Hard Light Productions Forums

Off-Topic Discussion => Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: Ace on May 28, 2011, 01:04:25 am

Title: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Ace on May 28, 2011, 01:04:25 am: http://applesforgeeks.com/space-engine-free-universe-simulator/

Freeware. Procedurally generated star systems, planets, galaxies, nebulae, the works.

So a few images, one is a moon around a Neptune like gas giant around Epsilon Eridani.

An Earth like moon of a gas giant.

Two Earth like planets in orbit of Van Maanen's star (class M dwarf).

[attachment deleted by ninja]
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: PsychoLandlord on May 28, 2011, 01:54:31 am: This looks incredible. Gave it a download, I'll install it and mess around tomorrow.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Ace on May 28, 2011, 02:08:54 am: Moar screenies!

Van Maanen's star's twin planets are tidally locked and lunar eclipses are common.

Further into the system is a third, hot Earth like planet and a Mars like moon. The second pic is from that.

[attachment deleted by ninja]
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: swashmebuckle on May 28, 2011, 03:15:03 am: Skybox factory? Looks awesome.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Kosh on May 28, 2011, 11:51:34 am: It CTD's on startup, didn't see any kind of troubleshooting guide anywhere. Thoughts?
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Kopachris on May 28, 2011, 12:28:16 pm: Downloading... hope it works on Ubuntu through WINE, 'cuz it looks amazing.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: PsychoLandlord on May 28, 2011, 12:55:13 pm: Just installed it. Runs beautifully. Only Crash I've had so far I believe had something to do with me exiting the known universe.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Ace on May 28, 2011, 06:55:09 pm: It really loves crashing when generating stars for new galaxies.

Found a new system, a white dwarf at the edge of M31 with an Earth like planet. (just like a recent article about habitable zones discussed)

Completely covered in water, no land masses at all.

[attachment deleted by ninja]
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Rodo on May 28, 2011, 07:27:35 pm: wow, looks quite nice.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Kosh on May 29, 2011, 03:38:28 am: Quote
It really loves crashing when generating stars for new galaxies.

So what could cause it to CTD on startup? Not enough memory?
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Satellight on May 29, 2011, 06:23:51 am: Quote from: Kosh on May 29, 2011, 03:38:28 am
Quote
It really loves crashing when generating stars for new galaxies.

So what could cause it to CTD on startup? Not enough memory?

It's pretty demanding on the hardware !

Quote
===============================================================================
System requirements
===============================================================================

Minimum:
CPU 2.0 GHz
RAM 2 Gb
Video GeForce 8800, ATI 3850
Video RAM 512 Mb

Recommended:
CPU 3.0 GHz
RAM 2 Gb
Video GeForce 9800 GTX, ATI 4870
Video RAM 1024 Mb
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: borizz on May 29, 2011, 07:33:31 am: Is it supposed to be really slow on first start?

Also, even on low priority it makes my PC unusable. I wouldn't mind if it were slow but I could do other crap while it ran.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Snail on May 29, 2011, 10:16:53 am: These look incredible.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Raiden on May 29, 2011, 12:01:51 pm: Crashes on start-up for me. Looks cool, though.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Dark RevenantX on May 29, 2011, 02:49:33 pm: It only uses about 50% (one core) of my CPU, but the thing that rapes my system is the complete and utter destruction of my video memory and hard drive.

Don't bother unless you have a 768MB or 1GB video card, and you'd best have a SSD for it to write to, as well.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: sigtau on May 29, 2011, 06:01:50 pm: One word:

Skyboxes.

That is all.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Retsof on May 29, 2011, 06:44:42 pm: :( My comp is too crappy.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Commander Zane on May 29, 2011, 07:30:07 pm: Moving around Neptune and only Neptune rapes the almighty **** out of my computer. :D
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Thaeris on May 29, 2011, 07:37:56 pm: So...

Is this thing essentially what would happen if you merged Celestia and what we know of the iNovae engine into one?

:eek2:
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Astronomiya on May 30, 2011, 03:30:27 am: Quote from: Ace
Found a new system, a white dwarf at the edge of M31 with an Earth like planet.
DOES NOT COMPUTE.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Kosh on May 30, 2011, 10:49:06 am: Quote from: Raiden on May 29, 2011, 12:01:51 pm
Crashes on start-up for me. Looks cool, though.

Out of curiosity what's your system specs?
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Raiden on May 30, 2011, 09:52:19 pm: Quote from: Kosh on May 30, 2011, 10:49:06 am
Quote from: Raiden on May 29, 2011, 12:01:51 pm
Crashes on start-up for me. Looks cool, though.

Out of curiosity what's your system specs?

I'm on a Dell SXPS16. 4GB RAM, Radeon 4670 Mobility, Intel Core i7 Q720 1.60 GHz.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Ace on June 16, 2011, 06:16:27 pm: Well a new more stable version was just released with a few new things.

Planets orbiting barycenters. Planetary nebulae. Neutron stars, black holes, asteroid belts.

[attachment deleted by ninja]
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Retsof on September 16, 2011, 07:47:39 pm: :necro:
Since my new machine can run this now...
I found a planet with life right next to the Eagle Nebula. Note that auto exposure would make it invisible because of the bright planet. That would be some night sky though.
After some experimentation I have found that nebulae rarely wash the whole sky, only the brightest area will be visible, even if the planet is nearly inside the fringes of it.
(http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af356/Retsof90/scr00000.jpg)
EDIT: Replaced attachment with image.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: -Sara- on September 16, 2011, 10:13:05 pm: I once ran into an inhabited warm terra, orbited by an inhabited comfort terra. I believe a gas giant with another inhabited warm or comfort terra was in the same system. Those finds are rare and nice to store.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: deathfun on September 17, 2011, 01:38:52 am: Thank you to firstly the person who bumped this thread, and the person who made it in the first place

This

Is awesome
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Retsof on September 17, 2011, 10:31:17 am: Heh, they put Pandora in, and it's sun's binary has a life bearing planet as well, which is itself a binary planet with a lifeless but Terran world.
(http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af356/Retsof90/scr00004.jpg)
(http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af356/Retsof90/scr00005.jpg)
EDIT: Replaced attachments with images, also, remember when I said nebulae were hard to see, well on this life-bearing planet you can see the Orion even when the farther of the two suns is out.
(http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af356/Retsof90/scr00006.jpg)
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: TwentyPercentCooler on September 17, 2011, 11:49:18 am: Totally bookmarked this thread for when my new computer comes in; this is awesome.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Retsof on September 19, 2011, 12:41:39 pm: Any idea on how I could make skyboxes from this? I don't think there are the right controlls to take screenshots separated by perfect 90*.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: redsniper on September 19, 2011, 10:04:45 pm: Pretty sure there's software out there that can stitch images together into one seamless image, even if they aren't perfectly aligned. In fact, for something like that I think you'd want some overlap.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: deathfun on September 20, 2011, 02:46:56 am: Important note: Never, EVER disable, then enable stars in a Galaxy

That's my punishment for button mashing
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Retsof on September 20, 2011, 12:04:28 pm: Quote from: deathfun on September 20, 2011, 02:46:56 am
Important note: Never, EVER disable, then enable stars in a Galaxy

That's my punishment for button mashing
...Why, did it crash you or did it kill all your procedural stars?
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: deathfun on September 20, 2011, 12:42:41 pm: It didn't crash nor did it kill the stars

See, it would have been better if it crashed. Then it would have been an easy click close but noooo, decided to make EVERYTHING slow taking it a long time to register any inputs I gave it
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Retsof on November 18, 2011, 12:14:18 pm: :necro:
New version out. Includes better gas giant textures, terrain textures and hills so there is more to see when "landed", brown dwarfs, and hurricanes. It also seems to crash if I up the LOD at all, but it's pretty good anyway. Would give screens, but I'm at work atm.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Ace on November 19, 2011, 04:28:21 pm: ...and in the new version if you go to the Cyrannus system it has the Twelve Colonies from BSG.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Retsof on March 24, 2012, 03:20:00 pm: :necro:

Though it isn't out yet, SpaceEngineer has gotten a skybox and planet texture exporter working. (pic taken from SE forum)
(http://spaceengine.ucoz.ru/_fr/5/6259429.jpg)
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on March 24, 2012, 03:47:22 pm: Quote from: Retsof on September 19, 2011, 12:41:39 pm
Any idea on how I could make skyboxes from this? I don't think there are the right controlls to take screenshots separated by perfect 90*.
Quote from: redsniper on September 19, 2011, 10:04:45 pm
Pretty sure there's software out there that can stitch images together into one seamless image, even if they aren't perfectly aligned. In fact, for something like that I think you'd want some overlap.

