At the beginning of this year, we shared Part I and Part II of our roadmap for 2017. We’ve now well past the halfway point, so it’s time for an update on what we’ve accomplished so far and we’ve got our sights set on for the rest of 2017 and into next year.
A New Foundation & VR 2.0 | Update 20
This was a big update for us, with a lot of important behind-the-scenes changes and a big list of VR improvements. Below are some of the highlights from this update; check out the Update 20 post for more information on how it’s paving the way for some bigger changes down the road.
Update 20 also included a long list of smaller improvements and bug fixes. And in the past couple of months since its release, we’ve pushed out smaller patches with many more bug fixes, plus the eclipse update below.
Solar Eclipse | Update 20.1
You probably heard about the August 21 solar eclipse that was visible from all of North America. We hope you were able to see it in person! But if you weren’t able to, or if you just want to see it over and over again now, then we’ve got just the simulation for you. See the Update 20.1 post for more info.
What's Coming Next
The following list is in a very rough order. These are all things we are working on currently, but when they'll arrive is difficult to predict. If we had to guess when we'll first start seeing them, we'd have to simply say "soon."
Planet Grids
(The image above shows a debugging tool we are using to test the new Planet Grids. This tool shows how temperature is broken down into data points across the surface of the planet.)
Planet Grids (previously called “automata”) is a new piece of tech that we’ve been working on for a while now that we’re very excited to introduce. The first stage of this tech allows us to simulate localized temperatures across surfaces, rather than an average temperature for the whole object. In turn, this will allow for much more dynamic and detailed visuals and simulation. This is also a crucial first step for another feature that’s long been coming…
Lasers
Lasers are fun for everyone! We're very excited about introducing these, but it's possible the community is even more excited. We don't blame you. Good news: the laser is coming soon to the desktop version and will simultaneously return to VR with improved realism and functionality.
Stellar Evolution
We unfortunately had to push this out of the Update 20 release because it simply took longer than expected and was not finished. The model itself is complete, but removing the old model and replacing it with the new is no simple task. Once we’ve got it plugged in, we’ll need to thoroughly test it to make sure that everything is in good shape and working as expected. This also is no simple task (there are many variables when it comes to testing stellar evolution in a universe simulator), but we’re definitely nearing completion.
Steam Workshop
(The image above shows an early design mock-up of a new interface for with support for Steam Workshop simulations.)
We’ve just begun work on adding Steam Workshop support to Universe Sandbox ². There’s plenty to do on the design front, and we have kinks to work out with our save & load system, but all things considered, we’re making good progress. Steam Workshop support is often requested by the community, and for good reason — we’re very excited to see what happens once it becomes easy to explore all of the simulations and scenarios the community is creating… and destroying.
Faster Physics & Performance
Thomas, our physics programmer, has made substantial upgrades to the physics code more times than we can count. But whatever number that is, add one more. We’re extremely grateful for every improvement, as physics is at the core of Universe Sandbox ², and making it faster means a lot more than just simply adding on a few FPS.
And Then Into 2018...
Localization
Custom Models
Rigid Body Collisions
Total Body Fragmentation
More Advanced Planet Grids
And Into the Distant Future
Mobile Version
Space Megastructures
There isn't a single item on this list that doesn't get us excited. We're happy with how far we've already come with Universe Sandbox ², and now we're itching to see where these new features take us and our fans. There will soon be even more tools for creating and exploring whatever you can imagine, and you'll have the ability to share these with the entire community, a community that will expand with localization and the mobile version. Many thanks to our ever-growing community of fans for all of your support.
Total Solar Eclipse | Update 20.1
August 28: Update 20.1.3 is a small update that adds a number of bug fixes and small improvements.
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and partially or fully blocks the disk of the Sun. When it completely blocks the Sun, it is a total solar eclipse.
Total solar eclipses are rare events, happening about once every 18 months. But the opportunity to view them is even more rare; there is only a very narrow path across Earth from which they can be viewed.
On August 21, 2017, the continental United States will witness its first total solar eclipse in 38 years. Parts of 14 different states, from Lincoln City, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina, will go dark as the Moon's shadow passes over them.
View the solar eclipse in Universe Sandbox ²:
• Home > Open > Total Solar Eclipse on August 21, 2017
• Home > Open > Total Solar Eclipse on August 21, 2017 – Close Up
• Main Menu > August Eclipse (VR)
This update also includes a number of smaller improvements and bug fixes.
