Ares: Dogfighter - 3D space combat

WIP games, tools & toy projects
#1

Hi everybody! May I present the first preview of my new project Ares: Dogfighter, a 3D space combat simulator. I’ve been working on it for a few months now, and have just released the first download, a very early alpha. It allows you to dogfight against enemy AIs, as I wanted to get that bit right and make sure it was fun before proceeding with the game.

Here’s a brief gameplay video:-

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I use the excellent JMonkeyEngine for the 3D. As anyone who’s tried 3D before, getting stuff drawn on-screen is easy, but getting it to move around realistically gets very hard. My roadmap for the game is to slowly add features and flesh it out. I want to avoid it turning into an Elite clone, so my plan is to add other features and objectives that add emergent gameplay. The plan is to have random events and missions, so the player feels they are in a real living world with interesting things happening around them that they can interact with.

This early preview can be downloaded from http://gamejolt.com/games/ares-dogfighter/156604.

Thanks for listening and as usual all feedback is very welcome!

Steve

Website: http://www.aresdogfighter.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ares_Dogfighter
Wiki: http://ares-game.wikia.com/

#2

It doesn’t work. It seems to be missing all it’s assets/Models/Textures… folders and their content.

#3

Thanks for letting me know. Which site did you download from, and which version (Linux/Win)?

#4

Found the problem and re-uploaded. The first release always has a few teething problems! Thanks again. If you’ve got a moment, would you be able to confirm it works for you now?

#5

Yes, it works now. Haven’t had the time to play it yet though.

#6

Cheers. It’s very reassuring to know it works for another person. :slight_smile:

#7

i5 2520m with hd 3000 graphics: lag spikes every second or so, basically unplayable.
Desktop with GTX 960: smooth but loading lag spikes, butter-smooth after that.

the explosion sprites have no alpha. The 3d view stretches/compresses with different aspect-ratios.

how do i move forward? i tried wasd and arrow keys.

The performance is abysmal, what’s going on with the lag spikes and hd 3000 performance?
My unoptimized libgdx game with 40 tanks on screen runs smooth with the laptop setup.

I like the art tho ;D

#8

Thanks for the feedback. FYI, P and L are for accelerate/decelerate, space to shoot. Looks like I need to check out performance issues, although it runs fine on the few PC’s I’ve tried it on. I think the models I’m using might be too detailed.

#9

Stanfort/Utah model material there baby :point:

#10

Sorry, not sure what you mean. :slight_smile: It sounds positive though!

#11

Stanford Bunny
Source: Stanford University Computer Graphics Laboratory
Scanner: Cyberware 3030 MS
Number of scans: 10
Total size of scans: 362,272 points (about 725,000 triangles)
Reconstruction: zipper
Size of reconstruction: 35947 vertices, 69451 triangles
Comments: contains 5 holes in the bottom

#12

I’ve just released v0.0.3 of Ares:Dogfighter with quite a few tweaks (and also a “simple graphics” mode for those with less powerful PC’s). I’ve improved the enemy dogfighting AI and also changed the scanner. I was never a fan of the Elite-style scanner so I’ve tried to come up with a hopefully better solution. There’s also more of a game behind it, as now you can choose how many enemy ships to fight against, but you can only select more once you’ve succeeded in defeating the current number.

Next on my list is for the player to be able to kit their ship out with different types of weapons and equipment, and also gameplay “events”, like a meteor storm or distress calls from other ships.

Free download at http://gamejolt.com/games/ares-dogfighter/156604

#13

The performance increase is very significant, could play it at high fps on hd 3000 in power savings mode :point:
The first time shooting/hitting makes the game freeze for a few seconds though, you should load your stuff upfront if it takes longer and blocks the game.

Edit: FOV slider? your field of view is very slim, and what is left of it gets hindered by the cockpit overlay.
The movement feels wrong, do the white “speed-blur-lines” only indicate whether you’re moving or also the direction? You don’t get much sense of movement direction and speed with the way it is right now.

#14

Cool, it’s good to know that the game is now playable. :slight_smile: Preloading the models and graphics is next on my list.

#15

Just uploaded release 0.0.4 which addresses these points. I’d never have thought about an FOV slider myself, and the option is now in there along with other improvements. Thanks again.

Download at http://gamejolt.com/games/ares-dogfighter/156604

Edit: New features:-

  • Colour code scanner items
  • Siren when something too close
  • Preload models
  • FOV slider
  • Better sense of speed
  • Bigger explosions
  • More sound effects
#16

I’ve just released an update to Ares:Dogfighter. It has lots of new features including improved graphics and now you can have wingmen who will battle on your side.

Download at http://gamejolt.com/games/ares-dogfighter/156604

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#17

I am not a fan of the particles coming out of the center. I think you should add flips in the AI (so that you can’t just trail the heck out of a fighter). It seems like turning isn’t a problem, or lack of a problem really. I know there isn’t restriction in space. It’s just maybe too fast? Opinion tho.

#18

I’ve just open-sourced this project, since I’m not really developing it any more but others might find it a useful starting point. The repos includes all code and assets.

https://bitbucket.org/SteveSmith16384/aresdogfighteros

If anyone tries it and has any comments or problems, I’m more than happy to help.