Variable gravity depending on distance from the surface

[flint adder]

I think it would be cool if when you built upwards the gravity would decrease, and at the build limit it would reach zero, so you can just jump into space. Also it would work well with the idea from one of the videos that blocks will fly off into space at the built limit

[mild sigil]

I have a post about build height

[steel loom]

That is pretty neat. But it seems too punishing to dumb people. There should always be some gravity so that you don’t just lose all your stuff by accident

[mild sigil]

I think this belongs with it

there has to be risk for a game to be fun

yes, definitely punish dumb people

[steel loom]

I don’t think this risk would be fun

[mild sigil]

do you even game?

[steel loom]

I don’t know. Maybe I am wrong

Lol

I guess if you’re building up into space then of course you will fly away

[fast reef]

risk is fun but if you don’t know that it exists then it’s not fun. there has to be at least a warning

[steel loom]

Yeah exactly

[fast reef]

like the void in subnautica

[steel loom]

Yes (I think)

[fast reef]

the game tells you “you’re doing something stupid”

[mild sigil]

look, there HAS to be a limit, so why not incorporate it into the lore or at least a feature, rather than a boring game wall

[fast reef]

and if you keep going it’s your fault

but if there’s no warning then it’s the game’s fault

[mild sigil]

obv

[steel loom]

This

[flint adder]

I also thought that maybe there should be some way to get down from the orbit, but idk what
maybe gravity will never reach zero and will just be really low

[fast reef]

well that’s true in real life

gravity just depends on distance and mass

(at some point it essentially reaches zero but it’s basically like a limit, it never gets to zero but it gets so close it’s basically just nothing)

[mild sigil]

Let's say you build a rocket in PlanetSmith. It would be incredibly cool if you could fly past the build limit as an entity or something, and it would be seemless, but at some point the planet behind you would have to be a background image.

I don't enough about coding to explain this well.

[fast reef]

well, the distance horizons mod for minecraft does something similar

it lowers the quality the farther away you go

[split path]

It should be variable but in a more realistic (inverse square) way, that would allow stable orbits

[tranquil cradle]

maybe gravity could be

• 2.0x at the planet's core
• 1.0x at sea level AND 25% of the planet's total height above and below sea level
• 0.5x at build height, trailing off to 0.0x at 10% of the planet's total height above build height

[fast reef]

mm maybe 1.5x at the core

since there is a bedrock layer

[glacial vapor]

For the gravity to make sense, there would have to be this kind of physics, otherwise the space travel aspect wouldn't make sense

[glacial vapor]

But gravity doesn't increase as you approach the core irl

[tranquil cradle]

u sure? I'm no astrophysicist, but Google says otherwise

[glacial vapor]

That's only relevant on the Earth's surface because all the matter is "below" you

As you tunnel down, the matter above you pulls you in the opposite direction

If you assume that the planet is of a uniform density, the pull of all the matter below and above you cancel out and stay the same as the surface gravity

If you are at the exact centre of gravity, all the matter pulls on you equally, meaning that you experience a resultant 0g

[deft sundial]

GG @glacial vapor, you just advanced to level 4!

[glacial vapor]

This graph isn't linear because Earth's density is not linear, but you get the picture

[mild sigil]

There may not be higher gravity, which is blowing my mind already, but the earth gets hotter as you go to the core and there IS more pressure, be because there's more matter above you, but even so, I think@glacial vapor is saying something to that effect but maybe in a different way.

Physics, if represented in any way will be greatly simplified. One day a sandbox reality game may exist, but I think this game will be a major step toward that holy grail of sandbox games.

[fast reef]

sadly, this means that journey to the center of the earth is unfortunately fiction 😔

who coulda guessed

[still fable]

Hahahha (the holy grail thing caught me off guard lol)

[barren bloom]

guys. this is not how gravity works, at all. if this is going to be a space game, gravity needs to be at least somewhat realistic.

yes, gravity gets weaker the higher you go, but this effect is much weaker than you think. remember, the moon is in orbit of the earth, which means it's fully within the earth's gravity well, and it's super far away.

at the surface, earth's gravity is roughly 9.82 m/s². at the international space station, it's dropped only to 8.67. and that's in space.

[sudden nymph]

GG @barren bloom, you just advanced to level 1!

[glacial vapor]

The scale of the game is going to be very small compared to real life, so the realism of gravity will probably be tweaked to suit the small scale

[mild sigil]

We need physics explained, we need this!

what about pressure? like air pressure at the bottom of a mine is not ambient pressure right? Do the rocks and water get squeezed into thew mineshaft because of pressure differencial>?

[steel loom]

I think you should need a respiration device in high elevation

[mild sigil]

yeah, if air is needed to live

I'm entertaining the robot or saltrock golem seriously

I also like the aircommodity for breathing... I'm split.

[barren bloom]

pressure does not push things down! it crushes them, equally, from all directions.

gravity would not be affected by pressure, but yeah, a pressure mechanic would be cool in a game with multiple planets and mining :)

[mild sigil]

yeah, I'm developing a physics mechanic that has emergent properties from a few variables, hopefull only three.

temp, spin and state-phase chart algorythm..IDK what it's called

[barren bloom]

regardless, gravity needs to

1. fade out smoothly
2. still pull you down regardless of how far away you are. not just for realism, but also for gameplay - we don't want players stuck in space forever.

[mild sigil]

basically every bock has it's chart showing the melting and boiling points of each block-type

[glacial vapor]

The second point might become a problem

Especially when systems become more complex

[mild sigil]

each block hopefully only has to calculate its temp and spin for it ti be represented for the player

[glacial vapor]

Simulating gravitational interactions between every single object in the game at once is very taxing, it would be easier to divide gravitational interactions between SOIs and parent objects

[mild sigil]

can you give an example of SOI and parent object?

[barren bloom]

if it's only the player and a few planets, not too much. but yeah, it'd become tricky if we're talking about simulating multiple star systems/multiple satellites running at the same time

[sudden nymph]

GG @barren bloom, you just advanced to level 2!

[mild sigil]

What if every object had their own 'pull'? millions of blocks all wanting to move towqards their collective center

[barren bloom]

if you want the game to run at 60 frames per month, that's a great idea ;)

[mild sigil]

I realize even the most comprehensive computers in the world right now can do this only under specific and small systems

So it would be reasonable just to have gravity as a constant, throughout the world and affected structures

I think each planet will be it's own game instance including Near earth orbit and maybe lagrange points, hopefully things as far away as the moon, but not holding my breath on taht one

other planets and solar fulcrum being an animated wallpaper of sorts

[short skiff]

I'd say this is fun but not on the homeworld, on smaller planets maybe

[short skiff]

I have a proposal idea for how to handle this so you can look up at a realistic sky that is a map of the universe without compromising performance that much

No its not just mesh, that would mean you would need to render the whole universe, thats a waste.

[mild sigil]

mesh means objects that get light and shadow treatment?

[short skiff]

Sorry I meant low-poly LOD, ive been studying all day (week) and its 12am i cant brain much right now

[glacial vapor]

When the player exits a planet's gravitational Sphere Of Influence, the gravitational interaction between the planet and the player is no longer calculated

Parent objects: a planet is a parent object to a moon, a star is a parent object to a planet, ETC