Space in a New Light | Update 35 Preview

[bshapiroalbert]

Hey Everybody, there's a new preview of our next update, Space in a New Light, available!

Immerse yourself in a universe more awe-inspiring and realistic than ever before with our next-generation graphics in the biggest visual update to Universe Sandbox ever!

• The most realistic visuals Universe Sandbox has ever had.
  
• Hot objects will emit light based on their temperature.
  
• Objects will only glow in areas where they’re hot instead of the entire object glowing based on average temperature.
  
• A host of other improvements, not only to graphics but to our user interface, object multi-selection, and more!

Learn more about these new features:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/230290/view/4452466204163967359

See the full list of new features in this preview version:
https://universesandbox.com/whatsnew-preview

We’ve updated our minimum hardware requirements with this update to include

• 4 GB dedicated video memory (up from 2 GB). 8 GB will be recommended.
  
• Apple: macOS 11.0 or later, Silicon CPU (M1 or newer), meaning that Intel Mac will no longer be supported.
  
• Windows: Windows 10 21H1+, Direct X version 12

We’ll ensure all users affected by this change can always access the version of Universe Sandbox from before this minimum requirements update.

If you find any bugs or have any feedback or suggestions, please let us know in this thread, through our in-game feedback system, or on our Discord.

To opt into the Universe Sandbox Preview
1. Exit Universe Sandbox
2. Right-click on the game title in your Steam Library
3. Click on ‘Properties’
4. Select the ‘Betas’ tab
5. Set the dropdown menu to ‘!preview-version’
6. Close the Properties window
7. Steam will now update Universe Sandbox to the experimental build
8. Once updated, launch Universe Sandbox

[Internetuser (She/Her)]

Me heading to view settings and turning off space goggles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybaK3y_6YXg

[Internetuser (She/Her)]

Some feedback:

Love the new lighting! It really adds to the realism and makes impacts feel 1000 times more powerful
The new colors for data view maps look great and individualises each section
The new holograph effect when spawning planets looks really cool


Bugs:
Making a planet explode causes the particles to be really small in comparison to the planet, causing the planet to disappear right after the explosion. It also seems that exploding planets in general is pretty laggy on my machine (Windows 11, AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 6-Core, Nvidia RTX 4060).

The update seemed to reset my tool shortcuts (lasers, explode tool, planetscaping etc) to default though this is easily fixed.

[Internetuser (She/Her)]

Update on explosions:

I get an error popup after exploding a planet

"NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object

TrailSystem.LateUpdate () (at <ec9c87532f3e41d89f042e2d7eaba760>:0)
Systems.LateUpdate () (at <ec9c87532f3e41d89f042e2d7eaba760>:0)
SystemsController.LateUpdate () (at <ec9c87532f3e41d89f042e2d7eaba760>:0)"

[BUCKETTS]

Same but still Awesome preview

[Internetuser (She/Her)]

Would there be an option to manually change the exposure level similar to space engine?

[hekkenberg77]

this could be yk, revolunatry

[Internetuser (She/Her)]

Found a new bug, some sort of lighting error on the opposite side of planets

Glitch - Space goggles off
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3372645497

Glitch - Space goggles off - surface light on
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3372645555

Glitch - Space goggles on
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3372645640

[MrNegotiator]

Originally posted by Internetuser (She/Her):

Would there be an option to manually change the exposure level similar to space engine?

there is the option. View > (press the arrow) > exposure

[Internetuser (She/Her)]

Originally posted by MrNegotiator:

Originally posted by Internetuser (She/Her):

Would there be an option to manually change the exposure level similar to space engine?

there is the option. View > (press the arrow) > exposure

Thanks, that was exactly what I was looking for :D

[Kanarek]

I didn't know Sun is so bright. I heard about the necessary sight protection gear needed in space but seeing the brightness in a simulation is an enlightening experience... literally. :)

[gregory.knapp]

Originally posted by bshapiroalbert:

Hey Everybody, there's a new preview of our next update, Space in a New Light, available!

Immerse yourself in a universe more awe-inspiring and realistic than ever before with our next-generation graphics in the biggest visual update to Universe Sandbox ever!

• The most realistic visuals Universe Sandbox has ever had.
  
• Hot objects will emit light based on their temperature.
  
• Objects will only glow in areas where they’re hot instead of the entire object glowing based on average temperature.
  
• A host of other improvements, not only to graphics but to our user interface, object multi-selection, and more!

Learn more about these new features:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/230290/view/4452466204163967359

See the full list of new features in this preview version:
https://universesandbox.com/whatsnew-preview

We’ve updated our minimum hardware requirements with this update to include

• 4 GB dedicated video memory (up from 2 GB). 8 GB will be recommended.
  
