Here's a basic list of the new and improved features in Universe Sandbox 2.
Overall, Universe Sandbox 2 is more powerful and easier to use than the former version.
I'm working on a new website for version 2 that will point out many of these new features.
Let me know if you have any questions (or if I'm missing anything).
What's New in Universe Sandbox 2
- Massive UI Overhaul, easier to learn and use, icon based controls
- Now it's easy to create your own solar system
- Tooltips for almost all tools and controls
- Move Tool - Move planets and stars around with ease
- Rotate Tool - Rotate planets and galaxies using easy to adjust rings
- Box select tool - Let's you perform group commands like orbit and delete
- Location Bar - Combines camera focus and find into a single tool
- Planet, Moon, Star palette - Add new bodies from an icon palette.
- Orbital Elements - Use the slider bar to make adjustments orbital elements of planets
- Chart Mode - Now a central feature in version 2
- Wikipedia integration - Click on the (i) next to the name of any body to see the article
- Stars glow
- Center of the Universe - Set all motion relative to any body
- Visual Aids - Habitable Zone, Hill Sphere, Roche Limit
- Adjustable Star Temperature and Luminosity
- Adjust Camera FOV
- Hover over bodies to show their projected paths
- Improved file format for easy sharing of systems (more improvements coming soon)
- New Simulation Mode (RK4) for improved accuracy
- Landing on planets feature (keep zooming in)
- Single time step button
- Lock a body's position
- Adjust numerical values of position and velocity
- Adjustable auto time step control
- All numerical text boxes have control arrows and many have popup menus with common values
- Binary Orbit tool - Easily create binary orbits of stars
- Add Barycenter tool
- Live ring property updates
- International keyboard support
- Buttons and icons fade as you move your mouse over them
What's Improved
- Better support for smaller screen resolutions
- Menu system faster and scales to the size of the screen
- New modes in Chart Mode
- Lagrange point calculations now work as expected
- Tons of fixes and enhancements
- Tutorial system easier to follow and use
What's Coming (for both free and premium users)
- Light from Stars (included in recent update)
- More file save improvements
- More tutorials