Re: [Celestia-developers] 1.6.0 TODO list
Real-time 3D visualization of space
Status: Beta
Brought to you by:
cjlaurel
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From: Chris L. <cl...@gm...> - 2008-08-12 17:14:47
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On Tue, Aug 12, 2008 at 2:37 AM, Fridger Schrempp <fri...@de...>wrote: > Chris, > > * Globular cluster catalog >> - Fridger has made very good progress on this; need to wait until he's >> back from vacation. >> > > > I am a bit surprised about your listing of my entire large globular cluster > project merely under "catalogs" in your section about *** Data files *** > ;-): I know that there's both code and data file work required, and I didn't want to list it in two places. In any case, there was certainly no 'merely' implied . . . :) > > > My globular cluster /catalog/ is of course ready and essentially unchanged > since > 1/2 year! That was an almost routine job in Perl... > > Here is my "boiler plate" as of May 08 > > # "Catalog of Parameters for Milky Way Globular Clusters", >> # 2003 Update, by William E. Harris. >> # http://physwww.physics.mcmaster.ca/~harris/mwgc.dat >> # Bibliography: http://physwww.mcmaster.ca/%7Eharris/mwgc.ref >> # supplemented by diameters <=> 25mu isophote from >> # Brian A. Skiff/Lowell Observatory, NGCIC project, >> # http://www.ngcic.org/data_archive/gc.txt >> # supplemented by diameters <=> 25mu isophote from >> # the SEDS 2007 catalog (H. Frommert) >> # http://www.seds.org/~spider/spider/MWGC/mwgc.html >> # Adapted for Celestia with Perl script: globulars.pl Revision: 1.0.0 >> # Processed 2008-5-10 6 130 0 11:33:33 UTC >> # >> # by Dr. Fridger Schrempp, fri...@de... >> # ------------------------------------------------------ >> > > > The non-trivial part of my globular cluster project is rather quite a lot > of /new code/ for rendering and integrating globular clusters in Celestia. > For example, it implements King's theory & parametrization for globulars > via a new Globular class. The data catalog correspondingly includes a number > of parameters that work only with my new code based on King. That code is > also finished and working in my version of Celestia since a number of > months. It also implements standard features, of course, like globular label > fading, activation via celx commands, manual brightness adjustments etc. > > However, as we both realize, there is still the awkward, remaining issue of > central core brightness ... Quite recently, I have addressed it once more at > large distance from the cluster (small apparent cluster size). As was > discussed at length previously, in any OGL blending attempt, the main > difficulty is retaining 2d-3d compatibility with King's parametrization, > such that the parameters from the data file still apply! I hope I can report > some progress on this issue quite soon. > > Moreover there is work to be done concerning the /detailed/ spectral > distributions of globulars, including the horizontal branch, blue strugglers > etc. The required parameters are already part of my catalog file. Up to now, > my code does include Red Giants within the globular star distribution. > > Since I am back from vacations (Aug. 10), I now have implemented my code at > latest Rev. level 4404 and generated a corresponding patch. > Good to hear; I hope that there weren't too many difficulties involved in merging. Let me know if there's anything I can do on the OpenGL side of things to help with globulars (shader work, etc.) --Chris > > Fridger > > > Chris Laurel wrote: > >> I'm trying get a better handle on the 1.6.0 release of Celestia. The >> following list contains all of the issues I could think of that *may* need >> to be addressed before releasing 1.6.0. <http://1.6.0.> I've added >> clarifying comments for most of the items. >> >> This list is just a starting point. I'm sure that there are some >> omissions, and a text list is certainly not the ideal way to track progress. >> What I'd like from everyone on the dev list is the following: >> >> - Read through the list completely >> - Add any items that you think have been omitted. >> - Add your comments to the items on the list, including: >> - How important do you think the item to add/fix for Celestia 1.6.0? >> - Whether it's something that you'd be interested and have time to work >> on over the next month >> - If you're already working on it, note this and give a rough estimate of >> a completion time. >> >> After an initial round of comments, I'll add the items to the SourceForge >> bug and feature trackers (some are already listed there) and assign >> priorities and developers. We can then try and set a feature freeze date and >> estimate a release time for 1.6.0. <http://1.6.0.