Universe Sandbox News

[h3]Update 31[/h3]
Explore constellations from different cultures and watch as they change over thousands of years as stars move across the sky. Stars also look more realistic and planet and star glows depend on the same physical properties.

[h4]Constellations[/h4]
We’ve added constellations! There are currently constellation sets for 10 cultures.
Find them under: Home > Open > Constellations
Learn more about constellations in our new guides: Home > Guides > Constellations

[h4]Realistic Stellar Edges[/h4]
Stars now show limb darkening, an observed phenomenon where the edges appear dimmer than the center.


[h4]Dynamic Object Glows[/h4]
The size of an object’s glow now corresponds to how bright the object is, in addition to its temperature and how far away it is, with brighter objects getting larger glows.


[h4]More Highlights[/h4]

• Glows from stars and planets of the same radius and temperature are now the same size
  
  
  

  
  

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• Random Rock Particles and Dust Clouds can now be added directly from the Add panel
  
  
  
• The dynamic habitable zone now displays a notification indicating the object it is showing the habitable zone for
  
  
  
• Many user interface improvements: added two-column menus, fading scrollbars, and unit changes persisting in an object’s properties panel
  
  
  
• The Gravity button now only turns the gravity between objects on or off. You can turn the gravity holding objects together on or off in the Advanced Simulation setting.
  
  
  
• The Guide panel has been reorganized. Check it out under: Home > Guides

This update includes 4+ additions and 25+ fixes and improvements.

Check out the full list of What's New in Update 31

Please report any issues on our Steam forum, on Discord, or in-game via Home > Send Feedback.

We’re constantly working to make Universe Sandbox even better, and we’ve only scratched the surface. Our plans this year include more materials, rigid body collisions, and more!

[h2]But first, what did we do in 2021?[/h2]
Demonstrating planetscaping, atmosphere opacity, and collision improvements added in 2021.

Over the course of 2021, we had 3 major updates and 5 minor updates.

• Splish, Splash, Filling a Bath | Update 26.3
  • Oceans fill from lowest to highest elevations (like a bathtub)
    
• Fast & Flurrious | Update 27
  • Snow simulation is more realistic for known and random rocky planets
    
  • Temperature calculations are smoother at high sim speeds
    
• Clouds in Motion | Update 27.1
  • Cloud speed is now simulated from an object's temperature and rotational speed
    
• Atmospheric Adjustments | Update 27.2
  • Atmosphere Opacity is now simulated (and customization)
    
• Codename: Fire Ring | Update 28
  • Object collisions now have shockwave-based impacts
    
  • Object trails project back in time and show their past trajectory
    
• My Eyes, the Space Goggles Do Nothing | Update 28.1
  • Realistic Object Visibility better reflects what the human eye would see
    
• Starlite Starbrite | Update 28.2
  • Stars now have Absolute and Apparent Magnitudes, which measure their brightness at different distances
    
  • Starlight color on nearby objects updates in real-time
    
• Planetscaping | Update 29
  • Manipulate object surfaces with the Planetscaping (Surface Editing) tool
    
  • Collisions are more realistic with updated frictional forces
    

View our “What’s New” for a chronological list of changes.
[h2]And what have we already done in 2022?[/h2]
Showcasing some of the updates we’ve already made to Universe Sandbox in 2022.

This year has already brought one major and one minor update, both focused on our collision-based goals for the year.

• Consistent Collisions, James Webb, & Planetscaping Tweaks | Update 29.1
  • Fragments are now longer-lasting, and collisions are more consistent
    
  • The Planetscaping tool now includes an eyedropper
    
• Hit Hard, Spin Fast | Update 30
  • Spin planets apart at high rotational speeds with the new Force Spin tool
    
  • Similar-size object collisions now symmetrically heat and fragment both objects
    

[h2]What’re we planning to do in 2022?[/h2]
From simulation improvements to smoothing out our development process, we’re excited about what’s ahead. While we would like to do everything listed here this year, new priorities or unanticipated difficulties might arise and delay our plans.

[h3]Stellar Simulation[/h3]
The constellation Orion viewed from two different angles in Universe Sandbox. The camera is moving while the stars are stationary. Constellations are a work in progress.

We’re planning to add new star-related features and are working to improve our star simulation.

• Constellations
  
  • We want you to view and interact with Constellations dynamically. This is one of the oldest things on our to-do list.
    
  • To simultaneously simulate the 691 stars for constellations, we’ve been improving performance for star glows, object labels, and more.
    
• Star Simulation
  
  • Overhauling our current star simulation code to enable smooth star transitions as their properties change is a large task we’re actively working on.
    
  • Revamped star simulation will lay the groundwork for improving stellar evolution.
    