August 04: Update 20.0.16 is a small update with minor improvements and bug fixes.
A New Foundation
Imagine Universe Sandbox ² is a house that we're building, and each update adds something new. Many of our updates so far have made fancy, noticeable additions to the house — a garage, a balcony, a new roof with some nice solar panels, etc. But with Update 20, we've completely lifted the house and made some major renovations to the foundation.
This means that there may not be many obviously big changes (unless you're in VR! see below), but we've done considerable behind-the-scenes work. How much is "considerable," you ask? In our task management system, we've closed over 560 tasks. That's a lot. And for most of this work, the best sign that we’ve done our job well is if you can’t tell much of a difference.
But like a new foundation, these are very important changes which set us up for future features, improvements, and optimizations that would have been difficult or even impossible to implement with the old Universe Sandbox ² groundwork. (Or using another established metaphor: We have now paid off much of our technical debt which has accrued as our project continually evolves and heads further down roads no one has been down before.)
1. Rewritten User Interface
The rewritten interface in Update 20 is a big chunk of the new foundation for Universe Sandbox ². Currently, this is largely a behind-the-scenes change in the tech we're using, but if you’re paying attention, you’ll notice some small changes to the design aesthetic as well.
There’s also a big change for users: You now have the ability to scale the interface. This was not possible with our old system. So if you're running at a high resolution, like 4k, then no more squinting your eyes to see what exactly your exoplanet's radius is! Our upcoming mobile version of Universe Sandbox ² also would not be possible without this scalable interface. And if that's not enough, this new interface makes possible ourplans to support on-the-fly switching between multiple languages.
Scalable Interface Home > Settings > Set User Interface Scale
2. New Code Architecture
Our new code architecture in Update 20 is the other chunk of the replaced foundation. With this update, we've moved to a proper entity-component system, or ECS. Without getting too technical, this change is effectively a major reorganization that will make it easier for us to maintain our code, track down bugs, and develop and iterate on features.
Let's compare our previous architecture to a tangled bundle of threads, where a system like temperature-control might twist and turn throughout and prove impossible to adjust or remove individually without messing with the rest of the bundle. With ECS, we've untangled and separated all the major systems which make Universe Sandbox ² run. Now we can take out a system, add a system, move a system around, whatever we like -- the rest will remain intact.
The image above, taken in Unity, our development tool, shows a full list on the far right of our systems in place with ECS.
3. Disintegration, Teleportation, and a Lot More in VR
Update 20 VR is our first major VR update since we released it last year, and it's a huge step up. First, it adds all the new simulation features, improvements, and fixes from the Disintegration desktop updates, including tidal forces, improved explosions, and the new fragment and particle system. There's also a completely rewritten locomotion system for more responsive and smoother panning, scaling, and the all new rotation. To go along with this, there's a new HUD interface that displays information automatically while scaling and rotating.
Make sure you check out the new Experience as well. The Experience will take you through a cinematic "What if...?" demonstration of Universe Sandbox ² VR.
Update 20 VR also marks the beginning of a unified Desktop/VR build, which will allow simulation improvements in the desktop version to be immediately available in the VR version as well. There is now also Save and Load support across Desktop and VR.
Teleportation Tools > Teleport > Point at an object and pull trigger to instantly teleport to it
Rotation Hold both grip buttons and move controllers around the center point between controllers
Experience Menu (Vive) or B/Y (Rift) > Experience
4. Oculus Rift+Touch Support
No need to explain this one. Unless you're someone who owns an Oculus Rift+Touch and doesn't yet own Universe Sandbox ². Then you'll need to explain that one to your friends.
5. Dozens of Smaller Improvements and Fixes
It wouldn't be a big Universe Sandbox ² update without a pages-long list of improvements and bug fixes. Most notably, there's a new Mercury texture, more cinematic control with camera smoothing and overlay settings, internal analytics, which will help us focus our efforts on making the best possible improvements to the user interface and user experience (these are anonymous; you may opt-out via Home > Settings > General > Allow Usage Statistics), a new Volume (quantity of space) property for objects, simulation stats for Mass Lost and Momentum Lost, and much more.
Camera Smoothing Home > Settings > General > Camera Smoothing Multiplier
What's coming next?
