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[Dan Dixon]

I'm wanting to create a list of superpowers and abilities a "superhero" could use to manipulate, create, and destroy a solar system, planet, or star.

What would they be?
Any ideas?

[FiahOwl]

I'm wanting to create a list of superpowers and abilities a "superhero" could use to manipulate, create, and destroy a solar system, planet, or star.

What would they be?
Any ideas?

Already made up ones (Telepathy, etc.)
Or original ones? (Planetpower, Sungazer, etc.)

[Dan Dixon]

Not just the names. What would the powers Planetpower or Sungazer do?

edit: No > Not

[FiahOwl]

No just the names. What would they do?

Er, just the names? Could you be a little more specific please

[atomic7732]

I think that's "Not just the names." It only makes sense. Because you only gave names that describe nothing about what they were.

Laser eyes. (not limited to eyes, maybe just lasers...)
Hydrogen bending. (Take out all the hydrogen from a star and it collapses and goes supernovae... or stops burning, who knows)
Magic. 

[FiahOwl]

I think that's "Not just the names." It only makes sense. Because you only gave names that describe nothing about what they were.

Ah, a single letter missing turns the whole sentence into gibberish.

[smjjames]

@Dan: Are you trying to ask us to give ideas for stuff like the 'proton torpedo' that spawns when you press Y?

How about Genesis, which creates a random system or a randomized accretion disk?

And ah, why are we thinking up superpowers here?

Edit: Planeshift, no wait, thats a DnD thing...... I guess shift the orbital plane instead of shifting dimensions/elemental domains.

[mudkipz]

laser beams would be nice instantly melt a planet or something.

Or maybe a "Q-ball" one could fire to destroy a star

[Dan Dixon]

I think that's "Not just the names."

Yes.

@Dan: Are you trying to ask us to give ideas for stuff like the 'proton torpedo' that spawns when you press Y?

Yes.

And ah, why are we thinking up superpowers here?

It's an interesting way to think about super fantastical powers that would be interesting to add to Universe Sandbox.

[Yannos]

Ok let us see, you already got my ideas on Ubox, but having a single button interface to use them would be nice.

1) Instant G=(-10). Nothing more destructive than a minus sign on a system based on positive masses.

2) Random relocation of all planets.System could survive only if lucky.

[smjjames]

Ok let us see, you already got my ideas on Ubox, but having a single button interface to use them would be nice.

1) Instant G=(-10). Nothing more destructive than a minus sign on a system based on positive masses.

Wouldn't just changing the gravity value in the upper left panel do the same function? And there are keys to increase/reduce gravity. Seems a bit redundant.

I like the idea of a 'superpower' that would make a star go supernova or nova instead of simply exploding it. Might cause a Lag Apocalypse for lower end computers though.

[FiahOwl]

Ok let us see, you already got my ideas on Ubox, but having a single button interface to use them would be nice.

1) Instant G=(-10). Nothing more destructive than a minus sign on a system based on positive masses.

Wouldn't just changing the gravity value in the upper left panel do the same function? And there are keys to increase/reduce gravity. Seems a bit redundant.

I like the idea of a 'superpower' that would make a star go supernova or nova instead of simply exploding it. Might cause a Lag Apocalypse for lower end computers though.

Still waiting to run my other lonely core...

Ok let us see, you already got my ideas on Ubox, but having a single button interface to use them would be nice.

1) Instant G=(-10). Nothing more destructive than a minus sign on a system based on positive masses.

2) Random relocation of all planets.System could survive only if lucky.

Hmm... how about we call (2) Teleplanetation?

[smjjames]

Ok let us see, you already got my ideas on Ubox, but having a single button interface to use them would be nice.

1) Instant G=(-10). Nothing more destructive than a minus sign on a system based on positive masses.

Wouldn't just changing the gravity value in the upper left panel do the same function? And there are keys to increase/reduce gravity. Seems a bit redundant.

I like the idea of a 'superpower' that would make a star go supernova or nova instead of simply exploding it. Might cause a Lag Apocalypse for lower end computers though.

Still waiting to run my other lonely core...

I second that. Tried the multiple core option once (I have two cores as well), it threw the timestep into chaos. Not sure if it crashed, but the fact that the timestep on auto didn't neccesarily run faster, it just flipped out, tells me it definetly doesn't work properly.

[mudkipz]

The power to shoot a missile that turns stars superdense? As in transforming them into "neutron star"
Maybe a light pulse that illuminates everything.

This isn't really a "superpower" but; you should have a button that turns a object into a orbital turret. The turret shoots out dust in all directions at high speeds (like light pulse dust, just slower). When the dust hits a object, it acts like a bomb, pushing away the object or exploding it or maybe turning it into dust, maybe a white crater as a visual effect instead.

