N1 (1.2)

CPU @ SPACE

C@S Launch ! p.2
SPACE SOFTWARES FANS BULLETIN - JANUARY 2009 CPYOUSPACE@gmail.com

Updated issue

Open source simulation

Celestia p.4

Gaming
I-WARs & FREESPACEs web links p.10

Professional simulation

THARSIS SOFTWARE p.16
PARTICLE SYSTEMS & INFOGRAMES

CPU @ SPACE, launch !

Welcome to this first issue of C@S Bulletin, a free media fully dedicated to space related software, all of them ! C@S will have a cross approach, complementing specialized magazines treating effectively of astronomy, space transportation and others space related. This mix of different softwares has justifications. The first is that readers are mostly interested in more than a single space field, and not rarely many different ones. Mixing scientific / technical fields with gaming may surprise but is easy to explain. Appearance of remarkable softwares as ORBITER and CELESTIA unclears the frontier beteween gaming and profesional space. The proof is that Martin SCHWEIGER, creator of ORBITER participated to ESA (European Space Agency) simulation symposium to present his work. Professional software developpers working for space agencies may also come from the gaming world, as THARSIS SW in France which team proves to be very effective in real space activities. On their side gamers & space game developers are also interested in the space quest, something I had very recently confirmed by an exchange with a project manager of one the greatest SciFi games ever published. In the end it has to be precised that many space profesionals grew up with a computer, an old friend used to recall them as avtive WING COMMANDERS ;-). C@S will try to please this vast community of space lovers. C@S Team
Celestia WING COMMANDERs TCS Midway by Sean Murphy

CPU @ SPACE, enroll !

We are looking for writers in the following fields : ASTRONOMY & EDUCATIONNAL : - CELESTIA - ORBITER - REDSHIFT & others PROFESSIONAL : - Launchers dedicated ones - Missions & spacecraft ones FUN GAMES : - WING COMMANDERs, I-WARs, X family, SINS OF S. E., FREESPACEs, BATTLECRUISERs, STAR TREKs, PRIVATEERs, HARDWAR, EPIC & INFERNO, FREELANCER, STARLANCER, NEXUS, HAEGEMONIA and all others Apply at CPYOUSPACE@gmail.com and tell us
a little bit about your passion of space & sw.

EGOSOFT

O.S. SIM.
Hubble & Voyager 2 in my PC : CELESTIA !
Issued for the first time in 2001 CELESTIA has besome since one of the most acclaimed open source sw. Created by Chris Laurel it belongs with ORBITER to a new family of software bridging fun space to the profesional field. CELESTIA is now developped by a full team of passionates. Organized as a planetarium CELESTIA benefits from an accessible interface and OpenGL API. Displays rely on scientific data coming from space agencies missions : solar system pictures come from multiple probes and star positions from the HIPPARCOS catalogue. Planetary environment is based on VSOP87 model for high accuracy. Functions are organized in a way to please the eye of the user. Chosen celestial bodies (numerous ones of our solar system) are dynamically represented with possibilities to change the point of view, speed and switch on/off options. The basic list of bodies (satisfying) can be largely and easily improved with impressive hi-resolution upgrades coming from recent or even current scientific missions. This blend of precision, openness and user friendly software approach promoted use of CELESTIA by agencies, NASA, ESA and others use it for educationnal purpose as well as mission trajectory simulation. Dedicated to the great public CELESTIA is developped for both PC and MAC worlds. Current 1.5.1 release supports WINDOWS, LINUX & MAC operating systems. User documentation is available in English, German and French.

CELESTIA displayed objects

Earth observation

Nebulae (Eagle)
Planetary systems (Jupiter here)

Spacecraft (HST here)

CELESTIA on the web, best links
MOD/Doc/Goodies - links tested in january 2009, but some sites behavior may vary
http://www.shatters.net/celestia/ http://www.celestiamotherlode.net/ http://www.celestialmatters.org/ http://www.lns.cornell.edu/~seb/celestia/ http://learn.arc.nasa.gov/planets/ http://www.shatters.net/~t00fri/texfoundry.php4 http://homepage.eircom.net/~jackcelestia/ http://www.shatters.net/~impulse/Mars_Central/Mars_Central.html
CELESTIA plotting capabilities
Main asteroids belt and planets
Earth and positionned constellations
A view I tested on a 197 inches screen, Thanks Chris Laurel !
VOYAGER 2 at home with CELESTIA