[h3]Physics, Physics, Physics[/h3]
Tidal forces due to the Moon orbiting close to the Earth dramatically change the Earth’s tides. Adding tidal forces to influence water flow in Universe Sandbox is a work in progress.

Collision and physics have been and continue to be a significant focus for us this year.

• Rigid Body Physics
  
  • Anybody up for space-bowling? We’re continuing work to add new physics to allow better human-scale interactions (like bowling pins and satellites).
    
  • This new system will serve as the foundation for spacecraft, thrusters, and megastructures in the future.
    
• Core Engine Rewrite
  
  • As Unity continues to develop their new physics engine based on the Unity Data-Oriented Technology Stack (DOTS) framework, we’ve begun transitioning Universe Sandbox to this new system.
    
  • This massive undertaking will eventually handle most computations in Universe Sandbox and will improve performance, particularly for physics simulation.
    
• Collisions: Physically Accurate & Overall More Awesome
  
  • Allowing objects in collisions to deform fluidly will create more realistic collisions, including total disintegration.
    
    • Previously we’ve looked into a method called Smoothed-particle hydrodynamics (SPH) for this simulation. However, due to some limitations of that method, we are now exploring other options more suitable for Universe Sandbox, like Positions Based Fluids (PBF) or Fluid-Implicit-Particle (FLIP).
      
  • Rock fragments and gas clouds interacting and collecting more material over time will allow a more realistic planet or moon formation simulation.
    

[h3]Cross-Platform Support[/h3]
Navigating the home menu in Universe Sandbox with a gamepad. Gamepad support is a work in progress.

Our progress on the mobile version of Universe Sandbox (iOS and Android) was slower than expected last year, but we’re ramping it up this year.

• The Universe in Your Pocket
  
  • Our two new user interface engineers will help us tackle the remaining challenges of mobile development, like window management on a small screen.
    
  • Our goal is for the mobile version of Universe Sandbox to match the full desktop experience. Learn more in our Mobile DevLog.
    
• The Universe from Your Couch
  
  • Want to play Universe Sandbox on your couch? Us too! We’ve begun experimenting with gamepad support for the desktop version, which is critical for future console development.
    

[h3]Materials & Beyond[/h3]
Adding additional materials, like Carbon Dioxide and Helium, in Universe Sandbox. This is a work in progress.

We want you to have access to more of the materials that make up our universe, like sulfur and oxygen, within Universe Sandbox. Adding more materials to our current system will allow better simulation of atmospheres, volatiles, and, eventually, life.

• Building with Basics
  
  • Adding basic materials like methane, necessary for simulating the liquid lakes of methane on Titan, will be the first step for this material system.
    
  • New materials will be included in surface simulation as we track their phase changes and movement across an object’s surface.
    
• Volatiles
  
  • More materials will allow us to create a more realistic volatiles system, which determines both the composition of fragments and if an object is losing material.
    

[h3]Internal Automation & Testing[/h3]
Our internal server allows our team to compare the results of automated tests and easily catch any issues when new features are added. This is a screenshot of our internal tool.

Part of developing Universe Sandbox (or any game) is identifying (and fixing!) bugs as early as possible. To help us with this, we’re creating new internal systems for our team to use to automate our deployment processes and test new and existing features.

• Build Automation
  
  • An updated version, or build, of Universe Sandbox is automatically created every time we make a code change so we can easily playtest new changes.
    
  • Developing tools to build and push new updates to Universe Sandbox automatically lets us get new features and fixes to you faster.
    
• Feature Testing
  
  • We’re creating a suite of automated tests and setting up a system to compare their results so we can easily see simulation changes or issues.
    
    • These tests can automatically click buttons, record GIFs, and more!
      

[h3]Hiring[/h3]

The key to creating a great game like Universe Sandbox is having a great team. Hiring the right people for the job takes time, but is always worthwhile.

• We’re Currently Hiring!
  
  • If you know someone (or you’re someone) who you think would be great for our Cross-Platform Engineer or Spacecraft Physics Engineer positions, tell them to apply.
    
  • If working on Universe Sandbox is your dream job, but we don’t have an open position for you, send us an email. We are always looking for help from the right candidates.
    

[h3]And More[/h3]
Creating Lagrange Points in Universe Sandbox based on an object and its orbital parent. This is a work in progress.

In addition to all of this, we have already

• Done some work to add Lagrange Points
  
• Started planning an expansion and overhaul of our in-game guide system
  
• Begun testing to allow access to even more planet customization options
  

We can’t wait to share this and more with you this year!

Run Steam to download Update 30, or buy Universe Sandbox via the Steam Store.

