[GT-Keravnos]

http://www.scalingtheuniverse.com/show_image.php?image=images/UniViewFullSize/Exo.jpg

This, the map of the Near to Earth stars, as they are shown rotating in 3d, as part of a program called uniview, a professional program used in Planitariums and universities in order to show exactly where the planets are, especially in relation to each other. Nothing can come close to having a 3d image of the near universe, since, the universe around us, is in 3d. Having it moving around, rotating gives an appropriate perception of the actual universe around us that the 2d monitor, well, isn't suited to provide.

In the following address, is the program mentioned.

http://www.scalingtheuniverse.com/index.php

Is it possible to have a similar way to portray the near universe around us, shown that way? Can one of those coding genius that are part of the team figure out a way to replicate this, in order to provide a way to depict the universe around us, not as a still image, but as a moving sphere (Earth would be on its center and the sphere would envelop the Earth all around). Think of a globe of the Earth, it would be like being inside one looking outwards.

This would make for a far more interesting map. It would also allow for some very interesting campaigns, once the map has been updated to look exactly like we know the universe around us to be like. I realize that this is only a game, not to be taken too seriously, at least by some, still, this is our thing, let anyone else find theirs. If we could have that map, it could help immensly to create realistic mission briefings/debriefings, as the map will already be a part of the source code.

A freeware program that could help.

http://www.stellarium.org/

What do you think?

[Kopachris]

As in add a planetarium to the game?  Unlikely.

[Dragon]

Integrating it into source is unlikely, but CB Anims don't work that way. They're rendered in an external program, then filmed and put into game as animations.
Making a map using the planetarium would be possible, but nobody wants to mess with  canon. For mods that don't have to rely on it and want to be realistic, this would be a great choice to base their CB Anims on. BP already uses real coordinates for it's planets, night sky images for starfield background, etc. (at least in Sol, other systems are, by nessesity, less realistic).

[GT-Keravnos]

I am talking about a much smaller scale. Something like a radius of say 50 LY around Earth, or even smaller. I think that is feasible.
I would try to do it myself, if I had the skills and the know how.

[Dragon]

What exactly do you want to use it for?
Space maps and CBAnims have little to do with source code.

[GT-Keravnos]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaI6BkDkgvs

Go to this video, time around 3:46 up to 4:30. That's what I would like to see in Freespace source code, if possible.
Think of how more realistic it would make the campaigns or missions thereof.

(Watching this video, I honestly cannot understand exactly what is the relation between the art of Tibet with a program dedicated to mapping out the universe). I don't.

[Dragon]

Your proposition would require rewriting half of the CBAnim and briefing code, adding functionality that can be done with an external program, some effort and current code.
In other words, too much effort.
You can include such animations by rendering that map in a modelling program, recording a CBAni and using it in normal command briefing.
That's what  did, what most mods do, etc. It's just a matter of using a different, more realistic map than the one used by  .

[General Battuta]

I don't see what this would accomplish that skyboxes don't already have.

[mjn.mixael]

Dude.. I still don't understand what you really want.

Do you want this in the code for in-mission backgrounds? Do you want it for briefing images? What?

[SypheDMar]

I think what everyone is saying is that this has already been done in-game, and no change in the source code is needed. All you have to do is change the skybox map. The rest is up to being good at making skyboxes to fit the campaign.

[Tomo]

Exactly.

To the OP: The "Source Code Project" is all to do with making the computer program itself, not the data that it displays.

You're looking at some really pretty pictures, and you can easily put those pictures into the game if you want- as a briefing animation, as the background to the 3D environment you play the game inside, or indeed *any* image you see in the game could be swapped out for these pictures, without changing any of the sourcecode at all.

Take a look in the FreeSpace Modding forum for lots of advice and examples.

[GT-Keravnos]

Thanks for the answers, everyone.
Skyboxes will have to do, then.

[Thaeris]

On a positive note, thank you very much for pointing out Stellarium to everyone. I used to have access to an old Mac program called Stargazer. I have Celestia (which is useful for many purposes in itself), but it's not effective as a stargazing program. That said, I look forward to trying this new software out.