Universe Sandbox News

The Universe Sandbox team pointing at something that was most certainly very interesting. (Left to right, back to front: Jonathan Hoy, Christian Herold, Dave Nelson, Alexander Grønneløv, Georg Steinröhder, Erika Nesvold, Mat Solomon, Dan Dixon, Jules Litman-Cleper, Jenn Seiler, Jared Meier, David Rappo. Not pictured: Jacob Williams, VR Developer (see Unity's story on Jacob for a lovely picture of him), Ryan Macoubrie, Composer

We recently had the privilege and pleasure of uniting [nearly] the whole Universe Sandbox team in person under one roof on the southern coast of Spain for an entire week.

In the seven years since Dan hired two developers to begin work on the latest version of Universe Sandbox, our team has grown to 14 strong. In the past two years alone, we have added six members to our team. So for some of us, this meetup meant seeing familiar faces, but for many, this was the very first time meeting each other in person.

While there are countless benefits to having a remote team spread across the globe, there are drawbacks as well -- not the least of which is the limited opportunity to experience each other not just as coworkers, but as fellow humans with families, wide-reaching interests and hobbies, and large catalogues of cheesy jokes. This was a chance for us to have conversations that weren't at all related to code architecture, simulation performance, pesky bugs, or features on our roadmap. Though of course, we couldn't help ourselves from having those conversations, too.

And importantly, we set aside time to take a step back from the details and appreciate this massively ambitious and unique project we are all a part of and discuss the future that it holds. Believe us when we say our wishlist for the future of Universe Sandbox is not brief.

We've now returned to our homes in Germany, Denmark, Australia, and across the United States in Seattle, Portland, St. Louis, Chicago, Birmingham, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston, reinvigorated and excited to get back to making Universe Sandbox bigger and better.

We continue to be ever grateful for all of the support we receive from our loving community that makes all of this possible.

Scroll on for proof that we all get along and had a great time hiking, touring historical sites, and of course, eating:

 
Universe Sandbox will no longer support Windows users running DirectX 9 or 32-bit operating systems later this year. The exact date and release are not known at this time, but we want to give everyone a heads-up.

November 2018: As of Update 22, Universe Sandbox no longer supports DirectX 9 or 32-bit operating systems. Users can run the last compatible version by selecting “*directx9-32bit” via Steam Betas. Learn how
 

 
Short answer:
These are technologies that have been replaced in mainstream computing over a decade ago. There are very few users left on these systems, and it is getting harder to support them as time goes on. This will help us continue to make improvements to performance and stability into the future.

Long answer:
The game engine we use, Unity3D, stopped supporting the DirectX 9 API last year. Unity states that "due to diminishing hardware numbers and the loss of platform support from Microsoft ... continued support of the DirectX 9 API is no longer feasible and is working against the development of new features in Unity." This move mirrors the direction taken by many other companies for their software and video games, including Blizzard's popular Heroes of the Storm.

The same is true for discontinuing support of 32-bit OSes, as hardware manufacturers like Nvidia are no longer updating 32-bit drivers with new features, Apple is gearing up to drop all support for 32-bit applications, and World of Warcraft is now going to be 64-bit only.

The vast majority of Universe Sandbox users are already running 64-bit, and our ability to focus on and develop only this version will help us continue to make improvements to Universe Sandbox's performance and stability into the future.

 

 
This will not affect macOS or Linux users, and if you are on Windows, chances are good that you are already running modern hardware with support for later versions of DirectX and a 64-bit OS that will not be affected by this.

But in case you aren't, here's what you need to know:

• This will end support for any Windows versions below Windows 7 SP1+
  
• DirectX 10 may work, but we recommend DirectX 11 | Find out which version you're running
  
• You must run a 64-bit version of Windows | Find out which version you're running

 

 
Upgrade to a newer version of DirectX:
We recommend upgrading to at least DirectX 11. Follow these instructions to find out which version you're running and view information about upgrading, if needed.

Some older GPUs do not support DirectX 11. You will need to find information about your GPU or contact the manufacturer to see what versions of DirectX it supports.

Upgrade to a 64-bit OS:
If you're running Windows 7 through 10, you're able to upgrade to 64-bit for free. Here is one guide for upgrading Windows 10.

You will need to upgrade to a newer version of Windows if you are running a version older than Windows 7.
 
If you can't upgrade:
We will offer a DirectX 9, 32-bit compatible version of Universe Sandbox via Steam. This version will not continue to be updated or supported; it will be the last update before we move onto DirectX 11, 64-bit versions only.

November 2018: As of Update 22, Universe Sandbox no longer supports DirectX 9 or 32-bit operating systems. Users can run the last compatible version by selecting “*directx9-32bit” via Steam Betas. Learn how

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.

Today's Deal: Save 40% on Universe Sandbox !*

Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are!

*Offer ends Friday at 10AM Pacific Time