|
SpaceEngine FAQ
|
|
| Recon | Date: Tuesday, 12.11.2013, 09:39 | Message # 46 |
|
Observer
Group: Newbies
Australia
Messages: 7
Status: Offline
| Been tinkering with SE casually for some months, but I have some questions I haven't found anyone ask yet.
How many "real" objects are in SE? Clearly the majority of objects are procedurally generated, but of course many are real. If all the procedural objects were disabled, what would be left? Also, is there a way to see that?
Is there a way for SE to tap into databases of big astronomy programs like Starry Night? SN's navigation is horrific. But they have loads of objects.
Do the stars orbit galaxies or move at all relative to one another in SE? Not talking about binaries of course. I am guessing not.
In spaceship mode, there seems to be a tremendous amount of inertia when trying to orient the camera to different angles. Shouldn't it be able to rotate about rather easily, while travelling?
Also in spaceship mode, is there any orbital mechanisms? Meaning, can you have a spaceship actually orbit a body realistically? So far from what I've seen, the spaceship acts as if gravitational bodies are not even there.
Is there any way people could build a space adventure game using SE? I remember Starflight from a couple decades ago, which was a great adventure story, and a game like that would be simply amazing in a universe like what SE has. Heck, even the ability to fly around and place "messages" on certain planets or moons would be pretty fun because you could make scavenger hunts, etc. Especially if there was a way to implement latitude/longitude coordinates in the simulation.
Is there any way to incorporate navigational markers or a sort of HUD when flying around that shows galactic or even universal coordinates? So far the only marker seems to be the "selected object".
Thanks
|
| |
| |
| HarbingerDawn | Date: Tuesday, 12.11.2013, 12:44 | Message # 47 |
 Cosmic Curator
Group: Administrators
United States
Messages: 8717
Status: Offline
| Quote Recon (  ) How many "real" objects are in SE?
~130 000
Quote Recon ( ) Is there a way for SE to tap into databases of big astronomy programs like Starry Night?
No, but more expansive catalogs will be added eventually.
Quote Recon ( ) Do the stars orbit galaxies or move at all relative to one another in SE?
No
Quote Recon ( ) In spaceship mode, there seems to be a tremendous amount of inertia when trying to orient the camera to different angles.
This is because you're rotating your "spacecraft". You should expect there to be inertia. Also, this has the benefit of allowing more precise camera control.
Quote Recon ( ) Shouldn't it be able to rotate about rather easily, while travelling?
In the next version you will be able to look around freely in any mode.
Quote Recon ( ) Also in spaceship mode, is there any orbital mechanisms?
Are you talking about spacecraft camera mode, or the "game mode" where you actually control spacecraft models? If the former, then no, that is simply a camera mode. If the latter, then yes, though orbital mechanics and most other features are still in very early development and may not work realistically.
Quote Recon ( ) Is there any way people could build a space adventure game using SE?
Depending on the amount of funding SE gets, an SDK will be developed which will allow developers to make any game they want from SE. SpaceEngineer himself has a few games that he wants to develop from the engine.
Quote Recon ( ) Is there any way to incorporate navigational markers or a sort of HUD when flying around that shows galactic or even universal coordinates?
You can see this in debug mode, but the coordinates are not in an easily readable format.
All forum users, please read this!
My SE mods and addons
Phenom II X6 1090T 3.2 GHz, 16 GB DDR3 RAM, GTX 970 3584 MB VRAM
Edited by HarbingerDawn - Tuesday, 12.11.2013, 13:20 |
| |
| |
| SpaceEngineer | Date: Tuesday, 12.11.2013, 12:46 | Message # 48 |
 Author of Space Engine
Group: Administrators
Russian Federation
Messages: 4800
Status: Offline
| Quote Recon ( ) How many "real" objects are in SE? Clearly the majority of objects are procedurally generated, but of course many are real. If all the procedural objects were disabled, what would be left? Also, is there a way to see that?
11k galaxies, 120k stars, ~1000 exoplanets, all Solar system planets and moons, including minor moons of gas giants, ~2000 asteroids and ~1000 comets (many asteroids and comets are disabled in the universe.cfg due to very long loading time, but you can enable them). To disable procedural stuff, press F4 and untick all marked as "procedural".
Quote Recon ( ) Is there a way for SE to tap into databases of big astronomy programs like Starry Night? SN's navigation is horrific. But they have loads of objects.
99% of those objects have no distance known. So you can't place them in 3D. SpaceEngine is a 3D planetarium, so having a distance value is required to add an object to it.
Quote Recon ( ) Do the stars orbit galaxies or move at all relative to one another in SE? Not talking about binaries of course. I am guessing not.
No. Stars are generated based using an octree algorithm. Making it change in time (to simulate their motion) is hell. I even not sure it is possible. Imagine SE will regenerate entire galaxy each frame (or even each 10 frames).
Quote Recon ( ) In spaceship mode, there seems to be a tremendous amount of inertia when trying to orient the camera to different angles. Shouldn't it be able to rotate about rather easily, while travelling?
