Pale Blue DOTS Preview Now Available | Physics Simulation Overhaul
Dec 18th
For the last four years, we’ve been working on a major overhaul of Universe Sandbox to utilize the Data-Oriented Technology Stack (DOTS) from Unity, the game engine we use to build Universe Sandbox, to
- Improve performance now and in the future.
- Add new physics simulation like visually deformed objects and atmospheric drag to simulate meteors.
- Make our game code easier to maintain and build on.
- Provide a foundation for big features in the future like building and flying spacecraft, and constructing megastructures like Dyson spheres.
For this preview version we’ve only overhauled our physics simulation architecture, but we also plan to convert surface simulation, temperature and composition simulation, graphics simulation, and more over to DOTS in the future.
This physics update, like our graphics overhaul from March 2025, is part of our plan to rewrite Universe Sandbox piece by piece with cutting-edge systems so we can continue to improve it for years to come. It’s like we’re gradually replacing every part of a spaceship out from under you while you’re actively piloting it.
You can learn more about all the additions and improvements that are part of this preview version in our preview What’s New.
Try the preview of Pale Blue DOTS | Update 36 right now!
Learn how to opt-in to this preview version on Steam, now available for testing and feedback on the !preview-version Steam beta branch.
https://universesandbox.com/support/previewversion
How does this make Universe Sandbox better?
New Features
Most of this update is about rewriting current features, like gravity and Roche fragmentation, so you may not notice any immediate differences at first glance. But don’t worry, we’ve added a few new things to check out too.
Simulate Meteors
Objects now burn up as they travel through planet atmospheres with our new drag force. Check it out in our new Meteor Shower from Earth’s Surface simulation.
Improved Lasers!
Blast multiple objects at once with the updated laser! Objects will now block the beam from hitting hidden objects. Increase the force from radiation pressure to push planets and their rings.
Objects Stretching & Squishing
The stretching and flattening of fast-rotating objects and extreme gravitational forces are now simulated. Until we release our planned collision shape update, surface simulation and collisions will continue to simulate all objects as spheres, even if they do not appear spherical.
Non-spherical Gravitational Fields
Similar to visually flattening objects, we’re now fully simulating how an object’s gravitational field changes when it’s no longer a sphere by simulating its oblateness factor (also called J2). Previously, these factors, used to simulate the orbits of sun-synchronous satellites, had to be manually entered.
Tidal Locking
Gravitational interactions that change an orbiting object’s rotational period until the same side of one object always faces the other, as the Earth has done to the Moon, are now simulated. Visualize tidal locking by turning on Tidal Lag in the View panel to see the difference between the object’s orbital and rotational periods.
Predicted Paths
See the path an object will follow as we project its motion into the future. Checking for collisions along the way, this path will turn from yellow to red, showing the amount of predicted overlap. Turn on predicted paths under
View > Overlays > Predicted Paths
Lagrange Points
Mark the location of Lagrange points, points where the gravitational forces between all objects in the system are equal, with the press of a button. You can also quickly place objects at a Lagrange point with the Place Object at Lagrange Point option.
There are many more features we’re planning to build on top of this new framework including
Future Plans
Gravity Simulation Optimizations
We’re looking into an alternative method of gravity simulation, called Barnes-Hut simulation, that can improve performance and allow more simulated objects, at the cost of slightly reduced accuracy. This will improve our ability to simulate rock fragments and dust clouds attracting and merging to form planets & moons.
Everyday Object Collisions
From dice to spacecraft, non-celestial objects will eventually collide according to their true shapes instead of simplified spheres, using rigid-body physics.
Maintenance & Performance
The structure of Unity’s Data-Oriented Technology Stack (DOTS) simplifies our code by breaking it into smaller parts while maintaining the complexity required to simulate the universe. This restructuring makes it easier to maintain, build on, and identify and address issues as we add new features.
Moving as much of our simulation as possible to this new structure will let your computer perform calculations faster. Eventually, these performance improvements will allow us to simulate more objects, collisions, and fragments at once on desktop computers and mobile devices alike.
What is DOTS?
DOTS (Data-Oriented Technology Stack) is essentially Unity’s version of a data-oriented design for game development within the Unity game engine. Okay, so what’s a data-oriented game design?
