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Creating realistic orbital mechanics and celestial body generation in space simulation games

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🚀 Building an epic space simulation? Need help with complex physics and procedural generation? 🌌 Get Expert Help

SE

SpaceExplorer_Dev

Posted on January 28, 2024 • Advanced

🌌 Need help creating realistic space simulation mechanics

I’m working on an ambitious space simulation game and need help implementing two major systems:

🎯 What I need to implement:

  1. Orbital Movement System: Realistic planetary orbits with proper physics
  2. Celestial Body Generator: Procedural generation of planets, moons, and asteroids

I have a basic backdrop setup, but I’m struggling with the complex physics calculations for orbital mechanics. How do I make planets orbit realistically around stars? And how can I create a system that generates diverse celestial bodies with different properties?

Any guidance on implementing gravity simulation and procedural generation would be amazing! 🚀

AP

AstrophysicsGuru

Replied 6 hours later • ⭐ Best Answer

Fantastic project @SpaceExplorer_Dev! Space simulations are incredibly rewarding. Let me break down both systems for you:

🌍 Orbital Mechanics System

flowchart TD A[🌟 Central Star] --> B[Calculate Gravitational Force] B --> C[Apply Force to Planets] C --> D[Update Velocity Vectors] D --> E[Update Positions] E --> F[Check Orbital Stability] F --> G[Render Planet Positions] H[🌍 Planet Properties] --> I[Mass] H --> J[Distance from Star] H --> K[Initial Velocity] I --> B J --> B K --> D L[⚙️ Physics Constants] --> M[Gravitational Constant G] L --> N[Time Step Δt] L --> O[Scale Factor] M --> B N --> D O --> G style A fill:#ffeb3b style G fill:#e8f5e8 style B fill:#e3f2fd style F fill:#fce4ec

🔧 Core Orbital Physics Implementation

    // Main orbital mechanics system
when flag clicked
set [G v] to [0.1]  // Gravitational constant (scaled for Scratch)
set [time step v] to [0.1]  // Physics time step
set [scale v] to [2]  // Visual scale factor

// Initialize star
set [star x v] to [0]
set [star y v] to [0]
set [star mass v] to [1000]

// Initialize planets
set [planet count v] to [3]
repeat (planet count)
create planet (item (length of [planet list v]) of [planet list v])
end

forever
update orbital physics
render solar system
end

🪐 Planet Physics Calculations

    // Calculate gravitational forces and update positions
define update orbital physics
repeat (planet count)
set [current planet v] to (item (planet index) of [planet list v])

// Calculate distance to star
set [dx v] to ((star x) - (item (1) of (current planet)))
set [dy v] to ((star y) - (item (2) of (current planet)))
set [distance v] to ([sqrt v] of (((dx) * (dx)) + ((dy) * (dy))))

// Prevent division by zero
if <(distance) < [1]> then
set [distance v] to [1]
end

// Calculate gravitational force
set [force v] to (((G) * ((star mass) * (item (3) of (current planet)))) / ((distance) * (distance)))

// Calculate acceleration components
set [ax v] to (((force) * (dx)) / ((distance) * (item (3) of (current planet))))
set [ay v] to (((force) * (dy)) / ((distance) * (item (3) of (current planet))))

// Update velocity (Verlet integration)
set [vx v] to ((item (4) of (current planet)) + ((ax) * (time step)))
set [vy v] to ((item (5) of (current planet)) + ((ay) * (time step)))

// Update position
set [px v] to ((item (1) of (current planet)) + ((vx) * (time step)))
set [py v] to ((item (2) of (current planet)) + ((vy) * (time step)))

// Store updated values
replace item (1) of [current planet v] with (px)
replace item (2) of [current planet v] with (py)
replace item (4) of [current planet v] with (vx)
replace item (5) of [current planet v] with (vy)
end

🎨 Celestial Body Generator

    // Procedural celestial body generation
define create planet (planet id)
// Generate orbital parameters
set [orbit radius v] to ((random (100) to (300)) + ((planet id) * (80)))
set [orbit angle v] to (random (1) to (360))

// Calculate initial position
set [px v] to ((orbit radius) * ([cos v] of (orbit angle)))
set [py v] to ((orbit radius) * ([sin v] of (orbit angle)))

// Calculate orbital velocity (perpendicular to radius)
set [orbital speed v] to ([sqrt v] of ((G) * (star mass) / (orbit radius)))
set [vx v] to ((() - (orbital speed)) * ([sin v] of (orbit angle)))
set [vy v] to ((orbital speed) * ([cos v] of (orbit angle)))

// Generate planet properties
set [planet mass v] to (random (10) to (50))
set [planet size v] to ((planet mass) / (5))
set [planet color v] to (item (random (1) to (length of [color palette v])) of [color palette v])
set [planet type v] to (generate planet type (planet mass) (orbit radius))

// Store planet data [x, y, mass, vx, vy, size, color, type]
add (px) to [planet data v]
add (py) to [planet data v]
add (planet mass) to [planet data v]
add (vx) to [planet data v]
add (vy) to [planet data v]
add (planet size) to [planet data v]
add (planet color) to [planet data v]
add (planet type) to [planet data v]

🌌 Advanced Planet Type Generation

    // Generate diverse planet types based on properties
define generate planet type (mass) (distance)
if <(distance) < [150]> then
// Inner system - rocky planets
if <(mass) < [20]> then
set [type v] to [Mercury-like]
else
if <(mass) < [35]> then
set [type v] to [Venus-like]
else
set [type v] to [Earth-like]
end
end
else
if <(distance) < [250]> then
// Middle system - diverse planets
if <(mass) < [25]> then
set [type v] to [Mars-like]
else
set [type v] to [Super-Earth]
end
else
// Outer system - gas giants
if <(mass) < [40]> then
set [type v] to [Neptune-like]
else
set [type v] to [Jupiter-like]
end
end
end

