Every image and clip here is a capture from the game: the Godot renderer, driven by the AILANG simulation. Captions say what produced each one, and the roadmap says what is built and what is planned.
Video
Weather between the stars. At 0.999c the actual Aldebaran route crosses LIC, Aur, LIC again, hot gas, Hyades and hot gas again. This 24-second capture cuts between the real route intervals; each displayed dust tick advances 1/30 ship second. The wall glow, grain impacts and medium notices come from the simulation.Orbiting Sagittarius A*. A stable orbit at three horizon radii: the real simulation advances 1,800 ship seconds in 20 seconds of video. The lensed background is the labelled Sol sky; the clocks and orbit count come from the simulation.Arriving beside Saturn. The guided voyage's final approach reaches a real at-rest stop, with Saturn and its rings in the same physical view. The approach is compressed to 16 screen seconds, followed by six seconds beside the planet; earlier stops are omitted.Rest to 0.99c, looking forward. A 1 g burn through the AILANG simulation, rapidity eased over 18 s. 24 s loop.One full turn at 0.99c. Bow, beam, stern and back at γ 7.09: the bright window ahead and the dark behind. 20 s loop.The forward CMB disc, γ 20 to 707. 20° lens, on a committed journey near Sol: the stars crowd into a shrinking ball, then the CMB warms from deep red to near white. 20 s loop.Galaxy map, cruise slider 0.9c to the cap. The planner panel recomputed by the simulation every tick as the camera orbits Sol and α Centauri. 24 s loop.
Weather between the stars
Gas density on the chartDensity instrument viewFalse-colour instrument shading from the existing LIC surface and published warm-cloud angular outlines at their adopted approximate depths. Stars and the plotted route remain visible. D toggles the layer; construction depth guides are optional. This is not naked-eye nebular light.Short marks across the bubble wallBubble surfaceThe same seeded LIC flight at 0.999c, at a normal 60° field of view. Incidence-oriented curved G-AG footprints retain the original patch area, event count, emission and decay. The marks are a labelled presentation approximation, not simulated scattering or particle trails.Local clouds without construction spokesLocal clouds and dustThe native helm exposes Interstellar medium and Local ISM controls. Published angular cloud boundaries use approximate depths; optional Depth guides are off by default. The system destination list keeps Sun, planets and their moons in a stable order.The medium around the shipLocal clouds and dustThe native details card shows the local gas density, dust rates and cumulative grains. Largest-grain figures describe the displayed sample, rather than the unseen population.Comparing grain-impact afterglowsLocal clouds and dustRendered spot-radius and decay-time variants for the dust-wall afterglow, explicitly labelled a game approximation. The accepted setting uses a 0.5 m spot and 0.2 s decay.
The painted ship
The Bow view at 0.99cThe forward viewThe ship now travels toward its bow, along the deck. One fixed Bow view slides with the captain and never turns, so the way ahead is always up the screen: here the starbow gathers over the helm at 0.99c.Arriving, in the same viewThe forward viewAt a stop the ship itself turns so the body sits about 30° off the bow, in the same Bow view: the Sun at the first stop of the guided voyage. Bridge furniture here is the layout blockout, before the painted finish.The helm, lit by the spireBridge facing the bowThe bridge is rearranged to face the bow: navigation pods at the rail, the captain's chair behind them. Far from any star the bridge is lit by the ship's own warm spire light. Style frame of the painted pods and chair.The same helm, lit by a starBridge facing the bowNear a star its real light takes over from the spire: direction, colour and Doppler shift from the simulation, with hard shadows across the deck. The star is behind the camera here.At the navigation podBridge facing the bowUsing a console zooms in on it while still looking ahead. Each navigation pod now has a brass-framed screen on the captain's side.A concern on the videocomCrew console v2The crew console is now a two-panel internal videocom: the crew member large on the left, the work on the right. Before starting, the pilot raises a concern; Start stays greyed out until the