A data-oriented design means focusing on operating directly on the data within the game. This optimizes the main thing a game does: take some input data, do something to it, and then output the transformed data.
This might sound obvious, but it’s different from traditional object-oriented game design, which is what Universe Sandbox previously used.
Object-oriented game design focuses on game objects, like Earth in Universe Sandbox. With an object-oriented approach, you take data from an object, like Earth, do something with it, like determine its position and velocity as it orbits the Sun in the next frame, and then apply the data to the object. Typically, this approach works on one object at a time and takes longer when there are more objects.
In contrast, data-oriented design focuses on how we transform the data on each object. For example, we know that all objects in the Solar System have a position and velocity, and they’re all influenced by gravity. Each object has different properties, but the math used to find each object’s position and velocity is the same.
Since the math is the same, instead of computing the position and velocity of each object in the Solar System one at a time every frame, our data-oriented design lets us compute them all at once. Then we apply that transformed data back to each object whenever the data is requested. This design optimizes the data calculations and uses fewer computational resources.
How Does DOTS Work?
DOTS is really made up of three pieces: the Entity Component System, the Burst compiler, and the Job system. The most important things to know are
- Unity’s Entity Component System makes us strictly structure our code so that all of our data is laid out in a specific way in the computer memory.
- Because data is stored in a fixed layout in the computer memory, we don’t waste any computing time finding it since we know where it all is.
- Unity’s Burst compiler optimizes how our code accesses and processes data after we make a new version of Universe Sandbox, since we know where it is in memory, making our computations faster.
- With all our data laid out in a specific way, Unity’s Job system determines which computations can run simultaneously, enabling us to perform more computations in less time.
How is DOTS Different?
Previously, there was no specified layout for where data was stored in computer memory, so it took extra computation power to locate the data before we could use it for our computations. The Entity Component System forces us to structure our code in a specific way so that data is stored in a specific layout in computer memory. Rewriting our simulation code in this format took a lot of time and effort, but it not only allows us to improve computation performance but also makes our code more uniform, easier to maintain, fix, and build on.
DOTS also makes it easier to run our simulation across all available CPU cores. Unity’s Job system determines which computations can run simultaneously so we can perform the most computations in the least time without introducing errors in the simulation. And the Burst compiler enables these computations to be run in the most efficient way, leading to more performance gains.
Why Move to DOTS Now?
In short, the technology is now ready and mature enough to use.
Unity didn’t start working on DOTS until 2019, 8 years after we started development on Universe Sandbox, so building Universe Sandbox with this technology wasn’t even an option. Unity also didn’t officially release the last pieces of the DOTS until June 2023 (though we’d been looking into making this transition since 2021). With that last release, we were finally able to begin our restructuring of Universe Sandbox in earnest.
What’s Next?
Our core physics simulation has now been migrated to the DOTS framework, including our gravity simulation, collision physics, and spin and Roche fragmentation. This transition really is a complete restructure of our entire physics simulation, and we’re in the final stages of testing and bug fixes.
And this is just the beginning. So far, we’ve only moved our physics simulation to take advantage of all that DOTS has to offer. We’re also planning to move our other simulation systems, including our surface simulation, material composition system, and graphics rendering, over to Unity’s DOTS system. With each piece, Universe Sandbox will get more and more efficient so that you can simulate more with the same computational power.
For now, we want to do a thorough job testing our physics simulation. After all, we simulate the universe, and it would be bad if we broke physics.
And, like any new feature, there may be issues we haven’t yet found or fixed – and you can help!
Try the preview of Pale Blue DOTS | Update 36 right now!
Learn how to opt-in to this preview version on Steam, now available for testing and feedback on the !preview-version Steam beta branch.
https://universesandbox.com/support/previewversion
And Beyond…
Future updates will unify our collision simulation to allow for more realistic collisions of celestial objects like planets and everyday objects like pigeons, colliding according to their unique forms instead of as spheres, also called rigid-body physics.
This transition also lays the groundwork for us to eventually allow you to build and fly spacecraft, and construct megastructures like Dyson spheres. We’re excited for what’s already here and for what this will let us bring to Universe Sandbox in the years to come!
Join our community discussions on our Steam Forum and our official Discord community.
Planet Nine’s New Nemesis | Update 35.4
Oct 23rd
Learn about the recently discovered sednoid 2023 KQ14 and why it challenges the Planet Nine hypothesis. Enjoy a handful of bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements like the ability to quickly fly to planets just by selecting an already selected object. We’ve also updated our game engine and improved support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) displays.