GAMING

Following the best games ? C@S links portal
Having a good overview of what happens in gaming communities isnt always easy. C@S will help you, here are the best (tested) links of two great universes : FREESPACE & INDEPENDANCE WAR. FREESPACE 1 & 2 : FREESPACEs marked with WING COMMANDER PROPHECY the summit of the space shooting era. User friendly they provided their numerous fans with pure fun. The history continues with remarkable open source add ons to discover urgently ! INDEPENDANCE WAR 1 & 2 (Edge of Chaos) : Considered as spaceship simulators I-WARs represent intense experiences for players. They both revealed particularly addictive with famous work on gameplay, scenarios and music. After nearly ten years Edge of Chaos remains an absolute reference.

VOLITION

Independence War 1 & 2, web links portal
Patch/MOD/Doc/Goodies - links tested in january 2009, but some sites behavior may vary
http://www.atari.com/us/games/iwar2/pc http://web.archive.org/web/20030124043407/http://www.independencewar.com/ http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.independencewar.com http://www.i-war2.com/ http://www.geocities.com/dreadnt/ http://members.shaw.ca/syntechnology/news.html http://www.torn-stars.com/ http://www.simerge.com/blog/
Independence War 1 & 2, web links (continued)
http://mods.firstones.com/buda5/ http://www.iwarpapermodels.org/ http://members.shaw.ca/syntechnology/links.html http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/independence-war-series http://www.gamekult.com/tout/jeux/fiches/J000000086.html http://www.jeuxvideo.com/jeux/0000/00005367.htm http://www.jeuxvideopc.com/jeux/310-independance-war-2-edge-of-chaos.php

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/sim/independencewar2edgeoc/index.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssimilargames&tag=similargames;img;3 PARTICLE SYSTEMS & INFOGRAMES
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-War_(Independence_War) http://ataricommunity.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=137 http://forums.eu.atari.com/archive/index.php/f-17.html
FREESPACE 1 & 2, web links portal
http://scp.indiegames.us/ http://www.sectorgame.com/ http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page http://www.game-warden.com/bsg/ http://babylon.hard-light.net/ http://www.wcsaga.com/ http://www.game-warden.com/starfox/ http://www.gamespot.com/pc/sim/freespace2/index.html
FREESPACE 1 & 2, web links (continued)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freespace_2 http://www.mobygames.com/game/freespace-2 http://www.gamekult.com/tout/jeux/fiches/J000000782.html http://www.gamekult.com/tout/jeux/fiches/J000000600.html http://www.wallpapers-zone.com/jeux_video/freespace_2.html http://www.jeuxvideo.com/jeux/0000/00002879.htm http://www.jeuxvideopc.com/jeux/8525-freespace-2.php
http://www.jeuxvideopc.com/jeux/6610-conflict-freespace-the-great-war.php

PROF. SW

From gaming to real space, THARSIS SW
THARSIS SOFTWARE is a very good example of bridges that link different fields of space software. Created in 2006 by three young computering graduates the society works since then for CNES, the french space agency who conducted the development of ARIANE space launchers since 1979. Two of the society creators previously worked in the video game industry, the Prsdt (M. S. Lages) for 2K GAMES and the CEO (M. N. Remia) for VIVENDI UNIVERSAL. F. Rioli on his side brought what he learnt in the aerospace industry. Their creativity, knowledge of modern tools and love for space pushed them to develop their first space environment image generator : MAGRATHEA. Further work led to their selection by CNES to develop a space launcher mission visualisation called SLS. This product benefits from PC world open programming tools. SLS proves to be highly flexible, supporting any type of space vehicle in a realistic planetary environment. Positive results led to the development of other space related multimedia products. http://www.tharsis-software.com/

THARSIS SOFTWARE

Earth with SLS - THARSIS
ARIANE 5 with SLS - THARSIS
MARS with THARSIS MAGRATHEA graphic engine

VALLES MARINERIS

THARSIS SOFTWARE & NASA

VICTORIA CRATER

OLYMPUS MONS