Galaxy Engine 1.9.0 - 3D Update

In this new major update, Galaxy Engine receives a brand new 3D mode with all the 2D functionality and more! This new version also includes many smaller changes and additions as well as performance optimizations, especially for fluids. Last but not least, Linux users will now get a native Galaxy Engine version so that it can run without Proton.

Note: Any save files prior to this version will be obsolete.

Changelog:

• Added new 3D Mode
• Added 3D simulation playback
• Added infinite domain feature
• Added galaxy customization
• Added max neighbor slider for particle size
• Added brute-force gravity algorithm (AVX2 only)
• Added AVX2 optimizations for neighbor search (good for fluids, density color, etc)
• Added Enable Spaceship button to fun tab
• Added spaceship acceleration slider
• Optimized turbulence color
• Changed trail length default value to 350
• Moved black hole mass slider to tools tab
• Moved particle amount multiplier to tools tab
• Set min particle size to 0
• Set particle default size to 0.6
• Enabled 3D mode by default
• Removed small galaxy tool
• Particles can't be spawned in Optics mode anymore
• Multiple very minor changes overall

I have also made a video on YouTube showcasing the new 3D mode and additions:

https://youtu.be/JiA5FYE_KFQ

Galaxy Engine 1.8.0

I have been working on implementing Leapfrog or Velocity Verlet integration for a while now and I have finally figured out how to implement it correctly. This enhances the overall physics quality and stability.

Now planets can have stable moons, fluids are much more stable and solids break in more realistic ways!

I also managed to slightly optimize the performance.

Changelog:

• New Velocity Verlet Integrator
• Stable orbits thanks to better energy conservation
• More stable fluids simulation. Better incompressibility
• Solids can be formed only by triangles now. No more strands of particles
• Reworked collision detection
• Added new "Random Mass Multiplier" slider
• Added new presets
• Set fluid "Delta" slider to 19000 by default

This new update breaks any save prior to this version.

I have also uploaded a new video to youtube showcasing the new features:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9_B5lFUnQQ

Galaxy Engine 1.7.3

This new regular update includes a brand new Gravity Field visualization mode and some minor bug fixes as well as new presets.

Changelog:

• New Gravity Field mode
• New Gravity Field Dark Matter button
• New Field Resolution slider
• New Gravity Display Threshold slider
• New Gravity Display Softness slider
• New Gravity Display Stretch slider
• New Gravity Display Custom Colors mode
• New Gravity Display Custom Colors Exposure slider
• Added 4 new presets which showcase the new Gravity Field mode
• Fixed a selection bug which spawned Big Bang and stars when selecting particles

This new Gravity Field mode is GPU based so please let me know if you experience any crashes with it.

I have also made a new video showcasing some of the most important features of Galaxy Engine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vudiBSo5SWU

Galaxy Engine 1.7.2

**Hello! For this update I have worked mainly on optimizing the gravity algorithm and adding GPU support. Currently GPU doesn't grant a massive boost but any extra FPS are welcome! The performance on CPU has improved by roughly 63% and with the help of GPU, the total performance gain is roughly 82% with density color on (this is the most computationally expensive color mode and the one I used for testing). This is almost double the performance with GPU enabled!

On top of that, I have been working on some new features including a 3D model exporter to bring the simulations to your favorite 3D program like Blender, a new turbulence color mode and reworked trail visuals.**

Here is a video showcasing the new update:

https://youtu.be/hAHMUydiWio

Changelog:

• Added basic GPU support (doesn't support all features)
• Added "Turbulence" color mode
• Added "Max Turbulence Color" slider
• Added "Turbulence Fade Rate" slider
• Added "Turbulence Contrast" slider
• Added "Turbulence Custom Colors" button
• Added .ply file export feature
• Reworked trail visuals
• Optimized quadtree creation
• Optimized quadtree traversal
• Set softening minimum slider value to 0.5
• Changed slider "Max Color Force" to "Max Force Color"

Currently, GPU doesn't support all features like fluids and correct temperature simulation.

Galaxy Engine 1.7.1

Small update with some additions, bug fixes and UI changes.

Changelog:

• Added merger simulation mode
• Added exit button
• Worked on the UI's right side
• Added drop down menus for color, simulation modes and materials
• Moved fluid materials to the right side
• Moved "Ship Gas" button to the "Fun" tab in the tools menu
• Fixed camera following dark matter particles
• Particle size now doesn't affect neighbor search

Galaxy Engine 1.7.0 - Optics Update

This new major update brings light simulation with ray tracing, as well as some quality of life additions and bug fixes.

