totm may 2020 [1.8.1] Real Exoplanets v0.9.6 [04/03/2020]

[Andi K.]

On 1/15/2020 at 2:28 AM, VaNnadin said:

i found a two bug of your mod:

i can see grid like dots in entire screen. 

and as you can see, scatter sunflare position is strange. i think this problem is related to star's distance from sun.

 

btw thanks for this great mod! please make it work with principia it would be better!

Literally four posts above you, this same problem with the flares was already addressed. Please when you are pointing out an issue, look back to see if it has already been covered.

As for the grid-like dots, to my knowledge that's a problem with scatterer and has nothing to do with REX.

As for principia compatibility, again, just three posts above yours this was already addressed. It doesn't take that much energy or time to just read a couple of posts before yours before asking a question.

[VaNnadin]

On 1/17/2020 at 10:43 AM, AndrewDraws said:

Literally four posts above you, this same problem with the flares was already addressed. Please when you are pointing out an issue, look back to see if it has already been covered.

As for the grid-like dots, to my knowledge that's a problem with scatterer and has nothing to do with REX.

As for principia compatibility, again, just three posts above yours this was already addressed. It doesn't take that much energy or time to just read a couple of posts before yours before asking a question.

thanks. it solved my curious. and i'll check previous comments next time.

[Andi K.]

In the coming weeks, I will be making the interstellar objects Borisov and 'Oumuamua, as well as making Arrokoth (AKA Ultima Thule). The strange shape of Arrokoth and 'Oumuamua will prove difficult to capture, but I am not giving up!

[Andi K.]

I also saw that Proxima Centauri c was recently confirmed, so I will be working on that as well!

[perch35]

Thank you for the great work, this mod looks fantastic! One issue I have noticed, is that when I use a lot of part mods combined with the textures from RSS+REX, there can be a 5-10 second delay in switching from flight view to map view while in flight. Adding the following .cfg file in the GameData folder mitigates this:

Spoiler

@Kopernicus:FINAL
{
    %useOnDemandBiomes = false
}

Thought this would be good to know for the people who use 50+ mods. I'm not sure if you are able to integrate this into your code, just offering as a suggestion.

I'm curious if you pinpointed the cause of the issue regarding the solar flares not correctly matching the star's position? It would be cool to look at the systems in tracking station without the offset.

Regarding the issue of not being able to place systems more than 50ly away, have you considered using a semi-logarithmic scale? This would allow systems further than 50ly away to be modeled, while maintaining somewhat appropriate distance between outer systems.

Thanks again for the great work, I have been looking for something like this for a while!

[hypervelocity]

looking forward to the updates!

[Andi K.]

On 1/27/2020 at 6:03 PM, perch35 said:

Thank you for the great work, this mod looks fantastic! One issue I have noticed, is that when I use a lot of part mods combined with the textures from RSS+REX, there can be a 5-10 second delay in switching from flight view to map view while in flight. Adding the following .cfg file in the GameData folder mitigates this:

Curious. Do you know why that mitigates the problem? I'd be interested to know.

On 1/27/2020 at 6:03 PM, perch35 said:

I'm curious if you pinpointed the cause of the issue regarding the solar flares not correctly matching the star's position? It would be cool to look at the systems in tracking station without the offset.

I'm not exactly sure why this problem exists, I only really know that it happens when you have the star at a significantly large distance from where your active vessel is located in the case of the map view, or in the case of the tracking station view, a large distance from the KSC. The further the distance from your active vessel, the glitchier all of the scatterer effects are, including the sun flare.

On 1/27/2020 at 6:03 PM, perch35 said:

Regarding the issue of not being able to place systems more than 50ly away, have you considered using a semi-logarithmic scale? This would allow systems further than 50ly away to be modeled, while maintaining somewhat appropriate distance between outer systems.

This isn't too bad of an idea. I'm just hesitant to do it since nothing else in KSP in scaled logarithmically in this way, so it would seem kind of inconsistent and arbitrary. Additionally, it would make it harder to communicate what the scale factor in the settings file is actually doing. It's much easier to say "put in 0.1 and it will be 1/10 real scale." Those are my only two major concerns. Regardless, there are plenty of interesting systems within 50 ly so I already have my work cut out for me haha. No doubt it would be fun to create some of the more exotic (and very distant) systems out there, but I think there are enough interesting planets and stars within 50 ly to keep myself and players busy. I think 1I/'Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov will be particularly interesting additions into REX, since they will likely be the first interstellar destination players go to that don't necessarily require future technology. Ok, rant over 

On 1/27/2020 at 6:03 PM, perch35 said:

Thanks again for the great work, I have been looking for something like this for a while!

On 1/27/2020 at 6:43 PM, hypervelocity said:

looking forward to the updates!

I'm so glad that y'all are interested in this mod. Not going to lie I've been feeling rather unmotivated when it comes to modding, so these types of comments remind me to stay motivated! Thank you.

Edited January 30, 2020 by AndrewDraws

[AloE]

On 12/11/2019 at 11:53 AM, AndrewDraws said:

Yes, and the colors are warmer, just not as exaggerated as what you usually see in exoplanet art.

If I showed a side-by-side comparison of how the surface looks with a white light source and how it looks with a slightly warm light source, you'd be able to see the difference.

I am curious about such a SxS visualization.  I have been wondering what tools to use to visualize what the (rather green sensitive) human color vision would perceive light from M, K, F stars & various objects illuminated by such spectra .   I would find very interesting what tools & methods you use to calibrate a light source for your models here. 

I was hoping to find a paper about it in your listed sources (thanks for those!), but if there is one there already covering this topic I have not yet spotted it (though you do have listed an interesting paper regarding spectral calibration regarding estimating a stars temperature). So far, I have been tinkering with rather simple tools like NBL's:, but do not yet have an idea what possibilities are available in image processing software...

• Light and Filters Simulator
• Blackbody Curves and Filters Explorer

My understanding is that, the Mars rovers have a bunch of tools we do not get for extrasolar planets: calibration targets

Solving the color calibration problem of Martian lander images: "The true color of Mars could become known on future missions if the lander cameras were calibrated on Mars using light sources brought from the Earth.  Figure 10 illustrates three ways to do this" & issues with calibrating the Viking images: Color Calibration of the Martian Images

My thinking all started with the simple thought of what 'Earth like photosynthesis' bacterial mats might look like to the human eye on some of the Trappist-1 worlds since "The longest wavelength yet observed in photosynthesis on Earth is about 1,015 nm (in the infrared), in purple anoxygenic bacteria." (source: The Color of Plants on other Worlds)

Thank you for all your work with this great mod!

[Andi K.]

27 minutes ago, AloE said:

I am curious about such a SxS visualization.  I have been wondering what tools to use to visualize what the (rather green sensitive) human color vision would perceive light from M, K, F stars & various objects illuminated by such spectra .   I would find very interesting what tools & methods you use to calibrate a light source for your models here. 

I was hoping to find a paper about it in your listed sources (thanks for those!), but if there is one there already covering this topic I have not yet spotted it (though you do have listed an interesting paper regarding spectral calibration regarding estimating a stars temperature). So far, I have been tinkering with rather simple tools like NBL's:, but do not yet have an idea what possibilities are available in image processing software...

• Light and Filters Simulator
• Blackbody Curves and Filters Explorer

My understanding is that, the Mars rovers have a bunch of tools we do not get for extrasolar planets: calibration targets

Solving the color calibration problem of Martian lander images: "The true color of Mars could become known on future missions if the lander cameras were calibrated on Mars using light sources brought from the Earth.  Figure 10 illustrates three ways to do this" & issues with calibrating the Viking images: Color Calibration of the Martian Images

My thinking all started with the simple thought of what 'Earth like photosynthesis' bacterial mats might look like to the human eye on some of the Trappist-1 worlds since "The longest wavelength yet observed in photosynthesis on Earth is about 1,015 nm (in the infrared), in purple anoxygenic bacteria." (source: The Color of Plants on other Worlds)

Thank you for all your work with this great mod!

I used this and then averaged the color with white to come up with a (very) rough approximation of what the human eye would see, essentially just reducing the saturation of the color. The eye is more sensitive to blue wavelengths of light, red dwarf stars would appear less orange than they would be if the eye were an "ideal" light sensor.

Thank you for the many interesting articles and papers. I will make sure to read them. Speaking of plant colors, I do feel like I should change the color of TRAPPIST-1e's foliage to be a dark purple rather than the current green color, though it might just look a little strange. We'll see!

[Bonbo]

Kottabos Review:

It came out a while ago but in case you haven't seen it here it is. Once again you made a very pretty mod.  It's very photo-realistic and the planets could probably be mistaken for real planets. Definitely one of the top five planet packs for this game!

Edited January 31, 2020 by Bonbo

[Andi K.]

15 hours ago, Bonbo said:

Kottabos Review:

-- snip --

It came out a while ago but in case you haven't seen it here it is. Once again you made a very pretty mod.  It's very photo-realistic and the planets could probably be mistaken for real planets. Definitely one of the top five planet packs for this game!

Yup I've already seen it. It wasn't a bad review. He was able to bring some things to my attention that I have been able to fix. I'm glad you like the appearance of the planets though! You're too kind  

[The-Doctor]

This is beautiful, thought you'd discontinued, well, since I saw the other pack was discontinued

Anyone got pics of the surface of each world? With clouds mod installed maybe, and maybe scatterer too, but ultimately doesn't matter, just got pics of the surface?

[Andi K.]

4 hours ago, The-Doctor said:

Anyone got pics of the surface of each world? With clouds mod installed maybe, and maybe scatterer too, but ultimately doesn't matter, just got pics of the surface?

If you go back a few pages, I believe I posted some screenshots of the surfaces of some of the planets, but not all of them.

Edited February 2, 2020 by AndrewDraws

[Andi K.]

Kopernicus has been updated to 1.8.1. REX (as well as RSS) should still work in 1.8.1. However, there won't be the fancy new terrain textures. That will be something I work on in the coming days. Hopefully by the end of this week I will have a shiny new version of REX ready  

[mcwaffles2003]

Is there anywhere other than spacedock I can download this from? My downloads keep "completing" at 460MB/893MB

[Andi K.]

10 hours ago, mcwaffles2003 said:

Is there anywhere other than spacedock I can download this from? My downloads keep "completing" at 460MB/893MB

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tqewap7k7lx7hnc/Real_Exoplanets-0.9.3.zip?dl=0

 

 

Edited February 5, 2020 by AndrewDraws

[Raven.]

I'm having a tough time with getting this mod installed. So I install the "RealExoplanets" and "REX-Textures" folder over to gamedata, and I get the following error message on startup:

 

And my Kopernicus log: 

[LOG 21:39:01]: Parsing Target timeScale in (Kopernicus.Configuration.Loader) as (Kopernicus.ConfigParser.BuiltinTypeParsers.NumericParser`1[System.Double])
[LOG 21:39:01]: Parsing Target scale in (Kopernicus.Configuration.Loader) as (Kopernicus.ConfigParser.BuiltinTypeParsers.NumericParser`1[System.Double])
[LOG 21:39:01]: Parsing Target Epoch in (Kopernicus.Configuration.Loader) as (Kopernicus.ConfigParser.BuiltinTypeParsers.NumericParser`1[System.Double])
[LOG 21:39:01]: Parsing Target useOnDemand in (Kopernicus.Configuration.Loader) as (Kopernicus.ConfigParser.BuiltinTypeParsers.NumericParser`1[System.Boolean])
[LOG 21:39:01]: Parsing Target useOnDemandBiomes in (Kopernicus.Configuration.Loader) as (Kopernicus.ConfigParser.BuiltinTypeParsers.NumericParser`1[System.Boolean])
[LOG 21:39:01]: Parsing Target onDemandLoadOnMissing in (Kopernicus.Configuration.Loader) as (Kopernicus.ConfigParser.BuiltinTypeParsers.NumericParser`1[System.Boolean])
[LOG 21:39:01]: Parsing Target onDemandLogOnMissing in (Kopernicus.Configuration.Loader) as (Kopernicus.ConfigParser.BuiltinTypeParsers.NumericParser`1[System.Boolean])
[LOG 21:39:01]: Parsing Target onDemandUnloadDelay in (Kopernicus.Configuration.Loader) as (Kopernicus.ConfigParser.BuiltinTypeParsers.NumericParser`1[System.Int32])
[LOG 21:39:01]: Parsing Target useManualMemoryManagement in (Kopernicus.Configuration.Loader) as (Kopernicus.ConfigParser.BuiltinTypeParsers.NumericParser`1[System.Boolean])
[LOG 21:39:01]: Parsing Target mainMenuBody in (Kopernicus.Configuration.Loader) as (System.String)
[LOG 21:39:01]: Parsing Target maxViewingDistance in (Kopernicus.Configuration.Loader) as (Kopernicus.ConfigParser.BuiltinTypeParsers.NumericParser`1[System.Double])
[LOG 21:39:01]: Parsing Target scaledSpaceFaderMult in (Kopernicus.Configuration.Loader) as (Kopernicus.ConfigParser.BuiltinTypeParsers.NumericParser`1[System.Double])
[LOG 21:39:01]: Parsing Target force3DOrbits in (Kopernicus.Configuration.Loader) as (Kopernicus.ConfigParser.BuiltinTypeParsers.NumericParser`1[System.Boolean])
[LOG 21:39:01]: Parsing Target self in (Kopernicus.Configuration.Loader) as (System.Collections.Generic.List`1[Kopernicus.ConfigParser.BuiltinTypeParsers.StringCollectionParser])
[LOG 21:39:01]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Sun
[LOG 21:39:02]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Moho
[LOG 21:39:02]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Eve
[LOG 21:39:02]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Gilly
[LOG 21:39:02]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Kerbin
[LOG 21:39:03]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Mun
[LOG 21:39:03]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Minmus
[LOG 21:39:03]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Duna
[LOG 21:39:03]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Ike
[LOG 21:39:04]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Dres
[LOG 21:39:04]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Jool
[LOG 21:39:04]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Laythe
[LOG 21:39:04]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Vall
[LOG 21:39:04]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Tylo
[LOG 21:39:05]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Bop
[LOG 21:39:05]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Pol
[LOG 21:39:06]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Eeloo
[LOG 21:39:07]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Nissee
[LOG 21:39:09]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Thatmo
[LOG 21:39:10]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Neidon
[LOG 21:39:12]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Plock
[LOG 21:39:13]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Sarnus
[LOG 21:39:14]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Urlum
[LOG 21:39:15]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Karen
[LOG 21:39:17]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Hale
[LOG 21:39:18]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Ovok
[LOG 21:39:20]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Slate
[LOG 21:39:22]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Tekto
[LOG 21:39:24]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Polta
[LOG 21:39:26]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Priax
[LOG 21:39:27]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Tal
[LOG 21:39:29]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Wal
[LOG 21:39:30]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: AlphaCentauriA
[LOG 21:39:31]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: AlphaCentauriB
[LOG 21:39:31]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: AlphaCentauri
[LOG 21:39:32]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: ProximaCentaurib
[LOG 21:39:33]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: ProximaCentauri
[LOG 21:39:34]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Barnardb
[LOG 21:39:35]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Loaded Body: Barnard
[LOG 21:39:35]: [Kopernicus]: Configuration.Loader: Failed to load Body: TauCetie: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
[LOG 21:39:37]: [Kopernicus] RuntimeUtility Started
[LOG 21:39:37]: StarLightSwitcher.Awake(): Begin

So of course my question what did I screw up?

[Andi K.]

7 hours ago, Raven. said:

I'm having a tough time with getting this mod installed. So I install the "RealExoplanets" and "REX-Textures" folder over to gamedata, and I get the following error message on startup:

 

And my Kopernicus log: 

-- snip --

So of course my question what did I screw up?

You didn't screw up anything. I'm having this same issue as well (that's why I've changed the version number from 1.8.1 back to 1.7.3) and it seems to be an issue with all of the planets that use the "generic biome" i.e., planets without a surface. A temporary solution is to go into the planet configs for Tau Ceti e, Tau Ceti f, TRAPPIST-1b, TRAPPIST-1c and TRAPPIST-1f and replace the relevant lines with this:

//biomeMap = REX-Textures/PluginData/Generic_Biome.dds

//Biomes
//{
//    Biome
//    {
//        name = Equatorial Zone
//        value = 1.0
//        color = #6AB057
//    }
//	  Biome
//    {
//        name = Tropics
//        value = 1.0
//        color = #FFB770
//    }
//    Biome
//    {
//        name = Temperate Zone
//        value = 1.0
//        color = #44A07E
//    }
//	  Biome
//    {
//        name = Polar Zone
//        value = 1.0
//        color = #FFFFFF
//    }				
//}

Those slashes should disable the biomes. I literally have no idea why KSP 1.8.1 doesn't like the generic biome I use for surfaceless planets, but I'll try to find a more permanent solution in the coming days.