A New Sednoid In the Outer Solar System
The recently discovered sednoid 2023 KQ14 orbits way out in the Oort Cloud with Sedna, and its position challenges the current predictions of a hypothetical Planet Nine in our Solar System. Check it out in our new simulation Sednoid 2023 KQ14.
Updating Our Engine
We’ve updated Unity, the game engine we use to build Universe Sandbox, to version 6.1. This update allows us to further improve our visuals with more accurate lighting, better support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) displays, and more.
More Highlights
Clicking on a selected object now flies you to the object.
We’ve improved HDR (High Dynamic Range) support for those with HDR-compatible monitors. Playing Universe Sandbox with HDR on adds higher contrast and more vibrant colors. HDR support is still a work in progress, but you can try it out by enabling it under Home > Settings > Graphics > Display.
Check out the full list of What’s New in Update 35.4.
As of this update, Universe Sandbox on Windows now requires a graphics card that works with DirectX 12, which has been a stated minimum graphics requirement since March 2025. Learn more.
Please report any issues on our Steam forum, on Discord, or in-game via Home > Send Feedback.
Universe Sandbox on Windows Now Requires DirectX 12
Sep 15th
The next update of Universe Sandbox on Windows will require a graphics card that works with DirectX 12.
With the release of Update 35 | Space in a New Light in March 2025, we updated our stated minimum graphics requirements to DirectX 12, instead of DirectX 11. However, you may have been able to run the latest version of Universe Sandbox on computers that did not support DirectX 12.
Why Now?
DirectX 12 will allow us to continue improving our planetary surface simulation, lighting models, dynamic resolution handling for improved performance, and more.
We always planned for Update 35 to take advantage of DirectX 12 features. However, issues with Unity, the game engine we use to create Universe Sandbox, forced us to continue using DirectX 11 temporarily.
While waiting for Unity to solve these issues, we kept our stated minimum requirements at DirectX 12, knowing it would be required in the near future. Those Unity issues have since been resolved, and our next update will require DirectX 12.
What is DirectX?
DirectX is helper software that sits between Windows and your graphics hardware. DirectX 12 was first released with Windows 10 in 2015. Read more on Wikipedia.
Does my computer support DirectX 12?
You can find out which versions of DirectX your computer supports and install the latest version by following Microsoft’s support instructions.
The last version of Universe Sandbox that supports DirectX 11, Update 35.3, will always be accessible to those who purchased Universe Sandbox. Learn how to access old versions.
10-Year Steam Launch Anniversary
Aug 21st
The 10-year anniversary of Universe Sandbox’s Early Access launch on Steam is this Sunday, August 24, 2025!
To celebrate this milestone, Universe Sandbox will be on sale now until August 28.
Over the last 10 years, we’ve added so many new features to make Universe Sandbox better than ever, from simulating liquids and gases flowing over planet surfaces and lasers in 2019, to realistically simulating planet atmospheres and accurately terraforming planets in 2023, and our major graphics update just a few months ago.
And we have so much planned. We’re currently working on
- Improving collisions with more realistic friction and craters and simulating atmospheric drag, which allows meteors to burn up in the atmosphere.
- Adding basic life simulation where life grows, dies, and can be eaten.
- Bringing Universe Sandbox to phones and tablets (iOS & Android).
Our long-term goals stretch years into the future and include
- Detailed planet surface so you can fly over mountains and through canyons.
- More planet customization with custom maps or images, like a picture of your dog.
- Colliding everyday objects, including simple shapes like dice and complex shapes like spacecraft, according to their unique forms instead of as spheres, also called rigid-body physics.
- And so much more!
Learn about what we’re currently working on in our 2025 Roadmap post.
We’re incredibly grateful that we’ve been able to continue developing and improving Universe Sandbox over the last decade, and we’re humbled by the ongoing support of our community. Thank you all for giving us the opportunity to make this crazy game.
We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished since Universe Sandbox was first released on Steam in Early Access 10 years ago, and we’re so excited about everything that’s still to come.
