Dan's Test Star
NOTICE: This page is a Work in Progress as much of the lore/Development for the game is yet to be established.
Dan's Test Star is a specific star system within Starship Simulator, located at galactic coordinates X: -28,659 / Y: 0 / Z: 56. It appears frequently in developer streams and test builds and serves as a primary testbed environment for Dan Govier and Fleetyard Studios to implement and verify various game features.
System Overview
| Dan's Test Star | |
|---|---|
| Stellar Data | |
| Common Name | Dan's Test Star |
| System | Dan's Test Star System |
| Location (Galactic Coordinates) | -28659, 0, 56 |
| Object Class | Main Sequence Star |
| Spectral Class | G0V |
| Temperature (Surface) | ~5900 K |
| Mass | ~2.07e30 kg (1.04 x Sol) |
| Radius | ~753,336 km (1.08 x Sol) |
| Luminosity | Unknown (Data not provided in source table, will default to Unknown) |
| Habitable Zone | ~0.72 AU – ~1.41 AU |
| Planets | 15+ (Incl. Terrestrial, Gas/Ice Giants, Icy Bodies, Occupied World) |
| Roche Limit | ~1.12 million km |
| Hill Radius | ~4.70 LY |
| 2000K Dust Sublimation | ~3.12 million km (~0.021 AU) |
| 1200K Lava Line | ~8.66 million km (~0.058 AU) |
| 320K Habitable Zone Start | ~0.72 AU |
| 230K Habitable Zone End | ~1.41 AU |
| 150K Frost Line | ~3.30 AU |
The system is centred around a G0V main sequence star. Long Range Sensor output indicates a complex system containing at least 15 objects, including:
- The central G0V star itself.
- Multiple Atmospheric Terrestrial Planets at various orbits (e.g., 0.25 AU, 2.02 AU, 3.52 AU).
- At least one planet occupied by an alien civilization: The Great Unicorn Empire Occupied Planet (1.25 AU), exhibiting both Life and Tech signatures.
- Class I Gas Giants (e.g., 6.25 AU, 10.59 AU).
- An Ice Giant (e.g., 20.14 AU).
- Numerous Icy Bodies in the outer system (beyond 20 AU), consistent with the system's calculated Scattered Disk boundaries (17.10 AU - 26.94 AU).
Stellar Characteristics
The central star itself, "Dan's Test Star", has the following properties displayed on Sensors:
- Spectral Class: G0V - A yellow main sequence star, slightly hotter than Sol.
- Population: Population I - Indicating relatively high metallicity.
- Temperature: Average surface temperature of ~5900 Kelvin.
- Age: Approximately 3.9 Billion years old (0.83 x Sol).
- Mass: ~2.07 x 10^30 kg (1.04 x Sol).
- Radius: ~753,336 km (1.08 x Sol).
- Density: ~1,107 kg/m^3 (0.79 x Sol).
- Gravity (Surface): ~235.93 m/s^2 (0.86 x Sol).
- Escape Velocity: ~600.9 km/s (0.97 x Sol).
- Composition (Photosphere): Hydrogen: ~77.54%, Helium: ~20.87%, Metals: ~1.58%.
- Metallicity [Fe/H]: 0.15.
- Spectral Analysis Graph: Visual representation available on Short Range Sensors.
Key calculated boundaries based on the star's properties include:
- Habitable Zone: Approx. 0.72 AU – 1.41 AU
- Frost Line (~150K): Approx. 3.30 AU
- Lava Line (~1200K): Approx. 8.66 million km (~0.058 AU)
- Dust Sublimation Line (~2000K): Approx. 3.12 million km (~0.021 AU)
- Roche Limit: Approx. 1.12 million km
- Hill Radius (Gravitational Influence): Approx. 4.70 LY
- Tidal Truncation Limit: Approx. 2.00 LY
- Scattered Disk: Approx. 17.10 AU – 26.94 AU
Notable Planetary Body Example
Data available for "The Great Unicorn Empire Occupied Planet" showcases the type of details generated for planets within this system:
- Overview Text: "A lush Earthlike world orbiting 1.25AU from its parent star, with a significant atmosphere and an average surface temperature of 278K. This planet is inhabited by a mammalian race known as the The Great Unicorn Empire".
- Physical Characteristics: Earth-like size (~1.04x Earth Radius, ~0.97x Earth Mass) and gravity (~1.06g), Age ~3.91 GYr, Equilibrium Temp ~244 K.
- Atmosphere Data: Classified as "Significant" with an Average Temp of ~278.4 K.
- Civilisation Data: Identifies the "The Great Unicorn Empire" as Mammalian, Spiritual, with a Democracy government, Tech Level 21, and moderate Aggression/Xenophobia (50%).
- Orbital Characteristics: Semi-Major Axis 1.25 AU, Orbital Period 1 Year, Eccentricity 0.11%, Apoapsis 1.25 AU, Periapsis 1.11 AU, etc.
Purpose / Usage
Given its diverse contents and the detailed data available, the Dan's Test Star system serves as a valuable environment for:
- Testing procedural generation algorithms for various star and planet types.
- Developing and verifying Sensors functionality across different modes (Long/Short Range) and target summaries, including Spectral Analysis display.
- Implementing and testing the detection of Life and Tech signatures, along with associated civilisation data generation.
- Benchmarking performance related to star system rendering and simulation.
- Demonstrating gameplay features during Developer Live Streams.