Hi.
I'm a big fan of force field physics and I love all kind of simulations of gravity and electromagnetism.
I also like Universe Sandbox pretty much since it can be handled quite simple and also has some more complex
features. I especially like that it is capable of displaying velocity and acceleration by changing the colour of the
objects and dust particles. I've also seen that Universe Sandbox is under constant developement and improvement unlike other gravity simulators which I found on the internet. So I would like to give some feedback based on my experience as someone who is interested into making physics understandable and a great fun for everyone who wants to learn more, as well as gamer who've seen various editing tools making complex acts of customization simple.
The big problem I've seen in most gravity simulations are the following two:
A) They are too simple, making complex world manipulations too difficult.
B) They are too complex, making the creation of complex systems very time consuming.
I've not seen any gravity simulation yet being succesful in allowing complex world manipulation with simple tools.
This is where I would like to put in my experience as a gamer. Lots of gaming companies make editors to allow their developers to make complex manipulations with tools which are easy to handle. Most times these companies also publish some of their tools in order to encourage gamers to create custom content for their games. In most cases this increases the longevity of the games.
Now I think Universe Sandbox has a lot of potential and it could be the first gravity simulation uniting complexity & simplicity regarding world manipulation. This would also introduce some new tools to the game, allowing users to create entire solar systems in less than one minute.
I've made a picture which basically describes how I imagine such an editing mode:
Larger Picture:
Click HereThe editing mode would be mainly grid based, this means that planets, etc. would be placed on the intersection of a grid. The resolution of this grid could be changed by the user so he has also the ability to setup more complex systems. Alternatively the grid could also be just turned off. Now a big problem of US is that it is in 3D and objects are also moving in 3D. To allow the user anyways a way of simple editing the user would only be to place objects on one of three planes which are parallel to the planes of the coordinate axis. However to allow the user to move his editing grid along the unused dimension two buttons could be included making the grid jumping one grid unit up or down the unused the dimension. To help the user estimating the distances in 3D also a visual 3d space grid could be turned on. However this grid would only be visual, meaning that the user is still bound to his currently selected editing plane. Also velocity vectors should be included so the user knows to which direction his object is heading. As a way of simple editing, a velocity vector could be also drawn with a "Velocity Vector" tool. The user would have to select his object, as well as a point on the plane in order to make a line which angle and length represent the angle and absolute velocity of the velocity of the object. The ruler tool which I named in the picture "Specific Distance" could be used by the user in order to make a object placed in a specific distance, which however ignores the intersections of the grid. The user would have to select a start object first and then select a second object which should be moved. A window then would simply popup showing the current distance of both objects in an editable field. By editing the current distance the user would basically enter the new distance. All he needs then is to press on ok. The "Orbit" tool would allow the user to make one object orbit another one. The user would first have to select the attractor and then the object which would be supposed to orbit the attractor. A plane and a window would then show up representing the orbital plane. The user can change the angles of the orbital plane in the window or just can keep the default one which will automatically make the current editing plane the orbital plane. After the user gives his ok the editor would automatically set the orbiting object's speed according to the input he made before. Placing new objects could be done with a "Mass" tool. The user clicks on it, selects a intersection on the grid and then has placed a new planet on the grid. The object property window then opens, showing the property of the objects. Alternatively the user could go to a database, where he just could load usual solar system planets and galaxy objects or even self-made objects.
Thank you for reading.
I hope you liked my idea to include a simple editing mode into US with complex features.
I also hope that I haven't suggested too difficult-to-be-realizable stuff.
But I think if it would be possible to include an editing mode in it's possibilities and it's handling similiar to the editing mode I describe, US would beat every other available gravity simulation on this planet.
Regards,
Magnetar.
Topic: Idea: An Editing Mode uniting Complexity & Simplicity (Read 9415 times)