Also in spaceship mode, is there any orbital mechanisms? Meaning, can you have a spaceship actually orbit a body realistically? So far from what I've seen, the spaceship acts as if gravitational bodies are not even there.
This is just camera control mode, not related with physics. Also, even with gravity attraction, you can see its influence only if you fly at very low speeds, < 10 km/s. Try it with spaceships, they are simulates some physics (only gravity and collisions in 0.97). Buy I guess in free flight mode you always fly at hundreds of km/s near the planet.
Quote Recon ( ) Is there any way people could build a space adventure game using SE? I remember Starflight from a couple decades ago, which was a great adventure story, and a game like that would be simply amazing in a universe like what SE has. Heck, even the ability to fly around and place "messages" on certain planets or moons would be pretty fun because you could make scavenger hunts, etc. Especially if there was a way to implement latitude/longitude coordinates in the simulation.
No. I am currently at developing of the game. There is a lot what must be implemented: models, sounds, physics, interface, network, etc etc.
BTW lon/lat coordinates are shown in the info table of the planet. You also can land to any specific coordinates using console command LandTo <latitude> <longitude> <height>
Quote Recon ( ) Is there any way to incorporate navigational markers or a sort of HUD when flying around that shows galactic or even universal coordinates? So far the only marker seems to be the "selected object".
I don't understand what you said...
EDIT: Harb is ninja! 
|
| |
| |
| neutronium76 | Date: Tuesday, 12.11.2013, 12:53 | Message # 49 |
 World Builder
Group: Users
Greece
Messages: 718
Status: Offline
| I am at work right now so I will answer very briefly:
Quote Recon ( ) How many "real" objects are in SE? Clearly the majority of objects are procedurally generated, but of course many are real. If all the procedural objects were disabled, what would be left? Also, is there a way to see that?
SE uses the Hipparcos catalog which has some 100000+ stars and another catalog can't remember the name for galaxies which has around 10000+ named galaxies. You can see what's real by pressing F4 and disabling all procedural stuff.
Quote Recon ( ) Do the stars orbit galaxies or move at all relative to one another in SE? Not talking about binaries of course. I am guessing not
No. This would require supercomputer power.
Ninja'd anyway by Harb and Space Engineer 
PC1:Core i7 970@3.34GHz, 6 cores/12 threads, 12GB DDR3 RAM@1.34GHz, 2x(SLI) GTX-580 GPUs 3GB VRAM(GDDR5)@1GHz, OS:Win7x64SP1
PC2:Core2Quad X9770@3.2GHz, 2 cores/4 threads 4GB DDR2 RAM@1GHz, GTX-285 GPU 1GB VRAM(DDR3)@1.24GHz, OS:WinVistax64SP2
Edited by neutronium76 - Tuesday, 12.11.2013, 12:54 |
| |
| |
| Recon | Date: Tuesday, 12.11.2013, 16:57 | Message # 50 |
|
Observer
Group: Newbies
Australia
Messages: 7
Status: Offline
| Thanks for the awesome answers everyone. I appreciate that.
I totally get the issue about not being able to add 3D objects since distance is not known. I didn't realize that so much of the star catalog had no distances. I guess that makes sense. Calculating distance is sketchy at best, especially for the really far away stuff. Parallax only works for the nearby stuff, and who knows if the color spectrum technique is even a reliable method? So procedural stars do seem to make much more sense for a 3D space program.
About the "game mode" with spacecraft models, etc. How is this activated? I don't see it in the program for some reason.
One more question: How hard is it to add stuff? Sometimes well known objects are strangely absent. Take the Tarantula Nebula for example (NGC 2070). Missing. I was thinking it'd be cool to have SN 1987A in the program since that was a supernova that showed up when I was a teenager and I remember it being talked about quite a bit that year.
|
| |
| |
| HarbingerDawn | Date: Tuesday, 12.11.2013, 17:10 | Message # 51 |
|
Cosmic Curator
Group: Administrators
United States
Messages: 8717
Status: Offline
| Quote Recon ( ) How is this activated?
Read the SpaceEngine readme file, all the controls are in there. You need to select a ship with the ships menu (Ctrl-F3, also accessible in the left toolbar). Then teleport it to your location if you want and hit take control, or hit 4.
Quote Recon ( ) How hard is it to add stuff?
Not very hard, depending on what exactly you want to do. Look at the sticky threads in the mods and addons section, there are tutorials.
All forum users, please read this!
My SE mods and addons
Phenom II X6 1090T 3.2 GHz, 16 GB DDR3 RAM, GTX 970 3584 MB VRAM
|
| |
| |
| Hlao | Date: Wednesday, 27.11.2013, 05:56 | Message # 52 |
|
Observer
Group: Newbies
Australia
Messages: 1
Status: Offline
| HI, I Have used a skybox generated with Space Engine in this video
http://youtu.be/2aZRWxLw6Fs
I'm not generating any money from this but just wanted to check if this was ok. A search of the forums seems to suggest that it would be, but I though I should make sure.
