Spring project

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Spring

Developer(s) Swedish Yankspankers
Publisher(s) N/A
Engine Spring engine
Version 0.76b1
Platform(s) Windows, Linux
Release date January 2, 2008 (2008-01-02); 161 days ago
Genre(s) Real-time strategy
Mode(s) Multiplayer
Rating(s) N/A
Media Downloadable
System requirements For Windows
  • 1400 MHz CPU or better,
  • 512 MB RAM,
  • 64 MB video card,
  • 100 MB drive space,
Input methods Keyboard and Mouse

Spring (formerly known as TA Spring or Total Annihilation: Spring), is a full 3D free/open source RTS game engine originally created by the Swedish Yankspankers,[1] intended to bring the gameplay experience of Total Annihilation (TA) into three dimensions. The core game engine is licensed under the GNU GPL.

Games are played using one of a number of mods. The standard installation comes with a range of prepackaged mods, some which requires that one own a copy of TA to legally play them, and other Free Content mods which may be used free of charge without owning a copy of TA.

Spring is being developed by the Swedish Yankspankers and the Spring community. The initial goal was to have the game run the mods and 3rd-party units from Total Annihilation. This goal is now mostly complete, and the project has moved on to including additional features. The game is mainly focused around multiplayer games over the Internet or a LAN connection. There are currently a few single player missions, built on the basic support for this through Lua scripting. There are also many skirmish AIs, allowing for offline play or extra players in an online game.

Contents

[edit] The source code

Spring's source code, licenced under the GNU General Public License, is primarily written in the C++ programming language with the exception of the lobby which is written in Delphi, and the LAN game server which is written in Java. The C++ code structure is written in an object-oriented manner and is documented to some extent using doxygen. However most of the code has no proper documentation yet. The official source code package includes project files for various IDEs and building tools, including SCons, KDevelop, Microsoft Visual C++ 7.0/8.0, and XCode.

[edit] Multiplayer support

Spring is designed to be played as online multiplayer matches. It uses a deterministic game simulation which is executed on all game clients. Only the user commands are sent to other players, which prevents any active cheating. AMD-64 and i386 platforms are supported for multiplayer on Linux, and i386 on Windows.

The game uses a lobby with a look and feel similar to an IRC client.

[edit] Features

Some of the defining features of this game are:

  • Deformable terrain (example)
  • Allows the user to control select units in an FPS style.
  • A customizable user interface using widgets programmed in Lua.
  • An army of active developers creating and improving new mods, models, maps, tools, game play, strategy and the ability to control your units.
  • A increasable unparalleled ability to control units ability to control units, of small numbers or in mass.
  • Fully 3D camera view, allowing for complete freedom of movement.
  • Ability to draw tactics and signs on the map in game. (this means that text, points, drawing, and saved images can be placed on the map as the game is played, allowing team communication)
  • Easily interchangeable AI and mods.
  • Realistic 3D trajectories for projectile and missile weapons
  • Fully 3D air combat.
  • Ability to handle large maps.
  • Detailed terrain. Some maps are directly exported from terrain rendering tools such as L3DT and Terragen.
  • Large battles, with support for up to 10000 units per player. (How playable this is depends on the CPU power of the computers that are running the game. Everything is synchronized with all player's CPUs, the slowest CPU is the hard limit of game speed.)
  • Compatible with unit files from Total Annihilation, allowing 3rd party units to easily be moved into Spring.
  • Up to max 16 players online (32 players are possible with the use of third-party lobby clients). On top of 16 or even 32 players spectators can watch as well.
  • A complete physics model for every particle and unit in the game.

[edit] Mods

Kernel Panic, a non-TA-based mod for Spring.
Kernel Panic, a non-TA-based mod for Spring.

Spring has numerous mods in various stages of development. Most are based upon and use content from the original TA, including the most widely played mods: Balanced Annihilation, Complete Annihilation, NOTA, and XTA. However, there are many mods which are derivatives of other works of fiction, such as a Gundam mod, a Warhammer 40,000 mod (with another in production), and a Star Wars mod based on the Galactic Civil War. There are also several fully original mods, including "Expand & Exterminate", a strategic mod inspired by Earth 2150 and "Kernel Panic", a Darwinia-esque mod emphasizing simplicity.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.rebell.at/ Interview with TA-Spring Development-Team

[edit] External links