The Mad Skills Programmers
of
DigiPen Institute of Technology
GAM350 – Summer 2003
present their project…
Starfall
Game Design Document
v1.1
Last Modified: 7/29/2017 5:09:00 AM
Starfall GDD v1.1
DigiPen Institute of Technology
Table of Contents
Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. 2
High Concept ..................................................................................................................... 5
Summary ...................................................................................................................... 5
Key Features ................................................................................................................ 5
Platform ....................................................................................................................... 5
Target Market .............................................................................................................. 5
Est. Retail Cost ............................................................................................................ 5
Development Schedule ................................................................................................ 5
Priorities............................................................................................................................. 6
Gameplay ........................................................................................................................... 7
Overview...................................................................................................................... 7
Multiplayer Coop Aspects ........................................................................................... 7
Levels of Difficulty...................................................................................................... 7
Game Flow ......................................................................................................................... 9
Single Player ................................................................................................................ 9
Multiplayer ................................................................................................................ 10
Story ................................................................................................................................. 11
Sides.................................................................................................................................. 13
Calenalph (Good Side) .............................................................................................. 13
Morgwath (Bad Side) ................................................................................................ 13
Missions............................................................................................................................ 14
Mission 1 – Crash Site of the Firithmenel ................................................................. 14
Mission 2 – Sour Negotiations .................................................................................. 15
Mission 3 – Incoming Death...................................................................................... 16
Mission 4 – Nuclear Tactics ...................................................................................... 17
Fighter Ships.................................................................................................................... 22
Ship Properties ........................................................................................................... 22
JAB-16 Lakra Strike Fighter (Calenalph) ................................................................. 24
JAB-17E Rivet Joint II Type-R (Calenalph) ............................................................. 25
HW-22B Starmover (Calenalph) ............................................................................... 26
Rickshaw (Morgwath) ............................................................................................... 27
Bore Hunter (Morgwath) ........................................................................................... 28
Jacknife (Morgwath) .................................................................................................. 29
Fighter Weapons ............................................................................................................. 30
Weapon Properties ..................................................................................................... 30
Blasters ...................................................................................................................... 31
RF-Blasters ................................................................................................................ 31
Dumby Missiles ......................................................................................................... 32
Stinger Missiles ......................................................................................................... 32
Super Shotgun KLAD................................................................................................ 33
Gatling Gun ............................................................................................................... 33
Tagger ........................................................................................................................ 34
Storm Missiles ........................................................................................................... 34
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Fury Missiles ............................................................................................................. 35
Intercept Missiles ....................................................................................................... 35
Railgun ....................................................................................................................... 36
Tachyon Pulse Gun .................................................................................................... 36
Plasma Cannon .......................................................................................................... 37
Magnet Bomb ............................................................................................................ 37
YBMA ....................................................................................................................... 38
Mines ................................................................................................................................ 39
M300 Mine ................................................................................................................ 39
Eins Mine ................................................................................................................... 39
POR-Q Mine .............................................................................................................. 39
Non-Weapons .................................................................................................................. 41
Tractor Beam ............................................................................................................. 41
Portable Shield ........................................................................................................... 41
POR-Q Mine Blaster.................................................................................................. 41
Large Ships ...................................................................................................................... 42
Large Ship Weapons and Turrets ................................................................................. 43
Sun Beam ................................................................................................................... 43
Tactical Cruise Missiles ............................................................................................. 43
World Dynamics.............................................................................................................. 44
Friendly Fire .............................................................................................................. 44
Boosting ..................................................................................................................... 44
Enhanced Maneuvering ............................................................................................. 44
User Interface .................................................................................................................. 45
In Game Interface ...................................................................................................... 45
Pre Game Interface .................................................................................................... 48
Music ................................................................................................................................ 50
Sound Effects ................................................................................................................... 51
Radio Chatter Effects ................................................................................................. 51
Weapon Sound Effects .............................................................................................. 51
Ship Sounds ............................................................................................................... 51
Environmental Sounds ............................................................................................... 51
Feedback Sounds ....................................................................................................... 51
Graphic Effects................................................................................................................ 52
Particles...................................................................................................................... 52
Properties ...................................................................................................................... 52
HUD ........................................................................................................................... 53
Physics .............................................................................................................................. 54
AI ...................................................................................................................................... 55
Mission Editor ................................................................................................................. 56
Appendix A ...................................................................................................................... 57
Change Log ................................................................................................................ 57
Appendix B ...................................................................................................................... 60
Pronunciation Guide .................................................................................................. 60
Appendix C ...................................................................................................................... 61
The Order In Which The Designer Thinks Things Should Be Implemented ............ 61
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Appendix D ...................................................................................................................... 63
The Credits So Far ..................................................................................................... 63
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High Concept
Starfall is a PC space shooter where you are a single pilot in massive space war.
Summary
See the Gameplay section.
Key Features
Massive starfighter battles.
Immersive environmental sounds.
Cooperative multiplayer over the network.
Awesome explosions.
Platform
Starfall will only be available on the PC.
System Requirements
1GHz Processor
256 MB RAM
3D accelerated graphics card approximately equivalent to the GeForce3, with at
least 32 MB of video RAM
100 MB of hard drive space
Windows 2000
Target Market
Starfall is targeted towards PC gamers who enjoy space-shooters.
Est. Retail Cost
$40.00 for the standard edition in the first week of sales.
Development Schedule
The entire game development is limited to 8 months.
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Priorities
1) Fun to play alone
2) Fun to play over the network with friends
3) Somewhat of a challenge to make
4) Has a consistent story
5) Awesome sound effects
6) Awesome visual effects
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Gameplay
Overview
Two armies are at battle. All human players are always fighters on the good side
(Calenalph). Each side will start with no less than 20 fighters, and about 60
fighters on average. Each player will only be able to control one ship at a time, so
AIs will control all other ships. There will always be at least two mission
objectives available to the players. One possible objective will always be to
destroy the enemy fighters. Secondary objectives may include defending a ship
or space station, disabling a large enemy ship, gathering stranded objects, or
preventing a moon from crashing into a planet. Ideally, a simulation with the
same number and types of ships on each side, no secondary objective, and no
human intervention, should result in a 50-50 chance of either side winning. In the
real game, the enemy should always start out with a larger force so that the
players are required to show superior skill, and turn the tides of the battle. With
this system, the levels of difficulty can be translated into the difference between
the starting forces on each side.
Players can switch between ships at any time. Upon switching out of a ship, the
original AI pilot will retake control. If a player’s ship is destroyed, they will
automatically be switched to another ship. Switching ships should take time and
this will be filled with the player’s camera smoothly and automatically moving to
the next ship the player will take control of. There will be some sort of smart
decision programmed to choose the next best ship for the player, however the
player will also be able to choose which ship to take control of. Players will only
be able to take control of friendly fighters that aren’t being controlled by another
human.
If a player, or group of players fail a mission, they will all lose a large amount of
points, but will still be able to proceed to the next mission.
Multiplayer Coop Aspects
The main multiplayer aspect of the game will be cooperative play. All human
players will be working together on the good side (Calenalph). Players will have
all their same preference choices as in single player. The only difference between
single player and multiplayer coop is that there are multiple human players on the
good side, and that the game is played over the network.
Levels of Difficulty
The single player missions will progress in an increasing level of difficulty.
Three different levels of difficulty will also be available for each mission. These
levels of difficulty will simply alter the number of enemy fighters. The “Normal”
difficulty level will not alter the enemy fighter count. The “Medium” difficulty
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level will have 120% the normal amount of enemy fighters, and “Hard” will have
150%.