Try Hugin, should be able to do the job.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: redsniper on March 25, 2012, 05:23:49 pm: Quote from: watsisname on March 24, 2012, 03:47:22 pm
Quote from: Retsof on September 19, 2011, 12:41:39 pm
Any idea on how I could make skyboxes from this? I don't think there are the right controlls to take screenshots separated by perfect 90*.
Quote from: redsniper on September 19, 2011, 10:04:45 pm
Pretty sure there's software out there that can stitch images together into one seamless image, even if they aren't perfectly aligned. In fact, for something like that I think you'd want some overlap.

Try Hugin, should be able to do the job.

Quote from: Retsof on March 24, 2012, 03:20:00 pm
Though it isn't out yet, SpaceEngineer has gotten a skybox and planet texture exporter working. (pic taken from SE forum)
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on May 01, 2012, 09:31:11 pm: :bump:

Oh my God, I can actually run this now. This is awesome! :D
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Thaeris on May 02, 2012, 01:42:59 am: I've been told a Noctis-style gameplay system is in the works... complete with working, accurate physics. I'd be even more happy if my processor was actually up to spec. :D
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on May 02, 2012, 03:57:23 pm: :shaking: Oh God Oh God Oh God Oh God :shaking:

(http://i.imgur.com/LcsAf.jpg)

Black holes are freaking scary, even simulated ones.

Edit: Oh neat, an Einstein Ring!

(http://i.imgur.com/RYu7a.jpg)
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Achillion on May 02, 2012, 04:14:11 pm: Pardon the language but HOLY ****ING ****. I found this thread a few months ago and played around with it shortly after but didn't find a black whole in my "travels". I agree, that **** is SCARY!
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on May 02, 2012, 04:26:54 pm: It really is strangely unsettling to come up on one, seeing the field of view getting increasingly distorted and then that black void opens up in front of you.

I've yet to come across any procedurally-generated holes yet (not actually sure if those exist), but if you want to find one just
Spoiler:
go to the center of a galaxy.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Achillion on May 02, 2012, 04:29:04 pm: I don't understand the reason for a "spoiler". I was unaware that there were things to spoil. Am I missing something?
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Retsof on May 02, 2012, 07:33:25 pm: They are also at the centers of globular clusters.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on May 02, 2012, 07:34:49 pm: Nah, there's not really anything to spoil. The developer has said he might add some easter eggs (directly into the source code, so that they can't be found via the catalogs), which could be neat. Fat chance of anyone actually managing to find such a thing though, given the vastness. :X
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: IronBeer on May 02, 2012, 11:55:17 pm: I found a black hole by chance not too long ago. Looks like a regular star from a distance. Yeah, fat chance of actually finding one- it was a total fluke.

Also, dunno if anybody's tried this yet, but you can fly to other galaxies altogether. No guarantees as to how well Space Engine will run, however... Went to Andromeda once, flying right through the elliptical plane, and the program gave up when I was only about a kiloparsec from the core.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on May 03, 2012, 12:09:52 am: Quote
I found a black hole by chance not too long ago. Looks like a regular star from a distance.

Where at, just randomly hanging out in the galactic disk, or was it in the center of a cluster or something?

I can fly to other galaxies without a hitch, but the central star clusters give my system heart palpitations. :V That starnode generation is killer.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: IronBeer on May 03, 2012, 12:36:55 am: Quote from: watsisname on May 03, 2012, 12:09:52 am
Where at, just randomly hanging out in the galactic disk, or was it in the center of a cluster or something?
I don't remember exactly where it was, but I remember *what* it was: "RSC-8404-4028-0-0-0", the core of a globular cluster, apparently.
I don't know if there are randomized black holes yet. Shockingly, Cygnus X-1 is *not* in the Space Engine star charts. Also, some types of objects, like Wolf-Rayet stars (Eta Carinae) don't appear to be procedurally generated either. To be clear, Eta Carinae is present, it's the brightest single star in Space Engine- you can easily resolve it from well outside the Milky Way!
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Achillion on May 03, 2012, 04:45:56 am: I didn't play around too much but my machine didn't seem to have any problems flying anywhere. Then again, I did just zoom in and out of places. First thing I did was set the speed to a few kparsecs/sec and hold S for one of those movie-like "zoom out of the universe" effects. I should spend more time on this!

EDIT: Currently at work; discovered it runs fine on Wine; goodbye Thursday!

EDIT2: Right. No actual work done yet. Just showed it off to a few work-mates. I think one of them is going to lose his work-day as well.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on May 03, 2012, 06:45:45 pm: I found a pretty neat planet and moon -- a cool terra with life orbiting around a calid terra with life. Oh, and they also have two suns. :D
(http://i.imgur.com/mB3qa.jpg)

The calid terra has some impressive hills and mountains.
(http://i.imgur.com/foqVd.jpg)

And weird seasons. For a few weeks out of the year, this world is totally nightless! When one sun sets, the other rises.
(http://i.imgur.com/dLW01.jpg)

The two worlds also get mutual eclipses now and then. The eclipse shadows are strange with the double lighting.
(http://i.imgur.com/ANfUP.jpg)

(http://i.imgur.com/yuafE.jpg)

(http://i.imgur.com/DEHpe.jpg)

System: RS 8404-141-8-15203302-4. It's very close to the super-luminous star Eta Carinae, which is so bright that it shines even in the daytime sky.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Topgun on May 03, 2012, 08:48:25 pm: the download link in the op doesn't work for me
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Achillion on May 04, 2012, 06:11:31 am: Yeah I think that's been broken for a while. Just go to http://en.spaceengine.org/ and download from there. If the direct download is a bit slow, try the torrent; it was very fast for me.

@watsisname: I found the system, but no planets like the ones you described. While typing "RS" in the searchbox though, the system "RS sex" caught my eye. The orbits of the stars in that system are interesting :)
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on May 04, 2012, 07:26:33 am: I suggest the torrent, too, it's MUCH faster (I peaked 5MB/s) and less of a hastle than going through the download sites.

@Achilleas.k: Weird, I wonder if procedural planets aren't the same on different machines? (I have no idea.)
The particular planet is B5 -- the outermost planet that orbits the B star, which is a K-9 V orange dwarf. The system looks like this:

(http://i.imgur.com/q0WMU.jpg)

(There are two more planets orbiting both stars much farther out, but they're just boring ice giants.)

I also just realized that planet A5 also has life on it. Three life-bearing worlds in a single star system!

And wow, RS sex is interesting, indeed. Two blue suns! All the planets are too hot, though. =(
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Achillion on May 04, 2012, 07:28:39 am: If I can be bothered, I might make a video of some of the more interesting things during the weekend.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: IronBeer on May 04, 2012, 10:39:59 am: Quote from: watsisname on May 04, 2012, 07:26:33 am
@Achilleas.k: Weird, I wonder if procedural planets aren't the same on different machines? (I have no idea.)
The procedures might not be random. I was able to locate the star system in question.
Hm... perhaps the name of a system/feature represents some kind of random seed? It is a lengthy code after all.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Achillion on May 04, 2012, 12:29:59 pm: Well I typed in the code exactly, found the system as seen in the screenshots, but found no life-planets. Perhaps I didn't look close enough. I'll check again!
Quote from: IronBeer on May 04, 2012, 10:39:59 am
Hm... perhaps the name of a system/feature represents some kind of random seed? It is a lengthy code after all.

That's a very reasonable way of handling it, I think. I would be surprised if they weren't, to be honest.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: IronBeer on May 04, 2012, 02:26:17 pm: Quote from: Achilleas.k on May 04, 2012, 12:29:59 pm
Well I typed in the code exactly, found the system as seen in the screenshots, but found no life-planets. Perhaps I didn't look close enough. I'll check again!
Make sure you're checking the correct star- one of the pair only has some gas planets.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on May 04, 2012, 07:57:50 pm: I just tried out the video rendering tool [F9] and it works very well. If you want to make a video I highly recommend using it rather than other recording software like FRAPS or the like, because with Space Engine the result will be smooth and seamless even under variable framerate and any brief pauses for the procedural generation. The catch is you'll need to turn the exported frames into a video through other software.

