Tuesday, August 5, 2025
HomeIndie Game
Indie Game

Stellar Throne – A Stylized Sci-Fi 4X Recreation Constructed with AI and Godot

Admin
By Admin
0
1
Stellar Throne – A Stylized Sci-Fi 4X Recreation Constructed with AI and Godot

Mrphil
Hey fellow devs! :wave:

I’m Philip aka MrPhil, and I’ve been constructing a stylized sci-fi 4X technique sport referred to as Stellar Throne — suppose house fleets, alien diplomacy, and AI-powered opponents… all crafted in Zig with a customized SDL2 engine.

This mission started as an experiment in what I name Agentic Recreation Growth — utilizing Claude and ChatGPT not only for code technology, however as collaborative “junior devs” who assist with design, testing, and even refactoring. That experiment become the complete sport you’ll see right here.

What’s Stellar Throne?

A procedurally generated galaxy the place:

  • You discover new star programs and colonize alien worlds
  • Wage fleet battles and floor invasions
  • Have interaction with AI empires that (hopefully) suppose strategically
  • Handle tech bushes, shipyards, and planetary building
  • All offered in a clear, readable, vector-style UI

I’ve been centered on three pillars:

  • Readable Star Map – Prioritizing readability over noise
  • Competent AI Opponents – AI that does not stall or turtle without end
  • AI-Assisted Dev Workflow – Most programs are co-authored with Claude and GPT

Tech Stack

  • Language: Zig
  • Rendering: SDL2
  • Asset Pipeline: Customized instruments + AI-generated spritesheets
  • Workflow: AI-assisted utilizing Claude, ChatGPT, and prompt-engineered pipelines

Screenshots, Options, and GIFs coming quickly…

I’ll be utilizing this devlog to share:

  • Visible progress (maps, fleets, planets)
  • System design (fight, diplomacy, exploration)
  • Experiments in agentic coding
  • Behind-the-scenes classes (together with AI fails and surprises)

If you happen to’re fascinated about:

  • Constructing technique video games from scratch
  • Utilizing AI as a part of your dev workflow
  • Zig sport growth

…then I feel you’ll take pleasure in this thread.

Observe progress right here:
Wanting ahead to your suggestions, concepts, or simply watching alongside!

Cheers,
– Mrphil

« Final Edit: August 02, 2025, 09:57:59 PM by MrPhil »

Stellar Throne – A Stylized Sci-Fi 4X Recreation Constructed with AI and Godot

Logged

Mrphil
Title: Refactoring, Regression Fixes, and the Case Towards Unit Assessments?

As we speak was a busy one for Stellar Throne. I pushed by an extended record of regression fixes and eventually obtained unit take a look at failures all the way down to a single case associated to sport save versioning. I additionally redirected all checks to a separate test_saves listing to keep away from interference with the primary sport knowledge — one thing Claude had been lacking.

UI obtained some much-needed love right this moment too:

– High-bar buttons for Analysis, Diplomacy, Ship Construct, Building, Fleet Administration, and Bombardment are all again.
– Now you can double-click planets to leap into building, and double-click stars to entry the shipyard.
– I additionally mounted UI quirks like not with the ability to choose the final merchandise in a panel, and protracted notifications not returning if a mission wasn’t chosen.
– Fight bugs are getting squashed as effectively. Battles between AI empires now not hold the sport, and switch processing now has a wait animation to switch the “Pause” message.

However the largest lesson right this moment? I am questioning the ROI on unit checks. Whereas they’ve helped Claude keep aligned in concept, in follow they not often catch manufacturing points. The true failsafes are nonetheless my handbook playthroughs and design audits.
Stellar Throne – A Stylized Sci-Fi 4X Recreation Constructed with AI and Godot

Logged

Mrphil
Stellar Throne Devlog — Section 6 Full, Diplomacy & Polish Start

As we speak marked a significant milestone: Section 6 is full! Galaxy Era is now finalized, and I’ve formally kicked off each the AI Techniques and Diplomacy phases. The primary AI behaviors are in movement, and the foundations of diplomatic postures are coming on-line.

I additionally posted the most recent e-newsletter and glued a difficult bug with the fleet-splitting UI, the place ship choice wasn’t responding. That one was refined however satisfying to squash.

I’ve began on Section 7 — “Polish the Polish” — the place I refine interplay particulars, suggestions animations, and general sport really feel. It’s nonetheless early, however I’m excited to start out layering readability and visible cohesion.