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Game Flow
Single Player
The game starts up, and presents the player with a profile login menu. The player
chooses to create a new profile since originally none have been created. The
player types in his name, clicks the button to create his profile, and the game
proceeds to the main menu. From the main menu the player chooses to start the
campaign. The mission starts loading, and as that’s going on the player is
presented with an overview of the mission.
The player starts out in the world with a slightly distant 3rd person view overviewing the army of friendly fighters. The game starts like this to give the player
their choice of which fighter to start in. One fighter is selected by default for the
player, and the camera starts moving towards that ship which is highlighted and
blinking. The player chooses to go with a different type ship, and with a push of a
button, the computer automatically selects another ship of the new type. Not
satisfied with the location of the automatically selected ship, the player uses his
joystick to choose a ship closer to the battlefront. The player pushes another
button and the camera quickly zooms up behind that ship and switches to a first
person, cockpit view.
The autopilot switches off, and the player hits the button to target the closest
enemy fighter. After engaging in a few dogfights involving rapid laser fire and
several homing missiles, the player’s ship is destroyed and his view is switched
back to the 3rd person ship selection. The next ship selected is of the same type
the player was using, has practically no damage, a good supply of weapons, and is
somewhat near to where he was destroyed. The player quickly goes with that ship
and resumes battle.
After a bit of time, the player hears a message over the radio that more help is
needed in completing the mission objective. Upon deciding to go help with that
effort, the player pushes a button and switches back to the ship selection view,
while the ship that he was controlling is taken over by it’s original autopilot. The
player selects a ship close to the objective area and takes control of it. From the
mission briefing, the player knows that the objective is to gather these small, freefloating germanium crystals scattered around some area into a small collection
area. The player took control of a ship that was in the region of the scattered
crystals. He notices an enemy ship harassing one of his allies, destroys the
enemy, and then flies near one of the things he needs to collect. By toggling caps
lock the player’s ship takes hold of the crystal by use of the tractor beam. The
player flies over to the collection point and drops the thing off. The player
receives a notification that the germanium crystal was received.
At some time, the player begins to feel hungry, so he pauses the game and goes to
find something to eat in the kitchen. While the player is eating, his dad wants to
do something on the computer briefly and asks the player how to get out of his
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game. The player yells back “press Windows key + D, Windows key + L”,
meaning to switch to the desktop, and logout (in Windows XP). Once the player
has finished eating, and his dad is off the computer, the player should be able to
log back in, restore the game window, and resume the game like normal.
The mission finishes successfully when the mission objective is completed, as in
all of the things are collected, or when all enemy ships are eliminated, which is
less likely to happen, but still possible. The mission fails if all ally ships are
destroyed. Once the mission is over, the player looses control of their ship and
they receive some sort of short debriefing. The player will be then directed back
to the single player menu. This menu will now reflect the player’s new
achievements for the mission he was just playing, and if he passed the mission,
the next mission will be open for the player to play.
Multiplayer
The game starts up and presents the player with a profile login menu. The player
selects his profile, and the program goes on to the main menu. From the main
menu, the player chooses to go to the multiplayer menu. This menu presents the
player with a few simple settings, along with a list of all multiplayer games that
the program detected on the player’s LAN. Since this player likes to play
network games with a name other than that of his profile, he enters his preferred
name into a text field, and from then on the game will remember to use that name
for network games. The player decides he wants to start a server, so he enters the
server name in another text field, and clicks on the button to start the server. For
other players that wish to join this server now, all they have to do is select the
server from the list, and click on the button to join. For both the player that
started the server and a player that joined the server, after clicking the appropriate
button, they both end up at the same screen.
The next screen will be a basic lobby screen that will allow players to see who’s
connected in the server, and chat with everybody. The server will be able to
choose the game settings, and those choices will be reflected on the screens of all
other connected players.
Playing a multiplayer game is essentially the same as a single player game. The
main difference is that two players cannot take control of the same ship at the
same time. Ships controlled by players will be highlighted in some way. Also,
players will always be able to chat with each other, even during the loading and
mission briefing.
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Story
Not too long ago, we discovered the first Morgwath fleet near the dark edge of
space. It was decided that we would try to avoid contact with them so that we
could learn about them by observation. What we learned was that they were a
destructive race that seemed to have no respect at all for natural purity. They also
seemed to be primarily motivated by greed. These attributes of the Morgwath
made us keep our decision about not making contact, however their fleet was on a
path directly toward the planetary systems we have inhabited, and with more
fleets coming. It became increasingly clear that the Morgwath were coming to
settle in our home space. Contact was finally made, and our best diplomats went
to work trying to find out what they were after, and how a settlement conflict
could be avoided. For some reason, the Morgwath were greatly appalled when
we told them that this was our space in which we lived. It seemed that they came
to this space in search of materials that they found valuable. They apparently
found what they were looking for in our home space, and because of their greed,
they considered us the trespassers trying to take their treasure. Thanks to the
miraculous work of our diplomats, we managed to keep the Morgwath from
“scourging this space of us thieves” by forming a treaty where we essentially gave
them the materials of which they sought. This kept the Morgwath off of us for a
few years.
During this same time the Firithmenel, an explorer ship, came upon something
astounding. It was a primitive life form older than our entire civilization, encased
in a very large gem, just floating in space. This was a most amazing discovery,
and so the Firithmenel immediately began its journey back to home planet
Mithsirion. On it’s way back however, a most tragic thing happened. The
Firithmenel was destroyed in what we can only guess as a hyperspace collision.
The collision wasn’t with one of our ships, and so we can only guess that it was
some large ship of the Morgwath. Several small fighters were sent out to examine
the crash site, protect the gemmed creature, and begin cleanup. This begins
mission one.
Six-toothed Praetor Goltrak the Terrible Annoying Spawn of Ungoliant (Inbread
Mumak), one of the leaders of the Morgwath, immediately blamed the destruction
of one of his ships on us and promised to wage terrible war against us. Three of
our large carriers were assembled to escort our diplomats and try to resolve this
conflict. The Morgwath however, were not at all interested in negotiations any
more and intercepted the escort with three of their large battleships. This begins
mission two.
The gemmed creature was recovered from the Firithmenel wreckage and brought
to Mithsirion. Somehow the Morgwath found out about this and launched a
massive wave of juggernauts that would essentially destroy the entire planet. This
begins mission three.
Our observers have reported that the remaining Morgwath are assembling for
what seems to be their final assault. They have what appear to be nuclear
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weapons, and a lot of them. Right now the fleet seems to be in some state of
disorder, so if we’re going to take any countermeasures, we must act now. This
begins mission four, the last mission.
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Sides
Calenalph (Good Side)
The Calenalph are a peaceful people with the desire to live happy and enjoyable
lives, and to explore all that they can. They aren’t without their quarrels of
course, but they have learned to resolve such problems intelligently. Ages ago
they, as a society, realized how to avoid negative conflicts, and that power and
greed did not make one live any better. Since then, the Calenalph have directed
their intellect to the exploration of sciences, arts, and the universe around them.
The area of space in which they live is a rainbow of spatial clouds, nebulas, and
stars. All the rich stardust floating around has fed the planetary systems so well
that one or two planets in almost every system the Calenalph have discovered are
either rich with life or minerals. The population has distributed itself among half
of the habitable planets, and some just live in vast city starships that meander
between the planetary systems in the beauty of open space.
The Calenalph had almost never needed any sort of space army, but when they
discovered the Morgwath, they had enough time and prior knowledge to put
together a fairly decent fleet. Most of the fighters were created from already
existing small ships, and several large cruisers were fitted for the possibility of
war.
Morgwath (Bad Side)
The Morgwath are a race driven by greed and the lust for power. They come
from a dark region of space, very much unlike the home of the Calenalph. As
they expanded, they came upon the outskirts of the good space. There they
marveled at the resources that lay beyond, for they were the most rare and
valuable that they knew of. They did not however see the beauty that the
Calenalph cherished so much. The Morgwath believed that they came upon this
discovery first, and it was rightly theirs. And so, at their first encounter with the
Calenalph, they were angered to find that others claimed this space to be their
own.
They desire power, and will destroy anything that gets in their way. The reason
this whole situation came about was because the Morgwath were continuously
expanding, taking over everything they could, and now they ran into the
Calenalph.
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Missions
Here describe each of the missions. Missions must work with the story.
Mission 1 – Crash Site of the Firithmenel
Hold off enemies while trying to gather germanium crystals back towards a
collection point. Have the enemies also steal the stuff you’re trying to gather.
Mission Objective
Collect all germanium crystals from the crash site. Use tractor beams to move the
crystals into a designated collection zone.
Enemy Mission Objective
Also try to collect the germanium crystals.
Starting Numbers
30 Calenalph fighters, 40 Morgwath fighters, 50 germanium crystals
Environment
Bluish space.
Single Player Achievements
Passing
50% germanium crystals collected.
Silver Medal
80% germanium crystals collected.
Gold Medal
100% germanium crystals collected.
Intro Monologue
Only a few hours ago, we lost contact with the explorer ship Firithmenel. From
the information we have so far, it seems that the ship was disabled or destroyed in
a deep space collision on its way back to the home planet Mithsirion. This is
tragic not only for the lives that must have been lost, but also for the precious
artifact that they discovered not too long ago. We are sending you out to
investigate the crash site and begin recovery operations. The artifact hopefully
will have taken minimal damage. The items you should be first concerned about
collecting are the germanium crystals. A designated collection zone will be set up
for all fighter ships to begin tractoring in the crystals. Also, it doesn’t seem likely
to us that the Firithmenel could have collided with any of our ships or other
known large astronomical objects. Be cautions, this might have something to do
with the Morgwath.
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Extro Monologue
Passing
Silver Medal
Gold Medal
Mission 2 – Sour Negotiations
Three large ships on each side in battle. You must help disable the large enemy
ships or prevent the enemy fighters from disabling the large ships on your side.
Mission Objective
Disable the Morgwath battleships.
Enemy Mission Objective
Disable and destroy the Calenalph cruisers.
Starting Numbers
40 Calenalph fighters, 3 Calenalph cruisers, 60 Morgwath fighters, 3 Morgwath
battleships
Environment
Yellowish space.
Single Player Achievements
Passing
30% surviving Calenalph cruiser.
Silver Medal
60% surviving Calenalph cruisers.
Gold Medal
100% surviving Calenalph cruisers.
Intro Monologue
Extro Monologue
Passing
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Silver Medal
Gold Medal
Mission 3 – Incoming Death
Large waves of Juggernauts are slowly progressing towards one of your major
planets, with escorting fighters. The Juggernauts are very destructive when
detonated, and they are protected with shields and turrets. All Juggernauts must
be destroyed.
Mission Objective
Destroy all Juggernauts.
Enemy Mission Objective
Defend the Juggernauts.
Starting Numbers
40 Calenalph fighters, 30 Morgwath Juggernauts, 50 Morgwath fighters
Environment
Reddish space with a nearby planet.
Single Player Achievements
Passing
50% Juggernauts destroyed.
Silver Medal
80% Juggernauts destroyed.
Gold Medal
100% Juggernauts destroyed.
Into Monologue
Extro Monologue
Passing
Silver Medal
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Gold Medal
Mission 4 – Nuclear Tactics
Several live nukes have been scattered in large battle. Each side tries to pull the
nukes towards their enemy’s large ships.
Mission Objective
Use nukes to destroy large enemy ships.
Enemy Mission Objective
Use nukes to destroy large Calenalph ships.
Starting Numbers
70 Calenalph fighters, 90 Morgwath fighters, 4 Calenalph cruisers, 7 Morgwath
battleships, 20 nukes
Environment
To be decided.
Single Player Achievements
Passing
90% Morgwath battleships destroyed.
Silver Medal
90% Morgwath battleships destroyed and 50% Calenalph cruisers surviving.
Gold Medal
100% Morgwath battleships destroyed and 100% Calenalph cruisers surviving.
Intro Monologue
Extro Monologue
Passing
Silver Medal
Gold Medal
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.
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Fighter Ships
Ship Properties
Generalized Properties
Speed
Maximum velocity.
Maneuverability
Maximum acceleration/deceleration, rotation rate.
Size
Mass and volume.
Weapons
Amount of weapons, amount of ammo, overall level of damage.
Specific Properties
Mass
In kilograms.
Maximum forward velocity (meters per second)
The highest obtainable speed in the forward direction of the ship without
boosting.
Forward acceleration time (seconds)
The minimum amount of time it takes to accelerate to maximum forward velocity
without boosting.
Forward deceleration time (seconds)
The minimum amount of time in which the ship can decelerate from maximum
forward velocity to full stop
Maximum lateral velocity (meters per second)
The highest obtainable speed in any direction perpendicular to the ship’s forward
direction.
Lateral acceleration time (seconds)
The minimum amount of time in which the ship can achieve maximum lateral
velocity.
Maximum boost velocity (meters per second)
The maximum velocity that can be obtained by boosting.
Boost acceleration time (seconds)
The minimum amount of time it takes the ship to accelerate to maximum boost
speed from no boost.
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Boost power consumption time (seconds)
The maximum amount of time the ship will be able to sustain a boost.
Maximum pitch rate (degrees per seconds)
How fast the ship can manually rotate up or down.
Maximum yaw rate (degrees per seconds)
How fast the ship can manually rotate left or right.
Maximum roll rate (degrees per seconds)
How fast the ship can manually rotate about its forward direction.
Maximum shield strength (Joules)
The highest amount of energy that can be allocated to the shields.
Shield regeneration rate (Watts)
The rate at which shields gain energy.
Hull strength (Joules)
The minimum amount of energy needed to hit the previously undamaged hull in
order for the ship to be destroyed.
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JAB-16 Lakra Strike Fighter (Calenalph)
Generalized Properties
High speed, medium weapons, low
maneuverability, medium size.
Description
The single-seat strike fighter, Lakra, was designed
for interception missions that require stealth and
speed. Powered with two twin-turbo engines, the
Lakra can travel faster than any other fighter class
< Concept Art >
ship in the galaxy. However, due to the speeds at
Bla
which the Lakra travels, it has a poor turning radius. The Lakra can also be used
as a quick concentrated strike against larger ships’ armaments and turrets.
Specifications
Mass
Dimensions
Max Hull Strength
Max Shield Strength
Shield Regeneration Rate
Max Forward Velocity
Forward Acceleration Time
Deceleration Time
Max Lateral Velocity
Lateral Acceleration Time
Boost Velocity
Boost Acceleration Time
Max Boost Duration
Boost Regeneration Time
Max Pitch Rate
Max Yaw Rate
Max Roll Rate
35,322 kg
6 x 4 x 20 m
50,000 J
80,000 J
800 W
26 m/s
3s
4s
4 m/s
5s
32 m/s
5s
7s
12 s
11.5/s
11.5/s
45/s
Ammunition
Blaster
Dumby Missiles
Stinger Missiles
Storm Missiles
Mag Bomb
Pulse Gun
POR-Q Mines

400
200
30
30

5
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JAB-17E Rivet Joint II Type-R (Calenalph)
Generalized Properties
Low speed, medium weapons, high
maneuverability, small size.
Description
The small crafty Rivet Joint is used for
special missions that require a high degree
of precision and maneuverability. The
original Rivet Joint I was used for ship
< Concept Art >
repairs on large cruiser, destroyer and carrier
class ships because of its small size and tight
handling. Since the Rivet Joint was so well designed, the military thought that it
would be well suited for war. The Rivet Joint ships that were in commission were
retrofitted with accurate short-range weaponry.
