Floating Sandbox

Floating Sandbox is a realistic 2D physics simulator. It is essentially a particle system that uses mass-spring networks to simulate rigid bodies, with added thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and basic electrotechnics. The simulation is mostly focused around ships floating on water, but you can build any kind of object using the integrated ShipBuilder and a database of over 1,000 different materials. Once you build an object you can punch holes into it, slice it, apply forces and heat, set it on fire, smash it with bomb explosions - anything you want. And when it starts sinking, you can watch it slowly dive its way into the abyss, where it will rot for eternity!

The simulator is crammed with physics; every conceivable aspect of the gameplay is governed exclusively by classical mechanics (e.g. friction and elasticity, conservation of momentum, Hooke's spring forces, impacts), thermodynamics (e.g. heat transfer, dissipation, combustion and melting), and fluid dynamics (e.g. buoyancy, drag, hydrostatic and atmospheric pressure, wind), while the extensive material system has been put together using real physical characteristics specific to each of the materials - ranging from density, mass, and friction coefficients, up to elasticity and thermal expansion coefficients.

The world of Floating Sandbox is rich with interactions, and new ones are being continuously added. To make a few examples, you can:

* Detonate different kinds of bombs with different behaviors

* Trigger storms with rain, hurricane winds, and lightnings - all interacting with the ship in a way or the other

* Overheat materials and reach either their combustion point or melting point

* Use tools to damage the ship by e.g. hitting, pulling parts, overheating, and inflating

* Use tools to impart tremendous radial or rotational force fields

* Control waves on the surface of the sea, creating monster waves and triggering tsunami's

* Spawn NPCs walking about the ship and being subject to what's happening around them

The simulator comes with a built-in ShipBuilder that allows you to create ships by drawing individual particles drawn out of the materials in the game's library. Each material has its own physical properties, such as mass, strength, stiffness, water permeability, specific heat, sound properties, and so on. You can also create electrical layers with electrical materials (lamps, engines, generators, switches, etc.), layers with ropes, and texture layers for a final, high-definition look'n'feel of the ship.

The game comes with a few example objects - mostly ships - and I'm always busy making new ships and objects. Also have a look at the official Floating Sandbox web site, where you can find plenty of Ship Packs!

The original idea for the game is from Luke Wren, who wrote a Sinking Ship Simulator after an idea from Francis Racicot (Pac0master). I have adopted their idea, completely rewritten the simulator, and revamped its feature set; at this moment it is really a generic physics simulator that can be used to simulate just about any floating rigid body under stress.

For those interested in the technical aspects of the simulation, the full source code of the game is on GitHub.

System Requirements

• Windows:

  • Windows 7, 8, 10, or 11, either 64-bit or 32-bit

    • The 64-bit build of Floating Sandbox runs ~7% faster than the 32-bit build, so if you're running a 64-bit Windows it is advisable to install the 64-bit build of Floating Sandbox

  • OpenGL 2.1 or later

    • If your graphics card does not support OpenGL 2.1, try upgrading its drivers - most likely there's a newer version with support for 2.1

• Linux:

  • 64-bit Linux (tested on Ubuntu 24.04 and Linux Mint 20.2)

  • X11 and GTK3

  • OpenGL 2.1 or later, MESA drivers are fine

  • OpenAL, Vorbis and FLAC

If you're having issues with Floating Sandbox, have a look at the official FAQ.

#simulation #physics