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Orbit

A procedurally generated space RPG in the spirit of Privateer, in top-down 2D. Built with Phaser 4 as plain ES6 modules — no build step, no package managers required to run.

Run it

Any static file server works (Python, Node, Caddy, nginx, …):

cd orbit
python3 -m http.server 8080
# → http://localhost:8080

Must be served over http(s) — opening index.html via file:// won't work, because the game uses ES modules and fetches its JSON config.

Current state — v0.2: a seedable galaxy

  • Main menu with New Game and a Galaxy Seed panel: the seed is displayed, editable (click it and type), and rerollable — and the menu shows what that seed builds (the galaxy's name, system count, archetype count) before you commit. Same seed ⇒ same galaxy.
  • Procedural galaxy: 40,000 star systems in a seeded disk + core + spiral arms (data/galaxy.json), typed into six themed archetypes (data/systems.json) with per-type distribution weights and radial bands — the first "how does the galaxy lay itself out" rules.
  • Two-level generation: the whole galaxy roster is generated at New Game (~70 ms); each system's planets/moons/belts/settlements are generated lazily on arrival, deterministically (seed + system id), so lazy and eager give identical results.
  • A lived-in galaxy: the galaxy was settled long before you arrive. Systems host colonies on habitable worlds, mining stations over resource worlds, cloud bases riding gas giants, stations adrift in open space, and beacons — or report charted · unclaimed when nobody's there. Rates are per-archetype (data/systems.json) and thin out from the settled core to the wilder rim (data/galaxy.json). Each settlement has a name, population, and an owner seam reserved for the factions/pirates to come. The current system's dossier (name, identity, what's there) shows top-left in the game scene.
  • Game screen with a basic top-down ship: click anywhere to fly there in the current system's open space (system boundaries/jumps come next)
  • The home planet — the player's Terran world — in the system you start in: a 1024 px disc rendered 1:1 from the assets/images/planets.png spritesheet. Which Terran face it shows (frames 0–2) is a seed-deterministic pick, so the same galaxy always yields the same home world. The ship spawns ~150 px (edge-to-edge) off its rim in a seed-derived direction, may fly in as close as 50 px from the rim, and can never cross it — a planet is solid (tuning in data/planets.json)
  • Camera gently trails the ship; the parallax starfield streams past while it flies and the view slowly recenters (≈1.5 s) once the ship comes to rest
  • Config-driven setup: every tunable value lives in data/*.json

Project layout

orbit/
├── index.html              # boots the game
├── data/                   # ← ALL tunable config (edit these freely)
│   ├── manifest.json       #   which config files exist
│   ├── game.json           #   dimensions, colors, starfield, …
│   ├── menu.json           #   menu text, colors, button layout, seed panel
│   ├── theme.json          #   shared UI theme: fonts, palette, CRT/glitch tuning
│   ├── ship.json           #   ship feel: thrust, drag, maxSpeed, …
│   ├── galaxy.json         #   galaxy scale & shape (count, radius, spiral…)
│   ├── systems.json        #   system archetypes: theme, attributes, distribution
│   ├── settlements.json    #   the lived-in layer: settlement kinds & populations
│   ├── research.json       #   RESEARCH: time-based, one at a time, gates builds/research
│   ├── builds.json         #   BUILDING: credits + minerals, ship/planet/station upgrades
│   ├── actionbar.json      #   the command deck: 6 slots (Research, Build, Ship, ·, ·, Menu)
│   └── naming.json         #   syllable pools for names
├── assets/images/          # art: planets.png (1024×1024 spritesheet frames)
├── assets/fonts/           # UI typefaces: Ethnocentric (headers), Centauri (body)
├── lib/                    # vendored third-party libs (Phaser 4.2.1)
├── js/
│   ├── main.js             # entry point: load config → boot Phaser
│   ├── config/             # Config singleton, ConfigLoader, game config
│   ├── scenes/             # MenuScene, GameScene (thin, orchestration)
│   ├── entities/           # Ship (own behavior), Planet (home world, solid)
│   ├── galaxy/             # Galaxy (seeded world model), SystemGenerator, SystemReport
│   ├── ui/                 # MenuButton, GlitchText, CyberShape, ActionBar, DiscoveryCompass (reusable)
│   ├── visuals/            # Starfield, CyberOverlay (CRT/glitch, shared)
│   ├── utils/              # small pure helpers (Color, Rng, NameGenerator)
│   └── vendor/             # shim to the vendored Phaser
└── docs/PROJECT_NOTES.md   # ← project conventions: read this

Conventions (short version)

  • Config in JSON. If a value might change, it goes in data/, not code. Add a file = one line in data/manifest.json.
  • One class per file, ES modules, scenes stay thin, entities own their behavior. Details in docs/PROJECT_NOTES.md.
  • Phaser is imported only via js/vendor/phaser.js (one-file version swap).

The player's loop: research + building

Beyond flying, Orbit is built around two progression verbs — both are data layers now, with the rules and panels to come next:

  • Research (data/research.json) — time-based. A project takes a fixed duration; the player researches one thing at a time (maxConcurrent: 1). Research is the gate: it unlocks builds and further research. projects is an empty map for now; the _template entry documents the shape each project must have.
  • Building (data/builds.json) — cost-based, paid in credits and minerals (resources). A build improves the ship, a planet, or a space station (category). builds is an empty map; the _template entry documents the shape (including repeatable, for things like extra mining rigs).
  • The command deck (data/actionbar.json, rendered by js/ui/ActionBar.js) — the cyberpunk bar across the bottom of the screen. Six evenly spaced slots: Research, Build, Ship, ·, ·, Menu. The slots fire onAction and are otherwise inert; two slots are reserved. All layout, palette, and motion (boot flicker, rail comet, glitch bursts, RGB shimmer) live in the config.

_-prefixed keys (_comment, _template, …) are documentation, not runtime data — loaders and tests ignore them.

Dev tools

node dev/ship-behavior.test.mjs   # runs the real Ship.update() loop in Node
node dev/starfield.test.mjs       # runs the real Starfield.create() in Node
node dev/galaxy.test.mjs          # galaxy determinism, distribution, lazy vs eager
node dev/research-builds.test.mjs # data contract: research/builds/actionbar shapes + manifest

dev/test-game.html boots straight into the GameScene (no menu click), handy for manual testing of the flight feel.

Phaser

Phaser 4.2.1 is vendored at lib/phaser.min.js (UMD build, MIT license — see lib/PHASER_LICENSE.md). No internet or npm needed at runtime.