Universe Sandbox
Steam News 20 August 20259mo ago

Another Interstellar Visitor | Update 35.3

Watch the third-ever discovered visitor from outside our Solar System, 3I/ATLAS, fly past the Sun and see how it compares it to other known interstellar interlopers. We’ve also improved the view that shows what parts of…

Update log

Full Universe Sandbox update

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Extracted changes

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  • Gameplay
changedWatch the third-ever discovered visitor from outside our Solar System, 3I/ATLAS, fly past the Sun and see how it compares it to other known interstellar interlopers. We’ve also improved the view that shows what parts of the surface of a planet are illuminated, updated our scientific notation, and more!
changedScientific NotationAstronomically large (and small) numbers are already hard to understand, so we’ve updated our scientific notation to be friendlier: “1 × 10^#" (previously we used “1E+#”). Try changing Earth’s mass to 1x10^6 Earth masses and see what happens to the Solar System.
addedMore HighlightsYou can once again add custom colors to your human scale objects to make purple cows and pigeon rainbow.
addedMore HighlightsCheck out the full list of What's New in Update 35.3.
Steam post image

Watch the third-ever discovered visitor from outside our Solar System, 3I/ATLAS, fly past the Sun and see how it compares it to other known interstellar interlopers. We’ve also improved the view that shows what parts of the surface of a planet are illuminated, updated our scientific notation, and more!

In the Light of Day

The Daylight view now shows surface illumination of a planet in real-time as the object rotates and orbits within the simulation. Previously it was a static snapshot of the daylight on a planet.

Steam post imageBeforeSteam post imageAfter

Comets from Beyond the Solar System

Watch the comet 3I/ATLAS, the third-ever discovered interstellar visitor to our Solar System, pass by on its journey through space and compare the trajectories of all three known interstellar visitors. Find them under

Home > Open > Interstellar Comet 31/ATLAS

Home > Open > Interstellar Object Trajectory Comparison

Steam post imageSteam post image

Scientific Notation

Astronomically large (and small) numbers are already hard to understand, so we’ve updated our scientific notation to be friendlier: “1 × 10^#" (previously we used “1E+#”). Try changing Earth’s mass to 1x10^6 Earth masses and see what happens to the Solar System.

Steam post imageBeforeSteam post imageAfter

More Highlights

Watch what would happen to Earth if the Moon were replaced with a black hole of the same mass or the same radius. Which simulation do you think will be more destructive? Check them out under Home > Open > Earth with a Black Hole Moon | Same Mass Home > Open > Earth with a Black Hole Moon | Same Radius Steam post image

See small objects in your simulation even faster by turning on Markers by pressing “m” (previously “i”) on your keyboard. No need to go all the way to View > Markers.

You can once again add custom colors to your human scale objects to make purple cows and pigeon rainbow.

Check out the full list of What's New in Update 35.3.

Please report any issues on our Steam forum, on Discord, or in-game via Home > Send Feedback.

Source

Steam News / 20 August 2025

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