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A Wanderer's Return

Originally posted by Malenfant:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by RainOfSteel:
Stuart Ferris, author of Heaven & Earth 2 (and World Builder Deluxe and Heaven & Earth 1 before it), says that the toughest programming feat of the entire project is getting the oribtal placement to work right.
I'm a bit puzzled here. What's so difficult about implementing the CT orbital placement system? It's a fairly straightforward set of numbers.</font>[/QUOTE]He's referring to the "Place Known Components" step, which is fairly complicated and not table-driven. It's also a bit confusing if you include a companion star in one of the orbits, because it constrains everything else.
 
Originally posted by Malenfant:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by RainOfSteel:
Stuart Ferris, author of Heaven & Earth 2 (and World Builder Deluxe and Heaven & Earth 1 before it), says that the toughest programming feat of the entire project is getting the oribtal placement to work right.
I'm a bit puzzled here. What's so difficult about implementing the CT orbital placement system? It's a fairly straightforward set of numbers.</font>[/QUOTE]He's referring to the "Place Known Components" step, which is fairly complicated and not table-driven. It's also a bit confusing if you include a companion star in one of the orbits, because it constrains everything else.
 
Originally posted by Malenfant:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by RainOfSteel:
Stuart Ferris, author of Heaven & Earth 2 (and World Builder Deluxe and Heaven & Earth 1 before it), says that the toughest programming feat of the entire project is getting the oribtal placement to work right.
I'm a bit puzzled here. What's so difficult about implementing the CT orbital placement system? It's a fairly straightforward set of numbers.</font>[/QUOTE]He's referring to the "Place Known Components" step, which is fairly complicated and not table-driven. It's also a bit confusing if you include a companion star in one of the orbits, because it constrains everything else.
 
Originally posted by Malenfant:
I'm a bit puzzled here. What's so difficult about implementing the CT orbital placement system? It's a fairly straightforward set of numbers.
Apparently, when rolling through the orbital placements, cases arise which conflict.

Stuart didn't exactly provide a blow-by-blow analysis. Get into the group, and look up messages 3077, 3081, and, especially, 3086. Then later, message 3161 is also important.

The closest we get to an explanation is in message 3155 (three specific cases are stated here).

I thought about quoting his statements here, but since Stuart has set the list to be private, I thought better of it.


Originally posted by Malenfant:
Still. Call me a weirdo . . .
You're a weirdo.
file_23.gif
 
Originally posted by Malenfant:
I'm a bit puzzled here. What's so difficult about implementing the CT orbital placement system? It's a fairly straightforward set of numbers.
Apparently, when rolling through the orbital placements, cases arise which conflict.

Stuart didn't exactly provide a blow-by-blow analysis. Get into the group, and look up messages 3077, 3081, and, especially, 3086. Then later, message 3161 is also important.

The closest we get to an explanation is in message 3155 (three specific cases are stated here).

I thought about quoting his statements here, but since Stuart has set the list to be private, I thought better of it.


Originally posted by Malenfant:
Still. Call me a weirdo . . .
You're a weirdo.
file_23.gif
 
Originally posted by Malenfant:
I'm a bit puzzled here. What's so difficult about implementing the CT orbital placement system? It's a fairly straightforward set of numbers.
Apparently, when rolling through the orbital placements, cases arise which conflict.

Stuart didn't exactly provide a blow-by-blow analysis. Get into the group, and look up messages 3077, 3081, and, especially, 3086. Then later, message 3161 is also important.

The closest we get to an explanation is in message 3155 (three specific cases are stated here).

I thought about quoting his statements here, but since Stuart has set the list to be private, I thought better of it.


Originally posted by Malenfant:
Still. Call me a weirdo . . .
You're a weirdo.
file_23.gif
 
Originally posted by Elliot:
I have to admit I gave up designing world P'n'P when HE1 came out (I just modified the random generation to suit my needs) - but HE2 - wow, it looks very nice - has any world gen stuff been beta'd yet - if so whats it like!
The Galaxy Module Beta is pretty much complete. It handles placement of sectors, galaxy summary info, etc.

The Sector Module Beta is in 0.6 version, and is coming out with some very minor changes as 0.7, it's functionally completel, but there's a piece or two missing (like drawing borders). It creates/loads mainworlds only right now.

The System Module is under development. A tentative first release date for the beta 0.1 of Oct 3 has been given (when Sector Module 0.7 will also be released). It handles detailed star system generation.

After that, I'm not sure. This is all driven by Stuart's free time and dedication to the game. When he doesn't have free time, nothing really happens.
 
Originally posted by Elliot:
I have to admit I gave up designing world P'n'P when HE1 came out (I just modified the random generation to suit my needs) - but HE2 - wow, it looks very nice - has any world gen stuff been beta'd yet - if so whats it like!
The Galaxy Module Beta is pretty much complete. It handles placement of sectors, galaxy summary info, etc.

The Sector Module Beta is in 0.6 version, and is coming out with some very minor changes as 0.7, it's functionally completel, but there's a piece or two missing (like drawing borders). It creates/loads mainworlds only right now.

The System Module is under development. A tentative first release date for the beta 0.1 of Oct 3 has been given (when Sector Module 0.7 will also be released). It handles detailed star system generation.

After that, I'm not sure. This is all driven by Stuart's free time and dedication to the game. When he doesn't have free time, nothing really happens.
 
Originally posted by Elliot:
I have to admit I gave up designing world P'n'P when HE1 came out (I just modified the random generation to suit my needs) - but HE2 - wow, it looks very nice - has any world gen stuff been beta'd yet - if so whats it like!
The Galaxy Module Beta is pretty much complete. It handles placement of sectors, galaxy summary info, etc.

