Spacebase DF-9 — Browser Recreation

An independent, graphics-first browser recreation of Spacebase DF-9, built with TypeScript, Three.js, and Vite. The project aims to preserve the original game's mechanics, interface, proportions, graphics, and behavior, using the published Lua source as its behavioral reference.

Ownership requirement: you must legally own or otherwise be licensed to use Spacebase DF-9 before opening the hosted game. The public version presents this attestation before the playable game asset library loads.

Play

Visit the project site at https://wan0.net/df9/ and choose Open the game. Acceptance of the player terms is stored only in your browser.

Status

• Original isometric base construction, rooms, zones, objects, and cutaway view
• Character needs, jobs, utility AI, combat, disease, research, and events
• Original game-derived interface, environment, character, audio, and VFX assets
• Save/load, goals, tutorials, overlays, spatial audio, and debug-free production builds
• 95 unit tests and 293 browser tests at the publication baseline
• Production build deployable beneath the GitHub Pages /df9/ project path

This is a playable public beta, not a claim that every undocumented original edge case has been reproduced.

Local development

npm ci
npm run dev

Open http://localhost:5173/game.html for the game. Validation:

npm run verify:public
npm run typecheck
npm run build
npm run test:coverage
npm run test:e2e
npm run build:pages

Repository layout

src/       game engine, simulation, renderers, UI, audio, and public shell
public/    browser-ready runtime assets and `.nojekyll`
e2e/       Playwright browser regression suite
tests/     Vitest unit and system tests
scripts/   verification and CI helpers
docs/      architecture, controls, and testing notes

The original game installation, local extraction inputs, and Lua reference checkout are ignored and must not be published.

Reference and provenance

The primary behavioral reference is the community-maintained Spacebase DF-9 source, published under CPAL-1.0. It is used to understand observable behavior, constants, state machines, data, and presentation. The local reference checkout is not included in this repository.

Licence

Original project code and documentation are licensed under the BSD 3-Clause Licence. That licence does not apply to Spacebase DF-9 assets, trademarks, or other third-party material. See ASSET-NOTICE.md and LEGAL.md.

This project is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Double Fine Productions or the original game's creators.