The upcoming MMO No Man’s Sky will take you to a universe where almost realistic physics is used.
No Man’s Sky offers a vast universe that is so large that you rarely encounter other players, and all star systems can never be explored during your lifetime. It’s clear that this huge universe is not created by hand. It is procedurally generated by a random number generator that outputs the same numbers for all players. This means that all players will visit the same worlds, even though they are actually randomly generated.
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Physically correct?
Now the developers spoke about the physics in the game. No Man’s Sky is supposed to be as physically correct as possible – with some exceptions. For example, the day and night cycles of the worlds are calculated based on the actual physically computed orbits around the sun as well as the self-rotation of the planets. This means there will be no typical skybox in the game. All celestial bodies you see are also real planets or moons. However, one does not always strictly adhere to correct physics.
The laws of physics are broken!
For certain aesthetic reasons, the laws of physics are slightly adjusted for No Man’s Sky. For example, one wanted to have a green sky for certain worlds. However, this meant that the physics of atmospheric scattering had to be slightly adjusted. Additionally, they wanted moons closer to the planets and had to alter their orbit. This orbit would be impossible according to the laws of physics. Basically, one can say that one adheres to the laws of physics as much as possible, unless one wants to enhance the game’s visuals a bit.