Specifications
Mass
Dimensions
Max Hull Strength
Max Shield Strength
Shield Regeneration Rate
Max Forward Velocity
Forward Acceleration Time
Deceleration Time
Max Lateral Velocity
Lateral Acceleration Time
Boost Velocity
Boost Acceleration Time
Max Boost Duration
Boost Regeneration Time
Max Pitch Rate
Max Yaw Rate
Max Roll Rate
12,833 kg
5x3x6m
180,000 J
150,000 J
3,500 W
16 m/s
2s
2s
16 m/s
2s
22 m/s
2s
5s
12 s
200/s
200/s
200/s
Ammunition
RF Blaster
Stinger Missiles
Tagger
Railgun
Eins Mine

200
30

10
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HW-22B Starmover (Calenalph)
Generalized Properties
Slow speed, high weapons, medium maneuverability,
large size.
Description
The Starmover is an enormous sized ship for a oneman crew. Named appropriately, the Starmover packs
enough firepower to take out larger class sized ships,
and unfortunately because of the added weaponry, the
Starmover travels sluggishly through space. It was
designed to be the gunship of the armada.
Specifications
Mass
Dimensions
Max Hull Strength
Max Shield Strength
Shield Regeneration Rate
Max Forward Velocity
Forward Acceleration Time
Deceleration Time
Max Lateral Velocity
Lateral Acceleration Time
Boost Velocity
Boost Acceleration Time
Max Boost Duration
Boost Regeneration Time
Max Pitch Rate
Max Yaw Rate
Max Roll Rate
190,833 kg
6 x 10 x 5 m
190,000 J
70,000 J
2,000 W
20 m/s
4s
2s
5 m/s
2s
25 m/s
2s
10 s
20 s
10/s
30/s
30/s
Ammunition
Blaster
Dumby Missiles
Stinger Missiles
Fury Missiles
Plasma Cannon
YBMA
M300 Mines
Portable Shields

800
400
60
300
3
5
3
Page 26 of 63
< Concept Art >
Starfall GDD v1.1
DigiPen Institute of Technology
Rickshaw (Morgwath)
Generalized Properties
High speed, medium weapons, low maneuverability, medium size.
Description
The Rickshaw is a tactical strike fighter that is launched from the carrier class
ships of the enemy. It has a small cockpit, which sits in a spherical pod in between
two long wing-like engines. It is very fast and can outrun most projectile missles.
Specifications
Mass
Dimensions
Max Hull Strength
Max Shield Strength
Shield Regeneration Rate
Max Forward Velocity
Forward Acceleration Time
Deceleration Time
Max Lateral Velocity
Lateral Acceleration Time
Boost Velocity
Boost Acceleration Time
Max Boost Duration
Boost Regeneration Time
Max Pitch Rate
Max Yaw Rate
Max Roll Rate
35,322 kg
4 x 5 x 18 m
50,000 J
80,000 J
800 W
24 m/s
3s
4s
4 m/s
5s
30 m/s
5s
7s
10 s
11.5/s
11.5/s
45/s
Ammunition
RF Blaster
Dumby Missiles
Storm Missiles
Mag Bomb
POR-Q Mine

400
30
50
5
Page 27 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
DigiPen Institute of Technology
Bore Hunter (Morgwath)
Generalized Properties
Low speed, medium weapons, high maneuverability, small size.
Description
The Hunter is the most popular craft used by space pirates and mercenaries across
the galaxy. It is highly maneuverable and deadly in close combat situations.
Although the Hunter ship has a different looking hull than the Rivet Joint, both
ships are in the same design class. However, the Hunter ships are equipped with
more weaponry than the Rivet Joint. The body of the Hunter is very small and
compact. They have a trademark distinct jet-black painted hull with red glowing
plasma exhausted from the engine.
Specifications
Mass
Dimensions
Max Hull Strength
Max Shield Strength
Shield Regeneration Rate
Max Forward Velocity
Forward Acceleration Time
Deceleration Time
Max Lateral Velocity
Lateral Acceleration Time
Boost Velocity
Boost Acceleration Time
Max Boost Duration
Boost Regeneration Time
Max Pitch Rate
Max Yaw Rate
Max Roll Rate
12,833 kg
5x3x6m
180,000 J
150,000 J
3,500 W
16 m/s
2s
2s
16 m/s
2s
22 m/s
2s
5s
12 s
200/s
200/s
200/s
Ammunition
Gatling Gun
Pulse Gun
Tagger Missiles
KLAD Missiles
Storm Missiles
Eins Mines
POR-Q Mines
600

30
100
15
10
5
Page 28 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
DigiPen Institute of Technology
Jacknife (Morgwath)
Generalized Properties
Slow speed, high weapons, medium maneuverability, large size.
Description
The Jacknife is outfitted with the same weaponry as the Starmover. The Jacknife
is a bit larger and slower than its good counterpart.
Specifications
Mass
Dimensions
Max Hull Strength
Max Shield Strength
Shield Regeneration Rate
Max Forward Velocity
Forward Acceleration Time
Deceleration Time
Max Lateral Velocity
Lateral Acceleration Time
Boost Velocity
Boost Acceleration Time
Max Boost Duration
Boost Regeneration Time
Max Pitch Rate
Max Yaw Rate
Max Roll Rate
230,833 kg
7x9x6m
200,000 J
70,000 J
2,000 W
18 m/s
4s
2s
5 m/s
2s
24 m/s
2s
10 s
20 s
10/s
30/s
30/s
Ammunition
Blaster
Dumby Missiles
Fury Missiles
Plasma Cannon
YBMA
M300 Mines
Portable Shields

800
80
300
3
5
3
Page 29 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
DigiPen Institute of Technology
Fighter Weapons
Weapon Properties
Launch Speed (meters per second)
The speed at which a projectile is launched relative to the ship.
Range (seconds)
The maximum amount of time since being fired that a projectile is active.
Range (meters)
The maximum distance a hitscan weapon can hit a target.
Impact Damage (Joules)
The amount of damage a projectile does to shield/hull when the weapon impacts.
Firing Rate (#)
The number of projectiles that are launched when the weapon is fired.
Firing Rate (LU/s)
The amount of “Laser Units” that are used as a laser beam is shot.
Regeneration Rate (seconds)
The minimum amount of time between shots.
Regeneration Rate (LU/s)
The rate at which laser battery is recharged.
Hull Strength (Joules)
The amount of damage a projectile can take before it is destroyed. Only for
missiles.
Blast Damage (Joules)
The maximum amount of damage a projectile blast does upon explosion. Blast
damage is a linear effect. For example: something at a distance of 0 meters
receives full damage, and something at a distance equal to the blast radius
receives no damage.
Blast Radius (meters)
The distance at which blast damage has no effect.
Blast Arc (degrees)
The maximum angle from the projectile forward vector at which the blast has an
effect.
Page 30 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
DigiPen Institute of Technology
Max Rotation Speed (degrees per second)
The rate at which a homing projectile can turn.
Spread Angle (degrees)
The range which a shot can be fired. Only for the Gatling Gun.
Blasters
Description
Like most space shooter lasers. Medium range, medium firing rate. Highly
charged dense plasma. Infinite amount.
Specifications
Type
Launch Speed
Max Speed
Range
Impact Damage (on shield)
Impact Damage (on hull)
Firing Rate
Regeneration Rate
Hull Strength
Blast Damage (on shield)
Blast Damage (on hull)
Blast Radius
Blast Arc
Max Rotation Speed
Auto-aim Range
Energy Projectile
65 m/s
No Change
6s
250 J
250 J
1 at a time
0.3 s
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
10
RF-Blasters
Description
Another laser but has a short range and a fast firing rate. Infinite amount.
