Just bought Space Engine - What are some of the first things I should do?

[Pugs]

Hey everyone, I just bought SpaceEngine...I have hundreds of hours in Elite Dangerous and when I heard about this game, I felt like I needed to try it. Question is, what are some of the first few things I should do? What would really make me appreciate this program for what it is?

Thanks and happy gaming :)

[Bluejay0013]

first thing first, i too have have hundreds of hours sinked into Elite( 890hrs ) and i have used this program alot over its development, and i can tell you it is nothing like Elite. This is more for the casual person that just wants to relax and look at the stars planets and stuff like that. There is no combat, trading and anything like that. just really exploration. most of it is procedually generated, besides a couple stars and nebulae in our milky way.

but what i recommend is trying to go find different nebulae in different galaxies, especially the super dark ones, go inside and its like being inside a giant storm cloud

[Hollow]

fly out far out of the galaxy far out into space :)

[sbobo3113]

Originally posted by Bluejay0013:

first thing first, i too have have hundreds of hours sinked into Elite( 890hrs ) and i have used this program alot over its development, and i can tell you it is nothing like Elite. This is more for the casual person that just wants to relax and look at the stars planets and stuff like that. There is no combat, trading and anything like that. just really exploration. most of it is procedually generated, besides a couple stars and nebulae in our milky way.

but what i recommend is trying to go find different nebulae in different galaxies, especially the super dark ones, go inside and its like being inside a giant storm cloud

Well to be accurate theres around 100.000 real stars from that catalogue and i believe theres atleast 10.000 real cataloged galaxies aswell. And then theres the exoplanets too. And besides that yes its TONS of procedural stuff too explore. Great program :)

[Bluejay0013]

Originally posted by sbobo3113:

Originally posted by Bluejay0013:

first thing first, i too have have hundreds of hours sinked into Elite( 890hrs ) and i have used this program alot over its development, and i can tell you it is nothing like Elite. This is more for the casual person that just wants to relax and look at the stars planets and stuff like that. There is no combat, trading and anything like that. just really exploration. most of it is procedually generated, besides a couple stars and nebulae in our milky way.

but what i recommend is trying to go find different nebulae in different galaxies, especially the super dark ones, go inside and its like being inside a giant storm cloud

Well to be accurate theres around 100.000 real stars from that catalogue and i believe theres atleast 10.000 real cataloged galaxies aswell. And then theres the exoplanets too. And besides that yes its TONS of procedural stuff too explore. Great program :)

yeah youre right, I did undersale quite a bit didnt I? lol

[Manbird]

Go exploring far away from the solar system and forget about those damn HD dlc packs. Leave the Galaxy and go find one just for yourself.

[NichtSchnell]

Put yourself on or near one of the major Jovian moons and experience entering Jupiter’s shadow or emerging from it.

If you find an eclipse on a planet with a sufficiently dense atmosphere, put yourself about 5-15 km off the surface and watch the shadow move through the sky towards you.

Get a feel for the size of Saturn’s rings. Place yourself on or next to Pan. Set your speed to something vaguely human-relatable like 25 or 50 km/s and then move backwards away from the moon. Note how much you have to increase your speed to see appreciable movement away from the rings.

Get a feel for how fast light speed is. Place yourself on solid ground on Earth’s surface. Point the camera straight down at the ground. Set your speed to 1.0 c. Enable orbits (suggestion). Move backwards away from Earth.

Get a feel for how much hotter or cooler some stars are compared to the Sun. When you find a planet with a temperature similar to Earth’s, look at the semi-major orbital axis and note how much larger or smaller it is than Earth’s (1.00 AU).

[Lagrange]

Go to youtube and check out some creator's videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5o16GhEzrw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn7hEfhR6hg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln3xlU9VkHg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbSLUmduh9E

and many more. I watch these videos when I'm on the move and its engaging and relaxing at the same time. Then you come back home, and do as you saw and then do stuff on your own.

If you're a physics sim guy, check out https://store.steampowered.com/app/230290/Universe_Sandbox/

[Cloud Breaker]

Originally posted by PUGS:

Hey everyone, I just bought SpaceEngine...I have hundreds of hours in Elite Dangerous and when I heard about this game, I felt like I needed to try it. Question is, what are some of the first few things I should do? What would really make me appreciate this program for what it is?

Thanks and happy gaming :)

Imagine the exploration in elite, and take out the grind and the game around it and refine it to the pure experience, you have space engine.

[Kendoka]

SE is the best planetarium in the universe

[Mille]

Originally posted by Feed Kill Chain:

Originally posted by PUGS:

Hey everyone, I just bought SpaceEngine...I have hundreds of hours in Elite Dangerous and when I heard about this game, I felt like I needed to try it. Question is, what are some of the first few things I should do? What would really make me appreciate this program for what it is?

Thanks and happy gaming :)

Imagine the exploration in elite, and take out the grind and the game around it and refine it to the pure experience, you have space engine.

How can not quote this :)
I'm one of the ones with hundreds of hours in ED that got bored by the stupid grind mechanics and limitations created by the game designer.
In SE you can customize your exploration (of course there's no combat or economic system thanks god) experience how you prefer, in a way that you always feel it comfortable. I'm new to this "game" too and i'm trying to understand why i overlooked it before.

If you like to use ships you have a nice real navigation system that is incredibily satisfying.
Too bad is not fully integrated with cockpits and VR, but who knows... in the future implementations or with future mods can happen.

First things to do IMHO are to explore around with the planetarium mode and then learn to navigate in ship mode (there's a nice flight guide on official site) and try VR if you have it.
And if you're interested join the discord servers too: you fill find alot of interesting stuff.

[Pugs]

First, thank you everyone for the responses. I have VR and last night I jumped onto a random satellite of some random planet far far away from earth and just walked around...

My goodness, what an absolutely incredible experience. I think my only complaint is that the VR controls are a bit janky. I saw that the dev is going to keep working on them and hopefully have a major update before the years end. Other than that, this is a really great simulation.

[brenelael]

The best way to describe Space Engine would be if actual Astronomy and Scientific Probability had a baby it would be this. You have almost all that is known coupled with all that is theorized to be probable in one very cool program. This isn't a game as much as it's a window into what is and what could be.

[roorooroo]

Try it in VR!

[ET.Core]

Get used to the interface. Find interesting places, then tweak the settings to get the best pictures possible. (Exposure, glare, Level Of Detail, things like that).

Planet systems may look the same at first, but there are true gems to be found. Worlds with vegetation, water shores, rivers, valleys, beautiful sunsets.

Try the Flight Simulator (Alpha) to try to get in a stable orbit. Download Orbiter (freeware) to learn the basics of space travel. Youtube channel David Courtney has excellent step-by-step tutorials.

SpaceEngine is not a game, it is more like a game engine, work in progress. You can explore the Milky Way and other galaxies, it gives a sense how big space is, what can be found, and what distant planets may look like.

Make sure to check out Outerra, another game engine in development. Here the entire natural Earth is rendered.

[Knot Quay]

I really, really want to get this game, for the simple exploration and limitless possibility.

Problem is I have thalassophobia so flying around in the empty void of space would freak me out like crazy, so I'm very torn... any suggestions?