Battle for the Galaxy

[PFerr]

Hello guys,

UPDATE 21-4-2014 see posts below!

UPDATE 6-4-2014: I have put in some fixes for the lag, please give it a go!

After about one year of development I would like to present my implementation of a space combat game, Battle for the Galaxy http://bfggame.azurewebsites.net/.

I believe you guys might find it interesting!

The game is implemented as a HTML5 webpage. I have tested on IE 10 as well as the latest versions of Firefox and Chrome. Other browsers may not work.

The main reason for implementing this was to provide a means to engage the community around a common experience.

I suggest that you use some voice chat for coordinating, such as skype or teamspeak or razer comms.

I have only tested with 8 players at once before my machine gave up, it should accommodate more!

If the server becomes overloaded a new instance should be created transparently, I have not had the opportunity to test this out yet

Also the server is located in North Europe - Amsterdam, so if you are very far there might be too much lag. Sorry! I will work on setting up dedicated North America and SE Asia servers if there is demand for it.

Stuff still to be implemented: Nova Cannon, Auto Target closest ship, Target closest ship button, terrain features, more maps, more ships, different fleets.

Any constructive feedback is appreciated!

[FistusMaximus]

well, just tried it out, some stuff worked, some didnt...  guess its because its the first time i played and i sucked pretty bad 
but very nice and fun thing so far, will definitely give it some more playtesting... 

one question already: is it always against some other person or is there AI?

[Cneo]

Nice game man!

I tried to play it...but I'm alone in the galaxy...no enemy ships...How to find them?

[PFerr]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the feedback. I was playing a bit earlier and definitly saw that attack craft have a pretty nice lag shield effect going on. I will have to think about how to fix that.

There is no AI, at first the plan was to make some but that idea is currently shelved. I could make it in the future but for now am more concerned to get some feedback on the direction of the game.

I am working on releasing a free version on android once i figure out the advertising. That should bring in new blood!

In case you didnt notice, fighters reduce the number of turrets, also you can only have as many attack craft in play as you have launch bays.

What do you think about planets destroying ships? Since according to the rules they block weapon batteries and Lances and torpedoes it could mean that a crafty player could hide on the planet and launch attack craft... Also something to consider is that the planets excert gravity and try to turn you toward the planet. I made it less annoying by changing only the desired heading instead of the actual heading. But it was interesting to have forced turn toward the planet combined with forced move toward the planet and destruction waiting on impact 😃
Another change i am considering is to reduce weapon potency by 10 but increase recharge to 1second, would make it more arcady i supose?

I plan to introduce some more ships as well as the brace and Lock orders next release.

Let me know which ships from the relevant lists you would prefer next.

[Malika]

Very interesting, been looking for a BFG styled game to play online for so long. But it's not clear how the game works. You might want to do something on that. It has a lot of potential!

[Gron]

Great work here, massive potentional. Did stumble on a bug where a friend of mine was in the game alone and I was also in the game alone until I refreshed the page and choosed a ship again, then we could fight. Syncronisation issue?

[PFerr]

Hello

Sorry I have not had much time to write, busy with rl stuff and much coding!

Thanks for your feedback! yes, the game needs to connect to the server, if you are minimizing the browser tab or losing connection or some such then the connection stops sending data, thus disconnecting you. Also if you both connect at the exact time then your ping requests might miss. There are some limitations to web-sockets which we will have to live with, mostly web performace. Having said that, I will work on re-connecting for the next update (the one after the one I am working on now).

Stuff to expect on the next update Coming Soonâ„¢: so far have added the Mars (including Nova Cannon) and the Emperor, as well as the Despoiler. I am thinking of adding the Dauntless and the Styx. Escort squadrons are now 6 ships, but I am probably going to tone them down to 4. Escort squadrons now sync fire their weapons when the leader fires. Coding on Lock On is done, testing is progressing on Brace for Impact. Torpedoes can now be targeted and destroyed. The attack craft now set their target to their carrier's target when the target they were assigned to is destroyed, if the carrier has no target then they return to swarm around the carrier.

In preparation to add new maps I have made a Star Map, you will now have to navigate to the center of the map to enter the Terra Orbit map.

 Stuff still to code for this release: warp out to the star map - disengage, show target's current orders, show own and target's leadership, do not destroy ships on collision with planet, half weapons on some special orders. Massed Turrets when in close proximity with other ships, max +2. Help Overlay on main screen.

Next core rules to work on once this update is released : critical hits, repairs,ramming, teleport attacks, boarding, crippled ships, terrain features such as asteroids and nebulas. Finally, work on toggling upgrades on ships and building / deploying a fleet. Further out will be implementing Eldar ships as well as other races. And at some point, making a tutorial for the game.

There is always room for discussion and prioritization, however there does not seem to be much discussion on the direction I am taking with this project, so if you have something you want to talk about let me know, I check this thread at least every couple of days.

[PFerr]

Hello guys,

Another update to the site. I have to admit I got distracted and haven't gotten around to all the goals I wanted for the release, however there is always next time!
Now for the good news, I have added the Dauntless Light Cruiser. I know... terrible that I have not added any Chaos ships, but since there is still no feedback I suppose I cant hear anyone complaining

Features:
- Lock On
- Brace for Impact
- Emperor
- Mars
- Despoiler
- Dauntless
- Nova Cannon
- Chaos Fighters
- Chaos Bombers
- Escort Squad sync fire
- Attack Craft target Carrier target when their assigned target is destroyed, or rtb if carrier has no target.
- Planet no longer destroys ships, still provides cover against WB, Lance fire.
- Planet gravity effects removed for now.
- Fleets now placed on opposite sides of the map.

Added fleet deployment options when pressing the faction symbol:

Blue - Imperial:
Emperor       345
Mars         270 + 15
Lunar         180
Lunar         180
Dictator      220
Dauntless      110
3x Cobra      90
3x Cobra      90
         1500

Red - Chaos
Despoiler       400
Repulsive       230 + 10
Murder      170
Murder      170
Murder      170
Murder      170
Iconoclast x3   90
Iconoclast x3   90
         1500

No re-rolls or commanders, but the Emperor does have the bonus +1 Ld.
Special orders still do not cause half weapon status.
Still no re-connection if dc in a battle.

Other rules will be worked on as time permits.

Good hunting!

[Gron]

Looks like nice updates, unfortunately I haven't tested it against anyone yet. It could really be used to introduce new players to the table top game.
Perhaps adding a scenario, Cruiser Clash or implement some AI to test against. Just enough to awake interest but not to replace the table top entirely.