captain answers it, or turns the request into an order right there.Work under wayCrew console v2Agreed work shows its progress, and colour-coded chips show who is waiting on the captain (amber), who is working (green) and who is free to ask. Names now suit each face.The crossing, reviewedThe crossing reviewAfter a long leg the ship pauses before arrival braking and reviews the crossing: 0.999c, γ 22.4, 70 days lived aboard while 4.33 years passed on Earth. Both clocks come from the simulation.Home, while you were awayThe crossing reviewThe review's Home page: how long has passed at home, and a picture of home that changes with the years gone. Right-drag looks around the bridge while it is open.The crew at the Voyage consoleThe crew come aboarddev.28: five crew aboard, with names drawn fresh each voyage, roles, and stress, fatigue and trust. Offer work asks; they answer in character. The guided voyage stays above them.A crew holdThe crew come aboardOn long legs the crew run themselves under standing orders. A critical moment stops the voyage and calls the captain: here the medic is close to breaking down. Ship time waits until you resume.In their own wordsThe crew come aboardEach answer is settled by the simulation; with AI on, the crew put it in their own words, in character. A reply that names the ship's internals is refused and a plain line stands.Ask the ArchiveThe Archive answersdev.27: the Archive terminal takes a question. With live AI on, the ship's own mind answers in its own voice, from its entries and a live sensor feed; the instruments keep every number.The Voyage logThe Archive answersThis voyage only: the course, departure, arrivals, news from home and each Archive entry as it opens, with both clocks. Codex returns to the entries.New gameThe Archive answersStarting over lives on the title screen: each New game is a fresh voyage with a fresh seed. Nothing aboard offers a do-over.Mars, ready to reviewManual navigationThe real manual Navigation station plans Mars from its stationary Earth start. Zoom and Review journey stay visible while details scroll. Enter reviews; holding Space for 1.5 seconds confirms; Esc backs out. Sgr A* is a separate demo entry.One close arrival at Alpha Centauri ASeven guided highlightsThe shorter guided trip reaches the actual D-54 stop directly: about 0.059 AU and an 11-degree stellar disc. Both clocks remain continuous. Native 78-degree view with the existing body brightness aid; stellar photospheres are uniform.TRAPPIST-1 without a second inward hopSeven guided highlightsActual direct finite-star arrival, about 0.018 AU with TRAPPIST-1 spanning 3.46 degrees. The existing body brightness aid reveals its warm colour. This replaces the former outer stop and specially placed beside-e/HZ leg.Callisto has its own crater mapMoon detailNative planet renderer with a pinned USGS/NASA 2048 × 1024 monochrome mosaic, normalized to Callisto’s adopted visible albedo. This staged comparison is at six body radii, with the same geometry and exposure as the former uniform surface.Ten moons, ten source mosaicsMoon detailCallisto, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Triton in the native renderer. Most maps are monochrome; Io and Triton use enhanced/filter-composite colour. Source seams and unmapped coverage remain; Titan’s radar/infrared surface is excluded.Earth stays beside the shipNavigation recoveryThe real free-navigation arrival, after another minute at rest. Idle time advances at one second per second, keeping Earth clearly resolved at its inertial standoff. The ship is not attached to a gravity-bound orbit.A full orbit beside Sagittarius A*A frame from the new 20-second orbit video: three horizon radii, native simulation clocks and gravitational lensing. The labelled background is the Sol sky.Stopped beside Saturn and its ringsThe guided voyage reaches a real at-rest stop after the final approach. This frame comes from the new Saturn arrival video; its wider lens keeps the close planet and rings in view.Barnard's Star becomes a discInferred stellar radiusIts radius is inferred from catalogue brightness, distance and temperature, rather than measured. The 0.189 solar-radius estimate gives a 4.36° disc at this 0.023 AU stop; the inspection card labels the estimate and its source.Plot a course at the navigation stationShip UIThe bridge consoles now own course plotting and commitment. Walk to the