Dispatcher

My day? Good as usual.

Favorite artist (music)?!

The answer is "42".

You are absolutely right about that. Most degreed people are in such highly competitive situations that familiarity with thus and such software may be a job candidacy criterion. I'm lucky enough to fit in a niche for which I have little competition, in a white collar field with a lot of autonomy. However, obtaining my degree helped me learn how to do research; also how to work within a system. As for using Maya, Blender, Photoshop and GIMP are concerned, these are among my hobbies. For someone wanting to work professionally with them, they would do well to heed your advice.

Yes, but the more popular open source software tends to interface in ways similar to their pro counterparts, by intent. For example, I use LibreOffice suite and GIMP and with my prior use of (MS) Office suite and Photoshop I know that the UI's were based on and are similar to the "pro" products and they are capable of saving files in compatible formats too. Where Photoshop shines is in the availability of expensive 3rd party plugins. I've used Maya LE before (it was bundled with Unreal Tournament at one time and I made 3rd party maps to play in the game). Now Blender is a bit different than Maya but once you understand the fundamentals of one application, these can be transferred to use in the other application. In fact, one reason Blender is so different is that it is in fact a simple game engine as well as 3D modeler and animator. Having made maps or levels or wads in several game editors, to reiterate, it makes things easier to pick up in a different editing toolset. So using open source software has not been a hindrance to me; rather it has helped me grasp some of the commercial software that companies and other entities have invested in.

Seriously, this game is old, fun and I highly recommend it. Obviously its not a true flight sim, but again, its fun! Crimson Skies:

Something touched upon in several posts is software (as opposed to OS). You can use some good free open source software on all the major platforms (such software as LibreOffice, GIMP, Blender and others come to mind, and I prefer them over some "Pro" software out there). Consider this too as you decide on what you purchase or what bundles may be available to you.

Strong Giants, Lightning Fetch, jawless Myrmidons, hordes of all of these and a river of blood (OK, its really a canal with nearby fields, but that makes it even more sinister). Can two brothers disagree more on strategy? Its "River of Blood"!

What you get depends on what you need it to do and when you need to do it. You've got lots of options suggested above. As your budget is somewhat low, you might consider: For a not too portable but having a small footprint/ configuration, consider the Mac Mini. It sounds like you might have existing peripherals which still work, such as keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, etc. If so, the Mac Mini is good because you can still use your peripherals. As for OS, you'll have OS X and if you need more, you can partition the drive and add Linux for free and you can add the version of Windows you want for the prevailing price. If you don't want a space saving Mini, then get a cheap Windows PC box/ tower and use your peripherals with that. If you need portability, you should consider either a decent pad or a PC notebook (Windows). You do get what you pay for, meaning that you may not be happy with a cheap low end rig. But if quality is way beyond your budget and you can't afford better, that means you might have to make do with low end. All the above is for new stuff. You can always go used and you might first check with your friends and relatives in case any of them have something lying around that they don't need or don't use. They might give you a good deal. Finally there are the refurbs or other used items out there that might be OK or, let the buyer beware. Good luck!

Cow chip throwing!

Good luck in all your schoolin' and learnin'. Edit: You put these animations to shame!

What to get? How about an airplane, if the price is right?

Vangelis. Chariots of Fire The Crusaders. Journey From Within Mason Williams. Classical Gas A slew of works popularized by Disney's Fantasia. The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2015. XVIVO. The Inner Life of the Cell. An Unreal playlist. Marathon Music Remade. Just use the player. Others as I think of them.

Very impressive stuff! From what I'm seeing, if you do not intend to do any image editing of frames, it would be best to capture/ convert to equirectangular mapping for posting on You Tube. However, if you intend to edit with a still or a video image editor, you will find it easier to edit cube maps prior to converting. By editing I mean using clone tools or something like that. Of course for just doing special effects with lighting or style tools, there is no need for cube mapping. But if all you are doing is capturing KSP video and adding title or credit text, there really is no need for image editing per se. You'll want to do cut and transition edits but that really should not hurt your content. I wonder if "competing" video sharing services other than You Tube support other mapping formats? Like Vimeo or such. Of course, for maximum exposure, you need to fit with You Tube. Whatever approach you select, I'm sure you'll come up with some good results.

I used to shoot and stitch Quicktime panoramas together about 20 years ago. I actually shot the panos vertically with respect to the horizon, so that resultant stitched cylinders allowed greater up and down panning and zooming. However that didn't allow for coverage of true up and down views without use of non-integral images or some ugly placeholders or color blanks. But now onto your topic: You might be onto something with cube maps, since these are similar to skyboxes I've made, and are still used in many video games. Check out different software. You have cylinders, cubes and spheres for your mapping. Some of these require proprietary hardware, but others do not. Some are free, and some are sure not. As you know, it may depend on what platform you use too. I'd suggest some solutions, but its been a while since I've kept up with that stuff, so you'd probably be better off using your favorite search engine and comparing the most promising results. I'd be curious as to what you find and decide on. Edit: when I say hardware, this might entail dongles (now USB thumb drives) or such. But I would think Unity would give you the freedom you need to record with multiple in game "cameras" and settings. Some software or assets should be simple and not require you to manually set them up, but others may require that you do so. Some older games (or engines) do not allow you full camera freedom (cylinder mapping). As to Unity specifically, it might even depend on the version. The more "cameras" you set up or include, the more hard drive space the recording will require, I think. Edit Edit: That "asset" you linked to looks very promising. Stereo (3D) video recording implies a lot of computational and drive space. I see that the audio may still be a challenge but hey, you can always dub that. Good luck! PS- here is a 360VR on You Tube. From "The Expanse": You can kinda see how it is mapped when you use a browser which does not support 360VR videos, such as Safari. You can see the intended results by using a browser such as Firefox.

Cooperative (and also even Competitive) Multiplayer.

What triggered my interest in space flight? The space age.

Your first post. Yes, its the little things that make a Mun (or other landing) so satisfying. Good luck in bringing Jeb back!

I added some hydrofoils (actually canards on structural pylons) under my latest SSTO plane. Now it can take off from water. I had been looking for something akin to what I wanted to do and found the Convair Sea Dart. While the skis are not really hydrofoils, the end result is the same: using water as a runway. I think you'll find this interesting.

"The Watcher" will show you that its hard to pit melee only units agains ranged units.

Don't be fooled by promises of a chicken in every pod.

Autobahn by Kraftwerk: There are multiple versions of this one by SwellMusik. C57D:

I don't know anyone who claims to believe that the sun goes around the earth, or that the earth is flat, etc. I know a lot of people and they come from a variety of world views (political, religious [and not], economical, cultural, etc.) but none claim that space programs are bogus or that we can't fly through space to other planets and moons. I'm confident that the conspiracy You Tubers/ Potatoes out there just want your attention. They sure don't get mine. That said, if I ever become aware of anyone like that, I'll refer them to these forums.

Bubba's dating advice. For the gals, it is: never date anyone who has a higher pitched voice than you. For the guys, it is: never date anyone who has more facial hair than you.

Yes it is. What's more, it's free and playable on modern Macs, Windows, Linux, iPads, iPod Touch and iPhones! Plus a large number of third party "scenarios" (multiple level maps, including several total conversions) and individual level maps have been and are still being made and are likewise free for use on said Windows, Linux and Mac rigs. Most of these can be played online as well.