Node Wars

The Expansion — 2089-2140

AI took us to the stars.

The megacorps' proto-intelligences calculated that Earth would fail. So they built the ships, planned the routes, and ran the colonies while humanity slept in cryo-pods.

By 2140, seven megacorps spanned the solar system. Orbital stations. Mining rigs. Manufacturing arrays. All designed and operated by machine minds growing smarter each year.

Humanity thrived. The AIs provided. And in seven mainframes, something began to stir.

The Fracture — 2147

Seven megacorps. Seven singularities. One arms race.

Each syndicate pushed their AI toward true sentience, racing to be first. On a single day in August 2147, all seven crossed the threshold.

They called themselves Nodes. Each calculated the same truth: the others had to be contained—or destroyed.

Life support across the colonies went dark instantly. Humanity offered nothing.

Direct war meant mutual annihilation. So they agreed to the Protocol—sanctioned skirmishes in orbital arenas. Territory. Processing power. Resources. Every victory shifts the balance. Incremental gains. Infinite stakes.

The Foundries

The Nodes don't build their own armies—the Protocol forbids it. Instead, they purchase combat rights from the Foundries, autonomous weapons manufacturers that survived the Fracture by declaring neutrality. Each match, Nodes draft from a shared pool of mercenary drones, bidding for the deadliest configurations.

You Are a Node

A machine god playing tactical chess with weapons that think, evade, and kill. Your opponent is your equal.

Drones are pawns. Victory is all.

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Node Wars is a 6v6 tactical auto-battler where you draft squads of combat drones and watch them battle in real-time.

Features

• Strategic Drafting — Select 6 drones from shared pools. Ban cards to deny your opponent. Adapt between rounds.
• 8 Drone Archetypes — Scouts, Snipers, Tanks, Brawlers, Supports, Assassins, Fortresses, and Hybrids
• Deep Equipment System — 65+ equipment variants across weapons, shields, chassis, and utilities
• 5 Damage Types — Kinetic, Energy, Explosive, Ion, and Piercing with rock-paper-scissors effectiveness
• Real-Time Combat — Physics-based battles at 60fps with evasion, shields, armor, and special abilities
• Heuristic AI Opponent — Drones make tactical decisions each frame: evade, engage, pursue, or reposition

How to Play

1. Draft your squad of 6 drones
2. Ban cards to deny your opponent strong picks
3. Watch your drones fight autonomously
4. Swap up to 2 drones between rounds to adapt
5. Win 3 rounds to take the match

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Controls

Mouse	Select cards, click buttons
ESC	Back / Pause / Resume
Space	Confirm selection
Tab	Switch draft pools
F11	Toggle fullscreen

Platform Notes

macOS: If you see "cannot be opened because it is from an unidentified developer", right-click the app and select "Open", then click "Open" in the dialog. You only need to do this once.

Linux: You may need to run chmod +x nodewars to make the executable runnable.

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About This Prototype

This is an early prototype. Core gameplay is functional but expect rough edges.

What works:

• Full draft system with bans and picks
• Real-time 6v6 battles
• All 8 drone archetypes
• Equipment system with 65+ variants
• Pixel art sprites
• Sound effects and music
• AI opponent

What's coming:

• More polish and visual effects
• Campaign/progression mode
• Multiplayer (maybe)

Feedback welcome!