Edited February 5, 2020 by AndrewDraws

[pmborg]

Hello @AndrewDraws I have Exo-Planets working in 1.8.1 more than 2 months ago, I posted several msg with the solutions to make it working, now I don't remember all steps, that I have done...

For that error maybe is enouf this:

ERROR 3: for 1.8.1
--------
Convert Textures:
Donloaded: https://github.com/microsoft/DirectXTex/releases
K:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Kerbal Space Program_1.8.1.dev\GameData\REX-Textures\PluginData>texconv.exe -f DXT5 *.dds -y

[Andi K.]

19 hours ago, pmborg said:

Hello @AndrewDraws I have Exo-Planets working in 1.8.1 more than 2 months ago, I posted several msg with the solutions to make it working, now I don't remember all steps, that I have done...

For that error maybe is enouf this:

ERROR 3: for 1.8.1
--------
Convert Textures:
Donloaded: https://github.com/microsoft/DirectXTex/releases
K:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Kerbal Space Program_1.8.1.dev\GameData\REX-Textures\PluginData>texconv.exe -f DXT5 *.dds -y

As it turns out, it is actually a problem with the dds compression format I used. I believe I used DXT1 or DXT3 for it but when I change it to DXT5, everything works flawlessly. I will release an update shortly here that will fix this as well as add a few new features.

[Andi K.]

Ok I just released an update. It's a relatively minor one, and doesn't add 'Oumuamua or any of the other bodies I want to add. Those will come later. Here are the things added by the update:

• Fixed TRAPPIST-1h transit times
• Added ability to enable and disable particular systems in the REX settings file
• Added custom sun flares without scattterer
• Fixed Teegarden b scatterer ocean color
• Foamy, super-critical CO2 oceans on TRAPPIST-1b
• Fixed time warp altitudes and made them change depending on the user-defined scale factors
• Fixed Generic_Biome.dds breaking everything in 1.8.1

[pmborg]

2 hours ago, AndrewDraws said:

As it turns out, it is actually a problem with the dds compression format I used. I believe I used DXT1 or DXT3 for it but when I change it to DXT5, everything works flawlessly. I will release an update shortly here that will fix this as well as add a few new features.

Yes, that was one of the changes in 1.8.1, can be seen here (https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/1.8)

"DXT3 DDS formatted textures are not supported by Unity or KSP any more. You must convert to DXT5. "

I am glad that we have this wonderful peace of work up and running

Cheers!

[Andi K.]

8 hours ago, pmborg said:

Yes, that was one of the changes in 1.8.1, can be seen here (https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/1.8)

"DXT3 DDS formatted textures are not supported by Unity or KSP any more. You must convert to DXT5. "

I am glad that we have this wonderful peace of work up and running

Cheers!

Haha I wasn't aware of that. Thank you for making me aware of this! Much appreciated.

[X-25]

On 8/15/2019 at 12:50 AM, OOM said:

Awesome! The potentially inhabited exoplanets of Teegarden were discovered this year). Could you add some black vegetation in the twilight zone?

You should add a planet for Alpha Centauri A and B. There's at least one planet that we know of that orbits around the binary system

On 8/15/2019 at 12:50 AM, OOM said:

Awesome! The potentially inhabited exoplanets of Teegarden were discovered this year). Could you add some black vegetation in the twilight zone?

 

[Andi K.]

13 hours ago, X-25 said:

You should add a planet for Alpha Centauri A and B. There's at least one planet that we know of that orbits around the binary system

There currently aren't any confirmed exoplanets that orbit Alpha Centauri. The only confirmed exoplanet in this system orbits Proxima Centauri, which has already been added into REX. I only want add add exoplanets that have been confirmed to exist.