station, choose a destination and speed, then confirm. Ship and Earth clocks stay visible above the helm.M opens a read-only star chartShip UILook around the neighbourhood anywhere aboard the ship. The chart carries your selection to the helm; planning and committing remain at the navigation station.The Voyage consoleShip UIRead the guided itinerary before confirming its start. Pause and skip controls remain instant during the voyage, with no timed decision prompts.Physics at the Archive terminalShip UIThe Archive opens at its bridge terminal, with readable physics entries and a panel framed by the same ship you walk through.Two clocks through the starbowShip UIAt 0.99c the live sky gathers ahead while a compact status strip keeps both clocks, speed, phase and distance visible. Contextual transit cards leave the central outlook clear.A gravity card beside Sgr A*Ship UIThe same HUD presents the black-hole visit: gravitational clock rate, shadow size, blueshift and tidal load, beside the live lensed sky.The light-speed loading jump, 50%dev.23dev.23: picking a menu option accelerates the real sky: at 0.9955c (γ 10.6) the Milky Way crowds into the starbow ahead. The speed is illustrative; the optics are the game's renderer.0.99999c: the sky in a pointdev.23At γ 210 aberration has squeezed almost the whole sky into one blue-white point ahead, darkness around it.White-outdev.23At 100% the point blooms into the white-out (a labelled transition effect), then fades into the ship.Sgr A* from the bridge, 10 r_sdev.23dev.23: the black hole aboard the ship. The HUD reads the sim: 1 ship-hour = 1.054 home hours, the shadow's size, the blueshift, the tide across the bubble.In orbit at 3 r_sdev.23At the innermost stable orbit 1 ship-hour is 1.41 home hours; the shadow fills the top of the view.Orbiting Sgr A*dev.23Facing the hole in orbit: the shadow shifts toward the direction of motion and the sky brightens on that side.Saturn at its D-54 stopdev.25dev.25: planets now stop at a distance that shows their size: Saturn clears its main rings, which sweep across the view.Jupiter at 84°dev.25Apparent size grows with true size: Moon 16°, Earth 30°, Jupiter 84°.Home: Return to Soldev.25Return to Sol now arrives beside Earth at 30°; the HUD shows the distance from where the trip started (Barnard's Star, 5.95 ly).Aldebaran in free navigationdev.25Stars stop by the same rule: a giant fills 61° of sky (45 solar radii from its measured angular size).TRAPPIST-1, a red dwarf at 3.5°dev.25A small star stays small: TRAPPIST-1 at its free-navigation stop.In this systemdev.25The map now offers Sol and every body in the system you are in; impossible legs (through Jupiter) are refused with the reason.The title screendev.22dev.22: a double-click now opens a menu over the real Milky Way: board the ship, the guided voyage, the galaxy map, settings and credits.Credits from the sourcesdev.22Every data source, paper and licence the game uses, read from the repository's own citations.Hold I: the system around youdev.21dev.21: holding I now rings the star you are orbiting and its planets, not only the background stars. Here TRAPPIST-1 and its planets b and c.Aldebaran's carddev.21Click a body for its facts: distance from the ship, size and apparent size, temperature, how long ago its light left, catalogue entry and data source.Jupiter's carddev.21At Jupiter the light you see left it 0.48 s ago.Sgr A* preview: no holeM3The Milky Way from a ship 10 Schwarzschild radii from Sgr A*, with the lensing switched off, for comparison.Sgr A* at 10 r_sM3GR on: the black shadow, within 0.001 px of Synge's formula in the golden test, and the sky lensed around it.Sgr A* at 3 r_sM3At the innermost stable orbit the shadow fills most of the view.Looking sideways at 5 r_sM3The Milky Way pours into the lensed edge of the hole; the Large Magellanic Cloud below.One star, two imagesM3A star just off the line through the hole appears twice, either side of the shadow.An Einstein ringM3A star exactly behind the hole becomes a ring at the Einstein angle (within 0.004 px in the golden test).From the bridge, hovering at 10 r_sM3Work in progress (M3.6): the HUD reads the sim: 1 ship-hour = 1.054 home hours, the shadow's size, the blueshift, the tide across the bubble.In orbit at 3 r_sM3Work in progress (M3.6): orbiting at the innermost stable orbit, 1 ship-hour = 1.41 home hours.TRAPPIST-1e from the habitable