After working on and off on the solar system(Previous Post) among a few other projects I am doing, I have finally gotten the solar system simulator to a releasable state. Improvements over last time include:
- Physics is functioning and realistic after fixing a flaw in timing system, due to a misplaced exponent when working out part of Keplers Third Law.
- Added name markers for planets to track across solar system.
- GUI updated to reflect improved functionality.
- Better resolution background. New one is 4K (4096×2160), last one was technically higher at 6kx3k, however textures in Three.js are automatically scaled if they are not a power of two, leading to the poorer image quality.
- Lens-flare for sun at a distance.
- It was recommended to add a loading indicator in because of the high-res textures. I’ve done that, albeit basically, but it works more or less.
I would like to add extra functionality as time goes on if I have time, but I have a few other projects to do in the meantime. The main thing I would like to add as times goes on is more realistic 3D graphics, as well as adding rings and the asteroid belt. I would also like to add the ability to plot the orbit of your very own celestial body, which I may hopefully pick up on at a later date. Source code is available here: https://github.com/KentJames/Solar-System