– The Universe Sandbox Team
Another Interstellar Visitor | Update 35.3
Aug 20th
Watch the third-ever discovered visitor from outside our Solar System, 3I/ATLAS, fly past the Sun and see how it compares it to other known interstellar interlopers. We’ve also improved the view that shows what parts of the surface of a planet are illuminated, updated our scientific notation, and more!
In the Light of Day
The Daylight view now shows surface illumination of a planet in real-time as the object rotates and orbits within the simulation. Previously it was a static snapshot of the daylight on a planet.
Comets from Beyond the Solar System
Watch the comet 3I/ATLAS, the third-ever discovered interstellar visitor to our Solar System, pass by on its journey through space and compare the trajectories of all three known interstellar visitors. Find them under
Home > Open > Interstellar Comet 31/ATLAS
Home > Open > Interstellar Object Trajectory Comparison
Scientific Notation
Astronomically large (and small) numbers are already hard to understand, so we’ve updated our scientific notation to be friendlier: “1 × 10#” (previously we used “1E+#”). Try changing Earth’s mass to 1×10^6 Earth masses and see what happens to the Solar System.
More Highlights
Watch what would happen to Earth if the Moon were replaced with a black hole of the same mass or the same radius. Which simulation do you think will be more destructive? Check them out under
Home > Open > Earth with a Black Hole Moon | Same Mass
Home > Open > Earth with a Black Hole Moon | Same Radius
See small objects in your simulation even faster by turning on Markers by pressing “m” (previously “i”) on your keyboard. No need to go all the way to View > Markers.
You can once again add custom colors to your human scale objects to make purple cows and a pigeon rainbow.
Check out the full list of What’s New in Update 35.3.
Please report any issues on our Steam forum, on Discord, or in-game via Home > Send Feedback.
Blinded by the Light | Update 35.2
Jun 17th
Watch the boiling surface of a star, then set off a supernova and light up your worlds (before your planets are vaporized anyways). Massive stars now leave behind a neutron star or black hole when they end their life with a bang, and much more!
Super(nova) Lighting
Supernovas now brilliantly light up space as they explode and boil away your planets. Be careful looking at them without your Space Goggles, they’re extremely bright before they realistically fade as they expand and cool down.
See Stellar Surfaces
Examine the boiling surface of a star. Cells called stellar granules are created when currents of plasma bring bubbles of superheated materials from the interior to the surface. Star surfaces are too bright for the human eye to see any detail, so we’ve used false colors to make these granules visible. Find it under
View > Perception > Star Surface Detail
Zombie Stars
Massive stars that go supernova now leave behind a remnant. For stars between 8 and 20 times the mass of the Sun, the remnant is a neutron star. Stars over 20 times the mass of the Sun leave behind a black hole.
More Highlights
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft, named after the Lucy fossil, passed nearby asteroid Donaldjohanson, named after the fossil’s discoverer, on April 20, 2025. This flyby was a test run before Lucy begins its main mission studying the Trojan asteroids that share Jupiter’s orbit. Check out our simulation of the encounter under
Home > Open > Lucy Spacecraft Encounter with Asteroid Donaldjohanson in 2025
You can now smoothly undo the deletion of a large number of objects at once with Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z on Mac), and they’ll even have their trails regenerated. You can also undo launching objects.
Exoplanet system simulations now include the inclination of known exoplanets around their host stars.
3D data views no longer color points on the object surface that have a value of zero.
Check out the full list of What’s New in Update 35.2.
Please report any issues on our Steam forum, on Discord, or in-game via Home > Send Feedback.
Describing the Universe | Update 35.1
Apr 28th
Describe Your Worlds
Add rich details to any object and the simulation itself with the new description properties. Include your favorite facts about each planet in the Solar System, or give a detailed backstory to your custom Tatooine! Add them under
- Object Properties > Overview > Description
- Simulation > Description
Choose Your Startup Simulation
Pick up where you left off and have Universe Sandbox open your most recent save, your own custom work in progress, or any of our included simulations when it starts up. Set this under
Home > Settings > General > Experience > Startup Simulation
This feature was added in Space in a New Light | Update 35, but wanted to highlight it again in case you missed it.
Visualizing Planet Data
See information about your planets, like the Surface Temperature or Elevation, projected on their surfaces in 3D. This view is now shown in the object preview and on the objects in the simulation. Check it out under
Object Properties > Visuals > Surface
More Highlights
Use the new actions in the View panel to Fly, Land, reset the camera position, and more.
