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A list of worldbuilding resources

Welcome to Worldbuilding.SE! A Concise List of "The Rules" Worldbuilding Lexicon What is a LitRPG? A Word about Copyright How does using Worldbuilding.SE affect my copyright? When is a ...
27 votes

Software that shows space travel accurately in 3d from a physics point of view

Kerbal Space Program is an homage to the developments in the Space Race of the Cold War. You will see names like Wernher von Kerman or Gene Kerman to remember the old Apollo and Gemini flights, but ...
PSquall's user avatar
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23 votes

"Globe to draw on" software?

I recommend GPlates. Its originally purpose was constructing tectonic plates and showing how they move over time (it was developed by geoscience departments at several universities across the world), ...
HDE 226868's user avatar
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23 votes
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A tool that draws the borders around settlements automatically

In a pure mathematic world - you want to generate a Voronoi diagram. Here's an online webgl tool that will do it for you: http://alexbeutel.com/webgl/voronoi.html However it's perfectly straight - it'...
Ash's user avatar
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15 votes
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Anyone know of a good software for making a galaxy map?

Keep in mind that what your asking isn't straightforward at all. A true galaxy map must map hundreds of billions of stars and quadrillions (if not more) planets, asteroids, nebula, etc., etc. The ...
JBH's user avatar
  • 132k
13 votes

Is there software to help me model tides?

Unfortunately the answer is no. Serious props to you if you want to have a go at coding this. There is probably a PhD in it. One of the primary resources on the topic is the Admiralty Manual of Tides ...
pHred's user avatar
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12 votes
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Program for simulating planets

This is a very complicated subject And I'm not sure anyone has written a program to do everything you asked for. Bits and pieces have been written and polished but there's no cohesive project that ...
Green's user avatar
  • 52.9k
10 votes

Software that shows space travel accurately in 3d from a physics point of view

If you are content with flying around our solar system, I'd recommend the NASA trajectory browser. It lets you find realistic flight paths to many large and small objects in the solar system, for ...
mart's user avatar
  • 3,487
8 votes

"Globe to draw on" software?

I'm not sure it's what you're looking for, but I found Fractal Terrains 3 to be quite useful. The full version is about $40 USD plus tax, but there's a free trial available on the ProFantasy website ...
Palarran's user avatar
  • 7,512
7 votes

What would Alien Talking Heads sound like?

Probably doesn't exist ...but here's what it would need to be able to do. Primary Goal: Finding the vocal range of a arbitrary phonatory apparatus is the primary use of this software. We want to be ...
Green's user avatar
  • 52.9k
7 votes

A tool that draws the borders around settlements automatically

While this would initially seem like a case for a voronoi diagram, mapping movement of cultures across a map would appear to require more complex rules than a mere voronoi diagram. Fortunately, the OP ...
Monty Wild's user avatar
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6 votes

Tool for simulating newtonian/acceleration based space combat

If you are not afraid of some hacking, Kerbal Space Program may be your answer. It's a game, but with physics reasonably close to what you have in real life. It has time warp option and good ...
Mołot's user avatar
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6 votes

Program for simulating planets

Universe Sandbox might help. It's basically a solar system simulator, on steroids :) It'd help you establish the orbits and positions of the bodies and the light patterns of the day/night cycles. It'...
Jack Judge's user avatar
  • 1,100
6 votes

What is the best software to create photorealistic worlds?

If you want photorealism and do not care about mapping an entire globe, try World Machine (Paid, demo available) If you want a good looking globe but don't much care about realism, you can try using ...
Miguel Bartelsman's user avatar
6 votes

Anyone know of a good software for making a galaxy map?

