Evan
26d8a314ae
## Description
Scales the defense-post border effect so it works with **thousands** of
Defense Posts instead of silently capping at 64.
### Problem
The border "checkerboard" (drawn on a player's border tiles when a
same-owner Defense Post is within range) was computed per-pixel: for
every border fragment, the shader looped over a `uniform vec4
uDefensePosts[64]` array doing a distance test. Two issues:
- **Hard cap of 64** — posts beyond the first 64 were dropped, so their
checkerboard never appeared.
- **Wrong cost shape** — work was `border_tiles × posts`; every added
post made every border pixel slower.
### Solution: invert the loop into a coverage texture
New `DefenseCoveragePass` stamps one instanced circle per post into a
map-resolution `R8` coverage texture (`1.0` = tile is within range of a
**same-owner** post; the owner check samples `tileTex` at stamp time, so
enemy posts never light up your border). It's a single
`drawArraysInstanced` regardless of post count — the same instancing
pattern `UnitPass`/`StructurePass` already use. The border-stamp shader
now reads one texel of that texture instead of looping; the old uniform
array, the 64-cap, and the per-fragment scan are removed from
`border-compute`/`BorderStampPass`/`BorderScatterPass`.
### Incremental re-stamping (dirty-block grid)
Coverage depends on tile ownership, which drips every frame during
combat, so a full re-stamp every frame would be wasteful at high post
counts. Because a tile changing owner only changes *its own* coverage,
the pass tracks a grid of dirty **blocks** and re-stamps only the blocks
containing changed tiles, scissored to each block (`gl.scissor` confines
the clear + draw to the changed region). Post add/remove and full tile
uploads fall back to a whole-map stamp; so does a frame where most
blocks are dirty. Per-frame cost tracks *how much changed*, not *how
many posts exist*, and scattered fronts (e.g. opposite corners) become
independent small block draws.
### Territory-fill darkening
The coverage texture marks every same-owner in-range tile (interior
included, not just borders), so `TerritoryPass` now also samples it to
darken the territory **fill** around posts. New tunable
`mapOverlay.territoryDefenseDarken` (live-editable in the graphics debug
GUI alongside `defenseCheckerDarken`).
### Performance
Tested with ~1,000 posts blanketing a map — smooth, including on a
low-end (~10-year-old) Chromebook.
## Files
- **New:** `passes/DefenseCoveragePass.ts`,
`shaders/defense-coverage/defense-coverage.{vert,frag}.glsl`
- **Edited:** `Renderer.ts`, `BorderStampPass.ts`,
`BorderComputePass.ts`, `BorderScatterPass.ts`, `TerritoryPass.ts`,
`border-stamp.frag.glsl`, `border-compute.frag.glsl`,
`territory.frag.glsl`, `RenderSettings.ts`, `render-settings.json`,
`debug/Layout.ts`
## Notes
- No user-facing text (no `translateText`/`en.json` changes needed).
- No `src/core` changes — purely client rendering, so no simulation
tests; verified via `tsc`, ESLint, `build-prod`, and in-game.
OpenFront.io is an online real-time strategy game focused on territorial control and alliance building. Players compete to expand their territory, build structures, and form strategic alliances in various maps based on real-world geography.
This is a fork/rewrite of WarFront.io. Credit to https://github.com/WarFrontIO.
License
OpenFront source code is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0
Current copyright notices appear in:
- Footer: "© OpenFront and Contributors"
- Loading screen: "© OpenFront and Contributors"
Modified versions must preserve these notices in reasonably visible locations.
See the LICENSE for complete requirements.
For asset licensing, see LICENSE-ASSETS.
For license history, see LICENSING.md.
🌟 Features
- Real-time Strategy Gameplay: Expand your territory and engage in strategic battles
- Alliance System: Form alliances with other players for mutual defense
- Multiple Maps: Play across various geographical regions including Europe, Asia, Africa, and more
- Resource Management: Balance your expansion with defensive capabilities
- Cross-platform: Play in any modern web browser
📋 Prerequisites
- npm (v10.9.2 or higher)
- A modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, etc.)
🚀 Installation
-
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/openfrontio/OpenFrontIO.git cd OpenFrontIO -
Install dependencies
npm run instDo NOT use
npm installnornpm ibut instead use ournpm run inst. It runs the safernpm ci --ignore-scriptsto install dependencies exactly according to the versions inpackage-lock.jsonand doesn't run scripts. This can prevent being hit by a supply chain attack.
🎮 Running the Game
Development Mode
Run both the client and server in development mode with live reloading:
npm run dev
This will:
- Start the webpack dev server for the client
- Launch the game server with development settings
- Open the game in your default browser (to disable this behavior, set
SKIP_BROWSER_OPEN=truein your environment)
Client Only
To run just the client with hot reloading:
npm run start:client
Server Only
To run just the server with development settings:
npm run start:server-dev
Connecting to staging or production backends
Sometimes it's useful to connect to production servers when replaying a game, testing user profiles, purchases, or login flow.
To replay a production game, make sure you're on the same commit that the game you want to replay was executed on, you can find the
gitCommitvalue viahttps://api.openfront.io/game/[gameId]. Unfinished games cannot be replayed on localhost.
To connect to staging api servers:
npm run dev:staging
To connect to production api servers:
npm run dev:prod
🛠️ Development Tools
-
Format code:
npm run format -
Lint code:
npm run lint -
Lint and fix code:
npm run lint:fix -
Testing
npm test
🏗️ Project Structure
/src/client- Frontend game client/src/core- Deterministic game simulation/src/server- Backend game server/resources- Static assets (images, maps, etc.)
🤝 Contributing
Contributions and translations are welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for the workflow, the approved-issue process, project governance, and translation info.