SpaceEngine explained

SpaceEngine
Logo Size:250px
Logo Caption:SpaceEngine's logo
Author:Vladimir Romanyuk
Developer:Cosmographic Software
Released:0.74 / June 2010
Latest Release Version:0.990.47.2015
Latest Release Date:18 April, 2024
Latest Preview Version:0.990.46.1980
Latest Preview Date:September 20, 2023
Size:4 GB (software only) to 50 GB (with all optional DLCs: Solar System HD texture packs)
Language Count:More than 20
Language:English, Catalan, Croatian, Chinese, Czech, Spanish, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Swedish, Armenian, Turkish, Japanese, Korean, etc.
Genre:Space simulation
License:Proprietary[1]

SpaceEngine is an interactive 3D planetarium and astronomy software[2] initially developed by Russian astronomer and programmer Vladimir Romanyuk.[3] Development is now continued by Cosmographic Software, an American company founded by Romanyuk and the SpaceEngine Team in February 2022, based in Connecticut.

SpaceEngine creates a 1:1 scale three-dimensional planetarium representing the entire observable universe, combining real astronomical data with scientifically accurate procedural generation algorithms. Users can travel through space in any direction or at any speed and can move forwards or backwards in time.[4] SpaceEngine is currently in beta status. Up to version 0.9.8.0E, released in August 2017, it was available as freeware for Microsoft Windows. Version 0.990 beta, the first paid edition, was released on Steam in June 2019. The program fully supports VR headsets.

Properties of objects, such as temperature, mass, radius, and spectrum, are presented on the HUD and in an accessible information window. Users can observe a wide range of celestial objects, from small asteroids and moons to large galaxy clusters, similar to other simulators like Celestia, OpenSpace, Gaia Sky, and Nightshade NG. The default version of SpaceEngine includes over 130,000 real objects, featuring stars from the Hipparcos catalog, galaxies from the NGC and IC catalogs, many well-known nebulae, and all known exoplanets and their stars.[1]

Functionality

The proclaimed goal of SpaceEngine is scientific realism, and to reproduce every type of known astronomical phenomenon.[1] It uses star catalogs along with procedural generation to create a cubical universe over 10 billion parsecs (32.6 billion light-years) on each side, roughly centered on the barycenter of the Solar System. Within the software, users can use search tools to filter through astronomical objects based on certain characteristics. In the case of planets and moons, specific environmental types, surface temperatures, and pressures can be used to filter through the vast amount of different procedurally generated worlds.

SpaceEngine also has a built-in flight simulator (currently in Alpha) which allows for users to spawn in a selection of fictional spacecraft which can be flown in an accurate model of orbital mechanics and also an atmospheric flight model when entering the atmospheres of the various planets and moons. The spacecraft range from small SSTO spaceplanes, to large interstellar spacecraft which are all designed with realism in mind, featuring radiators, fusion rockets, and micrometeorite shields.[5] Interstellar spacecraft simulate the hypothetical Alcubierre drive, including the relativistic effects that would occur in reality.[6]

Catalog objects

The real objects that SpaceEngine includes are the Hipparcos catalog for stars, the NGC and IC catalogs for galaxies, all known exoplanets, and prominent star clusters, nebulae, and Solar System objects including some comets and asteroids.[1]

Procedurally generated objects

Objects that are procedurally generated in Space Engine are aimed to be as realistic as possible. The objects include galaxies, star clusters (open and globular), nebulae and individual stars, containing terrestrial planets and gas giants and moons. These objects, like non-procedurally generated objects, can be saved manually by the user and searched for.

Wiki and locations

The software has its own built-in "wiki" database which gives detailed information on all celestial objects and enables a player to create custom names and descriptions for them. It also has a locations database where a player can save any position and time in the simulation and load it again in the future.[7]

Extensions

SpaceEngine has a fairly large modding community dedicated to expanding on the program's current catalogues, improving things like texture quality, and even improving the program's terrain and cloud generation as a whole (See Rodrigo's Mod). Some SE add-on creators create fictional star systems for their worldbuilding project, others do 3D modelling for spacecraft add-ons, and some do completely different things. These extensions are all available for download from SpaceEngine's Web Forums.

Limitations

Although objects that form part of a planetary system move, and stars rotate about their axes and orbit each other in multiple star systems, stellar proper motion or precession is not simulated, and galaxies are at fixed locations and do not rotate.

Most real-world spacecraft such as Voyager 2 are not provided with SpaceEngine. The few spacecraft that are included do not use real trajectories or accurate orientations.

Interstellar light absorption is not modeled in SpaceEngine.[1]

Intrinsic variable stars are not supported by SpaceEngine. In fact, most, if not all, simulators do not support intrinsic variable stars.

Gravity is not simulated in SpaceEngine outside the orbits of moons, planets and stars in a system, with the exception of the controllable spacecraft.

Development

Development of SpaceEngine began in 2005,[8] with its first public release in June 2010. The software is written in C++. The engine uses OpenGL as its graphical API and uses shaders written in GLSL. As of the release of version 0.990, the shaders have been encrypted to protect against plagiarism. Plans have been made to start opening them in a way that allows the community to develop special content for the game, with ship engine effects being made available to users who have purchased the game.[9]

On May 27, 2019, the Steam store page for SpaceEngine was made public in preparation for the release of the first paid version, 0.990 beta.[10]

SpaceEngine is currently only available for Windows PCs; however, there are plans for the software to support macOS and Linux in the future.[11] Even though SpaceEngine only natively supports Windows, the Steam version can be run on Linux via Steam's Proton compatibility tool.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Space Engine - Frequently Asked Questions. Vladimir. Romanyuk. en.spaceengine.org. 2017-01-15. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150930035134/http://en.spaceengine.org/index/faq/0-29. 2015-09-30.
  2. Web site: SpaceEngine . The world's first science-based photorealistic interactive 3D planetarium that models the entire Universe, using procedural generation for uncharted areas..
  3. News: Man Builds Massive Virtual Universe You Can Download And Explore. Thomas Tamblyn. October 21, 2014. The Huffington Post. October 21, 2014.
  4. Web site: 2012: A Space Engine. Cara Ellison. March 11, 2013. Rock, Paper, Shotgun. January 22, 2014.
  5. Web site: Space ships – Space Engine. 2022-01-24. spaceengine.org.
  6. Web site: Space Flight School – Space Engine. 2022-01-24. spaceengine.org.
  7. Web site: Mit Space Engine 0.97 das Weltall erkunden: Faszinierende Ansichten des Universums. 10 May 2013. PC Games Hardware. Wilke. Stephan. 29 November 2015.
  8. Web site: Интервью с разработчиком SpaceEngine - Владимиром Романюком. 2012-03-12. Elite Games. 2014-03-23. ru. Interview with developer of SpaceEngine - Vladimir Romanyuk.
  9. Web site: 0.990.41 Public Beta Release. 2 August 2020. 2020-08-19.
  10. Web site: Steam Store Page is Live!. Romanyuk. Vladimir. 2019-05-27. Space Engine. 2019-05-27.
  11. Web site: Space Engine - Funding and Donations. Vladimir. Romanyuk. en.spaceengine.org. 2017-01-17.