His procedural generation algorithms gave those bodies their character. Romanyuk generated the basic outline of known galaxies, clusters, systems, and planets. “I can even count them,” Romanyuk says, “galaxies, nebulae, star clusters, stars (including normal stars, giants, white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes), and planetary objects (planets, moons, asteroids and comets).” So, in 2005, he began methodically populating his simulator with sets of data from astronomical catalogs. The universe may be vast, populated with innumerable bodies, but there aren’t all that many types of objects. The Milky Way alone has 100 billion planets with surfaces hidden from even our strongest telescopes. “You can model a planet off its general parameters like mass, radius, and temperature,” he says, but the topographies of most distant bodies are impossible to replicate because we have few clues to what they really look like. “The idea to use procedural generation came naturally,” Romanyuk tells Digital Trends. He could, however, develop algorithms to fill in the gaps and expand his to an incredible scale.

Russian astronomer-cum-game developer Vladimir Romanyuk knew he could never write enough code to represent the entire universe. The number of planets are, quite literally, countless.īut the universe is bigger than that.

Space Engine could fit well as a proper sandbox with a game in the vein of Elite.īoth are great sims, indeed but each one do different thingsīoth programs are not proper games.The newest algorithm generates 10 trillion galaxies and some sextillion stars. It is an Universe simulator/3D navigation planetarium where you travel or zoom in out at will any portion, or body in a seamless universe including the planet surfaces. Some of Kerbal, but without any proper game inside. In the other hand, Space Engine is closer of Orbiter or Celestia. You also can observe 'what if' scenarios or things which happened in the past regarding bodies movements and/or gravity. Some kind of construction set, a gravity simulator where you create, manipullate, collide bodies etc. Universe Sandbox is that, a sandbox where you experiment. Than you, guys :-) But both simulations have not much in common unlike what you might think Simply, comparison of the available options - the strengths and weaknesses (compared to other one) of both as you feel it. Which one is easier to control, more accurate, more enjoyable. Flanner: i know, both universe sandbox and space engine are sanboxes and i can see, there is some spaceship posibility in the second one, but i wonder if some of you tried both sandboxes and for some impressions.

Universe sandbox 2 vs space engine