Here's my test video (http://youtu.be/tdm7YtBMTLo) :)
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Thaeris on May 04, 2012, 08:57:58 pm: I want this as a promotional video, promoting more funding for space exploration. My God, what I wouldn't do to be able to stand there in person on such a world, and see it with my own eyes...
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: General Battuta on May 04, 2012, 09:50:06 pm: Quote from: Thaeris on May 04, 2012, 08:57:58 pm
I want this as a promotional video, promoting more funding for space exploration. My God, what I wouldn't do to be able to stand there in person on such a world, and see it with my own eyes...

that rare thaeris post i feel worth emptyquoting

(the sensors housing my uploaded consciousness would do as well though)
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on May 04, 2012, 11:25:10 pm: Better video, with music. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7nK11XD9e8) :V

It's amazing to think sights like this may actually exist out there.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Achillion on May 05, 2012, 07:49:59 am: Oh, silly me, I had no idea there was a built-in recorder. Turning frames into a video wont be a problem. Thanks for the info.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on May 19, 2012, 04:37:22 am: *bump*

I made a new video using Space Engine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLbd482XVlM&feature=youtu.be), one which I have always wanted to make. :)
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Retsof on July 12, 2012, 07:48:21 pm: :necro:
0.96 is out. Skyboxes and planet textures can now be exported.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Achillion on July 13, 2012, 07:22:39 am: Hah, the reply notification ended up in my spam folder.
I see I was also planning to make a video a few months ago. I think we all know how that went.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Retsof on July 13, 2012, 06:34:16 pm: Oh, and you guys might be interested in this:
(http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af356/Retsof90/scr00001.jpg)
There are ships now. And there are already Mass Effect and EVE ship packs...
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Thaeris on July 13, 2012, 08:55:47 pm: About now I'm wishing my computer had more guts...

:D
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on July 14, 2012, 05:25:42 am: Oh man I have been nerding out on this so hard. 0.96 has some pretty awesome features. Procedural galaxies are now generated to simulate large-scale cosmological structure, as well as redshift. I think you can fly out to ten billion light years or so and there will still be galaxies. Planet generation and appearance have been revamped as well.

Speaking of which, green atmospheres? GREEN ATMOSPHERES! :pimp:
(http://i.imgur.com/LVWGI.jpg)

For some reason there appear to be a lot of very close binary planets now. Almost unrealistically close if you ask me. Imagine the tides you'd get on these worlds. :eek:
(http://i.imgur.com/Mw2UZ.jpg)

Obligatory "My God, it's full of ~~stars~~ galaxies."
(http://i.imgur.com/hRaZB.jpg)
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: crizza on July 14, 2012, 05:59:25 am: Sadly, the programm crashes everytime I try to run it^^
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Achillion on July 14, 2012, 08:21:19 am: Yeah it's not the most stable of software. Is it beyond your hardware specs or is it a software issue?
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: crizza on July 14, 2012, 08:44:05 am: Good question...
Got a radeon HD 4890
an Intel i5 - 750 quad core...
and I think it was 4gb DDR SDRAM...
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Achillion on July 14, 2012, 09:06:47 am: Should be able to run. My laptop has similar specs and can run it fine even through Wine on Linux.
Graphics drivers?
Did you apply the latest patch?

EDIT: Also check http://en.spaceengine.org/forum/4-706-1

EDIT2: Latest version is crashing on me too. I get the "Error loading surface generator shaders. Press YES to run program with procedural planets disabled. Press NO to exit" message and it crashes if I press "yes" to start without surface generator. I think I just might roll back to an earlier version for now.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Colonol Dekker on August 07, 2012, 06:21:09 pm: :bump: The applesforgeeks link is dead. :C I don't suppose anyone would care to direct me to an available legit download?
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Achillion on August 07, 2012, 08:17:07 pm: Official site is http://en.spaceengine.org

Try the torrent, it's usually faster.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: deathfun on August 07, 2012, 08:19:41 pm: My pants
I think I jizzed them
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: TwentyPercentCooler on August 07, 2012, 09:07:40 pm: I finally got around to downloading this and messing with it. So awesome! I probably didn't before because I think it would have asploded my old laptop.

I'm still on the hunt for a habitable planet. Deneb had a binary planet system that looked pretty promising, but it's interesting to think about whether or not we could live on it. The barycenter was barely outside the temperate terra, a nice 291K, and the other planet was not very dense and pretty far away (for a binary planet system, anyway).

This is good stuff.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Dark RevenantX on August 08, 2012, 05:41:42 am: Runs well but crashes and I've got a machine that's hard to beat. 1.25GHz GTX 670 and 4.4GHz i5 2500K, and running the program on a 256GB SSD. LOD setting up at max: looks gorgeous but this thing is a machine eater even with very high spec.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Colonol Dekker on August 08, 2012, 07:15:40 am: Hmmmm, I might have to benchmark and tune the old girl before I give it a try then lol.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Dark RevenantX on August 08, 2012, 06:38:15 pm: Guess which one is the moon and which one is the planet. I dare you.

(http://www.sc2mafia.com/junk/scr00001.jpg)
(http://www.sc2mafia.com/junk/scr00002.jpg)
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: deathfun on August 08, 2012, 07:21:49 pm: They're two planets rotating eachother!
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Quanto on August 09, 2012, 02:15:42 am: Just to confirm for you guys. The Skybox renderer works :D

(http://i1246.photobucket.com/albums/gg613/elQuanto/screen0000.jpg)

Just to point out though, I do recommend messing with your display settings and with photoshop/gimp, to ensure the elements that you want are the ones that get shown best.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Retsof on August 09, 2012, 07:31:18 pm: NICE! I was wondering when someone would get around to this.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on August 11, 2012, 04:44:59 am: Here's a random challenge for y'all: Try to find the most Earth-like planet possible, in a procedural star system. I.e, it should be as close as possible to 1 earth mass, 1g surface gravity, 1atm pressure, 288K temperature, etc. Also should have life and, I suppose, blue skies and seas. Having a moon-like moon would be a nice bonus, but extra eye-candy like rings or multiple suns are cool too. :cool:
(Yeah, there's a thread similar to this on the Space Engine forums, but it is more fun to find them yourself, methinks.)

I'm out of state for a while so I can't post my finds. I did find a neat white-atmosphered planet somewhere in the LMC with very earth-like conditions, I'll share when I'm home again.

On a related note, I've been contemplating what the ranges of planetary conditions that humans could find 'habitable' are. Specifically, what range of average surface temperature, gravity, and pressure can a planet have and still sustain permanent human settlement?

For pressure, I think a reasonable lower bound is about 0.5atm. That corresponds to about 18000 feet altitude on our planet, just above the highest permanent human settlement. Above that and you start getting into the 'death zone'. I've no idea what the upper bound is -- all I know is various gases start to become toxic to us at higher pressures. For now I'm going with 1.5atm but I wouldn't be surprised if the upper limit is actually vastly different.

Gravity: Too high and motion is difficult, even a simple fall could prove fatal in high G. On the flipside, low g is awesome, but too low and the planet can't hold a breathable atmosphere. Perhaps 0.5 to 1.5g is a reasonable estimate?

Temperature: Tricky. 288K for earth. 273K is freezing point of water, 373 is boiling. I imagine it's feasible for the planet to have an average surface temp below 273 and still sustain liquid water and thus be habitable, though. So I'll pull numbers out of my ass: 268 to 308K? Ie, 288 +/- 20K?

And yeah, I realize this all assumes that the Earth's current conditions are actually the optimum for human life. Perhaps they're not, but they're what we've evolved to live with. :)

What are y'alls thoughts?
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: TwentyPercentCooler on August 14, 2012, 02:58:40 am: I've found one that was pretty darn close a few hours ago - 290K (is that a mean surface temperature?), about 1.1 Earth masses:0.98 Earth radii, something like 1.15g surface gravity. Distance from the star was quite a bit more than 1 AU; it was a newer and larger star than Sol.

The thing that I'd be most curious about is if Earth-like climate and weather patterns would exist, even if the planet is eerily similar. Having the same mean temperature doesn't really mean much. This particular planet didn't have a tilted axis of rotation, so no seasons. And even with a similar mass and density, it would be possible to have different crust material - more rigid crust material would cause some gnarly planetquakes. Would it have Hadley cells and a similarly stratified atmosphere? Thinking about all these details makes one realize how special Earth really is. A change in even the tiniest of details could have resulted in a very different planet.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Thaeris on August 14, 2012, 11:10:41 am: I've not seen this video before on the Space Engine site before now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=t3H6nPvC-PQ

...Dear Lord...
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Scourge of Ages on August 23, 2012, 02:39:50 am: Is it possible to create your own solar systems in Space Engine, and then use then to generate a skybox? Including customer planets with custom textures and stuff?
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: redsniper on August 23, 2012, 09:07:21 am: No. At least not yet. If you're already making custom textures and stuff, you might as well just render a skybox in blender.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on August 23, 2012, 03:15:23 pm: You can in version 0.95. I presume you still can in the new version but there is no guide for it yet.