While these changes and new possibilities are exciting, we're even more excited to move on to some big, new features again (it's time for that indoor pool!). During our work on Update 20, we've made considerable progress on both planet-melting lasers and our rewritten stellar evolution model. They're not ready for the spotlight just yet, but we're now giving them our undivided attention. Also coming soon are some contributions to the improved foundation from Thomas, our physics programmer. His new physics system should introduce some substantial performance improvements as well as set the stage for rigid body collisions. Stay tuned!
July 30: Updates 20.0.5-20.0.13 have fixed additional bugs with the user interface and simulation and added a warning message when the Time Step can no longer be increased.
June 26: Updates 20.0.1-20.0.4 have fixed the reported issues with the magnetic axis and magnetosphere, impact marks, clouds, database search in Add panel, and material cutaway.
Voyager & Two Icy Moons | Alpha 19.7
Alpha 19.7 is the last minor release before our next major planned update, Alpha 20, which has been in development since the beginning of the year. Alpha 20
Run Steam to update to Alpha 19.7.
In 1977, NASA launched the twin spacecraft Voyager 1 and 2 with the primary mission of exploring Jupiter and Saturn. The spacecraft sent back data and images that led to many discoveries about the two gas giants and their moons, rings, and magnetic fields. Then Voyager 2 went on to study Uranus and Neptune as Voyager 1 headed toward interstellar space. Today, the spacecraft continue to relay important scientific data as Voyager 2 explores the heliosheath and Voyager 1 heads farther than any human-made object in history.
Both Voyager 1 and 2 carry a copy of the famous "Golden Record." These phonograph records contain a selection of images, sounds, and music meant to represent the breadth of life on Earth. As one of the curators for the record’s content, Carl Sagan noted, “The spacecraft will be encountered and the record played only if there are advanced spacefaring civilizations in interstellar space. But the launching of this bottle into the cosmic ocean says something very hopeful about life on this planet.”
Check out the new Voyager model and sims in Universe Sandbox ²:
Add > Objects > Voyager 1 Add > Objects > Voyager 2 Home > Open > Historical > Voyager 1 & Jupiter in 1979 Home > Open > Historical > Voyager 2 & Jupiter in 1979 Home > Open > Historical > Voyager 1 & Saturn in 1980 Home > Open > Historical > Voyager 2 & Saturn in 1981 Home > Open > Historical > Voyager 2 & Uranus in 1986 Home > Open > Historical > Voyager 2 & Neptune in 1989 Home > Open > Historical > Voyager 1 & 2 + Solar System in 2017
Another spacecraft, Cassini, entered Saturn’s orbit in 2004 to continue studying the planet and its moons. And on April 13, 2017 NASA announced that they found evidence in Cassini’s data for some of the ingredients for life on Saturn's icy, ocean-bearing moon Enceladus. NASA will continue to study Enceladus and other "ocean worlds” in the ongoing search for signs of life beyond Earth.
Check out the new high-res texture for Enceladus:
Home > Open > Saturn & Moons Add > Moons > Enceladus
Also included in 19.7 is a new high-res texture for Jupiter's moon Callisto, along with a few small improvements and fixes.
For the latest Universe Sandbox ² news, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Universe Sandbox ² 2017 Roadmap | Part II
What’s Coming After Alpha 20?
In Part I of our 2017 Roadmap (see link above), we talked about what we accomplished in 2016 and about our next stop, Alpha 20. We hope to release Alpha 20 in the next few months, and we're very excited to introduce the new stellar evolution, the reworked user interface, the analytics, and a few other changes. And then it's time to set our sights forward again to all that lies beyond Alpha 20.
VR Update
Our new, dedicated VR developer, Jacob, has made good progress getting up to speed on our project and is already cranking out fixes and improvements for our VR experience. It's been a while since we've been able to update the VR version, but we're excited to bring it up to par again with the desktop version and introduce a few changes to the controls, interface, and introductory experience. If we're lucky, this VR update may be paired with the Alpha 20 desktop update, but no promises.
Here's what will hopefully be in our next VR update:
Then after this update, we'll be looking at bigger design changes, like adding more interactive tools and accompanying custom controller models, to make the VR experience even more impressive and compelling. Below is a screenshot of some concept art for what a planet gun might look like in VR, designed by Nikita Replyanski. Please note that this is very early concept art and does not necessarily reflect what will be in Universe Sandbox ².
