Gratuitous Space Battles
Encyclopedia
Gratuitous Space Battles (GSB) is a video game developed by the UK-based company Positech Games. At a high level, the title is a space battle
simulation consisting of a number of engagements between two opposing fleets of ships. While sometimes assumed to be a real-time strategy
(RTS) game based on screenshots, actual gameplay focuses on the setup prior to the battle, making it play more like a tower defense
game.
(pilots), as well as various other limitations or rules which influence the outcome of the battle. For example, a given environment may reduce the effectiveness of ship shields
, or may reduce weapon ranges. Players must take this information into account when selecting and positioning the ships that form their own fleet. Once players have selected their ships and issued orders to the ships concerning how to engage the enemy fleet, the battle begins. The battle itself proceeds completely without human interaction, with the outcome being determined entirely based on the data, rather than on player reflexes or mid-battle decisions.
game), it gives players a great deal of flexibility in how ships are designed. For a given playable race, players have a number of hull configurations from which to choose, made up of three different sizes of ships (fighters, frigates, and cruisers). Different ship hulls have different numbers of mounting points for modules and weapons, as well as having various inherent characteristics (in the form of overall bonuses in specific areas). Players must balance ship cost, weight, speed, power, crew, and offense/defense capabilities in deciding what combat role a given spacecraft will fulfill.
. After only several weeks of work on the initial concept of a "Virtual Saddam
" game, the title went in an entirely different direction and instead became a space strategy game.
As with many indie video game projects
, development cost was a significant issue. After an initial experiment spending several hundred dollars to purchase stock spaceship models, Harris eventually solicited quotes from 3 different artists and selected the most expensive one. The user interface
was constructed by Chris Hildenbrand, a UI expert, leaving Harris to do his own special effect and user module graphics.
To maximize performance and minimize texture swapping, the graphics engine used for GSB was an entirely new DirectX
9 engine that was custom-developed for the game. It includes a variety of special case code to deal with the requirements of rendering ship and weapon graphics during battles.
Space warfare in fiction
Space warfare in science fiction has served as a central theme within the genre, tracing its roots back to the "future war" novels of the 19th century. Space warfare in science fiction has served as a central theme within the genre, tracing its roots back to the "future war" novels of the 19th...
simulation consisting of a number of engagements between two opposing fleets of ships. While sometimes assumed to be a real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
(RTS) game based on screenshots, actual gameplay focuses on the setup prior to the battle, making it play more like a tower defense
Tower defense
Tower defense is a subgenre of real-time strategy computer games.The goal of tower defense games is to try to stop enemies from crossing a map by building towers which shoot at them as they pass. Enemies and towers usually have varied abilities, costs, and ability costs...
game.
Gameplay
Gratuitous Space Battles challenges players with defeating opposing space fleets through careful pre-battle planning. For each skirmish or engagement, the player has a fixed budget and a maximum number of shipsSpacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
(pilots), as well as various other limitations or rules which influence the outcome of the battle. For example, a given environment may reduce the effectiveness of ship shields
Force field
A force field, sometimes known as an energy shield, force shield, or deflector shield is a concept of a field tightly bounded and of significant magnitude so that objects affected by the particular force relating to the field are unable to pass through the central axis of the field and reach the...
, or may reduce weapon ranges. Players must take this information into account when selecting and positioning the ships that form their own fleet. Once players have selected their ships and issued orders to the ships concerning how to engage the enemy fleet, the battle begins. The battle itself proceeds completely without human interaction, with the outcome being determined entirely based on the data, rather than on player reflexes or mid-battle decisions.
Honor
Gratuitous Space Battles encourages players to win battles using as few resources as possible by awarding honor for any unspent funds. That is, for each point of budgetary allocation which a player could have spent but did not, a point of honor is awarded upon victory. The game tracks the maximum honor previously awarded per battle at each difficulty level, so players can continue to earn more only by beating their previous best. After amassing a sufficient quantity of honor, it can then be traded (spent) to unlock new ship modules, new ship hull configurations, and new playable alien races.Ship design
As Gratuitous Space Battles consists solely of combat in space (foregoing any of the other elements of a traditional 4X4X
4X games are a genre of strategy video game in which players control an empire and "explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate." The term was first coined by Alan Emrich in his September 1993 preview of Master of Orion for Computer Gaming World...
game), it gives players a great deal of flexibility in how ships are designed. For a given playable race, players have a number of hull configurations from which to choose, made up of three different sizes of ships (fighters, frigates, and cruisers). Different ship hulls have different numbers of mounting points for modules and weapons, as well as having various inherent characteristics (in the form of overall bonuses in specific areas). Players must balance ship cost, weight, speed, power, crew, and offense/defense capabilities in deciding what combat role a given spacecraft will fulfill.
Development
Gratuitous Space Battles began as a "dictator simulation" in late 2008 when Cliff "Cliffski" Harris was starting on his next game after Kudos 2Kudos 2
Kudos 2 is the computer game sequel to Kudos. It was made in January 2008 by Positech games, and as said by Post Mortem, one of Kudos 2's creators, it has many new improvements such as new 2d character art, more life choices, and an upgraded audio system.- Gameplay :Kudos 2 has many choices that...
. After only several weeks of work on the initial concept of a "Virtual Saddam
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
" game, the title went in an entirely different direction and instead became a space strategy game.
As with many indie video game projects
Independent video game development
Independent video game development is the process of creating video games without the financial support of a video game publisher. While large firms can create independent games, they are usually designed by an individual or a small team of as many as ten people, depending on the complexity of the...
, development cost was a significant issue. After an initial experiment spending several hundred dollars to purchase stock spaceship models, Harris eventually solicited quotes from 3 different artists and selected the most expensive one. The user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
was constructed by Chris Hildenbrand, a UI expert, leaving Harris to do his own special effect and user module graphics.
To maximize performance and minimize texture swapping, the graphics engine used for GSB was an entirely new DirectX
DirectX
Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with Direct, such as Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectMusic, DirectPlay,...
9 engine that was custom-developed for the game. It includes a variety of special case code to deal with the requirements of rendering ship and weapon graphics during battles.