Screensaver 99/Screen99.iso/Space/CosmoSave/DATA.Z/README.TXT

Text File | 1996-11-29 | 5.6 KB | 136 lines

WELCOME TO COSMOSAVER-SOLAR SYSTEM:  RELEASE 1.31
*************************************************

This product is release 1.31 of CosmoSaver-Solar System. Included are
twelve modules of the the sun, and nine planets, including Venus
and Earth in both clouded and unclouded form.  All of the animations
are based on 3D surface models of the sun, planets, and moons.  The
screen saver actually  performs real-time calculations of how each
module should appear given the date, time, location, and orientation
in the solar system.  All of these settings can be configured in
enormous detail by the user, allowing endless combinations of
screen-savers.

For each module there are four possible animation modes of Image,
Sky View, Time Step, and Custom Orbit. Image mode is a stationary
image of the module.  Sky view calculates the view of the sky as seen
from the planet or sun.  Time Step involves calculating real-time
animations of the planet or sun according to an adjustable time interval.
Custom Orbit involves viewing the module object from a user defined orbit.
All of the configuring can be done from a standard screen-saver dialog box
accessed by clicking the program icon, or from the Windows Display
Control Panel. Alternatively, it can be done from an interactive
Explore Mode.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
*******************

In theory, CosmoSaver will function on any system running Windows 95.
For best results, a 66 MHz 486DX or better is recommended. The faster the
hardware, the more realistic the animations.  In addition, 5.5 MB RAM, 6.0 MB
hard disk space, and the ability to display VGA graphics in 640x480 resolution
or better.

WHAT IS NEW IN VERSION 1.31?
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1)  Better handling of daytime sky color for Earth and Mars as sun rises and
    sets.

2)  Changed default limiting magnitude from 5.50 to 6.30 because much more
    stars are visible and there is no effect on animation speed.

WHAT IS NEW VERSION 1.30?
*************************
1)  The old rotation movie animation mode has been replaced by sky view
    animation mode.  This had the ability to show a blue sky from earth
    during the day, and the rings of Saturn from Saturn.  This mode takes
    the longest to render but is often the most spectacular.

2)  A superior texture map is used for earth, and the clouds are calculated
    randomly instead of being fixed.

WHAT IS NEW IN VERSION 1.21?
****************************
1)  Screen saver hot keys.
2)  No Stop key in Explore mode because Single Step Toggle performs the same task.

WHAT IS NEW IN VERSION 1.20?
****************************

1)  Turbo rendering animations speeded up by 35%.  Precision rendering animations
    which account for perspective effect speeded up by 100%.

2)  The ability to single step and travel in reverse through frames in Explore Mode.

WHAT IS NEW IN VERSION 1.11?
****************************

1)  The ability to control date, time, and time step separately for each module,
    rather than just for the whole screen saver.

2)  Full Windows 95 compliant password protection.

3)  Decorated Frame in Explore Mode in addition to pull down menus.  Contains
    icons for each module, as well as for the major configuration options.

4)  Latitude and longitude displayed in Status bar in Explore Mode as mouse is moved
    over module.  Distance also displayed in Status Bar.

5)  Two distance scales, one in equatorial radii, and one in AU, up to 1000 AU.

6)  No cosmosav.ini file.  Everything is stored in the Registry.

RELEASE NOTES
*************

1)  If your system is Super VGA, it is recommended you use 16-bit color or
better to take full advantage of your hardware.  Click Control Panel from the
settings section and choose the display icon.  From there, click the settings
tab and you will see a choice of color and display sizes.  Choose at least
16 bit color. This step is important because the planets will seem rather
unrealistic in 256 color.

2)  If a 33 MHz 486DX or worse processor is being used, it is recommemded
that the module objects be viewed from the distances of at least three
equatorial radii.  Use Turbo Rendering, as opposed to Precision Rendering
that calculates a perspective effect, and takes into account oblateness of
planets.  Fast rendering is on by default.  Sky View will take the longest
to render, so use it with care.

3) Rendering by true size means that the disks of the sun, planets, and
satellites are calculated according to their actual physical size.
If rendering is done by true size, many of the satellites of the
planets will appear as dots because their disks would be a
fraction of a degree.  But rendering by magnitude means that the disk
sizes are calculated by the same method as for the stars, and is based
purely on brightness. The surface detail is superimposed on this disk,
giving an aesthetically pleasing view of planets such as Jupiter and
Saturn with their many satellites.  This option is controlled from the
Preferences Dialog box and is set to Render by Magnitude as default.

4)  The prominences of the sun are not visible in Sky View mode.

5) The limiting magnitude can be set to as high as 8.  Setting the
magnitude close to the limit will slow the animations down and clutter
the field of view because it is 100 degrees across, but if you have
the processing power, experiment!

6)  The "Change After" slider in the main CosmoSaver dialog box
controls the amount of time a module is on.  The software does not allow
this to go to zero.