Specifications
Type
Launch Speed
Max Speed
Range
Impact Damage (on shield)
Impact Damage (on hull)
Firing Rate
Regeneration Rate
Hull Strength
Blast Damage (on shield)
Energy Projectile
85 m/s
No Change
2s
160 J
160 J
1 at a time
0.3 s
NA
NA
Page 31 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
Blast Damage (on hull)
Blast Radius
Blast Arc
Max Rotation Speed
Auto-aim Range
DigiPen Institute of Technology
NA
NA
NA
NA
10
Dumby Missiles
Description
A dumb concussion missile.
Specifications
Type
Launch Speed
Max Speed
Range
Impact Damage (on shield)
Impact Damage (on hull)
Firing Rate
Regeneration Rate
Hull Strength
Blast Damage (on shield)
Blast Damage (on hull)
Blast Radius
Blast Arc
Max Rotation Speed
Auto-aim Range
Missile
55 m/s
No Change
10 s
8,000 J
8,000 J
1 at a time
2s
150 J
10,000 J
10,000 J
20 m
NA
NA
10
Stinger Missiles
Description
A homing missile. Used by the Calenalph. Somewhat fast firing rate, and
generally a lot available.
Specifications
Type
Launch Speed
Max Speed
Range
Impact Damage (on shield)
Impact Damage (on hull)
Firing Rate
Regeneration Rate
Hull Strength
Blast Damage (on shield)
Homing Missile
55 m/s
60 m/s
4s
4,200 J
4,200 J
1 at a time
0.9 s
200 J
1,500 J
Page 32 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
Blast Damage (on hull)
Blast Radius
Blast Arc
Max Rotation Speed
Auto-aim Range
DigiPen Institute of Technology
1,500
20 m
NA
70/s
10
Super Shotgun KLAD
Description
A missile with a large, shattering blast. Used by the Morgwath.
Specifications
Type
Launch Speed
Max Speed
Range
Impact Damage (on shield)
Impact Damage (on hull)
Firing Rate
Regeneration Rate
Hull Strength
Blast Damage (on shield)
Blast Damage (on hull)
Blast Radius
Blast Arc
Max Rotation Speed
Auto-aim Range
Flack Missile
80 m/s
100 m/s
0.5 s
2,000 J
3,000 J
1 at a time
3s
300 J
3,000 J
3,000 J
100 m
70
NA
10
Gatling Gun
Description
A machine gun sort of thing that can be seen as a thin streak. It doesn’t have a
projectile. It has a cool down/warm up time of one second.
Specifications
Type
Launch Speed
Max Speed
Range
Impact Damage (on shield)
Impact Damage (on hull)
Firing Rate
Regeneration Rate
Hull Strength
Blast Damage (on shield)
Hitscan
NA
NA
100,000 m
900 J
900 J
1 at a time
0.1 s
NA
NA
Page 33 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
Blast Damage (on hull)
Blast Radius
Blast Arc
Max Rotation Speed
Auto-aim Range
DigiPen Institute of Technology
NA
NA
5
NA
10
Tagger
Description
Homing tag missile. Paints a target for Fury Missiles to home to. Sticks onto the
target until the target is destroyed. A tagger is not considered a homing threat, so
pilots don’t know when one is coming at them.
Specifications
Type
Launch Speed
Max Speed
Range
Impact Damage (on shield)
Impact Damage (on hull)
Firing Rate
Regeneration Rate
Hull Strength
Blast Damage (on shield)
Blast Damage (on hull)
Blast Radius
Blast Arc
Max Rotation Speed
Auto-aim Range
Special Projectile (Tagger)
40 m/s
50 m/s

NA
NA
1 at a time
10 s
300 J
NA
NA
NA
NA
70/s
10
Storm Missiles
Description
A lock on missile system that can fire multiple missiles simultaneously.
Specifications
Type
Launch Speed
Max Speed
Range
Impact Damage (on shield)
Impact Damage (on hull)
Firing Rate
Regeneration Rate
Hull Strength
Homing Missile
30 m/s
60 m/s
8s
5,000 J
5,000 J
4 at a time
1s
400 J
Page 34 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
Blast Damage (on shield)
Blast Damage (on hull)
Blast Radius
Blast Arc
Max Rotation Speed
Auto-aim Range
DigiPen Institute of Technology
3,000 J
3,000 J
10 m
NA
90/s
6
Fury Missiles
Description
Fury missiles are meant to work with the tagger missile. Multiple fury missiles
fire at the same time. The missiles are launched out from the sides of the ship,
and normally fly outward. If there is a tagged enemy ship however, the fury
missiles launched will home in on that tagger.
Specifications
Type
Launch Speed
Max Speed
Range
Impact Damage (on shield)
Impact Damage (on hull)
Firing Rate
Regeneration Rate
Hull Strength
Blast Damage (on shield)
Blast Damage (on hull)
Blast Radius
Blast Arc
Max Rotation Speed
Auto-aim Range
Homing Missile
40 m/s
70 m/s
8s
5,000 J
5,000 J
6 at a time
3s
500 J
4,000 J
4,000 J
10 m
NA
110/s
NA
Intercept Missiles
Description
Small homing missiles that are used to destroy other incoming missiles. Fired
from the back of the ship.
Specifications
Type
Launch Speed
Max Speed
Range
Impact Damage (on shield)
Impact Damage (on hull)
Homing Missile
60 m/s
40 m/s
5s
400 J
400 J
Page 35 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
Firing Rate
Regeneration Rate
Hull Strength
Blast Damage (on shield)
Blast Damage (on hull)
Blast Radius
Blast Arc
Max Rotation Speed
Auto-aim Range
DigiPen Institute of Technology
1 at a time
0.7 s
50 J
400 J
400
1m
NA
70/s
10
Railgun
Description
The railgun launches a uranium slug at super high speed. It does medium damage
to shields, but it can penetrate the hull of smaller ships.
Specifications
Type
Launch Speed
Max Speed
Range
Impact Damage (on shield)
Impact Damage (on hull)
Firing Rate
Regeneration Rate
Hull Strength
Blast Damage (on shield)
Blast Damage (on hull)
Blast Radius
Blast Arc
Max Rotation Speed
Auto-aim Range
Hitscan
NA
NA
800,000 m
900 J
50,000 J
1 at a time
3s
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
4
Tachyon Pulse Gun
Description
A laser-like weapon that has a constant stream of fire to take down ship shield
regeneration. Doesn’t have any ammunition, but overheats after about a minute of
straight firing.
Specifications
Type
Launch Speed
Max Speed
Range
Laser Beam
NA
NA
500 m
Page 36 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
Impact Damage (on shield)
Impact Damage (on hull)
Firing Rate
Regeneration Rate
Hull Strength
Blast Damage (on shield)
Blast Damage (on hull)
Blast Radius
Blast Arc
Max Rotation Speed
Auto-aim Range
DigiPen Institute of Technology
9,000 J/s
500 J/s
5 LU/s
3 LU/s
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
40
Plasma Cannon
Description
A fast firing cannon that can shoot large plasma balls at enemy ships. It is good
for destroying the hull of ships.
Specifications
Type
Launch Speed
Max Speed
Range
Impact Damage (on shield)
Impact Damage (on hull)
Firing Rate
Regeneration Rate
Hull Strength
Blast Damage (on shield)
Blast Damage (on hull)
Blast Radius
Blast Arc
Max Rotation Speed
Auto-aim Range
Energy Projectile
40 m/s
No Change
4s
900 J
8,400 J
1 at a time
0.4 s
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
10
Magnet Bomb
Description
Sticky bomb. Attaches self to target. Sticks onto the target until the target is
destroyed. The bomb detonates after a period of time.
