Archive for December, 2016

GIF Contest Winners!

Thank you to everyone who submitted to our Universe Sandbox ² GIF contest! There were a lot of great submissions, and we loved seeing all the different ways our fans use Universe Sandbox ² to explore and experiment with the universe. If you’re a winner, we’ll be reaching out to you soon to send you your prize. If you’re not a winner, there’s always next time! And without further ado…

Grand Prize

Earth being eaten by a neutron star. What’s not to like? Great framing, a great sample of simulation features in Universe Sandbox ², and an overall impressive and tasteful display of destruction. This gets the grand prize of a $50 Steam gift card!

Submitted by astalemarshmallow:

 

 

Runner-Up

A near-miss between Mars and Earth makes the oceans boil away. A very unique experiment that deserves a $25 Steam gift card.

Submitted by @Valareos:

 

Honorable Mentions

The following GIFs may not have won the top prizes, but we enjoyed them too much to not mention them. These users will be getting a couple Universe Sandbox ² codes for their friends and family.

 

Best Pandering

We love when our fans love Universe Sandbox ².

 

Submitted by DashingElektron:

 

Submitted by @robloxiscool191:

 

Best What-If

So that’s what would happen if Jupiter had Saturn’s rings and Saturn came back for revenge. The more you know…

Submitted by @Goldenknight_01:

 

Best Trip Around the Drain

Turns out there’s a lot in common between space and your sink.

Submitted by @BestPotatoGamin:

Submitted by No. 60 Neodymium:

Submitted by DirtyKaya:

 

Most Artistic

A beautiful and abstract cosmic dance. Submitted by Flingdagger:

 

 

Most Terrifying

This surface-cam perspective of a slowly expanding supernova is making us anxious. In a good way! Submitted by DeadpanGod3:

 

 

 

Thanks again to everyone who submitted! Stay tuned for future contests.

For the latest Universe Sandbox ² news, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Alpha 19.4 | Juno & the Return of Craters | Now Available

universe-sandbox-%c2%b2-juno

Run Steam to update to Alpha 19.4, or buy Universe Sandbox ² via our website or the Steam Store.

Alpha 19.4 introduces a brand new model for the Juno spacecraft, which you can find in Add > Objects > Juno. Juno entered into orbit around Jupiter this past July. Its goal is to understand the gas giant’s origin and evolution.

This update also fixes two of the bigger issues introduced in Alpha 19: displacement mapping (3D craters) works again, and city lights once again turn off after collisions and high temperatures.

Check out the full list of What’s New.

For the latest Universe Sandbox ² news, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Universe Sandbox ² GIF Contest

Update December 16: Contest Closed!

Thanks everyone for your submissions! We will be announcing the winner in the next couple of weeks. 

 

So it’s clear at this point that you all love blowing up planets. But now we want to see exactly how you blow up planets.

Which is why we’re having a Universe Sandbox ² GIF contest!

Submit your GIF before midnight PST, Thursday, December 15, and you’ll be considered for the Grand Prize: a $50 Steam gift card and shoutouts on our social media. Please see below for full instructions on how to submit a GIF. 

Of course, you don’t have to show us exploding planets. We love to see how our fans explore and utilize all of the tools and features in Universe Sandbox ². Be creative. So how do you submit a GIF for the contest? Easy!

How to Submit a GIF via Facebook or Twitter

  1. Open Universe Sandbox ² and start colliding planets (or delicately balancing orbits)
  2. Record your GIF (press F9 to Start/Stop, or click Video > Start/Stop Video Capture)
  3. Click Share once the GIF is processed
  4. After it’s done uploading, select either Share on Facebook or Tweet (alternatively, select Copy URL to Clipboard and manually share on Facebook or Twitter)
  5. Your Tweet/Facebook post MUST be public and MUST include the #UniverseSandbox hashtag in order to be considered for the contest! (If you’re sharing on Facebook, you will have to add #UniverseSandbox yourself; it is automatically included in Tweets)

How to Submit a GIF via Steam

  1. Open Universe Sandbox ² and start colliding planets (or delicately balancing orbits)
  2. Record your GIF (press F9 to Start/Stop, or click Video > Start/Stop Video Capture)
  3. Click Video > Open Video Folder to show where the GIFs are stored on your computer
  4. Upload your GIF to the Universe Sandbox ² Artwork page, no Facebook or Twitter necessary
  5. Visibility MUST be set to Public and it MUST be uploaded to the Community Hub, not your profile

Happy GIFing!

Hiring a QA Lead

This position has been filled. Thank you to everyone who applied.

If this still sounds like an ideal job for you, please reach out. We are always looking for more help from the right candidates.

Giant Army is looking for a video game/simulation tester to join our team. You will work independently to create, maintain, and regularly execute the Universe Sandbox ² test plan on pre-release builds. It is essential that you are able to write up detailed bug reports and proactively work with the team to ensure they’ve been fixed.

The ideal candidate should have a scientific inquisitiveness when identifying potential bugs (“Should Jupiter be this hot?” “Wouldn’t that have destroyed the moon?”). We have an astrophysicist on the team; it’s okay to not know the answers, but you should be comfortable asking questions. Familiarity with Universe Sandbox ² is a bonus, but not required.

This is an hourly, remote, contract position with flexible hours.

Join us… we’re making something incredible that’s never been done before.

QA Lead

Your Role

  • Create and maintain a comprehensive test plan for the entire game
  • Regularly review internal builds to make sure new features and fixes work as intended
  • Review forums, videos, and feedback to identify user-reported bugs
  • Log clear, concise descriptions and reproduction steps of all issue to our GitHub repository
  • Communicate with our developers on Slack to help squash bugs

Ideal Candidate

  • Has experience with game/software testing and methodology, ideally in a lead capacity
  • Has already spent many hours exploring Universe Sandbox ², loves it, and has spotted a bug or two
  • Maintains a flexible schedule which allows for varying hours (depending on where we are in development cycle)
  • Is comfortable testing with Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and VR hardware

Mandatory Qualifications

  • Ability to write clear descriptions and reproduction steps for bugs in English
  • Detail-oriented and an eye for noticing when things aren’t quite right
  • Intuition about science and how our simulations should work
  • Comfortable working in a remote environment (the whole team is remote)
  • Must own a Windows machine

Company Overview

Giant Army is the company behind Universe Sandbox ². Our headquarters are in Seattle, Washington, USA, with team members across the United States, Germany, and Denmark.

Team members enjoy a flexible, collaborative environment. We strive for work-life balance, and we pursue the features that get us excited about science. We do the work so that we can share that with others. We’re also committed to creating an accessible experience that can’t be found elsewhere.

Science is for everyone, and we welcome all qualified applicants.

Product Overview

Universe Sandbox ² is a space simulator that merges real-time gravity, climate, collision, and material interactions to reveal the beauty of our universe and the fragility of our planet. It’s more than a game; it’s a way of experiencing and learning about reality in a way that’s never been done before. Early access now available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

How to Apply

This position has been filled. Thank you to everyone who applied.

If this still sounds like an ideal job for you, please reach out. We are always looking for more help from the right candidates.

Email us: jobs at universesandbox.com

In the email please include:

  • Relevant email subject
  • Link to or copy of your resume or CV
  • Answer to this question:
    • What is the most appealing part of this opportunity?
  • Pick a game you’ve played or worked on recently and write a bug report (bonus points if you pick Universe Sandbox ²)
    • These don’t need to be long. Succinct and clear is best.
  • Where you originally heard about this job posting