zonedev.20Through a 12° view at the habitable-zone stop: planet e, 0.72° across (bigger than our Moon), lit orange by its red dwarf. Size and orbit measured (Agol 2021); position from transit timings (Ducrot 2020); albedo and surface assumed.TRAPPIST-1d, half litdev.20Planet d at quarter phase from the stop, where it really is on arrival: Kepler orbits phased from transit epochs, corrected for 40.6 years of light travel.TRAPPIST-1 and planet cdev.20The red dwarf in Auto view with planet c, a thin crescent 0.41° across.Sunlight on the bridge, leaving Earthdev.20The ship's key light now comes from the real Sun, as seen through the bubble: its direction, its colour, and log-compressed brightness (labelled not physical).Sun shadows sweep the deckdev.20As the ship turns for its first leg, rail and spire shadows sweep across the bridge floor.The bridge at TRAPPIST-1dev.20A dim, red-orange light from the dwarf star grazes the deck. A shadowless floor of ship light keeps the bridge readable.The bridge at Aldebarandev.20The giant fills 40° of sky and floods the deck with warm light and long shadows.Interstellar cruisedev.20No star near: the starbow ahead, and the ship's own moody lighting takes over.Approaching a giant: midwaydev.20Aldebaran's approach now lasts 90 s (D-49). At 0.92c its 3,900 K glow is blue-shifted to a white disc.Approaching a giant: latedev.20At 0.44c the giant has grown into a big yellow-white star.Aldebaran in its own colourdev.20At rest in Auto view: golden orange, 40° across. Auto now dims a star just enough to keep its hue and lifts its blackbody colour (labelled on the HUD).TRAPPIST-1 as an emberdev.20The ultracool dwarf from its habitable zone in Auto view: red-orange, 2.7° across.One position per star: beforedev.20A map journey arriving 1,000 AU from 10 UMa: the sky drew it from a different catalogue row, 8.7 ly away, so nothing was there.One position per star: afterdev.20The same arrival with one truth table for navigation and sky: the star is right ahead.The sky before: 25 pc starsdev.20Toward the galactic centre with the previous star tiers.The full 100 pc skydev.20331,311 nearby stars from Gaia: about a fifth more faint stars toward the galactic centre, at +0.3 ms a frame.Aldebaran fills 40° of skyThe giant K5 star (45 solar radii) from 0.615 AU, the stop rule for giants. It is so bright that it reads white at a star-friendly exposure.Aldebaran, dimmed to its colourThe same stop with the star faded on its own: a 3,927 K photosphere is pale orange, not deep red. 'Red giant' overstates it.Approaching a giantAldebaran is already 4° across 6 AU out, so its 25 s final approach is still relativistic: the starbow, with the giant appearing only at the end. A longer approach for giants is an open question.TRAPPIST-1 from its habitable zoneThe ultracool dwarf (0.119 solar radii, 2,566 K) from 0.0235 AU, where its planets e and f orbit: a deep-orange disc 2.7° across, five times the Sun's size from Earth.Easing into the TRAPPIST-1 systemMid-way through the final approach to TRAPPIST-1's habitable zone. Its seven planets are the next sprint.α Centauri A from its habitable zoneAt 1.233 AU, the same rule as TRAPPIST-1: α Cen A looks much as the Sun does from Earth, about half a degree across, in the Milky Way.Final approach to JupiterThe demo's HUD during the new 25-second final approach: 0.28c and slowing, 617,813 km to go, 4.29 M g this leg, distances from the Sun and from Earth. Skip stage [K] is in the tour row.Cruising to Jupiter at γ 30Every in-system leg now cruises for about a minute, so the longer legs go faster: 0.99943c to Jupiter. The starbow shrinks to a point; the amber haze is the bubble wall's glow (an open presentation question).Approach begins: Jupiter 4° acrossAfter a hard brake from γ 30, the final approach starts at 0.46c with Jupiter about 4 degrees across, and eases in over 25 seconds instead of the old sudden arrival.Mid-approachTwelve seconds into the approach, Jupiter grows smoothly; its bands are already visible (Auto view).Stopped beside JupiterAt rest two Jupiter radii from its centre, after about 2¼ minutes from the Sun: 30 s accelerating, about 60 s cruising, braking, then the approach.Saturn's approachThe same rhythm on every leg: Saturn's final approach begins at 0.38c with the rings a small ellipse.Rings resolvingHalf-way through the approach, Saturn's rings and the shadow they cast are clear.Stopped