Sable: AeroDynamic (Create Aeronautics)

This mod adds realistic, real-time aerodynamics to the Sable physics engine.

The shape, size, and mass of your contraptions now matter!

For example, large, lightweight contraptions can fall more slowly than small, heavy ones due to aerodynamic drag. A flat plate falling edge-first experiences significantly less drag than the same plate falling face-first.

The mod also makes it possible to build realistic aircraft. Even a completely flat surface can generate aerodynamic lift when moving through the air at a positive angle of attack (AoA). This happens due to the pressure difference between the upper and lower surfaces, as well as the downward deflection of airflow.

You can also create functional aerodynamic control surfaces by attaching thin blocks (such as panels from Copycats) to a physics rotator. Deflecting these surfaces changes the airflow and generates aerodynamic forces, allowing you to control your aircraft.

The aerodynamic simulation also allows for realistic airflow separation, aerodynamic stalls, spins, and flight control behavior. These effects emerge from the interaction between airflow and the actual geometry of your contraption.

To make aerodynamic effects more noticeable, you can increase densityScale in the config.

There are no hardcoded aerodynamic properties assigned to specific blocks. Lift and drag are calculated based on the actual geometry of each block, rather than predefined block types. This means even custom-shaped blocks can interact with airflow naturally.

Compatibility

• Custom blocks should be natively supported in theory, since the mod uses VoxelShape to determine block geometry.
• Compatibility with Copycats has been tested. The number of layers affects aerodynamic behavior.

Config: sableatmosphericeffects-server.toml

1. #server aerodynamics enabled — Enables or disables server-side aerodynamic simulation.
2. densityScale — Controls air density. Higher values result in stronger aerodynamic forces.
3. suppressSableUniversalDrag — When set to true, disables Sable's built-in linear damping.

Commands

/sable atmospheric_effects multiplier 0-1000

Controls the intensity of visual atmospheric effects. This setting is purely visual and does not affect the physics simulation.