A real-time 3D visualization of galactic civilizations emerging and connecting through radio wave communication across three spiral galaxies containing tens of thousands of stars.
- Three Distinct Galaxies: Middle-aged 3-arm spiral, old 2-arm tight spiral, and young 4-arm loose spiral, each with unique characteristics and positioned in 3D space
- Dynamic Civilization Emergence: Stars randomly develop intelligent life based on configurable probability (0.05% per frame)
- Radio Wave Propagation: Visual expanding radio waves emitted from active civilizations (max 30 units radius)
- Automatic Network Formation: Connections form via two-way handshake when both stars have been active long enough for light-speed round-trip communication
- Spiral Arm Glow: Subtle luminous effect along galaxy spiral arms using additive blending
- Dust Cloud Obscuration: Interstellar dust blocks radio signals and dims starlight
- Star Lifecycle: Stars age, fade, and die (60-180 sec lifetime) with rare supernova events (0.05% chance at death)
- Low-Rate Star Birth: New stars spawn at 10% replacement rate, allowing simulation to eventually end
- Fully Configurable: 50+ parameters adjustable via in-app settings UI
- Performance Optimized: Handles tens of thousands of stars with spatial partitioning (O(n) collision detection)
- Node.js 16+ and npm
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/CosmicNetworkSim1.git
cd CosmicNetworkSim1
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Start development server
npm run devThe app will open at http://localhost:3000
npm run build
npm run preview- Mouse Drag: Rotate camera view
- Mouse Wheel: Zoom in/out
▶️ Play/Pause: Start/stop simulation- 🔄 Reset: Restart with saved settings
- ⚙️ Settings: Configure all simulation parameters
- 👁️ Toggle Waves: Show/hide radio wave visualization
- ✨ Toggle Supernovae: Enable/disable flash effects
- Speed Slider: Adjust simulation time scale (0.1x - 3.0x)
All simulation parameters are configurable via the Settings UI:
- Star Behavior: Activation/deactivation probabilities
- Galaxy Structure: Disk size, spiral arm curvature, central bulge
- Active Star Visuals: Size, brightness, light intensity
- Dust Obscuration: Opacity levels for different obscuration types
- Radio Waves: Speed, radius, color, opacity
- Network Formation: Maximum connection distance
- Star Birth: Replacement ratios and population thresholds
Settings persist in browser localStorage.
src/
├── main.ts # Application entry point, scene setup
├── networkManager.ts # Galaxy generation, simulation state
├── entities.ts # Star, RadioWave, Connection, DustCloud classes
├── settings.ts # Configuration management
├── armGlow.ts # Spiral arm glow effects
├── spatialGrid.ts # Spatial partitioning for performance
└── styles.css # UI styling
- Three.js: 3D rendering and scene management
- TypeScript: Type-safe development
- Vite: Fast build tooling with HMR
- ESLint: Code quality and consistency
- Spatial Partitioning: O(n²) → O(n) for wave/dust/connection checks using grid-based spatial hashing
- Smart Connection Logic: Two-way handshake timing eliminates need for wave intersection testing
- Dynamic Lighting: Only active stars emit point lights (~99.5% reduction, only active civilizations)
- Static Dust Clouds: 270 clouds with no movement calculations
- Resource Management: Proper Three.js geometry/material disposal prevents memory leaks
# Run linter
npm run lint
# Auto-fix linting issues
npm run lint:fix
# Type check
npm run buildReal-time metrics shown in UI:
- Total stars across all galaxies
- Currently active civilizations (with "ended" indicator)
- Active radio waves propagating
- Network connections established
Contributions welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
- Add unit tests (Vitest)
- GitHub Actions CI/CD
- Code coverage reporting
- Interactive tutorial/onboarding
- Export simulation data (JSON/CSV)
- More galaxy types (elliptical, irregular)
- Custom galaxy designer
- Time-lapse recording
- Performance may degrade with very large star counts (>40K) on lower-end hardware
- Spiral arm glow uses additive blending which may appear dim on some displays
- Star death can cause brief frame drops when removing many stars simultaneously
Built with inspiration from the Fermi Paradox and SETI research.
Made with ❤️ and Three.js