Star System 3D
By Daniel Johnson
What:
This program builds a random starsystem using a series of random "rolls". The calculations closely
follow the star system generation rules in the Space Master Role Playing Game.
Who:
Me, Daniel Johnson.
Why:
I built this as a tool for myself when I was a Space Master game master. My friends were never satisfied
with staying on one planet and it was a chore to have to figure out where they would be going next. I
figured that if I built a program that did all the calculations that would save me some time and we could
follow more closely the astrogation and piloting skills. Also if the program could show the system in 3D
with the proper colors and textures then it could help the players get a feeling for how it looked.
How:
I built this using OpenGL and C++. I learned a bunch of useful things from http://nehe.gamedev.net/.
When:
Over a few months a little at a time. My guess is about 40 hours in total so far.
Instructions:
F1 - Switch from Fullscreen to Windowmode
Esc - Quit
Arrow Keys - Spin the sun and planets
Page Up & Page Down - Zoom out / in
Home & End - Switch between info screens(one for the star and one for each planet)
Enter - Create a new star system
Space - Stop all movement
Options:
L - Lighting On/Off
M - Show Atmosphere on applicable planets On/Off
O - Show orbits On/Off
F - Change texture filtering settings Nearest, Linear, Mipmapped
Thanks