outside the ringsAt rest outside the measured ring envelope; the rings shadow the globe.The Sun at 0.85cThe Sun's approach starts at half the cruise rapidity (it is already large before braking could begin). At 0.85c aberration shrinks it to a point inside the starbow band.In real time at 0.95cDev17 reviewThe demo's compact HUD during the first boost out of Earth orbit: speed, γ and both clocks read from the simulation. One ship second per wall second; the Milky Way is already gathering into a bright band ahead.Leaving the Sun at 0.9cDev17 reviewAccelerating at 3,000,000 g towards Jupiter. Aberration pulls the sky forward and Doppler shifts it blue, the start of the starbow.Starbow at 0.99cDev17 reviewCruising at 0.99c (γ 7.09) between the Sun and Jupiter: the forward sky collapses into a ring. Earth → Jupiter takes about 6 ship minutes while 39 minutes pass on Earth.Braking towards JupiterDev17 reviewHalf-way through 27 seconds of real-time braking, Jupiter appears ahead (Auto view: the planet is faded to fit the display, labelled on the HUD).Stopped beside JupiterDev17 reviewAt rest two Jupiter radii from its centre, Auto view. The stars stay at the dark-sky exposure; only the planet is faded.The cruise interlude: α CentauriDev17 reviewLong cruises hand over to an interlude: today a card, later in-ship life. 0.999c, γ 22.4: you live 70 days while 4.3 years pass at home. Every number is a simulation field.α Centauri A and B at 1,000 AUDev17 reviewAfter real-time braking, the binary is a blinding pair in the Milky Way. Both stars are physical emitters with measured radii and temperatures.Forty-six years at homeDev17 reviewOn to TRAPPIST-1 at 0.9999c (γ 70.7): 216 ship days, 41.7 Earth years. The line of scale is chosen from the cumulative Earth time since you left.Boosting towards AldebaranDev17 reviewAt 0.999c on the way to 0.999999c, the whole sky is squeezed into a small blue-white knot ahead. The warm haze around it is the bubble wall beginning to glow.Everyone you knew is goneDev17 review0.999999c, γ 707: 38 days aboard, 74 years at home, 120 years since you left. News from Earth is 66.6 years old when it reaches you.The bubble wall at γ 707Dev17 reviewAt 0.999999c the interstellar gas striking the bubble heats its wall to about 14,000 K, and at a star-friendly exposure the forward view goes white. This is the game's physics model, not a glitch; how to present it is still an open design question.Manual exposure: stars at restDev14 reviewCurrent Sol startup with fixed dark-sky exposure and the approved 4× display aid. The captain chooses brightness; looking around no longer triggers automatic dimming.SR during a committed journeyDev14 reviewAn actual committed 0.99c voyage, looking forward at the same manually selected exposure. Aberration and spectral brightness changes retain the existing physical calculations.Stars beside the Jupiter stopDev14 reviewLooking away from Jupiter at the actual close stop keeps the selected exposure. The starfield is no longer suppressed by the nearby planet.Manual dimming reveals JupiterDev14 reviewThe same close Jupiter stop with a dimmer manual exposure. Surface detail is preserved; faint background stars fall below display visibility at this setting. No automatic brightness changes occur.Alpha Centauri and its backgroundDev14 reviewActual moving-primary intercept at one AU, viewed with the manual 4× star setting. The physical stellar disc stays visible against the starfield; its photosphere clips white at this exposure.Alpha Centauri A at 1 AUDemo reviewThe final committed leg stops 1 AU from the moving primary. Its measured 1.2234 solar radii produce a disc about 0.65 degrees wide. Both binary stars retain their catalogue identities; stellar surfaces are uniform photospheres. Gravity and thermal hazards remain outside this demo.Jupiter grows during brakingDemo reviewThe guided tour brakes for 90 seconds of playback. Physical 1 g deceleration begins far out, so Jupiter grows gradually rather than appearing only at arrival. This capture is near the end of braking, before the stationary side-view turn.Earth beside the bridgeDemo reviewThe close tour starts at two measured Earth radii from its centre. The ship and sky share the standing observer. Earth uses the Earth–Moon barycentre approximation; this is an inertial stop.Close Sun stopDemo reviewThe measured solar disc at three solar radii. This