Controls to show and hide an object’s atmosphere, clouds, and dust clouds are now simulation-wide view settings instead of only applying when zoomed in on an object. Find them in the View panel.
The simulation of exoplanet K2-18 b has been updated to reflect the recent evidence of specific molecules in K2-18 b’s atmosphere that are known to be produced by biological processes on Earth. However, some scientists have argued these molecules may be produced without life, and more data is needed to confirm these molecules are really present in K2-18 b’s atmosphere.
Check out the full list of What’s New in Update 35.1.
Please report any issues on our Steam forum, on Discord, or in-game via Home > Send Feedback.
Universe Sandbox Roadmap: 2025 & Beyond
Mar 31st
We started 2025 by releasing our major graphics overhaul, but we have much more planned for the year, including allowing meteors to burn up in an atmosphere, simulating basic life, and getting Universe Sandbox on mobile devices so you can create and destroy on the go. Before diving into details, let’s look back on some highlights from 2024.
Highlights from 2024
We spent 2024 working on our major graphics overhaul, released March 2025, and many of the other in-progress features mentioned in this roadmap. In addition to the awe-inspiring realistic graphics, our March graphics update included many quality-of-life improvements. Our biggest accomplishments from the year include:
- Improving material simulation and manipulation with more realistic atmosphere colors and opacity and the ability to swap one material for another. (Update 34.1, March 2024)
- Replacing our 10-year-old graphics technology with a state-of-the-art system so you can immerse yourself in a more awe-inspiring and realistic universe. (Update 35, March 2025)
- Implementing a new interface system that automatically positions, resizes, and closes panels so you can focus on manipulating the universe instead of managing panels. (Update 35, March 2025)
The new graphics rendering and user interface systems were major milestones on our 2024 Roadmap.
What’s the Plan for 2025?
- ✅Finish our major graphics update.
- Released on March 3, 2025!
- Add basic life simulation where vegetation grows, dies, and gets eaten.
- Optimize and rewrite our simulation using Unity’s Data-Oriented Technology Stack (DOTS).
- Bring Universe Sandbox to phones and tablets (iOS & Android).
We plan to work on all these projects in 2025, but some, like getting Universe Sandbox on mobile devices, have been in the works for years. Additional challenges may arise that delay features, and our priorities may change.
Even More Graphics Improvements: The Saga Continues
Earlier this year, we released our major graphics update with hot, non-stellar objects emitting light, physically based lighting, and more. But we’re not done yet! We’re planning even more graphics features, including object selection highlights that are unique to the object’s shape and new point light object.
- But Wait, There’s More!
- Now that our new graphics rendering system is out, we’re planning to utilize it to add even more graphics features, including
- Redesigning object selection outlines to be more visible, useful, and unique to that object’s shape instead of always being a circle.
- Adding new Point Lights with customizable colors to light up your simulations without adding stars (and boiling Earth) for that perfect shot.
- Now that our new graphics rendering system is out, we’re planning to utilize it to add even more graphics features, including
- Simulating supernovas emitting light (Spoiler – they’re really really bright).
Life Simulation: Let There Be Life!
Last year, we began working on life simulation after adding materials like carbon dioxide and oxygen to planet atmospheres. Vegetation will grow, spread, die, and be eaten on planet surfaces, similarly to how we simulate temperature, liquid, and gas flow.
- Simulating Vegetation
- Life can spread to other planets on fragments from collisions.
- As vegetation grows and dies, the amount of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the atmosphere will change.
- Vegetation will grow, spread, and die based on the local conditions on the surface of a planet.
- You’ll be able to customize the conditions needed for life on your planets so your plants can absorb methane and emit hydrogen, for example.
- You can even set the conditions to make life grow on Titan!
- Animals & the Circle of Life
- Herbivores, like vegetation, will also be simulated on planet surfaces. The overall herbivore mass will be tracked and will also depend on how much vegetation there is on the planet to support them.
- The names and life requirements of the two species will be customizable as well, so you can let your imagination run wild to simulate your favorite plants and animals, like cows, trees, whales, dik-diks, skunk cabbage, aliens, unicorns, you name it (literally)!
- Future Models
- We plan to make our food chain even more complex with carnivores in the future.