Alpha 21 & Beyond
This is where our list of future improvements and features becomes a little less concerned with order and time. We can't say with much certainty which will be arriving first, or which will be bundled in this update or that update. But we can say with a lot of certainty that we're very excited for all of these changes, and we believe each will add a new element to the Universe Sandbox ² experience. Many of these are big projects, but as mentioned in Part I of our roadmap, we hope to keep these projects less intertwined than in the past. This will hopefully allow us to roll out these changes as they're individually ready and stick to a more frequent and regular release schedule. Please note that none of the following are guaranteed to happen in 2017, but we should see a number of them this year.
More Likely to Arrive First
More Likely to Arrive Later
And Then Even Later...
Excited? As we've said many times, so are we. Thank you for your never-ending support, and thank you for your patience as we continue to build the universe.
For the latest Universe Sandbox ² news, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
TRAPPIST-1 & the Seven Planets | Alpha 19.6
Welcome, TRAPPIST-1 system! NASA announced yesterday the discovery of seven Earth-sized planets orbiting the ultra-cool dwarf star, TRAPPIST-1.
Check out the new simulation of the TRAPPIST-1 system:
Home > Open > Core tab > TRAPPIST-1
Three of the seven planets are within the star’s habitable zone, which means that they are in an area where rocky planets have the highest likelihood of having liquid water. This also means that they have a chance of supporting life as we know it.
The TRAPPIST-1 system is relatively close to us at about 40 light-years from Earth. It is named after The Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope (TRAPPIST) in Chile, which discovered three of the planets announced in May 2016. Then in the fall of 2016, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope observed TRAPPIST-1 for 500 continuous hours, confirming the original discovery and uncovering the rest of the seven planets. This is the greatest number of potentially habitable planets ever discovered around a single star.
All seven of the planets have orbits closer to their star than Mercury is to the Sun. Scientists suspect that, because of these tight orbits, they are all likely tidally-locked, as well. This means that the same side of the planet always faces the star, just as one side of the Moon always faces the Earth. But despite this proximity and being tidally-locked, they all have a chance of harboring liquid water due to the parent star’s very low temperature. Scientists say this system is a promising place to search for life, and they will continue to observe the system and its planets.
For the latest Universe Sandbox ² news, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Universe Sandbox ² 2017 Roadmap | Part I
(Set the background in Universe Sandbox ² by clicking View > Background. Click "Open Advanced Settings" on a preset to set a custom color.)
What Was New in 2016?
Before we get into our 2017 roadmap, let's look at the progress we made last year. The updates weren't numerous, but each was a big step forward for Universe Sandbox ².
We're currently working on a VR update with the help of our new, dedicated VR developer.
Alpha 19 | Disintegration Update
Then in early November, we released Alpha 19 | Disintegration Update. It was a long, winding, bumpy road to Alpha 19 with a number of unexpected snags, but we were incredibly proud of what we released. Alpha 19 was a massive update, with an 8-page list of new features, improvements, and fixes.
Here are the big changes which came with Alpha 19:
We've released a couple of smaller updates since then which have fixed a number of bugs and introduced a few smaller features, like a new model for the Juno spacecraft and the ability to upload and share GIFs via Facebook and Twitter. Our latest update, Alpha 19.5, is another round of small improvements and bug fixes, and we're now turning our complete attention to Alpha 20.
Six New Team Members
In mid-2016 we hired Dave to work full time on a mobile version of Universe Sandbox ². We're still a long way from launching on mobile, but we already have a functional version running on a few of our team's phones. (More info on a mobile version in Part II of our roadmap!)
In September, we hired Rahul to work alongside Thomas on some physics projects. He's currently working on rigid body collisions, which means that smaller-scale objects, like pool balls or the pyramid, will eventually no longer merge together when colliding, and will instead bounce off of each other or even break apart. And a bit after Rahul, we hired Sergey to work on some new 3D models for Universe Sandbox ². Sergey created the recent Juno spacecraft model for us and is currently working on the Voyager.
Then in October, we hired our producer, David. David came just in time keep us corraled on the home stretch toward Alpha 19. Without him, it's quite possible it would have taken us even longer to release Alpha 19. And as we move forward he has continued to wrangle all of the moving parts into one semi-coherent machine.
And while this isn't technically 2016... since we've rounded the bend into 2017, we've hired two new team members. Mat is our new QA Lead who has already helped hunt down and document bugs for our 19.5 release, and Jacob is our new VR developer who will focus exclusively on continuing to build and improve the Universe Sandbox ² VR experience. (More info on our next VR update in Part II of our roadmap!)
