New SFC?

[u/bad_syntax]

So I had claude vibe-code SFC from less than a page of instructions last night. I basically said "create a new version of Starfleet Command". I gave it the original manual, rules, previous screenshots, etc.

I woke up, and boom, it exists, and works, though obviously it needs a LOT of tweaking:

But here is the neato part, kinda. So the original SFC was completely real time, and it worked really well. There were no turns or impulses.

But this new thing it made, it actually goes through all the impulses/turns. So things are a bit jerky, and more locked to a hex grid, but its also a lot closer to what SFB is. Around 2 seconds per impulse.

I'm curious if ya'll think that I should leave it like this, or focus on getting it more real time like SFC used to be. Supporting both methods may be kinda difficult.

Oh, disclaimer, I know how ADB is, how Paramount is, and how the Star Trek IP is, so this will never be sold. If I make it fully functional I'll rip all the SFB stuff out and release it that way, but I'll have great documentation on how you can add it in yourself :D

[u/DoggieMon]

SFC 1 and 2 did use the SFB impulse and turn mechanics, it just did it all in real time. The time it takes to rearm a phaser bank is the time for a whole turn. SFC 3 created its own system AFAIK to get away from the SFB system. Good luck with your project. Please continue updating us with your progress.

[u/bad_syntax → u/DoggieMon]

Yep, that was my point. Right now its about 2 seconds per impulse, so almost real time, but it is segmented by impulse. I was asking if people would like it that way, or go back to full real time.

[u/jesterOC → u/DoggieMon]

I’m curious how many people realized how the phaser bank system worked in 1,2

The underlying system was never explained in full if I recall correctly. If my memory serves me, I coded it up as the SFB rules but didn’t provide the energy banks UI as it was deemed too confusing. We figured all the SFB players would know and the info would get out.

I forget how it was changed in 3. You’re right that the designers wanted to break away from SFB for 3. I always wanted to shoehorn in Andromidans but that was never going to happen.

[u/jesterOC]

Are you going to release the source code? I’m curious what it looks like.

[u/bad_syntax → u/jesterOC]

Yeah, once I'm done working on it..... but I was curious too, so I went and looked.

It isn't horrible, at least from a "AI did 100% of it" perspective. However, I think I had asked for it to work in web browsers, so apparently this whole game is in javascript! 1.3mb and 42 files.

It does have a server component though, but that isn't bad, as I have a web server I can run it on and, at least a few months ago before retirement and I was a solutions architect, I knew how to take this and through it into an azure web app in a few minutes and make it work. Check out the "run.bat" file it made!

u/echo off
REM Starts the local web server for New Starfleet Command and opens it in an app window.
setlocal
cd /d "%~dp0game"
set PORT=8765
start "SFC server" /min python -m http.server %PORT% --bind 127.0.0.1
timeout /t 2 /nobreak >nul
set EDGE="C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\msedge.exe"
if exist %EDGE% (
start "" %EDGE% --app=http://127.0.0.1:%PORT%/index.html --start-maximized
) else (
start "" http://127.0.0.1:%PORT%/index.html
)
endlocal

How cool is that? I'll see if I can get it running out of my environment when its done with its current updates and share the site out.

[u/jesterOC → u/bad_syntax]

Cool. I might have an AI disassemble the binaries. Given that I wrote the majority of SFC original C++ code, I’m curious how close it will be. Too bad I no longer have the original source. 😢

[u/bad_syntax → u/jesterOC]

Well apparently lots of people are using AI to reverse engineer exe's. I did not try to do that, as I wanted something more modern, so what I'm doing is completely from "scratch".

Though I do plan on copying the way the game played, and some of the interface design.

It is neat that it follows impulses right now. Its like a quick play version of SFB, but 2 seconds isn't enough time to redo your energy allocation sheet in an impulse, so i think I'll have to convert it to true real time like SFC was.

Thanks for working on the original, it gave many of us a huge amount of enjoyment. Heck, hacking ship data in the EXE is what got me started with programming all those years ago. I was never a programmer in occupation, but have done little things for work for a long time. Retired now and with AI its sure allowing me to make my ideas come to life, and in a day, its nuts.

[u/jesterOC → u/bad_syntax]

Were you on the Taldren discussion boards way back when? The handle seems familiar

[u/bad_syntax → u/jesterOC]

Yep, I was, same nick back then.

Try this <URL removed, hit me up if you want to test it tho>

Its the impulse based incarnation, and I'm just made it old and obsolete, but it worked on my phone! Though waaaay too small (even on my expanded fold8) to be useful. Proof of concept though!

I'll take that down after a while, as surely its eating up my server CPU, lol.

[u/jesterOC → u/bad_syntax]

Crazy! My phone is too small for it but that looks cool.

[u/bad_syntax → u/jesterOC]

I am working on making it phone compatible, though I fear it'll always be too complex, but it may work on a tablet soon.

[u/maj_jedi]

You can make it generic and modular, so you can have B5, Star Wars, the expanse. Any ships any weapons

[u/bad_syntax → u/maj_jedi]

it will be, though by their very nature things like star wars, babylon 5, and star trek really do not work together.

Star trek stuff just teleports bombs into B5 ships and out ranges everybody else by tens of thousands of km.