- You’ll be able to quickly cause catastrophic events leading to mass extinctions. For now, we have a simple Kill All Life action.
Advanced Physics Technology
Improving collisions with more realistic friction and craters, simulating atmospheric drag, which allows meteors to burn up in the atmosphere, and continuing to optimize our physics simulation are all things we’re working on this year.
- Advanced Game Engine Features
- We’re continuing to reconstruct our simulation architecture using the Data-Oriented Technology Stack (DOTS) from Unity, the game engine we use to build Universe Sandbox. We’re excited about the expected performance gains and future opportunities it brings. We plan to roll these changes out in multiple phases.
- Phase 1 replaces our current physics engine with a new DOTS-based system that will make Universe Sandbox easier to maintain and improve.
- Upgrading to DOTS in phase 1 lays the foundation for everyday, non-spherical object collisions (like two dice), building and flying spacecraft, and constructing megastructures like Dyson spheres.
- Phase 2 will unify our collision simulation to allow for more realistic collisions of celestial objects like planets and everyday objects like pigeons. This phase will allow
- Objects to physically deform due to craters, fragmentation, laser impacts, and more, influencing how they collide.
- Everyday objects, including simple shapes like dice and complex shapes like spacecraft, to collide according to their unique forms instead of as spheres, also called rigid-body physics.
- Phase 1 replaces our current physics engine with a new DOTS-based system that will make Universe Sandbox easier to maintain and improve.
- We’re continuing to reconstruct our simulation architecture using the Data-Oriented Technology Stack (DOTS) from Unity, the game engine we use to build Universe Sandbox. We’re excited about the expected performance gains and future opportunities it brings. We plan to roll these changes out in multiple phases.
- DOTS optimizes our simulation by efficiently running more computations simultaneously on the CPU, allowing for more objects, collisions, and fragments.
- New Gravity Simulation
- We’re experimenting with a new method of gravity simulation, called Barnes-Hut simulation, to allow rock fragments and dust clouds to attract and merge, forming planets & moons. Currently, these particles can only be pulled on and cannot form planets independently.
- Grinding to a Halt
- Our new friction model will simulate craters stretching out as objects skid across each other’s surfaces during collisions. In our current simplistic model, craters are always circular.
- Visually Deformed Objects
- Most objects in Universe Sandbox are spheres, but in real life, some rotate so quickly that they stretch and flatten, like the dwarf planet Haumea. We’re working to simulate this stretching visually.
- This will not affect the object’s physical shape, collisions, or surface simulation until after Phase 2 of our restructuring our simulation with DOTS is complete.
- Most objects in Universe Sandbox are spheres, but in real life, some rotate so quickly that they stretch and flatten, like the dwarf planet Haumea. We’re working to simulate this stretching visually.
- Atmospheric Drag
- To simulate meteors, we’re working on adding a drag force so objects burn up while traveling through a planet’s atmosphere. Currently, objects pass through atmospheres unchanged.
- Tidal Locking
- We’re planning to simulate objects becoming tidally locked, where the same side of one always faces the other as they orbit each other, like the Moon to the Earth.
- Mathematical Points
- We’re planning to add more visualizations of useful mathematical points and boundaries, including
- Lagrange Points – the points where the gravitational influence of two objects is equally strong. Objects placed at these points orbit in a stationary position relative to the two objects like the James Webb Space Telescope is to Earth and the Sun.
- Hill Spheres – the boundary within which a moon is gravitationally bound to a planet.
- Roche Limit – the boundary where the tidal forces pulling on an orbiting object are stronger than its self-gravity, ripping it apart.
- We’re planning to add more visualizations of useful mathematical points and boundaries, including
Universe Sandbox on Phones & Tablets
Getting Universe Sandbox on mobile devices (iOS & Android) is a major focus again this year. We’ve made a lot of progress with our new graphics update and interface system, which significantly improves usability on small touchscreens, but there’s still a lot to do.
- Small Screen Interface
- Our new interface system automatically positions, resizes, and closes panels so you can always see the simulation. This system optimizes interface usability for any screen size, from small touch screens to ultrawide monitors and we’re planning to continue improving and polishing it this year.
- Running the Universe
- Boosting performance across all platforms is another mobile requirement. We’ve been improving interface responsiveness, resource utilization, and optimizing start-up times.
- Rebuilding our simulation architecture will also bring necessary performance boosts to desktop and mobile devices alike.
- Automated Test Suite
- We’re expanding our automated tests, which cover collision physics, simulation performance, and more, and the ways we compare their results, to help us catch and fix bugs across desktop and mobile devices faster.
- More Information
- Universe Sandbox on mobile is built from the same codebase as the desktop version and will have the same features.
- There is no mobile release date yet.
- We plan on it being a one-time paid app with no ads or in-game purchases.
- Price is not finalized.
- Minimum requirements are not finalized.
- Sign up for our mobile mailing list to receive updates about mobile development
http://universesandbox.com/mobile/
And Beyond
Our future goals include adding detailed planet surfaces, simulating the life cycle of a star, and allowing you to use custom elevation maps and textures on your planets. These are in early development, and we don’t know when they will be released.
- Detailed Planet Surfaces
- Imagine flying over mountains and through canyons on planet surfaces in Universe Sandbox. We’re still experimenting with ways to add more details to planet surfaces, but we’re excited about the possibilities.
- Imagine flying over mountains and through canyons on planet surfaces in Universe Sandbox. We’re still experimenting with ways to add more details to planet surfaces, but we’re excited about the possibilities.
- Planet Customization
- We want to give you even more control over planet appearances. Satisfy your world-building desires and create a planet using custom maps or images, like a picture of your dog.
- We want to give you even more control over planet appearances. Satisfy your world-building desires and create a planet using custom maps or images, like a picture of your dog.
- Stellar Lifecycles
- Realistically simulating how stars burn hydrogen into helium (and heavier elements) and die violent deaths is complex, but we’re planning to rebuild our star simulation so we can bring stellar evolution to Universe Sandbox.
- Realistically simulating how stars burn hydrogen into helium (and heavier elements) and die violent deaths is complex, but we’re planning to rebuild our star simulation so we can bring stellar evolution to Universe Sandbox.
- Volatiles
- To simulate comet tails streaking through space, we plan to overhaul our volatile system, which determines how gas escapes from a planet’s atmosphere into space.
- To simulate comet tails streaking through space, we plan to overhaul our volatile system, which determines how gas escapes from a planet’s atmosphere into space.
- Gamepad and Steam Deck
- What could be better than playing Universe Sandbox from the comfort of your couch? We’re working on adding gamepad support for more ways to control your universe. This will improve our Steam Deck support and has the potential to support other gamepad-based consoles in the future.
We’re excited to bring so much to Universe Sandbox this year, and we can’t wait to share it with you!
Space in a New Light | Update 35
Mar 3rd
Immerse yourself in a universe more awe-inspiring and realistic than ever before with our next-generation graphics update! We’ve also added many interface improvements to make controlling the universe easier and more intuitive. You need to see it to believe it.
A More Realistic Graphics Engine
We’ve completely replaced our 10-year-old graphics technology with a state-of-the-art system to make Universe Sandbox look more realistic with physically-based lighting. This new system has required us to update our minimum requirements. Learn more.
Edit Objects Simultaneously
The properties panel now lets you edit multiple objects at once. Use the new Multi-Select tool to select multiple objects and try increasing the mass of every object in the Solar System simultaneously!
Automatic Interface Management
Focus on manipulating the universe instead of managing panels with our new interface system that automatically positions, resizes, and closes panels so you can always see the simulation. This immersive system also provides better support for ultrawide monitors and small screens (like smartphones).
More Highlights
Focus on realism
Making Universe Sandbox look as realistic as possible with physically-based lighting has made stars realistically bright, and collisions result in blindingly realistic hot spots. It turns out there’s a reason you’re not supposed to look at the Sun.
Light from hot planets
Hot objects now emit light based on their temperature so you can use intense impacts to light up your simulation. Previously, only stars could emit light.
Localized glow
Objects now bloom only in hot areas, like those created from lasers or collisions, instead of being surrounded by a single uniform glow.
Smoothly blending clouds
Gas and dust clouds now smoothly pass over planets instead of creating sharp intersections.
Realistic artifacts
The surfaces of human-scale objects, or artifacts like spacecraft, have shiny, reflective metals and rough, rugged edges that interact with light more realistically.
Math in text fields
All object properties now support basic math. Try typing “*42” into a property to multiply by 42 or “/3” to divide by 3, for example.
