference to create the space station model

export the model in 3DS format
specify it in an SSC catalog file

Celestial_Planets · Post #5by **Celestial_Planets** » 17.10.2006, 22:36

Can anyone tell me where to find a 3ds creator package for Celestia?

Post #6by **selden** » 17.10.2006, 22:39

Several people here use Anim8or. It's free but not open-source.

I found it to be a lot easier to understand than Blender (which is free and open-source) or any of the commercial packages.

http://www.anim8or.com/

Celestial_Planets · Post #7by **Celestial_Planets** » 19.10.2006, 00:23

How can I create a space station using Anim8or? I don't even have the skills to become an expert at Anim8or.

Malenfant · Post #8by **Malenfant** » 19.10.2006, 00:33

Celestial_Planets wrote:How can I create a space station using Anim8or? I don't even have the skills to become an expert at Anim8or.

Well, start learning.

I've noticed that in all your questions you've posted so far on this board, it sounds like you want to run before you can walk. You need to learn the basics first, in all of the things you ask about - you can't just open a 3D modelling program and make a space station from scratch. You need to understand the concepts involved with modelling, start with basic shapes, understand how textures work, and so on. 3D modelling is complicated, and it takes time and effort to learn how to create things in it. Also, you can't make complex systems in Celestia without understanding the ssc and stc formats, and you can't make realistic systems without understanding how stars and planets and orbits should work and what they look like.

What you need to do really is walk away with all the new tools you have and play with them, read the manuals and help files (that part is especially important) and experiment and make things and understand how the programs work, and then come back and ask more specific questions that people can in practise help you with.

But right now, you're doing the equivalent of asking how you can do the cool car stunts that you've seen in a movie when you've only just bought your first car and you don't even know how to drive it yet. And that's not something that people can help you with really, beyond saying "learn the basics of driving first!"

I'm sure you do have the potential skills to learn anim8or, but the question really is whether you have the time and the inclination to learn how to use it.

Celestial_Planets · Post #9by **Celestial_Planets** » 19.10.2006, 00:59

Sounds like you're asking me if I would learn the basics first before the real deal would start. Well, the two basic things I would need to do is:

1. Start learning how to use simple shapes and sizes

2. Always use the proper techniques to consider the facts.

I just want to use the proper basics to get started, not go ahead of my plan and fail just like a failiure. First, I want to find the right people to help me use Anim8or. Next, I go step by step to make a SETI super space station. Then, I just export the file as 3ds. That's all there is to it. So let's find the right people for the right stuff and help me learn the basics.

Malenfant · Post #10by **Malenfant** » 19.10.2006, 04:30

Celestial_Planets wrote:I just want to use the proper basics to get started, not go ahead of my plan and fail just like a failiure. First, I want to find the right people to help me use Anim8or. Next, I go step by step to make a SETI super space station. Then, I just export the file as 3ds. That's all there is to it. So let's find the right people for the right stuff and help me learn the basics.

Sounds like a plan. However, "that's all there is to it" is a bit of an understatement - there's a lot to learn with 3D modelling, and it can take a long time to build models.

First I'd advise you to play with the program, get used to how it works, what the buttons do etc. Then do a small project, and see how that goes, and then work your way up.

If you want people to help you use anima8or, try some forums dedicated to it - like http://www.anim8or.org/pn/index.php?name=PNphpBB2 (this forum looks a bit better) or http://www.anim8or.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate ... tion=intro . But you need to ask better questions than "how do I make a space station?" - that's far too vague for anyone to help you with. People generally aren't willing to give you all the answers from scratch, largely because nobody knows what you've done to try to get there yourself.

What people usually want to hear when someone is asking for help is more specific, along the lines of "I've tried X and Y to make part of this model, but I can't get it to work. What I want to do is Z, I think I can do it using this tool, anyone got any suggestions?". That sort of thing shows that (a) you have some degree of experience with the process and (b) that you've made some effort to solve the problem yourself before turning to others for help - and that makes people more inclined and more able to actually help you.

Your plan sounds good. Learn the basics by tinkering with simple shapes and sizes. Learn how to merge objects, how textures work on different shapes and so on. You'll make mistakes, and you'll learn from them. Keep your ultimate goal in mind, and work slowly toward it and learn the modelling skills you need to get there. You won't learn how to make a "super SETI space station" (whatever that actually looks like) overnight, or even over a few days - it'll probably take a few weeks or months to get to that stage. If you're stuck go to the Anim8or forums (the anim8or.org one looks better) and ask the people there and they'll probably help you if you ask the right questions.