Space Engine

CCIP · 12-29-14, 02:31 AM

*not to be confused with Space Engineers

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

Skybird · 12-29-14, 03:17 AM

[Skybird grabs his coat, runs out and slams the door in a faster-than-lightspeed-jumpstart to find a copy]

Skybird · 12-29-14, 03:26 AM

Downloading, third link worked. Watched the video, stunning. Had my daily dose of catharsis.

ikalugin · 12-29-14, 10:20 AM

Now, what we need is a realistic -hard science fiction- space sim.

Skybird · 12-29-14, 10:26 AM

Orbiter.

http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/

CCIP · 12-29-14, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skybird

Orbiter.

http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/

yup

There seems to be a fair bit of overlap between Orbiter and Space Engine communities, too. If SE's creator has his way, he's planning to eventually introduce more of those sorts of features into SE.

Pisces · 12-29-14, 01:56 PM

Yummy!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skybird

Orbiter.

http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/

Darn, I missed the new beta update.

eddie · 12-29-14, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ikalugin

Now, what we need is a realistic -hard science fiction- space sim.

There are a lot of Russian launchers and spacecraft to use n Orbiter too ikalugin

A Soyuz on the animated launch pad-

In the upper atmosphere after launch-

Get this into this Space Engine program and we would really have some fun!

ikalugin · 12-29-14, 02:53 PM

I am all to well familiar with Orbiter.

What I was talking about is a hard sci fi space sim, where you get, ehem, higher specific impulse motors.

Egan · 01-07-15, 01:08 PM

Space Engine is an amazing piece of software. The new update has really improved a bunch of things, most notably the graphics and the landscape generation. I love the way each system feels full - comets, clouds of asteroids, gas giants with scores of moons - and I keep wishing that Elite's engine, for all it's beauty, felt as alive as this does.

Having said that, I am finding it very, very crashy.

CCIP · 01-07-15, 01:14 PM

Huh really! I haven't put much time into the new version yet, but it's always been relatively stable for me - at least not unusually crashy, as long as I wasn't doing anything too weird.

Skybird · 01-07-15, 02:54 PM

I admit I too have seen more stable test versions of software in development than this one. Nevertheless the frequency of crashes is such that it does not really keep me away. The software is nevertheless too good by idea and potential - and beauty.

I read that they want to implement a real-physics "flightsim" module into it, a spaceflight sim, so to speak. That sounds as if the real fun will start there.

The texture packs for the planets are madness, however.

Egan · 01-08-15, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CCIP

Huh really! I haven't put much time into the new version yet, but it's always been relatively stable for me - at least not unusually crashy, as long as I wasn't doing anything too weird.

Yeah, previous version were always fine. It also seems to have started spinning the camera around and around. Suspect it is misreading something on my hotas or my pedals. Funny thing is, it only started doing it yesterday. The gear works fine on everything else.

Egan · 01-08-15, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skybird

The texture packs for the planets are madness, however.

Do you mean they're good, or are you referring to the download sizes?

Those are some BIG meshes.

12-29-14, 02:31 AM	#1
CCIP Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Waterloo, Canada Posts: 8,700 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 2	Space Engine not to be confused with Space Engineers 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 __________________ There are only forty people in the world and five of them are hamburgers. -Don Van Vliet* (aka Captain Beefheart) Last edited by CCIP; 12-29-14 at 02:43 AM.

12-29-14, 03:17 AM	#2
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,707 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	[Skybird grabs his coat, runs out and slams the door in a faster-than-lightspeed-jumpstart to find a copy] __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert.

12-29-14, 03:26 AM	#3
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,707 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	Downloading, third link worked. Watched the video, stunning. Had my daily dose of catharsis. __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert.

12-29-14, 10:26 AM	#5
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,707 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	Orbiter. http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/ __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert.

01-07-15, 01:14 PM	#11
CCIP Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Waterloo, Canada Posts: 8,700 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 2	Huh really! I haven't put much time into the new version yet, but it's always been relatively stable for me - at least not unusually crashy, as long as I wasn't doing anything too weird. __________________ There are only forty people in the world and five of them are hamburgers. -Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart)

12-29-14, 10:20 AM	#4
ikalugin Ocean Warrior Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Moscow, Russia Posts: 3,212 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 0	Now, what we need is a realistic -hard science fiction- space sim.

12-29-14, 02:53 PM	#9
ikalugin Ocean Warrior Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Moscow, Russia Posts: 3,212 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 0	I am all to well familiar with Orbiter. What I was talking about is a hard sci fi space sim, where you get, ehem, higher specific impulse motors.

01-07-15, 01:08 PM	#10
Egan Admiral Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 2,020 Downloads: 15 Uploads: 0	Space Engine is an amazing piece of software. The new update has really improved a bunch of things, most notably the graphics and the landscape generation. I love the way each system feels full - comets, clouds of asteroids, gas giants with scores of moons - and I keep wishing that Elite's engine, for all it's beauty, felt as alive as this does. Having said that, I am finding it very, very crashy.

01-07-15, 02:54 PM	#12
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,707 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	I admit I too have seen more stable test versions of software in development than this one. Nevertheless the frequency of crashes is such that it does not really keep me away. The software is nevertheless too good by idea and potential - and beauty. I read that they want to implement a real-physics "flightsim" module into it, a spaceflight sim, so to speak. That sounds as if the real fun will start there. The texture packs for the planets are madness, however. __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert.