We’re excited about our plans for 2023, including adding more materials to planets as well as improvements for our physics simulation, but we’ll dive into our roadmap in an upcoming post. First, let’s reflect on some of our accomplishments from 2022.

1

New team member

Last year, Conrad joined the team as our User Interface Engineer. Since then, Conrad has been adding interface controls for object customization, fixing general usability issues, and helping to make our user interface easy to use on small screens in preparation for Universe Sandbox on mobile.

8

New guides and fly-by simulations added to Universe Sandbox in 2022

We added new guides on object customization and a simulation of NASA’s DART mission. This ambitious mission tested humanity’s ability to deflect asteroids away from Earth by intentionally crashing a satellite into an asteroid and accurately predicting the change in the asteroid’s orbital period.

9

Significant updates to Universe Sandbox

  • Consistent Collisions, James Webb, & Planetscaping Tweaks | Update 29.1
    • JWST is now in Universe Sandbox, and there’s an eyedropper for the Planetscaping tool
  • Hit Hard, Spin Fast | Update 30
    • The new Force Spin tool allows you to spin apart planets with the newly implemented centrifugal force
    • Collisions between spinning and equal-size objects are more realistic than ever before
    • The habitable zone is now simulated using the selected planet’s properties, and the Hubble Space Telescope is now in Universe Sandbox
  • Constellations | Update 31
    • Explore constellations for 10 different cultures
    • Object glows now correspond to how hot an object is
  • A Warmer Welcome | Update 31.1
    • Our welcome guides have been overhauled so you can discover the infinite power to create and destroy in Universe Sandbox
  • Upgrading Our Engine | Update 31.2
    • We updated Unity, the game engine we use to create Universe Sandbox, to allow us to utilize new features for future improvements
    • Instantly see where water will flow on a planet with the new Settle Water button
  • Planetary Defense DART | Update 31.3
    • Many collision improvements and a simulation of NASA’s DART mission, which intentionally collided the DART spacecraft with the asteroid Dimorphos, changing its orbit & testing humanity’s ability to protect Earth from future asteroids
  • Space is Big | Update 31.4
    • Units of measurement have been updated to help you better understand the vastness of space
  • Build-A-Planet | Update 32
    • Customize and manipulate the appearance and elevation of planets using any of the in-game visual and elevation maps
  • Skies of Blue, Red Collisions Too | Update 32.1
    • Collision shockwaves are now more realistic, and we added basic Rayleigh scattering to atmospheres
    • The simulation speed can automatically adjust itself based on various conditions, like nearby objects and collisions, by turning on Automatic Simulation Speed

View our “What’s New” for a chronological list of changes.

31

Preview versions uploaded in 2022

Your playtesting of our preview versions (previously called community test builds) gives us valuable feedback for improving features in active development. A huge thanks to our wonderful community for all their help.

571

Highest number of concurrent users in Universe Sandbox in 2022

The highest number of concurrent users we’ve ever had was almost in 2022: 648 on December 24, 2021. We’ve already beaten the highest number this year, but you’ll need to wait for the next retrospective to see it.

1,801

Positive Steam reviews in 2022

We’re truly humbled that we are still rated “Overwhelmingly Positive,” both recent and all-time on Steam (over 96% of reviews are positive). Your support and feedback are truly appreciated and help make Universe Sandbox even better.

1,862

Code commits, or changes, made to the Universe Sandbox project in 2022

The most code commits occurred during the week of May 8, when 65 commits were made. While a single commit can be as small as fixing a typo, some of them have been whole new features.

7,735

Files uploaded on our team messaging app

These are files we share with each other via Slack and include screenshots and videos of features in progress, log files for resolving issues, and astronomy jokes.

Image by Andrés J. Colmenares from wawawiwa comics

8,151

Discord users on our server at the end of 2022

It’s great to see your creations and constructive discussion on our server, which has grown by over 22.5% in the last year. Join us on Discord.

9,253

Simulations shared in the Universe Sandbox Steam Workshop in 2022

That’s more than 25 simulations shared every single day! You all continue to use Universe Sandbox in ways we could never have imagined, and we can’t wait to see what you make next.

74,257

Messages sent on our team messaging app

Giant Army has been entirely remote since its founding in 2011, and with 13 team members across 3 continents and 6 time zones, messaging on Slack is how we get most of our work done.

537,209

Times the Welcome to Universe Sandbox guide was played

Whether you’re a new player or just wanted to check out the reimagined welcome guides we released last year, we hope you enjoyed learning about the beauty of our universe. You’re using that knowledge responsibly, right?

911,241

Times the Planetscaping tool was used in 2022

Letting you shape and customize planets is integral to the spirit of Universe Sandbox, and we’re glad you’re experimenting with the power that comes with it.

1,251,635

Times supernovas went off in Universe Sandbox in 2022

Astronomers estimate there will be 1 supernova in the Milky Way every 100 years. They also think there are about 100 billion galaxies in the universe. Assuming all galaxies have a similar number of supernovas to ours, there are about a billion supernovas in the universe each year. We got about 0.1%* of the way there in 2022. Let’s see if we can get closer in 2023!

*Thanks to Steam user Nantes for pointing out that the original value of 1% was wrong, and this should be 0.1%

2,007,301

Times the top played simulations of 2022 were opened* 

The top 10 sims of 2022 were:

RankSimulation NameTimes Opened
10Saturn with Rings129,522
9Voyager 1 & Jupiter in 1979130,275
8Solar System – Just Planets136,798
7Milky Way & Andromeda Galaxy Collision145,261
6Earth & 100 Colliding Moons171,990
5Earth & Moon173,774
4Tidally Locked Earth177,224
3Milky Way189,958
2Galaxy Collision Hi-res227,148
1Solar System – Live View – Planets, Moons, Spacecraft525,351

*not including creating a new simulation or the Solar System simulation that opens when you start Universe Sandbox

Check them out to see what all the fuss is about!

3,987,005

Times the Force tool was used in 2022

Whether you were giving planets a gentle nudge, slightly adjusting their rotation, or spinning them apart, we know you were forceful in your efforts.

6,265,426

New simulations were created in Universe Sandbox in 2022

That’s about the same number as last year, with a new simulation created every 5 seconds.

35,802,793

Times a simulation was played or paused in 2022

By far the most popular thing to do in Universe Sandbox in 2022 was to play or pause a simulation. That’s about once every second.

What’s Next?

More materials for building planets and their atmospheres, physics simulation performance improvements, non-star objects emitting light based on their temperature, and more are in store for 2023. Be on the lookout for our 2023 Roadmap, which will have more details about our plans for this year.

This is a work in progress

And Most Importantly…

Thank you. Your continued encouragement and support let us keep simulating the universe more realistically year after year. We are so grateful for your suggestions, feedback, and kind words. The simulations you create continue to impress us, and we want to continue improving Universe Sandbox to expand your creative (and destructive) capabilities. There’s so much to do, and we can’t wait to do it!

The Universe Sandbox Team
Dan, Chris, Georg, Jonathan, Rappo, Mat, Jacob, Erika, Brendan, Anders, Brent, Pavel, and Conrad