alliance-union_v01.zip (28Dec06, 2.5MB)
This is a preliminary version of an Addon for Celestia v1.5.0 or later.
Celestia is a free 3D astronomical visualization program.
For more information, see the Celestia home
page.
Celestia v1.6.1 for Windows, Mac and Linux is available on SourceForge at
http://sourceforge.net/projects/celestia/files/
This Addon provides simplistic 3D CMOD models of Pell Station, Dublin Again, Lucy,
ECS 5 and major interstellar routes among Alliance and Union stations.
It also includes a flat map of station and jump point locations in
galactic coordinates (galactic_map.png).
If you restore this Zip file into Celestia's Extras directory, it should
recreate all of the directories and files necessary for it to work with
Celestia v1.5.0 or later.
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4.1 Usage
The included HTML (Web) file contains Cel:// URLs which will take you
to various viewpoints, mostly near Pell Station.
While Celestia is running, if you double-click on the icon of the script file
mark_a-u_stations.cel
which is in the main alliance-union_v01 directory
it'll draw squares around the stars that have stations orbiting them.
The model of trading routes is shown as bright lines across the sky.
If they're too intrusive, you can eliminate them by renaming the file
show_a-u_route_model.dsc
to be
show_a-u_route_model.dscNO
The image file galactic_map.png shows the locations of the various stations
in Galactic coordinates.
An ECS "hulk" is in orbit around Tripoint.
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4.3 Limitations
These models are incomplete.
Many details have been omitted and some aren't quite right.
I'll probably be improving Pell and Dublin Again for a later version of this Addon.
The crude models of Lucy and ECS 5 will be left as temporary "place holders."
It is anticipated that they will be replaced by someone else's models.
The locations of some stars have been changed from reality to locations
that are more compatible with the stories:
BD+20 5046 and
Zeta Reticuli, to be specific.
The (real) locations of some stars in Celestia differ from the locations
specified in The Company War boardgame by a small number of LightYears.
Those stars have been left unchanged.
Several stars mentioned in the stories aren't provided with Celestia.
Their real locations are provided by this Addon, as specified by the Simbad catalog server at
http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/sim-fid.pll
(See the catalog file add_a-u_station_stars.stc)
The locations of the jumpoints are strictly imaginary and probably
should be randomized somewhat more than they are.
They're only known to be somewhere between the destination stars.
The SSC, STC and HTML files were created for use with Celestia v1.5.0 pre2
The catalogs should work with Celestia v1.4.1, too, but not the HTML file:
its positions will be wrong.
The catalogs and html file may need to be modified for use with later
versions of Celestia.
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4.3 Credits
The models included in this Addon were created using Anim8or,
a free 3D design program written by Steve Glanville.
Visit http://www.anim8or.com/ for more information.
The designs of the models were based on sketches and information found
in the books of C.J. Cherryh, as well as discussions with "Knuck".
The models of "Lucy" and of "Dublin Again" are strongly influenced by the
designs shown in the painting "Lucy at Pell" on pages 86 & 87 of
Imagination: The Art & Technique of David A. Cherry (1987) The
Donning Company/Publishers.
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4.4 Copyright and License
This Addon for Celestia was created by Selden Ball and is
copyright © December, 2006. All rights reserved.
This Addon may be freely redistributed for educational purposes.
All models and documents were created entirely by the author.
They may not be used for any commercial benefit without explicit
written permission from the author.
