We will share more about hardware requirements as soon as we finalize them. We have yet to finalize the minimum device requirements for the mobile version, but it will likely require a modern device with decent specs. There’s still other work to be done, and we do not have a release date or official price for mobile, but we’re still planning on it being a one-time paid app with no ads or in-app purchases. We’ve been researching the best way to create this dynamic panel management system and have made significant progress implementing it within Universe Sandbox. One improvement we’ve added to mobile (and optionally available in the desktop experience) is a confirmation when placing an object. That means we’ll have more time to work on new features instead of spending time implementing the same feature in two different ways. While creating this system will take time, it should allow future improvements and new features to work in Universe Sandbox without any extra development, regardless of whether you’re playing on mobile or desktop. We’ve started tackling it by designing a system to intelligently hide and reveal panels as they open and close, which we’re calling our Dynamic Layout System. While we are still making performance improvements so Universe Sandbox can run smoothly on phones, our primary obstacle in mobile development is ensuring our interface is usable on a small touch screen like a phone. Showing multiple panels simultaneously in both landscape and portrait orientations while still seeing the simulation on a small screen is one of the biggest challenges of mobile development. We think we’re among the first to do this, but if you know of another or have done this with your game, please let us know! You can see what Universe Sandbox mobile might look like right now (including why we haven’t released it yet) by resizing the Universe Sandbox window on your computer to the size of your phone (since our user interface dynamically responds to your window size). While most other simulators and games have a different user interface for their mobile and desktop versions, we want ours to use the exact same interface for all platforms. Overhauling our simulation tools (like explode, laser, and planetscaping), to adapt to all screen sizesĭynamically resizing panels (this tool panel is cut off) and automatically moving the center of your view so you can always see what you’re looking at (moving the Sun hidden behind the tool panel to the empty space on the left) is just one example of the user interface work we still need to do.Switching between multiple panels, like an object’s properties, data views, and guide instructions, on small screens in landscape and portrait modes.How to automatically arrange panels and adjust your view so you can focus on controlling the simulation, not having to manage the user interface.While these are seemingly simple goals, they create complex design challenges: This shared codebase means you can enjoy any new features and improvements we add to Universe Sandbox on any device, whether you’re on a desktop, laptop, VR headset, phone, or tablet. In fact, Universe Sandbox mobile is built from the exact same code as the version you already know and love, so it will have the same features and user interface as the desktop experience. We’ve been thinking about Universe Sandbox mobile for a long time and have been developing our panels and buttons to be easy to view and use on small screens for years. Making our user interface work in portrait mode is an added challenge when adapting it for small screens. Collisions and surface simulation already run smoothly in Universe Sandbox on mobile devices.īringing the complete Universe Sandbox experience to mobile is an exciting and challenging project, and while development was stalled while hiring a new user interface engineer, we are back on track! While we still don’t have a release date for Universe Sandbox on mobile, we want to share our recent progress and current obstacles.įor an overview of our plans for Universe Sandbox on mobile devices, you can read our first Mobile DevLog.
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