> There's no critical >> deadline for 1.6.0; hopefully we can make a realistic estimate of the >> release time, but I'm ok with it slipping a bit. Mostly, I just want to >> establish the scope of the next Celestia version and put a little bit of >> process in place so that we can track progress toward it. This will >> hopefully make it easier for potential contributors to figure out what >> remains to be worked on. The SourceForge trackers are far from the best tool >> for this, but feel that it would be best to wait until after 1.6.0 to start >> discussing a switch to some other project management system. Anyhow, the >> trackers are certainly a better option than my mental list of features of >> bugs. >> >> Project management is unfortunately (and obviously) not my forte. So while >> I think I've proposed a reasonable path toward releasing Celestia 1.6.0, I'd >> love to hear suggestions from others on the release process. >> >> --Chris >> >> *** Features *** >> >> * Simplified placement of surface objects >> - Based on forum discussion here: >> http://www.shatters.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=12487 < >> http://www.shatters.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=12487> >> - This amounts to an ssc parser change and nothing more. The proposal >> doesn't >> add new capabilities to Celestia; it just presents a simplified >> 'front-end' >> for Celestia's two vector frames (which many find to be too complex.) >> >> * Improved mesh positioning >> - Based on forum discussion here: >> http://www.shatters.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=12520 < >> http://www.shatters.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=12520> >> >> >> * Coordinate display >> - Currently, only RA/Dec shown for stars/DSOs, and only when camera is >> near >> Earth >> >> * Change HUD text >> - Already added phase angle >> - Change 'day length' -> 'sidereal rotation period' (or remove it) >> - Recommend postponing to 1.7.0, new UI >> >> * Compass >> - Recommend postponing to 1.7.0 >> >> * Make modify work for stars >> - Requires changes to star database handling; currently the star index is >> only built after all stars are loaded. Thus, looking up a star while >> loading requires a potentially expensive linear scan of all currently >> loaded stars. >> >> * Cel URL v3 >> - Switch from v2 to v3 URLs >> - What about compatibility? 1.6.0 can read old cel URLs, but does there >> need to be a compatibility switch to let Celestia create cel URLs that >> can be understood by older versions of the program? >> - Very simple changes required to each front-end; compatibility switch >> - Critical to do this for 1.6.0, otherwise we'll continue to have trouble >> with cel URLs getting out of date every time an orbit is updated >> >> * Selectable markers >> - Recommend postponing to 1.7.0 >> >> >> *** UI *** >> >> * Make sure list of location type checkboxes is complete >> - Volcanoes missing from list on Mac; what else? >> >> * Re-assign 'D' key to something other than demo >> - What? Martin would like it D, Shift+D, Ctrl+D, and Shift+Ctrl+D to >> toggle coordinate grids. >> >> * Assign keys for the new grid types: horizon, galactic, ecliptic >> - ;, Shift+;, Ctrl+; ? >> - or D key? >> >> * (Possibly) re-assign r and R keys >> - Current situation is potentially confusing for people who accidentally >> hit r, get stuck with low resolution textures, and don't know that they >> need to hit Shift+R to get medium/high resolution textures back. >> - Changing texture resolution is done infrequently enough that it >> shouldn't >> require a keyboard command; GUI only should be adequate. >> >> * Ctrl+number keys bindable via script >> - Works on Mac, Qt4 versions, simple change for Windows; what about >> Linux? >> >> >> >> *** Bugs *** >> >> * Missing label for Pluto-Charon >> - Lots of complaints about this >> >> * Untranslated name shown for solar system bodies >> - Bug introduced when support for multiple names added for solar system >> bodies; very simple fix. >> >> * Ring labels not showing (2020938) >> - Bug introduced when depth sorting for location labels was added; fix >> shouldn't be too hard. >> >> * Planet grid not smooth enough (2042174) >> - Lots of work to fix, and planet grids work pretty well right now; >> recommend waiting until after 1.6.0. <http://1.6.0.