MilkyWay@home Standalone screensaver test available for Linux

[Free-DC]

Testing applications are now available for Linux now that a major timing bug issue has been taken care of. Windows applications are also updated in the windows thread. Mac applications have been forwarded to the appropriate team members for compilation/testing and should be available soon.Please feel free to leave suggestions/comments here and bug reports in this thread (http://milkyway.cs.rpi.edu/milkyway/forum_thread.php?id=1945).The demo is computationally expensive and will not run sufficiently fast on some machines (runs a bit choppy on a Pentium I5 2.4ghz CPU). The "cube_test" application has a much faster demo that uses the same graphics engine. If either works, the final screensaver should run smoothly on the same machine. The final screensaver will have precalculated paths and images, taking care of the speed issue.mwdemo_linux.tar.gz (v2) (http://milkyway.cs.rpi.edu/milkyway/download/forum/mwdemo_linux.tar.gz)cube_test_linux.tar.gz (v2) (http://milkyway.cs.rpi.edu/milkyway/download/forum/cube_test_linux.tar.gz)To use the application, download it and extract it to a folder on the desktop or in another folder if you prefer. Then run either of the two executable files that are extracted. As a precaution, it may be a good idea to save any data in other applications before running the full-screen version. For those that do not have Windows XP or later, a zip utility such as 7-zip or WinZip can be used to open the file. The controls listed below are similar to those of Celestia (http://www.shatters.net/celestia/) with a few more added in.Source for all files can be found here (http://github.com/Milkyway-at-home/milkywayathome_client/tree/master//simulation/).CONTROLSESC - Exit applicationTab : Start overShift-Tab : save new start-pointAlt-tab : leave application temporarily when in full-screen modePrtsc or Print-screen: saves a screenshotMOVEMENT< / > : accelerate backwards /forwardsF1-F9 : change acceleration (each step is 10 times faster than the previous)Arrow : look aroundCtrl-arrow : rotate viewShift-arrow : revolve camera around galaxy center (inverted)Alt-arrow : accelerate up/down/left/rightSpacebar : stop motionBackspace : focus on center of galaxyShift-backspace : focus on SolEnter : travel to center of galaxyShift-enter : travel to Sol (gives an Earth view of the wedge)APPEARANCE1 / 2 / 3 : select object 1-3 (wedge, stream, galaxy)+ / - : increase/decrease luminosity of objectShift- + / - : increase/decrease star blur radiusAlt- + / - : increase, decrease number of stars visibleA : toggle axes viewC : toggle camera viewNotes:If the application runs a little choppy, then it may help to hold keys a little longer if they do not activate every time, esp 1 / 2 / 3 when choosing an object.(Alt-minus) and (Shift-minus) will quickly increase the frame-rate since they require fewer screen-writes.As you move away from the stars, they will combine and brighten. The brightness can be reduced manually (see above).

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