Soldier Gun

Soldier Gun is an original Windows shmup project inspired by the fast, readable PC Engine soldier shooters.

Stack

• Engine: Godot 4.x
• Target: Windows 11 desktop
• Render style: low-resolution pixel art with integer scaling
• Audio style: original PSG/FM-inspired soundtrack and arcade-style sound effects
• Input: keyboard plus generic controller support

Project goals

• Immediate, low-latency player control
• Clean screen readability under heavy sprite load
• Distinct weapon personalities
• Timed score-attack modes and full-stage progression
• Original art and music with a strong early-90s console shooter feel

Folder layout

• game/: the actual game source and runtime assets
• project/: internal docs, research, captures, and soundtrack work
• website/: only public-facing site files and release media
• tools/: helper scripts and internal utilities
• builds/: exported builds and download packages

Internal structure

• game/scenes/: Godot scenes
• game/scripts/: gameplay code
• game/assets/: sprites, source art, and runtime visuals
• game/artwork/: title art and other game-facing artwork
• game/audio/music/: music used by the game
• game/audio/sfx/: sound effects and sound-design references
• project/docs/: design, feel, and production notes
• project/analysis/: reverse-engineering notes and review outputs
• project/references/: curated captures and study material
• project/music/: soundtrack drafts, previews, and release packages
• project/music/releases/: packaged soundtrack drops and GitHub-ready release assets

First milestones

1. Boot to a playable test arena in a desktop window
2. Add responsive movement, shooting, and controller input
3. Add enemy waves and a basic score loop
4. Replace placeholder assets with original art and sound

Status

The repository is scaffolded for Godot 4 development. If Godot is not installed yet, install it and open this folder as a project.

The public website, shadow2442.github.io/Soldier-Gun, also includes a browser-playable ship animation test layer. It currently supports:

• steerable ship movement and strafing
• pulse weapon phase selection
• approved idle / forward / reverse / strafe thruster visuals
• synced muzzle flashes, shot audio, and thruster audio cues

Latest soundtrack release work:

• Stage 1 Boss A and B are now featured on the website as new soundtrack previews
• the packaged release bundle lives in project/music/releases/SOLDIER GUN - STAGE 1 BOSS THEMES (2026 Preview)/
• the release archive is soldier-gun-stage-1-boss-themes-2026-preview.zip

Website / Pages

• Live website: shadow2442.github.io/Soldier-Gun
• Public site source lives in website/
• GitHub Pages is published from the gh-pages branch, generated from the website/ subtree
• Root index.html, site.css, and site.js are kept as a local mirror/prototype surface during development

If the live site needs a refresh after local changes:

1. Commit the website-facing changes on main
2. Push main
3. Push the website/ subtree to gh-pages

Local commands

From PowerShell in this folder:

• .\tools\open-editor.ps1
• .\tools\run-project.ps1

Or use the script-policy-safe launchers:

• tools\open-editor.cmd
• tools\run-project.cmd
• tools\open-website.cmd