Development

In the next week or two we will release Alpha 12 of Universe Sandbox ².

Here are some of the features you can look forward to:

1. A whole lot more choreography
   • We now have around 200 presets for you to experiment with, including a bunch of 3D patterns.
2. Improved supernovas
   • The supernova blast itself won’t look too different, but we’ve improved their interactions so they more accurately destroy the nearby planets and moons.
3. Better visuals for bodies and particles
   • We’ve improved the consistency between materials and visual representations – for example, you’ll no longer see fragments of hydrogen that look like chunks of rock.
4. Random solar system tool
   • You can now generate an entire solar system based on a set of customizable parameters, such as the number of gas giants and moons, and the distances between the bodies.  See the screenshot below for a peek at this new tool.

As always, we will post an announcement on the forum when Alpha 12 is available: Universe Sandbox ² Alpha Discussion. Steam will automatically download the update.

If you do not already own Universe Sandbox ², you can buy it now to get instant access to the alpha and receive free updates up to and including the final release: Buy Universe Sandbox ².

Alpha 11 of Universe Sandbox ² introduces two substantial features:

1. Shockwaves

   You’ll notice this addition as soon as you throw an asteroid at Earth. The video below was made by Thomas, our physics programmer (note: the video says it’s from alpha 10.2, which became alpha 11).
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQT6uKOpZlU
   Thomas and Georg, our visual artist, continue to improve shockwaves and collisions with each alpha release. Still on the to-do list is fully integrating shockwaves, so that the traveling wave heats up the surface of the impacted body and pushes water, for example.

2. Choreography

   Alpha 11 gives you the ability to create orbital “choreography.” You can choose between a list of presets or set your own parameters to create seemingly impossible multiple-body orbital patterns.

   We’ve been given over 200 starting conditions for orbital choreographies from Greg Minton, and we’ve already implemented some of the most interesting of these. Check out his work and draw your own choreographies on his website: gminton.org/choreo.html

   Below you can see 32 bodies in very precise orbits around each other:

   

   Of course, while these orbits work on paper, they are not always stable when actually simulated. After slight changes in their courses with each orbit, eventually the system falls apart and the bodies either collide or speed off into the emptiness of space. 

With these two additions and the introduction of 64 bit versions for Windows and Linux, alpha 11 of Universe Sandbox ² is the biggest update we’ve released recently. But that doesn’t mean we have small plans for the next version… stay tuned for alpha 12.

In 2011, Dan hired two developers to begin work from the ground up on a new Universe Sandbox.  By 2012, the team had added two developers, and the demo they showed that summer in Amsterdam at the Unite conference was impressive and promising.

A few weeks ago, PAX Prime finally let us deliver on that promise.  We’re now a team of seven developers, and we’ve been working on Universe Sandbox ² for almost three years… There is nothing more thrilling than seeing eyes light up and jaws drop at the sight of a molten Moon inching its way toward an unsuspecting Earth. Yes, jaws dropped.

“And it’s all simulated in realtime using real physics,” we’d mention, though few peeled their eyes away from our planet’s destruction. Understandable; it does look pretty cool.

But those who stopped by our booth weren’t just impressed with the cosmic eye candy. We had plenty of astronomy and physics buffs swing by who were eager to discuss the data and mechanics behind it all. Of course, that’s what gets us excited, too.

In short, PAX was exhausting, exciting, and above all inspiring. Having a space in the Indie MEGABOOTH reminded us all that we’re part of an incredibly supportive and energizing community.

While not all of us were able to attend, we hope to get the whole team together again soon so everyone can experience firsthand our fans’ reactions. It truly is great seeing others express as much enthusiasm as we do for our unique simulator.

Fortunately, there’s plenty of time for showing off in the future. We are still in alpha. There’s a lot of work to do.  Demoing for four days also revealed some issues, but it also made us all the more excited to continue fixing and improving. We look forward to making Universe Sandbox ² the best it can be.