What you can use orbiter also for...

[Richy]

There I was making this mod for Half-Life, when I discovered, I need a custom environmental map, also called skybox, for a space related map.
First I was trying with photoshop and other image editing tools to merge some pictures of earth and sun together, and wasn't satisfied with the result. I mean, it looked quite crappy.

So, one day, after I went to bed, I tought about, maybe I can use orbiter for that. Next day, I did some tries, and I was amazed! It worked! Very well indeed!

I lowered the resolution in windowed mode, made some ground spectator camera presets, increased the sun's size, and modified star and background brightness. I had to ajust the resolution with respect to the window-frame, and with a FOV of 90° for the ground observer view, it was exactly what I needed for the game's skybox.

The result was quite good, actually I'm a bit proud of, so I wanted the orbiter community and it's creator to know, what an incredible useful tool orbiter is, besides it's space simulation capability!

Here some view's of a orbiter based skybox:

And don't worry, there is a lot orbiter merchandise inside that map, and my mod will get more than one credit for orbiter, that's for sure!

So thanks Martin, for this beautiful and exceedingly useful software, and every one else here, who supports it to that way it is today and will be in the future! It is definitively the best piece of software, my pc was ever honored by! :thumbup:

Maybe you have also stories about some other uses of orbiter, kind of astronomy software, google earth or screensaver replacement I've already read here.

 

[Loru]

Simulating end results in my master thesis which involves performing a lot of Eath/Mars transfers.

Orbiter also helped a lot in teaching my brother 3rd law of dynamics and circular motion.

 

[Keatah]

I use it (currently now) for sightseeing and mood setting for the evening. The wonderful graphics of interplanetary and near planetary space are simple spellbinding! You can't beat it for simulating a window looking out of a futuristic lounge on a station or a ship.

 

[Stevodoran]

I use it for when my dog annoys. I pretend he is Laika and destroys it on launch.

 

[Spacethingy]

Physics homework.

Tried to work out how long a runway I needed for a DG to land on, using the force graphic things to work out friction.

NASA's still trying to pull the DG out of the marshes at KSC... (Surprisingly, I got quite a good physics grade... :uhh

 

[Grover]

using in conjunction with known orbital parameters, to plan ISS/celestial body sightings?

 

[statickid]

I use it to check my math modeling solutions and equations! Also for testing ideas about space navigation without a ground crew!