How does this program compare to Universe sandbox ?

[jafri]

I have Universe Sandbox and my impression is that this is a similar program. How are they different. Can one of them be said to be better ? I am thinking of the educational realistic aspect not as games

[HarbingerDawn]

They are very dissimilar. Universe Sandbox is a physics simulator/playground. SpaceEngine is a 1:1 recreation of the universe, focused on exploration. There is basically no physics simulation and you don't smash objects together, observe n-body simulations, etc. You explore a universe full of stars, planets, galaxies, nebulae, etc., all seamlessly and at real scale, with detailed planetary surfaces. You can watch moons orbit overhead, see aurora from orbit, fly through planetary rings, and so on. There is also a basic flight simulator which uses Newtonian physics. Reading the store page and looking at the video and screenshots should already show you how different SE is from US.

Addressing which one is "better", you can't reasonably say that one is better than the other because they are so different. It depends on what exactly you're trying to do. Universe Sandbox lets you experiment with a wide array of physics interactions between celestial bodies and interact with the simulation in real time, but everything takes place in a closed sandbox with just a static image as a background, and you cannot explore planetary surfaces, fly through canyons, look out from the rim of a crater, etc. SpaceEngine lets you experience the entire universe at 1:1 scale with no limits on exploration, and you can see objects up close and from any perspective, but there is no physics simulation and everything is "on rails" (i.e. moves along static Keplerian orbits).

[Olwart]

Universe sandbox is a sandbox and Space Engine is a horror game.

[pipe]

Originally posted by Olwart:

Universe sandbox is a sandbox and Space Engine is a horror game. :kcdgkw:

Facts

[GreyTreeFrog]

HarbingerDawn's description is spot-on. Universe Sandbox is most similar to classic physics simulators, but at a cosmic scale. There are a lot of scenarios that are quite fun, but each is stand-alone and limited to the box that the scenario creator defined at the start. That can be quite expansive, and Universe Sandbox can be quite fun, but the scenarios don't encompass the entire universe. Still quite fun, though.

As you ask, from an educational/realism perspective, Space Engine is far superior in terms of astronomy, and perhaps cosmology. If you stick to the known bits of near space like the solar system, milky way galaxy and nearby objects such as andromeda galaxy, globular clusters etc, you can definitely learn something that I would describe as educational. Outside of "known space", what you will encounter is a simulation that reflects the current knowledge of humanity, but is mostly fantasy (in the sense that actual reality is probably not like that). Quite cool, but totally made up, though from a rational starting point.

Due to the sheer scope of what Space Engine is trying to accomplish, the grand scale, where it falls short is in the details. That's ok, because a 1:1 simulation of the universe *is* the universe. The challenge is what to focus on to make what is in the simulation interesting and informative.

Personally, although I find the "wider universe" part of the simulation mildly interesting, ultimately it seems a little empty to me. I would welcome more detail in what's actually going on in the real world. For example, it would be wonderful to be able to monitor in a reasonably accurate sense the data coming from current scientific missions. I would love to be able to head over to Mars to follow the progress of Perseverance and Ingenuity, including being able to set myself down in Jezero crater and see what they are seeing, as well as following where they are actually at (with a reasonable delay). But horses for courses - no software can do it all.

If you want more educational, less game, then Space Engine is the clear choice. But a little "game" mixed in to make it fun to explore the endless universe would be cool too. :-)

[Chuck_norris8177]

well there is one big difference one has good graphics *space engine* one has not *universe sandbox*

[Soilaf]

In my honest opinion SpaceEngine is pretty much a virtual planetarium (like Celestia, if anyone knows what I am talking about) but larger. First off, you can explore and find randomly generated systems that seem to defy reality, like binary Jupiter-sized gas giants or ringed habitable moons. Personally, it's a great simulator but its immense size might be a little hard to wrap your head around.

If you're one who likes smashing stuff together and creating things then I would get Universe Sandbox. It's also pretty good, considering I own both games (Universe Sandbox was the first game I ever purchased on Steam; that was a long time ago when there was less features in the game) Universe Sandbox's graphics aren't necessarily as good as SE's but they're still acceptable. Also, Universe Sandbox calculates a ton of physical stuff like orbit mechanics, so making crazy solar systems might be a little hard to do without getting your planets ejected or smashed into each other.

And if I had to pick one over the other I would go with SpaceEngine. Universe Sandbox is nice but it generally trades quality for creativity. However, if your PC is a potato I'd stay away from Universe Sandbox, and if you have an Intel GPU then you can't run SE.

[Chuck_norris8177]

universe sandbox is still a good game its just the graphics