As I’ve mentioned before in other forums, I look at the night sky all the time.  I even try to look on really cloudy nights, wondering if maybe there is some hole in the clouds where I can see through.  I want to see the stars.  When I see them, I watch them continuously, just staring at the universe around me.  My eyes and my mind wander … thinking about anything … and everything.

Every tiny “blip” of light in the sky catches my attention.  What was that?  Was it just a single bright flare from an orbiting satellite?  Was it a meteorite coming directly at me so there was no “length” to the streak in the sky?  Sometimes it’s more than just a blip, a constant slow moving light, or blinking lights slowly making their way across the night sky.  Bummer, just a satellite this time, but still kinda interesting I guess.

And I have spent literally a thousand or more hours staring at the night sky in PlanetVRium.  I am always ensuring perfection.  Looking at every little detail about the sky.  Does the sky rotate both ways?  I verify that I can select the stars and galaxies and nebulae and everything is working correctly.  I’ve watched each of the Visual Experiences multiple times; heck, multiple times over and over in the same evening; just to make sure everything is animated perfectly.  And when I look at the real sky for any length of time, I am amazed at what I see.  I enjoy camping.  I have a pool and a hot tub at my home; I relax and float … staring at the sky.  Often thinking about how I can animate and share my ideas with others, in VR.

The real thing is so much more than what is even possible with VR.  I strive to make PlanetVRium as real as I can.  Sometimes the issue is my knowledge – I don’t yet know the mathematical equations describing the orbital paths of the planets in the night sky; so the planets are not in the app (yet).  Sometimes it is “real life” issues, like work.  Sometimes it’s a technology limitation, or maybe just a simplification that I choose to make. 

 

I am doing pretty much everything myself.  I have ideas.  I write them down, including my thoughts about how and what to visualize.  I record myself narrating these stories and then doing the audio editing.  I choreograph the animation to the narration … and vice-versa.  I record the movies and screenshots.  I make some of the artwork because I want to learn those techniques and improve my skills.  I create and update the website.  I often wish I could write the music myself, but I don’t have that musical skill.  Everything about this project is super exciting to me.  But it is also super time consuming.  So much to do, and not enough time.

I am having fun.  I am learning so much along the way.  It is taking much too long for me to provide an update to this app.  I already mentioned in a separate forum about splitting my time between new features, new Visual Experiences, and porting to a new platform.  And real life taking so much of my available time.  So much to do, and not enough time.  Hmm, that seems somehow familiar.

Anyway, this blog is supposed to be about my vision.  In an earlier update to PlanetVRium, I created an animated version of My Vision as one of the many available Visual Experiences.  I  explained how I look up at the night sky, and that I am awed by what I see in the universe around me.  And how I want to share that excitement with others.  I am excited about what I’ve created, but I am always wanting it to be more.  Clicking on stars and rotating the sky is only a portion of what’s available in PlanetVRium.  You will find that the Visual Experiences are the most awesome part of this app.  Yeah, some of the topics are pretty basic.  But I try to make them scientifically accurate, as interesting as I am able to, and visually describe a complex topic through story-telling.  My hope is that it imparts some new knowledge every time you view it.  For example, in the upcoming version, there is an interesting new visualization about gravity: what if the Sun was converted to a black hole of the same mass?  And I’ve mentioned that I would love to be able to do other amazing animations, like a virtual plasma light show similar to Aurora Borealis, all around you. 

Oops, did I mention the upcoming version?  I probably shouldn’t have done that.  But yeah, I’ve been working on a new version, and I hope to have it available soon.  I am targeting it as our One Year Anniversary Edition.  I hope you are enjoying the currently available version, and know that a new update is coming soon with more interesting content for you to enjoy.