Build a spaceship out of a tent fort, then give it a window. This is the window: a full-screen browser page that flies through space, so whoever is at the controls is really steering the ship.
What it does
- Endless space. Stars and planets are generated as you fly, and the universe remembers what it made, so if you turn around, the same stars are still there.
- Real flying. Arrow keys, WASD or the number pad turn the ship up, down, left and right. A separate throttle sets the speed, and easing off far enough puts it in reverse.
- A sky that looks right. Most stars are white, some are colored, all at different brightness. Big nearby stars are glowing spheres, and distant ones fade so the view stays calm.
- Rare discoveries. Every so often you find a solar system, with planets orbiting their star.
- A cockpit readout. A heads-up display shows speed, coordinates and the ID of the system you are in.
- No seams. The space just ahead loads before you get there, and what is far behind is dropped, so it runs smoothly in a browser on kiosk-mode hardware.
Next: more portholes
The plan is to let more screens join the ship. Prop a tablet on each side of the fort or add another monitor, and each one becomes another porthole looking out its own side, all showing the same flight in sync.
Built with Three.js as a single web page.