Either way I've made a small donation.
|
| |
| |
| HarbingerDawn | Date: Wednesday, 27.11.2013, 07:28 | Message # 53 |
|
Cosmic Curator
Group: Administrators
United States
Messages: 8717
Status: Offline
| Quote Hlao ( ) just wanted to check if this was ok.
Yes, as long as you give credit and don't use it to make money.
Quote Hlao ( ) Either way I've made a small donation.
Thank you
All forum users, please read this!
My SE mods and addons
Phenom II X6 1090T 3.2 GHz, 16 GB DDR3 RAM, GTX 970 3584 MB VRAM
|
| |
| |
| mnerger | Date: Saturday, 14.12.2013, 19:36 | Message # 54 |
 Observer
Group: Newbies
Germany
Messages: 9
Status: Offline
| hi team, (sorry for open this thread here, i dont know how to use a forum :-/ )
I tested SE for 8 hours now. It is the most awesome program i´ve ever seen.
But there are things i missed, her is a list:
astroid belts
quasars
neutron stars
magnetars
detailed stones in planetary rings
satelites, space stations and the hubble
will it exist in the future?
also i have some ideas for possibilitys in future (i know i´m not the only one XD) if you are interestet just send me a private massage!
It is a great work!!!!!!
|
| |
| |
| DoctorOfSpace | Date: Saturday, 14.12.2013, 19:41 | Message # 55 |
 Galaxy Architect
Group: Global Moderators
Pirate
Messages: 3600
Status: Offline
| Quote mnerger ( ) will it exist in the future?
Quote SpaceEngineer ( ) Anyway, I should note: as long as SE is a scientifically accurate Universe simulator, then one day it will implement ALL space objects and phenomenon that are known to modern astronomy. So you may not bother yourself with questions like "will SE one day have meteor rain implemented". I guarantee that it WILL.
http://en.spaceengine.org/forum/21-11-24-16-1304698107
Intel Core i7-5820K 4.2GHz 6-Core Processor
G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory
EVGA GTX 980 Ti SC 6GB
|
| |
| |
| mnerger | Date: Saturday, 14.12.2013, 19:42 | Message # 56 |
|
Observer
Group: Newbies
Germany
Messages: 9
Status: Offline
| oh okay i´m sorry XD
|
| |
| |
| DeathStar | Date: Saturday, 14.12.2013, 19:42 | Message # 57 |
|
Pioneer
Group: Users
Croatia
Messages: 515
Status: Offline
| First of all, of all the forum sections, was mods and addons really the most appropriate one?
Second, half of the things you suggested is already in game.
Asteroid belts- already in
Quasars- planned
Neutron stars- already in
Magnetars- nearly the same thing as neutron stars
Particles in rings- already in
A mod will move this to the correct sub-forum.
|
| |
| |
| mnerger | Date: Saturday, 14.12.2013, 20:12 | Message # 58 |
|
Observer
Group: Newbies
Germany
Messages: 9
Status: Offline
| thats the reason why i´m not using a forum before.
you have a little question and 90% of the people have to cry because you had this question or cry because the thread is in wrong section. That sucks! DoctorOfSpace answered my question before. So you would not have to cry.
i will give money for expand the game so i may ask my questions!
one more time sorry for asking this question
|
| |
| |
| HarbingerDawn | Date: Saturday, 14.12.2013, 20:39 | Message # 59 |
|
Cosmic Curator
Group: Administrators
United States
Messages: 8717
Status: Offline
| Quote DeathStar Particles in rings- already in
Wrong, this is not in. Rings are simply flat 2D textures with detail noise at close range. 3D particles, while planned, are not implemented.
mnerger, the right place to ask this question would have been in this thread. It's a sticky thread, and is easy to find. Also, your question was already answered in the FAQ, which is linked from both this thread and from the main page of the site. Please try to search before making a new thread.
All forum users, please read this!
My SE mods and addons
Phenom II X6 1090T 3.2 GHz, 16 GB DDR3 RAM, GTX 970 3584 MB VRAM
|
| |
| |
| Ivvi | Date: Friday, 20.12.2013, 15:36 | Message # 60 |
|
Observer
Group: Newbies
Russian Federation
Messages: 9
Status: Offline
| Hello, and thank you so much for the Space Engine Universe!
Could anyone please help me clear a couple of things I don't understand about the latest (0.97) version as I am new to SE.
1. Is it normal that procedural (generated) stars move MUCH faster than real stars do when I fly through the galaxy? Is there a way to reduce their fly-by speed in relation to the real stars?
2. Is there a way to tune the interface for stars to disappear when I approach bright objects such as stars and sunlit sides of planets? I mean, there is not a single star close to the Earth in real photos, as Earth outshines them.
Thank you!
|
| |
| |
ENG
New site
Australia 
United States 
Russian Federation 
Greece 
Germany 
Pirate 
Croatia