Swarm Commander

A tactical boids-based strategy game inspired by Ender's Game, where you command a swarm against an AI opponent through subtle influence and mechanistic power-ups.

Game Concept

Swarm Commander pits you against an AI in a battle for swarm dominance. Victory comes through achieving a monoculture—converting all boids to your team through defection mechanics. Your swarm isn't fully under your control; they follow their own rules first, and you simply tilt the balance.

Core Mechanics

• Two Teams: Player (Cyan) vs AI (Pink)
• Mutual Defection: Boids can switch teams based on peer pressure and morale
• Morale System: Using power-ups decreases your morale, affecting defection resistance
• Win Condition: Achieve monoculture (all boids on one team) or eliminate the enemy

Controls

Desktop

• Left Click & Hold: Attract your boids (player boids only respond)
• Shift + Drag: Pan camera around the arena
• Mouse Wheel: Zoom in/out
• Click Power-up Buttons: Deploy bombs or tractor beams (with friendly fire risk)
• PAUSE Button: Open tactical briefing to adjust doctrine

Mobile (Touch)

• Tap & Hold: Attract your boids (shows cyan touch indicator)
• Two-Finger Pinch: Zoom in/out
• Two-Finger Drag: Pan camera around arena
• Tap Power-up Button (⚡ bottom-right): Open power-up menu
• Tap Power-up Icon: Deploy bomb or tractor beam at screen center
• Tap Pause Button (⏸ top-right): Open tactical briefing

Game Features

Square Arena with Sliding Doors

• 3200×3200 square layout (works great on mobile & desktop)
• 4×4 sector grid (16 sectors: A1-D1, A2-D2, A3-D3, A4-D4)
• Silo/prison layout with solid walls between sectors
• Sliding doors open/close periodically (5s cycles)
  • Even doors open first half of cycle
  • Odd doors open second half
  • Creates dynamic tactical flow
• Advanced collision system:
  • Boids cannot penetrate walls (3-tier detection)
  • Smooth sliding along wall surfaces
  • No corner-sticking
  • Emergency escape when inside obstacles

Camera System

• Zoom range: 0.15x - 1.8x
  • Min zoom: Arena takes ~50% of screen (strategic overview)
  • Max zoom: Close tactical view (individual boid detail)
• Smooth zoom interpolation
• Pinch-to-zoom and wheel zoom support
• Two-finger pan for camera movement
• Mini-map HUD shows walls/geometry and current view

Tactical Pause Screen

• Doctrine Toggles: Adjust Cohesion, Separation, and Bravery
  • Cohesion: How strongly boids stick together
  • Separation: How much boids avoid crowding
  • Bravery: Resistance to defection
• Unpause Ramp: 0.75s slow-motion on resume for smooth re-entry

Mechanistic Power-ups

• BOMB: Timed fuse → radial impulse blast (affects both teams!)
• TRACTOR BEAM: Temporary pull field (lasts 2 seconds)
• Each power-up has cooldowns and reduces your morale

Military HUD

• Morale bars for both teams
• Team counts (Player vs AI)
• Mini-map with camera view indicator
• Alert notifications
• Power-up buttons with cooldown indicators

PRD Features Implemented

✅ Transform arena: Silo/prison grid layout with walls and tunnels
✅ Camera system: Pinch-zoom, pan, mini-map HUD
✅ Two teams: Player vs AI with monoculture win condition
✅ Morale system: Tied to power-up usage
✅ Mechanistic power-ups: Bomb and Tractor Beam with friendly fire
✅ Tactical pause: Doctrine toggles (Cohesion/Separation/Bravery)
✅ Player-only influence: Touch/tap only attracts player boids
✅ Unpause ramp: 0.75s slow-mo on resume
✅ Ender's Game aesthetic: Top-down military HUD, clean interface

Technical Stack

• Svelte + Vite for fast reactive UI
• Canvas 2D API for rendering
• Boids Algorithm with wall avoidance and defection mechanics
• Quadtree spatial indexing for performance

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start dev server
npm run dev

# Test on mobile (use local network IP shown in terminal)
# e.g., http://192.168.x.x:5173

# Run tests
npm test

# Build for production
npm run build

Mobile Testing

The game is fully optimized for mobile! See MOBILE_TESTING.md for:

• Touch gesture controls
• UI testing checklist
• Performance tips
• Troubleshooting guide

Quick Mobile Test:

1. Start dev server: npm run dev
2. Note the network URL (e.g., http://192.168.1.x:5173)
3. Open that URL on your phone (same WiFi network)
4. Use touch gestures to play!

Game Design Notes

The tension in Swarm Commander comes from:

1. Limited control: You nudge, you don't command directly
2. Morale trade-off: Power-ups help tactically but hurt loyalty
3. Friendly fire: Bombs and beams affect both teams equally
4. Peer pressure: Outnumbered boids may defect to the stronger side
5. Spatial strategy: Walls and tunnels create choke points and flow control

The game loop lasts 3-4 minutes, with quick, intense matches that reward both micro (local influence) and macro (doctrine + power-up timing) play.

License

MIT