[h3]Update 30[/h3]
Spin apart planets with the Force Spin tool and discover the destructive potential of the newly simulated centrifugal force. We’ve also improved same-sized object collisions so you can launch the Earth at itself and watch the shockwaves heat and fragment both planets on impact.



[h4]Centrifugal Force[/h4]
Planets will fragment at very high rotational speeds as the centrifugal force overwhelms the gravity holding them together. Learn more: Home > Guides > Centrifugal Destruction

[h4]Same-Size Object Collision Improvements[/h4]
Colliding two objects of similar size now causes heating and fragmentation on both objects. See the destruction yourself: Home > Open > Earth & Earth Collision

[h4]Move Oceans[/h4]
Centrifugal force now pushes water on fast-spinning objects toward the object’s equator.


[h4]Force Spin Tool[/h4]
Change an object’s rotational speed, poles, and equator with the new Force Spin tool. Check it out in: Tools > Force > Spin

[h4]More Highlights[/h4]

• Rotation and speed of objects after collisions are now more accurately conserved, decreasing when mass is gained and increasing when mass is lost
  
  
  

  
  

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• The habitable zone changes to use the properties of the object you have selected to show its optimal habitable distance
  
  
  
• You can now change the Number of Atmosphere Layers an object has and create Venus-like planets
  
  
  
• The Hubble Space Telescope has been added to Universe Sandbox
  
  
  
• We’ve corrected the orientations of the James Webb Space Telescope (now facing away from the Sun) and Parker Solar Probe (now facing toward the Sun)
  
  
  

  
  

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This update includes 12+ additions and 43+ fixes and improvements.

Check out the full list of What's New in Update 30

Please report any issues on our Steam forum, on Discord, or in-game via Home > Send Feedback.

With a new year comes many exciting new developments for Universe Sandbox! We’re already hard at work on some of our planned features for 2022, but we wanted to celebrate and reflect on all that we accomplished in the past year.

[h2]2[/h2]
[h5]New team members[/h5]

Brent was introduced in our 2021 Roadmap and was hired as our new Science Writer & Community Advocate in March 2021. Brent has a Ph.D. in Physics and has been writing about all of the awesome science and simulations that Universe Sandbox can do (including writing this post – Hi again, everybody).

In October 2021, Pavel was brought on as a Physics Engineer to work on all things collisions with Erika, Chris, and Anders. Pavel has a Ph.D. in Astrophysics and did his graduate research on impact simulations, using smoothed-particle hydrodynamics and N-body simulations, mostly focusing on the formation of asteroid families. He’s been hard at work improving our collisions system, and we’re excited to have him on the team.

[h2]8[/h2]
[h5]Significant updates to Universe Sandbox[/h5]

These encompass over 56 new additions and over 219 bug fixes and improvements! We also started adding screenshots and gifs to show off the new features in each update this year.

• Splish, Splash, Filling a Bath | Update 26.3 | February 24, 2021
  
• Fast & Flurrious | Update 27 | May 3, 2021
  
• Clouds in Motion | Update 27.1 | June 21, 2021
  
• Atmospheric Adjustments | Update 27.2 | August 2, 2021
  
• Codename: Fire Ring | Update 28 | September 23, 2021
  
• My Eyes, the Space Goggles Do Nothing | Update 28.1 | October 28, 2021
  
• Starlite Starbrite | Update 28.2 | November 23, 2021
  
• Planetscaping | Update 29 | December 22, 2021
  

[h2]10[/h2]
[h5]New guides and fly-by simulations added to Universe Sandbox in 2021[/h5]

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about all the new features we added in the last year. We’re planning to add even more guides and spacecraft simulations this coming year.


[h2]120[/h2]
[h5]Tweets over the course of 2021[/h5]

All of our tweets combined had a total of 361,300 views. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Universe Sandbox.

[h2]648[/h2]
[h5]Highest number of concurrent users in Universe Sandbox in 2021[/h5]

This is the all-time high for the number of concurrent users and occurred on December 24, 2021! The second-highest number is 646 from the end of December 2020.

[h2]2,183[/h2]
[h5]Code commits, or changes, made to the Universe Sandbox project in 2021[/h5]

The most in one week were 102 commits made the week of April 25. This is about the same number of commits as we made in 2019.


[h2]2,246[/h2]
[h5]Positive Steam reviews in 2021[/h5]

Being Overwhelming Positive, recent and all time, has really overwhelmed us in the best way. Thank you all for your support and kindness over the last few years. We couldn’t do this without you.


[h2]6,082[/h2]
[h5]Discord users in our server at the end of 2021[/h5]

We’re already up to over 6600 since the start of 2022! Join us on Discord.