We're super excited to welcome Dave, Rahul, Sergey, David, Mat, and Jacob, and we're thrilled to have a continually growing team of talented enthusiasts -- we even have plans to hire a couple more this year. We're not slowing down.
What's Next?
In our updated roadmap released last year, we talked about a lot of big features we planned to include in Alpha 20. But in this same roadmap, which was published in June, we also said that we were rounding the corner on releasing Alpha 19. We said this because we thought it was true.
If we fast forward to the release date of Alpha 19, November 8, almost 5 months after we thought we were rounding the bend, it becomes clear that things don't always go as planned. Which is why we try to be transparent and not make promises about our development schedule. We simply can't know. Maybe this could be an area of improvement for our team, or maybe it's simply the fact that we're trying to simulate the universe and that's a complicated task that no one has solved before... Who can say for sure?
Regardless, this is why we're changing our plans for Alpha 20 a bit, and why we want to focus on smaller updates moving forward.
Let's say you go out to eat with a big group of people. You can ask your server to bring out each dish as soon as it's ready, or everyone can wait patiently, hungrily, until the chef crams in the last dish under the heat lamp and it's time to bring everything out. Maybe you're the polite type, but we know you're hungry, so we're going to try to roll things out in smaller updates, rather than all at once. Features are better fresh.
Alpha 20
As mentioned above, our plans for Alpha 20 are a little bit different than they were in our 2016 roadmap. It may not be as feature-packed as originally planned, but there are still some exciting changes coming.
A Hertzsprung-Russell diagram in Universe Sandbox ² using the new stellar evolution model.
And we really can't say it enough -- thanks to all of our fans for continuing to support Universe Sandbox ² as we enter another year. We're very excited with all of the changes coming in 2017, and we're incredibly grateful to our growing community for hunting down bugs and for helping define and prioritize our roadmap. Thank you for joining us on this crazy ride.
For the latest Universe Sandbox ² news, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Alpha 19.5 | Prettier Moons & Bug Fixes
Run Steam to update.
Alpha 19.5 is a small update which introduces a few graphics improvements, including updated coloring for Sedna and better textures for Ganymede, the Moon, and Earth’s city lights. It also includes a bunch of minor bug fixes, like correcting the scale for the new Juno spacecraft model, fixing the appearance of rocky planets affected by supernovae, and addressing some smaller issues with volatiles and Roche fragmentation.
We are also happy to welcome our new team members, Mat and Jacob. As our new QA Lead, Mat has dived right into the project and has been busy finding and documenting bugs, which has already helped us for this update. Jacob is our new developer who will be working full-time on building and improving the VR experience.
And a warm, belated welcome to our new producer, David, who helped us get on track for Alpha 19 and continues to push us in the right direction as we move into 2017. We’re very excited for all of the new features and improvements coming to Universe Sandbox ² this year.
Earth being eaten by a neutron star. What's not to like? Great framing, a great sample of simulation features in Universe Sandbox ², and an overall impressive and tasteful display of destruction. This gets the grand prize of a $50 Steam gift card!
Runner-Up
A near-miss between Mars and Earth makes the oceans boil away. A very unique experiment that deserves a $25 Steam gift card.
Submitted by @Valareos
Honorable Mentions
The following GIFs may not have won the top prizes, but we enjoyed them too much to not mention them. These users will be getting a couple Universe Sandbox ² Steam codes for their friends and family.
Thank you to everyone who submitted to our Universe Sandbox ² GIF contest! There were a lot of great submissions, and we loved seeing all the different ways our fans use Universe Sandbox ² to explore and experiment with the universe.
If you're a winner, we'll be reaching out to you soon to send you your prize. If you're not a winner, there's always next time! Stay tuned for future contests.
Alpha 19.4 | Juno & the Return of Craters
Run Steam to update.
Alpha 19.4 introduces a brand new model for the Juno spacecraft, which you can find in Add > Objects > Juno. Juno entered into orbit around Jupiter this past July. Its goal is to understand the gas giant’s origin and evolution.
This update also fixes two of the bigger issues introduced in Alpha 19:
Displacement mapping (3D craters) works again
City lights once again turn off after collisions and high temperatures
A Hertzsprung-Russell diagram in Universe Sandbox ² using the new stellar evolution model.
