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Universe Sandbox

 
Describing the Universe | Update 35.1Apr 28, 2025 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/pPaVBgp.gif {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/fe75027b73ed419d5df35a69251b444cb2504d68.png 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 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/08ae828f3e5a95cc1e0251e2df00d53b142f5589.gif {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/c9dc8fc978d8b85e4650d580c4bf259058129550.png 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. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/c1e115e92a4e9978e64a4a0a9736fca3af102363.gif 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 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/a25a5d3f5816e78dc0b1edf2381a44586614536f.gif More Highlights Use the new actions in the View panel to Fly, Land, reset the camera position, and more. https://i.imgur.com/l0YMmhS.gif 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. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/03a3324f0be04a5011a4481c4951e0350bf82a79.gif 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. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/d2286b84dc98c3ec086db96cdbd67b4bd3100a50.png 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 & BeyondMar 31, 2025 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/aef24e3887265dee25b73e4636e207d9abf5ff1a.gif 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. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/2834962d413c258d80aafb350d06a5276981b57c.png Highlights from 2024 https://i.imgur.com/OGhpqVB.gif The Moon’s shadow passing over Earth during the total solar eclipse across North America on April 8, 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 https://i.imgur.com/UUnmo8S.gif A comparison of Earth and 100 Colliding Moons showing how much more realistic the scenario looks in our new graphics update. 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 ligh...Space in a New Light | Update 35Mar 3, 2025 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/UUnmo8S.gif 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. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/198839bc35b7d54dbb5d0a23fa423ef225b4b226.png 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. https://i.imgur.com/uBMlO8X.gifBefore https://i.imgur.com/uUQa9W7.gifAfter 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! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/e755029e6fac2db843d48c6485f5c867ff068e82.gifBefore https://i.imgur.com/lsYDZ20.gifAfter 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). https://i.imgur.com/XNUVt9o.gifBefore https://i.imgur.com/9SVyb3S.gifAfter 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. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/39152c1883a1a2e067771e1671f28597211cecb3.pngBefore {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/cf223756d798fcea5848dadab7be222c11b27089.pngAfter {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/bb7e259c0ca9e3e39028f723f1cbc191f4798453.png 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. https://i.imgur.com/tPi0I0K.gifBefore https://i.imgur.com/EgCB7m0.gifAfter 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. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/87b8fc7c59f076e0f5a42759219fd20017933cb9.pngBefore {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/c76aa7846ec9df7b35d2cbeb0fd84e1067e68747.pngAfter Smoothly blending clouds Gas and dust clouds now smoothly pass over planets instead of creating sharp intersections. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/2658cfc4a5b5c7f19a4e1704f9cc68dab774571b.pngBefore {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/345ba3a123cd5a622c4eb532054ae89bbf8c1323.pngAfter https://i.imgur.com/r1bgcLK.gifBefore https://i.imgur.com/pfF88vd.gifAfter Realistic artifacts The surfaces of human-scale objects, or artifacts like spacecraft, have shiny, reflective ...But Wait, There’s More: Improvements Beyond GraphicsDec 19, 2024 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/bGO2nqm.gif Since our last sneak peek of the Universe Sandbox graphics update, we’ve put out a preview version of our new state-of-the-art graphics system that you can test now on Steam to immerse yourself in a universe more awe-inspiring and realistic than ever before. We've also made many interface improvements to make controlling the universe easier and more intuitive. There's still more to do before this update is ready for release, but we wanted to share other improvements you can look forward to and test out right now. Space in a New Light | Update 35 is now out! Learn more about all the additions and improvements in this update. https://i.imgur.com/MAgHhh3.gif Work in Progress The properties panel now lets you edit multiple objects at once. We’ve even added a new selection tool to make it easier to select multiple objects. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/f50a2e0b0e4e95821c2c2808fbe571460ff939aa.gif Current https://i.imgur.com/vN6Y5MB.gif Work in Progress We’ve implemented a new user interface system that automatically positions, resizes, and closes panels so you can always see the simulation and focus on manipulating the universe instead of managing panels. https://i.imgur.com/DHf8gw4.gif Current https://i.imgur.com/V02GH6f.gif Work in Progress 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. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/d807883a2fa2137a7431d2daa0cc6f9ce20a9a82.gif Work in Progress 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. https://i.imgur.com/6bWFhJR.gif Work in Progress 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. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/4f65e2586d95dcc89af47b1ce07c558c8cfb4019.gif Current {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/85262eb92070e1e02966792ef51f4059aee45980.gif Work in Progress 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) {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/c9dd787ddd7c3e8e6576f6665441142e2f70cb1a.png Work in Progress Save objects or learn more about real astronomical ones with our new Wikipedia button under Additional Actions. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/c80adf4444b49303e08ede4b5febf1dc66a83170.png Work in Progress Use the new Inspect tool to quickly see the temperature, material composition, elevation, and other properties of specific points on a planet’s surface. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/24623ee0103e789914414829ddb708c9fa321526.gif Stars and collisions can be blindingly bright. We’re overhauling the View panel with more intuitive controls and lighting options to show the action while preserving life-like accuracy and letting...Space in a New Light Preview Now Available | Major Graphics UpdateNov 26, 2024 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/nDPoiSn.gif Immerse yourself in a universe more awe-inspiring and realistic than ever before with our next-generation Universe Sandbox graphics update. We’ve spent the last two years completely replacing our 10-year-old graphics technology with a state-of-the-art system in our biggest update in years and our biggest visual update ever! Our new graphics engine is a vastly improved realistic rendering system that’s more robust, easier to improve, and lets us better show you how the universe really looks. Doubling down on realism brought a new set of technical and design challenges for us to tackle to make every aspect of Universe Sandbox as realistic as possible. We’ve completely ripped out our old graphic engine replacing thousands of lines of code. We’ve also included many non-graphics-related improvements with this update, including A new interface system that automatically positions, resizes, and closes panels so you can always see the simulation. Editing multiple objects at once in the Properties panel. To select multiple objects, hold down Control (⌘ on Mac) and click on each object you want to include. All object properties now support basic math. New Action buttons at the top of every Properties tab instead of an Actions tab so you can quickly fly to a planet or explode it. This graphics update 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. Space in a New Light | Update 35 is now out! Learn more about all the additions and improvements in this update. A Brighter Future For All (Literally) While not exhaustive, some of the most visually apparent changes you’ll see in Universe Sandbox are Focus on realism Making Universe Sandbox look as realistic as possible with physically-based lighting has brought new challenges. For example, stars can now be realistically bright. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/39152c1883a1a2e067771e1671f28597211cecb3.pngCurrent {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/61f148fe1a5ce89d5f49e33c8800dcf07e761d3c.pngWork in Progress Collisions can result in blindingly realistic hot spots. Showing the action while preserving life-like accuracy has been one of our biggest challenges. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/0f461ce0d75a25ba21f20f3107f733e402d555d5.pngComparing Earth and 100 colliding moons with Realistic (Space Goggles off and no artificial lights) and Enhanced (Space Goggles on and no artificial lights) Object Visibility. 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. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/87b8fc7c59f076e0f5a42759219fd20017933cb9.pngCurrent {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/a01aa657e615ca8a0f6accc58fa7b706f32e5d1e.pngWork in Progress Smoothly blending clouds Gas and dust clouds are now soft particles that smoothly p...Next-Generation Graphics Coming SoonJun 27, 2024 - Community AnnouncementsPrepare to immerse yourself in a universe more awe-inspiring and realistic than ever before with our next-generation Universe Sandbox graphics update. Over the past year and a half, we've been replacing our decade-old graphics technology with a state-of-the-art system that sets the stage for future enhancements. While there's still more to be done before it's ready for release, we're excited to give you a sneak peek at our progress. Stay tuned to our Steam Forum and Discord server where we’ll be announcing a preview version you can try before it’s released to everyone. In the meantime, you can check out our 2024 Roadmap to learn more about what we have planned. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/01586f1f5b8fd832cb9227e45ea2afd7ab1a0d8f.png The color of hot objects is more accurately based on their temperatures. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/41f2dc24da819a3e9de28474df83d6fa67ab7bd6.png Current {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/ec0ad6a062b0cb3b6488aa572783a3374822d98e.png Work in Progress Spacecraft and other human-scale objects will interact with light more realistically. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/680148c56371fdbab11332b30b2d786fe6dd1f7c.png Current {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/a3f74f22f452c91e4a411d33889dd4c6a48ec683.png Work in Progress Gas clouds no longer create sharp intersections when passing over planets. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/2658cfc4a5b5c7f19a4e1704f9cc68dab774571b.png Current {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/a5dc2cba58c22e5603ea17538eab76826c03b7e3.png Work in Progress Objects will only glow in areas where they’re hot instead of the entire object glowing based on average temperature. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/87b8fc7c59f076e0f5a42759219fd20017933cb9.png Current {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/6ff4309f31673e3f1aab3c7abdae9922a6f65151.png Work in Progress https://i.imgur.com/da2BeYJ.gif Current https://i.imgur.com/Qm6qFLr.gif Work in Progress Hot objects will emit light based on their temperature. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/6fd32f0b9fe1318fb7008a4a196f2ae39a0cb383.png Current {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/eeff5ae04db1913828f222e404268843f2f2776b.png Work in Progress More accurate lighting at a distance for more realistic and cinematic views. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/81668da0487304baf6c069eb29b6d1815da40d98.png Current {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/9bbf88e32558967e8fd1b9f73356bdc3c636ffd0.png Work in Progress Explore the beauty of the universe more awesomely than ever. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/756f5cb0b5e35a00c537dc787bb7ef284cbbdc91.png Current {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/d1bbcf87811d991fd83c32ce54224e61ce6ff4b2.png Work in Progress We fixed that annoying issue where stars look like they’re being eclipsed when seen from the surface of a planet. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/447a8f53eae4043bead9be592724ef13571c4b3a.png Current {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/de94c474b8d5076bcd237053205e5600704253c8.png Work in Progress Stars appear brighter, realistically obscuring surface detail. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/1ff9a2faa472e0d772d95d54d24231c174bdce64.png Current {STEAM_CLAN_IMA...Universe Sandbox Roadmap: 2024 & BeyondMar 18, 2024 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/AiXButx.gif Our new graphics renderer will make hot spots, like those lasered into this planet. This graphics overhaul is a work in progress. This year's plans include a major graphics overhaul, more realistic collisions & craters, and putting Universe Sandbox on mobile devices so you can create and destroy on the go. Before getting into the details, here’s a brief recap of last year. Highlights from 2023 https://i.imgur.com/XmUNE7W.gif Demonstrating highlights from 2023, including a spherical cow and adding materials like methane and nitrogen to planets. In 2023, we put out 4 feature-packed updates. Some of our favorite new additions include Massive improvements to our gravity simulation's accuracy, stability, and performance. Adding 8 new materials, including oxygen & carbon dioxide, to realistically simulate, construct, and terraform planets and atmospheres. Rolling a Spherical Cow into Universe Sandbox. This refers to a joke that physicists sometimes oversimplify real-world problems to make them easier to solve. The gravity simulation improvements and additional materials were major milestones from our 2023 Roadmap post. Check out our 2023 Retrospective post for more on what we did last year. What’s the Plan for 2024? Using a new graphics renderer to immerse you further in the universe with bright glows, smoothly drifting dust clouds, and more. Optimizing our simulation performance with Unity’s Data-Oriented Technology Stack (DOTS). Doubling down on our efforts to bring Universe Sandbox to phones and tablets (iOS & Android). Begin adding basic plant-based life simulation. Continue improving our development tools to find and fix issues quickly. We plan to work on all of these projects in 2024, but some, like our new graphics renderer, have been in the works for a while. Additional challenges may arise that delay features, and our priorities may change. New Graphics: A Visual Glow-Up https://i.imgur.com/75hca8h.gif Work in Progress: Earth and 100 colliding moons after some of our graphics renderer changes. It’s time for a glow-up, literally. We’re rebuilding our graphics rendering from the ground up. After our overhaul, only the hot parts of the objects will glow instead of the entire object, dust clouds will blend smoothly with other objects, and more. New Graphics Renderer Last year, we started transitioning our graphics rendering to Unity’s Universal Render Pipeline (URP). This system allows us to use more true-to-life light properties and easily add and maintain new graphical elements. We’re expecting a performance boost too. Dust clouds passing through planets currently show sharp lines at their intersection. URP will let us render transparent clouds that blend smoothly with planets, called soft particles. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/8eb3ab2be9d8bb477019cd93cf365db5f034f331.png Current: Dust clouds passing through a planet show sharp lines where they intersect. Our graphics overhaul hopes to remove these lines. Planets w...Eclipsed Improvements | Update 34.1Mar 5, 2024 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/9d57a5d2813c918a202e0aa67d6d84ca0430abaa.gif 2024 Total Solar Eclipse Watch the Moon completely block out the Sun across parts of Mexico, the United States, and Canada in our simulation of the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse. Check it out under: Home > Open > Total Solar Eclipse on April 8, 2024 Learn more about this eclipse. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/6cf09f666416ef2125a50a32a9fef712cc4bbbe8.gif Chaotic Collisional Aftermath Immerse yourself in chaos as gas clouds expand and rock fragments collide in the aftermath of collisions. We've updated our particle system to preserve performance while simulating fuller, more realistic collisions. https://i.imgur.com/f6pdUZt.gif Before https://i.imgur.com/On9cSa1.gif After Custom Habitable Range Customize the habitable temperature and atmospheric pressure of your planets for more unique vegetation and city lights coverage. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/f8560caf544ff37ffae56d64f0054017ebcaf0ee.png More Highlights Explore the chaos of the fictional planetary system of Trisolaris from The Three-Body Problem. The number of objects gravitationally interacting makes it impossible to predict the planet's orbits, called the three-body problem. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/929f3ea663d3d20c7e2e7731e246e4b9b9e98dbe.gif All gasses in a planet's atmosphere now contribute to its color and opacity instead of just the 4 gasses with the most mass. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/3c658b62db32984efc33054a96392dbcce9b4b62.png Before - Additional sulfur dioxide does not make the atmosphere more opaque or tint it orange. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/2269574931861c00f43f58906c48cbc3158cc7a3.png After - Additional sulfur dioxide makes the atmosphere more opaque and tints it orange. An object's material composition now just shows the list of materials currently in the object by default. We’ve also added an Add New Materials button. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/fe3684f5381c3085cb38b1abad2e29ff800af8db.png Before {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/7ba57d58de37aaa6c7fb24196f3fbfbd54ea8f22.png After Use the new Hide Dust Clouds toggle to look at planet surfaces and see collisions through thick clouds of dust. https://i.imgur.com/3yc57kR.gif The object properties panel has been greatly optimized, making it faster to open and switch objects. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/8933ab59955bfdffddc52c223b4986f82b93ffcb.gif Completely swap one material on a planet for another with one tap. What would Earth look like if you switched out all the water for methane? https://i.imgur.com/S6460f6.gif This update is brought to you by our completely new build system, which automatically creates different versions of Universe Sandbox whenever one of our team members updates the code it’s built on, allowing us to test and release new features even faster. Listen to your favorite Universe Sandbox track over and over again by looping them under Settings > Audio > Music Controls > Loop Track Check out the full list of What's New in Update 34.1 Please repo...Universe Sandbox 2023 RetrospectiveJan 24, 2024 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/9dsML53.gif We’ve got a lot planned for 2024, including a massive graphics upgrade, collision and cratering improvements, getting Universe Sandbox on mobile devices (iOS & Android), and more! We’ll go into more exciting details in our upcoming 2024 Roadmap post, but first, let’s reflect on some achievements from 2023. 1 Spherical cow We added one new human-scale object last year - a spherical cow. A spherical cow refers to a joke that when physicists want to make a problem easier to handle, they sometimes simplify it so much it’s no longer realistic. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/10ede9fa98063d84e05bcfc30811661de6713b17.png 4 Significant updates to Universe Sandbox A Comet, an Asteroid, and a Planet Walk into the Solar System | Update 32.2 | March 2023 Added a spherical cow and many simulations including the green comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) passing by Earth. Grand Collision Unification | Update 32.3 | June 2023 Combined our two previous collision models for more realistic shockwaves, heating, and overall destruction. Gravity Simulation Upgrade | Update 33 | August 2023 Overhauled our gravity simulation to increase accuracy, stability, and performance to run simulations even faster. Terraforming | Update 34 | December 2023 Added 8 new materials (for a total of 12), including oxygen and carbon dioxide, to realistically simulate, construct, and terraform planets and atmospheres. Finally simulating the lakes of liquid methane on Titan. The Gravity Simulation Upgrade and Terraforming were major milestones from our 2023 Roadmap post. https://i.imgur.com/gommnk3.gif 8 New materials We added Helium Carbon dioxide Oxygen Sulfur dioxide Methane Nitrogen Argon Ammonia Alongside the existing materials, silicate, iron, hydrogen, and water to Universe Sandbox. Now you can terraform planets and simulate atmospheres more realistically than ever. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/b34eff24fe77048b5d2dfb12b71a814542b36d99.png https://i.imgur.com/fnthYLS.gif 36 New simulations and guides added to Universe Sandbox Check out the 31 new simulations, including the Bombard Moon with Materials (below), and 5 new guides, including Terraforming Mars and Searching for Supermassive Black Holes, under Home > Open and Home > Guides https://i.imgur.com/BOy3EZT.gif 727 Highest number of concurrent users in Universe Sandbox Easily surpassing the previous highest number of 648 on December 24, 2021. January 30, 2023 must have been a great day to cause celestial havoc. 2,336 Positive Steam reviews in 2023 We’re truly amazed and humbled that we are rated “Overwhelmingly Positive,” both recently and all-time on Steam. Over 96% of all reviews we’ve received are positive. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/718b37cea20394e9bf31039df712155a73091c98.png 2,405 New code commits, or changes, made to Universe Sandbox through GitHub, the platform we use to maintain and manage our code The most code commits occurred during the week of December 3, right before Terraforming | Update 34 was released, w...Universe Sandbox on GeForce NOWJan 11, 2024 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/AwwfQ0H.gif Universe Sandbox is now available to play on GeForce NOW, NVIDIA’s cloud-based game streaming service! GeForce NOW connects to digital PC game stores like Steam and Epic Games so you can play games you already own in the cloud and stream them to any compatible device in real time. Bend the laws of gravity, collide planets, boil away oceans, fire epic space lasers, and customize your universe in real time with cloud-based gaming streamed directly to any supported device. And check out our newest update to simulate, construct, and terraform planets and atmospheres more realistically than ever with new materials including oxygen and methane! If you own Universe Sandbox on Steam, you can play Universe Sandbox on GeForce NOW by Launching GeForce NOW in your browser or downloading the GeForce NOW application Creating a free account (free accounts may have multi-hour waits before you are able to play. You can skip the queue with a paid account) https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce-now/memberships/ Linking your Steam account Going to your Games library Playing Universe Sandbox Learn more on NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW page. Any saved simulations and objects you have will be accessible in GeForce NOW, and any saved simulations you create while playing through the service will be available after your session. If you don't own Universe Sandbox, you can buy it on Steam.Terraforming | Update 34Dec 14, 2023 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/gommnk3.gif Simulate, construct, and terraform planets and atmospheres more realistically than ever before with new materials! Planet sizes, atmospheric heating, gas and liquid colors, and more are now simulated based on the mass and phase of each material in a planet’s composition. Learn more about how we simulate materials in two new guides Home > Guides > Tutorials > Playing with Materials Home > Guides > Science > Terraforming Mars {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/e2efe590c42f55aeed6de5542a587277ece82ea3.png New Materials Terraform planets, rain down oceans, and expand atmospheres with 8 new materials (for a total of 12) using the Material or Planetscaping tools, or adjust the materials directly under Properties > Composition In addition to silicate, iron, hydrogen, and water, we are now simulating helium, carbon dioxide, oxygen, sulfur dioxide, methane, nitrogen, argon, and ammonia. https://i.imgur.com/bXUUqTN.gif Planet Atmospheres Create pleasant Earth-like or oppressive Venus-like atmospheres by adjusting the mix of materials in the atmosphere. Atmosphere colors are based on the amount of gas in a specific area, with thicker atmospheres being harder to see through. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/2f378a07557a126cca4e7e4d18dff630f36633d2.gif {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/f942b925aa8ba9e839b86c96a1d17f902a534730.gif Material Collisions Bombard planets with materials to see their atmospheres and oceans indefinitely altered. Watch oceans boil, creating vapor-filled atmospheres. Impacts create shockwaves that push gases and punch holes in the atmosphere. https://i.imgur.com/8qMsvO4.gif Before https://i.imgur.com/PyHAw5u.gif After Object Size from Composition We’re using complex models of materials under the intense heat and pressure inside planets to compute realistic planet sizes. https://i.imgur.com/jHsu423.gif More Highlights Material colors are based on their real-life properties. Materials blend on the surface of planets and moons so you can watch oceans and gas clouds mix in real time. You can also customize material colors under View > Advanced View Settings > Materials https://i.imgur.com/WPrc9in.gif https://i.imgur.com/jzdLH9V.gif Adding materials beyond water allows us to simulate Titan’s methane lakes. In the future, these new materials will also be the foundation for simulating life. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/51f736caeb84a687dd52e9d9f179252b0eb7d9db.png The 4 materials with the most mass will automatically be simulated across an object's surface, indicated by a dot, similar to how water was simulated. You can also override this and choose any 4 materials to simulate across an object’s surface. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/a4476200fa85269d690b05a87dfe3a2ad791ad95.png We’ve added a collection of material simulations so you can compare how they change phase between solid, liquid, and gas Home > Open > Materials {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/4609c6febb1e589ab5711db04965f09f0da1760b.png The simulation below shows Earth with different ...Terraforming Preview | Adding More Materials to Universe SandboxOct 24, 2023 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/BOy3EZT.gif The Moon is bombarded with asteroids made of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, methane, and water. These materials are transferred to the Moon's surface, forming lakes that flow together and eventually evaporate to create an atmosphere. Our new composition system, including eight new materials, like oxygen and methane, is still in active development and has not been released, but you can opt-in to a preview version now on Steam. Every planet in Universe Sandbox is simulated with a combination of materials, like iron and water, that are used to compute properties like planet radius and water flow. However, our current composition system is too simple to simulate phenomena like lakes of liquid methane on Saturn’s moon Titan. Our new system will allow you to realistically simulate planet surfaces and atmospheres, accurately terraform planets, and more. Try the Terraforming | Update 34 preview right now! Eight new materials and our new composition system are now available for testing and feedback. Learn how to opt-in to a preview version on Steam: https://universesandbox.com/support/previewversion Material Properties in Universe Sandbox {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/6dec00e327d7cb5f571ea9dcc48193f8670b3509.png The Composition tab shows material properties, including total mass, the percentage and mass in each phase (solid, liquid, and gas), and more. This feature and interface are a work in progress. Current Composition System Universe Sandbox’s current composition system uses four materials (iron, silicate, water, and hydrogen) each with a set of physical properties including Density - to compute an object’s mass and radius and determine where materials are within a planet (for example, iron is the densest so it's at the core). Thermal capacity - energy required to increase the material’s temperature by one degree. Used to determine the Surface Heat Capacity of a planet. Molecular weight - average mass of a molecule of the material. Used to create clouds of evaporating gas called volatiles. Water, the only material currently simulated across an object’s surface, has some additional properties Boiling point - temperature where a material changes from a liquid to a gas Melting point - temperature where a material changes from a solid to a liquid Mass of the material in each phase (solid, liquid, or gas) Liquid and solid density, heat of fusion, and heat of vaporization - to determine how fast water flows, evaporates, and freezes on planet surfaces Realistic (and customizable) colors New Composition System Our new composition system has 12 materials: iron, silicate, water, hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, oxygen, sulfur dioxide, methane, nitrogen, argon, and ammonia. These are the materials necessary to simulate the most interesting internal, liquid, and atmospheric properties of most objects in our Solar System. Many, like oxygen and carbon dioxide, will also be necessary for life simulation. Each material has all the prope...Universe Sandbox for Mobile | Update 2 | Challenges of Mobile DevelopmentAug 23, 2023 - Community AnnouncementsCollisions and surface simulation already run smoothly in Universe Sandbox on mobile devices. Bringing the complete Universe Sandbox experience to mobile is an exciting and challenging project, and while development was stalled while hiring a new user interface engineer, we are back on track! While we still don’t have a release date for Universe Sandbox on mobile, we want to share our recent progress and current obstacles. For an overview of our plans for Universe Sandbox on mobile devices, you can read our first Mobile DevLog. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/ab680f3ab2f66f4da4288f44659e2a41df851812.png Making our user interface work in portrait mode is an added challenge when adapting it for small screens. Pocket-Sized Complexities We’ve been thinking about Universe Sandbox mobile for a long time and have been developing our panels and buttons to be easy to view and use on small screens for years. In fact, Universe Sandbox mobile is built from the exact same code as the version you already know and love, so it will have the same features and user interface as the desktop experience. This shared codebase means you can enjoy any new features or improvements we add to Universe Sandbox on any device, whether you’re on a desktop, laptop, VR headset, phone, or tablet. While these are seemingly simple goals, they create complex design challenges, including How to automatically arrange panels and adjust your view so you can focus on controlling the simulation, not having to manage the user interface Switching between multiple panels, like an object's properties, data views, and guide instructions, on small screens