Specifications
Type
Launch Speed
Max Speed
Sticky Bomb
30 m/s
No Change
Page 37 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
Range
Impact Damage (on shield)
Impact Damage (on hull)
Firing Rate
Regeneration Rate
Hull Strength
Blast Damage (on shield)
Blast Damage (on hull)
Blast Radius
Blast Arc
Max Rotation Speed
Auto-aim Range
DigiPen Institute of Technology
9s
10 J/s
10 J/s
1 at a time
1s
500 J
3,200 J
3,200 J
18 m
NA
NA
10
YBMA
Description
Gravitational bomb. When deployed out of the rear of the ship, the YBMA should
detonate and cause a rift in the space-time continuum. A small ship or object
caught in the rift will be dragged towards the point of detonation and will suffer
minor damage. Larger ships however, will not be moved by the rift, but will
suffer greater damage due to small structural debris that was ripped off of the hull.
The YBMA is launched from behind.
Specifications
Type
Launch Speed
Max Speed
Range
Impact Damage (on shield)
Impact Damage (on hull)
Firing Rate
Regeneration Rate
Hull Strength
Blast Damage (on shield)
Blast Damage (on hull)
Blast Radius
Blast Arc
Max Rotation Speed
Auto-aim Range
Bomb
-5 m/s
1 m/s
3s
0J
0J
1 at a time
50 s
5,000 J
500 J
50,000 J
400 m
NA
NA
NA
Page 38 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
DigiPen Institute of Technology
Mines
M300 Mine
Description
A big spiky mine, which cannot move after being deployed.
Specifications
Type
Hull Strength
Arm Time
Trigger Distance
Trigger to Blast Time
Blast Damage (Shield)
Blast Damage (Hull)
Blast Radius
Mine
10,000
4s
30 m
0s
10,000
10,000
50 m
Eins Mine
Description
A small smart mine that can track and destroy a ship that enters the mine’s sensor
area.
Specifications
Type
Hull Strength
Arm Time
Trigger Distance
Trigger to Blast Time
Blast Damage (Shield)
Blast Damage (Hull)
Blast Radius
Max Speed
Mine
10,000
5s
40 m
5s
10,000
10,000
30 m
10 m/s
POR-Q Mine
Description
A medium sized mine that is armed with a small blaster.
Specifications
Type
Hull Strength
Arm Time
Trigger Distance
Mine
10,000
5s
40 m
Page 39 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
Trigger to Blast Time
Blast Damage (Shield)
Blast Damage (Hull)
Blast Radius
DigiPen Institute of Technology
NA
NA
NA
NA
Page 40 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
DigiPen Institute of Technology
Non-Weapons
Tractor Beam
Description
Used to hold and pull some small object at a close proximity. Can be toggled on
or off, so using something like the Caps Lock key might be a good choice.
Specifications
Max Tractor Lock Distance
Neutral Object Distance
6m
3m
Portable Shield
Description
A small device that can be deployed in open space just to act as a stationary
shield. Only the heavy fighters will carry a few of these. Ally fighters will be
able to fly and shoot through these shields.
Specifications
Shield Strength
Shield Dimensions
Body Dimensions
Body Hull Strength
Mass
Stationary Resistance Force
100,000 J
20 x 20 x 0.1 m
0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 m
1,000 J
500 kg
10,000 N
POR-Q Mine Blaster
Description
The blaster that is on the POR-Q Mine
Specifications
Type
Launch Speed
Range
Impact Damage (Shield)
Impact Damage (Hull)
Firing Rate
Regeneration Rate
Laser Projectile
50 m/s
3s
400 J
400 J
1 at a time
1s
Page 41 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
DigiPen Institute of Technology
Large Ships
Large ships will be about 20-100 times the size of fighters and will be made up of
multiple components. The largest components will be ship sections. Large ships
will be made up of 5-10 sections. The only really required section is the core
section. The core section should always start out surrounded by external sections.
If the core section is destroyed, the entire ship is destroyed. Other ship sections
could be the engines, hangers, living quarters, and decoration. The re-use of
sections among large ships should be avoided in order to keep the ships looking
different. Another type of component for the large ships will be the large
weapons. The large weapons are for attacking other large ships. Turrets will also
be a subcomponent. Turrets are used as defense against fighters and they are the
only part of a large ship that has shields.
Page 42 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
DigiPen Institute of Technology
Large Ship Weapons and Turrets
Sun Beam
Description
Looks like a large shaft of light.
Tactical Cruise Missiles
Description
A very large homing missile.
Page 43 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
DigiPen Institute of Technology
World Dynamics
Friendly Fire
Energy weapons do not weaken friendly shields, but still damages friendly hull.
Weapons that have a blast effect have the same effect on friendly ships.
Boosting
Boosting allows a ship to fly at a higher speed for a brief amount of time.
Boosting stacks with normal movement.
Enhanced Maneuvering
When enhanced maneuvering is triggered, the ship will not be able to move as
fast, but can rotate much faster.
Page 44 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
DigiPen Institute of Technology
User Interface
Here describe all user interface systems.
In Game Interface
Heads Up Display (HUD)
Here describe all parts of the HUD.
Center of aim
Shield status
Radar
Velocity: current, goal
Battle status: number of ally fighters, number of enemy fighters
Target status: distance, direction, speed
Radio command options (only shown after the radio key is pushed)
In Game Menu
When the in-game menu is triggered in single player, the game pauses, and in
multiplayer, autopilot is engaged.
The in-game menu will have buttons to accessing the settings menu, resuming the
game, abandoning the mission, and quickly quitting the program.
Need Controls For
Movement (different for each type of ship)
Boost
Targeting nearest enemy
Targeting nearest special object
Targeting closest thing in center of aim
Cycling through special objects
Cycling through weapons or choosing active weapons
Tractor beam on/off
Autopilot on/off
Switching control to another ship
Picking a ship to control
Radio commands
Target nearest objective related to the previous radio command
Page 45 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
DigiPen Institute of Technology
Default Controls
Lakra Flight Controls
Pitch Up
Pitch Down
Yaw Left
Yaw Right
Roll CW
Roll CCW
Accelerate
Decelerate
Absolute Velocity
Boost
Enhanced Maneuvering
Primary Fire
Secondary Fire
Launch Intercepts
Drop Mine
Target Nearest Enemy
Target Nearest Objective
Target Radio Objective
Joystick Pull Back
Joystick Push Forward
Joystick Push Left
Joystick Push Right
Joystick Twist CW
Joystick Twist CCW
X
Z
Joystick Throttle
Left Shift
Left Control
Joystick Button 1
Joystick Button 2
Joystick Button 3
Space
E, Joystick Button 4
W, Joystick Button 5
R
Rivet Joint Flight Controls
Pitch Up
Pitch Down
Yaw Left
Yaw Right
Roll CW
Roll CCW
Move Forwards
Move Backwards
Slide Up
Slide Down
Slide Left
Slide Right
Boost
Enhanced Manuvering
Primary Fire
Secondary Fire
Target Nearest Enemy
Target Nearest Objective
Target Radio Objective
Mouse Up
Mouse Down
Mouse Left
Mouse Right
W
Q
W
S
E
Q
A
D
Space
Left Shift
Mouse Button 1
Mouse Button 2
T, Mouse Button 3
Y
R
Starmover Flight Controls
Pitch Up
Pitch Down
Joystick Pull Back
Joystick Push Forward
Page 46 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
Yaw Left
Yaw Right
Roll CW
Roll CCW
Accelerate
Decelerate
Absolute Velocity
Boost
Enhanced Maneuvering
Primary Fire
Secondary Fire
Launch Intercepts
Drop Mine
Target Nearest Enemy
Target Nearest Objective
Target Radio Objective
DigiPen Institute of Technology
Joystick Push Left
Joystick Push Right
Joystick Twist CW
Joystick Twist CCW
X
Z
Joystick Throttle
Left Shift
Left Control
Joystick Button 1
Joystick Button 2
Joystick Button 3
Space
E, Joystick Button 4
W, Joystick Button 5
R
Radio Commands
Attack the fighter that’s attacking me
Help me attack my target
Request more help in fighting enemies or completing objective
Need backup (request for more people to be in my general vicinity)
Confirm last radio message
Deny last radio message
Piloting Camera Views
The camera views that will be available to the player while piloting a ship will be
from the cockpit, and from a chase camera. The player will be able to set their
default preference, and change the view with a push of any chosen key. The
transition from cockpit to chance view should be smooth.
