Starry Night Pro 4.x FAQ

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OpenGL is a software interface for graphics hardware that allows programs to display real-time 3D graphics and interactive environments. OpenGL enables a suite of powerful visualization features such as rendering, texture mapping and other special effects. OpenGL is one of the most powerful graphics technologies out there.

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No. Upon startup, Starry Night will check your hardware to see if you have an OpenGL compatible graphics card. If you do not have such a card, Starry Night will automatically run the non-OpenGL version. If for some reason, you have an OpenGL graphics card but do not wish to run the OpenGL version of Starry Night, choose Preferences from the File menu (Windows) or the Starry Night menu (Macintosh), choose OpenGL from the drop box in the upper left corner of the Preferences dialog box, and uncheck the option "Use OpenGL". OpenGL support requires an OpenGL capable graphics card (32 MB and above recommended).

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Starry Night will run much faster because it takes advantage of OpenGL graphics rendering technology. In addition, OpenGL users will see much higher-resolution solar system object surface maps, and photo realistic panoramic horizons. Finally, stars will look more realistic and orbit and path lines will not look as jagged.

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OpenGL offers improved graphics on computers whose video hardware supports it. The OpenGL dialog box allows you to select a number of options.
Use OpenGL: Checking this option will enable OpenGL if your video card supports it. If for some reason, you have an OpenGL graphics card but do not wish to run the OpenGL version of Starry Night, uncheck this box.
Use sub-pixel accuracy when plotting labels: Sub-pixel accuracy gives labels a smooth feel as they move on the screen. However, depending on your video card this can cause labels to flicker.
Draw stars using polygon smoothing: Some video cards have trouble doing what's called polygon smoothing and this can cause "blocky stars". By default polygon smoothed stars on the PC are turned off and on the Mac they are turned on. If you are experiencing the "blocky star" effect on the Mac you can try turning this feature off. On the PC, if your card supports it, turning this feature on can have a speed improvement in how fast stars are drawn; if your card doesn't support it, it can result in slow stars or blocky stars.
Use half size textures: Checking this option will save on video graphics memory and should improve performance on slower computers or video cards with less than 32 MB of memory.
Force texture cache size: Specifies the amount of memory cached by your video card.

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The Video Test application is a tool that displays information about your Starry Night OpenGL Settings and allows you to tweak a number of performance options.

The Starry Night Display Settings window is partitioned in two sections. The OpenGL Hardware Info section displays useful information about the make and model of your video card. It also provides you with the OpenGL version supported.

In addition this section lets you toggle between using the settings set in Starry Night or the option to disable OpenGL. When Use Starry Night Settings is selected, Starry Night will use the preferences set in the Preferences Dialog box (File-Preferences menu (Windows) or the Starry Night menu (Macintosh), then choose General from the drop box in the upper left corner of the Preferences dialog box). Selecting Disable OpenGL does just that and graphics are rendered in non- OpenGL mode.

The OpenGL Performance Options section allows you to optimize and speed up OpenGL performance depending on the video card you have. If you have a graphics card with less than 32 MB of RAM, you might want to select Use half size textures.

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Upgrading to a 32 MB Video Card and greater will significantly enhance OpenGL performance. Switching from millions of colors to thousands of colors can improve performance, but will reduce image quality. Starry Night may run better on PCI based OpenGL graphics cards if 32 or 16 are selected in the "Force Texture Cache Size" box. There may be some choppiness, but the imagery will be improved. If you have an AGP graphics card, you should leave this unchecked. The Use half size textures option in the Video Test application should improve performance on slower computers or machines with less memory (regardless of PCI/AGP). If you set the texture cache to only 16 MB, it automatically sets the use half size textures.

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If your Starry Night display appears too dark, you should adjust you monitors gamma value. Gamma correction controls the overall brightness of an image. Images that are not properly corrected can look either bleached out, or too dark. A gamma value of 1.6-1.8 seems to give good results.

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This can happen if you are using an older video driver. You should visit the web site of your video cards manufacturer and download the latest driver available for the make and model of your card.

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Your OpenGL graphics card driver should be up to date for best performance. To update your video card driver, visit the web site of your video cards manufacturer. Drivers are usually available in the Support or Downloads areas of the web site.

Starry Night is optimized for Nvidia Geforce and ATI Radeon video cards. Their web sites are listed bellow. Support regarding the update of video drivers should be directed at the manufacturer of your video card.

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This seems to happen with certain ATI video cards. ATI has released a driver update that fixes this issue.

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You can minimize this effect by adjusting the gamma settings of your video display. In Windows, right click on the desktop and select Properties from the contextual menu that opens. In the Display Properties window, click on the Settings tab and then on the Advanced button to access your display properties. Video cards vary, but look for a setting that allows you to correct for gamma. A gamma value of 1.6-1.8 seems to give good results.

OpenGLŪ is a Registered Trademark of Silicon Graphics Inc.

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