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Contents.History Beginning as a Total Annihilation clone The development was initiated by Stefan Johansson and Robin Westberg, members of the Swedish Yankspankers game clan under the name TA Spring. Since 2005 it is being developed by the community. The project aimed originally to bring the gameplay experience of into and to have the game run the mods and units from Total Annihilation. The first release was on July 7, 2007, achieving its initial goals.Evolution to a general RTS game engine Since then, the project evolved from a mere TA to a general RTS including more flexible features like built-in through a scripting interface.Most of the games running on the engine (as of December 2010) are focused on gameplay. There are also currently a number of single player missions, built on frameworks utilizing the engine's Lua scripting abilities. There are also a large number of skirmish (AIs), allowing for offline play or extra players in an online game.Software architecture Most Spring Engine-based games are designed to be played online, in multiplayer matches.

The Spring Engine uses a deterministic game simulation which is executed simultaneously on all game clients. Only user commands are sent to other players, preventing any active cheating. Multiplayer is supported on both. A pre-game lobby uses a specially designed protocol similar to that of to facilitate chat, player match-making, and the adjustment of battle options.

A number of spring lobby clients exist.The lobbies for the game allow setting up single player games also. This can be done either by using a special single player mode, or using the multiplayer mode with a password and adding bots to the game.

Instead of using bots, some games also support special game modes that allow single player gameplay. Most popular in this area are the 'chicken' modes of Zero-K and Balanced Annihilation, where a player has to defend against waves of monsters. Since version 0.79, Spring also features missions. A mission editor with advanced functions while being intuitive is bundled with the game.Skirmish AIs (or bots) are needed to get a normal single player game running. They take over the role of controlling a team and can therefore be seen as a machine equivalent to a human player but are of course less cunning. The engine supports Skirmish AI to be written in a variety of. Currently these are, and the like.

It is also possible to develop plug-ins to support more languages.Spring 's rendering features include, 3D projectiles and multiple water renderers. The unit files of are compatible, allowing third-party units to be imported. The scripting language allows for a customizable gameplay and modifications.

Team Players can also draw and write on the game map to coordinate tactical moves with other players. The third-party AI allows for varying degrees of difficulty. Alternatively, the SpringRTS Lobby can be downloaded at mirrors.

Source code Spring 's, licensed under the, is primarily written in the programming language, as is springlobby. An alternative lobby, TASClient, is written in, and there are lobby servers - used to organize multi-player games - written in. The C code structure is written in an object-oriented manner and is documented to some extent using. The official source code package includes project files for various (IDEs) and building tools, including, 7.0/8.0, and.Reception and adoption Various games leveraging the Spring engine range from games with minimal restrictions on use and distribution to games with commercially licensed art, such as P.U.R.E. Additionally, content from Total Annihilation has been modified to run on the Spring Engine, although playing games that incorporate such content requires that one own a copy of the original Total Annihilation game.Spring has many games in various stages of development. Some are based upon and use content from the original Total Annihilation game, this includes the games: Balanced Annihilation, Tech Annihilation, NOTA, and XTA.

However, there are many games which are derivatives of other works of fiction, such as a game, a game, and a game based on the. There are also several fully original games, including 'Expand & Exterminate', a strategic game inspired by, 'The Cursed', a unique mixture of science fiction and fantasy, and 'Kernel Panic', a -esque game emphasizing simplicity.

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The website also distributes tools and instructions for making your own game.Balanced Annihilation As the name suggests, the game rebalanced Absolute Annihilation, which was a rebalanced version of the Total Annihilation game Uberhack. The unit stats have been modified from Uberhack's base stats making it very dissimilar to Uberhack. It features all the previous units from retail version of Total Annihilation, plus several extras for each faction. The balance does not reflect Total Annihilation gameplay as much as an augmented version of Total Annihilation. (It is still being maintained) Zero-K (formerly known as Complete Annihilation) started as a fork of Balanced Annihilation, and so can trace its heritage all the way back to the original. However, all the original content has been replaced with original community-provided content. Among Spring games, Zero-K is notable for its extensive use of scripting for interface and gameplay enhancements, and unique RTS concepts such as a flat.

Was released on as a standalone game on 27 April 2018. NOTA (Not Original Total Annihilation) is a game designed for larger maps with to-scale units, fuel for airplanes and accent for strategic decisions. It has a unique navy, more diversified unit types, and a slower tech/econ development then other TA themed games (BA, XTA).

NOTA games can be very quick, seeing only T1 units, or very long, ending with the appearance of incredible superweapons. (still maintained) The Cursed This unique game is about an undead demonic army that corrupts the universe and is opposed by humankind.

The artistic setup is inspired by arts from Doom I and II, Warcraft III and Warhammer table tops. The free game is released. (still maintained) P.U.R.E. Not to be confused with the ATV game, P.U.R.E. Is set in a time when humans are at war against an evil AI called the Overmind. It is developed by one person, known by the Spring community as Argh. The game features up to 57 unique units, new and improved GUI,aunique resource system and 2 different sides, and a main menu (though not in-game).

Is featured in ModDB and several other review sites. Spring:1944. Kernel Panic, a non-TA-based game for Spring.Spring:1944 is one of the most-developed games on the Spring engine, and as the name suggests is based on the later years of. It contains nearly 300 unique units across the four major belligerent factions (United States, United Kingdom, and the ), with all content being produced by several main developers and a handful of contributors, and is the most popular independent production project on the Spring engine. Unlike most conventional WW2-themed real-time strategy games, Spring: 1944 is heavily 'epic' in scope, with players commanding hundreds of units and multiplayer team games involving thousands of infantry, vehicles, tanks and aircraft. (still maintained) Kernel Panic Kernel Panic is a game that has no connection to Total Annihilation.

In this game, there are three races: The System, the Network and the Hacker, all having their own advantages and disadvantages. The game takes place inside of a computer, leading to intense, fast-paced gameplay. There are no resources in Kernel Panic, so the player can build units until the map is full. The game's textures and sounds resemble old games, and maps are like computer boards and chips.

(still maintained) XTA Preceding all other active games, XTA, short for eXtended Total Annihilation was the original based game developed on the Spring Project. It features all units from the retail version of Total Annihilation with a few additional ones added to each faction. Since the original development team there have been various developers of the game, meaning the aim of it may now be skewed, however the game attempts to remain true to its heritage whilst bringing in new game play features. (still maintained) Evolution RTS Evolution RTS was the first Spring-based game released (as free to play) on, in April 2014.

(still maintained) Reception Spring was reviewed in French print 'Linux Pratique' in February 2009. See also. (springrts.com). Sigfried Arnold (2006-05-11).

Retrieved 28 April 2011. Archived from on 2009-09-16. Retrieved 2009-09-09. CS1 maint: archived copy as title. Archived from on 2010-02-14. Retrieved 2011-09-26.

CS1 maint: archived copy as title. P.U.R.E - Powered by the GPL. Dominic Tarason (2018-04-27). Retrieved 2018-12-08.

Archived from on 2009-02-04. Retrieved 2009-01-04.External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to. on. on., a lobby client for spring.

This video comprises a holistic overview of my projectIn this article I will explain in more detail the process through which I arrived at my current design. For the sake of clarity, some concepts found in the video will also be covered in this article.

The IdeaWhen I first had the idea to hack Pie Face, I had several design goals in mind:. The outward appearance of the game should remain unchanged. The game should shouldn't create a lot of additional noise (i.e. No loud whirring noises from motors or servos.). The game should interface with a mobile phone wirelessly.In short, I wanted to have complete control over the throwing mechanism of the game, without anyone else noticing. A daunting task to say the least. The main problem being packing everything into a very limited volume.

Reverse EngineeringIn order to understand how to hack Pie Face, I first needed to understand how the mechanics of the game worked. And that required some reverse engineering. This module contains all of the mechanics of Pie Face. As you can see there's a lot going on under the hood of this game. The lever on the right in figures 1 and 2 is what the purple throwing arm attaches to, and the large gear in the center of figure 2 is what is rotated by the knob on the side of the game.

If you look closely at figure 2, you can see tiny wedges scattered around the inner track of the gear. As you'll see in the following animation, these wedges are the key element that makes the game run. Figure 4: Animation illustrating how Pie Face works with only 2 wedgesThis animation represents how the mechanics of Pie Face operate.

The large gear is turned by the user, once the idler(shown in red) is forced upwards by one of the wedges, the throwing arm(shown in purple) is released. There are only 2 wedges in this animation for the sake of simplicity. As you can see in figure 2, the actual gear has many more wedges scattered randomly around its inner track. This means that Pie Face isn’t random at all! It’s just designed to feel like it is.

In reality, there is a defined pattern for when the arm will be triggered. Figure 5: Animation illustrating how the mechanics of my hacked version of the game workI hacked the game by doing the following. I took apart the mechanics module, sanded down the triggering wedges, and drilled a hole in the idler. Then I attached a fishing line to the idler, routed the line through an eyebolt, then attached the other end to a servo.

Now, the throwing arm isn't ever triggered unless the servo pulls down on the fishing line.I won't go into detail on why I chose this method to hack the game over others, as that was covered in the video. But I will say that this method will not work with a. The torque required to overcome the force of the idler is much higher than a micro-servo can handle.

I used a servo with an output torque of 20 kg, and that has worked great so far.On another note, I was initially concerned that the amount of noise the servo made would tip people off. And after initial testing, I discovered that you can hear the servo when it's turning inside the game, but the sound is so brief that it doesn't raise suspicion.As far as electronics go, I used an HC-05 Bluetooth module to establish communication between an Arduino Nano, and an app on my phone called.

Many different apps exist for interfacing with Bluetooth modules and an Arduino, but this was the one that worked best for me. Connecting to my Bluetooth module with this app gives me direct access to the Nano’s serial port, which allows for extremely simple commands to be used to communicate with the Nano. The V2 was a huge improvement over the V1.

I made two main modifications to my original design when I build the V2, namely:. I mounted all of the electronics to a central belly pan which attached to the mechanics module (Figure 13.) I did this to allow the two halves of the game to separate completely, which was not possible with the V1 due to the fishing line tying the two halves together due to the way it was attached. I mounted the belly pan by screwing it into standoffs I hot glued to the mechanics module. I replaced the clunky AA battery pack with a low profile 5V USB battery pack (figures 14-16.) This was a much easier to use and cheaper solution to powering the game, as I didn't have to buy new batteries every time I wanted to use it.Something that is really neat about the software I wrote for my hacked version of Pie Face, is that it utilizes the limit switch to allow me to specify the number of turns I want the game to wait before activating the arm. It's basically a delayed activation feature. This allows me to send the character '5' to the Arduino Nano from my phone (this sets the delay count to 5 turns), then go to the camera app on my phone, and record my friends as they get hit!All in all the V2 has less potential points of failure, and it worked like a charm in field testing (the indoor game of Pie Face in the overview video).

Final Thoughts and Possible ImprovementsIf you decide you want to make your own hacked Pie Face game, make sure your power supply has a decent capacity. I mention this because in order for the outward appearance of the game to remain unchanged, I didn't install any kind of power switch.

This means the unit must be powered on when assembled, and the battery has to last from the time it's assembled, to the time you start to play the game. The USB battery pack I used has a rating of 2600 mAh, and it can power the game for up to 6 hours when it isn't in use (i.e. It won't power the game for 6 hours while you are playing it, as the servo moving would drain the battery much more quickly.)All in all, I'm very pleased with the way this project turned out. It was a great engineering challenge, I had a blast doing it, my friends didn't suspect a thing, and I was able to fulfill all my original design criteria:.

The outward appearance of my hacked game remains virtually unchanged. It doesn't create a suspicious amount of noise. It interfaces with my Android phone wirelesslyIf I ever decide to make a V3, I will probably:.

3D Print the belly pan rather than using wood. Find an easier way to tension the fishing line. In its current state, it is nearly impossible to fit my fingers in far enough to do so. Add a switch to the RX and TX lines connected to the Bluetooth module.

The Arduino doesn't accept software changes when these serial communication lines are in use. In order to upload new software, I have to unplug the Bluetooth module, upload my code, then plug the module back in. A switch would make this process much easier.