Universe Engine v1.7 — Omega
Build universes. Watch them collapse.
Have you ever wanted to hold a solar system in your hands? To fling a rogue planet into a binary star system and watch chaos unfold in real time? Universe Engine puts the laws of physics at your fingertips — a fully 3D gravitational sandbox where every body attracts every other body, and no two simulations ever play out the same way.
Built on real Newtonian gravitational physics, Universe Engine simulates the interactions between celestial bodies with surprising accuracy. Orbits form naturally. Moons get captured. Stars consume planets that stray too close. Black holes devour everything. The universe doesn't care about your plans — and that's what makes it beautiful.
What is Universe Engine?
Universe Engine is a real-time 3D space physics sandbox. You are the architect of your own cosmos. Spawn celestial bodies, shape their trajectories, manipulate time itself, and observe the emergent behavior of a living, breathing gravitational system. Whether you want to carefully engineer a stable multi-planet solar system or gleefully crash a black hole into a star cluster, Universe Engine gives you the tools to do it.
It runs entirely in your browser. No installation. No launcher. Just open and play.
Core Features
🪐 7 Celestial Body Types Spawn Terrestrial Planets, Sequence Stars, Gas Giants, Black Holes, Moons, Asteroids, and Comets — each with unique physical properties, visual appearances, and gravitational influence.
🌌 Real Gravitational Physics Every body exerts gravitational force on every other body. Watch stable orbits form naturally, witness gravitational slingshots, observe orbital decay, and experience the raw destructive power of close encounters with massive objects.
🎯 Multiple Spawn Modes
- Launch Mode — Slingshot bodies into the simulation with precise velocity control
- Orbit Mode — Automatically place bodies into stable orbits around a target
- Paint Mode — Rapidly scatter bodies across the simulation
- Fixed Mode — Place static anchor bodies to shape your system
⏱️ Time Control Slow the simulation to a crawl to observe a delicate gravitational interaction in detail, or accelerate time to watch thousands of years of orbital evolution unfold in seconds. Full pause and step-by-step frame control included.
🔭 Orbital Prediction Trails See the future. Orbital prediction lines show you where bodies are headed before they get there — essential for precision engineering of complex systems.
💥 The Theia Impact Scenario Recreate one of the most dramatic events in Earth's history. The Theia scenario simulates the giant impact hypothesis — the leading scientific theory for how Earth's Moon was formed. A Mars-sized body called Theia collides with the proto-Earth, and from the debris field a new Moon slowly coalesces. Watch the Proto-Moon label track your forming satellite in real time. It's science, and it's spectacular.
🌍 Atmosphere & Terraform Tools Shape the character of your worlds with atmospheric and terraforming controls. Give planets unique identities beyond their gravitational behavior.
💾 State Bookmarks Save snapshots of your simulation at any moment and return to them instantly. Experiment freely knowing you can always rewind to a previous state.
✨ Stunning Visuals Full 3D rendering with post-processing effects including bloom, glow, and dynamic camera shake on collisions. Orbital trails, particle effects, and a deep space backdrop make every simulation feel alive. The UI is fully draggable and designed to stay out of your way when you don't need it.
📱 Mobile Friendly A dedicated Mobile Mode optimizes the experience for touch devices with pinch-to-zoom, tap-to-select, and touch-optimized controls.
The Theia Scenario — A Closer Look
Most sandbox space games let you blow things up. Universe Engine lets you create something from the destruction. The Theia Impact scenario is inspired by real planetary science — the leading explanation for why Earth has such an unusually large moon relative to its size. Watch debris coalesce in real time. Track the Proto-Moon as it gathers mass. It's the kind of emergent storytelling that only physics can write.
This is a Prototype Release
Universe Engine v1.7 Omega is an early access prototype. The core simulation is complete, polished, and fully playable right now. Everything listed above is in the game today.
A Full Version is currently in development and will include:
- Full sound design — collision impacts, ambient space atmosphere, gravitational events
- A guided tutorial and onboarding experience
- Additional scenarios and presets
- More content and features based on community feedback
Owners of this prototype will receive the Full Version at a discounted upgrade price when it launches.
Your purchase directly supports continued development. Every sale means more features, more scenarios, and a better simulation.
No install. No account. Just open it in your browser and start building universes.
Universe Engine is a passion project built with Three.js. Feedback is genuinely welcome and will shape the direction of the Full Version.