# Game that simulates gravity on other planets? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 14, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-that-simulates-gravity-on-other-planets/625144 "2012-06-14T15:17:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qshadow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/77aa72/32.png) [@Qshadow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qshadow)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-that-simulates-gravity-on-other-planets/625144/1 "2012-06-14T15:17:29Z")
Hi, I am looking for a game (or just a simulator) where i can modify the gravity acceleration (g), so that all things in the game that use the Physics engine will behave (fall) accordingly. For example it is very interesting to see how objects fall, fly, thrown in such a game. In many games there is a possibility to modify many physical parameters through some cfg files, for example in STALKER you can change almost everything (but i didn’t find gravity ☹ I know that most of FPS games today use very advanced physics, so it must be possible, but it is probably hardcoded and not changeable… It could be really cool to see how NPCs walk/run/jump with Moon/Mars/Jupiter gravity. So any advice, how to find such modifiable game or maybe advise on upcoming future game that will have this possibility is appreciated! Regards, Qshadow. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-that-simulates-gravity-on-other-planets/625144/2 "2012-06-14T15:32:27Z")
Little Big Planet 2 allows you to modify the game gravity (as well as pretty much everything else). ---
**Author:** ![Qshadow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/77aa72/32.png) [@Qshadow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qshadow)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-that-simulates-gravity-on-other-planets/625144/3 "2012-06-14T15:56:13Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Little Big Planet 2 allows you to modify the game gravity (as well as pretty much everything else). Thanks! I still would like something for a PC. I do not have PS3 ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-that-simulates-gravity-on-other-planets/625144/4 "2012-06-14T16:01:56Z")
Unreal Tournament 2003 (and probably more recent versions, though I haven’t tried them) have a low-gravity mode available, but it’s just a toggle switch: You can’t turn a knob for the gravity. ---
**Author:** ![Mogle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mogle/32/12021_2.png) [@Mogle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mogle)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-that-simulates-gravity-on-other-planets/625144/5 "2012-06-14T16:23:35Z")
Quake 1 and 2 had adjustable gravity(but not very realistic physics in general), Half-Life was based on the Quake engine so I would expect it to have it as well, but alas I don’t have it installed right now so I can’t test it. ---
**Author:** ![HookerChemical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@HookerChemical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HookerChemical)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-that-simulates-gravity-on-other-planets/625144/6 "2012-06-14T16:25:53Z")
Does Gary’s Mod for Halflife do this? I’ve never played around with it myself, but I understand you can do nearly anything with it. ---
**Author:** ![Rattlehead02](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rattlehead02/32/3944_2.png) [@Rattlehead02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rattlehead02)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-that-simulates-gravity-on-other-planets/625144/7 "2012-06-14T17:15:27Z")
Not quite what you’re looking for, but Kerbal Space Program ([http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/](http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/)) is a rocket/orbit simulator that uses realistic gravity to create orbits and allow you to land on the Mun (their version of the moon). It’s still in beta (alpha?) but’s well done and can be pretty addicting. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-that-simulates-gravity-on-other-planets/625144/8 "2012-06-14T19:24:33Z")
Any source engine games (half life 2, tf2, portal, etc.) can have the gravity modified by typing sv\_gravity # in console. The lower the number, the lower the gravity. I think 600 is normal, although it may be 800. The source engine has a quirk where the physics (as opposed to the player) gravity sticks to whatever it was set when the map was loaded, so you may have to reload the map after changing it. You can use that effect to good use though - if you start a map with say, sv\_gravity 20, and then turn it back up to 600 - the player will not function under normal gravity, but the physics are still stuck on 20 until a new map loads. I used to do that when I hosted games of counterstrike or half-life 2 deathmatch - the players would react normally to the gravity but you could shoot a barrel and have it go up into orbit. Or my favorite, playing cs\_office in counterstrike and having all of the random computer parts and office equipment floating around in the air. ---
**Author:** ![Qshadow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/77aa72/32.png) [@Qshadow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qshadow)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-that-simulates-gravity-on-other-planets/625144/9 "2012-06-15T13:55:43Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Any source engine games (half life 2, tf2, portal, etc.) can have the gravity modified by typing sv\_gravity # in console. The lower the number, the lower the gravity. I think 600 is normal, although it may be 800. > > . Thanks! I would definitely try this. But can I assume that this numbers (800) really mean real Earth acceleration, or maybe 800 means 8 m/s^2 (instead of 9.8 m/s^2)? I know I am being a little picky here, but I remember reading somewhere that developers in games had to decrease gravity by as much as 3 times, to allow players jump higher. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-that-simulates-gravity-on-other-planets/625144/10 "2012-06-15T15:39:08Z")
There were tons of free/shareware “Lunar Lander” games back in the day…I remember copying a BASIC one out of a magazine. I bet at least some of them had an easily configurable setting to change the gravity of the “Moon”, and most could be changed if you knew the physics. 🙂