Anyway, I should note: as long as SE is a scientifically accurate Universe simulator, then one day it will implement ALL space objects and phenomenon that are known to modern astronomy (if this would be possible to implement on the personal computers). So you may not bother yourself with questions like "will SE one day have meteor rain implemented". I guarantee that it WILL.
Color guide:
- Fully implemented
- Partially implemented
- In development
- Uncertain if possible
- Planned
- Deferred shading
- Shadow maps
- Ambient occlusion
- Global illumination
- Environment map lighting, reflections, refractions
- On-screen motion blur
- Loading of models with animations (spaceships)
- Networking
- Camera control and physics (including the orbital motion of bodies) in a parallel thread
- Displays the names of objects on the planetary surface (sea, mountains, craters, etc.)
- Empowering the planetarium (the constellation - the figures, boundaries and names, astronomical coordinate grid, control of the telescope)
- Multi-monitor support, customizable "warper" to create video walls (including fish eye view)
- Network synchronization for distributed videowall rendering
- In the editor: importing of textures, catalogs and models, exporting of procedural textures, catalogs and models (content sharing with other programs and games)
- Eliminating the crashes
- Scripts for the autopilot
- The galactic map, star map, map of the planetary system, a map of the planet
- Built-in editor of planets, galaxies, etc.
- Improved interface and control system (control panel, prompts, Bind keys, etc.)
- Different materials on the same models / textures (metal, glass, etc.)
- Loading/generating resources in a parallel thread
- Localization to other languages
- Reverse depth buffer
- Anti-aliasing
- Proper auto exposure, the real brightness of the surface of planets and stars
- Recording of flight, its editing and smoothing
- Unicode fonts
- Unique procedural model for each galaxy
- Models of irregular and colliding galaxies
- Complex rendering of spiral galaxies (bulge as precomputed texture + disk as sprites)
- A closed universe or a universe with a domain structure
- Embedding of giant nebulae sprite models into the galaxy disc sprite model
- Render the galaxy by ray tracing
- Correct blending of dust with the stars (ray tracing or multipass)
- Animation or simulation of galaxy rotation
- Simulation of collision of galaxies
- Modeling the evolution of galaxies
- Adaptive level of detail of galaxy sprite model
- Correct rendering of dust sprites (extinction effect)
- Procedural large-scale distribution of galaxies (clusters, filaments, walls and voids)
- Animation of accretion disks and jets
- Complex rendering (subsystems with independent LODs)
- Lighting from any number of stars
- Animation of light wave (light echo)
- Animation of expanding shells of supernova and planetary nebulae
- Correct blending with the galaxy (ray tracing)
- Correct blending with the stars (ray tracing or multipass)
- Modeling of evolution of diffuse nebulae: its collapse and the formation of star clusters
- Unique procedural model for each nebula
- Render the nebula by ray tracing
- Correct rendering of dust sprites (extinction effect)
- Tidal distortion of shape, filling the Roche limit (taking into account the ellipticity of orbits)
- Neutron stars and pulsars with the animated jets, embedding it into the nebula model
- Stars velocities in the galaxy (needed for ship's hyperflight physics)
- Animation of surface
- Semi-transparent red giants and protostars with animation
- Magnetic activity
- Binary file format for star catalog with built-in octree
- Compilation of a text script catalog into a binary catalog
- Embedding a star catalog in the galactic procedural stars octree
- Dynamic loading of stars catalog from the disk (supporting of unlimited number of stars)
- Variable stars, supernovae
- Catalog of variable stars
- Stars in intergalactic space
- Prominences, flares, clouds (in the form of magnetic field lines)
- Motion of stars in the galaxy
- Modeling of evolution of stars
- Correct dynamic lens flare effect
- Black holes with the effect of the distortion of light rays, Kerr black holes
- Animation of flowing substance, accretion disks and jets
- Quasars with accretion disk
- Catalog of binary and multiple stars
