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| Item No |
ULJM-05184 |
| Publisher |
Sega |
| Platform |
Sony PSP |
| Category |
Japanese Software |
| Status |
Ships same-day (M-F) if ordered before 5PM EST. |
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Update: October 20, 2006
«©NCSX» Put a planetarium in your pocket with Sega's Homestar Portable software for the PSP. Imagine wandering down a country path with your boy scout troupe under a starry sky. When the scoutmaster asks, "Where exactly is Orion?" you can flick out of the PSP, power-up, and stare at the flickering screen. After hunting and pecking for a few seconds, answer (with steely-eyed authority), "The Hunter is over there..." while pointing skyward like Babe Ruth at the batting cage. Homestar Portable includes a database which maps 5,000,000 stars in the heavens and their respective constellations. The program is based on the Megastar-II Cosmos planetarium projector developed by Takayuki Ohira who oversaw the PSP Homestar project and provided his expertise. Homestar Portable features over 300 celestial bodies and formations that may be viewed including constellations, comets, eclipses, nebulae, planets, and aurora. For eager learners, a series of 20 sky tours in the Fantasy Theater goes through star systems and showcases events in the skies. When the PSP GPS receiver is released later this year, a Homestar Portable user will be able to lock his position in the software and view the night sky on the PSP as it currently appears above him. Since the Earth moves across the solar system and the orientation of the stars change, the program keeps track of your location on Earth and maps the skies according to the time, date, and geographic location. A game sharing feature allows users to beam their current star maps to other users of the software. Jan Code 4974365900205 View the back cover and screenshots on the main NCSX website. This document is ©NCSX 2006. All rights reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part of this document may be made without express written consent of National Console Support, Inc.
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| Total Number of Reviews: 1 |
| Anonymous: An impressive planetarium application. |
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| Homestar: 21st Century Star Navigator is a good, solid planetarium application. It's much more useful if you read Japanese, but you might be able to get good use out of it even if you don't.
Good:
- English Messier and NGC numbers and star name labels, mostly
- Smooth control - D-pad for fast slew and nub for precision
- Info windows, with text and picture, for all planets, the sun, the moon, Messier and NGC objects, and some stars
- All Messier objects are included, along with a fair number of NGC objects
- 1X-240X zoom with nice deep-space object photos displayed
- Nice ambient noise soundtrack in planetarium mode
- Narrated sky tours with beautiful photos and music
- Specifying observing location, observing time, and the speed of time is easy
- Quick pick menus for selecting astronomical objects, unique events in astronomy history
Bad:
- Everything other than a few menu labels and the M/NGC numbers and the star names is in Japanese (not a complaint, but I had a faint irrational hope there was an option)
- Deep-space object photos at full zoom are low-res
- Only a single photo in info windows, often not very good
- I haven't figured out how to stop time altogether
- A lot of the music is pretty crap :(
- Many NGC objects and others seem to be labeled using Japanese common name
- You don't seem able to save observing location, so I have to set my coordinates every time
This isn't as full-featured as Starry Night or other PC planetarium tools, but it holds its own admirably. I'd pay $50+ for an English version, but it was definitely a worthwhile purchase at $30. Slap a red-tinted screen protector on your PSP, and you have a fairly helpful observing tool perfect for taking into the field. It's more convenient than flipping through an Audubon field guide, IMO.
I haven't tried any of the PDA planetariums, but you might be able to get something much better on the PocketPC or Palm platforms. |
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