kinematic review omits gravity and thermal hazards; the Sun is a uniform blackbody emitter, and external ship illumination remains unfinished.Jupiter fills the outlookDemo reviewA continuous committed journey brakes to two measured Jupiter radii. A smooth stationary turn places the planet beside the bridge; the moons keep their ephemerides and may lie outside this view.Saturn’s close ring viewDemo reviewThe stop stays outside Saturn’s measured ring envelope. Ring tilt, opaque decks and the same perspective determine what the captain can see. This is a stop at rest, not a gravity-bound orbit.Captain and bridge meet the floorDemo reviewThe restored painted deck top is at +82 m. The captain casts a stationary three-dimensional shadow volume with both legs meeting the floor; the visible captain remains painted billboard art.Beyond Saturn toward Alpha CentauriDemo reviewThe actual committed outbound leg gathers and shifts the star field ahead. The guided 1 g interstellar leg has acceleration and braking with a peak near 0.95c; this distance does not reach the requested 0.99c cap. The same heading carries through both phases.Navigation from the current shipDemo reviewA second route starts at the ship’s Alpha Centauri endpoint rather than resetting to Sol. Recenter, Fit route and Home frame the map; the destination list is the surveyed catalogue.Painted bridge: warm light and cool shadowsLighting reviewStanding captain eye on the measured bridge. The painted surfaces receive real shadows from the spire, rails and fronds. This is a fixed internal lighting study; external sunlight is still being integrated. Sky exposure remains 4×.Bridge outlook from the same observerLighting reviewThe ship geometry and live sky use the same camera attitude and perspective. Decks remain opaque; changing the lighting does not change the star field.Under the Commons arcadeLighting reviewA warm reading light makes the shaded seating area readable. Teal ribs, painted terraces and the first planted bays are playable; further Commons detail and the other tiers remain unfinished.
The relativistic sky
At rest, looking toward the galactic centreThe naked-eye sky from Sol at β = 0: 335,157 catalogue stars over the star-removed Milky Way panorama, exposed for a dark-adapted eye (EV −4.4).0.60c: the sky starts to gather aheadβ 0.5955, γ 1.245, 0.665 ship-years into a 1 g burn. Aberration pulls the Milky Way forward and Doppler boosting brightens it. Same exposure as at rest.0.91c: a blue-white crowd in frontβ 0.9126, γ 2.446. Stars from the whole forward hemisphere squeeze toward the bow, shifted blue and brightened; the edges of the view go dark.0.99c: the universe in a windowβ 0.990000, γ 7.089: 2.564 years on the ship clock, 6.798 on Earth's. Most of the visible sky now sits in a cone a few tens of degrees across.The Milky Way, with the catalogue stars taken outThe NOIRLab all-sky panorama (E. Slawik / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA, CC BY 4.0) after the AILANG destar pass removed the photo stars the catalogue draws itself, so stars are not counted twice. The renderer recolours each texel as a blackbody.
The forward CMB
The forward CMB disc at γ 275The 2.7 K cosmic microwave background, Doppler shifted to 1,500 K straight ahead (check value HB-67), glows orange in the bow among the last crowded stars. The eye has light-adapted (EV +0.2).γ 707, the cruise cap: the CMB at 3,854 KAt 0.999999c the forward CMB is a 3,853.7 K blackbody (check value HB-63), brighter than every star around it.
The galaxy map and the journey
Galaxy map: plan a journeyEvery number on the panel comes from the AILANG simulation: ship-years, Earth-years, boost energy, drag, the forward CMB temperature. Here: α Centauri A at 0.999917c, 0.0556 ship-years against 4.321 Earth-years.Commit, and you cannot take it back"A commitment cannot be undone. Hold for 1.5 s to commit." At 0.99c, 0.6157 years for you and 4.365 for everyone at home.In transit: Cancel is refusedThe simulation, not the UI, owns the commit rule. Mid-cruise the ship clock reads +0.32 yr while Earth's reads +2.24 yr.ArrivalArrived at α Centauri A: +0.6212 years on the ship clock, +4.3702 on Earth's. The energy radiated over the whole trip equals the plan, 6.112e17 J.The neighbourhood, from the real cataloguesThe galaxy map drawn from the binary catalogue tiers: the 5,687 stars within 25 pc, Sol at the centre (M1.7).