Universe Sandbox News

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.

Run Steam to download Update 29, or buy Universe Sandbox via the Steam Store.

[h3]Update 29[/h3]
Planetscaping is a powerful new tool to design and shape planets to your whims. Surface Lock, which gives a clear, stationary, and illuminated view of the surface of a rotating object, has been enabled to better observe how an object’s surface is changing.

[h4]Planetscaping (Surface Editing)[/h4]
Create continents, freeze oceans, flood planets, and more with Planetscaping. Watch the realistic consequences of your actions unfold as you alter the face of planets. Learn more in our Planetscaping guide:
Guides > Tutorials > Planetscaping



[h4]Surface Lock[/h4]
We’ve made it easier to view how the surface of an object is changing by improving and enabling Surface Lock. This gives a clear, stationary, and illuminated view of the surface of a rotating object when you zoom close to it.



[h4]More Highlights[/h4]

• We’ve added a Blank Planet, like a blank canvas for Planetscaping, to the Add panel
  
  
  
• Collisions have been further improved with updated frictional forces
  
  
  

  
  

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• We’ve exposed the Elevation Span, the distance between the lowest and the highest elevation point of an object, to better assist with Planetscaping
  

This update includes 5+ additions and 18+ fixes and improvements.

Check out the full list of What's New in Update 29

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

Run Steam to download Update 28.2, or buy Universe Sandbox via the Steam Store.

[h3]Update 28.2[/h3]
Stars have new Absolute and Apparent Magnitude properties, which measure their brightness from different distances. This minor update also includes improvements to black hole collisions, object trails, and bug fixes.

[h4]Stellar Magnitudes[/h4]
Stars now have both Apparent and Absolute Magnitude properties, which are measures of the brightness of a star, under Properties > Temperature. Learn more in our new Stellar Magnitudes guide: Guides > Science > Stellar Magnitudes.



[h4]More Highlights[/h4]

• Colliding black holes now compute the correct Schwarzschild radius
  
  
  

  
  

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• Trails for objects are no longer broken and jagged when an object is set as the trail center
  
  
  

  
  

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• Starlight color on nearby objects now updates in real-time
  
  
  

  
  

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• Human scale objects are now simply heated by stars and supernovae to better reflect their temperature in space
  
  
  

  
  

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• Created a new guide about object oblateness and its effect on gravitational fields under: Guides > Science > Non-Spherical Gravitational Fields

This update includes 3+ additions and 13+ fixes and improvements.

Check out the full list of What's New in Update 28.2

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

Run Steam to download Update 28.1, or buy Universe Sandbox via the Steam Store.

[h3]Update 28.1[/h3]
We’ve improved the “Realistic” Object Visibility setting to better reflect the sensitivity of the human eye to object brightness and colors. We also added a new “Enhanced” Object Visibility, improved collision detection, smoothed out habitable zones, added bug fixes, and more!

[h4]Realistic Object Visibility[/h4]
The “Realistic” Object Visibility setting now shows objects fading in and out with adjusted colors tuned to what the human eye would see. Learn more in our guide, Limits of Human Eyes.



[h4]Smoother Habitable Zones[/h4]
The habitable zone now smoothly changes size for stars of all luminosities, including very hot, bright stars like Rigel. Check it out under View > Habitable.



[h4]More Highlights[/h4]

• “Enhanced” has been added as an Object Visibility option, which removes rim lighting from objects while keeping them always visible
  
  
  
• Collision detection has been further improved as part of our continued work to make collisions even better
  
  
  

  
  

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• We’ve added a satellite to our human-scale objects
  
  
  
• Created simulation of ESA and JAXA’s BepiColombo spacecraft flyby of Mercury in October 2021: Open > Historical > BepiColombo Flyby of Mercury in 2021
  
  
• Open, Guides, and Workshop panels can now be pinned open, allowing for much easier simulation browsing
  
  
  
• The View Settings panel has been reorganized for better clarity and usability
  
  
  

  
  

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This update includes 6+ additions and 12+ fixes and improvements.

Check out the full list of What's New in Update 28.1

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

Run Steam to download Update 28, or buy Universe Sandbox via the Steam Store.

[h3]Update 28[/h3]
Fire Ring introduces a collision model that simulates an impact shockwave across the surface of an object, as part of our work to continuously improve collisions. In addition, there are improvements to object trails, additional object information, bug fixes, and more.

[h4]Shocking Collisions[/h4]
Object heating from impacts now realistically moves over the impacted object as a shockwave. Fragments are ejected from the edge of the shockwave at more realistic angles. Learn more in our Collisions guides:
Guides > Tutorials > Planetary Collisions Guides > Science > Collisions: Energy, Mass, and Speed



[h4]Impactor Heating[/h4]
Both objects involved in a collision now experience collisional heating on their surfaces, instead of just the larger object.



[h4]More Highlights[/h4]

• Grazing collisions now look more realistic with shockwaves and surface dragging
  

• Object trails are now projected back in time to show their full past trajectory
  

• Objects now have additional information (like, planet, moon, rogue object) in the property panel based on their relative motion around other objects
  

• As we work toward making our simulations more deterministic, seeds for randomized simulations are now easier to find, allowing you to recall previous random scenarios
  

This update includes 6+ additions and 22+ fixes and improvements.

Check out the full list of What's New in Update 28

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