SkyVR 🌌

SkyVR is a multi-user virtual reality experience under the sky, enabling users to explore the night sky together. Built with web standards, it brings celestial data to life directly in your browser.

✨ Features

• Multi-User Exploration: Join rooms with others, see their avatars, and communicate in real-time.
• VR Ready: Fully immersive experience compatible with WebXR-enabled headsets (Quest, etc.) via A-Frame.
• Cross-Platform: accessible from desktop browsers and mobile devices.

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16 or higher recommended)
• npm

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/SternwarteFulda/SkyVR.git
   cd SkyVR

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

   Note: This will automatically run a postinstall patch for the A-Frame environment component.

3. Set up environment variables:

   cp .env.example .env

   Edit .env to add your TURN server credentials (if needed for production NAT traversal) and optionally configure custom Imprint/Privacy Policy URLs.

Running locally

Start the server:

npm start

⚠️ Important: SSL Required

Networked A-Frame requires SSL/HTTPS to function - this applies to all environments, including local development. Multi-user networking features will not work over HTTP, even on local networks. You must set up SSL certificates for development and production.

Deployment

For production deployment, it is strongly recommended to:

1. Install SkyVR on a server behind a reverse proxy (e.g., Nginx, Apache, Caddy)
2. Configure SSL certificates (e.g., using Let's Encrypt)
3. Proxy requests from HTTPS to your Node.js server (Default port: 8080)

Without SSL, WebRTC connections (used for multi-user networking) will fail in most modern browsers due to security restrictions.

🛠️ Built With

• A-Frame (MIT) - WebVR framework for building virtual reality experiences.
• Networked-Aframe (MIT) - Multi-user networking for A-Frame.
• A-Frame Environment (MIT) - Infinite backgrounds for A-Frame.
• A-Frame Extras (MIT) - Add-ons and helpers for A-Frame.
• A-Frame Multi-Camera (MIT) - System for multiple cameras in A-Frame.
• A-Frame Render Order (MIT) - Component to manually set rendering order for A-Frame entities.
• Astronomy Engine (MIT) - Rigorous calculations of celestial body positions.

📚 Data & Attributions

We gratefully acknowledge the use of data and assets from:

• Star Data (ATHYG): ATHYG database by David Nash / Astronexus. (CC BY 4.0)
• Constellation Art: Created by Johan Meuris (Jomejome). (Free Art License)
• Gaia Milky Way: Data from the European Space Agency (ESA) mission Gaia, processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC). (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)
• Moon Textures: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio. (Public Domain)
• Jupiter Texture: NASA, ESA, A. Simon (GSFC), M.H. Wong (UC Berkeley), and the OPAL team. (Public Domain)
• Font: 'Outfit' by Smartsheet Inc. (OFL)

For a full detailed list of credits and licenses, please visit the About & Attribution page within the application (accessible from the Lobby).

📄 License

This project is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPLv3). See the LICENSE file for details.