> >> >> >> * Oblateness not accounted for when calculating location positions >> - Need a function to calculate the nearest point on an ellipsoid; finding >> the closest point on an ellipsoid involves solving a 6th degree >> polynomial. >> Easy to solve with Newton's method; however, the iteration blows up for >> points near the coordinate axes and planes. Coding these special cases >> seems non-trivial. >> - Lack of point to ellipsoid distance function is also why distances from >> the viewer to gas giant planets (which are significantly non-spherical) >> aren't correct. >> - Recommend that we wait until 1.7.0 to address this. Oblateness for >> terrestrial planets is currently set to zero. Also ikely to be some >> issues >> with texture maps when we switch to correct non-zero oblateness. It all >> seems like a big can of worms that can wait until a future release. >> >> * Planetographic grid is actually planetocentric, not planetographic >> - Recommend waiting until after 1.6.0; see above. >> >> * Planetshine problems with multiple stars (+ efficiency) >> - Shadows shouldn't be calculated for planetshine light sources; it makes >> pixel shaders more complex, and the shadows are either too faint or too >> diffuse to be visible. >> - Needs to be addressed in 1.6.0 >> * Non-local celx variable collide (shared namespace between modules) >> (2010622) >> - Current behavior might be ok; if so, we should document it so that celx >> script authors aren't surprised by it. >> >> * Partial sphere drawn with model (2000718) >> - Haven't looked at it yet. >> >> * Goto class "invisible" object doesn't get there (1970733) >> - I'm ok with the current behavior; need to understand why it's a bad >> thing >> >> * Small objects not drawn (1970702) >> - Haven't looked at it yet >> >> * Celestia fails to compile with libtool-2.2.x (1953340) >> - Need help from a Linux user with this one >> >> * Missing header file includes for gcc-4.3 (1905327) >> - Need help from a Linux user with this one; bug report seems to give >> required patches. >> >> * Readonly code management requires system access (1906990) >> - Lua 'require' statement should be available regardless of script system >> access policy. >> >> * Localization bug in 1.5.0 (??? instead of letters) (1894243) >> - Not looked at yet. >> >> * Label hidden by parent, at right part of screen (1885953) >> >> * Star glare clipping problem on labels, Mac (1882282) >> >> * Children of class invisible objects not in solar system browser >> (1888463) >> - Windows-only, I think; should be easy to fix >> - Bug report recommends a 'Browsable false' attribute to prevent an >> object >> from showing up in the browser; I'm not so enthusiastic about this, and >> it can wait until after 1.6.0. <http://1.6.0.> >> >> >> * "Cor Hydrae" and "Cor Leonis" names are unusable (1872363) >> - Need some fixes for star name lookup; I think that keeping Bayer, >> Flamsteed, and variable star designations in separate lists would fix >> the >> problem. >> * No way to assign/reassign HD and SAO numbers (1872357) >> - Not looke at yet. >> >> * Unfamiliar names shown for stars (1868779) >> - Another issue that could be by separating star names/designation lists: >> common proper names, rare proper names, Bayer, Flamsteed, variable. >> - User might be allowed (eventually) to set a priority for name display. >> For now, could be hardcoded to: common proper, Bayer, Flamsteed, >> variable, >> uncommon proper names. >> >> * Name resolution problems for stars in multiple systems (1865513) >> >> * No Bayer superscripts for numbers above 3 (1865160) >> - Superscript 1, 2, and 3 glyphs are common in most fonts; glyphs for >> other >> numbers are not. Some other method of rendering the superscripts (e.g. >> rich text) is required for numbers >= 4. Doesn't seem worth the effort. >> >> * Ambient light may look incorrect in legacy ARB shaders (1864979) >> - Not looked at yet. >> >> * Planet temperature not calculated correctly in circumbinary systems >> (1864716) >> - Recommend punting to post-1.6.0 >> - I'd prefer that we not show the equilibrium temperature at all in the >> overlay text. >> >> * "Clean" fonts