u/StrikeWingsGames

I build this alone. Strike Wings is top-down space combat, a homage to the DOS-era space shooters, with its own setting rather than being a remake of any of them.

The game side I had a handle on: 50 warship classes, battles that put a couple of hundred ships on the field, three voiced campaigns, a battle editor, 24 pilot multiplayer over Steam or LAN. Windows and macOS, out in October.

What I did not plan for was the storefront. Capsule art at six sizes, a short description that has to explain a whole genre before someone scrolls past, a trailer, a content survey, an EULA. Weeks of work with no gameplay in it at all, and none of it is the kind of work I am good at.

Store page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4718360/Strike_Wings/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=sideproject&utm_campaign=prelaunch

Site: https://strike-wings-games.github.io/

If you have put a side project on a store like this, what ate your last month that you did not see coming?

I am a solo developer and this is Strike Wings, a top-down space combat game. It is a homage to the old DOS space shooters, with its own ships, factions and story rather than a remake of any one of them.

A few things that are in it:

• One battle, two ways to play. Command a whole fleet from a top-down view, or drop the camera into a single fighter and fly it through the middle of the fight.
• Three voiced campaigns and a flight academy, plus a pile of standalone scenarios.
• A persistent war across 16 star systems that carries between sessions, with seasons and its own recorded history.
• Tower defense, capture the flag, boarding actions, and multiplayer for up to 24 players with proximity voice.
• A battle editor for building and sharing your own fights.

Everything from fighters up to dreadnoughts, a couple dozen weapon types, and signature devices like cloak, warp and a tractor beam. Every ship is 3D modelled, and the whole screen is meant to read like fireworks on a black canvas.

Windows and macOS, releasing at the end of October for $9.99. The trailer and the site are below if you want to follow along.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/lPy1CtijL-o

Site: https://strike-wings-games.github.io/

In a busy space battle, would you rather micromanage a single ship or feel like you are steering the whole fleet? I keep flip-flopping on which one should be the default view.