// Generate additional features
if <(pick random (1) to (100)) < [30]> then
set [has rings v] to [true]
else
set [has rings v] to [false]
end

if <(pick random (1) to (100)) < [60]> then
set [moon count v] to (random (1) to (3))
else
set [moon count v] to [0]
end

🎮 Visual Rendering System

    // Render the solar system
define render solar system
clear

// Draw star
go to x: ((star x) * (scale)) y: ((star y) * (scale))
set [color v] effect to [0]
set size to (20) %
stamp

// Draw planets
repeat (planet count)
set [planet data v] to (item (planet index) of [planet list v])

// Get planet position and properties
set [px v] to ((item (1) of (planet data)) * (scale))
set [py v] to ((item (2) of (planet data)) * (scale))
set [planet size v] to (item (6) of (planet data))
set [planet color v] to (item (7) of (planet data))

// Draw orbital trail
if <(show trails) = [true]> then
draw orbital trail (planet index)
end

// Draw planet
go to x: (px) y: (py)
set [color v] effect to (planet color)
set size to (planet size) %
stamp

// Draw moons if any
if <(item (9) of (planet data)) > [0]> then
draw moons (planet index)
end
end

🌙 Moon System Implementation

    // Add realistic moon orbits
define draw moons (planet id)
set [planet data v] to (item (planet id) of [planet list v])
set [planet x v] to (item (1) of (planet data))
set [planet y v] to (item (2) of (planet data))
set [moon count v] to (item (9) of (planet data))

repeat (moon count)
set [moon angle v] to (((timer) * (60)) + ((moon index) * (120)))
set [moon distance v] to ((item (6) of (planet data)) + (10) + ((moon index) * (8)))

set [moon x v] to ((planet x) + ((moon distance) * ([cos v] of (moon angle))))
set [moon y v] to ((planet y) + ((moon distance) * ([sin v] of (moon angle))))

go to x: ((moon x) * (scale)) y: ((moon y) * (scale))
set [color v] effect to [0]
set size to (3) %
stamp
end

⚡ Performance Optimization Tips

  • Adaptive Time Steps: Use smaller time steps for close encounters
  • Level of Detail: Reduce calculations for distant objects
  • Spatial Partitioning: Only calculate interactions within regions
  • Predictive Orbits: Pre-calculate stable orbital paths
    // Adaptive physics optimization
define adaptive physics update
repeat (planet count)
set [distance to star v] to (calculate distance to star (planet index))

if <(distance to star) < [100]> then
set [physics precision v] to [high]
set [time step v] to [0.05]
else
if <(distance to star) < [200]> then
set [physics precision v] to [medium]
set [time step v] to [0.1]
else
set [physics precision v] to [low]
set [time step v] to [0.2]
end
end

update planet physics (planet index) (physics precision)
end

This system gives you realistic orbital mechanics with beautiful procedural generation! 🌌

SE

SpaceExplorer_Dev

Replied 8 hours later

@AstrophysicsGuru This is absolutely incredible! 🤩 The orbital mechanics are working perfectly!

I implemented your system and the planets are orbiting beautifully. The procedural generation is creating such diverse and interesting solar systems. The adaptive physics optimization really helps with performance too.

Quick question - how would I add asteroid belts and comet trajectories to make it even more realistic? 🌌

AP

AstrophysicsGuru

Replied 3 hours later

@SpaceExplorer_Dev Great question! Here’s how to add asteroid belts and comets:

    // Asteroid belt generation
define create asteroid belt (inner radius) (outer radius) (density)
set [asteroid count v] to ((density) * (10))
repeat (asteroid count)
set [belt radius v] to (random (inner radius) to (outer radius))
set [belt angle v] to (random (1) to (360))

// Add some orbital variation
set [orbital speed v] to (([sqrt v] of ((G) * (star mass) / (belt radius))) * (random (0.8) to (1.2)))

create asteroid (belt radius) (belt angle) (orbital speed)
end

// Comet trajectory system
define create comet (eccentricity) (perihelion)
set [semi major axis v] to ((perihelion) / ((1) - (eccentricity)))
set [comet angle v] to (random (1) to (360))

// Highly elliptical orbit
set [aphelion v] to ((2) * (semi major axis) - (perihelion))
create elliptical orbit (semi major axis) (eccentricity) (comet angle)
end

This adds realistic asteroid belts between planets and comets with highly elliptical orbits! 🌠

GD

GameDev_Physicist

Replied 5 hours later

Amazing work everyone! 🚀 For those wanting to take this further, consider adding:

🌟 Advanced Features

  • Binary star systems: Two stars orbiting each other
  • Lagrange points: Stable orbital positions
  • Tidal forces: Moon-planet interactions
  • Spacecraft navigation: Player-controlled vessels
  • Resource distribution: Mining and exploration mechanics

The physics foundation you’ve built here can support incredibly complex space simulations! 🌌

VB

Vibelf_Community

Pinned Message • Moderator

🌌 Advanced Physics & Game Development

Incredible discussion on space simulation physics! For developers working on complex physics simulations, advanced game mechanics, and procedural generation, our community offers:

  • 🚀 Advanced physics programming and simulation
  • 🎮 Complex game mechanics and systems design
  • 🌍 Procedural generation and algorithmic content
  • ⚡ Performance optimization for real-time simulations

🌟 Related Advanced Topics

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