The Sector Module Beta is in 0.6 version, and is coming out with some very minor changes as 0.7, it's functionally completel, but there's a piece or two missing (like drawing borders). It creates/loads mainworlds only right now.

The System Module is under development. A tentative first release date for the beta 0.1 of Oct 3 has been given (when Sector Module 0.7 will also be released). It handles detailed star system generation.

After that, I'm not sure. This is all driven by Stuart's free time and dedication to the game. When he doesn't have free time, nothing really happens.
 
Originally posted by FlightCommanderSolitude:
He's referring to the "Place Known Components" step, which is fairly complicated and not table-driven. It's also a bit confusing if you include a companion star in one of the orbits, because it constrains everything else.
Ah. Yes, I see why that would be fiddly. I thought he just meant the orbital distances themselves.

I do recall that when I tried using the old H&E it seemed to be regularly placing objects in the forbidden zones in multiple star systems.
 
Originally posted by FlightCommanderSolitude:
He's referring to the "Place Known Components" step, which is fairly complicated and not table-driven. It's also a bit confusing if you include a companion star in one of the orbits, because it constrains everything else.
Ah. Yes, I see why that would be fiddly. I thought he just meant the orbital distances themselves.

I do recall that when I tried using the old H&E it seemed to be regularly placing objects in the forbidden zones in multiple star systems.
 
Originally posted by FlightCommanderSolitude:
He's referring to the "Place Known Components" step, which is fairly complicated and not table-driven. It's also a bit confusing if you include a companion star in one of the orbits, because it constrains everything else.
Ah. Yes, I see why that would be fiddly. I thought he just meant the orbital distances themselves.

I do recall that when I tried using the old H&E it seemed to be regularly placing objects in the forbidden zones in multiple star systems.
 
Originally posted by Paul_Drye:
Though watch your selection bias there. If you look at the (admittedly very few) worlds detected with methods other than radial velocity, the incidence of close-in gas giants goes way down.
True. (hi Paul
)

Though that said, there does seems to be an awful lot of stars that have big gas giants in close orbits. Makes me wonder if solar systems like ours are actually somewhat rare.

(isn't there only one system known so far - the Upsilon Andromedae system - that looks like it has big planets arranged in orbits that are even vaguely similar to our own?)
 
Originally posted by Paul_Drye:
Though watch your selection bias there. If you look at the (admittedly very few) worlds detected with methods other than radial velocity, the incidence of close-in gas giants goes way down.
True. (hi Paul
)

Though that said, there does seems to be an awful lot of stars that have big gas giants in close orbits. Makes me wonder if solar systems like ours are actually somewhat rare.

(isn't there only one system known so far - the Upsilon Andromedae system - that looks like it has big planets arranged in orbits that are even vaguely similar to our own?)
 
Originally posted by Paul_Drye:
Though watch your selection bias there. If you look at the (admittedly very few) worlds detected with methods other than radial velocity, the incidence of close-in gas giants goes way down.
True. (hi Paul
)

Though that said, there does seems to be an awful lot of stars that have big gas giants in close orbits. Makes me wonder if solar systems like ours are actually somewhat rare.

(isn't there only one system known so far - the Upsilon Andromedae system - that looks like it has big planets arranged in orbits that are even vaguely similar to our own?)
 
You know, having seen the discussions about 'Mr. S.' and knowing a bit about the attempts that have been made to get him to see reason re:reproduction of the classic MT stuff, and having seen indications of the order of magnitude expected $$$ wise, lets just say a professional 'cleaner' might be cheaper to hire and maybe the negotiation could be conducted with his heir...

And of course, I say that jokingly and in jest for all those members of the NSA, CIA, FSB, CSIS, CSE, or others listening in to my diatribe. If anything untoward happens, I was clearly not involved


It is really sad - there are some phenomenally good DGP products, and some that I don't own that I'd have to sell a kidney to get (Cats and Rats comes to mind). I have WBH and 1001 Vehicles and I thought these were phenomenally useful.
 
You know, having seen the discussions about 'Mr. S.' and knowing a bit about the attempts that have been made to get him to see reason re:reproduction of the classic MT stuff, and having seen indications of the order of magnitude expected $$$ wise, lets just say a professional 'cleaner' might be cheaper to hire and maybe the negotiation could be conducted with his heir...

And of course, I say that jokingly and in jest for all those members of the NSA, CIA, FSB, CSIS, CSE, or others listening in to my diatribe. If anything untoward happens, I was clearly not involved


It is really sad - there are some phenomenally good DGP products, and some that I don't own that I'd have to sell a kidney to get (Cats and Rats comes to mind). I have WBH and 1001 Vehicles and I thought these were phenomenally useful.
 
You know, having seen the discussions about 'Mr. S.' and knowing a bit about the attempts that have been made to get him to see reason re:reproduction of the classic MT stuff, and having seen indications of the order of magnitude expected $$$ wise, lets just say a professional 'cleaner' might be cheaper to hire and maybe the negotiation could be conducted with his heir...

And of course, I say that jokingly and in jest for all those members of the NSA, CIA, FSB, CSIS, CSE, or others listening in to my diatribe. If anything untoward happens, I was clearly not involved


It is really sad - there are some phenomenally good DGP products, and some that I don't own that I'd have to sell a kidney to get (Cats and Rats comes to mind). I have WBH and 1001 Vehicles and I thought these were phenomenally useful.
 
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