You can carve up a galactic disk into colonial empires like Africa, if that is the metaphor you are trying to make. It has been done again and again. But carving a photograph into political ...
wetcircuit's user avatar
  • 9,437
6 votes

Software that shows space travel accurately in 3d from a physics point of view

STK, https://www.agi.com/products/engineering-tools , is a tool used in creating many such visualizations by NASA, SpaceX, etc. It's an engineering tool, so it's very realistic, but it might be a bit ...
ventsyv's user avatar
  • 3,803
6 votes

Private wiki for keeping track of my world, editable from Windows and Android

Our list of worldbuilding resources includes World Anvil, which sounds like it's what you're looking for. Welcome, Worldbuilder! If you’re a writer or author, World Anvil is a game-changer in the ...
JBH's user avatar
  • 132k
6 votes

Is there a website that will allow me to create a fictional calendar?

Is this what you are looking for? Pretty basic, but it'll let you fiddle with stuff and make sure you did your math right. Another possibility is Fantasy Calendar which allows you to play with a ...
sevensevens's user avatar
  • 2,628
6 votes

How do i count the % of sea of a map?

I just opened your image in GIMP and selected all the blue pixels including two small lakes (if I understand your task correctly). Then I used the Colours → Info → Histogram menu to see, how many ...
Necros's user avatar
  • 61
5 votes

What tools can be used to help with language development?

I would say a good excel sheet is an easy and solid method to get your vocabulary organised. But if you want to look into more specialised software I have found the following programs: 1. PolyGlot v ...
DerGreif's user avatar
  • 591
5 votes

Private wiki for keeping track of my world, editable from Windows and Android

As @JBH has already mentioned World Anvil (great software, used it for a few things myself); I'll list a few other options I've used over the years (one currently): Microsoft OneNote I currently use ...
LinkBerest - SO sold our work's user avatar
5 votes
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Software for diagramming food webs?

After quickly asking Mr Google “food web maker software”, here’s what I’ve got: Creately Insight Visual Paradigm This is by no means a comprehensive list, but hopefully this helps :)
Blue Skin and Glowing Red Eyes's user avatar
4 votes
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Quick-and-simple point-and-click cartographic software to easily make a basic map

For my money you can't beat hand drawn maps, ever, but you've indicated that you're too lazy for that so; AutoREALM, AutoREALM and AutoREALM are the best options you have for world or country scale ...
Ash's user avatar
  • 51k
4 votes

What software could I use to simulate my world's sky?

Maybe, the most similar software to that specification and free, is Digital Universe developed by Hayden Planetarium. This software is available for Windows, Mac and Linux. Download here and look for ...
cosmoscalibur's user avatar
4 votes

Is there software to help me model tides?

First off, I am no expert in this field, simply a person who loves to study flow of fluid stuff so has gone about exploring fluid flow simulation tools and methods as a part of their weird list of ...
Afrah_Rahman's user avatar
4 votes
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Climate or weather simulation - free tools

If you want to simulate Earth weather and climate, the Apache's Open Climate Workbench is one open source solution. Open Climate Workbench If OCW is too confining for your purposes, then maybe you ...
EDL's user avatar
  • 11.5k
4 votes

Climate or weather simulation - free tools

I originally voted to close this question as a duplicate of What computational resources would work for a 550-year climate forecast of our earth? One of the answers to that question is for Universe ...
JBH's user avatar
  • 132k
4 votes
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Online Anatomy Creator/Maker..?

As indicated in my comments, it's not at all clear what you're expecting to get out of this software. I highly doubt anything designed specifically for what you want to do exists. You're asking about ...
Matthew's user avatar
  • 14.5k
4 votes

Are there any good map builders for a 3d, non-planar map of unusual shape?

I second working in Blender, because you have more options for customizing your work. A map on an unusual 3d surface is likely to be a custom job. It may take a bit of work to create something that ...
common_goldfish's user avatar
3 votes

Is there a software (preferrably free) that can help me make a map from a preset land mask?

I would use GIMP - or if you have the ability to, a trial version of Photoshop. Photoshop though would easily be my programme of choice for any raster (2D) image editing. I would use the following ...
flox's user avatar
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