- Super-massive black holes in galactic center, modeling or animation of motion of nearby stars
- Triple and multiple systems
- Distortion of the shape of the fast rotating stars, gravity darkening effect
- Procedural animated stellar coronae
- Distortion function for elevation map (terraces, horizontal shift)
- Modeling of continents
- Illumination of planets with globular clusters, galactic core, close nebulae, supernovae
- Self-shadowing of the terrain, ambient occlusion, global illumination
- Animation of clouds, cyclones
- Clouds shadows on the landscape
- 3D clouds with lighting and self-shadowing
- God-Rays from the landscapes and clouds in the atmosphere
- 3D water with waves animation, simulation of the tides
- Refraction and reflection on the water surface
- More types of atmospheres, generation of models at run-time, binding to astrophysics
- Volcanoes, volcanic eruption, animation of explosions and ash clouds
- Glowing lava flow animation
- Magnetic field modelling
- Lighting of the planetary surface with aurora
- Dust and the asteroid belts around stars and planets (rings), animation, or simulation of the motion
- The shadows of the satellites and other planets on rings and vice versa; volumetric shadows inside the dust rings and self-shadowing of the rings
- Illumination of a planet and satellites by the rings
- Improving gas giant atmospheres
- Surface components (stones, plants, roads, buildings)
- Terramorphing
- Landscape with water and thermal erosion
- Tectonic plates
- Modeling of asteroid collisions with lighting, explosion and the formation of the crater
- Animation of meteorites and meteor rains
- Holes in the surface (caves, mines)
- Right cone of the shadow of the eclipse from moons and rings in the atmosphere
- Atmospheric refraction
- Weather conditions (rain, snow, fog, lightning, rainbow)
- Seasonal changes (snow cover and polar caps, dust storms, evaporation or freezing of the seas and the atmosphere)
- Climate and surface generation of "lying on its side" planets (like Uranus)
- Modeling of 2D gas dynamics of the atmosphere on the GPU
- Modeling the tectonics and evolution of planets
- Simulation of the collision, tidal or artificial destruction of the planets, formation of the asteroid belt and the dust disk around the sun, its further evolution
- Modeling the evolution of the planetary system when the sun goes in the red giant phase
- Simulation of destruction of the planetary system in a supernova explosion
- Improved modeling of the structure of the planetary system, taking into account migration of the planets, resonances, high ellipticity and inclination of orbits
- Different types of clouds, multiple layers
- New classes of planets, binding to astrophysics, geology and geochemistry
- New classes of surfaces
- Linear and radial structures (rivers, grooves, scarps)
- Checking of collisions with the surface
- Fixing of bugs with ellipsoidal planets
- Asteroid belts and comet clouds
- Improving the level of detail, reaching of 1 mm per pixel detail
- Underwater World
- Different types of hydrosphere (water, methane, lava sea, etc.)
- Different types of terrain in different places
- Animated aurora
- Asteroids
- Comets with an animated tail
- Evaporating planets with an animated tail
- Planets, tidal locked to their suns
- Ocean worlds
- Ice worlds with hydrocarbons oceans (titans)
- Brown dwarfs
- Lights of the night side (hot planets, lava, cities)
- The planets floating in the interstellar space (planemo)
- Decrease of loading/generation time
- Server database (work in progress)
- Network system
- Spaceship builder with physical testing of construction
- Cockpit devices: orbital transfer calculator, hyperflight calculator, programmable autopilot, etc.
- Docking system, remote control of units
- Economics, harvesting of resources, refueling, building, etc
- Weapons, combat system
- Giant alien astroengineering constructions
- Destruction of spaceships and buildings (modelling of thousands of fragments on the GPU), animation of explosions (gas dynamics simulation on GPU(?))
- Advanced physics: jet propulsion, aerodynamics and hydrodynamics
- Procedural life
- Procedural civilizations
- Local database
- Loading of models (spaceships, buildings, etc.)
- Internal structure of ships and buildings (indoor-engine)
- Physics: collision detection, newtonian mechanics
- Space physics: gravity forces, orbital flight, hyperdrive