One experiment didn’t pan out as hoped: subagents in Claude. Whereas conceptually interesting, they aren’t mechanically leveraged in workflows, so their worth is proscribed except I manually invoke them. Nonetheless, they assist maintain the context clear.
Stellar Throne – A Stylized Sci-Fi 4X Recreation Constructed with AI and Godot

Logged

Mrphil
Stellar Throne Enters Alpha: Polish, Audio, and the Godot Port Begins

As we speak marked a turning level in Stellar Throne’s growth — I’ve formally reached what appears like an Alpha milestone. The core gameplay loop is playable, the programs are largely in place, and whereas many options are nonetheless rudimentary or placeholder, the construction of the sport exists end-to-end.

I kicked off Section 7: Polish the Polish and Section 8: Audio & Superior Visible Results, however I’ve rapidly realized that I’m bottlenecked by asset limitations — each sound and visuals. It’s in all probability time to carry on an Artwork Director to raise the sport’s appear and feel with skilled steering.

The opposite massive growth? I’ve begun porting Stellar Throne to Godot. Claude estimated a couple of week of labor, and I’ve already accomplished the foundational port, galaxy rendering, and core logic migration. Utilizing Godot opens up a number of thrilling potentialities:

WebGL assist for playtesting on itch.io
A correct UI editor (quite than constructing interfaces by AI prompts)
Streamlined asset integration and animation pipelines
That is all made potential due to the accelerated growth AI offers. What would usually take months has taken weeks — and I can really feel the momentum constructing.
Stellar Throne – A Stylized Sci-Fi 4X Recreation Constructed with AI and Godot

Logged

Mrphil
As we speak’s Godot port made large strides throughout core programs:

– Section 3.6: Fight & Navy Techniques
– Section 3.7: Strategic Layer
– Section 3.8: Superior Options
– Section 4: UI System
– Section 5: Integration & Testing (in progress)
One massive shift I observed right this moment: debugging with Godot + Claude introduces a workflow tax. Since Claude can’t see the Godot runtime logs immediately, I now should manually screenshot errors and paste them in. This provides friction in comparison with my Zig workflow, the place Claude might learn the logs, compile the mission, and even recommend fixes with out handbook enter.

Commerce-offs changing into clear:

Godot
+ WebGL, cross-platform assist
+ GUI instruments and reside UI previews
– Slower iteration (have to reload manually)
– No direct entry to logs

Zig
+ Simpler automated debugging
+ Claude can construct & run checks immediately
– No built-in deploy pipeline
– Non Visible UI Editor
Total, I nonetheless really feel optimistic in regards to the change. As soon as the core pipeline is smoothed out and testing built-in, the advantages of speedy deployment and visible enhancing could outweigh the added friction.

Tomorrow I’ll give attention to fixing the save/load integration and start real-world gameplay checks contained in the Godot port.
Stellar Throne – A Stylized Sci-Fi 4X Recreation Constructed with AI and Godot

Logged

Mrphil
As we speak marked an enormous milestone — the Godot port of Stellar Throne is functionally full. I wrapped up the ultimate phases of integration, testing, and UI sharpening. Many of the core programs at the moment are working in Godot, together with fleet journey, the analysis system (96 techs with tier unlocking), fog-of-war rendering, and responsive element panels for stars, planets, and fleets.

Whereas the port wasn’t 100% full — I estimate about 20–30% of the unique Zig/SDL2 performance nonetheless must be rebuilt — the trade-offs really feel price it. I’ve gained a cleaner UI, smoother navigation instruments, and entry to Godot’s highly effective exporting pipeline (WebGL, platform builds), editor-driven UI, and runtime debugging.

Bug looking continues. I’ve already addressed lacking header fonts, fleet icon visibility, and notification conduct. Button layouts have been reorganized for higher readability, and I am lastly seeing visible polish emerge from the workflow.

From right here, it’s about rebuilding what was misplaced and increasing ahead from a stronger basis.
Stellar Throne – A Stylized Sci-Fi 4X Recreation Constructed with AI and Godot

Logged

Previous article
Samsung Promo Codes: 30% Off | August 2025
Admin
Adminhttp://games4u.me

Related Articles

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest Articles

Load more

Welcome to games4u, where passion for gaming meets insightful content. We’re a team of gamers, writers, and digital adventurers who live and breathe everything from indie gems to AAA blockbusters. Our mission? To level up your gaming experience through honest reviews, deep-dive features, curated news, and guides that don’t insult your intelligence. Whether you're a casual player, hardcore grinder, or gaming-curious, we have content for your screen.

© Copyright - games4u.me