lack degree symbol (1864643) >> - Clean fonts probably need to be rebuilt with a more complete glyph set; >> do >> we care? >> >> * Comet tail fading uses visual luminosity (1864557) >> - Should be an easy fix >> >> * Atmospheres appear to dark at zenith (1847027) >> * Atmospheric scattering shaders should handle multiple lights (1845867) >> * Thick atmospheres not rendered properly (1833392) >> * Tesselation artifacts visible in planetary atmospheres (1833388) >> - Scattering atmosphere code needs an upgrade. It's a lot of work, but >> important for the appearance of bodies with atmospheres. We understand >> theoretically what needs to be done, but cramming the scattering >> integral >> into a shader that runs at a respectable speed is a very research-y >> problem. I don't think it's a pragmatic to tie 1.6.0 (or any release) >> to implementing new scattering code. >> >> * Impossible to set time to a leap second with GUI (1844999) >> - Recommend that we wait until we have a unified UI before tackling this >> >> * Improve rendering of cloud shadows (1833699) >> - Requires using a cube map for a cloud texture >> - Recommend we wait until after 1.6.0 >> >> * VT tiles show seams (1830209) >> - Not looked at yet >> >> * Reference points are not fully functioning SSC objects (1824592) >> - Refers to the fact that reference points didn't have a body >> frame/rotation >> model (since they're points.) But this isn't true any more: reference >> points should behave exactly like invisible objects. In other words, >> the bug should be fixed already. >> >> * Scripted position fails with large values (1820619) >> - Only occurs with huge values (on the order of kiloparsecs); seems >> low-priority. >> >> * Click selection should ignore extremely faint objects (1809581) >> - Not looked at yet >> >> * Eclipse shadows are displaced (1781690) >> - Problem occurs with oblate planets >> - Would be nice to fix, not critical for 1.6.0 >> >> >> >> *** Data files *** >> >> * Titan SAR map >> - Use Jason Perry (aka volcanopele) map, alternate surface >> >> * High resolution Dione >> - Use Guillermo Abramson's map >> >> * Improved Eros model >> - The high resolution model is very nice, but we need to decide how much >> we're willing to bloat the package in order to get a better looking >> asteroid. >> - Also, it would be nice to use the normal mapped model, but people >> without OpenGL 2.0 will just see an untextured model. I'm of the >> opinion >> that OpenGL 2.0 hardware is common enough now that we should use the >> normal mapped model. >> >> * Itokawa model >> - Same issue as with Eros: how much detail for the model? >> >> * New Cassini tracjectory >> - Critical; current trajectory doesn't cover the extended mission >> - I'm about 95% done with this; only thing left is matching orientation >> of Huygens. >> >> * New ISS model >> - Critical: current model is very poor; z-fighting problems, missing >> triangles, out of date. A much improved model is available; with the >> new planetshine code in 1.6.0, the new model is a real showpiece for >> Celestia. >> - New model needs textures converted from BMP -> JPG >> >> * High resolution textures for Galileans >> - Would be nice, but can probably wait until post-1.6.0 >> - Not sure which textures to include; Jason Perry's Galileo SPICE add-on >> has a nice collection of textures. >> >> * Add Andrew's CHARM stellar radii catalog >> - Easy? >> >> * Add Selden's pulsar catalog >> - Selden says that his version of this is out of date >> >> * Globular cluster catalog >> - Fridger has made very good progress on this; need to wait until he's >> back from vacation. >> >> >> *** Documentation *** >> (Some already available on Wikibook) >> >> * Timeline >> * New SSC fields >> - Visible >> - Clickable >> - OrbitColor >> * SpiceRotation >> * SpiceOrbit modifications >> - Support for multiple kernel files >> * CustomRotation >> * SemiAxes >> * xyzv files >> - spice2xyzv tool >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's >> challenge >> Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK & win great >> prizes >> Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the >> world >> http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100&url=/ >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Celestia-developers mailing list >> Cel...@li... >> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/celestia-developers >> > > |