• Apple: macOS 11.0 or later, Silicon CPU (M1 or newer), meaning that Intel Mac will no longer be supported.
  
• Windows: Windows 10 21H1+, Direct X version 12

We’ll ensure all users affected by this change can always access the version of Universe Sandbox from before this minimum requirements update.

If you find any bugs or have any feedback or suggestions, please let us know in this thread, through our in-game feedback system, or on our Discord.

To opt into the Universe Sandbox Preview
1. Exit Universe Sandbox
2. Right-click on the game title in your Steam Library
3. Click on ‘Properties’
4. Select the ‘Betas’ tab
5. Set the dropdown menu to ‘!preview-version’
6. Close the Properties window
7. Steam will now update Universe Sandbox to the experimental build
8. Once updated, launch Universe Sandbox

Thanks for the new information.

Does this mean that it won't be long before the update is in full release?

[Kanarek]

Originally posted by gregory.knapp:

Originally posted by bshapiroalbert:

Hey Everybody, there's a new preview of our next update, Space in a New Light, available!

Immerse yourself in a universe more awe-inspiring and realistic than ever before with our next-generation graphics in the biggest visual update to Universe Sandbox ever!

• The most realistic visuals Universe Sandbox has ever had.
  
• Hot objects will emit light based on their temperature.
  
• Objects will only glow in areas where they’re hot instead of the entire object glowing based on average temperature.
  
• A host of other improvements, not only to graphics but to our user interface, object multi-selection, and more!

Learn more about these new features:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/230290/view/4452466204163967359

See the full list of new features in this preview version:
https://universesandbox.com/whatsnew-preview

We’ve updated our minimum hardware requirements with this update to include

• 4 GB dedicated video memory (up from 2 GB). 8 GB will be recommended.
  
• Apple: macOS 11.0 or later, Silicon CPU (M1 or newer), meaning that Intel Mac will no longer be supported.
  
• Windows: Windows 10 21H1+, Direct X version 12

We’ll ensure all users affected by this change can always access the version of Universe Sandbox from before this minimum requirements update.

If you find any bugs or have any feedback or suggestions, please let us know in this thread, through our in-game feedback system, or on our Discord.

To opt into the Universe Sandbox Preview
1. Exit Universe Sandbox
2. Right-click on the game title in your Steam Library
3. Click on ‘Properties’
4. Select the ‘Betas’ tab
5. Set the dropdown menu to ‘!preview-version’
6. Close the Properties window
7. Steam will now update Universe Sandbox to the experimental build
8. Once updated, launch Universe Sandbox

Thanks for the new information.

Does this mean that it won't be long before the update is in full release?

I hope the update gets proper polish first (refinement/quality, I do not mean Polish translation), including in technical terms. It is a promising update.

[bshapiroalbert]

Originally posted by Internetuser (She/Her):

Update on explosions:

I get an error popup after exploding a planet

"NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object

TrailSystem.LateUpdate () (at <ec9c87532f3e41d89f042e2d7eaba760>:0)
Systems.LateUpdate () (at <ec9c87532f3e41d89f042e2d7eaba760>:0)
SystemsController.LateUpdate () (at <ec9c87532f3e41d89f042e2d7eaba760>:0)"

Thank you for the feedback and bug reports. We're aware of this nullref error and should have a fix for it later today.

We're also aware of the shadow issue that you reported. That one might take us a little longer to fix, but it's a high priority.

I'm sorry the tool shortcuts got reset. We'll look into trying to make sure those carry over for everybody in the full release. We're also making some changes to the way the hotbar (or shortcuts on the bottom bar) work so that's good to keep in mind.

Please continue to let us know if you find any other issues, and the screenshots are very helpful!

[bshapiroalbert]

Originally posted by gregory.knapp:

Thanks for the new information.

Does this mean that it won't be long before the update is in full release?

We still have a few known issues and a bit of polish we want to do before we release the full update. We also want to get lots of feedback from our community on things they like (or don't like) and bugs they find.

Depending on what gets reported, it may take a little longer to get the graphics update ready for a full release. We want to make sure it's in good shape and isn't full of bugs or other issues at full release. And we may run into other unforeseen challenges that make things take a little longer.

In the meantime, I'd recommend checking out the preview version. One of the reasons we released it for testing is because we know everybody has been waiting to try it out for a long time, and any and all feedback is appreciated.

[Kanarek]

I have encountered a serious crash (I've described it in the Support section of Steam discussions) and I have begun wondering if playing the game is safe to my computer. Can such crashes potentially damage my PC? I lack the knowledge to know this myself. I would like to test the update and provide meaningful feedback but not at the risk of my PC.