A Map Plane for Celestia


  • map-plane.zip (430KB, 1Feb04)


    Archive:  MAP-PLANE.ZIP
      Length     Date   Time    Name
     --------    ----   ----    ----
            0  02-01-04 09:09   map-plane/models/
         1116  02-01-04 12:34   map-plane/models/plane.3ds
         3091  02-01-04 14:34   map-plane/placeplane.ssc
         1126  02-01-04 14:53   map-plane/plane-readme.txt
            0  02-01-04 09:09   map-plane/textures/
            0  02-01-04 09:09   map-plane/textures/medres/
       171049  02-01-04 13:41   map-plane/textures/medres/ncna-aerial-1k.jpg
       165994  02-01-04 13:42   map-plane/textures/medres/ncna-geology-1k.jpg
       113705  02-01-04 13:41   map-plane/textures/medres/ncna-overview-1k.jpg
         2559  02-01-04 12:32   map-plane/textures/medres/plane.an8
     --------                   -------
       458640                   10 files

    This Addon provides a plane that can be oriented north-south and tangent to a spherical body. It should be easy to place a map on this "3D" model. For small maps, a flat plane can be a reasonable approximation to the local topography.

    Restore this Zip archive into your Extras or Addons folder. It'll create appropriate sub-directories and put the necessary files in them.

    The enclosed model is intended to be used with an SSC catalog file. You can place any image on the model that you can specify in a Texture declaration within the SSC catalog file.

    As an example, this Addon uses a JPG image that is an aerial view of Cornell's "North Campus Natural Areas." "Overview" and "geological" maps are provided as alternate surfaces. These images are specified within the SSC catalog "placeplane.ssc" using filenames which have a prefix of "ncna". Replace the names of these NCNA map images by the names of your own maps.

    For proper positioning and orientation in the desired location, either model your SSC file on the one provided, or use Grant Hutchison's "panorama" spreadsheet.

    For more information, please read the Web page panoramas.html. The visible surface in this object corresponds to the "bottom" or "south pole" plane of the panorama cubes described there.

    [North Campus Natural Areas]
    North Campus Natural Areas

    The map square is 1km wide, for a nominal resolution of about 1 meter/pixel. The blurred blue area to the left is the southern end of Cayuga Lake.
    Here's a Cel:// URL to take you to this viewpoint.

    North Campus Natural Areas

    See also:

    A.1: Signature.

    A.2: Admonishment.

    A.3: Disclaimer.