Ship Selection
Ship selection is always done in game. The transition from one of the piloting
views to the ship selection view should be smooth. When switching from a
cockpit view, the transition should be like going from cockpit to chase, but the
camera will move farther back than it does for the chase view. When
transitioning from the chase view, the camera will just fall back farther. As soon
as the user switches to the ship selection view, a ship will be automatically
selected. The camera will automatically rotate to keep the selected ship in the
center of view. Information about the selected ship, such as shield and hull status,
will be shown as the HUD. Also on the display will be icons of the three types of
ships with a key next to each one (such as 1, 2, and 3). If the user hits one of
these keys, the auto selection will select the best ship of the corresponding type.
The user can also choose which ship they want by using their main controller to
Page 47 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
DigiPen Institute of Technology
change which ship the camera is looking at. Once the user has chosen which ship
to switch to, one key will move the camera back to pilot view for the new ship
and give control to the player. Another key will do the same thing, but keep the
ship under AI control. If the user does not give any input related to ship selection
for a certain amount of time, the game will automatically go to the currently
selected ship, but keep the ship controlled by AI.
Ship selection mode is automatically entered when the player looses their current
ship.
Pre Game Interface
Initial Settings Menu
This menu always shows before first running the game. It will allow the user to
select which devices (graphics, sound, input) to use and their default resolution.
Player Selection
Allows users to create, select, rename, and delete player profiles. Upon selecting
a player, proceed to the main menu.
Required Elements
List box for names
Create New Profile button
Rename Profile button
Delete Profile button
Ok/Continue button
Quit button
Main Menu
Allows a player to go to the following menus: Player Selection, Single Player, and
Multiplayer Connection.
Required Elements
Button to go back to the player profile menu
Button to proceed to single player menu
Button to proceed to multiplayer menu
Quit button
Settings Menu
The settings menu should always be accessible, pre-game and in game. Settings
are split into the following sections: System, Preferences, and Controls.
System Settings
Contains settings for sound and graphics details.
Page 48 of 63
Starfall GDD v1.1
DigiPen Institute of Technology
Preference Settings
Mainly used for miscellaneous customization settings.
Controls
Settings for assigning keys, buttons, and axis’ to actions. This section will be
split into four sub-sections. One sub-section will be used for common controls,
and the other three will be used for controls specific to the three kinds of fighter
ships.
Single Player Menu
This menu will show which missions the player has completed, and if they got a
medal for any of them. It also will show the next mission the player needs to
complete. From this menu, the player will be able to play any mission they have
already completed as well as the next mission in the storyline. This menu will
also have the difficulty level setting, and as that setting changes, the medals for
each mission also change. The medals would change to show if any and what
medals have been achieved for each mission at the selected difficulty level. Upon
choosing to start any of the available missions, the game immediately starts
loading and playing the mission.
Multiplayer Connection Menu
In this menu, players will be able to join or create multiplayer servers. Upon
accessing this menu, the program should try detecting what servers are available
on the LAN. There should be a setting for the port number available, and there
should be a way, such as a drop down box, to select previous port numbers.
There should also be a way to manually enter a server address, and similar to the
port, a way to select previously entered addresses. Once told to try connecting to
a server, the game should stay in this menu until a successful connection is made.
The user should be able to cancel the connection attempt at any time. If the user
chooses to start a server, the server should be started immediately. After a server
has been started or a connection to another server has been established, the game
should proceed to the Multiplayer Lobby.
Multiplayer Lobby
From here on, users on the same server should be able to chat together.
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Music
Due to the lack of time and talent allocated to music in the development group,
this section isn’t much more than a wish list.
The menus should have a soundtrack. It should mainly be background, ambience
music since the menus aren’t supposed to be the most exciting part of the game.
Each mission should have its own group of soundtracks. When the mission
begins loading the menu soundtrack should fade out, and the mission’s loading
music should fade in. Loading music shouldn’t be very active, but have a
foreboding feeling. This music should play until the mission is loaded and the
player has entered a ship. When the player is in a fighter, the real battle music
should begin. It might work well to have music for when the player is working on
fighting enemies, or working on completing the mission objective. Whenever the
player switches to the ship selection mode, the music should change to something
less intense, and then change back to battle music.
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Sound Effects
All sounds should be audibly balanced with each other. The user should not be
overwhelmed by too much noise, however anything that could imaginably have
sound associated with it should be audible. Sound can be a powerful tool for
conveying information to the user, but it must be balanced properly.
Radio Chatter Effects
Radio chatter should be distorted and mixed with static. Radio chatter takes
priority over environmental sound effects, so environmental sound effects should
fade a little when a radio message is being played.
Weapon Sound Effects
Energy weapons should sound sort of like static. Energy weapon projectiles
should have some noticeable Doppler effect as it passes by. Explosions should
sound deep, as if underwater.
Ship Sounds
Fighter ships will sounds like distorted formula-1 racecars. The sound will be
muffled and slightly lower pitched.
Environmental Sounds
The player will always hear the low rumbling of his own ship. It will be a low
muffled rumbling sound. The sound will get louder as the ship moves faster.
Feedback Sounds
A beeping sound will play if a homing missile is locked on to the ship.
An organ short song sound will play if a mission objective has been completed (or
part of one).
A beepy sound will play if hull is almost completely breached.
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Graphic Effects
Particles
Name
Description
Properties
Shields
An opaque bright flash when a
ship is hit with a ripple effect
outward.
Fast moving,
circular
shaped, fast
falloff, color
change.
Missile
Trails
A Thin line that follows the
projectile path.
Moves with
object, linear
shaped,
medium
falloff, color
change.
Space Dust
Little pieces of dust that float
around in space.
Non moving,
points, No
falloff, Grey
or Yellowish.
Ship Trails
w/Boost
When the ships are boosting, a
thin line follows.
Moves with
object, linear
shaped,
medium
falloff, color
change.
Ship No
Boost
When a ship is moving have
little particles come out of the
engines. This only happens if in
close viewable range, and only
for the Morgwath ships.
Moves with
object, points,
fast falloff,
constant
color.
YBMA
The initial blast will send out a
black sphere from the point of
detonation. Purple and
multicolored lightning beams
will dance from the origin to any
objects in the vicinity. The
sphere will eventually shrink
down.
Slow moving,
linear
lightning
shaped, slow
falloff, color
change.
Fighter ship
explosions
Fighter ships will explode with a
beautiful display of fire. Fighter
ship debris will shoot out of the
Fast moving,
rectangular
shaped,
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ship in directions obeying
conservation of momentum.
Smoke clouds will be the left
behind.
medium
falloff,
textured
smoke and
fire.
Fight ship
debris
The debris will be a simple 3D
Fast moving,
model with fire effects following 3D models w/
behind.
rectangular
shaped
textures,
medium
falloff.
Large ship
explosion
Large ships will explode in
many fireballs and smaller
explosions.
