Starmap Manager

Download, process, and manage astronomical data for the game's 3D starmap. Handles real star catalogs (Gaia), exoplanet data (NASA), and galactic background imagery (ESA/ESO).

Quick Start

Most common usage:

# Download quick dataset (~2MB total, fastest start)
.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/download_stars.sh quick

# Download medium dataset (~15MB, richer local bubble)
.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/download_stars.sh medium

# Download galactic background
.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/download_background.sh

# Check what's installed
.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/status.sh

When to Use This Skill

Invoke this skill when:

• User wants to download real star data for the game
• User asks about Gaia, exoplanet, or astronomical data sources
• User wants galactic background images/textures
• Setting up starmap assets for the first time
• Upgrading from quick to medium/large dataset

Data Tiers

| Tier | Stars | Exoplanets | Size | Use Case | |------|-------|------------|------|----------| | Quick | 5,930 (CNS5) | ~6,000 | ~2 MB | Rapid prototyping | | Medium | ~50,000 (filtered GCNS) | ~6,000 | ~15 MB | Release candidate | | Large | 331,312 (full GCNS) | ~6,000 | ~75 MB | HD/DLC option |

Available Scripts

scripts/download_stars.sh <tier>

Download star catalog for specified tier (quick/medium/large).

# Quick: CNS5 nearby stars (~1.2MB)
.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/download_stars.sh quick

# Medium: Filtered GCNS G/K/M dwarfs (~10MB)
.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/download_stars.sh medium

# Large: Full GCNS 100pc catalog (~72MB compressed)
.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/download_stars.sh large

scripts/download_exoplanets.sh

Download NASA Exoplanet Archive confirmed planets (~3MB).

.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/download_exoplanets.sh

scripts/download_background.sh [resolution]

Download ESA Gaia all-sky map for galactic background.

# 4K version (4096x2048, ~5MB) - default
.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/download_background.sh 4k

# 8K version (8192x4096, ~20MB)
.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/download_background.sh 8k

scripts/process_stars.sh

Convert downloaded star catalogs to game-ready format.

# Process all downloaded catalogs
.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/process_stars.sh

scripts/status.sh

Show current starmap asset status.

.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/status.sh

Workflow

1. Initial Setup (Quick Start)

# Download minimal dataset for development
.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/download_stars.sh quick
.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/download_exoplanets.sh
.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/download_background.sh
.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/process_stars.sh

2. Upgrade to Medium (Pre-Release)

# Get richer dataset for release
.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/download_stars.sh medium
.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/process_stars.sh

3. HD Assets (Optional DLC)

# Full catalog + high-res background
.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/download_stars.sh large
.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/download_background.sh 8k
.claude/skills/starmap-manager/scripts/process_stars.sh

Output Files

All processed data goes to assets/data/starmap/:

assets/data/starmap/
├── stars.json          # Combined star catalog (positions, types, etc.)
├── exoplanets.json     # Confirmed exoplanets with orbital data
├── habitable.json      # Pre-filtered habitable zone candidates
└── background/
    └── galaxy_4k.png   # All-sky galactic panorama

Resources

Data Sources

See resources/data_sources.md for:

• Complete data source documentation
• API endpoints and download URLs
• Data schemas and column descriptions
• Licensing information (all CC BY-SA 3.0 compatible)

Processing Pipeline

See resources/processing.md for:

• Coordinate conversion (RA/Dec to galactic XYZ)
• Filtering criteria for each tier
• JSON schema for game integration
• Habitable zone calculations

Notes

• Licensing: All data is CC BY-SA 3.0 or public domain
• Updates: Star positions don't change; exoplanets update quarterly
• Determinism: Same processing produces identical output
• Dependencies: Requires curl, jq, python3 (for coordinate conversion)