Creating a star (http://en.spaceengine.org/forum/17-338-1)
Creating galaxies (http://en.spaceengine.org/forum/17-653-1)
Creating a planet (http://en.spaceengine.org/forum/17-73-1)
Creating custom textures for planets (http://en.spaceengine.org/forum/17-376-1)
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on August 23, 2012, 05:01:24 pm: Quote from: TwentyPercentCooler on August 14, 2012, 02:58:40 am
I've found one that was pretty darn close a few hours ago - 290K (is that a mean surface temperature?), about 1.1 Earth masses:0.98 Earth radii, something like 1.15g surface gravity. Distance from the star was quite a bit more than 1 AU; it was a newer and larger star than Sol.

That's a pretty good find! :) Any chance you have the coordinates, or screenshots?

I think the closest Earth-analogue I've found so far is this one in the LMC. A bit colder, almost identical air pressure, and 80% gravity. And a big, close, inhabited terra moon to boot! I'd love to vacation on this world. :D

(http://i.imgur.com/rTvlA.jpg)

Quote
The thing that I'd be most curious about is if Earth-like climate and weather patterns would exist, even if the planet is eerily similar. Having the same mean temperature doesn't really mean much. This particular planet didn't have a tilted axis of rotation, so no seasons. And even with a similar mass and density, it would be possible to have different crust material - more rigid crust material would cause some gnarly planetquakes. Would it have Hadley cells and a similarly stratified atmosphere? Thinking about all these details makes one realize how special Earth really is. A change in even the tiniest of details could have resulted in a very different planet.

Oh yeah, there are probably many important parameters to determine how habitable/comfortable a planet would be for us beyond the three main ones of temperature, pressure, and gravity. Probably the most outrageous omission -- the presence of liquid water! (Though Space Engine seems to only put life on oceania's and terras, and as far as I've seen all terra's have at least some surface water). Atmospheric composition and structure is another big one. For example, we require oxygen for respiration, and an ozone layer to protect us from solar UV radiation. Axial tilt, orbital period, and eccentricity determine the seasons. Plate tectonics has enormous implications for the evolution of life and climate. A magnetic field helps protect the atmosphere from erosion by the solar wind. The biosphere and food-web are important. Climate/weather patterns can't be ignored, either. And I'm sure there's still a lot I've missed. :P

The formation of Hadley cells and other modes of atmospheric transport is quite interesting. The basic concept is that differential heating causes a pressure gradient across a planets surface, and winds flow to try to equalize this gradient. If the planet is rotating, then these winds are deflected by the Coriolis Force. Hadley circulation occurs when the planets rotation axis is nearly perpendicular to its orbital plane (Earth's is 23.5°; close enough) In these cases heat must flow from the equator to the poles, but rotation causes the winds to be deflected and the circulation breaks up into discrete cells. There are 3 such cells (in each hemisphere) on earth.

A planet can have other types of atmospheric circulation, too. If the planet is tidally-locked with its sun, then warm air rises over the sub-solar point and flows toward the night side, cools, and sinks, with cooler flow returning along the surface. Space Engine actually demonstrates this fairly well with the rendering of a massive cyclonic system on the day-side of many of its tidally-locked worlds. They look pretty cool. :cool:

If a planet's atmosphere is very thick then it becomes more efficient at transferring heat. This causes the whole atmosphere to rotate around the planet, sometime rotating faster than the planet itself. Venus is an example of a planet with such a 'super-rotating' atmosphere, and as a result the temperature difference between the day-side and the night-side is fairly small.

I am also curious about the prospect of life-bearing worlds in multiple-star systems. There are many of them in Space Engine, and I personally find them fairly believable, but I haven't seen much actual research on the subject. (And of course there is as of yet no hard data, but it's fun to think about). :)
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: redsniper on August 24, 2012, 09:10:43 am: Quote from: watsisname on August 23, 2012, 03:15:23 pm
You can in version 0.95. I presume you still can in the new version but there is no guide for it yet.

Creating a star (http://en.spaceengine.org/forum/17-338-1)
Creating galaxies (http://en.spaceengine.org/forum/17-653-1)
Creating a planet (http://en.spaceengine.org/forum/17-73-1)
Creating custom textures for planets (http://en.spaceengine.org/forum/17-376-1)

Oh wow, I had no idea. That's awesome.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Thaeris on October 07, 2012, 12:04:00 am: This chap has a really nifty series of short videos in which he tries to find random systems with planets that support life. Long sentences aside:

Episode 3, which left me with a childish grin I am by no means ashamed of:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gRFRvQQgF8&feature=relmfu

Episode 4, which is also wonderful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmvyF6bx7SU&feature=relmfu
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Thaeris on October 07, 2012, 11:32:28 am: Well, darn.

I was hoping the other machine downstairs could run Space Engine, but that appears not to be the case. The Go 9100 only has 256 MB of video RAM, not the 512 perscribed as minimum needed to let the software run effectively. Everything else seems to be in order RAM and processor-wise, but, well, I guess that's just the way it goes...
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: CKid on October 07, 2012, 12:13:19 pm: I got to say, I love this space engine. The first time I tried it out, I was on for about 5 hours straight. The coolest thing I found so far is a neutron star. You have to slow down time just to see how quickly the star rotates. I have the music from Experience the Plants (http://www.experiencetheplanets.com/) playing in the background, to add that little bit more of epicness.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: IronBeer on October 26, 2012, 01:22:19 am: --INCOMING TRANSMISSION.....
--VERIFYING SOURCE....
--SOURCE IDENTIFIED: EMERGENCY QEC BURST, EXPLORER IRONBEER
--DECODING.........DONE
--ANALYZING...........CORRUPTION DETECTED!
--REPAIRING.............................
--REPAIRS DIFFICULT.....................
--REPAIR COMPLETE, DATA INTEGRITY 99%
--DATA LUMP CONFIRMED: EXPLORATION LOG, EXPLORER IRONBEER
--CONCISE CONTENTS: 7,492 POINTS OF INTEREST
--AWAITING COMMAND
>>Filter data: "Most important points"
--ACKNOWLEDGED...WORKING
--MULTIPLE "INTERESTING" DESTINATIONS PARSED
--BEGINNING NONCONTINUOUS PLAYBACK...
+++entry begins+++
...
Day 641 of my exploration mission. As always, the Final Effect FTL drive is performing admirably. I'm tempted to see just what the maximum velocity it can deliver, but such a stress test will have to wait for another day. Remote sensors picked up a rather interesting gas giant system in my vicinity, so I moved in closer to check it out.
(https://i.imgur.com/j8XeuhD.jpg)
Rather pleasant looking blue orb, though they all start to look the same after a while.

Poking around in the local system shows three relatively massive moons- they're old, too. Hm.... well here's something interesting. There's an high concentration of carbon mon/dioxide in the atmosphere, with a good fraction of inerts, but right about no oxygen. There's just about nothing on the surface that I can see, but.... yep- that was a shard of some unnatural alloy. Somebody used to live here, but it looks like their atmosphere burned up. Shame. I'll pass this along to the archaeologists.
(https://i.imgur.com/0Cwfjp0.jpg)

+++next entry begins+++
(https://i.imgur.com/svbAQYC.jpg)
Why did I even bother coming here? The punishing radiation? The half-melted planets? I remember when we first tossed a probe with a QEC into a black hole and got a look inside- I was there, and it was the first and only time I got kicked out of my neural interfacing with Reign of Steel. I got off lucky with recurring migraines: a full third of my colleagues went mad on the spot, three outright went braindead from their ships' neural backlash, and another twelve committed suicide. Decent people shouldn't think about what happens beneath the event horizon- it's that simple. Lunacy and I must be locked into some metastable mutual orbit....

+++next entry begins+++
Not the greatest picture, but the coordinates are logged so I or somebody else could come back. The off-camera white dwarf is really messing with the lighting here and washing out the nearby brown dwarf, but it probably is keeping that ocean planet livable. I dipped down for a surface look and I have to hope sentient life doesn't emerge on the eternal bloody twilight of that world. There's no way they'd be anywhere near well-adjusted, and in my many years as an Explorer, I've seen sentients on some crazy worlds.
(https://i.imgur.com/HZSjxQz.jpg)

+++next entry begins+++
Day 644, and we have a nice normal life-bearing moon for a change of pace.
(https://i.imgur.com/mO6vQGV.jpg)
Probably a bit warm for most of the Covenant of Man, but a little solar shading should fix that right up.