[h2]10,828[/h2]
[h5]Shared items in the Universe Sandbox Steam Workshop[/h5]

While slightly less than in 2019, this is truly an impressive number of creations from the community. Keep up the good work, we can’t wait to see what you all make next!

[h2]35,963[/h2]
[h5]Times the Planetscaping tool was used since it was released at the end of December 2021[/h5]

We’re so glad you’ve all been enjoying shaping planets to your whims.


[h2]46,929[/h2]
[h5]In-game feedback reports we received this year[/h5]

We appreciate you sharing your feedback with us as we work to make Universe Sandbox the best that it can be.


[h2]97,345[/h2]
[h5]Messages sent on Slack (the instant messaging platform we use to communicate)[/h5]

While Slack has become more popular for remote work over the last 2 years, Giant Army has been remote since its founding in 2011. We have 13 team members across 3 continents and 5 time zones, so messaging on Slack is how we get most of our work done.

[h2]158,908[/h2]
[h5]Times the Galactic Empire Superlaser was used in 2021[/h5]

We’re sure that none of you had malicious intent when using this laser. It was for science right? Right?


[h2]240,181[/h2]
[h5]Random Rocky Planets were created in Universe Sandbox in 2021[/h5]

We’re glad that you’ve enjoyed using these planets as a base for making your own habitable planets or causing epic celestial destruction.


[h2]399,650[/h2]
[h5]Times our 13 blog posts from 2021 were read on Steam[/h5]

The most-read post was our patch notes from Planetscaping | Update 29 with 45,933 reads.


[h2]4,878,285[/h2]
[h5]Times Universe Sandbox was opened in 2021[/h5]

That’s roughly once every 6.5 seconds!


[h2]6,921,033[/h2]
[h5]New simulations were created in Universe Sandbox this past year[/h5]

You all create so many amazing things it’s no wonder that there’s a new simulation created every 4.5 seconds.


[h2]8,990,138[/h2]
[h5]Views on the top 4 most viewed YouTube videos about Universe Sandbox this year[/h5]

We’re humbled that GrayStillPlays is still making these videos after all this time.


[h2]8,994,616,623[/h2]
[h5]Seconds played in Universe Sandbox among all of you in 2021[/h5]

That’s 285 collective years! We know you have a choice when it comes to where to spend your free time and we’d like to thank you for spending it in Universe Sandbox.

[h2]What's Next?[/h2]
There’s so much we want to do in 2022, from finishing up some features we’ve been working on for a while, like rigid body physics and improving our Planetscaping tools, to new features like constellations and multiple materials. And that’s just beginning to scratch the surface.

We’re also planning a big push on mobile development and hoping to start console development this year. Keep an eye out for our 2022 Roadmap which we hope to share soon.

[h2]And Most Importantly…[/h2]
Thank you. We wouldn’t be able to do this without all of your support and help. You all do amazing things with Universe Sandbox that we never could have imagined and that makes us so excited for its future. So whether you’ve been playing Universe Sandbox for 6 minutes or 6 years, thank you. We can’t wait to see how much Universe Sandbox is in another 6 years because of all of you.

The Universe Sandbox Team
Dan, Chris, Georg, Jonathan, Rappo, Mat, Jacob, Erika, Brendan, Anders, Brent, and Pavel

Run Steam to download Update 29.1, or buy Universe Sandbox via the Steam Store.

[h3]Update 29.1[/h3]
Planetscaping now has an eyedropper tool to sample the surface of an object to make creating (or flooding) land even smoother. We’ve also improved fragmentation during collisions, among other things.

[h4]Fragmentation[/h4]
We’ve updated how we determine the number of fragments during collisions. This allows fragments to last longer in simulations with numerous collisions and makes collisions more consistent across different simulation speeds.


[h4]Planetscaping Eyedropper[/h4]
There’s now an eyedropper in the Planetscaping tool so you can easily sample and set the Depth, Temperature, and Pressure to match those of the object you are Planetscaping.


[h4]More Highlights[/h4]

• Surface Lock is now a manual toggle, but turns on automatically when you are using the Planetscaping or Laser Tools
  
  
  

  
  

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• The Solar System - Live View - Planets, Moons, Spacecraft simulation now has 7 additional spacecraft: Parker Space Probe, BepiColumbo, James Webb Space Telescope, Juno, New Horizons, Voyagers 1 & 2
  
  
  
• Here’s a close-up of the James Webb Space Telescope in Universe Sandbox
  
  
  
• We've polished the look and feel of the Planetscaping and Laser tool cursor
  
  
  

  
  

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This update includes 3+ additions and 12+ fixes and improvements.

Check out the full list of What's New in Update 29.1

Please report any issues on our Steam forum, on Discord, or in-game via Home > Send Feedback.