Fast moving,
rectangular,
medium
falloff,
textured.
Railgun and
other lasers
A bright linear streak.
Fast moving,
linear, fast
falloff,
multicolored.
Planet halos
A bright atmospheric glow
around distant planets.
Non moving,
circular, no
falloff.
Sun/Star
Stars will be blindingly bright in
third person view. Due to
advanced dimming technology,
this effect will not be noticed in
cockpit view.
Non moving,
circular/linear,
no falloff.
HUD
The HUD should be transparent with an option in the menu system to set the
alpha percentage. When the ship is hit with an energy weapon without shields, the
HUD will display a subtle static effect on the overlays/radar. When the ship is hit
with a missile, the HUD will shake depending on the strength of the blast. If the
ship is in the cockpit view the shield particle effect should be shown to notify the
pilot of where the hit came from.
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Physics
A good physics engine is the key component to making a game feel ‘solid’.
The physics engine should be as real as it needs to be to feel intuitive to the user.
This means that pretty much everything should have a mass, volume, and smooth
movement. (All things that are made of matter anyway.) Having a completely
realistic game however has proven before to not be fun. Given that we are in a
non-human environment, and nowhere near Earth, this gives us the freedom to
tweak the properties and capabilities of all things in the world. We should still
strive for semi-realism, but the overall goal is to make the game fun.
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AI
AI will be done through bendable state machines, and genetic algorithms will be
used to fill in the tweakable values. What this means is that the AI will be
initially designed through state machines. The state machines will then be
modified to incorporate the tweakable values, which could make decisions more
or less likely, among other things. These tweakable values will be used as the
genetic structure for individuals that will be put through testing, scoring, and other
related genetic AI algorithms.
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Mission Editor
The mission editor will be used for creating and editing the game’s missions.
Developers will be able to use this tool to set up all initial objects including
fighters, large ships, planets, and other stuff. Features that will make this editor
useful will include the ability to easily set common setting for multiple objects,
and set up objects to orbit other large objects. The editor should also be able to
allow the user to script the secondary objectives, and other specially scripted
events.
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Appendix A
Change Log
v0.1 (2003-01-07)
Added sections: Properties, Gameplay, Story, Sides, Fighter Ships, Large Ships,
Weapons, Non-Weapons, Environments, Missions, User Interface, Sound Effects,
Graphic Effects, Physics, AI, Mission Editor, and The Order In Which The
Designer Thinks Things Should Be Implemented
v0.2 (2003-01-08)
Wrote more in the Overview subsection of Gameplay
Wrote more notes in the Story
Added Weapon 6 to Weapons
Split the first four missions into sub sections and added Mission 5 in Missions
Wrote stuff in Pre Game Interface in User Interface
Wrote more in AI
v0.3 (2003-01-10)
Added cover page
Added headers and page numbers
Added table of contents
Added sections: High Concept, Game Flow
Added Weapons 7-11 in Weapons
v0.4 (2003-01-15)
Added all fighter ships
Added more weapons with names, descriptions and attributes
Added section: Large Ship Weapons
Gave weapons to ships
v0.5 (2003-01-17)
Began writing actual story
Renamed the Good Side to the Calenalph, and the Bad Side to the Morgwath
Added details to missions 1, 2, 3, 5
Added Required Elements to some of the things in User Interface – Pre-Game
Interface section
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v0.6 (2003-01-24)
Changed numbers to percentages in Single Player Achievements in Missions
Added Piloting Camera Views and Ship Selection descriptions to User Interface
Removed Forces of Evil (Mission 4) and reassigned Nuclear Tactics (Mission 5)
to Mission 4
Added various content to the User Interface section
Added Music section
v0.6b (2003-01-23)
Figured out weaponry and armaments for each of the fighter ships
Created tables for fighters
Created tables for weapons
v0.7 (2003-01-28)
Merged v0.6 and v0.6b
Fixed date typo for v0.6
Small modifications to the following sections: High Concept, Sides, Story
Wrote a little more for Sound Effects
v0.7b (2003-01-28)
Started to work on graphic and sound effect sections
v0.8 (2003-01-29)
Made some modifications in the Game Flow section
Small modifications made in Story, Sides, Missions, Non-Weapons
In AI section: tweak, not tweek
Re-organized and filled in details for Fighter Weapons
Removed Weapon Statistical Data Tables
Re-organized and filled in details for Fighter Ships
Removed Fighter Ship Statistical Data Tables
v0.9 (2003-01-29)
Added mission layout sketches after Missions section
Inserted concept art for the Lakra, Rivet Joint, and Starmover in Fighter Ships
v0.10 (2003-01-30)
Created Mines section and moved the M300, Eins, and POR-Q mines to that
section
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Filled in details for Mines
Filled in details for Non-Weapons
Moved the Large Ships section below Non-Weapons
Wrote more in the Large Ships section
v0.11 (2003-01-30)
Added Appendix A and moved the Change Log into it
Removed About This Document section
Added Appendix B with a Pronunciation Guide in it
Added Appendix C and moved The Order In Which The Designer Thinks Things
Should Be Implemented into it
Split document up into “sections” by Heading 1 titles
Worked on Large Ships and Large Ship Weapons sections
Added Appendix D with The Credits So Far
v1.0 (2003-01-31)
Added Levels of Difficulty to Gameplay
Moved Intercept Missiles from Non-Weapons to Fighter Weapons
Started filling out Default Controls in User Interface
Added numbers to the items in Priorities
Added more titles in The Credits So Far in Appendix D
v1.1 (2003-05-22)
Added intro and extro monologues for missions
Changed title page to say GAM350 and Summer 2003
Modified Calenalph and Morgwath descriptions in the Sides section.
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Appendix B
Pronunciation Guide
Calenalph – KÁL-ên-ÁLF
Morgwath – MÖR-gwath
Firithmenel – FEER-îth-mên-ÊL
Mithsirion – mîth-SEER-ee-ón
Lakra – LÂ-krâ
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Appendix C
The Order In Which The Designer Thinks Things Should Be Implemented
A basic application executable with the beginnings of the graphics engine
Models (temporary models) that can be seen from a controllable, unbound,
“developer” camera
The beginnings of AI – moving a ship
A user controllable ship with cockpit and third person “chase camera” view
Temporary ship movement sounds
A basic HUD
The ability for a user to “jump” (not necessarily smoothly) to another ship, and
have AI retake control of the ship the user left
The ability for AI and users to fire a weapon that has visible projectiles and
collides with other ships, with temporary weapon sounds
Simple ship-to-ship (physical object) collision working, plus temporary collision
sounds
AI that can fly around, shoots at each other, and not hit each other
The ability to play over the network, and continually be able to do so as new
features are added
Basic backgrounds
Atmospheric effects
Ship destruction and debris, including temporary destruction sounds
Shield and hull dynamics
All fighter ships and all fighter weapons usable by the AI and users
A functioning pre-game GUI menu
A functioning in-game GUI menu
Complete HUD
Basic radio chatter
Smart ship selection and smooth jumping between ships
Large (stationary) ships in the game
AI able to control the large ships
The ability to “boost”
Put genetics into the AI
Menu system containing all settings (user and developer) and continually updated
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Planets, asteroids, and other physical props
Large ship weapons and temporary sounds in
Advanced particle effects
Dynamic music
Advanced radio chatter
One complete mission
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Appendix D
The Credits So Far
Producer, Assistant Graphics Coder
Clark Morse
Lead Designer, Lead AI Coder
Jeffrey Lindsey
Technical Director, Lead Physics Coder
Justin Lalone
Product Manager
Christian Crowser
Lead Tester, Sound Director, Art Director, Assistant Designer, Lead Graphics
Coder
Adam Brennecke
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