SpaceEngine News

We are pleased to announce that the latest update, version 0.990.46.1950, is now available on the public beta branch (how to join the beta).

This update is focused on bug fixes, as well as general updates and improvements to several aspects of the program). Some notable highlights include changes to the appearance of cold Earth-like planets, and several changes relating to the appearance of water and shorelines.

As always, a full changelog can be found below, and additional information (and images!) are available on our blog.

Changelog (0.990.46.1950):

• Fixed bug with cut-off text on tutorial dialogs if GUI scale is larger than 100%
  
• Fixed bug with background stars magnitude in the Chart mode when opening it with narrow camera FOV
  
• Fixed some bugs with planet re-classification after evolution of life and atmosphere
  
• Fixed bug with the rings winter effect (it had made clouds black instead of transparent)
  
• Better appearance of frozen terra worlds (large snow coverage)
  
• Fixed some catalog errors
  
• Faster initial creation of sprite galaxy and nebula models
  
• Fixed DPI scaling of non-client area of SE window (header)
  
• Fixed flashing of planet lighting in auto and manual exposure modes
  
• Fixed planets lighting in the Chart when opening and manipulating Wiki or Solar System Browser
  
• Fixed blurriness of planet image in the Wiki
  
• Fixed ship model disappearing in planet shadow
  
• Fixed rendering of labels of static ships and asteroids with custom models
  
• Fixed cutting of outer edge of rings around small bodies (asteroids)
  
• Fixed illumination of brown dwarfs by stars
  
• Fixed illumination of planets by brown dwarfs
  
• Updated palettes of brown dwarfs
  
• Updated localizations
  
• Fixed artifacts in stereoscopic modes on NVidia
  
• Power save mode: framerate is limited if SE window loses focus (PowerSaveMaxFPS variable in the config)
  
• Fixed main menu layout for 720p displays
  
• Fixed the "transparent mountains" bug (artifact of the atmospheric scattering rendering)
  
• Fixed atmospheric scattering artifact near shoreline and discontinuity at horizon
  
• Fixed atmospheric attenuation calculated for underwater terrain (the Mariana trench was visible from space)
  
• Fixed bug with clouds disappearing at altitude of 10 km on oceanic planets
  
• Fixed lighting of terrain detail textures (soil) under water
  
• Fixed lighting on underwater terrain if water layer is switched off
  
• Fixed artifacts near the shoreline
  
• 3D water lighting matches terrain lighting, transition to 3D water is almost perfect
  
• Better shoreline, rivers and lakes on Earth
  

Hello everyone!

Today, we're celebrating Cosmographic Software's first anniversary!

We have some big plans for 2023 and beyond: the full details, as well as some additional info regarding the company and our previous year, can be found on our website.

2022 was a tough year, but we've come through it stronger and renewed, welcoming some exceptional talent and clarifying our goals and vision for the project going forward.

On behalf of everyone at Cosmographic Software and the SpaceEngine team, thank you for your continued support! We're excited by what the future has in store, and looking forward to exciting times in 2023 and beyond!

IT'S HERE!!! AMD has (finally!) released a driver for ALL currently-supported GPUs (RX 400 series and newer) to fix a critical issue with SpaceEngine which has existed in all driver versions since 22.7.1.

Visit the following link to download the driver software for your GPU, and follow the instructions below:

• https://www.amd.com/en/support

1. Use the list boxes at the bottom to select your product
   
2. When you've found and selected your GPU model, click "submit"
   
3. Open the section for your operating system and download the most recent software package (23.2.1)
   
4. Run the installer program once it finishes downloading
   

As an alternative solution, you can update your driver automatically through AMD's Radeon software, if it's already installed on your PC.

This seems to be the best Radeon driver for SE in a very long time, so I hope everyone enjoys using SE again with fewer bugs than ever! Big thanks to AMD's Radeon driver team for implementing the needed fixes and getting them released.

AMD has (finally!) released the first driver updated to fix a critical issue with SpaceEngine which has existed in all driver versions since 22.7.1. This specific driver package is only for the new Radeon RX 7900 series GPUs, which have not previously had access to a driver which worked with SE.

Owners of RX 7900 XT and 7900 XTX cards can find the driver package itself and release notes at the following links:

• Release notes with download link
• Direct link to driver installer executable

We will announce additional driver updates for Radeon users as we become aware of them.

This patch should fix several issues reported following the most recent major update.

Details:

• OpenVR SDK and Oculus SDK have been updated to the latest versions
  
• Fixed a crash when starting the game in OpenVR mode
  
• Fixed behaviour of the Watermark command (default is now "Visible true")
  
• Fixed bug with missed "loading screen" skybox in VR
  
• Fixed issue with galaxy numbering shift if new galaxies were added to the catalog (again):
  User names database is updated to the new galaxy ID after loading some location in that galaxy