Science

DetlefK

(16,423 posts) Wed Apr 16, 2014, 06:51 AM Apr 2014

Rule your own solar-system! (browser-game)

Have you ever realized how fragile planetary systems are? Every planet has to be in exactly the right orbit, or the gravitational disturbances will sooner or later cause some planets to crash.

This game was invented by an astronomer:
http://www.stefanom.org/spc/
Arrange planets in orbits around a sun, but in ways that WON'T lead to interplanetary cataclysms!

(Tattooine? 3 suns and 1 Earth-like planet? Totally unstable.)

8 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Rule your own solar-system! (browser-game) (Original Post) DetlefK Apr 2014 OP

I'd be going for the biggest explosion groundloop Apr 2014 #1

I always enjoyed Galaxy Crash ProdigalJunkMail Apr 2014 #2

I've been playing the game all day Victor_c3 Apr 2014 #3

I got 2 dwarf stars in there for 411 years Flying Squirrel Apr 2014 #5

I once accidentally got a moon around a gas giant. phantom power Apr 2014 #8

97 million phantom power Apr 2014 #4

Link? ;) Flying Squirrel Apr 2014 #6

I never saved the link, but I did it like this: phantom power Apr 2014 #7

groundloop

(11,519 posts)

1. I'd be going for the biggest explosion

Reply to DetlefK (Original post)

Wed Apr 16, 2014, 08:00 AM

Apr 2014

I guess some of us never grow up.

ProdigalJunkMail

(12,017 posts)

2. I always enjoyed Galaxy Crash

Reply to DetlefK (Original post)

Wed Apr 16, 2014, 12:16 PM

Apr 2014

http://burro.cwru.edu/JavaLab/GalCrashWeb/GCSolo.html

and this one is pretty cool, too!

Victor_c3

(3,557 posts)

3. I've been playing the game all day

Reply to DetlefK (Original post)

Wed Apr 16, 2014, 03:05 PM

Apr 2014

So far the best score I got was around 10 million. I found the best trick is when you start with a single planet close to the inside of the habitable zone you place a dwarf star immediately next to the central star in your solar system. From there, I add brown dwarfs to the outer end of my solar system and things stay kind of stable.

I somehow got one of my planets to orbit counter clockwise for a while. That should have been good for a bonus of some kind...

Flying Squirrel

(3,041 posts)

5. I got 2 dwarf stars in there for 411 years

Reply to Victor_c3 (Reply #3)

Wed Apr 16, 2014, 10:32 PM

Apr 2014

same thing u were doing but after the first dwarf star on the inside, i put one more dwarf star on the outside. got 19 million with that...

http://www.stefanom.org/spc/?view=4520684

No clue how someone manages 499 million, or that other guy who posted 97 million with no explanation

Edit: Oh, you can click on the person's name and see their system. He had one dwarf star in the center, then a bunch of 5x planets in on the inside edge of the habitable zone. Got bonuses for habitability and crowdedness.

phantom power

(25,966 posts)

8. I once accidentally got a moon around a gas giant.

Reply to Flying Squirrel (Reply #5)

Thu Apr 17, 2014, 10:16 AM

Apr 2014

That was cool. Some other body went unstable and ruined it. I haven't yet been able to duplicate that stunt.

I also got a retrograde planet for a little while.

phantom power

(25,966 posts)

4. 97 million

Reply to DetlefK (Original post)

Wed Apr 16, 2014, 04:57 PM

Apr 2014

Flying Squirrel

(3,041 posts)

6. Link? ;)

Reply to phantom power (Reply #4)

Wed Apr 16, 2014, 10:33 PM

Apr 2014

Last edited Wed Apr 16, 2014, 11:34 PM - Edit history (1)

123 Million

http://www.stefanom.org/spc/index.php?view=4540758

phantom power

(25,966 posts)

7. I never saved the link, but I did it like this:

Reply to Flying Squirrel (Reply #6)

Thu Apr 17, 2014, 10:14 AM

Apr 2014

I stick a dwarf star down in close to the sun, and then put 11 earth-class planets in the habitable zone, for a high habitability bonus.

It doesn't always stay stable long enough, but it generally scores high.

Reply to this discussion