SpaceEngine

SpaceEngine (stylized as "Space Engine") is a proprietary^[1] 3D astronomy program^[2] and game engine developed by Russian astronomer and programmer Vladimir Romanyuk.^[3] Using real astronomical catalogs and procedural generation, it creates a three-dimensional planetarium representing the entire universe. Users can travel through space in any direction or speed, and forwards or backwards in time.^[4] SpaceEngine is in beta status, and is currently freeware for Microsoft Windows. It uses pseudo-random numbers to procedurally create any kind of planetary system, nebula or galaxy.

One of the main features of the program is its scientific accuracy. Cataloged objects are based on real data, while procedural objects are built around the cataloged universe using realistic generation algorithms. Properties of objects, such as temperature, mass, radius, etc., are presented to the user on the HUD and in an accessible information window. Users can observe objects from small spacecraft to galaxy clusters, similar to other simulators such as Celestia. SpaceEngine includes thousands of real objects, including stars from the Hipparcos catalog, galaxies from the NGC and IC catalogs, several well-known nebulae, and all known exoplanets and their stars.^[5]

Navigation

When using SpaceEngine, a user can freely explore the universe using keyboard and mouse commands, including WASD keys. Through a combination of these commands, a user can fly anywhere they wish. A user may selectively travel to any object in the program's universe by selecting it and using the go-to function to travel there automatically. All of the key commands can be changed in SpaceEngine's settings.

There are three different modes of camera control. Free mode allows movement without inertia, and the user can set a constant velocity to travel when a navigation key is held down. Spacecraft and aircraft modes enable inertia, and the user sets an acceleration rather than a velocity. Users can travel at any velocity they wish, and are not bound by physical limits. The only difference between spacecraft and aircraft mode is that in aircraft mode the direction of motion follows the orientation of the camera.

Objects can be selected either by clicking on them or by searching for and selecting them in a search window.

Wiki and locations

The software has its own built in "wiki" database giving detailed information on every celestial object, and enabling a player to give a custom name or write a description. 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.^[6]

Procedural generation

The proclaimed goal of SpaceEngine is scientific realism, and to reproduce every type of known astronomical phenomenon.

It uses star catalogs along with procedural generation to create a universe. The use of procedural generation allows for a much larger universe to explore than similar programs; billions of galaxies can be explored, each with billions of stars, planets and moons.

The surfaces on terrestrial planets are generated using an algorithm based on fractal noise. Everything is based on the same seed, which produces the same simulated universe in every computer on which the program runs, making it possible to share locations between users.

Development

Development of SpaceEngine began in 2005,^[7] with 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. The latest version is 0.9.7.3, though there is a public beta labeled 9.7.4 Beta 8. As development of a new version progresses, the developer shares his development status on a regular basis. In addition to expanding and completing the planetarium software, the developer has also expressed his intention to create games using the engine,^[8] and to eventually license the engine to other developers.

Addons

SpaceEngine is easily modifiable and can support a large variety of addons. The online community creates many addons for the program, including high-resolution textures, language localizations, spacecraft models, edited shaders, galaxy models, lens flares effects, and fictional planetary systems. Most addons are posted on the official website forums.

See also

• Kerbal Space Program
• Procedural generation
• Celestia
• Digital Universe Atlas
• Frontier: Elite II
• Frontier: First Encounters (Elite III)
• List of space flight simulator games
• List of games with Oculus Rift support

References

External links

• English website
• Russian website
• A video demonstration of SpaceEngine