Tankos

A third-person, low-poly hover tank combat game inspired by Warzone, BattleTanx, and the sci-fi battlefield mood of Battlezone.

You pilot a hovertank across contested zones, destroy enemy armor, capture resource points, and build a forward operating base that can produce AI-controlled support tanks.

Target platform + rendering stack

• Engine/runtime: Browser game built with Three.js
• Graphics API: WebGL 2 first, WebGL 1 fallback where possible
• Shaders: Custom GLSL materials for terrain, sky, and effects
• Performance target:
  • 120 FPS on capable mobile devices (adaptive quality required)
  • Stable 60+ FPS minimum on mid-tier mobile
  • Playable on PC browsers with higher quality presets

Local development

npm install
npm run dev

Prototype controls

• Keyboard: WASD / Arrow keys move, Space cannon, Shift missile
• Build/command: B cycle build mode, E place building, R set ally rally point, Q ping objective
• Pointer/touch:
  • Hold/drag on the left half for movement + turning
  • Press on the right half to fire

Implemented prototype features

• Battlezone-style orange desert atmosphere via custom GLSL terrain + sky gradients
• Angular hovercraft silhouette with glowing thrusters and hovering idle motion
• Instanced enemy tanks for low draw-call pressure
• State-driven enemy AI (patrol, pursue, retreat)
• Projectile cannon + lock-on homing missile weapon
• Upgrade 1: Build mode with placeable refinery/factory structures
• Upgrade 2: Resource economy (scrap) with refinery income and combat rewards
• Upgrade 3: Factory-spawned allied AI tanks with rally point command and ranged firing
• Upgrade 4: Minimap with player/allies/enemies/rally/objective markers
• Upgrade 5: Minimap fog-of-war + tactical objective pings
• Mission status panel with wave progression + victory/defeat states
• Adaptive pixel ratio scaling and detailed HUD telemetry
• Quality overrides with query string: ?quality=low|auto|high

Next upgrades

1. Add terrain-aware build placement (slope checks + surface tagging).
2. Add compressed textures (KTX2) and mesh LOD pipeline.
3. Add mission scripting with objective variants (escort/defense/assault).
4. Add co-op sync prototype for 2-player skirmish tests.
5. Add saveable loadouts and commander tech upgrades.
6. Add AI commander personalities for enemy factions.

Current state

The repository includes a runnable Three.js prototype and a broader game design roadmap.

See docs/game-design.md for full design details.