Welcome to Drones: Defenders Astartes!

So what is it Drones: Defenders Astartes?

Simply put, Drones: Defenders Astartes (DDA) is a classic 2D space shooter with a twist (or two?): a deep simulation running in the back.

The game took inspiration from the wireframe space shooters that were famous in the '70s and '80s. A time when videogames where in their infancy and white or green lines where the pinnacles of technology. Asteroids, Battle Zone, Star Wars and many others are at the core of DDA.

But not only. I have worked as a software engineer for more than ten years in the defense industry. In a period when aging technology from the '80s and early '90 where getting replaced with more modern counterparts. DDA borrowed heavy inspiration to those technologies of old. Somewhat simplified and romanticised, I adapted some of those real-world technologies that I had the privilege to work on, to the game.

And the second twist?

Well... since you asked. The current vision of DDA sees the player thrown in a parallel timeline, where the '80s never when out of fashion, while a whole new space opera took place. Not only you will need to battle your way trough the stars but you also be asked to solve a galactic mystery while endure you all-knowing always-speaking mothership AI, Mater Astri. All actually voiced over by an AI.

How and when DDA started?

Early concept of the game started somewhere in 2020. It was meant as an hobby project during the long lockdown nights and, mainly, to keep me from working 24 hours a day.

The initial prototypes where rather ugly and overly simplistic (I will talk of them in some later devlog). As time passed and the vision of the game come to its full, the game acquired more scope and breadth (scope creep, someone could say).

And where we are now?

DDA is moving to a quite mature stage in terms of systems and simulation. Many aspects of the game needs to be optimised, improved or made to work properly but, feature wise, seems to be in a very good position. The HUD to manage the drone is fully interactive and fully clickable. Every single button, switch or slider is actually working and allow to tune some system.

Much more work is due to AI of the enemies (at the moment they are... relentless). Level design is also one aspect that is critical to game success.

I have a couple of boss concepts that, of course, will steer drastically from the typical boos formula: they will follow a more realistic approach. This also will the focus of a future devlog.

For this first, initial devlog is all and see you all to the next one!

Ad Majora! Mater Astri