Celestia on Nvidia Hardware and Ubuntu OS difficulties

In summary, the person is experiencing issues with Celestia on their older system with a Dell GX240, 2.4Ghz Pentium4, 1gb DDR 2700, and a Geforce MX440 64MB graphics card. They have all the Nvidia driver configurations complete and direct rendering enabled, and are able to play other games fine on the same machine. However, when they go to satellites in Celestia and press the 'g' key, a blackish sphere is displayed instead of the object. The person mentions that they have seen limitations for the MX series on Celestia's website, but it doesn't seem to be the problem they are having. They suggest trying to adjust other settings in Cele
  • #1
vincentm
323
3
Hello,

Celestia runs fine, except when i go to satellites ( Hubble, ISS, etc). When i hit the 'g' key it doesn't show anything for the object, instead a blackish type sphere is displayed. I'm running it on an older system:

Dell GX240
2.4Ghz Pentium4
1gb DDR 2700
Geforce MX440 64MB

I have all the Nvidia driver configurations complete, and direct rendering is enabled. I'm able to play Urban Terror 4.0 on this machine just fine, but Celestia...i don't know.
 
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  • #2
vincentm said:
Hello,

Celestia runs fine, except when i go to satellites ( Hubble, ISS, etc). When i hit the 'g' key it doesn't show anything for the object, instead a blackish type sphere is displayed. I'm running it on an older system:

Dell GX240
2.4Ghz Pentium4
1gb DDR 2700
Geforce MX440 64MB

I have all the Nvidia driver configurations complete, and direct rendering is enabled. I'm able to play Urban Terror 4.0 on this machine just fine, but Celestia...i don't know.

Funny you mention that card. I installed an HP MX440 in computer just yesterday.

I just checked out Celestia's website and they did mention the MX series. Not the problem you're having though...

Some specific limitations:
-- Nvidia MX cards cannot shadows of rings on planets, although they can draw shadows of planets on rings.

So you do have the latest Nvidia drivers? That graphics card it a little lower-end considering what's out there now, but it should still have some nice effects. Try adjusting other settings in Celestia... also try playing with the filtering and anti-aliasing under Nvidias control panel settings.
 
  • #3
Funny thing is that i have a Windows Machine with the same card here at my desk, and Celestia renders the satellites, just fine..weird. Setting changes don't stick in the NVIDIA configuration tool, that's another weird thing.
 

Related to Celestia on Nvidia Hardware and Ubuntu OS difficulties

1. What is Celestia and what are its system requirements?

Celestia is a free and open-source space simulation software that allows users to explore the universe in real-time. It requires a graphics card with OpenGL 3.3 support and at least 1GB of VRAM. It also requires a fast CPU and at least 1GB of RAM.

2. Why do I have difficulties running Celestia on my Nvidia hardware?

The most common difficulty with running Celestia on Nvidia hardware is due to outdated or incompatible drivers. Make sure you have the latest drivers installed for your graphics card.

3. How can I install Celestia on Ubuntu OS?

To install Celestia on Ubuntu, you can use the command "sudo apt-get install celestia" in the terminal. You can also download the source code from the Celestia website and compile it on your Ubuntu system.

4. Why is Celestia running slow on my Nvidia hardware?

Celestia may run slow on Nvidia hardware if your graphics card is not powerful enough to handle the high-resolution textures and detailed graphics. You can try lowering the graphics settings in Celestia or upgrading your graphics card for better performance.

5. Are there any known compatibility issues between Celestia and Ubuntu OS?

There have been some reported compatibility issues between Celestia and certain versions of Ubuntu, particularly with the Unity desktop environment. If you encounter any issues, try using a different desktop environment or updating to a different version of Ubuntu.

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