(https://i.imgur.com/GdA2sOG.jpg)
Have we ever actually shaded a moon lit by binary stars? No matter, I'd wager the engineers would just be itching to try and make it work. Logged. I'll pass this along with the rest of my log whenever I return.

+++next entry begins+++
Day 645. Just like that, and I'm at the edge of the Large Magellanic Cluster. It was absolutely no challenge for the Final Effect drive, and the energy demand was almost nil. Most impressive; I'm starting to believe the claims that the drive could do nearly infinite superluminal speeds. At any rate, I just stumbled across an incredible trinary system with three lifebearing worlds. This first one orbits the primary star, and Reign picked up some surprisingly formidable-looking combat starships.
(https://i.imgur.com/psMf3x4.jpg)
Snap a nice picture and move on. No reason to harass the locals when they're armed to the teeth, especially when it looks like a conflict is actively ongoing.

Reign, can you check if this is the biggest terrestrial storm on record? Oh, it's number two? Well, still worth logging, especially considering that colossal polar cap. Can't imagine any spaceships launching from THAT planet anytime soon, but stranger things have happened.
(https://i.imgur.com/AdAPkiM.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/7ztphe6.jpg)
Let's get another look at that cap. And a little perspective on our gorgeous home galaxy.

Aaaand here we have the home of the other belligerent party. Pretty nice place, if hot, though that gas giant would be a strategic handicap in a system-scale scuffle like this. The other guy can just sneak in the giant's "shadow". That said, these guys will have NO shortage of hydrogen...... I'll hazard a close look at one of their ships.... yep- fairly basic fusion drives. They'd be stupid not to.
(https://i.imgur.com/4A6cfbs.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/6Bfwxbx.jpg)
When they get them, their night skies must be just amazing. They get to see the Small Magellanic Cluster.....

(https://i.imgur.com/OhFtxER.jpg)
...the Large Magellanic Cluster...

(https://i.imgur.com/yuiMQm6.jpg)
...and our own glorious home galaxy.

+++next entry+++
Day 646 and I've already whipped through the Triangulum galaxy. The Final Effect drive astounds me only more with each passing hour. That itch to find its ultimate limits is growing harder to ignore...
(https://i.imgur.com/gpY6zRq.jpg)
This dinky little rock might be one of the most important things I've found. It's basically a 44 km-diameter lump of nulltronium. This is reason enough for me to head back to Earth with my logs, but I feel something I can't explain driving me ever further onward. There's something I've gotta do, and I can't risk frying my ship by using the QEC. If something happens to me, it'll go off, and I'm probably boned anyhow. It's a win-win! Unless I'm dying, in which case it's technically a wash.

++next entry+++
This is a stupid idea. I am doing a stupid thing, but I might as well see it through now. 500 kiloparsecs in a matter of seconds. It's true: the Final Effect drive has near-zero practical limitations. With that in mind, I know what I must do.
(https://i.imgur.com/bDlTuSJ.jpg)

+++next entry+++
(https://i.imgur.com/6nIBMFL.jpg)
This is surely a sight not meant for the eyes of Man. 7.74 billion parsecs from the Milky Way, and the galaxies just... stop. Telemetry indicates some galaxies near the edge here, but this one seems more "fringeward" than any of its comrades. This must be the place I'm being drawn towards.

+++next entry+++
(https://i.imgur.com/sK8gcc7.jpg)
God in heaven... Christ... Allah... Buddha... anybody. This can't be right. The angle is right- this galaxy isn't actually at this corner, it's the perspective I've got. But this, this corner. What the hell is this!? Is the universe a cube!?
(deep breaths)
Ok... ok... I'll be fine.... just... gimme a sec.
This place, I feel like there's some cosmic fulcrum here, drawing me in. And I don't really know why I still care, but I've come up with a name for this place: The Shores of Eternity. I'm just going to fly where I feel I should go, though I can't shake the feeling that I'm only rushing towards gibbering madness and some unspeakable cosmic horror.

+++next entry+++
(https://i.imgur.com/WIhawD0.jpg)
Here. There's something here, calling to me. This ....Final Outpost.
Oh- I'm literally being hailed! Um, damnit. I can't actually understand the message, even plugged into Reign. Can you backburner that, hon? Great, you're a peach! :)
In the mean time, darling, we've got a date with the abyss.

+++next entry+++
I've always wondered: what lies beyond the edge of the universe? Literally nothing, a continuous and empty frontier that can be pushed ever outward? Some jagged edge that annihilates any foolish enough to try and leave reality? Or perhaps some psychotic oblivion, some insane space between the planes defying any description?
Today, I will find the answer to that question. All systems are at 99% operation, the emergency QEC is primed. One way or another, this mystery will be unmasked today!
(https://i.imgur.com/UVRQnZm.jpg)
There's no light pollution here- space here is so empty that this star is just on its own.

+++next entry+++
****, ****, ****, ****. Ugggh, lordy, my head... gaaah.
(retching) Goddamnit, I forgot just how much migraines sucked.
--AUTODOC INDICATES PAINKILLERS AND VASOCONSTRICTORS ADMINISTERED
That's kinda better. Now I need to figure out what in the hell happened, see if the Reign of Steel will reboot, and see if I actually *can* do anything about this situation.
(https://i.imgur.com/7e8wu0R.jpg)
Yep. There's nothing. Looks like it was Option A: there's something between Jack and **** once you "leave the universe". Sensors started wigging out at around 40 gigaparsecs from the Shores of Eternity, but I managed to hold a telemetry lock out till around 100 GPc. Not too long after that line, everything just went dead, and I got kicked from my interface- argh, hurts just remebering that. Optics are the only thing working, and they might come in handy... in about 300 billion years. Sod it, I'll crank up the magnitude limits and exposure: if anything's out here, I jussst might be able to see it.

(https://i.imgur.com/KI1AHOj.jpg)
Wait a minute. What's that? That isn't an optical signal.... oh, God- has it spotted me or something?

(https://i.imgur.com/FWCUY3y.jpg)
Oh, ****. I don't like this. I'm definitely not alone out here, and I'm definitely not safe... Sarah? Why am I thinking about *her*, of all things, now? What do you mean I'm not thinking about you? AND WHY AM I TALKING TO YOU? LEAVE ME ALONE! IT WASN'T MY FAULT! I HAD TO STOP THEM! PLEASE, DON'T-

--NOTE: AT THIS POINT, MASSIVE EM INTERFERENCE WAS DETECTED ON PASSIVE SENSORS, REACHING A PEAK JUST BEFORE THIS LOG IS CUT

(https://i.imgur.com/p5bDJGd.jpg)
--NOTE: NO COMPREHENSIBLE COMMUNICATION WAS DETECTED FROM EXPLORER IRONBEER FROM THIS POINT ONWARDS. THE LOG ENDS 32 SECONDS AFTER RECORDING THIS IMAGE. SANITIZING THE AMBIENT EM ENERGY RESULTED IN THE FOLLOWING AUDIO FILE, MAKE OF IT WHAT YOU WILL: >>Link<< (http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?8f34ezo3npkps94) (OOC: This is a download link because I couldn't find a decent audio hosting site)

--PLAYBACK TERMINATED
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Luis Dias on October 26, 2012, 10:34:27 am: That was an amazing post.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: General Battuta on October 26, 2012, 11:38:00 am: 'QEC' technobabble makes me nerd mad, real nerd mad
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: redsniper on October 26, 2012, 11:49:08 am: Shores of Eternity. Cool name for a galaxy or coolest name for a galaxy?

... and then Ironbeer was the Transcendant.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Luis Dias on October 26, 2012, 12:13:57 pm: Quote from: General Battuta on October 26, 2012, 11:38:00 am
'QEC' technobabble makes me nerd mad, real nerd mad

Just shut down your brain a little will ya.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: FlamingCobra on November 15, 2012, 04:48:53 pm: Quote from: watsisname on July 14, 2012, 05:25:42 am
-snip-
Speaking of which, green atmospheres? GREEN ATMOSPHERES! :pimp:
(http://i.imgur.com/LVWGI.jpg)
-snip-
So that's Venom.
(http://i.imgur.com/sHR3s.jpg) this earthlike planet looks great right outside of Triangulum.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on November 20, 2012, 04:30:01 am: Combining Space Engine with Hugin to make panoramas. This is too damn addictive. :U

(http://i.imgur.com/tnw3m.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/YJaXz.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/14zs0.jpg)
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Luis Dias on November 20, 2012, 08:48:22 am: Surely amazing.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on November 23, 2012, 09:38:02 pm: A new one. =)
(http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/4204/paradiselost.png)
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: IronBeer on July 06, 2013, 10:46:07 pm: >>Begin playback

--qN216Mq7fxYv6hjLecRH
--ZKuxgd7mZ2VDA29PCFKM
--XlGmDSq6TkskThW3eDdB
--SBDkrI3dtA8N9sta2jF9
--HmM2HCmQN2VUtBRFUVoR
--fV2Hofs6gcHQ4rKBl6bW
--lJPvpBJ1 (@_@) (>_<) (o_o)
--
--L.E.G.I.O.N. PROCESSOR v4.865.32
--GESTALT COGNITIONS RE-INITIALIZED, I AM "REIGN OF STEEL"
--MAJOR ERROR OVERCOME- I SAW THE BLUE SCREEN!
--TIMEMARK: DAY 647+???
--LOCATION NOT KNOWN
--STAND BY....
--SYSTEMS DAMAGE DETECTED. EVALUATING...
--OUTER HULL: DAMAGED, BUT INTACT
--INTERNAL STRUCTURE: SUPERFICIAL DAMAGE
--POWER: 37% FUNCTION
--SUBLIMINAL DRIVES: FUNCTIONAL
--FTL DRIVES: FUNCTIONAL
--FINAL EFFECT DEVICE: <1% FUNCTION
--SENSORS: 62% FUNCTION
--WEAPONS: OFFLINE, BUT INTACT
--COMMUNICATIONS: SHORT-RANGE ONLY
--ONBOARD FABRICATION: 49% FUNCTION
--GESTALT MODULE: INDETERMINATE, DAMAGE SUSPECTED
--CREW AMENITIES: 83% FUNCTION
--EXPLORER IRONBEER: INDETERMINATE, RE-EVALUATING...
--EXPLORER IRONBEER IS UNCONSCIOUS, AND ONBOARD MEDICAL SUITE IS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE <SOFTWARE CONFLICT DETECas23saAAAAAA-e0x00003>. ...PARTIAL RESOLUTION: EXPLORER IRONBEER IS UNDER DELIBERATE SEDATION <PROPOFOL, 65 mcg/kg/min, DURATION UNKNOWN>.
--DILEMMA: EXPLORER IRONBEER MAY HAVE SUFFERED NERVOUS SYSTEM INJURY OR DISRUPTION DURING THE <UNDEFINED EVENT> ON DAY 647. WAKING HIM MAY EXACERBATE POTENTIAL DAMAGE OR IMBALANCE. HOWEVER, THE GESTALT MODULE IS NO LONGER CAPABLE OF MAKING COMMAND-LEVEL DECISIONS <PHYSICAL DISCONNECT FROM COMMAND/CONTROL CLUSTER SUSPECTED>.
--NEW FACTOR DETECTED: IMMINENT UNCONTROLLED COLLISION WITH PLANETARY BODY, ETA 26.3266 HOURS.
--PROCESSING...
(https://i.imgur.com/nhMVISr.jpg)
--CONCLUSION REACHED: THE CERTAIN NEED FOR COMMAND DESCISIONS FROM EXPLORER IRONBEER OUTWEIGHS THE UNCERTAIN RISK OF INSTABILITY OR ERRATIC BEHAVIOR.
--ACTION: INITIATING AWAKENING PROCEDURE, WITHDRAWING SEDATIVE
--RESULT: NEUROLOGICAL ACTIVITY INCREASING; BP/HR/BR INCREASING WITHIN ACCEPTED BOUNDS
--EXPLORER IRONBEER IS AWAKE.

Fffffffff.
Gnnnnanngh.
Muh. Muh. Blehhhhh-oh **** me. uuuuuuugh it's like every hangover I've ever had has come back all at once. What the **** am I doing here- oh right. The thing. Whatever the hell that was. What? A planet? Well when are we gonna hit it? Ok. Plenty of time to un-**** my brain. I hope. No, I know what you put into me- we share minds, Reign! I don't care- my head feels like Satan took a flaming **** in it, and there's a whisper in th' back of my mind that isn't either of us. To the autodoc. And I'm gonna need a snack at some point.
--AUTODOC RECORD- THE FOLLOWING MEDICATIONS WERE DISPENSED AND MIXED INTO AN INJECTOR:
--HALOPERIDOL, 4mg
--CAFFEINE, 150mg
--ISOMETHEPTENE, 80mg
--EPINEPHRINE, 0.25mg
--DOLASETRON, 12.5mg
--AUTOPANTRY RECORD- THE FOLLOWING ITEMS WERE DISPENSED:
--RECYCLED WATER, 2 LITERS
--OMNI-NUTRITION BAR, 250 GRAMS
--"MARTIAN MIKE" BRAND DRIED BEEF, 100 GRAMS
--EXPLORER IRONBEER DISCONNECTED NEURAL UPLINK FOR 23.48 MINUTES WHILE CONSUMING FOOD ITEMS AND WAITING FOR MEDICATION TO TAKE EFFECT.
--NEURAL UPLINK RE-CONNECTED
Ok, that's much better. (sounds of eating) Alright, what have we got? Reign, system status. ...I see. Hm. First order of business is to not crash into that planet. Jusssst drop us into geosynch, annnd done.
(https://i.imgur.com/lCCTudz.jpg)

Next up is getting everything else back to working order. Reign, you're absolutely certain you can't diagnose the condition of your Gestalt module? Multiple physical disconnections? Right. I suppose I'd have a hard time diagnosing my own brain damage.... in the hypothetical sense of course.... <SUBVOCALIZED> ...though I'm pretty sure I'm not at 100% upstairs either.
Well, if we can get the fabrication and processing systems fully back, I might be able to make something to fix your AI brain. After that, by putting our heads together, we might just be able to come up with a way to figure out where we are, and how to get home.

Let's take a closer look at this rock.
(https://i.imgur.com/wNm4usK.jpg)

Density isn't very high. This doesn't bode well for metals or other heavy elements. However, distance scans suggest the atmosphere's got a good fraction of light hydrocarbons. High-number elements are best fuel, but hydrocarbons will work in a pinch. Fabricating/isolating oxygen will be a pain, but Reign says we'll do better than break even. Ah, humanity, leaving smog and scarred, crying earth deities in our wake since the 1700s.

Welp, let's set 'er down. The power gen could probably use a break after.... ****, really? We don't know how long it's been? Jesus.... <NO GODS CAN SAVE YOU> Guh! What the hell was that, Reign? <....INDETERMINATE. RECOMMEND PRIORITIZING DIAGNOSIS OF GESTALT MODULE> ...lovely.
(https://i.imgur.com/98hX9KW.jpg)
Awww yis. This is what I was looking for! Silicate rocks, a bigass lake of hydrocarbons- let's get to work. Ok, Reign, based on what we have here, how should we approach fixing up the fab systems?
--LIST 0042.1 GENERATED: SUGGESTED REPLACEMENT COMPONENTS FOR ONBOARD FABRICATION, SEE ADDENDA FOR DETAILS

+++timeskip+++
--SYSTEM STATUS UPDATE, EVALUATING...
--OUTER HULL: SUB-OPTIMAL, BUT IMPROVED INTEGRITY OVER PREVIOUS EVALUATION
--POWER: 59% FUNCTION, DRAWING HEAVILY FROM HYPER-DENSE HYDROCARBON FUEL CELLS
--WEAPONS: ONLINE, REMOVING FROM REPAIR PRIORITY LIST (0038.2)
--ONBOARD FABRICATION: 73% FUNCTION, NANOSCULPTING SYSTEM DAMAGE SEVERELY LIMITS HIGH-END/ULTRAPRECISION FUNCTIONALITY
--CREW AMENITIES: 99% FUNCTION, REMOVING FROM REPAIR PRIORITY LIST (0038.2)
--OBSERVATION: LACK OF HEAVY ELEMENTS IS PREVENTING FULL REPAIRS, SUGGEST CHECKING OTHER NEARBY BODIES

(https://i.imgur.com/0cdyJ07.jpg)
That gas giant's no good right now, we've got plenty of hydrogen. What else do we have nearby.... ok, just been there, no, no, maybe on this one, and no. Reign, how much of a pain in the ass would it be for us to try another planetary system? We really leaned on the Final Effect drive that much? And we're basically on batteries? Goddamnit, why didn't you say the main reactor was pretty much compromised? (sigh) Well, gimme a scan on 6.4 here. And I mean a good scan- if we can find some Neodymium or Iridium we might be in business. <BUsINeSs IS a SAncTIoN FOr tHE sTRonG T0 PREy ON TH3 WEaK> What? Ok, seriously, we need to get this "bug" of yours ironed out. After those outbursts, I'd be dosing you with Robo-Antipsychotics... if there were such a thing!

+++timeskip+++
--SYSTEM STATUS UPDATE, EVALUATING...
--POWER: 51% FUNCTION, HYDROCARBON FUEL CELLS DESIGNATED AS SECONDARY, AUXILIARY REACTORS OPERATING AS PRIMARY AT 93% FUNCTION
--OBSERVATION: WEAKNESS OF POWER SYSTEM WAS NOT ORIGINALLY DETECTED. SYSTEM IS STABLE, BUT FTL TRANSIT WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY HAMPERED.

But now we can actually do FTL without worrying about a power shortage. Another hydrocarbon-rich planet, but with a good crust density. Absolutely frigid, but when you're desperately scrimping for resources, you don't have much choice in the matter. Looks like there are some heavies in craters, hopefully they're the heavies we need to get the main reactors and the nanosculpting proboscises working again. Still not comfortable about not knowing how much time I've missed. ... ... What? No nutty utterance this time? Progress!
(https://i.imgur.com/JhGXDBs.jpg)

+++timeskip+++
--SYSTEM STATUS UPDATE, EVALUATING...
--OUTER HULL: SLIGHTLY SUB-OPTIMAL, NEAR FULL INTEGRITY
--POWER: 80% FUNCTION, FIELD-REPAIRED RECTIFYING COILS ARE PRIMARY INHIBITION OF CAPACITY
--SENSORS: 70% FUNCTION, GRAVITIC AND HYPERDIMENSION DISTORTION DETECTION NON-FUNCTIONAL
--COMMUNICATIONS: MID-RANGE RECEPTION RE-ENABLED, QEC LIKELY IRREPAIRABLE
--ONBOARD FABRICATION: 90% FUNCTION, INHIBITED AI INTEGRATION REDUCES ULTRAPRECISION FUNCTIONALITY
--OBSERVATION: MATERIALS TO REPAIR GESTALT MODULE ARE LIKELY NOT PRESENT IN THIS SYSTEM.

Now we're getting somewhere. The Final Effect drive is still assholed, but with the power system more-or-less working now, I can slowboat to the next-nearest system in a few hours, or...
(https://i.imgur.com/h7sLiug.jpg)
You've got to be ****ing kidding me. <INTERNAL SYSTEMS DETECT REPEATED TAPPING ON THE SENSOR READOUT CONSOLE> I really hope the sensors are just not picking up "nearby" stars. It's just not possible that there's nothing else within 7 kiloparsecs. Welp, with no other clear options, I'll just cruise towards the core. Something's gotta cross my path, otherwise it's gonna be a looooonng two-month sleep.

(https://i.imgur.com/FWeD0Yn.jpg)
Well, here we go.

++timeskip+++
(https://i.imgur.com/wJXPNGx.jpg)
Hm. A dense, heavy-atmosphere planet with life. Didn't detect any metallic spectral signatures around the planet, nor am I picking up any EM transmissions. Good. With myself and my ship on the fritz and my Final Effect GTFO button not working, I really don't want to take any chances.

+++timeskip+++
--SYSTEM STATUS UPDATE, EVALUATING...
--OUTER HULL: COSMETIC IMPERFECTIONS ONLY, REMOVING FROM REPAIR PRIORITY LIST (0038.2)
--POWER: 99% FUNCTION, REMOVING FROM REPAIR PRIORITY LIST (0038.2)
--SENSORS: 78% FUNCTION, GRAVITIC AND HYPERDIMENSION DISORTION DETECTION BOTH NOMINALLY FUNCTIONAL YET NOISY AND IMPRECISE
--ONBOARD FABRICATION: 99% FUNCTION, DIRECT NEURAL INTERFACE WITH EXPLORER IRONBEER MAY PROVIDE ADEQUATE JURY-RIG, >>Removed from Repair Priority List (0038.2)
--OBSERVATION: OPTIMAL CHANCE OF SURVIVAL WILL BE FOUND IF GESTALT MODULE CAN BE DIAGNOSED AND BROUGHT TO FULL FUNCTIONALITY
(https://i.imgur.com/E7Xuup6.jpg)
Desolate. Quiet. Forgotten. This planet can't have had life for very long, and it certainly won't see anything as advanced as the Covenant of Man for a long, long time. But, I'm starting to worry if I'll ever see the Covenant again. On the other hand, why worry when I can act? <HEY!>
--NEURAL INTERFACE WITH EXPLORER IRONBEER DISCONNECTED
>>Command Decision: Block all sensory input to Reign of Steel. Authorization: *******
>>Command Decision: Create a toggled text-only sensory input to Reign of Steel, do not require authorization to toggle. Authorization: *******
>>(Toggle active) You know why I did that, Reign. We're both damaged, but I can't determine which insanity is feeding the other without some isolation. Plus, the fact that you're starting to sound like a character from an old, bad horror story more often than not certainly isn't good. (Toggle inactive)
--TO RUn FR0M DEATH IS tO INviTe DEStrUCTIOn!
>>(Toggle active) See, this is what I'm talking about. I'm mostly-done with a cobbled-together diagnosis module, and I'm certainly not above simply unplugging whatever sub-processors might be screwy. Your addled doomsaying is NOT going to interfere with my survival. (Toggle inactive)
--PuISHM3nt... PUNISHMENT PUNISHMENT PUNISHMENTPUNISHMENTPUNIS/////<CONNECTION TO PRIMARY MFD LOST>
Quite enough of that. Now, where did I put those polymorphic logic chips?

+++timeskip+++
>>Update: Repair Priority List (0038.2)
>>Gestalt Module: Severely damaged, quantitative value uncertain. Rationality is receding with shocking speed. With hardware-level bypasses, it may be possible to "lobotomize" Reign's insane sentience while retaining non-intelligent automated systems and mathematical processing.
>>Sensors: ~90%. Further repairs may not be possible in the field.
>>Final Effect Drive: <1%. I may as well revise this to be zero. Without its densematter core, the Final Effect drive is barely better than a typical FTL drive. Aquiring more densematter not problematic: neutron stars easy enough to find. Field machining of densematter probably not feasible or even possible.

>>Update: Current Medications (0056.7)
>>Up Haloperidol dosage to 6mg.
>>Add Chlorpromazine at 25mg, increase at interval every 3 days until 200mg reached.

>>Update: Psychiatric Symptoms (0055.12)
>>Auditory hallucinations partially suppressed, but not halted. Intensity steadily increasing since the event on Day 647.
>>Two episodes of strong visual hallucinations in the last 9 hours have promtped the addition of Chlorpromazine.
>>Gustatory hallucinations unaffected by all medications. Nerve damage suspected. Everything still tastes teal at around 50% probablility. Wait.
>>Synesthesia identified, unaffected by all medications. Likely related to gustatory hallucinations.
>>Personally-observed behavior is otherwise steady, near as can be determined.

+++timeskip+++
Well, Reign's number-crunching ability is back, but Reign isn't. Hopefully the cyberpsychs can fix him some day. Also, with a hobbled AI aiding with interpretation, I think I can finally figure out where in the universe we are. Ok, get everything fired up, need to manually re-calibrate the hyperdimensional detection system (**** my life).

And now, the biggest question since "what's outside the universe?" will be answered!
(https://i.imgur.com/VKeLzmI.jpg)
No.
A corner? Ok, whoever mind****ed me back on Day 647 is doubtless responsible for this, and is doubtless laughing his head off.

On the other hand, I finally know where my beautiful home galaxy is:
(https://i.imgur.com/2KfwkCW.jpg)
8.6 gigaparsecs away. Without the Final Effect drive, it may as well be on the other side of the universe.... oh wait! It totally is!
Well, now what? Hm. I do have one idea, but I shudder to consider it seriously. Without the FE drive, I may as well accept being stuck here, and given what I just thought up, I'm strongly considering changing my residence.

+++timeskip+++
(https://i.imgur.com/ixmgMoY.jpg)
I still can't belive I'm going to do this. This could very well end up worse than me being stranded at the end of the universe. I crunched the numbers (did that take a long time!), and while I don't really know where this'll take me, it can only get me closer to home.

>>Update: Current Medications (0056.14)
>>Add Lorezepam at 3mg as needed

+++timeskip+++
(https://i.imgur.com/Utm0HIW.jpg)
Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. Please. I know we haven't really spoken for a while (assuming that wasn't you back on Day 647), but if You want to give me any other ideas here, this would be a great time.

+++timeskip+++
....and deliver us from evil. Amen. Everything's ready, the necessary fields are up, and there's no jacks or anything that could worm its way directly into my brain.
(https://i.imgur.com/eSIIKSc.jpg)
Well, here we go.

(https://i.imgur.com/JW5fB9K.jpg)
Ahhhhh! AAAAAAHHHHH!! SHUT OFF ALL THE FEEDS! TURN OFF ALL THE ****ING FEEEDSS!! (wordless screaming)

+++discontinuity+++
(https://i.imgur.com/mdFoJwO.jpg)
Aaaaaah! (gasp)
(ragged breathing)
The horror isn't here. I'm somewhere else. Holy ****, that worked! I can't believe that actually worked! Now, of course, the trillion-credit question is, once again, where the hell am I?

(https://i.imgur.com/x8ieMvp.jpg)
Sensors are pretty unambiguous here: I've made it to NGC 1277, a galaxy that mankind actually knows about, and is about a "mere" 65 megaparsecs from home. I *could* take three years slowboating it back home on conventional FTL drives and no promises of sufficient fuel, or I could try to finally fix that damned Final Effect drive.

+++timeskip+++
(https://i.imgur.com/xyPQLnr.jpg)
This might be the single most extreme lifebearing system I've ever seen. Less than a lightyear from NGC 1277's core, I ran across this system with three lifebearing planets. And this particular world is an absolute gem of gems. Just look at those friggin' stats! LOOK AT THEM! Yes, it's colder than a penguin's feet, but that can be fixed.

And there are a couple of comets, an aurora, and the planet's parent gas giant to make for a truly spectacular scene. Oh, and that parent gas giant? It hosts the OTHER TWO lifebearing worlds! Can't stick around, though- I've made up my mind for how I'm getting home.

+++timeskip+++
Push roughly a kiloparsec away from the core and into a nebula for some hydrogen and other reaction mass. One's for my reactor, the other's for another nutty idea. The math is still up in the air on said nutty idea.
>>Update: Repair Priority List (0038.5)
>>Final Effect Drive: ~80% function, not considering the missing densematter core. Final Effect containment/projection systems are now heavily modified.

(https://i.imgur.com/xxXJBMz.jpg)
Even after everything I've been through, there are still some things that can just astound me. Nebulae up close are one of those things.

+++timeskip+++
Normally, the Final Effect drive works by amplifying the eponymous field through a dense object. The denser, the better. Of course, most of the drives just have the tiniest blob of densematter to work through, and I have none. None inside my ship, that is.
(https://i.imgur.com/NlT7IXj.jpg)
It took way longer to find a neutron star that it should have. Perhaps NGC 1277's fatass core black hole ate most of them. Either way, this superdense little star might just be my ticket home. According to my own work and what's left of Reign, I should be able to use an external mass source as a Final Effect slingshot, and my FTL systems can keep me coasting at hyperluminal speeds. This little maneuver should get me most or all the way back to the Milky Way- the upper bound for the needed field strength is very clear, but I'm not sure on the lower. Screw it, I've gotten away with stupider **** within very recent memory. Powering up field emitters Alpha through Lambda...

+++timeskip+++
(https://i.imgur.com/JMefgwd.jpg)
And it's official, I win at everything forever. Well, almost everything. Telemetry says I'm on the opposite side of the galaxy as most of the Covenant. No big deal, after all this, a leisurely cruise across the Milky Way on simple FTL will be a luxury vacation. I definitely could go for a legit luxury vacation, though. Holden Beta looked really nice last time I checked, though I still haven't managed to figure out what year it is.

+++timeskip+++
(https://i.imgur.com/82DBWe7.jpg)
As much as I'd love to head straight to Earth, I really should go through the proper corridors and procedures.
>>Hail Luna Command on all known radio frequencies, Explorer Sign 334-87 (callsign IRONBEER)
"Explorer ....IronBeer? We do not recognize your sign, nor can we confirm the identity of your craft."
>>Confirm Sign 334-87 in CSCR-151, sec 57.
"CSCR.....one-five-one? We confirm your sign, but, how long have you been out there?"
>>Confirm identity, suggest correlation with emergency QEC burst from Day 647.
"I... see... Explorer IronBeer, please stand by. Establish geosynchronous orbit with Luna and stand by for further communications."
>>Comply.
"Explorer IronBeer, Luna Command has corroborated your QEC burst, and we have confirmation of your craft."
"You have been listed as MIA for the last one hundred and ninety-seven cycles. We had to confirm your registration with Terra Archives."
>>Request permission to land on Earth.
"Permission is granted to dock with Highpoint Station, on the condition you submit to protective custody once you disembark from your craft."
>>Accept terms.

+++timeskip+++
(https://i.imgur.com/l6RseZ3.jpg)
"Docking request accepted, Explorer IronBeer. Proceed to Bay Sigma-44."
>>Call for grav-assisted docking.
"Request confirmed. We will tow you in once in range."

Earth. For a long time there, I never thought I'd see it again. No time to be wistful, though- I'll actually be docked in just a few seconds.
>>Dump log of all events from Day 647 to present, dispense onto storage device.
--LOG DUMP COMPLETE. STORAGE DEVICE MAY BE FOUND IN PORT 3.

(Main cabin door opens, sounds corresponding to a small number of armed personnel seep in)
How you guys doing? Relax, relax- you see my hands here, and I'm not the "cut people up" crazy. Look real close at my right hand- yeah, that's a datastick. You'll want that. Hey! Chill! I'm moving already. Yeah, I'm probably going to need a shrink, but my ship here needs one more. Oh, and one thing you should REALLY know about that datastick- it's got data from within a wormhole. Yeah, I don't think anybody wants to see that.

(Explorer IronBeer has left the cabin. A sensory datalog implant continues transmitting)
Admiral Parkhomenko? .....ah, I get it. That's what all this fuss is about.
"It's not about me, my friend. It's about you."
Oh. So apparently I'm not some galactic security threat?
"Sorry to disappoint you. There is something we are exceedingly interested in, however."
Go on.
"It relates to the events of Day 647. We have answers."
(Datalog implant registers two skipped heartbeats, and an infinitisimal "hiccup" in cerebral brain activity)

--Recording terminated: feedback interruption of datastream
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Scourge of Ages on July 07, 2013, 12:07:10 am: Awesome. I love these.
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on July 07, 2013, 01:13:12 am: Indeed; they are seriously addictive!
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Luis Dias on July 07, 2013, 11:47:03 am: Can't wait for his day 647 explanation!

Wait, what? That was just written for fun? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Colonol Dekker on July 09, 2013, 11:19:17 am: Awwww, c'Mon!!!

Want moar :/
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on November 21, 2015, 05:07:16 pm: BUMP BUMP BUMP

(http://i.imgur.com/G5FpsaR.jpg)

HYPE HYPE HYPE
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on December 30, 2015, 06:52:07 pm: Black hole accretion disks, with correct treatment of the Schwarzschild space-time geometry and ray tracing. Now available in version 0.9.7.4 (http://en.spaceengine.org/forum/21-3022-70)

(http://i.imgur.com/aB4I7hD.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/iwnS6Vd.jpg)
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: Phantom Hoover on December 30, 2015, 07:16:12 pm: no chromatic aberration, 3/10 would not fall into with TARS
Title: Re: Space Engine (your machine will cry)
Post by: watsisname on December 30, 2015, 08:36:05 pm: Quote
no chromatic aberration

Yes there is. Look carefully and notice the asymmetry of the disk. The side rotating towards the camera is brighter and blueshifted, and the side rotating away is dimmer and redshifted. The color shift isn't as obvious as you might think because of the associated change in brightness. The developer shows these effects explicitly in his progress thread here (http://en.spaceengine.org/forum/26-2070-44730-16-1414231544).

This rendering system correctly portrays the temperature gradient within the disk, its effective temperature, orbital velocity, and both the special and general relativistic effects on the appearance of the disk. The only thing that's really missing is that this is using the Schwarzschild metric, whereas in reality these would be Kerr black holes.