in landscape and portrait modes Overhauling our simulation tools (like explode, laser, and planetscaping), to adapt to all screen sizes {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/9efd0faf02a7b0affa608901e17207631845477c.png Dynamically resizing panels (this tool panel is cut off) and automatically moving the center of your view so you can always see what you're looking at (moving the Sun hidden behind the tool panel to the empty space on the left) is just one example of the user interface work we still need to do. This is a work in progress. Under New (Layout) Management While most other simulators and games have a different user interface for their mobile and desktop versions, we want ours to use the exact same interface for all platforms. We think we’re among the first to do this, but if you know of another or have done this with your game, please let us know! You can see what Universe Sandbox mobile might look like right now (including why we haven’t released it yet) by resizing the Universe Sandbox window on your computer to the size of your phone (since our user interface dynamically responds to your window size). Showing multiple panels simultaneously in both landscape and portrait orientations while still seeing the simulation on a small screen is one of the biggest challenges of mobile development. This is a work in progress. While we are still making perf...Gravity Simulation Upgrade | Update 33Aug 16, 2023 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/ygNpP8f.gif Gravity Simulation We've completely overhauled our gravity simulation to increase accuracy, stability, and overall performance. Run simulations at higher speeds than ever before while maintaining gravitational accuracy. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/cc46d070f7a2d86031b8757691bf2ff8a675a071.png Many simulations can now be run at noticeably higher simulation speeds. Try increasing the simulation speed of the Solar System simulation or your own custom simulation. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/13b3eaad8fe8f027fe95090e796a4c32c33db533.gif Before {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/76dca808e2a601b2383e5926254c672ca3354229.gif After The Hubble Space Telescope used to crash into or fly away from Earth at simulation speeds greater than a couple days per second. Now it maintains a stable orbit at much higher simulation speeds. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/c6fab44bdb16dcd3b3767e12d4306f400b09f4e5.gif Before {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/3c992fde81ea0b1ded9f31931f3f71d73943f621.gif After Choreography simulations, where moons are distributed evenly over a pre-computed path creating a unique design, are much more stable and create the desired patterns, like this fish, before becoming gravitationally unstable and falling apart, as expected. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/59dc1dacddc6c70bac00384a18a50da99b776478.gif Before {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/c15ece4e72e91945a96d9267400f54f499c252c0.gif After We've also added more controls so you can fine-tune the balance between maximum simulation speed and gravitational accuracy. Learn more in our updated guide Guides > Tutorials > Advanced Simulation Speed Controls {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/07513757fa671202a6d8c6135f76be70ca46d4ee.png More Highlights Small objects colliding with gas giants now create more realistic impacts with smaller, gradually growing impact areas https://i.imgur.com/kAhKkKm.gif Before {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/b2af097a8702e27ca8f46f30370ec3c8e6497119.gif After Object selection has been completely rewritten. It’s now much easier to select objects in crowded simulations with lots of dust clouds and fragments. https://i.imgur.com/mrz4icb.gif Before https://i.imgur.com/Woc39KY.gif After Check out the full list of What's New in Update 33 Please report any issues on our Steam forum, on Discord, or in-game via Home > Send Feedback.Grand Collision Unification | Update 32.3Jun 29, 2023 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/JD0q2My.gif We’ve combined our two previously separate collision methods improving collisions so shockwaves now realistically eject fragments as they spread across gas giants during collisions. Interface panels, such as graphs, data maps, and object properties, are now remembered when you open saved simulations. We’ve also added new astronomical discoveries to explore, like the galaxy-sized detector used to find new evidence of supermassive black holes. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/2ef2c1124930704015679e1ae12efb6bde9bb839.png Unified Collisions Collisions are more realistic, with shockwaves propagating across gas giant surfaces and fragment ejection direction based on impact angle with our new unified collision system. This new collision solution combines our two previous separate collision methods. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/59182bdbbdc89d8b856d8c70f77fdcd65ad6ddf4.gif Before https://i.imgur.com/HOAAY8j.gif After https://i.imgur.com/PQpRiu6.gif Before https://i.imgur.com/GHXKaan.gif After Saving Your Interface Pick up right where you left off with the properties panel open, or include a temperature graph in a shared simulation to show a planet heating up from a close encounter with a star. Saved simulations now remember the state of the interface panels. See it in action in Open > Core > A Tidally Heated Habitable Moon or Tidally Locked Earth https://i.imgur.com/TNIbUij.gif Before https://i.imgur.com/Yd1qMA1.gif After Searching for Supermassive Black Holes On June 28, 2023, evidence for a signal generated from all supermassive black hole pairs from across the universe was announced by the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves. Explore the galaxy-sized detector they used and learn how they found this evidence in our new guide Guides > Discoveries > Searching for Supermassive Black Holes https://i.imgur.com/4MGnlVT.gif More Highlights See the dwarf planet Quaoar’s newly discovered rings in the new simulation Open > Solar System > Quaoar with Rings {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/c8de162fed0118751291ac434c59834252b0895f.png We’ve also added a simulation of the dwarf planet Haumea’s rings, which were discovered back in 2017, in the simulation Open > Solar System > Haumea with Rings {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/c4913e7ad96659c8b81a2d0a37bad92dbc931e19.png Manipulate the temperature of the universe and learn about the cosmic microwave background, a type of faint radiation spread across space, in our new guide Guides > Science > Cosmic Microwave Background {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/07a5958408f82e441e19e7650eb691e00a06c0a3.png Display settings have been updated to include more options for exclusive fullscreen, fullscreen borderless, and windowed resolutions {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/2117bcb6ecf7406329505ed8b5905a46c1246c8f.png Before {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/99e8f65478370adaa77e6585a126cd4dd791b0f6.png After Additional Actions have been added to the Properties panel of objects so you can easily Fly To, Follow, or La...Universe Sandbox Roadmap: 2023 & BeyondMar 31, 2023 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/7tZyrxU.gif The Milky Way galaxy with a trail for every nebula in the galaxy using our upcoming physics architecture improvements. Currently, trails are only shown for some nebulae due to performance limitations. The colors show how many times the orbit of a nebula must be computed to maintain physical accuracy. Blue means fewer computations, while red means more. We're working to give you more power to understand and control the complex phenomena of the universe. Our roadmap for 2023 includes simulating the lakes of liquid methane on Titan, hot planets emitting light, and realistically colliding spacecraft and bananas. But before we dive in, let's recap some accomplishments from last year. Highlights From 2022 https://i.imgur.com/UsPleOK.gif Demonstrating highlights from 2022, including the Force Spin tool, Settle Water button, and Auto Simulation Speed. In 2022, we put out 9 updates for Universe Sandbox. These included many new features, but some of our favorites are Spinning up planets so fast they break apart using the new Force Spin tool Exploring constellations for 10 different cultures Customizing the look and topography of planets and moons with a library of realistic color and height maps Fundamental improvements to our planetary collision system Check out our 2022 Retrospective for more on what we did last year. So What’s the Plan for 2023? Add more materials for constructing & simulating planets & atmospheres Overhaul our under-the-hood physics architecture to improve accuracy and performance Simulate light emission from hot planets Continue work on bringing Universe Sandbox to phones and tablets Improve our development tools to identify issues quickly and provide a more bug-free experience Many of our projects, like bringing Universe Sandbox to phones and tablets, have been in development for months or years. While we plan to work on everything we discuss here in 2023, complications may cause features to be delayed, and our priorities may change. More Materials & Composition Simulation {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/43ce17a0d0e99ec48268e49dc49f104c6c5012f3.png Titan with realistic lakes of liquid methane. Titan’s properties include the amount of methane and the percentage in each phase (solid, liquid, and gas). Material colors are manually adjusted to help see the lakes. This feature and interface are a work in progress. We’re expanding the number of materials in Universe Sandbox you can use to simulate, construct, and terraform planets and atmospheres realistically. For example, new materials like methane will allow us to fully simulate lakes of liquid methane on Titan. We’re also adding advanced simulation to compute planet radii based on the pressure and temperature of each material in the planet’s composition. Ever wonder how big the Moon would be if it were made entirely of oxygen? Soon you’ll be able to find out. A (Multi) Material World Planet radii and atmospheres will be realistically simulated based on the ma...A Comet, an Asteroid, and a Planet Walk into the Solar System | Update 32.2Mar 23, 2023 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/qbE4gCW.gif Watch a green comet pass by Earth for the first time in 50,000 years, see an asteroid swing by Earth in one of the closest ever encounters, and explore a hypothetical planet from the 1800s disproven by Einstein’s theory of relativity. Speaking of comets, asteroids, and planets… A comet, an asteroid, and a hypothetical planet walk into the Solar System. The hypothetical planet says to the comet, “Why so green?” The comet says, “It’s the radiation from the Sun evaporating the carbon on my surface. You’d know that if you were as close to the Sun as people thought you were.” The hypothetical planet turns red with anger and ceases to exist. The asteroid says, “Phew, that was a close one!” {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/13729c4f87312c122a9e1b61c247e5b731ecdc50.png A Green Comet The green comet, C/2022 E3 (ZTF), recently passed by the Earth for the first time in 50,000 years. Explore its path and watch this once-in-a-lifetime event occur over and over with our new simulation The Green Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in 2023 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/c86b78cf517a75405c6b46c1261045cc8dcbca00.gif Close Encounters of the Asteroid Kind Asteroid 2023 BU performed a close pass of Earth (though it posed no threat), only 2,200 km from the surface. That’s just under half the length of the United States! Watch one of the closest asteroid encounters ever recorded in our new simulation Asteroid 2023 BU Close Encounter in 2023 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/50fe2cd89cb4f0d27f29d3bf2bae8ab184b68370.gif The Non-Existent Planet In the 1800s, many astronomers thought there was a planet, dubbed Vulcan, between Mercury and the Sun. Mercury’s orbit was observed to wobble slightly more than predicted, and Vulcan was hypothesized to explain this. We now know Vulcan does not exist, and general relativity causes the additional wobble, but you can see Vulcan’s proposed orbit in the new simulation Hypothetical Planet Vulcan https://i.imgur.com/LVb3vJG.gif More Highlights Landing (press "c") on the surface of a planet now always points you toward the horizon. Taking off returns you to your previous position instead of in front of the planet. https://i.imgur.com/qD74y35.gif On February 3, 2023, astronomers announced the discovery of 12 more moons orbiting Jupiter. Learn about these new moons in our new simulation Jupiter’s New Moons 2023 Or explore the history of the discovery of all of Jupiter’s 92 moons in our guide History of Jupiter’s Moons {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/8a8332e8c6ae1f2a76eb93def61db80b83410eb9.png We added a Spherical Cow to Universe Sandbox! This refers to a joke that when physicists want to make a problem easier to handle, they sometimes simplify it so much it’s no longer realistic. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/10ede9fa98063d84e05bcfc30811661de6713b17.png Experience 100 spherical cows hitting Earth at lightspeed in our new sim Earth & 100 Spherical Cows at the Speed of Light Because why not? {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/fe2deec55a7f1cce25c216002bc0171...Universe Sandbox 2022 RetrospectiveMar 2, 2023 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/Hj4DKOE.gif 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. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/2d04a99eabfd659974c99d546c1389833de0ecba.gif 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 o...Skies of Blue, Red Collisions Too | Update 32.1Dec 14, 2022 - Community Announcementshttps://i.imgur.com/efhWeCP.gif Collision shockwaves and atmosphere colors are more realistic, camera motion is smoother, and you can try the new Automatic Simulation Speed, which adjusts the simulation speed based on what’s happening in the simulation. Never miss a collision again! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/a42434c50254e324d352bfc79a9c19b1c56c72b1.png Improved Shockwaves Energy from collisions spreads more realistically over the surface of an object, resulting in larger shockwaves. Heating from collisions is also less concentrated and spreads over a larger area. Previously, shockwave expansion ended abruptly in a smaller area, often resulting in blue-hot impact sites. The dwarf planet Ceres colliding with Earth {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/8eaaafd6add42f2b867bdd42c89809a849edf6dd.gif Before https://i.imgur.com/3Dtkq4p.gif After The Moon colliding with the Earth https://i.imgur.com/BDAAvoD.gif Before {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/c3511a90370ed9e53f2d0946107d915bb59979bd.gif After Automatic Simulation Speed Allow the simulation speed to adjust itself automatically based on various conditions, like nearby objects and collisions, by turning on the new Automatic Simulation Speed feature. Automatically speeding up and slowing down the simulation speed provides an improved viewing experience for collisions, orbits, explosions, and more. This feature is still in active development and is currently off by default. Turn it on under Settings > General > Experience > Auto Simulation Speed {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/5f4eae04d2cb507babe39c01c6abe4a4a0bc2ef3.png The simulation speed will slow down to show collisions that you might otherwise miss https://i.imgur.com/gOcnqLS.gif Automatic Simulation Speed Off {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/20f7069c02bad28f55b8fd41503f369b83ae0e20.gif Automatic Simulation Speed On Create a more cinematic experience while watching simulations like Earth & 100 colliding moons https://i.imgur.com/ws23q4U.gif Automatic Simulation Speed Off https://i.imgur.com/B6HVqmP.gif Automatic Simulation Speed On Rayleigh Scattering Object atmospheres now visually simulate Rayleigh scattering, which describes how light scatters in the atmosphere. Rayleigh scattering is what makes Earth’s daytime sky appear blue and the setting Sun appear red. Adjust the strength of the scattering under Visuals > Atmosphere > Rayleigh Scattering Strength Earth with realistic Rayleigh scattering {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/3ca2ca6cf2bff853d47f5698f349b7bb29887b04.png Before {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/b89b19a4d3bf6e727fbb04bdae8317a94b83b5b3.png After Custom object with Rayleigh scattering at 85% strength {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/d37cc27539ff1ca0e54f80df634a9b01aef88d37.png Before {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/e14680aed1bfcfa49dbb46d17e64f71534317c77.png After More Highlights Your view now smoothly rotates, or pans, to focus on an object instead of sliding the view left or right, like a camera on rails https://i.imgur.com/KCNJr3y.gif Before https://i.imgur.com/SzkThrZ.gif Aft...Build-A-Planet | Update 32Nov 17, 2022 - Community Announcements{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/7c36343b3863b61ccedf1507ba8e58d5c4f868ea.gif Customize the look and topography of planets and moons with a library of realistic color and height maps. Turn Earth into Mars or mix-and-match maps to create your own worlds. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/603fc220c2e49e00eb80ca367b0233e58d948033.png Elevation Maps Blend, shift, and flip any two of the elevation maps in Universe Sandbox to create your own custom surface that governs water flow, temperature simulation, and more. Learn more Guides > Tutorials > Creating Planets from Scratch & Transforming Planets https://i.imgur.com/30pObYW.gif Color Maps Change the surface map of any planet to match other planet images included in Universe Sandbox. https://i.imgur.com/fzyk6X0.gif Apparent Elevation Intensity Change the apparent difference between high and low elevation, also called the normal map, under Visuals > Elevation > Exaggerated Terrain {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/1913ef2a5231101a88646a5f3088210efbd10969.gif More Highlights Invert a planet’s elevation with the push of a button under Surface > Elevation > Elevation Map > Flip {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/a4216eacd5e9824a484f945507784e1190729334.gif View a planet's simulated surface without high-resolution corrections under Properties > Visuals > Enhance Surface Detail Turning off the enhanced view shows the map resolution we use for simulating object surfaces, including water flow and snow. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/85490e6a7f8092114c2f6121502bfd14265fc31d.gif Turn off the visual glow from high temperatures, also called blackbody radiation, under Properties > Visuals > Heat Glow {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4425618/8b95c8ade32ab2abb38fe7861a22aa3420da89b6.gif This update includes 9+ additions and 3+ fixes and improvements. Check out the full list of What's New in Update 32 Please report any issues on our Steam forum, on Discord, or in-game via Home > Send Feedback.

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