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Getting started questions (Getting started questions)

Getting started questions

Mostlyemptyspace

Date: Friday, 20.06.2014, 03:30 | Message # 1

Observer

Group: Newbies

United States

Messages: 4

Status: Offline

Hi all. I just discovered this game today. I am an amateur astronomer, and I've been looking for something like this for a long time. I had some issues getting started though.

First, performance is terrible. It lags constantly, the music skips and jitters, and if I travel to an object I'll be right upon it and it will just pop into existence. Not very immersive. Any tips for optimizing performance on a low end PC?

Second, I'm having issues with travel. Is there a way to select a target and have it travel to it more sort of gracefully? I.e., a slow ramp up in speed to FTL, then a gradual deceleration as you approach the object. What happens now is I just fly right to it and it takes longer for the object to load than it does to travel, so it just pops into existence.

Next, is there a way to search for objects by type? I've been searching for things like pulsars, magnetars, black holes, etc. and the search box doesn't seem to work that well. Or at least, it doesn't contain many of the names I'm looking for. It would be nice to browse objects by category or location.

That's all for now. I'm mainly just looking for a smoother, more dramatic experience. Right now it's just laggy and jittery. I fly right past objects, then go back to them and they pop up in low res, then reload high res textures. It's just not immersive at all.

Watsisname

Date: Friday, 20.06.2014, 03:59 | Message # 2

Galaxy Architect

Group: Global Moderators

United States

Messages: 2613

Status: Offline

Hi Mostlyemptyspace. While there are some steps you can take to help improve performance, such as disabling the more memory/graphics intensive features, the unfortunate reality is you're not likely to get a smooth experience with a low end machine. SpaceEngine is extremely demanding on hardware (comparable to modern high-tech computer games), and if recommended specs are not met then it is almost certainly going to be slow.

If you post your system specs it will help us get a better idea of where you stand and what the best options for improvement might be.

As for finding various objects:
Magnetars don't yet exist in the engine, though neutron stars in general do. Since pulsars are simply neutron stars whose beams happen to sweep past Earth, there's no separate classification for them in SpaceEngine. You can find neutron stars using the search browser (Shift-F3, and you can sort results by type), where they have the classification 'Q'. Black holes have the classification 'X'. There are stellar-mass black holes generated randomly in star systems, and supermassive ones can be found at the centers of galaxies and globular clusters.

You can also try using the map-mode to find things, as they are rendered independently of their apparent magnitude. Very helpful for finding the faint stuff like red/brown/white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes.

Welcome to the forum!

Mostlyemptyspace

Date: Friday, 20.06.2014, 05:14 | Message # 3

Observer

Group: Newbies

United States

Messages: 4

Status: Offline

Hey thanks for the feedback.

So the most annoying thing to me is the go to feature. Maybe it's just me, but it makes me very uncomfortable when a star or black hole just gets thrown right in my face. I want to make a slow approach. If I try to do it manually, I almost always blow right past it and have to go back and forth several times before I can approach it. Either way, it's very jarring and not very fun.

Is there a way to set it so when I tell it to go to an object, it will slow down as it approaches?

Watsisname

Date: Friday, 20.06.2014, 05:49 | Message # 4

Galaxy Architect

Group: Global Moderators

United States

Messages: 2613

Status: Offline

Sure thing, happy to help as best I can.

The goto (autopilot) actually does slow down on approach automatically, but the problem is that the loading/rendering time on your system is too long, so it seems that you just teleport there and then the object pops into existence.

What you could try is adjusting the formula for autopilot speed to make it slower, but to do so and have it work well might not be very straightforward. If you'd like to experiment with it you can read about how it works here. Otherwise, I'd say to keep trying manual flight, but keep a close eye on the distance to the object (assuming it's selected). Always keep your speed at a comfortable 'fraction' of the distance remaining to the destination. Doing it this way should give SE enough time to load the system and objects therein on your approach, avoiding the 'thrown in your face' effect.

I like to try the same thing when I fly around manually in SE, and find that having the speed such that, if I kept it constant, would always take 30 seconds to bring me to the destination is fairly comfortable. And I grant that it is pretty challenging and I still do frequently zip right past things (stars especially) by accident. An unpleasant consequence of the vast distances between astronomical objects relative to their physical size. smile

snowballpudi

Date: Friday, 20.06.2014, 07:17 | Message # 5

Space Tourist

Group: Users

United States

Messages: 21

Status: Offline

Go to you user config and change the Goto time, if you want a slower smooth approach.

letax

Date: Friday, 23.01.2015, 14:24 | Message # 6

Observer

Group: Newbies

Pirate

Messages: 9

Status: Offline

I am sorry for reviving an old thread, but I don't think my question warrants a new thread:
Why do some stars in SE look like wildberries? As far as I know stars in the real universe are always proximate spheres (oblates) and not weird mutated potatoes? Is this some phenomenon I am not aware of?

HarbingerDawn

Date: Friday, 23.01.2015, 15:12 | Message # 7