Explore planet surfaces
Move across the surface of a planet with the WASD keys after landing on it by zooming in for a closer look or using the Land action button in the planet’s Overview tab.
Light intensity with distance
Objects are now always realistically lit based on their physical distance from a light source. Previously, objects were lit with the same intensity based on the camera’s distance from a light source instead of the object’s distance from a light source.
Light warping
Black holes now realistically warp the visuals from other black holes instead of blocking any black holes behind them from being seen. The images below are from the same simulation, with custom colors in the “Before” image that make the black holes easier to see.
Updated View Panel
We’ve improved the View panel with more intuitive controls and lighting options
- You can now see and change the camera target from the View panel.
- Space Goggles provide a more comfortable view that filters the brightness to show the action while preserving realism. Turning them off switches to an unfiltered realistic view where stars, hot objects, and collisions can be blindingly bright.
Action Buttons
We’ve added all-new Action buttons at the top of every Properties tab. Quickly fly to a planet or explode it. Your call. (These buttons replace the Action tab.)
- Save objects or learn more about real astronomical ones with our new Wikipedia button under Additional Actions.
Color maps
We’ve updated our Data View color maps to make them more perceptually uniform. We’ve also added colorblind-friendly color maps and the ability to invert them.
Inspecting the surface
Use the new Inspect tool to quickly see the temperature, material composition, elevation, and other properties of specific points on a planet’s surface.
Selectable Orbital Parent
It’s now easier to create binary systems orbiting a common center of mass (also called a barycenter). View and adjust an object’s Orbital Elements around a binary by selecting the system’s barycenter as the object’s Orbital Parent.
Choose your Startup Simulation
Choose the simulation that automatically opens when Universe Sandbox starts, from any of our included simulations to your own custom work in progress. Just go to
Home > Settings > General > Experience > Startup Simulation
New hotbar
The hotbar has been overhauled so you can add even more shortcuts to manipulate the universe. To edit your hotbar, go to Settings > General > Edit Hotbar or right-click on it and then select “Edit Hotbar.”
A Potentially Dangerous Asteroid
Watch the projected path of one of the most potentially dangerous asteroids ever detected, YR 2024, as it flies near Earth in 2032, or check out a What If? scenario of what the impact might look like under
Close Encounter of Asteroid YR4 2024 with Earth in 2032
And
What If Asteroid YR4 2024 Collides with Earth in 2032?
New Minimum Requirements
Improving our graphics means we need to update our minimum hardware requirements to include
- 4 GB dedicated video memory (up from 2 GB). 8 GB is recommended.
- 4 GB RAM (up from 2 GB). 8 GB is recommended.
- 4 GB of free disk space (up from 2 GB).
- Windows:
- DirectX 12
- Windows 10 21H1+ (support for Windows 7 SP1, 8, 8.1, and older versions of Windows 10 will be dropped)
- Apple:
- Silicon (M1 or newer). Intel Mac will no longer be supported.
- Universe Sandbox may still run on Intel-based Macs, but we cannot guarantee good performance for every Intel-based Mac.
- macOS 11.0+ (support for macOS 10.14 and 10.15 will be dropped)
- Silicon (M1 or newer). Intel Mac will no longer be supported.
While it is never fun to have support dropped, this new graphics system will allow us to improve performance and add new features to Universe Sandbox now and well into the future.
We’ll ensure all users affected by this change can always access the version of Universe Sandbox from before this minimum requirements update. Learn how.
Check out the full list of What’s New in Update 35.
Please report any issues on our Steam forum, on Discord, or in-game via Home > Send Feedback.
Future of VR on Universe Sandbox
Feb 19th
As of Update 35, we no longer support Universe Sandbox in virtual reality.
Why did we drop VR support?
As a small indie team this decision was not easy to make. While traditional desktop sales continue to support the team, the number of VR players was already small and has been declining for some time now. Although we feel VR is one of the best ways to experience Universe Sandbox, the lack of players made the disproportionately high VR maintenance cost hard to justify. Should the VR market improve, we may reconsider this decision.
You are still able to play previous versions of Universe Sandbox in VR. The last version of Universe Sandbox that supports VR, Update 34.1.1, will be accessible to those who purchased Universe Sandbox. Learn how to access old versions.
If you need assistance accessing older versions of Universe Sandbox, please contact us.