[Dan Dixon]

Awesome.

This might be helpful...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_superhuman_features_and_abilities_in_fiction#Physics_or_reality_manipulation
... call out the powers that look most interesting.

[FiahOwl]

Mass manipulation


It redistributes the mass in the system.


Resurrection

Make several large bodies appear out of nowhere.


Gravity manipulation

Makes an object exert more gravity then normal

[smjjames]

How about something that scrambles the mass and/or density of an object, or objects? Might produce crazy ass results though if it's random and the range is too wide.

@Fiah: Your gravity manipulation should be mass manipulation, or maybe density manipulation while keeping the diameter the same.

[mudkipz]

Planetary bombardment: Pressing a key combination (maybe Alt-F?) causes the simulation to shoot asteroid sized masses at a rate of 5 per second. tweak it with strange forces to make sure the asteorids don't just lump together. Slider to change the velocity of objects being fired.

[Chaotic Cow]

My favorite weapon in Spore was the Planet Buster.

Spore Planet Buster

I should expand on this.

I just think it would be cool to explodes planets like this.

[Dan Dixon]

Cool. I hadn't seen that in Spore.

I agree. Planet explosions could be so much better. We're working on it.

Any other ideas?

[mudkipz]

a power to turn everything to dust maybe

..basically all the controls of the current universe sandbox (orbital control, press "f" to fire) are super powers

[smjjames]

a power to turn everything to dust maybe

I once tried to do that, caused US to crash. I'm not sure how I managed to actually attempt it because I tried to do it again and couldn't get to the object details/properties box. Could have been a fluke.

[ConfuZzled]

I can't think of any ideas that don't involve exploding planets 

[Darvince]

Maybe a superpower where a random object's orbit is changed to be a very high eccentricity, like Jupiter would get a 0.99 eccentricity.

[mudkipz]

 

Maybe a superpower where a random object's orbit is changed to be a very high eccentricity, like Jupiter would get a 0.99 eccentricity.

label it "Haywire System", and turn every orbiting body in a system into a crazy messed up orbit; randomize the values of the orbital elements

[diggyd123]

I'm wanting to create a list of superpowers and abilities a "superhero" could use to manipulate, create, and destroy a solar system, planet, or star.

What would they be?
Any ideas?

Point Blank Area of Effect Graviton blast/wave.  Insert a gravity bomb device in orbit or in "static" space and detonate at users will as celetial bodies come into desired positions...
Can make a varient of a using directional PBAO....Cone PBAOE where the graviton wave is in a cone instead...aimed at a specific area in space.

A cone area graviton wave against a a supernova canidate star would be interesting to see...wash away all the hydrogen and helium from on side of the star and see if you could get iron to form on that side asymetrically the absence of fusionable material.  An asymetrical supernova.

 

[parsley]

Put a static atmosphere in space temporarily? All bodies experience drag (and heat up due to friction? LAVA!)
Maybe don't simulate the atmosphere moving under gravity itself or cfd etc....

  The power to not have startup errors  and futz around with dlls. Get Steam to link to a fix

[phinehas]

Cool. I hadn't seen that in Spore.

I agree. Planet explosions could be so much better. We're working on it.

Any other ideas?

While you made it clear that being on Steam has economically increased your endeavour, please don't tell me you are going to make this software into a game versus an educational and visual tool.  If you are going to cater to the, "Create a monster fart that destroys a binary system", crowd...then please make it an offshoot of Universe Sandbox.  Sell two versions.

[smjjames]

Cool. I hadn't seen that in Spore.

I agree. Planet explosions could be so much better. We're working on it.

Any other ideas?

While you made it clear that being on Steam has economically increased your endeavour, please don't tell me you are going to make this software into a game versus an educational and visual tool.  If you are going to cater to the, "Create a monster fart that destroys a binary system", crowd...then please make it an offshoot of Universe Sandbox.  Sell two versions.

This thread is just a way of thinking of new tools, such as the photon torpedo when you press Y.

I seriously doubt that he will turn it into a game (the badges are just a Steam perk), so don't worry about that and there is nothing wrong with enabling people to have a little fun

[phinehas]

While I am aware of black holes, supernovas and asteroids causing havok in the physical universe, photon torpedos, fart bombs and Captain Marvel should be excluded from the toolset in my opinion.  Like I said, if he wants to make Universe Sandbox goofy, then he should make a different version.  It's his baby, he can raise it up how ever he wants...just saying.

p.s. Dan, I am sure you are aware of Unity's restrictions when it comes to breaking up objects...but looks like there may be a way for you....http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/91183-Released-Mesh-Destruction-quot-Piecemaker-quot