CCIP
12-29-14, 02:31 AM
*not to be confused with Space Engineers
http://i.imgur.com/EB1tQd7.jpg
http://en.spaceengine.org/
For those of you familiar with Space Engine already, just a heads-up - new version was released on Dec. 26th (first update in over a year) - go get it!
For those of you who aren't, quick summary of what this schtick is all about:
Space Engine is a virtual planetarium built and maintained for a few years now by one man, Vladimir Romanyuk of Russia, as a freeware project. It is based on OpenGL and therefore requires an OK-ish video card for its rendering and physics. At a basic level, it's like any virtual planetarium that has a solid set of data from much of the known universe (that is, planets and stars with easily-available public data and textures). But where it starts getting really cool is when you go beyond that: Space Engine capable of procedurally-generating the rest of the universe on the fly, in full scale (!) based on a simple but sound astrophysics model, from galaxies down to star systems with planets, which you can then explore, whether by looking at descriptive data and orbital maps, or by taking a virtual shuttle down to surface level (which looks as stunning as it ought to). The new version adds several new features like active volcanoes, luminescent gas clouds in atmospheres, and animated star coronas. Every star system and planet it generates is unique, and their appearance is generated from physical and chemical parameters that define them. There's also a relatively active mod community, adding things like planets and playable ships - modeling things from famous sci-fi universes seems to be particularly popular there.
It's barely a game as such since there's not really any gameplay or goals, but I find it extremely addictive for what it lets me do (explore and visualize), and it's been pretty much life-changing for me when it comes to being able to understand space-time and things on a cosmic scale. IMO, one of the finest and jaw-droppingly amazing pieces of software ever built - and best of all, it's free!
You should get it if you think space is cool. And if you don't, you should get it so it'll make you think it's cool :yep:
http://i.imgur.com/EB1tQd7.jpg
http://en.spaceengine.org/
For those of you familiar with Space Engine already, just a heads-up - new version was released on Dec. 26th (first update in over a year) - go get it!
For those of you who aren't, quick summary of what this schtick is all about:
Space Engine is a virtual planetarium built and maintained for a few years now by one man, Vladimir Romanyuk of Russia, as a freeware project. It is based on OpenGL and therefore requires an OK-ish video card for its rendering and physics. At a basic level, it's like any virtual planetarium that has a solid set of data from much of the known universe (that is, planets and stars with easily-available public data and textures). But where it starts getting really cool is when you go beyond that: Space Engine capable of procedurally-generating the rest of the universe on the fly, in full scale (!) based on a simple but sound astrophysics model, from galaxies down to star systems with planets, which you can then explore, whether by looking at descriptive data and orbital maps, or by taking a virtual shuttle down to surface level (which looks as stunning as it ought to). The new version adds several new features like active volcanoes, luminescent gas clouds in atmospheres, and animated star coronas. Every star system and planet it generates is unique, and their appearance is generated from physical and chemical parameters that define them. There's also a relatively active mod community, adding things like planets and playable ships - modeling things from famous sci-fi universes seems to be particularly popular there.
It's barely a game as such since there's not really any gameplay or goals, but I find it extremely addictive for what it lets me do (explore and visualize), and it's been pretty much life-changing for me when it comes to being able to understand space-time and things on a cosmic scale. IMO, one of the finest and jaw-droppingly amazing pieces of software ever built - and best of all, it's free!
You should get it if you think space is cool. And if you don't, you should get it so it'll make you think it's cool :yep: