Suggestions! (new)
Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 4:14 pm
The old suggestions thread was amazing -- but grew a bit big and hard to read. So here's a concise(ish) list of people's ideas for the new simulator:
Completed:
-Merging planets
-Radius of planets dependent on mass
-Moving stars
-Change planet color
-Define mass by typing it in
-Center the screen on a planet and track it (even if it is accelerating).
-As on option when tracking - other planets get orbits plotted relative to the planet, making for some sweet orbit shapes! (Beans and such)
-Change G
-Slow down or speed up time
-Grid zooms smoother
-Grid scale actually represents something
-Circular orbit shortcut for CW and CCW
-Tool tips (aka words that pop up when you hover over icons that tell you what they do)
-Wide range of force laws
-Change velocity/mass/location of existing planets (or groups of them)
-Expand a planet's menu - allow changing variables on the fly, boosting speed, and numbers about the planet such as speed, distance traveled, energy, age, etc.
-Crosshairs toggle-able
-Link to Change-Log
-Full Screen mode (Full Version)
-Trail properties (length, color, velocity sensitive saturation)
-Draw in force arrows (toggle-able)
-'Fixed stars' that move... aka bodies that move yet don't feel the pull of other objects
-Different planet densities (i.e. gas giants vs. rocky planets)
-Snap-on-grid option, maybe allow different grid spacing
-Dust (lots o’ particles)
Going to include:
(god-like powers)
-More collision modes: merge, ignore, fracture, bounce...
(visual)
-Draw in gravitational potentials (and maybe Hill circles)
-Showcase Lagrange points
(physics)
-General Relativity - (only in so far as there’ll be a Black Hole object that behaves like the real deal)
-Increase the accuracy in fast-forward mode whenever possible, and a toggle-able option to prevent exceeding the uppermost accurate timestep
(user interface)
-Rotating frame of reference
-Undo button for deleted objects
-More color selection
(general)
-Safeguard against system overloads (and the blue screen of death that random got)
-A way to save and load easily in-game (without having to save codes all the time)
(learning)
-Gravity guide with some lessons and tidbits about the physics
Still pondering:
-Curated gallery of neat stuff
-Planetary rotation
-Tides and tidal locking
-View the world from the surface of a planet, as their astronomers would
-Different tabs you can switch between
-Better prediction lines that take into account future motion
Unsure if feasible/in scope:
-Delete orbital path when object is deleted
-Life
-Fly a rocket around
If you have new ideas, or modification/clarifications to these existing ideas, this is a great place to post them. I'll keep this first post updated as new ideas come in, and as old ideas get integrated into the simulator.
Edit: 5/1 -- Version 0.28.01 out, orbit lengths, fling fixed stars, and more
Edit: 5/14 -- Version 0.29.01 out, added dust!
Completed:
-Merging planets
-Radius of planets dependent on mass
-Moving stars
-Change planet color
-Define mass by typing it in
-Center the screen on a planet and track it (even if it is accelerating).
-As on option when tracking - other planets get orbits plotted relative to the planet, making for some sweet orbit shapes! (Beans and such)
-Change G
-Slow down or speed up time
-Grid zooms smoother
-Grid scale actually represents something
-Circular orbit shortcut for CW and CCW
-Tool tips (aka words that pop up when you hover over icons that tell you what they do)
-Wide range of force laws
-Change velocity/mass/location of existing planets (or groups of them)
-Expand a planet's menu - allow changing variables on the fly, boosting speed, and numbers about the planet such as speed, distance traveled, energy, age, etc.
-Crosshairs toggle-able
-Link to Change-Log
-Full Screen mode (Full Version)
-Trail properties (length, color, velocity sensitive saturation)
-Draw in force arrows (toggle-able)
-'Fixed stars' that move... aka bodies that move yet don't feel the pull of other objects
-Different planet densities (i.e. gas giants vs. rocky planets)
-Snap-on-grid option, maybe allow different grid spacing
-Dust (lots o’ particles)
Going to include:
(god-like powers)
-More collision modes: merge, ignore, fracture, bounce...
(visual)
-Draw in gravitational potentials (and maybe Hill circles)
-Showcase Lagrange points
(physics)
-General Relativity - (only in so far as there’ll be a Black Hole object that behaves like the real deal)
-Increase the accuracy in fast-forward mode whenever possible, and a toggle-able option to prevent exceeding the uppermost accurate timestep
(user interface)
-Rotating frame of reference
-Undo button for deleted objects
-More color selection
(general)
-Safeguard against system overloads (and the blue screen of death that random got)
-A way to save and load easily in-game (without having to save codes all the time)
(learning)
-Gravity guide with some lessons and tidbits about the physics
Still pondering:
-Curated gallery of neat stuff
-Planetary rotation
-Tides and tidal locking
-View the world from the surface of a planet, as their astronomers would
-Different tabs you can switch between
-Better prediction lines that take into account future motion
Unsure if feasible/in scope:
-Delete orbital path when object is deleted
-Life
-Fly a rocket around
If you have new ideas, or modification/clarifications to these existing ideas, this is a great place to post them. I'll keep this first post updated as new ideas come in, and as old ideas get integrated into the simulator.
Edit: 5/1 -- Version 0.28.01 out, orbit lengths, fling fixed stars, and more
Edit: 5/14 -- Version 0.29.01 out, added dust!