Changelog:

• Added ray-traced light simulation
• Added "Optics" tab
• Added new tools menu
• Added "Long Exposure" feature
• Added new presets showcasing the new optics features
• Added new basic stats for optics (enable optics to see them)
• Improved UI readability
• Galaxy Engine now uses 16 bits-per-channel color data internally. This enables more accurate colors, especially for dark values.

I decided to go for a PBR approach, meaning that you can make scenes and modify materials similar to how you would in a traditional 3D path tracer. The lighting simulation does approximate some things more than others, like energy conservation and dispersion.

The ray tracer is geometry-based, which means that it doesn't use mathematical functions for shapes. Instead, shapes are made out of individual edges, again, similar to 3D rendering tools. This means that walls and shapes have edge normals and vertex normals. These normals allow smooth shading while using actual geometry.

All that said, here is a list of features the ray tracer showcases:

• Diffuse lighting
• Specular reflections
• Refraction
• Emission
• Specular roughness
• Refraction roughness
• Fresnel simulation
• Index of Refraction (IOR)
• Nested dielectrics with different IOR
• Light dispersion
• Total internal reflection
• Sampling with ray accumulation
• Wall creation
• Draw shape tool
• Lens creation tool
• Circle creation tool
• Diffuse color editing
• Specular color editing
• Refraction color editing
• Emission color editing
• Light color editing
• Shape relaxation
• Point lights
• Area lights
• Cone lights
• Light spread

Here you can see a video that showcases some of the new features:

https://youtu.be/wxoEvtipIrg

I have a background in 3D rendering, and now that I know how to code, I thought to myself: "I could make my own ray tracer!" And so, this is why I started working on this update. It was a fun experiment, and I'm glad that I did it. But now that I've finally finished it, I'm getting back to particles.

I hope you like it!

Galaxy Engine 1.6.3

This regular update includes a new official soundtrack for Galaxy Engine as well as menu sounds and some bug fixes.

Changelog:

• Added menu and intro sounds

• Added Galaxy Engine official soundtrack

• Added new "Sound" tab

• Added new intro

• Added new config file system for parameters like sound

• Made controls and information windows resizeable

• Fixed bug that caused a crash when using Fluid Mode with Looping-Space disabled

• Fixed temperature bug which caused the heat to go towards the top left side of the screen

• Fixed bug that caused undefined behavior when moving constrained particles while paused

• Fixed a bug where heavy particles escaped the domain in Fluid Ground Mode

Special thanks to HAVA, the artist behind the first official Galaxy Engine tracks! You can check more of their work here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1vrrvzYvRY27SDZp7WsMwx

Galaxy Engine 1.6.2

Changelog:

• Fixed draw brush bug which caused position correction to not work when using different particle sizes
• Made rock material 25% lighter

Galaxy Engine 1.6.1

Minor update

Changelog:
Fixed materials leaking through pinned particles

Galaxy Engine 1.6.0

The 1.6.0 update features a new constraint system to simulate solid and soft materials like metal, rock and rubber! This new update also brings multiple new fun and useful features for the players to explore, which include enhanced brush drawing, pin feature, mesh visualization and more!

Changelog:

• Added constraint physics

• Added "Particle Constraints" button

• Added "Unbreakable Constraints" button

• Added "P" shortcut for Constraint Solids

• Added "Constraint Solids" button in the Right-click menu

• Added "Constraint Selected" button in the Right-click menu

• Added "Delete All Constraints" button in the Right-click menu

• Added "Del. Selec. Constraints" button in the Right-click menu

• Added "Constraints Stiffness Multiplier" slider

• Added "Constraints Resistance Multiplier" slider

• Added "Visualize Mesh" feature

• Added "Draw Constraints" feature

• Added "Iron" material

• Added "Rubber" material

• Added "Mass Multiplier" button in the visuals tab

• Added "Constraint Stress Color" mode

• Added "Pin" particles feature

• Improved Fluid Mode brush drawing

• Now the simulation can run when the window is minimized

• Material buttons are now enabled only if Fluid Mode is active

• Internally modified the save system. From now on, newer versions of GE should be able to open older scenes (starting from 1.6.0)

• Particle amount multiplier now works with Fluid Mode too

• Modified the information tab

• Improved performance for particle deletion when Looping Space is disabled

• Removed fullscreen key shortcut

• Renamed "SPH" to "Fluid Mode"

• Renamed material buttons

• Renamed "SPH Color" to "Material Color"

• Minor UI changes

• Fixed missing temperature when subdividing

• Removed "Collisions Mode"